30 December, 2009
23 December, 2009
Resurrection / Glorification: The Invasion of God.
Imagine again with me what would happen if there was a Christian resurrection and /or glorification of living believers: It would serve to terrorize the unbelievers, especially the liberals and progressives that seek to remove the Biblical God from the public discourse. When Jesus resurrected, the disciples could never believe that they were defeated again. Even though the Pharisees Crucified Jesus before all eyes and despite that Jesus was impaled by a Roman spear to the very heart, the resurrection of Christ and many saints proved that he was in charge all along. So also a mass resurrection/glorification would strike terror into those who thought they could "kill god." Time Magazine proclaimed that "God is Dead," but what will such people do when the power of God raises indestructible all around the earth in the form of resurrected and glorified believers? Worse than an invasion, this manifestation of God would prove that God had been all around them the whole time, holding His peace until that day when His purposed moment had come to utterly cast down all lies in one strange act:
Isaiah 28:21-22
21 For the LORD shall rise up as in mount Perazim, he shall be wroth as in the valley of Gibeon, that he may do his work, his strange work; and bring to pass his act, his strange act.
22 Now therefore be ye not mockers, lest your bands be made strong: for I have heard from the Lord GOD of hosts a consumption, even determined upon the whole earth.
In Joshua 10, at the battle of the valley of Gibeon, God did a planetary miracle that greatly favored the children of Israel.
Joshua 10:21-22
13And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed, until the people had avenged themselves upon their enemies. ... So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and hasted not to go down about a whole day.
14And there was no day like that before it or after it, that the LORD hearkened unto the voice of a man: for the LORD fought for Israel.
We can imagine that the coming resurrection/glorification will be a planet wide manifestation, that will involve the people of God "avenging themselves."
Christians have the right to avenge themselves. Christians as a group have been patiently submitting to the authority structures in this world, suffering violations of conscience through governmental corruption, progressivism, abortion, and open blasphemy against the true and living God. So have they been lambasted and ridiculed by the ungodly, These self proclaimed “gods,” worm their way into the seats of power to serve their own corrupt desires, while the Christians often stand by loving their enemies (Matthew 5:44), submitting to authorities (1 Peter 2:13-15), and in general holding back the tide of sin. Often wars have been fought against these forces of Satan. But will God allow the darkness to stengthen itself forever? A day of vengeance and power will come during the time of God's "strange act." The "vengeance" will not be as in combat and killing, rather it will be the total violation of every false way that this world has put in place of obedience to Jesus Christ. This period of time, or "day," will be the total repudiation of every false religion, worldly system, and the exposing of every Christian hypocrite.
Isaiah 33:13-18
13 Hear, ye that are far off, what I have done; and, ye that are near, acknowledge my might.
14 The sinners in Zion are afraid; fearfulness hath surprised the hypocrites. Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings? 15 He that walketh righteously, and speaketh uprightly; he that despiseth the gain of oppressions, that shaketh his hands from holding of bribes, that stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood, and shutteth his eyes from seeing evil;
16 He shall dwell on high: his place of defence shall be the munitions of rocks: bread shall be given him; his waters shall be sure.
17 Thine eyes shall see the king in his beauty: they shall behold the land that is very far off.
18 Thine heart shall meditate terror.
So we can imagine that a result of this transformation of regular Christians into super-human-evangelists would expose those that called themselves Christians, but were disobedient. These hypocrites would be surprised by the fear of God, as they walked in open shame for not being one of the glorified ones. The glorified saints would see Christ in His beauty, in contrast the terror of being worthy of God's displeasure would cause many hypocrites to turn from sin in the terror of the Lord.
Imagine again with me what would happen if there was a Christian resurrection and /or glorification of living believers: It would serve to terrorize the unbelievers, especially the liberals and progressives that seek to remove the Biblical God from the public discourse. When Jesus resurrected, the disciples could never believe that they were defeated again. Even though the Pharisees Crucified Jesus before all eyes and despite that Jesus was impaled by a Roman spear to the very heart, the resurrection of Christ and many saints proved that he was in charge all along. So also a mass resurrection/glorification would strike terror into those who thought they could "kill god." Time Magazine proclaimed that "God is Dead," but what will such people do when the power of God raises indestructible all around the earth in the form of resurrected and glorified believers? Worse than an invasion, this manifestation of God would prove that God had been all around them the whole time, holding His peace until that day when His purposed moment had come to utterly cast down all lies in one strange act:
Isaiah 28:21-22
21 For the LORD shall rise up as in mount Perazim, he shall be wroth as in the valley of Gibeon, that he may do his work, his strange work; and bring to pass his act, his strange act.
22 Now therefore be ye not mockers, lest your bands be made strong: for I have heard from the Lord GOD of hosts a consumption, even determined upon the whole earth.
In Joshua 10, at the battle of the valley of Gibeon, God did a planetary miracle that greatly favored the children of Israel.
Joshua 10:21-22
13And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed, until the people had avenged themselves upon their enemies. ... So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and hasted not to go down about a whole day.
14And there was no day like that before it or after it, that the LORD hearkened unto the voice of a man: for the LORD fought for Israel.
We can imagine that the coming resurrection/glorification will be a planet wide manifestation, that will involve the people of God "avenging themselves."
