THE RETURN; Pre Mid Post - NYOBS 45.02

The Return; Pre Mid Post

Does Christ return BEFORE, in the MIDDLE or at the END of the Tribulations

If you are a Christian, then you already believe that Christ will return for His Believers.

The big debate is WHEN will He return. – This is linked to the phenomena known as “The Rapture”,

or the “Fly Away Doctrine” – Can this doctrine even be found in the Bible?

This study covers both sides of this fate debate.

A mind is like a parachute; it must be OPEN to be of any value.

The Tribulations

·         The Return of Christ is synonymous with the Tribulations and the Rapture of the Believer, so we can’t talk about Christ’s return without talking about the Tribulations and the Rapture of the Saints. – NYOBS 01.23 – RAPTURE

·         The Tribulation Period is the period of time when God completes His plan for Israel; when He tests, purges and purifies them and establishes His promised kingdom.  It is derived from Daniel's 70th Week. 

·         The Prophetic Clock stopped at the Cross – Sixty nine weeks of years have already passed and time is on hold with one week of years remaining, or to say it another way; SEVEN YEARS of Tribulations. – NYOBS 07.09 ESCHATOLOGY; THE RETURN OF CHRIST

·          The Great Tribulation occurs 3 ½ years into the Tribulations, with wars, famine, pestilence and earthquakes with this being only the beginning of the sorrows. – The tribulation is typically divided into two periods of 3.5 years each -  NYOBS 43.25 TRIBULATIONS

·         At the halfway point of the tribulation, the Antichrist will erect a image of himself to be worshipped in the Holy of Holies of the Temple that is yet to be built on what is called the Temple Mount; this is called the "Abomination of Desolation".  – This is a marker in time; a place holder. – NYOBS 07.78 ESCHATOLOGY - TEMPLES

·         The Fate Debate; will Christ return and remove the Believer before the tribulations begin or in the middle of it all or at the end. – Is there really “a Great Escape”?

·         Note: Just to get your pants all in a wad; the phrase “Seven Year Tribulation”, “Rapture” and Tribulation Saints” is NOT found anywhere in scripture although many commentaries use it. – To mess with you even further; God said, that in this world we would have tribulations, that our days would be full of trouble – Not just Seven Years.

Matthew 24:5-8 – Wars, Famines, Pestilences, Earth Quakes
⁵ For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.
⁶ You shall hear of wars and rumors of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.
⁷ For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in diverse places.
⁸ All these are the beginning of sorrows. (KJV)

John 16:33 - In the world you will have tribulation
³³ I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”

(ESV)

Job 14:1 - Man’s days are few and full of TROUBLE.
¹ Man who is born of a woman is few of days and full of trouble.

(ESV)

Dan 9:24-27 – (490 –49 –434) = 1 week or 7 years remaining

24 SEVENTY `sevens' (490) are decreed for your people and your holy city to finish transgression, to put an end to sin, to atone for wickedness, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the most holy. 

25 "Know and understand this: From the issuing of the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the Anointed One, the ruler, comes, there will be SEVEN `sevens,'(49) and SIXTY-TWO `sevens.' (434) - It will be rebuilt with streets and a trench, but in times of trouble. (70 x7 =490) (49 +434 =483)  (490 -483 =7)

26 After the sixty-two `sevens,' the Anointed One will be cut off and will have nothing. The people of the ruler who will come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end will come like a flood: War will continue until the end, and desolations have been decreed.

27 He will confirm a covenant with many for one `seven.' (7 years)  In the middle of the `seven' (3 ½ years) he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on a wing [of the temple] he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, (Anti-Christ Image) until the end that is decreed is poured out on him."  NIV

Rapture Side Bar

·         Two Return Views

1.     Final Resurrection View – One group of people; none are left behind; Christ returns only a single time with the Rapture being what happens to people during the final resurrection.

2.     Fundamentalist View – Two groups of people; those that are taken in the Rapture and those that are Left Behind to endure the tribulations.

·         Many believe that the return of Christ will be a public SINGLE event. - Others hold that the return of Christ to be TWO distinct events, or one second coming in TWO stages. – The first event is said to be PRIVATE and the second is PUBLIC.

·         Some students embrace that the Believers will be gathered together on EARTH and others hold that the gathering will be in HEAVEN; still others support the gathering in the AIR; so there is a cornucopia of thoughts and beliefs concerning the second coming of Christ.

·         There are notable authors, teachers and pastors who support the three different views.  I will not mention their “published” names; as their popularity should not determine your affirmation of a view.  – If the ”Fence Post” VIEW of a scripture does not line up with all the other “Fence Post” of scripture; then either the Bible is wrong or the view is wrong.

·         The Doctrine of “The Rapture” is only 185 years old, BUT we cannot scoff at it, or dismiss it because the early church did not observe it. – There are no new revelations, but there is new enlightenment of what has already been written in the scriptures. 

·         The Bible even tells us that there are things that have been sealed up that are to be revealed only in the end times when knowledge abounds. – We are there -

Jude 1:18 – In the end times there will be scoffers
¹⁸ They said to you, “In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow their own ungodly desires.” (NIV2011)

Daniel 12:3-4 – Seal the words till the Time of the End
³ And those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky above; and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.
⁴ But you, Daniel, shut up the words and seal the book, until the time of the end. Many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase.” (ESV)

Selective Rapture

·         Selective Rapture or partial Rapture - Bet you never heard of that.

·         I think it is noteworthy to mention that many hold that the rapture of the Saints is directly proportional to when they became Believers in Jesus Christ.

·         When did their conversion take place? - Before the Tribulations began; During the Tribulations or at the end of the Tribulations.

·         The Saints are raptured in Groups. – There is more than one Rapture. – Remember the Rapture includes the Believing dead as well as the Believing living. – Some hold the view that many will become “Believers” during the Tribulations only to lose their life; others not so.

·         Selective Partial Rapture – Only those who have been faithful with true fellowship with God will be raptured first. – The rest will be raptured during the tribulation or at its end.

Time Out

·         As you study the Three Doctrines on the return of Christ; look for a running theme called “The Wrath of God” that is woven throughout the tapestry of each position.  It’s the Key to understanding the reasons for the three different views.

Romans 1:18 - The wrath of God is revealed from heaven
¹⁸ For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. (ESV)

Colossians 3:5-6 – Wrath comes on the sons of disobedience
⁵ Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry.
⁶ For it is because of these things that THE WRATH OF GOD will come upon the sons of disobedience, (NASB)

Left Behind

·         Ponder This – In the end times; the first to be gathered are the unrighteous; the weeds, the tares; bundled up and burned.

·         Left Behind is the good seed, the wheat; they are left behind and gathered into God’s barn - The righteous will never be removed.

Matthew 13:30 – Gather the Weeds first and burn them
³⁰  Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Gather the weeds FIRST and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.’” (ESV)

Proverbs 10:30 - The righteous will never be removed
³⁰ The righteous will never be removed, but the wicked will not dwell in the land. (ESV)

LEFT BEHIND WITH A TWIST - RABBIT TRAIL

• I have been fascinated by the “LEFT BEHIND” series of books and I decided to wander through the scriptures that the novels are based on.
• Jesus is on the Mount of Olives teaching the Disciples about the END TIMES.  The smart people refer to this as the “Olivet Discourse”. – Jesus does not mention the Church, so this is NOT a discussion about the Rapture as the Church will have already been removed from the earth. - He is talking about the destruction of mankind and His Millennial Kingdom.
• Christ says He will not return as a man, so don’t look for a man even if he performs miracles, however that is exactly what the Antichrist will do.
• Jesus starts with sort of a parable explaining in so many words about when He will return and establish His kingdom in the end times.  It will be totally unexpected; things will be going on like normal with people getting married, having meals together, sleeping and going to work, etc., and of course there is nothing wrong with all these things.
• However in the days of Noah, people were living their lives LIKE GOD DID NOT EXIST and that’s exactly how it’s going to be when Christ returns. – LIKE IT IS NOW. 

