Posted on 03/12/2010 6:50:06 PM PST by The Ignorant Fisherman
The Day of Christ's/Messiah's coming for His body the Church just before the great and dreadful Day of the Lord are at hand! All signs point to that today. We have never seen in the 6000 year history of man at present the great global flux and conscious understanding that doom awaits at the very door step.
Just after the Rapture of the church transpires (which the scoffers and haters of the Grace of God totally reject), there will be a massive void of light and truth here on earth, i.e., there will not be one true Believer left on earth at this time. There will be billions of unregenerate (unbelieving) human beings in great darkness with a godless form of Christianity. This final form of apostate Christianity is referred to as the Mustard Tree and Leavened Loaf (Matthew 13:31-33). At the very moment in which the Body of Christ is caught up to meet Christ in the air (see 1 Thess. 4:13-18; 1 Cor. 15:51-53; 1 John 3:2-3), God will send down his Two Witnesses from Heaven, His Two Mighty Candlesticks. These Two Candlesticks will burn brilliantly in this post Church/ post Age of Grace darkened world, sharing the Glorious Gospel of Jesus Messiah (Rev. 11:3-12).
(Excerpt) Read more at theignorantfishermen.com ...
ST?
I'm not sure that Matt 25 is describing (solely) the treatment of the Jews.
There are plenty of other references in the NT for the Rapture, but 2 Thess. 2:3 is not describing the rapture, it is describing what must happen BEFORE the rapture...two things that must happen FIRST.
Well, that's not the way I read it here. There is a problem in that these Thessalonians thought that they were in the Tribulation period because of some false letter to them, that letter being pretense, as if it was from Paul. Paul says, basically, not to be fooled or shaken from some fake letter, as if it were from him, that this time had come. Paul reminds them of what he said while he was with them.
He says that the apostasia comes first, and as I was pointing out in the other article, that can be rendered as the "taking away". And it was translated that way in other versions of the Bible before the King James version ever came out.
So, the two things that happen are (1) the taking away, and (2) the revealing of the Antichrist. When you see those happen, then you know you're in the Tribulation period of time, that last 7 years.
2 Thessalonians Chapter 2 1 Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you, 2 not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come. 3 Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, 4 who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. 5 Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? 6 And now you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his own time. 7 For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way. 8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming. 9 The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, 10 and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 11 And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, 12 that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
I'm not sure that Matt 25 is describing (solely) the treatment of the Jews.
Jesus is a Jew, His "brethren" are Jews, the Church is the Bride of Christ, not the brethren of Christ... :-)
Matthew Chapter 25 31 "When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. 32 All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. 33 And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. 34 Then the King will say to those on His right hand, 'Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 35 for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; 36 I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.' 37 Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? 38 When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? 39 Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?' 40 And the King will answer and say to them, 'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.' 41 Then He will also say to those on the left hand, 'Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: 42 for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; 43 I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.' 44 Then they also will answer Him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?' 45 Then He will answer them, saying, 'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.' 46 And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."
I dont know, ST...it seems to me that this judgment comes at the end of the Millennium?
That description is the description of Jesus, the Messiah of Israel's second coming. That sounds like the beginning of the Millennium to me.
Matthew Chapter 25 31 "When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. 32 All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. 33 And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left.
Listen to the beginning of the Millennium and the end of the Millennium from this passage...
Revelation Chapter 19 11 Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. 12 His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself. 13 He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. 14 And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses. 15 Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. 16 And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS. 17 Then I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the birds that fly in the midst of heaven, "Come and gather together for the supper of the great God, 18 that you may eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them, and the flesh of all people, free and slave, both small and great." 19 And I saw the beast, the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army. 20 Then the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who worked signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image. These two were cast alive into the lake of fire burning with brimstone. 21 And the rest were killed with the sword which proceeded from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse. And all the birds were filled with their flesh. Revelation Chapter 20 1 Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. 2 He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; 3 and he cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal on him, so that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were finished. But after these things he must be released for a little while. 4 And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. 5 But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. 6 Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years. 7 Now when the thousand years have expired, Satan will be released from his prison 8 and will go out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle, whose number is as the sand of the sea. 9 They went up on the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city. And fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them. 10 The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.
You can see what happens at the end of the Millennium is a completely different situation than what happens at the beginning.
So, the two things that happen are (1) the taking away, and (2) the revealing of the Antichrist. When you see those happen, then you know you're in the Tribulation period of time, that last 7 years.
My problem with the use of the word "taking", is that it implies that the "takEN" are not in control of being takEN. They are being TakEN (by someone else).
The Greek doesn't seem to say that, Star Traveler.
The "falling away" is the act of those who "fall away" (apostasy)...it is those who "fall away" who are initiating the very act, NOT that they are "taken" by someone else.
