Posted on 05/05/2015 6:10:22 PM PDT by EveningStar
Question: A friend of mine has been reading the Left Behind books that have all of this stuff about the “Rapture” in them. Is there really going to be a “Rapture” like these books talk about?
Answer: No.The “Rapture” refers to a passage in First Thessalonians 4, where Christians are “caught up” in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.” Many Christians believe, and the Left Behind books promote, that this being “caught up” to meet the Lord will occur before the Great Tribulation sometime in the near future. Christians will simply vanish, meet Jesus somewhere in the air, and then return with Him to Heaven to await the end of time.
(Excerpt) Read more at aleteia.org ...
Perhaps you’d better use the whole chapter in context, I don’t think it says what you are saying it says...And MGH has never claimed to be a prophet “proclaiming visions of peace when there is no peace”.
Women are featured prominently in verses 16-23 as those who are “trapping souls” and act as if they are prophets when they are not. Speaks very strongly against the feminization of Judeo-Christianity. The statues section is telling...speaks of a corrupt feminized religion, ala Mystery Babylon Mother of Harlots(Catholicism and corrupt “high protestant churches such as Episcopalians). A study of Zechariah 5(the woman in a basket) I think will clarify verses 16-23 of Ezekiel. It doesn’t speak of the Rapture, just that God was going to free souls thus trapped by such spiritual Harlotry. It also speaks of the corrupt spiritual practices of the time in Israel, though I’m sure strong echoes are present in our present unfortunate times.
Sorry meant CynicalBear
So not exactly pre trib but somewhere in the first parts of it. Sounds reasonable...as does anything else, I like your attention to detail. I always thought the church finally gets a break when the two witnesses get resurrected. They go up then so do the rest of us! I admit to simply liking the dramatic flourish of it, so i’m sure it won’t happen like that. Despite all the nasty suffering of the church before hand, it would be kind of cool if it did!
Well there you go, one of the other reasons I can’t dismiss the pre trib, rapture out of hand. I had read that the arguments go back to the Early church and the pre trib rapture was not a new argument!
Thank you for sharing your insights, dear mdmathis6!
Thanks for the corrections.
Selah!
If your using that to indicate He doesn't change how he deals with people you may want to rethink. He doesn't deal with us the same as He dealt with Israel. We are not under the same laws so that changed didn't it. We no longer sacrifice on an altar so that changed didn't it.
>>In Christ there is NOT a distinction of Israel/Judah and Gentiles. All have same opportunity for salvation.<<
Romans 11:25 For I do not want you, brethren, to be uninformed of this mystery-- so that you will not be wise in your own estimation-- that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in; 26 And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:
God isn't done with Israel yet. There are seven years left of the 490 years promised them in Daniel's prophecies. He promised to bring them back to their land and is currently doing just that.
>>And it is a tradition of men/women that devised up a rapture notion<<
The apostles taught the rapture. The "catching up" or the "apostasy" will happen before "the day of the Lord".
1 Corinthians 15:52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.
1 Thessalonians 4:17 Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up (harpazó) together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord.
Greek - harpazó - properly, seize by force; snatch up, suddenly and decisively [http://biblehub.com/greek/726.htm]
The word rapture comes from the Latin translation rapiemur which means "to catch up" or "take away".
2 Thessalonians 2:3 Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy (apostasia) comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction,
Greek - apostasia - apostasía (from 868 /aphístēmi, "leave, depart," which is derived from 575 /apó, "away from" and 2476 /histémi, "stand") – properly, departure (implying desertion); apostasy – literally, "a leaving, from a previous standing." [http://biblehub.com/greek/646.htm]
Noah was taken up out of the destruction as was Lot.
Beautifully exposited, Brother!
I am pre trib, but that dosent mean I don't believe the church won't suffer, but I do believe that we will not be upon the earth when God pours out His wrath on the wole earth, we will be preserved from the "hour of trial which will come upon the whole world" Rev 3:10.
I'm of the opoinion that true believers will soon be set upon by modern society, much worse than now, right here in our own America, for surely we are already witnessing this very thing from the Gay LGBT codre. For Jesus surely said that we would see trial, by the evil one, and that we would be persecuted for His name sake... you could ask, "if we are not being persecuted, then are we really living the way Christ instructed us to live, right now... I am guilty of not stand for Christ as I should, God help us and empower us to stand for your truth, whether pre, post or somewhere in the middle.
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The tribe of Joseph was replaced by Ephraim and Manasseh.
That gave us 13 tribes, but Dan is parted from Israel.
Jews are those that practice Phariseeism. That made Paul a Jew. Most Hebrews are presently nominally ‘christian’ and have never in time been in any way involved in Phariseeism, which is a product of the late second temple period. The House of Israel was dispersed by Shalmanesser long before Judah was taken to Babylon.
There are only 12 apostles; Mattias was never a real apostle, his selection was strictly disobedience, and Judas obviously was never given the Holy Spirit, since he fell on his sword (called “hanging” at that time).
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>> “Oh my!!! I’ve got news for you. Your not Israel and neither is the ekklesia “church” of Christ.” <<
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This idea is your gross error.
Only “The House of Israel” will be saved.
That name includes “those that sojourn with her.”
This fact is plainly stated in Matthew 15:24, but it is also stated in numerous places in the ancient scriptures. “The People for My Name” are Israel.
Those that think that a “church” will replace Israel are the most mistaken of all. There is no ‘church,’ only his ancient assembly, to which are added all that follow Yeshua in every way (walking as he walked, in the Father’s commandments, 1John1)
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>> “You certainly slither down to that personal attack quickly and often.” <<
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It was personal attack to which I responded.
Personal attack is always most prevalent in the posts of lost, lying Dispys.
Dispensationalism is insanity, the strong delusion that the Father sends to those that deny his commandments.
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Still in need of a hug I see ...
It is so clear that the spirit of antichrist is rising, preparing the way for the man of sin to emerge.
America is slaughtering her alive unborn children and praising the act (Molech worship anyone?) as right and proper behavior for expediency sake.
America is not just tolerating what God calls an abomination, the nation is making special privilege for the abominable.
America's military is being used as a tool by the 'money changers' spilling the blood of the innocents around the world so the oligarchy can seize power over other nations who do not want into the debt based economy.
America is consciously adopting laws which single out the hallmarks of Christian life as intolerable because Christians do not tolerate and then protect gross immorality (well, we didn't used to, but now that the entire taboo structure undergirding Western Civilization is gone ...).
American law is being rewritten to protect Islam while banning many aspects of Christian life.
And America is welcoming invasion of illegals (welcoming their illegal behavior!) to fuel the flailing capitalism ogre which cannot get/persuade/beg the welfare dependents to work for a living when they can obtain money for voting for the oligarchy.
we are at the door of Christians being forced underground to worship God. But at the same time, mega churches preach garbage like 'name it and claim it', and brotherly love means letting brothers love each other and defile the institution of marriage upon which family is based. America's elected bastard leaders are rudderless and working feverishly to stear the ship of state they play at into the most horrific rocks of judgment, at the hands of the bloodiest cult of satan ever devised, Islam.
Have you read your won tagline lately? What is all that stuff in Rev 2 and 3 if not ‘the church’ being addressed?
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Again, there is no ‘church.’
Revelation 2 and 3 speak to congregations of the Lost Sheep, that have tares mixed in, except for the Philadelphians, that kept his commandments.
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Did Jesus deceive us in Matthew 16:19?
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