There is an appointed time for everything!
"There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven" - Ecclesiastes 3:1
In Scripture the history of humanity is divided into
three distinct time components: The time of the Gentile nations, Israel, and the
Church. Over time
the human race came to be divided into three distinct segments from God's
perspective. From Creation there was one
race of Humans, the family of man, later called Gentiles. Then in Genesis chapter
12, God called Abraham to build a great nation. From that time on, the world's
population was either Jew or Gentile. But at the cross God created the Church,
taken from among both Jews and Gentiles but sharing a destiny with neither. Now
there were three, and everyone on Earth belongs to of one of them.
The Apostle Paul in his Epistles always took extreme pains to distinguish the Church from both Jews and Gentiles. The prophet Isaiah also distinguished between the gentles and Jews. “Gentiles who converted to Judaism during Old Testament times became part of Israel and share its destiny. And foreigners who bind themselves to the LORD to serve him, to love the name of the LORD, and to worship him, all who keep the Sabbath without desecrating it and who hold fast to my covenant these I will bring to my holy mountain and give them joy in my house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house will be called a house of prayer for all nations." (Isaiah 56:6-7)
This distinction is also made when the gentiles
who meet their Lord after the church disappears become tribulation saints. These
saints are either martyred for their faith, in which case they serve God in His
Temple Revelations 7:13-17, “Then one of
the elders asked me, "These in white robes — who are they, and where did
they come from?" I answered,
"Sir, you know." And he said, "These are they who have come out
of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in
the blood of the Lamb. Therefore, they are before the throne of God and serve
him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will spread his
tent over them. Never again will they hunger; never again will they thirst. The
sun will not beat upon them, nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb at the center
of the throne will be their shepherd; he will lead them to springs of living
water. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes."
The saints prior to the tribulation are distinctly
called the “Bride of Christ”. The Apostle Paul refers to this when writing to
the saints in Ephesus. “And you husbands
must love your wives with the same love Christ showed the church. He gave up
his life for her to make her holy and clean, washed by baptism and God's
word. He did this to present her to himself as a
glorious church without a spot or wrinkle or any other blemish. Instead, she
will be holy and without fault. In
the same way, husbands ought to love their wives as they love their own bodies.
For a man is actually loving himself when he loves his wife. No one hates his own body but lovingly cares
for it, just as Christ cares for his body, which is the church.” (Eph
5:25-29) While in Corinth Paul makes distinction regarding
the saints. “ I am jealous for you with
the jealousy of God himself. For I promised you as a pure bride to one
husband, Christ.” ( 2 Cor 11:2-3)
Furthermore, the saints prior to the tribulation are given a promise to be a Kings and Priests “And hast made us unto our God kings and priests and we shall reign on the earth”. (Rev 5:10)
“ And you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house, to be a Holy Priesthood.” (1 Peter 2:5)
Romans 5:17 says we will reign in life through Jesus, the Greek word for "REIGN" is derived from the word for "KING" and means to be a king.
Both Jews and converted Gentiles who died in
faith of a coming redeemer before Jesus went to the cross were taken into
Heaven with Him after His resurrection (Matt. 27:52-53). They'll receive resurrection
bodies at the Second Coming. (Daniel 12:1-3) Jews who receive Him as their
Messiah after the church disappears are hidden in the Jordanian desert (Petra) during the Great
Tribulation. (Rev. 12:14) Both groups will dwell in Israel during the Millennium. (Ezekiel
43:6-7)
Of course Jews and Gentiles who give their hearts
to Jesus during the Church Age become part of the Church and after the rapture
/ resurrection will populate the New Jerusalem (Rev. 21).
Those who don't do any of the above during their
lifetimes will be tormented in the fires of Hell until they're brought back to
life to stand trial at the Great White Throne judgment of Revelation 20:11-15.
It takes place at the end of the Millennium. They'll be judged by their works
and sentenced to eternal suffering in the Lake of Fire.
(Rev. 20:14) illustrating to us, that if humans could attain Eternal Life on
our own merits, then Jesus didn't have to die for us.
In the Old Testament, God promised Israel that He
would return one day to dwell among them in their land on Earth (Ezekiel 43:6-7).
In the New, Jesus promised the Church that He would come back and take us to be
with Him in His Father's House (John 14:1-3). Both promises come true. Israel
is not the Church nor is the Church Israel, and both groups are distinct from
the Gentile nations. Much of the confusion surrounding End Times prophecy
results either from the failure to understand, or the refusal to accept, this
truth.
For instance, many Christians today believe that
the Church has replaced Israel
in God's plan and has inherited all of Israel's blessings. Israel no longer serves any purpose in the
world, they think, so when God talks about Israel in the New Testament He
really means the Church. Therefore they misunderstand the Doctrine of Election,
the Olivet Discourse, the Great Tribulation, and other New Testament teachings
having to do with Israel.
Also, many Gentiles sit in pews on Sundays and
think they're in the church even though they're not born again and have a
relationship with Christ. They think they're saved because they try to live a
good life, or give money, or belong to a particular denomination. They're
wrongly convinced that the Church's blessings are theirs.