There is a difference between something/someone being "taken" and something/someone "falling away".
Now, you quoted 2 Thess 2:1-3 (and more) but let us concentrate on those 3 verses? (Emphasis mine)
1 Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him (I consider THIS phrase to be the rapture), we ask you, 2 not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come. 3 Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day (the day of Christ in the above verse) will not come unless the falling away (this is NOT the rapture, but a FALLING away...not a gathering!) comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition,
Why would Paul talk about the man of sin being revealed AFTER the Rapture as a REASON to not be shaken? If we are gone, why would Paul describe the second item to come? This seems quite pointless.
What is the point of verse 4 then, if we are gone?
4 who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.
Who is Paul addressing in verse 4? Again, WHO is he addressing?
Paul is clearly trying to tell the believers in 2 Thess 2 that two things must happen BEFORE the rapture.
He is not saying that we should note 2 things:
"First, there will be a rapture and the man of sin is revealed."
That is like saying, "How do you know you are raptured? Well, first you get raptured, then the Antichrist appears (is revealed)."
It makes no sense whatsoever.
Put another way:
"How do you know that the rapture hasn't taken place? Well, first you must be raptured and then the son of perdition is revealed."
Put still another way:
"Star Traveler? There is a rapture coming. Now, don't be worried that you've missed it, for two things must happen: First, the rapture must take place and the man of sin is revealed"
Paul is clearly saying in 1 Thess 2 that two things must PRECEDE the rapture: APOSTASY and the revealing of the Antichrist.
Paul is NOT saying: 2 things PRECEDE the Rapture: The rapture and the revealing of the Antichrist.
Luke 18:8
Jesus asks a rhetorical question and the implied answer is “no”:
Luke 18:8 I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?
The Greek doesn't seem to say that, Star Traveler.
Well, when I post these articles, I'm posting what other Greek scholars say, and of course, not from me. All I can do is simply give you what Greek scholars have said -- like this one for instance (you've already seen it, but it's not Ice or LaHaye), and it's several other scholars...
When I see the following, from other acknowledged scholars, quoted from their own works, then I know it's a good and viable explanation.
Kenneth Wuest, a Greek scholar from Moody Bible Institute ...
But then hee apostasia of which Paul is speaking, precedes the revelation of Antichrist in his true identity, and is to katechon that which holds back his revelation (2:6). The hee apostasia, therefore, cannot be either a general apostasy in Christendom which does precede the coming of Antichrist, nor can it be the particular apostasy which is the result of his activities in making himself the alone object of worship. Furthermore, that which holds back his revelation (vs. 3) is vitally connected with hookatechoon (vs. 7), He who holds back the same event. The latter is, in my opinion, the Holy Spirit and His activities in the Church. All of which means that I am driven to the inescapable conclusion that the hee apostasia (vs. 3) refers to the Rapture of the Church which precedes the Day of the Lord, and holds back the revelation of the Man of Sin who ushers in the world-aspect of that period.12
Allan MacRae, president of Faith Theological Seminary in a letter to Schuyler English has said the following concerning this matter:
I wonder if you have noticed the striking parallel between this verse and verses 7-8, a little further down. According to your suggestion verse 3 mentions the departure of the church as coming first, and then tells of the revealing of the man of sin. In verses 7 and 8 we find the identical sequence. Verse 7 tells of the removal of the Church; verse 8 says: "And then shall that Wicked be revealed." Thus close examination of the passage shows an inner unity and coherence, if we take the word apostasia in its general sense of "departure," while a superficial examination would easily lead to an erroneous interpretation as "falling away" because of the proximity of the mention of the man of sin.11
Davey notes the following:
Since the Greek language does not need an article to make the noun definite, it becomes clear that with the usage of the article reference is being made to something in particular. In II Thessalonians 2:3 the word apostasia is prefaced by the definite article which means that Paul is pointing to a particular type of departure clearly known to the Thessalonian church.7
E. Schuyler English explains as follows:
Again, how would the Thessalonians, or Christians in any century since, be qualified to recognize the apostasy when it should come, assuming, simply for the sake of this inquiry, that the Church might be on earth when it does come? There has been apostasy from God, rebellion against Him, since time began.9
Dr. House tells us:
Remember, the Thessalonians had been led astray by the false teaching (2:2-3) that the Day of the Lord had already come. This was confusing because Paul offered great hope, in the first letter, of a departure to be with Christ and a rescue from god's wrath. Now a letter purporting to be from Paul seems to say that they would first have to go through the Day of the Lord. Paul then clarified his prior teachingby emphasizing that they had no need to worry. They could again be comforted because the departure he had discussed in his first letter, and in his teaching while with them, was still the truth. The departure of Christians to be with Christ, and the subsequent revelation of the lawless one, Paul argues, is proof that the Day of the Lord had not begun as they had thought. This understanding of apostasia makes much more sense than the view that they are to be comforted (v. 2) because a defection from the faith must precede the Day of the Lord. The entire second chapter (as well as 1 Thessalonians 4:18; 5:11) serves to comfort (see vv. 2, 3, 17), supplied by a reassurance of Christ's coming as taught in his first letter.10
So, when I take that passage and have the understanding that these Greek scholars have just said (up above), then it makes perfect sense to me. They do a pretty good job of convincing me... doncha know... :-)
Why would Paul talk about the man of sin being revealed AFTER the Rapture as a REASON to not be shaken? If we are gone, why would Paul describe the second item to come? This seems quite pointless.
