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The Rapture is a very spoken about the topic, and many people have different
views, and many theories are formulated with lots of scripture to proof everyone,
but I think God is not confused and there is only one truth regarding the rapture.
There is no such word as Rapture in Scripture and is actually the word gathering
where YHVH will gather His people unto Him at the end of time. Let's look at the
facts and find out what the Scripture has to say about this topic.
1 Th 4:17 "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."
Mat 24:31 And He shall send His angels with a great sound of a
trumpet, and they shall gather His elect from the four winds, from one
end of the heavens to the other.
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(17) Let him on the housetop not come down to take anything out of his
house; (18) nor let him in the field turn back to take his clothes. (19) And woe
to those who are with child, and to those who give suck in those days! (20)
But pray that your flight is not in the winter, nor on the sabbath day; (21) for
then shall be GREAT TRIBULATION, such as has not been since the beginning
of the world to this time; no, nor ever shall be. (22) And unless those days
should be shortened, no flesh would be saved. But for the elect's sake, those
days shall be shortened.
The question is whether the Believers will go through it and be raptured after the
Tribulation or before these terrible things happen. The aim of this study is to look at
just that and to prove the Pre-Trib-Rapture (most Believers believe), or Post-Trib-
Rapture which is not a popular choice.
Rev 12:14 And two wings of a great eagle were given to the woman, so 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 serpent's face.
Dan 7:25-26 And he shall speak words against the Most High, and shall wear out the
saints of the Most High, and plot to change times and laws. And they shall be given
into his hand until a time and times and one-half time. (26) But the judgment
shall sit, and they shall take away his rulership, to cut off and to destroy until the end.
Time (1 year), plus times (2 years), plus half a year = 3,5 years.
Dan 12:11 And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the
desolating abomination set up, a thousand two hundred and ninety days shall
occur.
1290 days divided by 365.25 = 3.53 years, confirming the previous statement resulting in a three
and a half year Great Tribulation period, starting from the Abomination of Desolation event and
the seizing of daily sacrifices.
There is a seven-year period mentioned in the story of Joseph where the first seven years will be
a time of prosperity and the last seven years will be a time of famine or Tribulation. The seven-
year of famine is the period where everything will start to deteriorate, and it will signal the
beginning of the bad times which are to come.
The Great Tribulation will begin within this seven-year period, starting off with the first four seals
which lead us into the Great Tribulation in the midst if this seven-year period that will last for 3,5
years. This will happen in the midst of the week as Daniel prophesied:
Dan 9:27 And he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week. And
in the midst of the week, he shall cause the sacrifice and the offering to
cease, and on a corner of the altar desolating abominations, even until
the end. And that which was decreed shall be poured on the desolator.
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4. Different Views on the Timing of the
Rapture.
Many people agree with the fact that there will be a rapture and that there will be a
Tribulation, but there are many different views on when the Rapture will be and if
YHVHs people will experience the Tribulation. Here are the different views:
1. Pre-Tribulation Rapture
The Church/ Bride will be raptured at anytime at the twinkling of the eye just
before the start of the seven year Tribulation. They will return with Christ when He
judges the earth before His 1000-year Reign of Peace. We will, later on, look at
verses that are quoted to support this view and whether this view can be confirmed
as the truth.
2. Mid-Tribulation Rapture
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3. Pre-Wrath Tribulation Rapture
4. Post-Tribulation Rapture
We will examine Scripture to confirm which one of these views is accurate and what
we need to know to prepare for Messiahs Second Coming.
Mat 24:11-12 And many false prophets shall rise and lead many
astray. 12 And because of the increase in LAWLESSNESS (Torah-
lessness), the love of many shall become cold.
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During the time of the end, before the Great Tribulation and the Coming of Messiah,
there will be a tendency for people to lean towards lawlessness and a lack of interest
to search the truth and a relationship with YHVH. Not only that, but there will also be
a lot of false teachings taught by false teachers/prophets that will make teach things
and make predictions that are not Scriptural or true. This will cause the people not to
take any warning seriously because there have been so many false predictions
before. The danger with this is that the peoples love will grow cold causing them
not to adhere to the times and the signs of the end. They always quote but people
said it would happen on .and it never did, nobody will know the day or the hour
Matt 25:13, 36.
