A Rapture Lexicon... (For those unfamiliar with it)

I dedicate this article to the many who have not been exposed to the doctrine of the Rapture, and who for the first time are being presented with it. It can be a bit daunting, and I truly hope this very basic lexicon may be of assistance to you. My Goal is to make this as accessible as possible, because these events are very soon to happen, and we want you to join us in them.

Rapture– The swift catching away of God’s true Saints at the end of the church Age. The Apostle Paul is one of the clearest teachers of this expectation,

But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: 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. Wherefore comfort one another with these words. ( I Thessalonians 4:13-18)

The Great Tribulation- This is the teaching in the Bible that Mankind will undergo the most severe time of testing and even judgment ever in human history. Several things will be occurring simultaneously,

For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened. ( Matthew 24:21-22)

Enter into the rock, and hide thee in the dust, for fear of the Lord, and for the glory of his majesty. The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day. For the day of the Lord of hosts shall be upon every one that is proud and lofty, and upon every one that is lifted up; and he shall be brought low: ( Isaiah 2:10-12)

There are plenty of other names for this time, such as “The Day Of The LORD”, The Night, “Darkness”, the “Day of Vengeance”, and “The Time Of Jacob’s Trouble”.

We have a Righteous God, who utterly hates sin and evil, and will not overlook it. He will” by no means clear the guilty“, as He told Moses in Exodus 34.

The Great Tribulation is the time when God directly intervenes into Human affairs, and reveals his Righteous Wrath and Anger at the sins of the World. The Book of Revelation is the clearest picture of what the Tribulation will be like.

Daniel’s Seventieth Week- This phrase comes from the amazing time sensitive prophecy in Daniel 9, in which 540 years previous to Jesus coming, the Prophet Daniel was given the precise Date in which Jesus would present himself to the Jewish people, and be crucified.

Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy. Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate. ( Daniel 9:24-27)

Daniel is praying in captivity, about the future of His people. They had been carried away to Babylon for their persistent sin, and The time had come for them to come back in the Land, the land God promised Abraham ,Isaac and Jacob forever. What would ultimately become of the people of God?

70 weeks are determined upon your people, and the Holy City… Literally, “Seventy sevens…”… In other Words 490 years will be given to the people of Israel/Judah.

To Finish the Transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.

In other words , all of the purposes of God for Israel, will be accomplished within a 490 year period. All prophecy fulfilled, an end to their persistent breaches of faith, Atonement and reconciliation, recognition of the Messiah, and the inauguration of an Age of everlasting Righteousness.

The Stopwatch starts when the commandment comes to restore the (ruined city ) of Jerusalem.

Messiah the Prince arrives in Jerusalem …but is cut off…(not for himself but for the people)...

When Messiah was “cut off” at 483 years, the 490 year period was suspended. There still remains 7 years in which God will accomplish all of those things listed above in His people.

Apocalypse-An apocalypse refers to something that is suddenly revealed.The Last book of the Bible is referred to as the Apocalypse. The last thing the people of this earth are expecting ( for the most part) is the sudden appearance of Jesus Christ. They have no idea what is about to happen.

And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power; ( 2 Thessalonians 1: 7-9)

The people who “know not God” are not going to be able to handle what is about to be revealed, (which is why we want to reach you), there is still time to get right with God!

And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand? ( Revelation 6: 15-17)

Parousia- The Parousia is the same event as the Apocalypse, only seen from a different perspective. To unbelievers, the second coming will be an Apocalypse, totally unepected an stunning, staggering and terrifying.

But to those who know Jesus, and have been reconciled to God through the death of Messiah on the cross, his second coming is a Parousia, a long anticipated bodily arrival. The King we have expected has come unto us… the promise is fulfilled, “I go to prepare a place for you but I am coming again to receive you unto myself, that where I am, there you may be also…”. We knew He would come, we longed for Him to come!

When he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe (because our testimony among you was believed) in that day.( 2 Thessalonians 1:10)

Epiphany- Epiphany is a compound word, “Epi” and Phanos” It means “Shining above”. The Second Coming of Jesus is going to be an Epiphany for the World.

For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the (Epiphany) brightness of his coming: 2 Thessalonians 2:7-8)

I would love for this to be interactive, do any of you have any Rapture Words or Phrases you think would be beneficial? Keep in mind I am aiming at the uninitiated… Grace and Peace.

..."Rev 14:12 Here is a call for the endurance of the saints who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus...

Thank you for that verse!