Christians have the right to avenge themselves. Christians as a group have been patiently submitting to the authority structures in this world, suffering violations of conscience through governmental corruption, progressivism, abortion, and open blasphemy against the true and living God. So have they been lambasted and ridiculed by the ungodly, These self proclaimed “gods,” worm their way into the seats of power to serve their own corrupt desires, while the Christians often stand by loving their enemies (Matthew 5:44), submitting to authorities (1 Peter 2:13-15), and in general holding back the tide of sin. Often wars have been fought against these forces of Satan. But will God allow the darkness to stengthen itself forever? A day of vengeance and power will come during the time of God's "strange act." The "vengeance" will not be as in combat and killing, rather it will be the total violation of every false way that this world has put in place of obedience to Jesus Christ. This period of time, or "day," will be the total repudiation of every false religion, worldly system, and the exposing of every Christian hypocrite.
Isaiah 33:13-18
13 Hear, ye that are far off, what I have done; and, ye that are near, acknowledge my might.
14 The sinners in Zion are afraid; fearfulness hath surprised the hypocrites. Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings? 15 He that walketh righteously, and speaketh uprightly; he that despiseth the gain of oppressions, that shaketh his hands from holding of bribes, that stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood, and shutteth his eyes from seeing evil;
16 He shall dwell on high: his place of defence shall be the munitions of rocks: bread shall be given him; his waters shall be sure.
17 Thine eyes shall see the king in his beauty: they shall behold the land that is very far off.
18 Thine heart shall meditate terror.
So we can imagine that a result of this transformation of regular Christians into super-human-evangelists would expose those that called themselves Christians, but were disobedient. These hypocrites would be surprised by the fear of God, as they walked in open shame for not being one of the glorified ones. The glorified saints would see Christ in His beauty, in contrast the terror of being worthy of God's displeasure would cause many hypocrites to turn from sin in the terror of the Lord.
21 December, 2009
Holy Terror/ Faces Gathering Blackness
The Holy Terror!
Imagine with me for a moment how a pre-rapture Christian resurrection would affect the world:
-There would be great awe and wonder and as the righteous dead came alive in glorified bodies and began visiting friends and family and coworkers. This same awe and wonder would come about because of the instantaneous glorification of living Christians.
-The biggest Christian revival of all time would burst the walls of all churches as billions rushed into Christian houses of worship for answers as they witnessed the glory of God manifest in such stark brilliance throughout the world and through the internet and all media services. The headlines would read "All Dead Christians Resurrected, some Glorified!!!"
-Millions of Christians that disbelieved the miraculous, would begin to ask to be taught how to have that kind of faith and would clamor for Biblical knowledge and faith, sending shockwaves through all of Christendom, causing a massive world revival in the churches and all major Protestant denominations. In response the resurrected Christians And the glorified Christians would set about the task of preaching the gospel.
-The halls of academia would be repudiated with the stark demonstration of God's power beyond what the Acts church saw. In response, the forces of Antichrist would seek to discredit explain away this manifestation of glory. Many would seek to repudiate the glory of God, and some would seek to kill those glorified saints in the streets.
These are but a few events that we could expect, precipitated by the resurrection and glorification of all believers. So the question of how much dwell time between resurrection and rapture must be answered by other scriptures that indicate what God will accomplish in this dwell time.
A Resurrection/Glorification has happened before:
All interpretations of scripture regarding resurrection and rapture must be subjected to the scripture itself and must agree with the meaning and the sense of the scriptures that pertain. Peter wrote in
2 Peter 1:19-21:
:19 We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts:
20 Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.
21 For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.
Since the Holy Ghost is the author through holy men, we don't presume to interpret the scriptures, apart from personal holiness. In this place of faith and belief, the same Spirit that wrote the scriptures causes the "day star" to "arise," or become manifest, in our hearts. The "rising of the day star" is that knowledge of Christ which allows us to know the deep things of Christ, and to be conformed into His image, as a result of that knowlege (1 Peter 1:2-8). This doctrine of resurrection is only understood by faith, so here is the word about Jesus' death and resurrection:
Matthew 27:50-53
50 Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost.
51 And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent;
52And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose,
53And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.
Very specific is this scripture that at the time of Jesus death the veil of the temple was torn in two and between that event and after Jesus’ resurrection an earthquake or series of them disturbed places of burial, such as mausoleums, crypts, burial caves, or earthen graves. Among the many damaged gravesites in the grave yards, it was only saints that were freed from the prisons of the dead, such that they were resurrected by the power of God, and then began to visit many people. Also the passage makes it clear that this resurrection of saints happened as an after effect of the resurrection of Christ. His was the first and the saints followed. This gives light to the mysterious passage in 1st Peter 3:18-20 that says:
18 For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:
19 By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison;
20 Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.
It appears that once Jesus had been taken down to Hell that He preached the Gospel to those in the section of Hell called "Abraham's Bosom" (Luke 16:22), then he "led captivity captive" (Ephesians 4:8-10), ascending with those saints into heaven; however we see that He did not take them straight to the throne room of God (Hebrews 12:2), but allowed those saints to tarry upon the earth for a period of time before Christ ascended as "...a cloud received him out of their sight" (Acts 1:9).
The timing of Jesus' resurrection occurred three days after His crucifixion (Acts 10:40) and that the resurrection of the saints followed Christ which lends meaning to the passage in Romans 8:29 that says, “For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.” It took three days for Jesus to accomplish three major tasks:
#1 The Lord denuded Satan of the “power of death” (Hebrews 2:14)
#2 The Lord preached to the captives
#3 The Lord was “perfected” (Luke 13:32) being raised in a supernatural glorified body.