1Th_5:1-6 But of the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need that I write to you.
(2) For you yourselves KNOW ACCURATELY that the DAY OF YHVH comes like
a thief in the night. (3) For when they shall say, Peace and safety! Then sudden
destruction comes on them, as travail upon a woman with child. And they shall not escape.
(4) But you, brothers, are not in darkness, that the Day should overtake you
like a thief. (5) You are all the sons of light and the sons of the day. We are not
of the night, or of darkness. (6) Therefore let us NOT SLEEP as the rest do, but
let us WATCH and be calm.
What about 1Th 5:1-6, is it contradicting Matt 25:13,36? No, Yshua spoke of the
DAY and the HOUR that no one would know, but He did mention that we will know
the SEASON mentioned in Matt 24:32, in the parable of the fig tree. The season is
the Hebrew word mo-ed that means Appointed Time and is also translated as
Festival. YHVH gave us His 7 Festivals to give us His Restoration Plan that involves
the End Time events and fulfilment of all 7 Festivals. Yes, we will not know the hour
or the day, but observing the Mo-edim or Festivals, you will know the season.
We will be able to discern the Times as pre-warned and outlined in Matt 24 so that
we can be ready and urge others to repent and prepare for His Coming. The
difference is that YHVH sealed up the knowledge of the end times for those living in
the end and will only be revealed as the time draw near.
1Th_5:1-6 But of the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need that I write to you.
(2) For you yourselves KNOW ACCURATELY that the DAY OF YHVH comes like
a thief in the night. (3) For when they shall say, Peace and safety! Then sudden
destruction comes on them, as travail upon a woman with child. And they shall not escape.
(4) But you, brothers, are not in darkness, that the Day should overtake you
like a thief. (5) You are all the sons of light and the sons of the day. We are not
of the night, or of darkness. (6) Therefore let us NOT SLEEP as the rest do, but
let us WATCH and be calm.
Rev_1:3 Blessed is the one who reads and hears the Words of this prophecy,
and the ones keeping the things written in it, for the time is near.
YHVH wants His people to know so that they can warn others and be true watchman,
bringing in many souls into the Kingdom.
Eze 33:7 And you, son of man, I have set you a watchman to the house of Israel.
Therefore you shall hear the Word from My mouth, and warn them from Me.
If you read Matthew 25 Yshua taught us to be ready and be prepared and be
watching which makes me believe that the love that will grow cold are those
referred to as the five foolish virgins (believers) who did not watch and did not
prepare for His Coming.
Matt24:11-12 is written in the context of the End Times and the Second Coming,
outlaying of the events that will take place. The false prophets/teachers will be the
spiritual leaders that will confuse the people so that they will not watch and will not
prepare as Yshua warned with the Ten Virgins in Matt 25.
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To avoid being misled and lied to you must take up the Word and study the end time
prophecies and know what to look out for because there is going to be deception
with serious consequences i.e. people following the wrong Messiah (Antimessiah). It
is always important to have more than one scripture confirming the statement when
you try to prove a statement, and you need to make sure that you read each
passage in context so that you will get the real meaning or interpretation. The
Scripture must be seen as a whole, and one part cannot contradict another part, and
the whole Scripture must form a unity, nothing may contradict anything else in
Scripture. Lastly, use a proper translation to study from, many newer translations
have peoples doctrines written into the verses or added in the commentaries
underneath. The best Scripture / Bible to use is the King James Version together with
the Strongs Hebrew & Greek concordance. You may consider using Bible Software,
and I can highly recommend the free version of e-Sword where you can download
and install the Bible versions you prefer. http://www.e-sword.net/
1Co 15:51-53 See, I speak a secret to you: We shall not all sleep, but
we shall all be changed, (52) in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye,
at the last trumpet. For the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall
be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. (53) For this
corruptible has to put on incorruption, and this mortal to put on
immortality.
We all agree that both scriptures describe the Rapture where the Believers in Yshua
will meet Him in the clouds (sky) receiving new bodies (immortality). Both verses
confirm the three things that will happen at His Coming; trumpet sound, dead raised
and Saints gathered.