Here’s how it all plays out

• Scripture says that two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left and it says two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.
• Then it says two people will be in one bed; one will be taken and the other left and in another place it says two women will be grinding grain; one will be taken and the other left."
• DID YOU SEE IT? - The cool thing about this scripture is that it smacks of the earth being ROUND as two are sleeping in the NIGHTIME and two are grinding grain in the DAYTIME. When Christ returns it will be all at once; all over the whole world; day and night.
• THE REAL GRABBER is that the Disciples asked Jesus, “Where will they be taken?” Jesus replied, “Where there is a dead body, there the vultures will gather”.
• This does not seem to be talking about the Rapture, but about Armageddon.  - Vultures hovering above dead bodies is clearly visible from a great distance and could mean that the Second Coming will be when the fowls of the air are invited to a grand feast.
• The return of Jesus Christ is in two phases – The FIRST is the Rapture of the Believers, (The Church) out of the earth. – The SECOND happens after the rapture and tribulation period, but just before the Millennium Reign of Christ begins.  This is where EVIL is being purged out of this earth. - (Pre-Trib View)
• I feel a need to say that there are also two phases to Armageddon.  The FIRST phase is a battle dealing with the Jewish Nation and the Muslims – The SECOND phase is the total annihilation of what’s left.  I only mention this because during the tribulation period and the FIRST phase of the battle of Armageddon, many will come to Christ.  New Believers; new Christian’s will now be on the earth. - You can read about it in  NYOBS 22.02 ARMAGEDDON
• Those that are TAKEN are in the SECOND phase of Christ’s return.  They are the evil people; non-believers and they are KILLED in the FIRST phase of Armageddon.
• Those that are LEFT BEHIND are the NEW Believers who will enter The Millennial Kingdom. – GOOD GRIEF – That is sure NOT what I have been taught. – Taken may also present the idea of Judgment which is the nature of Christ’s second coming.
• NOTE:  It was Noah that was LEFT BEHIND – It was also Lot that was LEFT BEHIND.
• Scripture seems to support that those that are LEFT BEHIND are the good guys.
• There are many opinions out there concerning the return of Christ; the Tribulations and the Rapture. – Keeping my mind OPEN helps me to learn more about the different possibilities.

Matt 24:3 – SIGNS - End of the age – Olivet Discourse

3 As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. "Tell us," they said, "when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?"

NIV

Matt 24:24-27 – All will see His return – Olivet Discourse

24 For false Christ’s and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect-if that were possible. See, I have told you ahead of time.

26 "So if anyone tells you, `There he is, out in the desert,' do not go out; or, `Here he is, in the inner rooms,' do not believe it.

27 For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.

NIV

Matt 24:28 – Birds eating the DEAD – Olivet Discourse

28 Wherever there is a carcass, (THE DEAD), there the vultures will gather. NIV

Matt 24:36-41 – The flood TOOK THEM - Olivet Discourse

36 "No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.

37 As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.

38 For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; 39 and they (the un-godly) knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and TOOK them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.

40 Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. 41 Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left. NIV

Luke 17:26-27 – NOAH – LEFT BEHIND – Evil are taken

26 "Just as it was in the days of NOAH, so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man.

27 People were eating, drinking, marrying and being given in marriage up to the day Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed them all. NIV

Luke 17:28-30 – LOT – LEFT BEHIND – Evil are taken

28 "It was the same in the days of LOT. People were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building.

29 But the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all.

30 "It will be just like this on the day the Son of Man is revealed.

NIV

1 Thess 4:13-15 – FIRST Phase of Christ’s return

13 Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope.

14 We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him.

15 According to the Lord's own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, WHO ARE LEFT (behind) till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep.

NIV

1 Thess 4:16-17 – FIRST phase of Christ’s return - RAPTURE

16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.

17 After that, we who are still alive and are left (behind) will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.

NIV

Luke 17:24 – SECOND phase of Christ return – ALL SEE

24 For the Son of Man in his day will be like the lightning, which flashes and lights up the sky from one end to the other.

NIV

Matt 24:38-41 – One will be taken and the other LEFT BEHIND

38 For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; 39 and they (Unbelievers) knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and TOOK THEM (unbelievers) ALL AWAY. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.

40 Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. 41 Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left. NIV

Luke 17:34-35 – Two people in bed – Two women grinding grain.

34 I tell you, on that night two people will be in one bed; one will be TAKEN and the other LEFT.

35 Two women will be grinding grain together; one will be TAKEN and the other LEFT." NIV

The Key - TAKEN

·         The Disciples asked Jesus WHERE are those that are “taken” going?

·         JESUS SAID that they are taken to be with the DEAD; where the vultures are gathering to eat. – (To me it sounds like Armageddon; The Wrath of God.)

Luke 17:37 – WHERE are those TAKEN?

37 "Where, Lord?" they asked. He replied, "Where there is a DEAD body, there the VULTURES will gather." NIV

Rev 19:17-18 – The VULTURES are called at Armageddon.

17 And I saw an angel standing in the sun, who cried in a loud voice to all the BIRDS flying in midair, "Come, gather together for the great supper of God,

18 so that you may EAT THE FLESH of kings, generals, and mighty men, of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all people, free and slave, small and great." NIV

Revelation 19:21 – The fowl of the air gorged on the flesh
²¹ And the rest were slain by the sword that came from the mouth of him who was sitting on the horse, and all the birds were gorged with their flesh. (ESV)

POST – MID – PRE

Return of Christ

Post-Tribulation Return (after)

·         Post-Tribulationists believe that Christians will undergo the entire Seven Year Tribulation period, but are spared the wrath of God. The Rapture of the Believers will occur at the end of the last of the three and a half years which is known as “The Great Tribulations”.

·         Understand that there is a difference between The Tribulations and The Wrath of God. – The great tribulations are the result of sin and the curses it brings, along with the troubles that are cut loose by the Anti-Christ.

·         We will be delivered up and go through the tribulations and many put to death, but the ones who endure to the end will be saved. – Nowhere in scripture does it say that we will be raptured before things get bad in the Tribulations.

·         The wrath of God comes AFTER the Tribulations and we are raptured just before it begins

·         Jesus prayed, I do NOT ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one”.  His intention was the preserving of the Believers during the WRATH.

·         Jesus says that when we see the Abomination of Desolation; which is the Anti-Christ setting up an image of himself in the Holy of Holies to be worshiped, we should all FLEE to the mountains - This introduces the next 3 ½ years called the Great Tribulations. - Christ will shorten these days for the sake of the Believers that are still on the earth; the Elect.

·         The Return of Christ is in the AIR when the LOUD LAST TRUMPET sounds at the end of the seven years of Tribulations. – This is the Seventh Last Trumpet of Revelation known as the LAST TRUMP. -  It’s not SECRET; Jews and Gentile alike will hear the loud trumpet blast and will see Him as the lightning flashes from the East to the West.