Once Christ had resurrected, the rest of the saints followed in His footsteps. This principle is expressed in the passage, "Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher (the originator and the completing agent) of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God" (Hebrews 12:2). Jesus completed the work on the cross, but then he went into the depths of Hell to complete the spiritual implications of his work on the cross. but he went even further: As if to immediately demonstrate the spiritual implications of His death and payment for sin, there was a mass resurrection of saints. We can assume that this company of saints continued the following forty days until Christ ascended, at which point these saints also ascended to heaven with the Lord.
The Post rapture-Pre-Millenial Resurrection
A resurrection is yet to come at the end of the "tribulation" as Christ will establish His Millennial reign:
Revelation 20:4-6
4And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. 5But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. 6Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.
This is "the first resurrection" however do not be confused by what seems to be a contradiction. For we already have documented that at the end of the reign of Antichrist, upon for separate time there will have been raptures, those of Enoch, Alijah, and the saints that rose with the Lord and the saints that will be raised and/or glorified in the
pre-Antichrist rapture. Yet Revelation 20:5 calls the martyrs' resurrection "the first." The explanation is in the meaning of the term "first resurrection." The first resurrection is not a temporal designation as though resurrection had never happened before that time, rather it is qualitative. The statement indicates that there are two kinds of resurrection:
1. The "first resurrection" forgoes the "great white throne" judgment (Revelation 20:11), and
2. The second the general resurrection that occurs before the "great with throne judgement" at the end of the "millennial reign of Christ," which immediately precedes the revelation of the New Jerusalem (Revelation 21:2).
This post-millennial resurrection precedes the great white throne judgment and has power to judge souls to hell as well as heaven. The "first resurrection" also has a judgment but it does not have a condemning side, rather it is judgment unto life. Paul the apostle wrote in Romans 14:10-12:
10But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. 11For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God. 12So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.
This time before the judgment seat of Christ will be a time of very difficult self examination as every believer is examined by the perfect judge of the universe.
47 And that servant, which knew his lord’s will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes.
48 But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes (Luke 12:47-48).
:36 But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.
37 For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned (.Matthew 12:36).
The Christian's soul will be purged of unrighteousness by this personal judgment by the Lord; but all interactions, whether painful or pleasant will be redemptive, not condemnatory. Condemnation of the soul is not the purpose of the judgment seat of Christ. In addition to it's cleansing of the Christian, the Lord will set the believer in the kingdom of God according to his works.
Psalm 147:1-4:
1O clap your hands, all ye people; shout unto God with the voice of triumph.
2 For the LORD most high is terrible; he is a great King over all the earth.
3 He shall subdue the people under us, and the nations under our feet.
4 He shall choose our inheritance for us, the excellency of Jacob whom he loved.
Selah
A Rapture had also happened before the time of Christ:
A mysterious passage in Genesis 5:24 says, “And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him.” Of Enoch Hebrews 11:5 says, “By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.” We see Enoch caught up to God without experiencing death. We also see such a “rapture” happen to Elijah in 2nd Kings 2:11 as a fiery chariot caught him up, in the presence of his protege, Elisha, causing the prophet to forgo the experience of death. Now Elisha would be the inheritor of Elijah’s mantle, under the condition that he see Elijah ascend:
2 Kings 2:9-12
9 And Elisha said, I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me.
10 And he said, Thou hast asked a hard thing: nevertheless, if thou see me when I am taken from thee, it shall be so unto thee; but if not, it shall not be so.
11 And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.
12 And Elisha saw it, and he cried, My father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof. And he saw him no more:
With this story of Elijah and Elisha we begin to understand the nature of the supernatural calling of God. such a calling of ministry is more than a position held with a recognizable title such as "priest," "pastor;" etc., rather it is a transfer of divine empowerment from one chosen minister to the next one chosen by God for the task.
Both Elijah, Elisha and Enoch have special significance for the last days rapture. This is evident in the relationship of Elisha to Elijah. As the transfer of Elijah's mantle was to Elisha, so also is the mantle of the Lord to the church. This is because by faith we have “seen” Christ ascend, and because we have seen, therefore Christ can give us this last days ministry. This becomes a powerful truth when we consider the prophesy of Malachi:
4Remember ye the law of Moses my servant, which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel, with the statutes and judgments. 5Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD: 6And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse (Malachi 4:14-15).
Many might say that this was completely fulfilled by John the Baptist, based upon Jesus' words where He said:
Matthew 11:10-15
10For this is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. 11Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. 12And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force. 13For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. 14And if ye will receive it, this is Elias, which was for to come. 15He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.
This tells us that John the Baptist, in the spirit of Elijah, along with the Malachi prophesy, was to have a ministry of reconciliation. This cannot be the total fulfillment of the prophesy, because two elements must be considered: 1. The typology of the passing of the mantle, and 2. The time leading to the "great and dreadful day of the Lord."
