THE RAPTURE DOCTRINE, IS IT THE ESCAPE TO COME, OR THE GREATEST CHRISTIAN TRAGEDY YET TO COME?
Does the Bible teach a rapture, a belief that Christians will suddenly disappear, be taken from the earth, changed to spirit, and taken to heaven to be with Christ before the earth's Great Tribulation and devastation? Has "professed Christianity" falsely set up and misled its followers by the teaching of Satan and his ministry about a "rapture?" They believe the rapture to be a teaching in God's Word, where Christians are lifted up from the earth to heaven, to escape the great trial coming upon all the earth, but in reality, this is a false teaching that will cause its followers to end up in the tragedy of The Great Tribulation. Do Scriptures support this teaching of a heavenly escape, taught to be the "rapture?"
This society is living in its last days, and the very last of these days will constitute an earth cleansing period of 3 1/2 years called, "The Day of the Lord and Great Tribulation." This time period will be so terrible, no time before it can be compared to it! Study Mat. 24:21, Mark 13:19, Amos 5:18, Zeph. 1:14-18, Dan. 12:1, Joel 2:1-2, 11, II Peter 3:10-12. Will Christ's true followers be called up into heaven to be protected from this terrible day of the earth's cleansing? Let's look at the truth in Scripture, not man's false preaching, to get understanding about this "rapture," false doctrine.
The obvious error in "professed Christianity's" teaching about a "rapture," with its non supporting Scriptures, is the combining of Scriptures of two different Bible taught events, to create a totally different false event -the rapture so named,that is not named or supported by Scripture. One event that God's Word plainly says is to take place is the physical flight of Christ's true church, who are the ones that are led by His Holy Spirit, to her place of safety into the wilderness a few days before the tribulation begins, Dan. 12:1, 12, Zeph. 2:1-3, Isa. 26:20-21, Mat. 24:20-21, 40-42, Rev. 3:10, Rev. 12:14. This is a physical flight and escape, to a physical place on this earth. A second future event will take place at the end of the Great Tribulation, the heavenly signs, and at the blowing of the seventh trumpet. This event is the bodily resurrection from the grave of all past, dead saints to spirit, and the changing to spirit, of all present living saints. All are to forever live and reign with Jesus Christ, the coming King and Lord over all the earth. When does this event occur at the blowing of the 7th trumpet. Study I Thes. 4:13-18, Mat. 24:29-31, I Cor. 15:51-52.
False preachers use Scriptures dealing with the first great event, whereas, Christ leads His true church to a protected place on this earth, and combines those Scriptures with the second great event of Christ coming at the end of the Day of the Lord, to resurrect and change to spirit all of His saints. False teachers use these two events to produce an entirely different, non scriptural event they call the "rapture." The combining of Scriptures of these two events and twisting their meaning by them, has given birth to their "rapture" lie!
If you study the Scriptures, you will see the second event takes place at the last trumpet, I Cor. 15:52, I Thes. 4:16. If you will study Rev. 8 and Rev. 11, you will understand the last trumpet is the seventh trumpet, and takes place and sounded after six more trumpets have been sounded. The sounding of the last trumpet takes place at the conclusion of the Great Tribulation, signs in the heaven, and the end of the 3 1/2 year ministry of the two witnesses, and sounds the beginning reign of Jesus Christ with all His saints over all the earth, Rev. 11:3-18.
I Cor.15:52 states, --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. The last trumpet is blown after six other trumpets have been blown or sounded study Rev. Chapters 8 through 11. I Thes. 4:16-17 states, --For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the arch-angel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: verse 17- Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. The trump in this verse is the 7th trumpet as it is in I Cor.15:52. Rev 11:15--And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and He shall reign for ever and ever. This is the 7th and last trumpet, and it is sounded after the 42 month-1260 day ministry of the two prophets, not before the tribulation begins, as is widely taught.
Before this second event takes place, the first event must take place, and that is Christ leading His accounted worthy saints, to a place of safety from the world's Great Tribulation, devastation and desolation! Christ plainly says in Mat. 24:20, that His true, obedient followers are to "Pray that their flight be not in the winter or on God's 7th day Sabbath." This is a physical flight where physical elements could have a toll, or burden on the spirit and body, not a calling up into the air and clouds and being changed to spirit, as in I Thes. 4:17. Take note, no first day Sunday observers will be in that flight, only 7th day Sabbath keepers, and annual Sabbath observers, and only those diligent Sabbath day keepers, who are diligently obeying and keeping all of God's Ten Commandments, not only the Sabbath commandment. These are saints who are standing rock-solid firm on Christ's Word, and who are being led by the Spirit of God, because they have been born again from above, and not those members being led by the flesh of men and his idols and who are waiting to be born again at the resurrection. It is the members of Christ, who has Christ living in them, who will be the ones accounted worthy to flee to a place of safety!