·         God's Elect from all ages will be translated from mortal bodies into immortal glorified bodies at the end of the 70th Week of Daniel, the final seven years of this present age.

·         U-TURN BACK – After the Battle of Armageddon is finished, Christ returns ON the EARTH with the raptured Believers and ushers in the new Millennium; the thousand year reign of Christ on earth. – NYOBS 25.28 – MILLENNIUM REIGN PURPOSE

·         In essence, the second coming of Christ and the rapture are combined and occur simultaneously. The Believers will meet him in the air and will then will accompany him as He returns to Earth.

·         Only the Battle of Armageddon separates the rapture and Christ’s return.

·         The "Counsel of Scripture" seems to teach that the resurrection and rapture of the Church will be the result of the VISIBLE and PHYSICAL Second Coming of Jesus Christ to EARTH and that Christians are to look and watch for this event.  

·         A Two Phase coming of Christ is not mentioned explicitly in scripture. – There is NO third return as held by the Mid and Pre-Tribulation doctrines.

Matthew 24:6-9 – Believers will be delivered TO the Tribulations
⁶ And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet.
⁷ For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places.
⁸ All these are but the beginning of the birth pains.
⁹ Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake.

(ESV)

John 17:15 –I do not ask that you take them out of the World
¹⁵ I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. (ESV)

Matthew 24:13 - The one who endures to the end will be saved.
¹³ But the one who endures to the end will be saved.

Matthew 24:14-20 – Abomination Desolation – Flee to mountains
¹⁴ And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.
¹⁵ So when you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand),
¹⁶ then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.
¹⁷ Let the one who is on the housetop not go down to take what is in his house,
¹⁸ and let the one who is in the field not turn back to take his cloak.
¹⁹ And alas for women who are pregnant and for those who are nursing infants in those days!
²⁰ Pray that your flight may not be in winter or on a Sabbath.

Matthew 24:21-22 - GREAT tribulations – Days cut short
²¹ For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be.
²² And if those days had not been cut short, no human being would be saved. But for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short.

Matthew 24:29-31 – Christ returns IMMEDIATELY after Trib
²⁹ Immediately AFTER the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:
³⁰  And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall ALL the tribes of the earth mourn, and they SHALL SEE the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
³¹ And he shall send his angels with a GREAT SOUND of a TRUMPET, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, (four corners of the earth) from one end of heaven to the other.

(KJV)

Matthew 24:28-29 – The un-righteous weeds are gathered first
²⁸ Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.
²⁹ Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.

Matthew 24:30-31 – Then the Elect are gathered N-E-S-W

³⁰ Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
³¹ And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

1 Thessalonians 4:15-17 – Lord returns at the TRUMPET sound
¹⁵ For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep.
¹⁶ For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the TRUMPET of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.
¹⁷ Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.

(ESV)

1 Corinthians 15:51-52- At the end – LAST TRUMPET - Rapture
⁵¹  Behold, I shew 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. (KJV)

Revelation 20:4-6 - First Resurrection just before the Millennium
⁴ And 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.
⁵ But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the FIRST RESURRECTION.
⁶ Blessed 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. (KJV)

Warning – Post Tribulation Return

·         Warning:  Jesus said to take heed that no one deceives you. – Could it be that the Pre and Mid-Tribulation teachings are deceiving the nations? – Does God send a strong delusion to those who chose to NOT receive His truth? – (something to just ponder)

·         When Christ does not come back before the Tribulations begin, many will lose their faith and fall away because they expected to be rescued. - Lawlessness will increase because of the false teachings of well-meaning Christians and Pastors.

·         Scripture holds that the falling away is a rebellion against Christ and it happens in the first 3 ½ years just before the Anti-Christ is revealed at the middle point of the Tribulations.

·         Understand; only “once” believing Christians can rebel. – Christ WILL NOT RETURN until there is a rebellion and the Anti-Christ is revealed.

·         The Holy Spirit; the restraining force of the Anti-Christ, IS NOT removed from the earth before the tribulations, as embraced by the Pre –Tribulationist. – If the Holy Spirit has been removed from the earth, then how can the Tribulation Saints be saved? – There will be Believers that scripture calls “Brethren” that will come out of the Tribulations.

·         There is NO SECOND CHANCE as the Pre-Trib-ers teach – When Christ returns, He will separate the wheat from the weeds, the Believing Sheep from the unbelieving Goats; who will weep and gnash their teeth as they are cut into pieces and cast into the fiery furnace.

Matthew 24:10-12 – When Christ doesn’t return many fall away
¹⁰ And then many will FALL AWAY and betray one another and hate one another.
¹¹ And many false prophets (Teachers and Pastors) will arise and lead many astray.
¹² And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold.  (ESV)  

Matthew 24:4-5 - Take heed that no one deceives you.
⁴ And Jesus answered and said to them: "Take heed that no one deceives you.

⁵ For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will lead many astray.

(NKJV)

Matthew 24:23-27 – Don’t believe about a SECRET Rapture
²³Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There he is!’ DO NOT BELIEVE IT.
²⁴ For false Christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect.
²⁵ See, I have told you beforehand.
²⁶ So, if they say to you, ‘Look, he is in the wilderness,’ do not go out. If they say, ‘Look, he is in the inner rooms,’ DO NOT BELIEVE IT.
²⁷ For as the LIGHTNING comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.

(ESV)

2 Thessalonians 2:1-4 – Rebellion first then Anti-Christ revealed
¹ Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him, we ask you, brothers,
² not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed, either by a spirit or a spoken word, or a letter seeming to be from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come.
³ LET NO ONE DECEIVE YOU in any way. For that day will not come, unless the REBELLION comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction,
⁴  who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God.

(ESV)

Matthew 25:31-46 – Christ returns separates sheep from goats
³¹ When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne.
³² Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.
³³ And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left.
⁴¹ Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.
⁴⁶ And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” (ESV)

Matthew 13:37-43 – The weeds are TAKEN first and burned
³⁷ He answered, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man.
³⁸ The field is the world, and the good seed is the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one,
³⁹ and the enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels.
⁴⁰ Just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at the end of the age.
⁴¹ The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers,
⁴² and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
⁴³ Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. HE WHO HAS EARS, LET HIM HEAR.

(ESV)

Matthew 24:50-51 – Cut to pieces weeping and gnashing of teeth
⁵⁰The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know
⁵¹ and will cut him in pieces and put him with the hypocrites. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. (ESV)

Revelation 6:10-11 – Tribulation Saints – LEFT BEHIND Brethren
¹⁰ And they cried with a loud voice, saying, "How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?"
¹¹ Then a white robe was given to each of them; and it was said to them that they should rest a little while longer, until both the number of their fellow servants and their BRETHREN, who would be killed as they were, was completed.

(NKJV)

2 Thessalonians 2:10-12 – Is Pre-Trib a delusion from God?
¹⁰ and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved.
¹¹ Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false,
¹² in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness. (ESV)

The Date – Post Tribulation Return

·         The Date – Christ said we would NOT know the day nor the hour, but we can know the season. – Scripture says will see His sign in the heavens, so the teaching that His return could be today at any moment is in ERROR; we will see His sign first.

·         Non-believers are of the night; they are not ready, and if they do not wake up; He will come unexpectedly as a thief in the night to steal, kill and destroy them.

·         Believers do not live in darkness, there will be NO SURPRISE; there will be NO SECRET Rapture.

