(Warning: this post is very long as a result of its detailed nature).
WHEN DOES THE FUTURE OF THE CHURCH BEGIN?
Most Christians (if not all), would agree that it begins with the Rapture, the much touted Escape Route to Heaven.
So we ask ourselves these questions:
1. Are we really going to escape the Tribulation that is surely the Future of the world?
2. How can I be sure once and for all about this?
3. What are the qualifications to be a part of it, if indeed it will really happen?
Many say that the Rapture Revelation began with the teachings of Christ, especially in Matthew 24 and 25.
One of such major ‘teachings’ is the “One shall be taken, the other left behind”; another is the Parable of the Ten Virgins; and yet another is; “But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.” (MT 24:37).
I freely admit that I too was quite ‘taken’ (forgive the pun!) by these teachings until something struck me…
THE RAPTURE IS A NEW TESTAMENT REVELATION!
Paul was the one to whom the revelation was given.
1 Cor 15:51-53 Behold, I shew you a MYSTERY; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,
In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.
It wouldn’t have been a mystery if the disciples of Christ had known about it in the four Gospels…and if they did, then it means Christ had revealed to them that:
The coming birth of the Church; for how could they have known about the Rapture if they hadn’t even known about the birth of the Church after Christ’s resurrection?
The New Testament did not begin until after the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ; because a Testament does not come into effect UNTIL after the death of the Testator, therefore the four Gospels were written at a time when Judaism, not Christianity was being practised.
HEB 9:16-17 For where a testament is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator.
For a testament is of force after men are dead: otherwise it is of no strength at all while the testator liveth.
Christ is the Testator spoken of here; meaning that the New Testament did not come into force while he was still alive, but only after his death.
So to return to our first question: Are we really going to escape the Tribulation that is surely the Future of the world?
Yes, there definitely WILL be a rapture of the Church, depending on your definition of ‘Church’; but first let’s start by studying why the above scriptures I quoted would not be accurate interpretations of the Rapture teaching.
Matthew 24
1 And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple.
2 And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.
3 And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?
The disciples asked three questions:
1. When shall these things be? – referring to the destruction of the Temple (and Jerusalem); which happened in 70A.D.
2. What shall be the sign of thy coming, and
3. Of the end of the world?
The sign of thy coming is where we need to focus our attention…was it referring to the APPEARANCE of Christ IN THE AIR at the Rapture, or the physical return of Christ to earth?
They obviously knew that Christ would leave and then return, or there would be no need to ask “what shall be the sign of your COMING?”…but at that time, they didn’t know about the birth of the Church…they didn’t know about that UNTIL Christ rose from the dead and told them to tarry in Jerusalem and wait for the promise of the Father:
LU 24:49 And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.
There is no mention anywhere in Jesus’ teachings about the birth of the Church, even when he met with his disciples privately to teach them...he taught them in parables about the Kingdom of God, and explained it to them clearly, neither is there any explicit reference to the Church in the Old Testament.
This leads us to only one conclusion…they had tied the ‘sign of his coming to… ‘the end of the world’ as we can see from the conjoining word AND as used in that verse.
Even after Christ rose from the dead and just before departing this world, the disciples were STILL focused on the restoration of the Kingdom to Israel, showing that they still had no clue about the Church:
Acts 1:6 When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?
This was AFTER Matthew 24 had happened, for Christ had not yet died in Matthew 24…he was crucified in Matthew 27:31…
And after that they had mocked him, they took the robe off from him, and put his own raiment on him, and led him away to crucify him.
It is now very clear that their question as to the sign of his coming was in relation to his return PHYSICALLY to restore the kingdom to Israel; and not his APPEARANCE in the air to take them away.
But it didn’t end there; Christ began to prophesy about what would happen at the end of the world because he was answering the question about what would be the sign of the END OF THE WORLD (or Age).
The New Testament did not begin until after the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ; because a Testament does not come into effect UNTIL after the death of the Testator, therefore the four Gospels were written at a time when Judaism, not Christianity was being practised.
HEB 9:16-17 For where a testament is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator.
For a testament is of force after men are dead: otherwise it is of no strength at all while the testator liveth.
Christ is the Testator spoken of here; meaning that the New Testament did not come into force while he was still alive, but only after his death.
So to return to our first question: Are we really going to escape the Tribulation that is surely the Future of the world?
Yes, there definitely WILL be a rapture of the Church, depending on your definition of ‘Church’; but first let’s start by studying why the above scriptures I quoted would not be accurate interpretations of the Rapture teaching.