I use that all the time here on Free Republic, for the very same reason that Paul wrote it there... :-)
Someone says to me, "We're in the Tribulation period right now!"
I say to them, "Do you see the Antichrist?"
LOL ...
Or another way I put it, is..., "If you see the Antichrist, you're in the Tribulation period." And then, I'll go on to describe the Antichrist so they'll know what to look for, if they are looking for the Antichrist right now [but, of course, they won't find the Antichrist... :-) ...]
Luke 18:8 I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?
You said that in answer to Post #104, where I was saying that the Sheep and Goat judgment appears to me, to be at the beginning of the Millennium.
Now, was your statement supposed to indicate that the Sheep and Goat Judgment comes at the end of the Millennium? If so, I don't quite see it...
Free WILL has nothing to do with “works”....Its how HE loves us....Its How He lets us/ insists that we choose.
The great “falling away” has already started, you can see it if you are paying attention.
Again, Free Will in action.
Even now, He is letting YOU choose....
My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.
Hosea 4:6
“Rejection” in this verse is “Choosing” through an act of THE WILL???
Hello?
You (and anyone that binds themselves to this dark stronghold/doctrine by calling choice “WORKS”) are right now this moment-— rejecting the “Truth” that Jesus said MAKES US FREE.
The C H O I C E is yours my FRiend in Christ.
;-)
A quick review-—
“Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being assembled to meet him ... Let no one deceive you in any way; for that day will not come, unless the rebellion [in the original greek: apostasy - ‘great falling away’] comes first, and the lawless [one] is revealed, the son of perdition...” 2 Thess 2:1,3
“Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils...” 1 Timothy 4:1
Listen to what these verses are saying....
People are going to, by an act of their free will choose to leave the FAITH........it doesn’t get any clearer than this....the WORD Does NOT Contradict itself.
So if people can choose to leave the faith...then “once saved always saved” is a LIE from the Pit.
Wake UP Brothers and Sisters.....the time of choosing is at hand.
thanks
great to meet you!
My biggest question is what is John speaking of when he says that the "mystery" of God is "finished"? I'm certainly not trying to make a doctrine of this, but it is a very interesting question; wouldn't you agree?
Yes, an interesting question. I took a look at "mystery" as it's mentioned in the Scriptures (just a quick look) and I see that God has a lot of mysteries, which He reveals in due time.
So, without really going very deep into it, my first thought on that was simply that all those "mysteries" as they are listed in the Scripture (and there are a variety listed, and they are all mysteries of God, as that's where they come from) -- is that these are finally all revealed at that point in time.
Anyway, like I said, just a first thought on the matter... :-)
Besides the specific passages from Gods Word, a number of earlier writers expressed this belief. One is Ephraem of Nisbis (306-373), well known in Syrian church history. He stated, All the saints and elect of God are gathered together before the tribulation, which is to come, and are taken to the Lord That sermon was popularly circulated in several languages.
This is not true. The origin of this is a website claiming to have discovered a sermon by Ephraem hitherto untranslated into English entitled, "On the Last Times, the Antichrist, and the End of the World". The author, Grant Jeffrey, cited on this website claims 1. that the author was Ephraem the Syrian and 2. that Paul J. Alexander, author of The Byzantine Apocalyptic Tradition (a copy of which I own), says he believes the sermon to have been authored by Ephraem the Syrian. Neither is true. The author is Pseudo-Ephraem (but the work is also attributed, in one of the four manuscript copies to St. Isidore), a medieval writer or several writers sometime in the 6th to late 7th century who (like many others) attributed his (their) own work to the famous St. Ephraem of the 4th century. Alexander does not conclude that this sermon was by the original Ephraem. Grant Jeffrey misrepresents Alexander.
Alexander's take on this Pseudo-Ephraem passage was that it was a novel way of shortening the days to spare the elect:Pseudo-Ephraem does not refer to the shortening of time. This author, however, mentions another measure taken by God in order to alleviate the period of tribulation for his saints and for the Elect:The import of this is that it was something hitherto unknown as a doctrine, and also that it was something that was not commonplace later.