·         The four horsemen of the Apocalypse have already been let out. – The Anti-Christ on the White horse is already at work – The Red horse has taken peace for the last 100 years – The Black horse of economic distress already exists; look around. – The Pale horse of suffering, famine and plagues has already taken its toll over ¼ of the earth. – Look Around -

Revelation 3:3 – If you do not wake up – Come like a thief
³ Remember, then, what you received and heard. Keep it, and repent. If you will not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come against you. (ESV)

John 10:10 - The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy
¹⁰ The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.

(ESV)

2 Peter 3:10-14 - Wicked Spiritually unprepared - SURPRISED
¹⁰ But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.
¹¹  Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness,
¹²  waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn!
¹³ But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.
¹⁴ Therefore, beloved, since you are waiting for these, be diligent to be found by him without spot or blemish, and at peace.

(ESV)

1 Thessalonians 5:1-11 - Believers not in darkness; NO Surprise
¹ Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need to have anything written to you.
² For you yourselves are FULLY AWARE that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.
³ While people are saying, “There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.
⁴ But you are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief.
⁵ For you are all children of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness.
⁶ So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober.
⁷ For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, are drunk at night.
⁸ But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation.
⁹  For GOD HAS NOT DESTINED US FOR WRATH, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,
¹⁰  who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him.
¹¹ Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing. (ESV)

Mid-Tribulation Return

·         There are two scrolls mentioned in Revelation; the “first scroll” describes the first half of the tribulations as the SIGNS of the end; and the second or “the little scroll” describes the second half of the tribulation period; the EVENTS of the end.

·         Note; the Bible uses the word "tribulation" to refer only to the second half of Daniel's 70th week. - The Mid-Tribulationist holds that the FIRST 3 ½ years is only the “Travail” or the “Beginning of Sorrows”. - The LAST 3 ½ years is the Great Tribulations when “the wicked shall be given into his hand”.

·         The tribulation is divided into two periods of 3.5 years each. – The first half is the wrath of the Anti-Christ and the second half is reserved for the Wrath of God.

·         Scripture draws a clear distinction between the “Tribulations Trouble” and the “Wrath of God”. 

·         The Second coming is also referred to as “Pre Wrath”, the snatching away before the final Wrath of God is released.  

·         The Word Wrath is not mentioned in the first half of the tribulations, but is reserved only for the second half. In scripture it occurs just after the sixth seal of revelation is opened; with the seventh seal unfolding the last 3 ½ years of the “great” tribulations.

·         Mid-Trib is based on three verses in scripture about the WHEN the LAST trumpet of God is sounded; it’s about the Last Trumpet and God’s Wrath.

·         The Sixth Seal is opened and  there is an EARTHQUAKE; every Island and Mountain is displaced, the sun is darkened, the moon turns red, the stars do not give light – It releases; Darkness – Blackness – Fire -  Billows of Smoke – Roaring Seas - Famine – Blood – Gloom - Anguish and Perplexity. – The Atmosphere rolls back like a scroll.  (sound NUCLEAR to me) - We should Watch and Pray to escape all these things and endure to the end.

·         The opening of the Seventh Seal of revelation releases the sounding of the six trumpets that takes place during the first 3 ½ years; then beginning with the SEVENTH TRUMPET the second half of the tribulations commences and the Believers are now in heaven.

·         The Mid-Tribulation view holds that the Believers will go through the first 3 ½ years of “TRAVAIL”, but will be raptured into Heaven before the severe outpouring of God's WRATH during the second half known as the “Great” Tribulation. - The days of the tribulation are cut short for the Believer by 3 ½ years.

·         The Rapture of the Saints is a logical necessity as well as a scriptural promise. – God has promised to keep the Believer from the hour of trial. – The saints are pictured as Raptured; coming out of the Great Tribulation and washing their robes in the blood of the Lamb.

·         When the Anti-Christ SIGNS the Peace Treaty with Israel, then the Rapture will come 3 ½ years later when he BREAKS the treaty. – This is proof that the Pre-Trib people who believe that Christ can come at any moment is FALSE.

·         It’s the last 3 ½ years; the middle of the Tribulations that the Anti-Christ is revealed, setting the stage for the final return of Christ.  – It begins with the Anti-Christ setting up an image of himself to be worshipped in the Holy of Holies of the Temple; this is known as the Abomination of Desolation.

·         Christ returns for the last time after the Great Tribulation to perform His final judgments; establish His millennial reign and usher in the eternal destinies of people to heaven or hell.

·         There are two reaping’s; one for the saved and one for those bound for wrath.

·         Note: (Mid- Trib) - Christ will return a third time, at the end of the tribulation period. - There is 3 ½ years between the two stages of Christ’s second coming.

Daniel 7:25 – Time – Times & Half time; 1 + 2 + ½ = 3.5 years
²⁵ He shall speak words against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High, and shall think to change the times and the law; and THEY SHALL BE GIVEN INTO HIS HAND for a time, times, and half a time. (ESV)

Matthew 24:7-8 – Tribulation First Half - Beginning of Sorrows
⁷ For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
⁸ All these are the beginning of sorrows. (KJV)

1 Thessalonians 5:3 –Tribulation First Half - Travail
³ for when they may say, Peace and surety, then sudden destruction doth stand by them, as the travail doth her who is with child, and they shall not escape; (YLT)

Luke 21:35-36 – Watch, pray to escape all these things
³⁵ For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth.
³⁶ Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man. (KJV)

Matthew 24:22 - Those days will be shortened for the Believer
²² And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened (KJV)

Mark 13:13 - He that endures unto the end will be saved
¹³ And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. (KJV)

Revelation 3:10 - I will keep you from the hour of trial
¹⁰ Because you have kept my word about patient endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world, to try those who dwell on the earth. (ESV)

Revelation 7:14 – Raptured out of the great Tribulation
¹⁴ I said to him, “Sir, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. (ESV)

 Zephaniah 2:3 - Humble yourself – God may hide you from wrath ³ Seek the LORD, all you humble of the land, who do his just commands; seek righteousness; seek humility; perhaps you may be hidden on the day of the anger of the LORD. (ESV)

2 Thessalonians 2:3 – Christ not come till Anti-Christ revealed
³ Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction. (NIV2011)

Daniel 9:27 – Abomination of Desolation 3 ½ years middle Trib.
²⁷And he shall make a strong covenant with many for one week (7 years), and for half of the week (3 ½ years) he shall put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing (Temple) of abominations shall come one (Anti-Christ) who makes desolate, until the decreed end is poured out (Wrath of God) on the desolator (Anti-Christ).” (ESV)

Rev 6:12-14 - Sixth Seal – Earthquake – Sun Black – Moon Red

12 I watched as he opened the sixth seal. There was a great earthquake. The sun turned black like sackcloth made of goat hair, the whole moon turned blood red,

13 and the stars in the sky fell to earth, as late figs drop from a fig tree when shaken by a strong wind.