Jesus said that the Great Tribulation would be
the most intense period of judgment the world has ever seen, greater than the
World Wars, and even greater than the Flood of Noah. He said that if it were
left to run its course, not a single human being would survive. But for the
sake of His people He would stop it at its appointed time. (Matt. 24:22)
This period of time is given a very distinct
identity it’s called the time of Jacob’s trouble, “but he will be saved out of it. I am with you and will save you,'
declares the LORD. 'Though I completely destroy all the nations among which I
scatter you, I will not completely destroy you. I will discipline you but only
with justice; I will not let you go entirely unpunished.” (Jeremiah 30:7,11)
The purpose of the Great Tribulation is two-fold.
It's explained in the Jeremiah passage above, where it's called by its Old
Testament name, the Time of Jacob's Trouble. God will use it to completely
destroy the unbelieving nations who've all persecuted His people down through
the ages and to discipline Israel,
purifying them to dwell with Him in the Promised Land. The Church, having been
purified at the cross, requires neither destruction nor discipline and has no
business being in the Great Tribulation.
No matter where you place the Rapture in the End
Times Scenario, if you believe in the Lord's all-sufficient work on the cross,
then you know that the Church has to be protected from the End Times judgments,
not purified by them. If you don't believe that the Lord's work was
sufficient, but that the coming judgments are needed to finish what He only
began, then you have much bigger problems than figuring out when the Rapture
will occur.
The length of the Great Tribulation is variously
given as 3 1/2 years (Daniel 12:7), 42 months (Rev. 11:2), or 1260 days (Rev.
12:6). If you use a 12 month 30 day calendar for a total of 360 days in a year,
these three measurements all turn out the same. This is one of the clues
leading us to believe that Earth's original calendar consisted of 12 months of
30 days each, and in fact it appears that prior to about 700 BC all the Earth
used such a calendar. (The calendar we use today is only about four hundred
years old.)
In addition, Daniel 9:27 records that an abomination
that causes desolation will occur in the middle of the last seven years, or 3 1/2
years from the end. In Matthews 24:21 Jesus identifies this event as the
beginning of the Great Tribulation. Paul confirms this and adds detail by
describing the anti-Christ standing in the Temple proclaiming himself to be God. (2
Thes. 2:4) This is also further evidence of a Temple
in Israel
at the end of the age.
The abomination that causes desolation is a particular defilement of the Temple that's happened only once before. In 168 BC. Syrian King Antiochus Epiphanes captured the Temple and converted it into a pagan worship center. He erected a statue of Zeus with his own face on it in the Holy Place,
So Daniel spoke of an abomination that causes desolation
that would mark the middle of the last 7 years. An event called the Abomination
That Causes Desolation in 1st Maccabbees took place in 168 BC, over 300 years
later. But 200 years after that, Jesus told His Disciples that the people of Israel
should watch for a future Abomination That Causes Desolation that would kick
off the Great Tribulation. Paul also described a future event similar to the
one in 168 BC saying the "Day of the Lord" could not precede it.
The abomination that causes desolation that took
place in 168 BC was a partial fulfillment of Daniel's prophecy. We know this
because other events surrounding it didn't unfold according to the prophecy. It
took place so people in the end times would be able to recognize the complete
fulfillment when they saw it. They'll know to look for a man standing in the Temple calling himself God
and demanding that his image be worshipped. Jesus told those living in Judea (Israel)
that when they see it to flee into hiding immediately, for the Great Tribulation
will have begun.
The Apostle Paul while in Thessalonica states: “They
tell how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to
wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead–Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath.”
(1 Thes. 1:9-10)
The Greek word translated from in the above
passage is "apo." Literally it means to keep the subject (us) away
from the time, place, or any relation to the event being referenced, in this
case the coming wrath. This verse is one of several that explain the purpose of
the Rapture of the Church, and that's to be hidden safely out of the way before
God visits His wrath upon the Earth. OK, but when does God's wrath come?
Then the kings of the earth, the princes, the
generals, the rich, the mighty, and every slave and every free man hid in caves
and among the rocks of the mountains. They called to the mountains and the
rocks, "Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne
and from the wrath of the Lamb! For the great day of their wrath has come, and
who can stand?" (Rev 6:15-17)
After Revelation chapter 3 the church is not seen
on Earth again until we come back with the Lord in chapter 19:14, as predicted
in 18:14. In Revelation chapter 4 John sees a door standing open in heaven and
is told to "Come up here!" Instantly he finds himself in the spirit,
standing before the throne of God at the end of the age. He's been transported
to the time of the Rapture.
He sees 24 elders there, seated on thrones of
their own around the throne of God. They are all dressed in white with crowns
of gold on their heads. They bow down before the Lord and place their crowns at
his feet giving honor and glory to him. In chapter 5 they call themselves Kings
and Priests as they sing praises to God. By their titles, clothing, crowns,
thrones, and activities it's clear that they represent the newly raptured
church.
There are four Old Testament views of the Throne
of God. Those in Isaiah 6:1-4 and Ezekiel 1 and 10 don't include these 24
elders. The one in Daniel 7:9-10, an end of the age vision, hints at multiple
thrones but offers no detail. But in the Book of Revelation they're mentioned
12 times. Some group has arrived in Heaven that wasn't there in Old Testament
times, and 12 is the number of government. It's the Church, come to rule and
reign with Christ.