1. The Typology of the Passing of the Mantle
The Typology of the passing of the mantle dictates that Even as Elisha asked Elijah for a "double portion" of Elijah's spiritual gifting (2 Kings 2:9), so also Jesus told his disciples that they would do greater works then He (John 14:12). As Elijah ascended in the sight of Elisha (2 Kings 2:10), so also Jesus ascended in the sight of the brethren (Acts 1:9). As Elijah's mantle of ministry fell from him predestined for Elisha (2 King 2:13), so also Christ has cast spiritual gifts as ministries given to the Church (Ephesians 4:8). The passing of the mantle of ministry from Elijah to Elisha was accompanied by the appearance of "a chariot of fire and horses of fire" (2 Kings 2:11), so also the ministries of Christ were initiated in the Church by the appearance of "cloven tongues like as of fire..." sitting, "...upon each of them" (Acts 2:3). This is the mantle of power that all true ministers must possess, in order to be a witness of God's intentions in the ministry of reconciliation (Acts 1:8), (2 Corinthians 5:18-19). Though Jesus appears to say that Elija is John the Baptist, in reality He is saying that John the Baptist is a fulfillment of a kind of ministry that come before He was revealed as "The Lamb of God" (John 1:36) by John the Baptist. Because the "coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD" (Malachi 4:5) has not yet come. This means that the will be a second manifestation of the ministry of Elijah approaching this furth "coming" of the Lord in the "white horse return.
2. Defining the "Great and Dreadful Day of the Lord" is not particularly hard when you think of all the things that Christ's "return" will bring in its various "incarnations." The Lord invoked the prophesy of Malachi, equating the ministry of John the Baptist with the historical ministry of Elisha. This does not to indicate a final fulfillment of the prophesy; rather it indicates a very specific kind of ministry that came before Christ was revealed. Christ's first revelation culminated with the cross, but his dreadfulness was only known in Hell when " ...he went and preached unto the spirits in prison..." (1 peter 3:19) and when he disgorged the lower parts of the earth from the certain souls (Ephesians 4:8) that had died during the days of Noah (1 Peter 3:20). This was a dreadful revelation in the Heavenly realms especially to the powers of Satan, however the Day of the Lord has not yet occurred on Earth. That day will come when Christ returns to slay the armies of Antichrist (Zephaniah 1:15, Obediah 1:15, Revelation 19:11-21). The phrase, "Day of the Lord," indicates any time that Jesus rises up and sets things right, causing the mockery of His kingdom to cease, and through judgment setting things according to God's will. So we look to greater and greater expressions of that "day." So it shall at the white horse return of Christ, where Christ rises up as the warrior and slaughters his enemies by "the sword that comes out of His mouth" (Revelation 19:21).
These two points of interpretation allow us to accurately judge the nature of Jesus' prophesy.
We begin to understand that the appearance of Elijah's ministry is the means by which God initiates the appearance of His son on earth. We see the double portion ministry of Elisha as an amplified ministry of Elijah, as is the ministry of the Church an amplified ministry of Christ. We see that the ministry of Elijah returned in the ministry of John the Baptist, then that message was transferred upon the Lord at His baptism. This is evident when you compare the messages of John the Baptist (Mathhew 3:1), followed by Jesus' message (Matthew 4:17). In the same way the call of John the Baptist was for men to be right with God (Luke 3:10-14) and we can assume that such a ministry will provide a time of worldwide reconciliation between man and God before the "great dreadful day of the Lord." As Elijah passed his mantle to Elisha, and John the Baptist to Christ, so it is Christ's ministry to the Church. In like manner a Elijah/John the Baptist ministry will come before the "great and dreadful day of the LORD," which is the white Horse Return of Christ and the linen clothed bride of Christ on horseback.
Elijah and Christ and the risen saints were raptured, so also was Enoch before the flood. Enoch's ministry also speaks of the nature of those that are raptured in the upcoming pre-Antichrist rapture.
The Message of the Raptured Ones:
The message of Enoch was a repudiation of Godless living and brazen sin. It forced conviction against the lies of the spirit of the spirit of Antichrist (1 John 4:3). Jude also writes:
Jude 1:14-15
14 And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints,
15 To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him.
This shows that Enoch's ministry was to point his generation to God through open rebuke and the revelation of the laws of God (Moses' law was not yet) as god had revealed in the antedelvian (pre-flood) civilization. Elijah's ministry, and later Elisha's ministry had a similar message; to show the power of God to destroy the Demonic forces in idolatrous Israel, and to show God's ability to restore and heal. The presence of the prophet served to remind the people that when Israel would turn back to God, He was able to bless them. The presence of the prophets seved to teach a message of reconcilliation between man and God. Similarly, the Christian church has been given a ministry of reconciliation through the shed blood of the Lamb of God, a sacrifice for all sin.
These ministries all contain elements of warning and healing. The message of these ministries are much the same as your typical Christian preacher or Christian believer today. The preacher's ministry is to apply the truths of the Gospel to individuals and society at large and to bring God‘s manifest power into the lives of the believers and into the policies of the government. As in former times in Israel, this sort of message is not popular with the ungodly; but it pleases God and all who are like minded. We can conclude that the ministries typified by Elijah, Elisha and Enoch are all examples of the sort of ministries that are embraced by those that will participate in the resurrection/glorification and in the rapture. Could that be why Jesus said regarding persecution?:
Matthew 5:11
11 Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.
12 Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.
Imagine with me for a moment how a pre-rapture Christian resurrection would affect the world:
-There would be great awe and wonder and as the righteous dead came alive in glorified bodies and began visiting friends and family and coworkers. This same awe and wonder would come about because of the instantaneous glorification of living Christians.