14 The sky receded like a scroll, rolling up, (NUCLEAR?) and every mountain and island was removed from its place.

Revelation 5:9 – The Scroll – SIGNS of the End
⁹ And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are you to take THE SCROLL and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, (ESV)

Revelation 10:1-7 - The Little Scroll – EVENTS of the End
¹ Then I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven, wrapped in a cloud, with a rainbow over his head, and his face was like the sun, and his legs like pillars of fire.
² He had A LITTLE SCROLL open in his hand. And he set his right foot on the sea, and his left foot on the land,
⁵ And the angel whom I saw standing on the sea and on the land raised his right hand to heaven
⁶ and swore by him who lives forever and ever, who created heaven and what is in it, the earth and what is in it, and the sea and what is in it, that there would be no more delay,
⁷ but that in the days of the trumpet call to be sounded by the seventh angel, the mystery of God would be fulfilled, just as he announced to his servants the prophets. (ESV)

1 - 1 Thessalonians 4:15-16 – God descends with the Trumpet sound
¹⁵ For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep.
¹⁶ For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the TRUMPET of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. (ESV)

2 - 1 Corinthians 15:50-52 – We will all be changed LAST Trumpet
⁵⁰ I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.
⁵¹ Behold! I tell 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 trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. (ESV)

3 - Revelation 10:7 – The Seventh Trumpet of the Seventh Angel
⁷ but that in the days of the trumpet call to be sounded by the seventh angel, the mystery of God would be FULFILLED, just as he announced to his servants the prophets. (ESV)

Pre-Tribulation Return

·         The Pre-Tribulation position advocates that the second return of Christ is in two stages, the first stage is the Secret rapture which will occur before the beginning of the seven-year tribulation period; and the second stage will occur at the end of the seven-year tribulation period; just before the WRATH of God and the battle of Armageddon.

·         Pre-tribulationists embrace the Pre-Wrath view that is often described as Jesus coming back FOR the church in the 1^st stage of the rapture and then coming back WITH the church in the 2^nd stage, after the rapture. – All of the entire tribulation is the “Wrath of God”; not just “half” as the Mid-Tribers believe nor “none” as the Post-Tribers believe.

·         The Judgment Seals of Revelation are opened by Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God. - This is the beginning of The Wrath of God being poured out. - Jesus Christ is the one who gives the power of this wrath to the Anti-Christ. - The Wrath of God flows the entire period of the Tribulation period all the way through Armageddon.

• Scripture supports the view that those who love the lord will be delivered from “His Holy Judgments”.  -  Lot was delivered from the extermination of Sodom and Gomorrah and “Noah” and his family was snatched away during the flood. - These examples are of God’s loving extraction before His judgment begins.
• Jesus clearly states He is coming back for us and will meet us in the air and we will receive a crown of glory.  Christians refer to this as the catching away or rapture of the Saints.
• The Disciple John states that he was in the Spirit in Heaven and sees Jesus Christ on the Throne.  John’s body was not yet glorified, so only his spirit was allowed before the throne. Sounds like he was raptured to me. – Just saying.
• Beginning with the fourth chapter of Revelation; the Church is not mentioned again till chapter nineteen when we are at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb.
• Interestingly, there were some raptures in the Old Testament too.  Enoch zapped into the heavens as well as Elijah, and later Paul’s spirit was caught up there also.  
• Notice: Twice, Paul says “Caught Up” in the scripture, so this seems to be an important point.

·         Note: (Pre-Trib) - Christ must return a third time, at the end of the tribulation period.

·         There is SEVEN years between the two stages of Christ’s return.

Rev 4:2 – JOHN’S spirit “raptured”; taken before the throne

2 And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne. KJV

1 Thess 5:9 – The Believer will not receive The WRATH of GOD

9 For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, KJV

Gen 19:29 – Lot brought out of the Tribulations

29 So when God destroyed the cities of the plain, he remembered Abraham, and he brought Lot out of the catastrophe that overthrew the cities where Lot had lived. NIV

Gen 19:16 – Only LOT and his family – The Believers

16 When he (Lot) hesitated, the men grasped his hand and the hands of his wife and of his two daughters and led them safely out of the city, for the LORD was merciful to them. NIV

Gen 7:1 – NOAH is delivered

1 The LORD then said to Noah, "Go into the ark, you and your whole family, because I have found you righteous in this generation.

NIV

Gen 7:23 – Only NOAH and his family – The Believers

23 Every living thing on the face of the earth was wiped out; men and animals and the creatures that move along the ground and the birds of the air were wiped from the earth. Only Noah was LEFT, and those with him in the ark. NIV

2 Cor 12:2-4 – PAUL Caught Up - Raptured

2 I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was CAUGHT UP to the third heaven. Whether it was in the body or out of the body I do not know-God knows.

3 And I know that this man-whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, but God knows-

4 was CAUGHT UP to paradise. NIV

Heb 11:5 – ENOCH Taken - Raptured

5 By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death; he could not be found, because God had taken him away. NIV

2 Kings 2:11-12 – ELIJAH Went Up - Raptured

11 As they were walking along and talking together, suddenly a chariot of fire and horses of fire appeared and separated the two of them, and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind. NIV

Acts 1:9-11 - Jesus will return the same way He went to heaven
⁹ And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight.
¹⁰ And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes,
¹¹ and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.” (ESV)

Matt 24:37-41 – Things will be going on as Usual – Then BAM

37 As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.

38 For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark;

39 and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.

40 Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left

41 Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left. NIV

1 Thessalonians 4:16 – Christ will descend from Heaven
¹⁶ For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a (shout) cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. (ESV)

1 Thessalonians 4:16 – Dead in Christ Meet Him in the Air first

¹⁶ For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a (shout) cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.

(ESV)

1 Thessalonians 4:17 – Alive in Christ will Meet them in the Air

¹⁷ Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. (ESV)

Revelation 6:1-2- JESUS opens Seals; Gives power to Anti-Christ
¹ And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures saying, as it were a voice of thunder, `Come and behold!'
² and I saw, and lo, a white horse, and he who is sitting upon it is having a bow, and there was given to him a crown, and he went forth overcoming, and that he may overcome. (YLT)

Fly Away Doctrine – Rabbit Trail

·         Rapture Origin – In the mid 1800’s Minister Edward Irving of a church in Scotland had a young girl named Margaret MacDonald, who fell into a trance and had several hours of visions and prophecy. – She revealed that Christ would return in two phases; one visibly only to the righteous and a second time to execute wrath on the unrighteous. – John Darby of the Plymouth Brethren traveled to Scotland and developed the doctrine of the Rapture.

·         Before 1830, no one had ever heard of a “Secret Rapture” or the Fly Away Doctrine. -  No Church had taught it in their creed, catechism or statement of Faith until John Nelson Darby preached about it in 1830. -  So at this writing this doctrine is NOT predated by 2,000 years, but is of recent origin; only 185 years old.

·         The phrase “Caught Up” is in the Bible, but the word RAPTURE is not found anywhere in Scripture.

·         Those that oppose the concept of the Rapture, call it the “Escape Doctrine” or “Escapism”; the belief that there is a Great Escape from the Tribulations – The opponents point to the writings of the Prophet Ezekiel, Chapter 13 as their main source of opposition.

·         The most prominent opponent to the Rapture Doctrine is Dr. Arnold Murray who has a 24 hour satellite program called “Shepherds Chapel”. – I have paraphrased his comments:

·         God tells Ezekiel to prophecy that there are some people who are coming up with prophesies from out of their own hearts, they are foolish and are following their own spirit.  Their vision is a vain lying spirit and God has NOT spoken.  God is against those who would hunt the souls of ignorant people and teach them the Fly Away Doctrine just to get them to join and grow their church. -  (Example; John Nelson Darby.) – NYOBS 01.23 - RAPTURE

·         NOTE:  In the 5^th Century before Christ, the women of Israel were involved in false religions and lying to the people by telling them that there would be peace; that judgement would NOT come from God. - They were selling amulets to keep a person from getting sick and to protect them from getting harmed. It was on these women that God told Ezekiel to pronounce HIS judgment.