Matthew 24
1 And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple.
2 And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.
3 And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?
The disciples asked three questions:
1. When shall these things be? – referring to the destruction of the Temple (and Jerusalem); which happened in 70A.D.
2. What shall be the sign of thy coming, and
3. Of the end of the world?
The sign of thy coming is where we need to focus our attention…was it referring to the APPEARANCE of Christ IN THE AIR at the Rapture, or the physical return of Christ to earth?
They obviously knew that Christ would leave and then return, or there would be no need to ask “what shall be the sign of your COMING?”…but at that time, they didn’t know about the birth of the Church…they didn’t know about that UNTIL Christ rose from the dead and told them to tarry in Jerusalem and wait for the promise of the Father:
LU 24:49 And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.
There is no mention anywhere in Jesus’ teachings about the birth of the Church, even when he met with his disciples privately to teach them...he taught them in parables about the Kingdom of God, and explained it to them clearly, neither is there any explicit reference to the Church in the Old Testament.
This leads us to only one conclusion…they had tied the ‘sign of his coming to… ‘the end of the world’ as we can see from the conjoining word AND as used in that verse.
Even after Christ rose from the dead and just before departing this world, the disciples were STILL focused on the restoration of the Kingdom to Israel, showing that they still had no clue about the Church:
Acts 1:6 When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?
This was AFTER Matthew 24 had happened, for Christ had not yet died in Matthew 24…he was crucified in Matthew 27:31…
And after that they had mocked him, they took the robe off from him, and put his own raiment on him, and led him away to crucify him.
It is now very clear that their question as to the sign of his coming was in relation to his return PHYSICALLY to restore the kingdom to Israel; and not his APPEARANCE in the air to take them away.
But it didn’t end there; Christ began to prophesy about what would happen at the end of the world because he was answering the question about what would be the sign of the END OF THE WORLD (or Age).
THE WORLD WILL STILL CONTINUE AFTER THE RAPTURE, hence it cannot be that the question asked by the disciples referred to the Rapture.
Matt 24:4-13 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.
5 For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.
6 And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.
7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.
9 Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake.
10 And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.
11 And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.
12 And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.
13 But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.
All these prophecies had to do with the disciples’ question about the sign of his coming and the END OF THE WORLD.
Finally he gets to the very end itself where he says in verse 14:
And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; AND THEN SHALL THE END COME.
The gospel of the Kingdom is not the same as the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ…
The gospel of the Kingdom is one that preaches REPENTANCE BECAUSE THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS NEAR… in the first instance it spoke of the coming of Christ PHYSICALLY into this world as we see from John the Baptist:
Matt 3:1-3 In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea,
2 And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
3 For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.
The gospel of the Kingdom ushered in the earthly life of Christ…but it will also usher in the PHYSICAL return of Christ at the end of the world…in both instances, the gospel of the Kingdom is to PREPARE people for the PHYSICAL coming of the Lord.
John said “this is he whom the prophet Isaiah spoke of; (referring to Jesus) who had not yet begun his earthly ministry but had arrived on the scene. That was the gospel of the kingdom that John preached.
So when Christ told his disciples in Matt 24 that the gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness to all nations, he was speaking of the gospel that would prepare people for his Second Coming… AND THEN SHALL THE END COME.
On the other hand, the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ is the gospel of Grace that speaks of Salvation through the New Birth, a concept that was obviously unknown to John the Baptist…he was referring to another gospel, not the gospel of grace.
These are some of the reasons why Matthew 24 cannot be used to support the teaching of the Rapture, but let's move on to other reasons.
Jesus was talking to Jews who knew nothing about the coming birth of the Church, they hadn't heard of a Rapture at that time...they were referring to his physical return as Christ also was referring to his return for them at the end of the world.
The next ‘teaching’ we will consider will be the ‘One shall be taken the other left behind’.
Matt 24:27-28 For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; SO SHALL THE COMING OF THE SON OF MAN BE.
28 For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together.
Verse 28 has a sister scripture which is the actual scripture used to propagate the theory that this ‘One taken, other left behind’ teaching refers to the rapture.
Luke 17:34-37 I tell you, in that night there shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left.
35 Two women shall be grinding together; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
36 Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
37 And they answered and said unto him, Where, Lord? And he said unto them, Wheresoever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered together.
They are sister verses because in Luke 17:37, Jesus says the same thing he said in Matt 24:28 with a slight modification:
Matt 24: 28 For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together.