-The biggest Christian revival of all time would burst the walls of all churches as billions rushed into Christian houses of worship for answers as they witnessed the glory of God manifest in such stark brilliance throughout the world and through the internet and all media services. The headlines would read "All Dead Christians Resurrected, some Glorified!!!"
-Millions of Christians that disbelieved the miraculous, would begin to ask to be taught how to have that kind of faith and would clamor for Biblical knowledge and faith, sending shockwaves through all of Christendom, causing a massive world revival in the churches and all major Protestant denominations. In response the resurrected Christians And the glorified Christians would set about the task of preaching the gospel.
-The halls of academia would be repudiated with the stark demonstration of God's power beyond what the Acts church saw. In response, the forces of Antichrist would seek to discredit explain away this manifestation of glory. Many would seek to repudiate the glory of God, and some would seek to kill those glorified saints in the streets.
These are but a few events that we could expect, precipitated by the resurrection and glorification of all believers. So the question of how much dwell time between resurrection and rapture must be answered by other scriptures that indicate what God will accomplish in this dwell time.
A Resurrection/Glorification has happened before:
All interpretations of scripture regarding resurrection and rapture must be subjected to the scripture itself and must agree with the meaning and the sense of the scriptures that pertain. Peter wrote in
2 Peter 1:19-21:
:19 We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts:
20 Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.
21 For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.
Since the Holy Ghost is the author through holy men, we don't presume to interpret the scriptures, apart from personal holiness. In this place of faith and belief, the same Spirit that wrote the scriptures causes the "day star" to "arise," or become manifest, in our hearts. The "rising of the day star" is that knowledge of Christ which allows us to know the deep things of Christ, and to be conformed into His image, as a result of that knowlege (1 Peter 1:2-8). This doctrine of resurrection is only understood by faith, so here is the word about Jesus' death and resurrection:
Matthew 27:50-53
50 Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost.
51 And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent;
52And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose,
53And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.
Very specific is this scripture that at the time of Jesus death the veil of the temple was torn in two and between that event and after Jesus’ resurrection an earthquake or series of them disturbed places of burial, such as mausoleums, crypts, burial caves, or earthen graves. Among the many damaged gravesites in the grave yards, it was only saints that were freed from the prisons of the dead, such that they were resurrected by the power of God, and then began to visit many people. Also the passage makes it clear that this resurrection of saints happened as an after effect of the resurrection of Christ. His was the first and the saints followed. This gives light to the mysterious passage in 1st Peter 3:18-20 that says:
18 For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:
19 By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison;
20 Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.
It appears that once Jesus had been taken down to Hell that He preached the Gospel to those in the section of Hell called "Abraham's Bosom" (Luke 16:22), then he "led captivity captive" (Ephesians 4:8-10), ascending with those saints into heaven; however we see that He did not take them straight to the throne room of God (Hebrews 12:2), but allowed those saints to tarry upon the earth for a period of time before Christ ascended as "...a cloud received him out of their sight" (Acts 1:9).
The timing of Jesus' resurrection occurred three days after His crucifixion (Acts 10:40) and that the resurrection of the saints followed Christ which lends meaning to the passage in Romans 8:29 that says, “For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.” It took three days for Jesus to accomplish three major tasks:
#1 The Lord denuded Satan of the “power of death” (Hebrews 2:14)
#2 The Lord preached to the captives
#3 The Lord was “perfected” (Luke 13:32) being raised in a supernatural glorified body.
Once Christ had resurrected, the rest of the saints followed in His footsteps. This principle is expressed in the passage, "Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher (the originator and the completing agent) of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God" (Hebrews 12:2). Jesus completed the work on the cross, but then he went into the depths of Hell to complete the spiritual implications of his work on the cross. but he went even further: As if to immediately demonstrate the spiritual implications of His death and payment for sin, there was a mass resurrection of saints. We can assume that this company of saints continued the following forty days until Christ ascended, at which point these saints also ascended to heaven with the Lord.
The Post rapture-Pre-Millenial Resurrection
A resurrection is yet to come at the end of the "tribulation" as Christ will establish His Millennial reign:
Revelation 20:4-6
4And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. 5But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. 6Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.
This is "the first resurrection" however do not be confused by what seems to be a contradiction. For we already have documented that at the end of the reign of Antichrist, upon for separate time there will have been raptures, those of Enoch, Alijah, and the saints that rose with the Lord and the saints that will be raised and/or glorified in the
pre-Antichrist rapture. Yet Revelation 20:5 calls the martyrs' resurrection "the first." The explanation is in the meaning of the term "first resurrection." The first resurrection is not a temporal designation as though resurrection had never happened before that time, rather it is qualitative. The statement indicates that there are two kinds of resurrection:
1. The "first resurrection" forgoes the "great white throne" judgment (Revelation 20:11), and
2. The second the general resurrection that occurs before the "great with throne judgement" at the end of the "millennial reign of Christ," which immediately precedes the revelation of the New Jerusalem (Revelation 21:2).
This post-millennial resurrection precedes the great white throne judgment and has power to judge souls to hell as well as heaven. The "first resurrection" also has a judgment but it does not have a condemning side, rather it is judgment unto life. Paul the apostle wrote in Romans 14:10-12:
10But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. 11For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God. 12So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.
This time before the judgment seat of Christ will be a time of very difficult self examination as every believer is examined by the perfect judge of the universe.
