Church (capital C) refers believers in the simple message of the Gospel.
Call it the Rapture, The Harpazo or the Blessed Hope, it will be the greatest event in a believers life. Jesus will call us home, what a wonderful day that will be. CM calls it “The most preposterous doctrine in Evangelical Christianity.” A preposterous doctrine with a scriptural bases.
1 Thessalonians 4:17, “Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught (G726) up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.”
G726 - harpazō - From a derivative of G138; to seize (in various applications): - catch (away, up), pluck, pull, take (by force).
Pre-Tribulation Rapture is Jesus coming for His Church before the start of the seven year tribulation and this view is in accordance with “The Doctrine of Imminency.” We can expect Jesus at any moment; there is nothing more required for the Rapture of the Church to occur.
The Jewish Wedding is analogous to what will happen in the lead up to the rapture. Jesus, the bridegroom, ascended into his father's house to prepare a place for his bride, the Church, just as was done in biblical time. Just as the bride was to be ready as the bridegroom could come at any time, the Church should eagerly anticipate the coming of Jesus for his Church.
A Mid-Tribulation Rapture embraces the belief that the Church will be caught at the midpoint of the seven year tribulation before the start of the final three and half years known as the time of Jacob’s troubles.
A post-Tribulation rapture point of view claims that the church will go through the seven year Tribulation. We would meet ourselves in the clouds as Jesus calls us to him as He descended to earth. We would be going up and coming down at the same time. No, the Church will not go through the Tribulation!
Both the mid- trib rapture and a post-trip rapture point of view deny “The Doctrine of Imminency,” however….
While there are several Scriptures that imply that the Church will be removed prior to the Tribulation, I have a question concerning Revelation 12:5-6, “She gave birth to a son who was to rule all nations with an iron rod. And her child was snatched away from the dragon and was caught up to God and to his throne. 6 And the woman fled into the wilderness, where God had prepared a place to care for her for 1,260 days.”
The woman is Israel fleeing after the desecration of the Temple as the Son of Prediction breaks his covenant with Israel after 3 ½ years. The Son of the woman/Israel is Jesus and if His ascension to the Father represents the Church, could this be mid-trib rapture?
Regardless of my question concerning Revelation 12:5-6, I am still of the belief that the rapture of the church will take place before the start of the seven year tribulation. That said, does it mean that there’ll be no persecution of Christians prior to the start of the tribulation.
Christians are being imprisoned, tortured and murdered in many parts of the world. Evil as the jihadists have been over the years, there is a new group quickly developing that appears to be demonically possessed. Members of ISIS are murdering Christians and non-Christians alike. They also are murdering their fellow Muslims due to differing beliefs. While we in America have been relatively safe since 9/11, we live under the growing threat of jihadists within our country.
Call it the Rapture, The Harpazo or the Blessed Hope, it will be the greatest event in a believers life. Jesus will call us home, what a wonderful day that will be. CM calls it “The most preposterous doctrine in Evangelical Christianity.” A preposterous doctrine with a scriptural bases.
1 Thessalonians 4:17, “Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught (G726) up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.”
G726 - harpazō - From a derivative of G138; to seize (in various applications): - catch (away, up), pluck, pull, take (by force).
Pre-Tribulation Rapture is Jesus coming for His Church before the start of the seven year tribulation and this view is in accordance with “The Doctrine of Imminency.” We can expect Jesus at any moment; there is nothing more required for the Rapture of the Church to occur.
The Jewish Wedding is analogous to what will happen in the lead up to the rapture. Jesus, the bridegroom, ascended into his father's house to prepare a place for his bride, the Church, just as was done in biblical time. Just as the bride was to be ready as the bridegroom could come at any time, the Church should eagerly anticipate the coming of Jesus for his Church.
A Mid-Tribulation Rapture embraces the belief that the Church will be caught at the midpoint of the seven year tribulation before the start of the final three and half years known as the time of Jacob’s troubles.
A post-Tribulation rapture point of view claims that the church will go through the seven year Tribulation. We would meet ourselves in the clouds as Jesus calls us to him as He descended to earth. We would be going up and coming down at the same time. No, the Church will not go through the Tribulation!
Both the mid- trib rapture and a post-trip rapture point of view deny “The Doctrine of Imminency,” however….
While there are several Scriptures that imply that the Church will be removed prior to the Tribulation, I have a question concerning Revelation 12:5-6, “She gave birth to a son who was to rule all nations with an iron rod. And her child was snatched away from the dragon and was caught up to God and to his throne. 6 And the woman fled into the wilderness, where God had prepared a place to care for her for 1,260 days.”
The woman is Israel fleeing after the desecration of the Temple as the Son of Prediction breaks his covenant with Israel after 3 ½ years. The Son of the woman/Israel is Jesus and if His ascension to the Father represents the Church, could this be mid-trib rapture?
Regardless of my question concerning Revelation 12:5-6, I am still of the belief that the rapture of the church will take place before the start of the seven year tribulation. That said, does it mean that there’ll be no persecution of Christians prior to the start of the tribulation.
Christians are being imprisoned, tortured and murdered in many parts of the world. Evil as the jihadists have been over the years, there is a new group quickly developing that appears to be demonically possessed. Members of ISIS are murdering Christians and non-Christians alike. They also are murdering their fellow Muslims due to differing beliefs. While we in America have been relatively safe since 9/11, we live under the growing threat of jihadists within our country.
No comments:
Post a Comment