Christ said more about this physical flight, "Two will be working or sleeping, one will be led away to safety, the other left to experience the trial of their life, to learn true conversion through the trial of suffering and death in the tribulation," Mat. 24:40-42, Luke 17:34-36. The one left will be an unbeliever, or a "professed believer," who is partial in keeping God's law, without a total repentance and complete obedience to God's Ten Commandments and who keeps those 10 commandments as he thinks they should be kept and not as God commands. This is one who is confesses that he has been born again by a church experience, but not to the point that he has stop sinning, been converted to not break any of God's commandments now in his life. He is waiting to be born again of the spirit at the resurrection, not understanding he must be born of the spirit now. Read our article on Being Born Again. This is the reason he is not truly converted, but still being led by the flesh, maybe baptized, and begotten of God, but not being led by God's Spirit. He has accepted the false belief that the heart and mind change to spirit happens at the resurrection, not here and now. Satan and his army will persecute the accounted worthy fleeing church, but in vain, because God will protect them from him, Rev. 12:14-16.
Rev.12:14-16---And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent. Verse 15 And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood. Verse 16 And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth.
Satan will then go after the remnant of those who professed to be commandment keepers and to be Christ's followers, Rev. 12:17. But these luke warm Christians are like the rich, young ruler, (Mat. 19:20) who believed he was keeping God's commandments, but worshipped and put something else first in his life, his great, fleshly, possessions and all his lusts, or pursuits of these fleshly possessions. Do you put something else first such as, money, home, materialism, a flesh following church following a false idol in their teaching, a shepherd idol, a paycheck, or an organization, or man's commandments, or one's own family, or even one's own self? Study Mat. 10:35-39. Idolatry is one of the most deceiving of all sins, and keeps one deceived about one's spiritual condition. The pursuit of the flesh is a deadly enemy to true conversion and works against the leading of the spirit of God in one's life.
Today's "professing Christian" churches, along with all other religions, will have to experience the sword, slavery, hunger, detention or concentration camps and death through the tragedy of the Great Tribulation, and will not escape these curses and the judgments through a "preached about heavenly escape" of the rapture lie! Read and study Ezekiel, chapters 4-5, and Revelation, chapters 6-7. It will take a Great Tribulation and death to get "professed Christian's" attention, to see their need to be cleansed from their sins, and to recognize the true Christ as He will be revealed, and what it means to be led by His Holy Spirit, rather than the following of a man, and the flesh. The "rapture teaching" lulls people to sleep, causing them to believe they will escape the trouble ahead in their sinning condition, but this lie will cause the tragic end to come on them like a snare!
This "rapture lie" event is constructed from twisting Scriptures based on two entirely different events and gives "professed Christians" a false hope, all because they will not study Scripture and prove if the rapture is true, or a lie.
This false teaching, along with a false gospel teaching, has caused people to build on a foundation of sand! The fiery trials of the Great Tribulation will bring tragedy, the revealing of their false hope, and reveal what foundation and materials people have used in their life, I Cor. 3:11-13, Mat. 7:26. The foundation of the true Christ is the only foundation for salvation, and they must build on that foundation with the materials of gold, silver and precious stones, all the spiritual treasures of truth and God's Spirit, that come by faith and obedience to Christ and all of His Ten Commandments, in their full meaning and their spiritual intent. Professed Christianity has been building their life on a false christ, a false foundation, lacking true repentance, and looking to this end time with a false hope for a rapture to escape the reality of their unconverted life. There will be a weeping, and wailing, and a gnashing of teeth of these false Christians at this time of the revealing of Christ when He leads out His true saints to her place of protection, Rev. 12:14.
This article has been a warning to those to have eyes to see and ears to hear! Time is extremely short for anyone to repent, to avoid perishing in the Great Tribulation the Greatest Tragedy yet to come for today's Christianity.
If one continues to stay in religious Babylon, and is not overcoming the pulls of flesh and its sins, trusting in some church as a saving idol, and is relying on a "false rapture," to escape the judgment that is coming on the whole world, will experience the hypocrite's portion of Mat. 24:51. They will fulfill "the weeping and gnashing of teeth," prophecy Christ gave in this verse, and will end up not in a "rapture escape," or in their own set and personal way of escape, their own sword, but the tragedy of God's appointed, Great Tribulation, which is coming on the whole world, Rev. 3:10!