·         God was against the magic charms that had ensnared His people like caged birds and He would set them free and let THEM FLY AWAY. – Read the ENTIRE chapter for yourself.

·         In my opinion; I might say the same thing about Shepard’s Chapel using “The Fly Away” doctrine to knit unsuspecting people to his own organization. – (Just my opinion) – I must admit that I have watched his program for many years and believe he is a very smart man, BUT he has some very far out theories; such as Satan having sex with Eve producing the child Cain, who became the father of the “Cainites”. - These Cainites still exist in the hidden dynasties that control the world government today. – You can read about the Gnostic Cainites in the Apocrypha, The Gospel of Judas, but it’s not found in the Bible.

FLY AWAY DOCTRINE SCRIPTURES

Ezekiel 13:2-3 – You prophecy, but you have seen nothing
² Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel that prophesy, and say thou unto them that prophesy out of their own hearts, Hear ye the word of the LORD;
³ Thus saith the Lord GOD; Woe unto the foolish prophets, that follow their own spirit, and have seen nothing!

(KJV)

Ezekiel 13:7-8 – It’s a lying prophecy – God has not spoken
⁷ Have ye not seen a vain vision, and have ye not spoken a lying divination, whereas ye say, The LORD saith it; albeit I have not spoken?
⁸ Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because ye have spoken vanity, and seen lies, therefore, behold, I am against you, saith the Lord GOD. (KJV)

Ezekiel 13:20  - God is against Fly Away doctrine – The Rapture
²⁰ Wherefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against your pillows, wherewith ye there hunt the souls to make them FLY, and I will tear them from your arms, and will let the souls go, even the souls that ye hunt to make them FLY.

(KJV)

WHAT EZEKIEL ACTUALLY SAYS

Ezekiel 13:17 – Prophesy against the Women
¹⁷ Likewise, thou son of man, set thy face against the daughters of thy people, which prophesy out of their own heart; and prophesy thou against them,

(KJV)

Ezekiel 13:10 – Saying there will be peace and there is none
¹⁰ Because, even because they have seduced my people, saying, Peace; and there was no peace; and one built up a wall, and, lo, others daubed it with untempered mortar:

(KJV)

Ezekiel 13:18 – Women SELLING amulets for the people to wear
¹⁸ And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; WOE TO THE WOMEN that sew pillows to all armholes, and make kerchiefs upon the head of every stature to hunt souls! Will ye hunt the souls of my people, and will ye save the souls alive that come unto you?

(KJV)

Ezekiel 13:20a – I am AGAINST your good luck charms
²⁰ Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I am AGAINST your magic bands with which you hunt the souls like birds, and I will tear them from your arms, and

Ezekiel 13:20b – I will let the souls FLY AWAY like Birds

I will let the souls whom you hunt go free, the souls like birds.

(ESV)

Gospel of Judas - Rabbit Trail

·         First Word - There are many writing out there that were not included in the Bible, because their FENSE POST did not line up with the Fence Post of the other writers of the Bible.  These writings are known as; The Apocrypha, The Forgotten Books of Adam and Eve, The Lost Books of the Bible, The Missing Books of the Bible, The Gospels of The Dead Sea Scrolls, and The Gospel according to Whoever. – It was the practice and custom of the day, to write on a subject and attach someone else’s name of notoriety to it, just to give it some form of credibility.

·         The Gospel of Judas like many Gnostic works, is a Gnostic gospel whose content refers to itself specifically as "The Secret Account of the revelation that Jesus spoke in conversations with Judas Iscariot. - Since it contains late 2nd century theology, it is thought to have been composed in the second century by Gnostic Christians, NOT by Judas himself. - It was originally 31 pages, but only 13 pages have survived.  It has 16 chapters teaching about spiritual matters and COSMOLOGY.

·         Gnosticism – The term comes from the Ancient Greek word: γνωστικόςgnostikos, meaning; Having Knowledge, Enlightenment, Salvation, Emancipation or “Oneness with God”.

• Gnostics – The “People In The Know” – Taught Secret Revelations combined with a mixing of myths and rites drawn from a variety of religious traditions.  They believe we are all in a TIME CONTINUUM and that Jesus had taught Secret Teachings to the Apostles that moved them along this continuum.
• The Gnostics maintained that this material world and all that’s in it is the result of a Cosmic Catastrophe, and was created by an evil lesser god and our SOUL needs to escape this material world and return to the world of the spirit.

·         The gospel of Judas seems to argue that unlike the SOUL, the PHYSICAL BODY is NOT a prison which needs to be escaped from. (The Rapture; The Fly Away Doctrine)

·         Jesus was sent as the Son of the true God, not of one of the lesser gods. - His mission was to show that salvation lies in connecting with THE GOD WITHIN THE MAN. - Through embracing THE INTERNAL GOD, the man can then return to the imperishable realm.

• Women - If you can just comprehend the Gnostic thinking, that women were just a part of a Time Continuum that begins with plants, then evolves to bugs, then animals, then women, then men and finally to a god.  - So, ultimately as you progress along the Time Continuum, you would be like the gods.  (This was the very lie that Satan taught in the Garden of Eden)
• A “female” in the Time Continuum, was actually a “male” that had just not yet “arrived”. – So a female was considered a “Second Class Person”; an inferior human being – Inferior to her father, her brothers and her husband and to all men.
• This is why Mary Magdalene was not believed about the resurrection of Jesus Christ. - Jesus would not have revealed His secrets privately to a woman rather than publicly to the men; specifically His Disciples. – Read “The Gospel of Mary” about the jealousy between Peter and Mary.
• This thought process had to do with domination.  The top denominates downward like a master over his slave.  The more powerful Male is SUPPOSED to dominate the less powerful female. - Far out stuff, huh !
• Salvation cannot be obtained until ALL souls have returned to the spiritual realm.
• But, we can’t escape as long as “WOMEN” keep having babies. – So avoid procreation; -Don’t participate.  - A non-reproductive woman is “on her way” to becoming a “man” and thus entering the kingdom of heaven. – Today we see women marring women and they cannot reproduce and they dress themselves like a man. - Is this some far out, messed up stuff or what?

·         You can go to any Catholic bookstore and pick up a copy of the Gnostic Gospels, there is no attempt to hide them. – You can also go on line, on the internet. - Christians may or may not believe these additional books to be true, but they do give you a flavor of what they were thinking during that time.

·         The Gospel of Judas portrays Judas's actions as done in obedience to instructions given to him by Christ. - He is portrayed as the only one of Jesus's disciples who accurately understood the words of his master.  – He was a Divinely Appointed Instrument of a grand and predetermined purpose. – He was PREDESTINED. - It asserts that the other Disciples had not learned the true Gospel which Jesus taught only to Judas Iscariot, who is the SOLE follower belonging to the "holy generation" among the disciples.

·         Elsewhere in the manuscript, Jesus favors Judas above the other disciples by saying, "Step away from the others and I shall tell you the mysteries of the kingdom", and "Look, you have been told everything.  Lift up your eyes and look at the cloud and the light within it and the stars surrounding it. The star that leads the way IS YOUR STAR." – (Wikipedia) - I wonder if it was a BURNING star like the sun.