So the Church is raptured in chapter 4, and is
shown in heaven in chapter 5, while on Earth God's wrath is loosed in chapter 6
as the passage above clearly states.
Paul's first letter to the Thessalonians was
written in 51AD and contains the very first clear mention of a Rapture ever
given. Neither Jesus nor the Disciples ever taught it. Its existence was kept
secret until then just as its exact timing is secret to this day. Many of the
mistakes made about the timing of the rapture come from futile attempts to find
Gospel passages that teach it.
The Rapture is perhaps the single most important
component of End Times prophecy. So why didn't Jesus ever mention it? 1 Corinthians
2:6-10 gives us the answer. “We do,
however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this
age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. No, we speak of
God's secret wisdom, a wisdom that has been hidden and that God destined for
our glory before time began. None of the rulers of this age understood it, for
if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. However, as it is
written: "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what
God has prepared for those who love him"- but God has revealed it to us by
his Spirit.”
The phrase "rulers of this age" refers
to Satan and his company. Had they known the astonishing abundance of blessings
the Lord would shower down upon those who accept His death as payment for their
sins, they would have done everything in their power to prevent the
crucifixion. Think of it. We are called Kings and Priests, given incalculable
wealth and influence, made heirs with Christ of God's estate, something Satan
could never achieve and we could never deserve, and it's all ours just because
we believe. This realization came to Satan after it was too late to prevent it
and turned what should have been his greatest victory into an agonizing defeat.
And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of
them, triumphing over them by the cross. (Colossians 2:15)
But like everything in God's plan, you'll find
hints of the Rapture even in the Old Testament. Look at this passage from Isaiah
26:19-21. “But your dead will live; their
bodies will rise. You who dwell in the dust, wake up and shout for joy. Your
dew is like the dew of the morning; the earth will give birth to her dead. Go,
my people, enter your rooms and shut the doors behind you; hide yourselves for
a little while until his wrath has passed by. See, the LORD is coming out
of his dwelling to punish the people of the earth for their sins.”
Notice how the pronouns change from second person when God speaks of His people to third person when He speaks of the people of the Earth. It means the two groups are different. One is told to hide because the other is going to be punished. The Hebrew word translated "go" in the phrase "Go my people" is translated "come" in some translations, recalling the command to John in Revelation chapter 4, "Come up here!" But the word has another primary meaning and it's my favorite. It means vanish. "Vanish, my people!" Yes… we will!
Now read two of Paul's most popular Rapture
disclosures. According to the Lord's own word, we tell you that we who are
still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not
precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from
heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the
trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who
are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds
to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. (1 Thessalonians
4:15-17)
Now, brothers, about times and dates we do not
need to write to you, for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come
like a thief in the night. While people are saying, "Peace and
safety," destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant
woman, and they will not escape. But you, brothers, are not in darkness so that
this day should surprise you like a thief. You are all sons of the light and
sons of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness. (1 Thessalonians
5:1-5) For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation
through our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Thessalonians 5:9)
Here's another even more dramatic shift of
pronouns. Using the third person, Paul describes unbelievers caught by
surprise, thinking they had entered a period of peace as destruction suddenly
rains down upon them, cutting off all hope of escape. Then Paul switched to the
second person, telling believers we shouldn't be taken by surprise as the End
approaches, and finally to the first person as he includes us with him, not
appointed to wrath.
Now watch carefully as we lay Isaiah's writings
over Paul's. But your dead will live; their bodies will rise. You who dwell in
the dust, wake up and shout for joy. Your dew is like the dew of the morning;
the earth will give birth to her dead. (The dead in Christ will rise first.)
Go, my people, enter your rooms and shut the doors behind you; hide yourselves for a little while until his wrath has passed by. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.
The LORD is coming out of his dwelling to punish
the people of the earth for their sins. While people are saying, "Peace
and safety," destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a
pregnant woman, and they will not escape.
The Bible contains 66 books and involved 40
writers, there's one Author and His message is consistent from Genesis through
Revelation. This is how Paul could open his passage on the rapture by saying,
"According to the Lord's own word ...” There are those who can truthfully
say Lord never mentioned the rapture in the Gospels.
They know that rapture is a word of Latin origin,
not Hebrew or Greek, the languages of the Bible. (In 382, Pope Damascus commissioned Jerome (347-420) to translate the
Bible into Latin, and the term rapture comes from there.) Its Greek
equivalent is harpazo, which is found in the Greek text of 1 Thessalonians
4:15-17. When translated into English, both words mean "to be caught
up, or snatched away." There's a similar situation with the word
Lucifer, also of Latin origin. It doesn't appear in any of the original texts
either, but no one would be naive enough to deny the existence of Satan on such
a flimsy basis.
The next major biblical event in history will be the Rapture of the Church, or as Shirley MacLaine puts it: The light is going to go out in the next few years, 2012, and a new perception will come on.
Where are you in God's calendar? We can see where we are in history, but where are you?
Peace,