Luke 17:27 And they answered and said unto him, Where, Lord? And he said unto them, Wheresoever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered together.
In the former, he uses the word carcase and in the latter, the word body. The Greek word for ‘carcase’ is PTOMA, meaning “a body fallen in death, or a dead carcase”.
The Greek word for body is SOMA, meaning a corpse. The Greek word used for eagles in both Matthew and Luke are the same – AETOI – meaning “natural eagles and birds of the heavens.”
This does not sound like the Rapture…the disciples asked in Luke 17:27 “Where Lord?” meaning where are the ones TAKEN, taken to?
Christ’s response was wheresoever the body or carcase is, that's where they are taken to…this is talking about death, not about a resurrection! It is talking about NATURAL eagles, not raptured humans in the form of eagles!
If we were to follow this analogy to the end, it would certainly portray Christ as being the carcase and the saints as being the eagles who are CAUGHT UP to a CORPSE…no that does not make any sense.
Now take a look at Rev 19:11-21:
And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.
12 His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself.
13 And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.
14 And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.
15 And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.
16 And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.
NOW PAY CLOSE ATTENTION TO THE NEXT FEW VERSES!!!
17 And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the FOWLS THAT FLY IN THE MIDST OF HEAVEN, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God;
18 That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great.
(Remember the word AETOI meaning the NATURAL eagles and birds of the heavens? Well this is the application of that verse! Those TAKEN are those who are gathered against the Lord at the battle of Armageddon. Please read the scriptures further…)
19 And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army.
20 And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.
21 And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and ALL THE FOWLS WERE FILLED WITH THEIR FLESH.
Without a shadow of doubt, the ‘One shall be taken, the other left behind’ teaching; refers to the battle of Armageddon and NOT the Rapture. This will be realized once you REMEMBER that:
1. Christ was still answering their questions about the sign of his coming and the END OF THE WORLD.
2. In this particular Coming EVERY EYE SHALL SEE HIM since his coming shall be like the lightning that shines from the east to the west - Matt 24:27...and yet the rapture happens in the twinkling of an eye...one that has been touted as a secret coming.
NOW WATCH THIS!!!
Jude uses the Apocryphal book of Enoch to fill us in on a little detail we may have never noticed before...
Jude 14 And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints,
15 To EXECUTE JUDGMENT upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him.
Did you see that? He is coming with ten thousands of his saints to execute judgment upon ALL!
That sounds pretty much like Rev.19:14 to me...
And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.
THE SAINTS HAVE ALREADY BEEN RAPTURED AND ARE IN HEAVEN AT THE TIME OF THE BATTLE OF ARMAGEDDON! THIS COMING IS FOR JUDGMENT!
This also means the SAINTS COULD NOT have been on earth during the Tribulation, for the tribulation culminates in Armageddon - the time of judgement.
If the saints are already in heaven at this time, then Jude's prophecy is pertinent in that the armies that return with Christ are RAPTURED SAINTS!
We have the Parable of the ten virgins also in Matt 24…but by now it should also be obvious that since we have concluded that Christ was speaking about his physical return to Earth, everything else he spoke about in the same chapter would likewise be about Israel…not the Church.
Nevertheless we shall look at this parable next...
Do look out for Part 2
Matt 24:4-13 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.
5 For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.
6 And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.
7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.
9 Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake.
10 And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.
11 And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.
12 And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.
13 But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.
All these prophecies had to do with the disciples’ question about the sign of his coming and the END OF THE WORLD.
Finally he gets to the very end itself where he says in verse 14:
And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; AND THEN SHALL THE END COME.
The gospel of the Kingdom is not the same as the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ…
The gospel of the Kingdom is one that preaches REPENTANCE BECAUSE THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS NEAR… in the first instance it spoke of the coming of Christ PHYSICALLY into this world as we see from John the Baptist:
Matt 3:1-3 In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea,
2 And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
3 For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.
The gospel of the Kingdom ushered in the earthly life of Christ…but it will also usher in the PHYSICAL return of Christ at the end of the world…in both instances, the gospel of the Kingdom is to PREPARE people for the PHYSICAL coming of the Lord.
John said “this is he whom the prophet Isaiah spoke of; (referring to Jesus) who had not yet begun his earthly ministry but had arrived on the scene. That was the gospel of the kingdom that John preached.
So when Christ told his disciples in Matt 24 that the gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness to all nations, he was speaking of the gospel that would prepare people for his Second Coming… AND THEN SHALL THE END COME.