For all the saints and Elect of God are gathered, prior to the tribulation that is to come, and are taken to the Lord lest they see the confusion that is to overwhelm the world because of our sins.
It is probably no accident that Pseudo-Ephraem does not mention the shortening of the time intervals for the Antichrist's persecution, for if prior to it the Elect are "taken to the Lord," i.e., participate at least in some measure of beatitude, there is no need for further mitigating actions on their behalf. The Gathering of the Elect according to Pseudo-Ephraem is an alternative to the shortening of the time intervals. (p. 210, The Byzantine Apocalyptic Tradition)
I began other research into the teachings of Ephraem on this subject. Ephraem's preferred method of doctrinal instruction was the hymn. He was a prolific author and poet of his time. In his hymns, one can find the virgin birth, the fall of man, the resurrection of Christ, and a host of other Christian doctrines. About the pretribulation rapture (or any other), there is nothing. In a book attributed to Ephraem, though the earliest copy is from the 6th Century, The book of the Cave of treasures a history of the patriarchs and the kings, their successors, from the creation to the crucifixion of Christ. (Tr. from the Syriac text of the British museum ms. Add. 25875, by Sir E. A. Wallis Budge), there is an addendum called "Of the Coming of Anti-Christ". It contains similarities to the piece authored by Pseudo-Ephraem above but makes no mention of a pre-tribulation (or any other) rapture. In fact, the last paragraph indicates (like standard church teaching before) that the believers will have gone through this period[The anti-Christ] becomes a man incarnate by a married woman of the tribe of Dan. When this son of destruction becomes a man, he will be made a dwelling place for devils, and all Satanic workings will be perfected in him. There will be gathered together with him all the devils and all the hosts of the Indians; and before all the Indians and before all men will the mad Jewish nation believe in him, saying, "This is the Christ, the expectation of the world." The time of the error of the Anti-christ will last two years and a half, but others say three years and six months. And when everyone is standing in despair, then will Elijah (Elias) come from paradise, and convict the deceiver, and turn the heart of the fathers to the children and the heart of the children to the fathers; and he will encourage and strengthen the hearts of the believers. (p.270)
I found cited in Alexander's The Byzantine Apocalyptic Tradition Ephraem's (not Pseudo-Ephraem's) commentary on the scriptures which I was able to obtain through inter-library loan. I looked at all the relevant passages said by pre-trib rapturists to teach this doctrine (such as the passage in I Thess). There was no such teaching by Ephraem on the matter.
The bottom line is that
1. Ephraem the Syrian did not write the sermon you mentioned,
2. Ephraem didn't mention anything like this in his hymns or in his commentary on the New Testament,
3. the doctrine was not known in the Christian church before then (remember Alexander's pointing out Pseudo-Ephraim's unique approach),
4. this single sentence did not go on to form the basis of any doctrine in the church in the 6th or 7th century when it first appeared (or appeared in its final form),
5. the concept of this sentence has no counterpart in any Biblical writing.These are only a few gleanings from the rich scriptural evidence used by the Byzantine apocalypses to support their predictions concerning the Antichrist. However, just as in the case of the Last Roman emperor, there are many data of the Byzantine apocalypses on the Antichrist for which there is no or little biblical foundation. Indeed, it is the principal thesis of Bousset's book on the Antichrist that Church fathers and apocalyptic writers rely largely on an extra-canonical tradition about the Antichrist that sometimes supplements, and in other cases conflicts with, canonical Scripture. So far as Byzantine apocalypses are concerned, there are many features for which no biblical evidence could be quoted.This is true, for example, of the data on the Antichrist's hypocrisy, on his relations to the Jews, on the sign of the snake imposed upon his partisans, on his ability to assume different shapes, on the gathering of the saints to God during his rule, and on the association of the Son of Thunder with Enoch and Elijah in their conflict with the Antichrist. (p. 224, The Byzantine Apocalyptic Tradition)
I've been all over my bible and I haven't seen where Jesus comes back to earth for His wedding...Millions of Christians are counting on this wedding taking place in heaven because they see it in the scriptures... Perhaps you could point us to the scripture that says the wedding will take place on earth...
I have been busy so I am sorry to have taken so long to respond.
I have read your response several times, because I want to make sure I am understanding what you wrote. From Genesis to Revelation the majority of action and activity is about earth. The holy prophets and Peter, Paul, John, etc., all give instruction regarding what will take place after this flesh age. Land is appropriated by Ezekiel and this earth is to be cleansed of all things that offend.
This wedding is not described until the end of the book of Revelations. Now I have been told by some that I do not need to know this book because it does not apply to the 'church' because the church is not talk to or mentioned. Now that strikes me odd that any Christian would close their eyes and ears to the WORD.
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