47 And that servant, which knew his lord’s will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes.
48 But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes (Luke 12:47-48).
:36 But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.
37 For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned (.Matthew 12:36).
The Christian's soul will be purged of unrighteousness by this personal judgment by the Lord; but all interactions, whether painful or pleasant will be redemptive, not condemnatory. Condemnation of the soul is not the purpose of the judgment seat of Christ. In addition to it's cleansing of the Christian, the Lord will set the believer in the kingdom of God according to his works.
Psalm 147:1-4:
1O clap your hands, all ye people; shout unto God with the voice of triumph.
2 For the LORD most high is terrible; he is a great King over all the earth.
3 He shall subdue the people under us, and the nations under our feet.
4 He shall choose our inheritance for us, the excellency of Jacob whom he loved.
Selah
A Rapture had also happened before the time of Christ:
A mysterious passage in Genesis 5:24 says, “And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him.” Of Enoch Hebrews 11:5 says, “By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.” We see Enoch caught up to God without experiencing death. We also see such a “rapture” happen to Elijah in 2nd Kings 2:11 as a fiery chariot caught him up, in the presence of his protege, Elisha, causing the prophet to forgo the experience of death. Now Elisha would be the inheritor of Elijah’s mantle, under the condition that he see Elijah ascend:
2 Kings 2:9-12
9 And Elisha said, I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me.
10 And he said, Thou hast asked a hard thing: nevertheless, if thou see me when I am taken from thee, it shall be so unto thee; but if not, it shall not be so.
11 And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.
12 And Elisha saw it, and he cried, My father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof. And he saw him no more:
With this story of Elijah and Elisha we begin to understand the nature of the supernatural calling of God. such a calling of ministry is more than a position held with a recognizable title such as "priest," "pastor;" etc., rather it is a transfer of divine empowerment from one chosen minister to the next one chosen by God for the task.
Both Elijah, Elisha and Enoch have special significance for the last days rapture. This is evident in the relationship of Elisha to Elijah. As the transfer of Elijah's mantle was to Elisha, so also is the mantle of the Lord to the church. This is because by faith we have “seen” Christ ascend, and because we have seen, therefore Christ can give us this last days ministry. This becomes a powerful truth when we consider the prophesy of Malachi:
4Remember ye the law of Moses my servant, which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel, with the statutes and judgments. 5Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD: 6And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse (Malachi 4:14-15).
Many might say that this was completely fulfilled by John the Baptist, based upon Jesus' words where He said:
Matthew 11:10-15
10For this is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. 11Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. 12And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force. 13For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. 14And if ye will receive it, this is Elias, which was for to come. 15He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.
This tells us that John the Baptist, in the spirit of Elijah, along with the Malachi prophesy, was to have a ministry of reconciliation. This cannot be the total fulfillment of the prophesy, because two elements must be considered: 1. The typology of the passing of the mantle, and 2. The time leading to the "great and dreadful day of the Lord."
1. The Typology of the Passing of the Mantle
The Typology of the passing of the mantle dictates that Even as Elisha asked Elijah for a "double portion" of Elijah's spiritual gifting (2 Kings 2:9), so also Jesus told his disciples that they would do greater works then He (John 14:12). As Elijah ascended in the sight of Elisha (2 Kings 2:10), so also Jesus ascended in the sight of the brethren (Acts 1:9). As Elijah's mantle of ministry fell from him predestined for Elisha (2 King 2:13), so also Christ has cast spiritual gifts as ministries given to the Church (Ephesians 4:8). The passing of the mantle of ministry from Elijah to Elisha was accompanied by the appearance of "a chariot of fire and horses of fire" (2 Kings 2:11), so also the ministries of Christ were initiated in the Church by the appearance of "cloven tongues like as of fire..." sitting, "...upon each of them" (Acts 2:3). This is the mantle of power that all true ministers must possess, in order to be a witness of God's intentions in the ministry of reconciliation (Acts 1:8), (2 Corinthians 5:18-19). Though Jesus appears to say that Elija is John the Baptist, in reality He is saying that John the Baptist is a fulfillment of a kind of ministry that come before He was revealed as "The Lamb of God" (John 1:36) by John the Baptist. Because the "coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD" (Malachi 4:5) has not yet come. This means that the will be a second manifestation of the ministry of Elijah approaching this furth "coming" of the Lord in the "white horse return.
2. Defining the "Great and Dreadful Day of the Lord" is not particularly hard when you think of all the things that Christ's "return" will bring in its various "incarnations." The Lord invoked the prophesy of Malachi, equating the ministry of John the Baptist with the historical ministry of Elisha. This does not to indicate a final fulfillment of the prophesy; rather it indicates a very specific kind of ministry that came before Christ was revealed. Christ's first revelation culminated with the cross, but his dreadfulness was only known in Hell when " ...he went and preached unto the spirits in prison..." (1 peter 3:19) and when he disgorged the lower parts of the earth from the certain souls (Ephesians 4:8) that had died during the days of Noah (1 Peter 3:20). This was a dreadful revelation in the Heavenly realms especially to the powers of Satan, however the Day of the Lord has not yet occurred on Earth. That day will come when Christ returns to slay the armies of Antichrist (Zephaniah 1:15, Obediah 1:15, Revelation 19:11-21). The phrase, "Day of the Lord," indicates any time that Jesus rises up and sets things right, causing the mockery of His kingdom to cease, and through judgment setting things according to God's will. So we look to greater and greater expressions of that "day." So it shall at the white horse return of Christ, where Christ rises up as the warrior and slaughters his enemies by "the sword that comes out of His mouth" (Revelation 19:21).