·         Interestingly, The Bible does not say that Judas went to Hell or the Lake of Fire, it just says he went to his own place. – SELAH - Think about that - NYOBS 10.34 - JUDAS CONSPIRACY

Genesis 3:5 – Satan teaches; You will be just like the gods
⁵ For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. (KJV)

Acts 1:25- Judas went to his own place

25 That he may take part of this ministry and apostleship, from which Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place.

KJV

Mark 14:21 – It would be better for him if he had not been born.

21 The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him. But woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born." NIV

Escapism – The Great Escape

·         Is the Doctrine of ESCAPISM found in the Bible? – I hope to smile it is…. The Believer will escape the Tribulations. – It’s an Old Testament concept as well as New Testament.

·         God knows how to rescue the Believer and will not allow The Tribulations to come until He has given us a way out - He tells the Believer to pray for strength to go through what is to come, that He has provided a WAY OF ESCAPE.

·         He provided a way for Noah and his family as well as Lot and his family.  God says He will do nothing till His family has escaped.

OT - Psalm 71:2 - Deliver me and rescue me
² In your righteousness deliver me and rescue me; incline your ear to me, and save me! (ESV)

OT - Psalm 141:10 – I will pass safely
¹⁰ Let the wicked fall into their own nets, while I pass by safely. (ESV)

NT - Luke 21:36 – Be vigilant - Pray to Escape all these things
³⁶ But stay awake at all times, praying that you may have strength to ESCAPE all these things that are going to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.” (ESV)

NT - 1 Corinthians 10:13 – God provides a way of ESCAPE
¹³ No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it. (ESV)

NT - Revelation 3:10-11 – I will keep you from the hour of trial.
¹⁰ Because you have kept my word about patient endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world, to try those who dwell on the earth.
¹¹ I am coming soon. Hold fast what you have, so that no one may seize your crown. (ESV)

OT - Genesis 19:16-17 – God provided Lot a WAY OF ESCAPE
¹⁶ But he (Lot) lingered. So the men seized him and his wife and his two daughters by the hand, the LORD being merciful to him, and they brought him out and set him outside the city.
¹⁷ And as they brought them out, one said, “ESCAPE for your life. Do not look back or stop anywhere in the valley. ESCAPE to the hills, lest you be swept away.” (ESV)

OT - Exodus 12:23 -  I will pass over you – You will ESCAPE death
²³ For the LORD will pass through to strike the Egyptians, and when he sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the LORD will pass over the door and will not allow the destroyer to enter your houses to strike you. (ESV)

NT - Hebrews 11:7 – God provided Noah a WAY OF ESCAPE

⁷ By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith. (ESV)

OT - Genesis 19:22 – I will do nothing till Lot’s family ESCAPES
²² Escape there quickly, for I can do nothing till you arrive there.” Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar. (ESV)

NT - 2 Peter 2:9 - Lord knows how to rescue the Godly from trials
⁹ then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the Day of Judgment,

NT - Revelation 7:3 – 144,000 sealed and ESCAPE the tribulations
³ saying, “Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.” (ESV)

OT - Isaiah 37:32– A Band of Survivors– God will see to it
³² For out of Jerusalem shall go a remnant, and out of Mount Zion a band of survivors. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this. (ESV)

 (ESV)

OT - Ezekiel 14:13-14 – God will deliver the righteous even just three
¹³ Son of man, when a land sins against me by acting faithlessly, and I stretch out my hand against it and break its supply of bread and send famine upon it, and cut off from it man and beast,
¹⁴ even if these THREE men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they would deliver, but their own lives by their righteousness, declares the Lord GOD. (ESV)

NT - Hebrews 11:31 – The Prostitute Rahab ESCAPED death by Faith
³¹ By faith Rahab the prostitute did not perish with those who were disobedient, because she had given a friendly welcome to the spies. (ESV)

NT - Luke 21:21 –  Flee to the mountains – A way out - ESCAPE
²¹ Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, and let those who are inside the city depart, and let not those who are out in the country enter it, (ESV)

OT - Daniel 11:41 – Believers shall be delivered ESCAPE the Antichrist

⁴¹ He shall come into the glorious land. And tens of thousands shall fall, but these shall be delivered out of his hand: Edom and Moab and the main part of the Ammonites. (ESV)

Old Testament Pattern

·         The Old Testament is a SHADOW of “The Return” in the New Testament, it is a PATTERN of the Rapture. – If you are Jewish and only follow The Torah, then here is the proof that the Old Testament is linked to the New Testament and the Return of the Messiah.

OT - Exodus 19:11 - The LORD will come down on Mount of Sinai
¹¹ and be ready for the third day. For on the third day the LORD will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people. (ESV)

OT - Exodus 19:18- The LORD descended in fire and smoke
¹⁸ Now Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke because the LORD had descended on it in fire. The smoke of it went up like the smoke of a kiln, and the whole mountain trembled greatly. (ESV)

NT - Acts 1:9-11 - He will return the same way He went to heaven
⁹ And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight.
¹⁰ And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes,
¹¹ and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.” (ESV)

OT - Exodus 19:19 – God’s voice was in the Thunder
¹⁹ And as the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him in thunder. (ESV)

OT - Exodus 19:16 -Thunder, Lightning and a Trumpet Blast
¹⁶ On the morning of the third day there were thunders and lightning’s and a thick cloud on the mountain and a very loud trumpet blast, so that all the people in the camp trembled. (ESV)

NT - 1 Thessalonians 4:16 – Christ’s Voice - Trumpet
¹⁶ For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with A CRY of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. (ESV)

OT - Nehemiah 1:1-2 – The Jews ESCAPED
¹ The words of Nehemiah the son of Hacaliah.
² that Hanani, one of my brothers, came with certain men from Judah. And I asked them concerning the Jews who escaped, who had survived the exile, and concerning Jerusalem. (ESV)

OT - Jeremiah 30:7 – He will be saved – ESCAPE out of it
⁷ Alas! That day is so great there is none like it; it is a time of distress for Jacob; yet he shall be saved out of it. (ESV)

NT - 1 Corinthians 10:13 – God provides a way of ESCAPE
¹³ No temptation has overtaken you that +is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it. (ESV)

OT - Isaiah 13:9 – Judgment – Sinners face cruel wrath, fierce anger
⁹ Behold, the day of the LORD comes, cruel, with wrath and fierce anger, to make the land a desolation and to destroy its sinners from it. (ESV)

NT - 2 Thessalonians 1:7-10 – Inflict Judgment – BUT - Give us relief
⁷ and to grant relief to you who are afflicted as well as to us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels
⁸ in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.
⁹ They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might,
¹⁰ when he comes on that day to be glorified in his saints, and to be marveled at among all who have believed, because our testimony to you was believed. (ESV)

The Return

·         When Christ returns things will seem normal, we will be marrying, eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building, just like in the times of Noah and Lot.

·         He will come as the showers, as the spring rains water the earth.

·         He will come back the same way He left.  He will come down in the clouds on The Mount of Olives. – There will be Thunder, Lightning and a loud Trumpet Blast

• NOTE: (Pre-Trib) - At the Rapture, the Believers will hear “a single sound”, described three different ways.  Only the Believers will hear this sound.  A Shout – The Voice of an Archangel – A Trumpet – NYOBS 01.23 - RAPTURE

Matthew 24:37 - As the days of Noah, so the coming of Christ
³⁷ For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. (ESV)

Luke 17:27-30 - Things will be running normal when He returns
²⁷ They were eating and drinking and marrying and being given in marriage, until the day when NOAH entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all.
²⁸  Likewise, just as it was in the days of LOT—they were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building,
²⁹  but on the day when Lot went out from Sodom, fire and sulfur rained from heaven and destroyed them all—
³⁰  so will it be on the day when the Son of Man is revealed.