We all agree on the Rapture/Gathering, but the question is; when exactly will this
event take place? Lets look a bit deeper and get a second witness to help us to see
where this even slot into the Tribulation timeline.
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4.2 The Timing of the Rapture
Most Pastors teach that the Rapture will be imminent, meaning that it can happen
at any moment before the Great Tribulation. Can the coming of Messiah be
imminent happening at any time? If you study the Messiahs First Coming you will
note that He came at a particular time to fulfil the first 4 Feasts (moe-ed or
Seasons) of YHVH described in Lev 23. If He did not fulfil them on these exact times,
the people would not have known that He was the real Messiah. In the same way, He
will come at a particular time in sync with the Feasts described in Lev 23. The last
three Festivals that are not yet fulfilled are; Trumpets, Day of Atonement and
Tabernacles. These last three Festivals or seasons depict the Second Coming of the
Messiah, and He will come to fulfil them exactly to confirm to His followers that He is
the Real Messiah. Take note that Yshua warned us that there would be false
Messiahs coming prior His coming; we know one of them to be the Antimessiah or
Antichrist. Many will be deceived!
Mat 24:4-5 And Yshua answered and said to them, Take heed that no man
deceive you. (5) For many will come in My name, saying, I am the Messiah,
and will deceive many.
With this we know that Yshua will not come at any time, He will definitely come on
one of His Appointed Times. Which one? We do not know but we keep on watching
year after year to see if the prophecies confirm a possible season when He might
come.
We will look for evidence to confirm the timing of the Rapture and will get key
information regarding the timing of the rapture about the events described in 1Th
4:15-17 & 1Cor 15:51-53; the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised.
These two events will take place when the last trumpet sound
and when the dead will be raised (righteous people that
died), also know as the First Resurrection. Let's link these
events to other places in Scripture to see if there is any
information about the timing of the Rapture.
We see in Rev 8 that the trumpets will be blown AFTER the seals will be opened. This
means that the Tribulation has already started. There are seven trumpets of which
the seventh trumpet is the last trumpet. This gives strong evidence that the
tribulation will be in progress or close to its end when the last trumpet sounds.
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In Rev 20 we read about the resurrection of the righteous dead that did not receive
the mark of the beast and did not worship the beast. The mark of the beast happens
during the Great Tribulation, during the 42-month reign of the Antichrist. This gives
confirming evidence that the last trumpet, as well as the First Resurrection, will
happen during or towards the end of the Great Tribulation. Another place where the
First Resurrection and seventh Trumpet is mentioned:
1Th 4:16 For the Master Himself shall descend from Heaven with a
shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of YHVH.
And the dead in Messiah shall rise first.
Rev 11:14-15,18-19 The second woe passed away. Behold, the third woe
comes quickly. (15) And the seventh angel sounded. And there were
great voices in Heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world have
become the kingdoms of our YHVH, and of His Messiah. And He will
reign forever and ever. (18) And the nations were full of wrath, and
Your wrath came, and the time of the judging of the dead, and to give
the reward to Your servants the prophets, and to the saints, and to the
ones fearing Your name, to the small and to the great, and to destroy
those destroying the earth. (19) And the temple of YHVH was opened
in Heaven, and there was seen in His temple the ark of His covenant,
and there occurred lightnings and voices, and thunders and an
earthquake, and a great hail.
The Seventh Trumpet is part of the Third Woe which is one of the last events of the
Great Tribulation. Verse 18 mentions the judging of the dead that links with the
resurrection of the dead mentioned in 1 Th 4:16.
The First Resurrection of the dead happens AFTER people were confronted by the
mark of the Beast which happens well within the Great Tribulation period. The
people that will be raised first are the people who had been killed during the
Tribulation because of their witness of Yshua and because of them refusing to take
the mark of the beast. We have seen that the Rapture will take place at the
time of the First Resurrection and we have just seen that the First
Resurrection happens near or at the end of the Great Tribulation. This
proves that the Rapture will not happen before the Tribulation as everybody
like to believe, but near or at the end of the Great Tribulation.
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Yshua described the birth pains and the time of Sorrows before His Coming. These
events will be followed by persecution of Believers before the Great Tribulation. This
has not happened yet.