These two points of interpretation allow us to accurately judge the nature of Jesus' prophesy.
We begin to understand that the appearance of Elijah's ministry is the means by which God initiates the appearance of His son on earth. We see the double portion ministry of Elisha as an amplified ministry of Elijah, as is the ministry of the Church an amplified ministry of Christ. We see that the ministry of Elijah returned in the ministry of John the Baptist, then that message was transferred upon the Lord at His baptism. This is evident when you compare the messages of John the Baptist (Mathhew 3:1), followed by Jesus' message (Matthew 4:17). In the same way the call of John the Baptist was for men to be right with God (Luke 3:10-14) and we can assume that such a ministry will provide a time of worldwide reconciliation between man and God before the "great dreadful day of the Lord." As Elijah passed his mantle to Elisha, and John the Baptist to Christ, so it is Christ's ministry to the Church. In like manner a Elijah/John the Baptist ministry will come before the "great and dreadful day of the LORD," which is the white Horse Return of Christ and the linen clothed bride of Christ on horseback.
Elijah and Christ and the risen saints were raptured, so also was Enoch before the flood. Enoch's ministry also speaks of the nature of those that are raptured in the upcoming pre-Antichrist rapture.
The Message of the Raptured Ones:
The message of Enoch was a repudiation of Godless living and brazen sin. It forced conviction against the lies of the spirit of the spirit of Antichrist (1 John 4:3). Jude also writes:
Jude 1:14-15
14 And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints,
15 To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him.
This shows that Enoch's ministry was to point his generation to God through open rebuke and the revelation of the laws of God (Moses' law was not yet) as god had revealed in the antedelvian (pre-flood) civilization. Elijah's ministry, and later Elisha's ministry had a similar message; to show the power of God to destroy the Demonic forces in idolatrous Israel, and to show God's ability to restore and heal. The presence of the prophet served to remind the people that when Israel would turn back to God, He was able to bless them. The presence of the prophets seved to teach a message of reconcilliation between man and God. Similarly, the Christian church has been given a ministry of reconciliation through the shed blood of the Lamb of God, a sacrifice for all sin.
These ministries all contain elements of warning and healing. The message of these ministries are much the same as your typical Christian preacher or Christian believer today. The preacher's ministry is to apply the truths of the Gospel to individuals and society at large and to bring God‘s manifest power into the lives of the believers and into the policies of the government. As in former times in Israel, this sort of message is not popular with the ungodly; but it pleases God and all who are like minded. We can conclude that the ministries typified by Elijah, Elisha and Enoch are all examples of the sort of ministries that are embraced by those that will participate in the resurrection/glorification and in the rapture. Could that be why Jesus said regarding persecution?:
Matthew 5:11
11 Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.
12 Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.
20 December, 2009
The Biblical Rapture
The Biblical Rapture/ The Pre-Antichrist Vindication of the Church
By: Leo Hare
It Had Been Driving Me Crazy!
I was saved in 1989 in Mill Valley, California. I had just turned 26 and from that day on the voice of the Lord was the only thing that I could trust. I mean to say that the voice of the Father in Heaven was introduced to me, and I have been ruined to any other means of wisdom. In typical fashion as a novice with just enough knowledge to get into trouble, I set about to beat many to death with the Bible. Indeed, if one would be a thumper of the Bible, I would bludgeon my victims to death with my "superior insight." In 1996 I enrolled in a two year Bible college in Novato California which gave me a depth of knowledge that far outstripped my understanding, and again like a maniac I set about trying to right the world with my new found knowledge of God's will. Was I just a loony born again Christian? Yes, but there was something deeper stirring in me that was from God. During my second year of Bible college, I was working as a warehouse manager for an Italian baking products company in Richmond, California. I was everything from the janitor, to the shipping clerk, working closely with my boss, Joe, who was very tolerant of my radical nature, to which I owe him everlasting gratitude. One day I was packing some orders when I saw Joe run out of the man door carrying a broomstick with obvious intent to commit harm to somebody. I ran out the door after him, and running across the parking lot was a medium build black man wearing a cold weather parka, carrying bags that he had taken from the secretary's car in a smash and grab. Upon seeing this, my first thoughts hit me as a freight train, "don't do anything about this. It is too dangerous." As the words began to make my heart sink, suddenly I remembered that God was in charge and that He had all authority over this sinner and that I could take up His cause; so I said to Joe, "lets take him!"
Immediately we began to chase the thief and the thief ran on. My boss fell back a little, but I continued after the scoundrel yelling at him, warning him to stop. Suddenly, I remembered that Jesus had all authority in heaven and earth, and that I was commissioned to exercise that authority in "His name." I stopped threatening the brigand and began to yell in an authoritative voice, "In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to drop that stuff!" The weasel kept running, but I pursued after him commanding him with a full masculine roar, " In the name of Jesus..." Suddenly the thief began to drop bags one by one, and after he had cast the last bag away, he ran about ten steps, turned around and said, "I dropped it." He just stood there looking dumb and seemed to have no desire to flee or even guard his identity. For him it was over. I retrieved the bags and presented them to the secretary, who received them gladly.