(ESV)

Matthew 25:13 – We know neither the day nor the hour
¹³ Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour. (ESV)

Matthew 24:30 – He will come in the clouds
³⁰ Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. (ESV)

1 Thessalonians 4:17 – We will be caught up to meet the Lord
¹⁷ Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. (ESV)

Hosea 6:1-3 – He comes as spring rain; revive, heal, raise us up
¹ Come, let us return to the LORD; for he has torn us, that he may heal us; he has struck us down, and he will bind us up.
² After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will raise us up, that we may live before him.
³ Let us know; let us press on to know the LORD; his going out is sure as the dawn; he will come to us as the showers, as the spring rains that water the earth.” (ESV)

Rapture Benefits

·         The Believer will escape the time of the Tribulations – God has not appointed us to Wrath, but to keep us from the hour of trial.

·         The Believer will be judged at the Bema Seat of Christ and receive Rewards - The Evil will be judged at the Great White Throne and face cruel, fierce anger.

·         The Believer will eat the good of the land and the evil will be eaten by the Sword.

·         The Believer will enter into God’s Sabbath Rest.

·         The Believer will be God’s Treasure, a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for His own possession.

·         The Believer will be Translated - When someone speaks to you in a different language, it needs to be translated into English in order for you to understand it. 

·         When Jesus came to earth, His spiritual attributes were translated into physical attributes, which is what we see in Him as a physical mortal man. 

·         Man was made with physical attributes like Christ, and at the rapture we are translated, receiving spiritual attributes. - We will be like Him and we shall see him as He is.

1 Thessalonians 5:8-9 - God has not destined us for wrath
⁸ But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation.
⁹ For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, (ESV)

Revelation 3:10 - I will keep you from the hour of trial
¹⁰ Because you have kept my word about patient endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world, to try those who dwell on the earth. (ESV)

1 Thess 1:10 – We are delivered from the Wrath that is to come

10 Wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come. KJV

John 14:2-3 – Jesus promised – I will come again

2 In my Father's house are many mansions: (ROOMS) if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.

3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. KJV

1 John 3:2 - We shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is

2 Beloved, now we are the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. KJV  

Revelation 11:18 – Judgment – Saints Rewarded – Bema Seat

¹⁸ The nations raged, but your wrath came, and the time for the dead to be judged, and for rewarding your servants, the prophets and saints, and those who fear your name, both small and great, and for destroying the destroyers of the earth.”

(ESV)

Isaiah 1:19-20 – Saints eat the good of land - Evil eaten by sword
¹⁹ If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land;
²⁰ but if you refuse and rebel, you shall be eaten by the sword; for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.” (ESV)

Hebrews 4:9-10 – We will enter into God’s Sabbath Rest
⁹ So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God,
¹⁰  for whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works as God did from his. (ESV)

Exodus 19:4 – We will be brought to God on eagles’ wings
⁴ You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself.

Exodus 19:5 – We will be God’s treasured possession
⁵ Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; (ESV)

1 Peter 2:9 – We become a chosen race, a Royal Priesthood
⁹ But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the Excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. (ESV)

Exodus 19:6 – We become a kingdom of Priest
⁶ and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel.” (ESV)

Timing of Christ’s Return – THE DATE

·         Concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only – He will come like a thief in the night to the unbeliever; totally unexpected.

·         Israel is referred to as a fig tree in scripture or figs. (The Olivet Discourse.) The parable of the fig tree is proposed as the key that unlocks the understanding of the general timing of the Rapture, the Tribulations and the Return as well as the surrounding prophecies.

·         The Timing is known as “THE SEASON” of the Fig Tree – Could we now be in that season?

·         In 1948 Israel (The fig Tree) became a Nation – Scripture says that when the “FIG TREE” branches become tender and puts out its leaves (becomes mature) you can know that Jesus Christ is near and one full GENERATION will not pass away until He returns.

·         A Generation is counted by most to be 50 years not counting those under 20 as noted in the Bible.  This year 2015, subtract 1948 would equal 67 years; so with me being in my 70’s, I “might” just be a part of witnessing Christ’s return. – If you consider yourself a Pre-Triber; then nothing else has to happen before Christ returns.  - I may not even get to finish this Word Study - SELAH

Hosea 9:10 – Israel is like figs on a fig tree
¹⁰ Like grapes in the wilderness, I found Israel. Like the first fruit on the FIG TREE in its first season, (ESV)

Matthew 24:32-34 - These things take place in one generation
³² From the FIG TREE learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near.
³³ So also, when you see all these things, you know that he is near.

³⁴ Truly, I say to you, THIS GENERATION (that sees this) will not pass away until all these things take place. (ESV)

Matthew 24:36 - Concerning that day and hour no one knows
³⁶ But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only. (ESV)

2 Peter 3:10 – The Return will be totally unexpected
¹⁰ The day of the Lord will come like a thief, and the heavens will pass away with a roar; the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved.

Revelation 19:11 – He comes to judge and make war.
¹¹ Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. (ESV)

1 Thessalonians 4:16 - Shout - Voice Archangel – Trumpet
¹⁶ For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a (shout) cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.

LAST THOUGHTS

During the tribulations, all Hell will break loose and will last for seven years.

God will select 144,000 Jews and they will preach to those that are “Left Behind”.

All that’s left on earth will be the wicked unsaved, demons, fallen angels and Satan. 

Not much love is left behind except for the 144,000 Evangelist. - NYOBS 35.16 144,000 – THE MARK

We return with Christ to rule and reign with Him for one thousand years,

then we get a new heaven and a new earth and then eternity begins.

Pre-Trib – The “Wrath of God” is poured out during the entire 7 years of the Tribulations.

Mid-Trib – The “Wrath of God” is poured out during the last 3 ½ years of the Tribulations.

Post-Trib – The “Wrath of God” is poured out at the end; after the 7 years of Tribulations.

It’s not of very much importance to your SALAVATION whether or not you embrace the

Pre, Mid or Post return of Jesus Christ as the Messiah. - The main point is to embrace HIM.

You should PRAY that the Lord comes back before the Tribulations begin, but PLAN in case He comes back at the end.  – Life is Choice Driven -   NYOBS 39.02 - CASE FOR CHRISTIANITY

The Blood of Jesus Christ can either blot out your sins or blot out your name.

Everyone will spend eternity somewhere and that decision is made by you before you die.

 He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments,

and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life;

but I will confess his name before My Father

and before His angels. Revelation 3:5 (NKJV)

In the multitude of counselors,

there is wisdom.

Proverbs 11:14

I am grateful to those that went before me providing concepts, ideas, historical information, and scripture verses.  Because of them I can stand on their shoulders and see further that I otherwise ever could have.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            

Case for Mid-Tribulationalism – New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary

English Standard Version Bible – ESV

Ezekiel – Thru the Bible – J. Vernon McGee

Fly Away Doctrine; Shepherd’s Chapel – Dr. Arnold Murray

Gospel of Judas; The - Wikipedia

Manna Fest; Post Trib Return – Perry Stone

Message Bible; The – MES

New International Version Bible – NIV

New King James Bible - NKJV

Rapture; Pre Tribulation or Post – Daniel’s Timeline

Wikipedia