I am NOT SDA, or any denomination. Just by declaring the 7th Day is the Sabbath God blessed for His people seems to trigger that response. Many can't believe billions of people can be wrong, but even a cursory reading of Scripture shows God Himself Commanding that His people (notice He said "His people") would follow this Commandment. It invariably is connected to admitting that God created the universe and all that's in it in 6 days. How many "Christians" believe in evolution? They won't honor God on the proper day because they don't believe He created them. Calling God a liar starts you off on a bad foot with Him if you ask me. Romans 1:18-32 speaks to this. Because we are too wise to believe God, we have become fools. He gives us over to a reprobate mind to think what we want. What is the first sign of a reprobate mind? Homosexuality! Is homosexuality growing? In verse 32 He says if we just agree with sin we are guilty of it. How many have said I myself wouldn't allow an abortion in my family, but I don't want to stop others from having theirs? They are guilty of shedding innocent blood just as if they murdered the babies. Even in Exodus 20 in the 10 Commandments, God tied the Sabbath in with creating the world in 6 days.

If we say we are Christian, how can we pick and choose what we believe out of Scripture? Yet Most today believe we started as a big ball of matter that came from nowhere and in nothing, and then somehow this nothing exploded. We can't even explain how grass makes energy from the sun or how the eye sees, or how enzymes are made, yet we think we are gods. The whole reason I'm saved is because my Mother in Law was sick and dying from a terminal disease called Aplastic anemia and one prayer from my wife healed her in an instant. I saw it, I was there. People today, even Christians, won't believe God can do anything. What is impossible for man is possible for God if He made everything. We serve a supernatural God, yet we expect the carnal world to go on as it has before. Christ is dying in man made churches we have today. He will come back to fix that as he did with the Pharisees and these "Christians" will have their eyes opened just as Paul had scales fall off his eyes. The Word says what the Words says and if we are believers, He expects us to believe it. Did the Red Sea split or did the Jews walk across a reed sea knee deep. I choose to believe the Word of God that came through Moses. The people that blindly go to church on Sunday are choosing to defy God's Commands. It has nothing to do with SDA or even being Jewish. People believe they are no longer under the Law, but Jesus Himself warned them in Matthew 5 that the Law would last until Heaven and earth is destroyed. No one explained to them that the law that died was the law of sin and death. When you become a child of God through adoption, you won't die the second death. But that in no way excepts you from God's Law. If Jesus wanted to change this He or one of His Apostles would have said so. God blessed the Sabbath as a special day for His people. If you know what I already think of the RCC and the coming pope, you can see that 7th day worshipers will be "marked" by God as His people. When God said the Sabbath will be a "sign", look up the Strongs meaning and it says they are "marked" for Him. This is my thought and can't be proven with Scripture, but could that mean the Antichrist will pursue Sabbath worshipers and the Sunday worshipers will take His mark? I don't know, that is just something to think on.

If you make a study about the Sabbath day, you can't help but be convicted to start keeping it. I go to my church on Sunday to fellowship with my friends. I have home Bible study with about 8-10 people on Friday night after sundown and my wife and I worship and study on Saturday. I am the spiritual leader in my home and don't have to follow someone else, so we have communion and worship in my home on the true Sabbath. If you talk to a Methodist, they will tell you they follow Scripture. If you talk to a Baptist, they will tell you they are following Scripture. The rest will tell you the same but may bring up a special rule they follow that makes them different that the others. If you ask a Catholic if they are Catholic or a Christian, they most likely will say they are Catholic. They are admitting they aren't Christian as the Bible defines it. They believe they are Christian as the "Church" defines it. That's why Luther left. I believe there are Christians in the RCC, but they have been ordered to come out of her. Most won't. I have met many that did, however. Getting one that will just read and study the topics that I brought up in my previous comments is almost impossible. For them leaving, the RCC is scarier than going to hell.

I look at disobeying God's Commandments as a son not taking out the trash when Father tells him to take out the trash. Father won't kill him, but you shouldn't expect to get away scott free. There is a verse that says if we sin on purpose after we know better, we should expect many "stripes". There are consequences for not believing God. I got the belt if I defied my father. If you aren't His Son, you get Hell and burned because you don't belong to Him. When Jesus took our sins upon Himself, we were adopted sons into God's Family and we won't die for our sins. "Grace" is not receiving the punishment the Law says we should get.

Usually I get accused of being a Judaizer because Jesus was a Jew and told His followers the Jews were the chosen people and He followed all Jewish Laws. He got cross-ways with the Pharisees because they made up rules that weren't from God's Word. Paul explained that "true Israel" was Jews and Gentile believers. Not all Jews will be saved, but all "Israel" will be by God's promise. The Word of God Is our foundation, not a pope. I'm looking for the new pope to accept gay marriage in my lifetime. In my mind, RCC's will have a choice to make. Almost nothing they do is accepted by Scripture. How far will they go defending a man made church?

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