My zeal had paid off, but this set my deepest thoughts raging. Why weren't all life's problems solved by invoking the name of Jesus? Why weren't most diseases healed, and deaths prevented? Why couldn't I find the life I desired, get a wife, deal with my deepest insecurities and become a Godly man as easily as it was to subdue that rascal who had been overcome by a demon of thievery? Was the Bible really asking the believer to be as powerful in life as Jesus, Paul, Peter, and others? Was I crazy to expect that life could be lived by the supernatural power of God? When I told the police what I had done, they said that they wished that they could use that same power in all their difficult work with the criminal element. A little later my boss saw me working at the packing table, and said, "Leo has a badge, the name of Jesus." The rarity of the experience was incredible. It was as though heroic magical powers were unleashed on that day.
Why did I take that unusual action at the sight of the thief fleeing from the crime scene? I think it was a combination of my participation in a series of church wide prayer meetings in support of an evangelical crusade being conducted in India, and what I had become to believe from studying the scriptures. The prayer meetings had exercised me in taking a strong spiritual stance, but Joel Chapter 2 had been eating at me and prodding me to pry into what could be meant by the word of God saying that there would be a super natural army of believers roaming the earth. Could I be one of them? How would I, or anyone become endued with superhuman powers without first being changed by God. When would you know that you could really be that powerful? Do you simply live in such a way to require God to uphold you, almost tempting Him beyond reason? How are believers supposed to use the authority of God, without being presumptuous and destructive? These questions had been driving me crazy, and now I had seemed to taste a little of that superhuman authority in recovering the stolen items from that pitiful sinner.
These are all questions that with which many in Christendom struggle and seek to somehow fit into their practical theology. Many will read the prophets, such as Joel and scratch their heads in disbelief, others will seek to apply these words in ways that does violence to the natural meaning of the words of scripture. Now, I have found some sure places in the word of God that can begin to bring sensible application to thses things, for instance: We are told that the dead are raptured before the living, but have you heard that Christ will do a worldwide miracle of resurrection in the last days before He catches away believers in the "rapture?" Do you want to know who will qualify for the rapture? Do not be deceived, not all saved, Christians, will go in the rapture; however, only saved Christians can go. Furthermore, the only living Christians that will be raptured are those who are in the class of people called the "Bride of Christ" As you read this exposition on the subject of the Biblical rapture, you will see how rapture is a consequence of a Christian resurrection, not an un-predictable event that happens in the "twinkling of an eye."
Part I: Sounding the Alarm
Chapter 1: Returning to the Word of God
Many have heard of the rapture and have heard of the "Left Behind" book series which sensationalized the scriptural truth of an immanent rapture, however the series fell short of visualizing the actual events as put forth in scripture (I did not read the book series, but I did see the movies starring Kirk Cameron and others). The authors of the series are not poor scholars in the field of Christian writing, so their depiction of end time events is well thought out and told creatively; their success proves that. However the theology that they based their story on does not agree with the Bible. The movies were made to evangelize not only entertain, and are effective in measure because they contain truth and they model faith, but they fall short in offering the plain sense of the scriptures. The title itself seems to skew the purpose for depicting the scriptures at all. When we accurately understand the scriptures according to the interpretation of God's spirit, we do not fear being "left behind," rather we hope for a "better resurrection." The biggest flaw in most people's understanding of the rapture is that many do not realize that shortly before the rapture occurs, there will be a Christian resurrection of the dead! The two are both predicted in the same passage, but their timing is not widely discussed. During the 1990's many read the books and could not put them down, but the theological flaws depicted in the series proves that even our best intentions, do not bring people into truth. It is still the Bible that we must consult. Like a hiker who somehow got off the path, the soul must retrace his steps back to the roadmap, righting his way. Those who are of Christ must return to the Bible for his or her religious progress. Imperfect theological constructs must eventually be left behind.
In the following passage I will show that there is not any scriptural basis to assume that the timing of the resurrection of the saints and the actual rapture must be simultaneous and mutually instantaneous. My parenthesis explain the events of the passage that I intend to divide into a sequence and order of occurrence. In this next passage Paul the apostle was telling the Thessalonian church that they were not to think that the resurrection has already come, but the opposite was indeed true:
1st Thessalonians 4:15-18
15 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 (be resurrected before) them which are asleep.
16 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 (all who have died being saved will actually be raised from the dead first):
17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds (after an amount of time following this resurrection of deceased believers, those Christians that have not yet died will be caught up with them in the clouds), to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words.
According to popular conceptions of rapture, simultaneousness is applied to resurrection and rapture. This is a misapplication. All of Paul's writing depict the near simultaneity of the dead in Christ rising and the living being glorified in their natural bodies soon before the rapture occurs as in 1 Corinthians 15:51:
51 Behold, I show you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,
52 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.
53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.
54 So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.
This proper reading of the scriptures will allow a realistic view of the event and as you will see, will clarify many passages in the Bible which seem cryptic or arcane. If the Gospel is a practical pursuit of God's living truth, then why must the doctrine of the rapture remain unintelligible? Shouldn't the rapture be one of the most understood doctrines, since it involves a mass experience that is sure to occur in the Church during these last days?
Thesis #1: The rapture of the Church will only happen to Christian believers who are resurrected and/or glorified before the time of the actual "catching away."
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