The next events described in Matthew 24:14-20 are the signs that will signal the
beginning of the Great Tribulation; the starting of Sacrifices and the putting up of
the Abomination of Desolation:
Mat 24:14-22
14 "And this good news of the Kingdom (Gospel) shall be proclaimed in the
whole world for a testimony to all the nations, and then the END SHALL
COME. 15 "Therefore when you see the ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION which
was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the Holy Place--let the
reader understand-- 16 "then let those who are in Judah escape to the
mountains; 17 "let him who is on the housetop not go down to take things
that are in his house; 18 "and let him who is in the field not turn back to get
his garment. 19 "But woe to those who are with child and to those who nurse
in those days! 20 "But pray that your flight may not be in the winter, neither
on a Shabbat; 21 "for then there will be GREAT TRIBULATION, such as has
not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever shall be. 22
"And unless those days had been shortened, no flesh would have been saved;
but for the sake of the elect, those days shall be shortened.
Dan 12:10-13
10 Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried. But the wicked shall do
wickedly. And none of the wicked shall understand, but the wise shall understand. 11 And
from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the
DESOLATING ABOMINATION set up, a thousand two hundred and ninety
days shall occur (3,5 years). 12 Blessed is he who waits and comes to the
thousand three hundred and thirty-five days. 13 But you go on to the end, for you
shall rest and stand in your lot at the end of the days.
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Rev 3:14-22 And to the angel of the church of the Laodicea write: The Amen,
the faithful and true Witness, the Head of the creation of YHVH, says these
things: (15) I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I would
say that you were cold or hot. (16) So because you are lukewarm and neither
cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth. (17) Because you say, I am
rich and increased with goods and have need of nothing, and do not know
that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked, (18) I
counsel you to buy from Me gold purified by fire, so that you may be rich;
and white clothing, so that you may be clothed, and so that the shame of your
nakedness does not appear. And anoint your eyes with eye salve, so that you
may see. (19) As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten; therefore be zealous
and repent. (20) Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My
voice and opens the door, I will come into him and will dine with him and he
with Me. (21) To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me in My throne,
even as I also overcame and had sat down with My Father on His throne. (22)
He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
Looking at the End Time Church, it seems like they have a bit of cleansing work to
do before they are ready to be raptured, dont you think? They are lukewarm,
mixing hot (YHVHs things / Truth) with cold (paganism / Lies) that will make YHVH
want to vomit them out of His mouth. This is not the Bride Yshua will come to
gather. The Church needs to be cleansed first so that it can be ready as the Bride
for the coming of Messiah and guess what, the Tribulation is just what YHVH will use
to shake them up a bit so that they can repent and be ready.
What does the End Time Church (Laodicea) teach their people today? It is a
message of self-esteem, prosperity and having your best life now! This is the wrong
message to teach before the coming of Messiah. How will the bride ever be ready
hearing teachings like this? What did John the Baptist teach before the revelation of
Yshua at His First Coming? Repent for the Kingdom of YHVH is at hand, this is
what Pastors ought to preach, not be rich and prosper. YHVH is not impressed with
the Last days Church, and there will be a lot of shaking needed for them to wake
up and repent!
It is mostly these like warm churches who teaches the Pre-Trib-Rapture who do
not have to preach repentance because you are rapture ready. However, if you
look at their fruits, you see a lot of defilement by pagan traditions, a lust for money
and worldliness. They would rather hear a message on good news than to hear
about sin and repentance. They appoint for themselves teachers that preach just
that:
2Ti 4:3-4 For a time will be when they do not endure sound doctrine,
but they will heap up teachers to themselves according to their own
lusts, tickling the ear. (4) And they will turn away their ears from
the truth and will be turned to myths.
What are the myths people cling to instead of the truth? The word myth in Greek is
the word muthos that means fable, tale or fiction. Does the Easter bunny and
Christmas Father ring a bell? Saying this, the Church in general does not
understand anything about YHVHs Festivals that are there to guide His people to
discern the times and recognise the Messiah. The festivals (moe-ed) are central to
understand the End Times and to recognise the Real Messiah and the Bride needs
to know this in order not to be deceived.