On the other hand, the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ is the gospel of Grace that speaks of Salvation through the New Birth, a concept that was obviously unknown to John the Baptist…he was referring to another gospel, not the gospel of grace.
These are some of the reasons why Matthew 24 cannot be used to support the teaching of the Rapture, but let's move on to other reasons.
Jesus was talking to Jews who knew nothing about the coming birth of the Church, they hadn't heard of a Rapture at that time...they were referring to his physical return as Christ also was referring to his return for them at the end of the world.
The next ‘teaching’ we will consider will be the ‘One shall be taken the other left behind’.
Matt 24:27-28 For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; SO SHALL THE COMING OF THE SON OF MAN BE.
28 For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together.
Verse 28 has a sister scripture which is the actual scripture used to propagate the theory that this ‘One taken, other left behind’ teaching refers to the rapture.
Luke 17:34-37 I tell you, in that night there shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left.
35 Two women shall be grinding together; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
36 Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
37 And they answered and said unto him, Where, Lord? And he said unto them, Wheresoever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered together.
They are sister verses because in Luke 17:37, Jesus says the same thing he said in Matt 24:28 with a slight modification:
Matt 24: 28 For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together.
Luke 17:27 And they answered and said unto him, Where, Lord? And he said unto them, Wheresoever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered together.
In the former, he uses the word carcase and in the latter, the word body. The Greek word for ‘carcase’ is PTOMA, meaning “a body fallen in death, or a dead carcase”.
The Greek word for body is SOMA, meaning a corpse. The Greek word used for eagles in both Matthew and Luke are the same – AETOI – meaning “natural eagles and birds of the heavens.”
This does not sound like the Rapture…the disciples asked in Luke 17:27 “Where Lord?” meaning where are the ones TAKEN, taken to?
Christ’s response was wheresoever the body or carcase is, that's where they are taken to…this is talking about death, not about a resurrection! It is talking about NATURAL eagles, not raptured humans in the form of eagles!
If we were to follow this analogy to the end, it would certainly portray Christ as being the carcase and the saints as being the eagles who are CAUGHT UP to a CORPSE…no that does not make any sense.
Now take a look at Rev 19:11-21:
And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.
12 His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself.
13 And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.
14 And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.
15 And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.
16 And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.
NOW PAY CLOSE ATTENTION TO THE NEXT FEW VERSES!!!
17 And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the FOWLS THAT FLY IN THE MIDST OF HEAVEN, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God;
18 That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great.
(Remember the word AETOI meaning the NATURAL eagles and birds of the heavens? Well this is the application of that verse! Those TAKEN are those who are gathered against the Lord at the battle of Armageddon. Please read the scriptures further…)
19 And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army.
20 And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.
21 And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and ALL THE FOWLS WERE FILLED WITH THEIR FLESH.
Without a shadow of doubt, the ‘One shall be taken, the other left behind’ teaching; refers to the battle of Armageddon and NOT the Rapture. This will be realized once you REMEMBER that:
1. Christ was still answering their questions about the sign of his coming and the END OF THE WORLD.
2. In this particular Coming EVERY EYE SHALL SEE HIM since his coming shall be like the lightning that shines from the east to the west - Matt 24:27...and yet the rapture happens in the twinkling of an eye...one that has been touted as a secret coming.
NOW WATCH THIS!!!
Jude uses the Apocryphal book of Enoch to fill us in on a little detail we may have never noticed before...
Jude 14 And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints,
15 To EXECUTE JUDGMENT upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him.
Did you see that? He is coming with ten thousands of his saints to execute judgment upon ALL!
That sounds pretty much like Rev.19:14 to me...
And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.
THE SAINTS HAVE ALREADY BEEN RAPTURED AND ARE IN HEAVEN AT THE TIME OF THE BATTLE OF ARMAGEDDON! THIS COMING IS FOR JUDGMENT!
This also means the SAINTS COULD NOT have been on earth during the Tribulation, for the tribulation culminates in Armageddon - the time of judgement.
If the saints are already in heaven at this time, then Jude's prophecy is pertinent in that the armies that return with Christ are RAPTURED SAINTS!
We have the Parable of the ten virgins also in Matt 24…but by now it should also be obvious that since we have concluded that Christ was speaking about his physical return to Earth, everything else he spoke about in the same chapter would likewise be about Israel…not the Church.
Nevertheless we shall look at this parable next...
Do look out for Part 2
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