Rev 17:3-10 And he carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness; and I saw
a woman sitting upon a scarlet beast, which was full of blasphemous names,
having seven heads and ten horns. (4) And the woman was clothed in purple
and scarlet, and gilded with gold and precious stones and pearls, having in
her hand a golden cup full of abominations and of the unclean things of her
fornication, (5) and upon her forehead was written a name of mystery:
"BABEL THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE
ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH."
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(6) And I saw the woman drunk with the blood of the saints, and with the
blood of the martyrs of Yshua(Jesus). And when I saw her, I wondered
greatly.
The Woman described here is the Church who did not repent and who will carry on with Her
false teachings of worldliness, prosperity, lust for money and worldliness. She is the Mother of
Harlots. The Harlots are the Church Denominations all over the world that submit under this false
doctrine, and false teachings warned against in Scripture.
Did you read anything in Dan 12 that supports the Pre-Trib-Rapture theory? No! It was also not
found in Matt 24 where Yshua explained the events before the Great Tribulation. Where do we
find detail about the Rapture or Gathering of Yshuas Bride?
Mat 24:29-31
And Immediately AFTER THE TRIBULATION of those days, the sun shall be
darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from
the heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken. (30) AND THEN
the SIGN OF THE SON OF MAN shall appear in the heavens. And then all the
tribes of the earth shall mourn, and they shall see the Son of Man coming in the
clouds of the heaven with power and great glory. (31) And He shall send His
angels with a great SOUND OF A TRUMPET, and they shall GATHER
(Rapture) His elect (Believers in Yshua) from the four winds, from one end of the
heavens to the other.
There is no mention of the rapture where the Son of Man will come on the clouds or where the
trumpet sounds or where the dead are raised (as stated in 1Tes 4 and 1 Cor 15). This will only
happen 1290 days later, after the tribulation, 3,5 years later. I know, this is not good news that
tickles the ear and it is not a message that is accepted by all the people. Search the Scripture and
see for yourself if it is the truth. Let's read on in Matthew
The Rapture will only happen when there is darkness; stars fall to the earth and earthquakes
which are stated at the event of the Seventh Trumpet [Rev 16:18]. There will also be the sound of
the last Trumpet and then the sign or sight of the Son of Man in the heavens that will be like
lighting across the sky. THIS IS WHEN the Rapture will take place, pretty spectacular. But to top
this, these events will happen AFTER THE TRIBULATION, as stated in Matt 24.
This confirms the timing of the rapture again and that it will happen after the tribulation! This is
not good news for most Christians; they rather want to believe the fiction novel Left Behind
because it is the easy way out and you do not have to prepare for His Coming. They want to
believe that Jesus is Love, but they cant accept the fact that He is also the Judge.
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regarding the gates into the City. You can only enter in through one of the Twelve Gates and be
grafted into Israel means that you will belong to one of the Twelve Tribes. The Israelites are
descendants of Abraham (father of faith), and he was the first Hebrew whos descendants
became the Israelites. We as believers are the Bride of the Messiah, and He will come to
collect us, those who are waiting on Him and who have kept their garments clean and white with
His Word.
1000-YEAR TRIBULATION
1. The Seventh Millennium is the climax of the times, and everything is symmetric
on either side. This forms the centre of a Menorah pattern. During this time there
will be the 1000-years of peace and the celebration of the Wedding Fest. The
Bride will rule over the nations that are left on the earth, who will undergo a
terrible 1000 years of testing and tribulation, called the Winepress. During this
time Satan will be bound, and at the end of the 1000 years, he will be released to
deceive those on the earth. They will assemble against Jerusalem and make war
with the people in the City.
2. On the left of it we see the First Resurrection, with the righteous living, called the
Rapture. On the Right, the Second Resurrection of the Unrighteous dead for
judgment.
3. There is a war on the left (with the sword of His mouth) and a war on the right
(with His Holy Fire).
4. There is a City on the left (Babylon), which is the World System that will be
destroyed, and a City on the Right, the New Jerusalem that will be established.
5. On the Left, we have the Great Tribulation, and on the Right, we have the
starting of the New Life and New Beginnings (8th Millennium) with YHVH after
cleansing it with Fire.
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