Thursday, June 17, 2010

Is it " the end of the world as we know it "? Part IV: The Case for the POST-TRIBULATION RAPTURE

The first time I spoke to friends and said I believed that the rapture’s timing as preached was a bit ‘off’, I was branded a heretic. I also read with interest LaHaye’s Left-Behind series which are very interesting novels. I have known and respected LaHaye since I was a child because my dad had quite a lot of his books. I think he started writing before I could talk. However, after personal studies and reading of commentaries, I came to the conclusion that the ‘evidence’ for the Rapture occurring before the Tribulation was mostly sentiments and hope-based, and not really from scripture.


Next time, I plan to discuss the Great Tribulation from the three key angles of the Spiritual, the Political and the Geophysical (for GREAT WANT of a better way to put it as I’d be talking about weird things like microwave emissions and tectonic plates and ‘physical’ might not be exactly apt), but after I highlight my evidence for a rapture AFTER tribulation.


I still reviewed some of the opposing evidences online to see something convincing and I got the same sentimental arguments – that God will not allow his children to go through suffering. It’s just like reading the first part of Hebrews 11 and concluding that faith is a guarantee of eternal candy and ignoring the account of people of faith who were cut in two, tortured to death, were clubbed, were scourged, were in chains, were like vagabonds…because they had faith in God. Just like Christians can have illnesses and diseases and sometimes, for reasons I cannot explain, prayers, persistence and faith do not bring an end to their suffering, while some other Christians will go about yapping about the sick person’s ‘lack of faith’.


As the great Woody Allen said: Whatever!


The truth is, the world is fallen, and sin is in the world. The salary sin doles out is death and while we are in the flesh, we are IN the world, not of the world and that’s why we are sometimes touched by the effects of sin. And GOOD people suffer! If you don’t believe me, then read up an excerpt from the writing of the man people call ‘saint’ Paul – who is a fellow saint and brother of all believers in Christ.


2 Corinthians 11: 24-27.


That is tough, and like Jesus said, if they have persecuted me, they will do the same to you, BUT ‘blessed is the man who is not offended with me’. He said this knowing that many will have the skewed thought that life is Christ means your life is all sweet and rosy, angels playing with your hair till you sleep, anointed bread and beans when you wake, carrying you to work on chariots of fire, you breezing through exams with the ‘word of knowledge’…and whatever absurd concept people claim to be what the Christian is ‘entitled’ to.


That said, I will now highlight from scripture my case for the rapture occurring after the commencement of the Great Tribulation – or “Post-tribulation Rapture” to shorten it.

I am going to use SOME of the scriptural passages I earlier mentioned and add a couple of new ones.



Passage 1: Matthew 24 AGAIN. Though I recommend reading the whole chapter to really establish the context, I will zero in to make this as short as possible.
Verse 9: They will hand you over and you will suffer tribulation (which also means suffering), Verse 20-21: Pray you’re not ‘taking off’ in winter, because there will be GREAT TRIBULATION such as has not been from the beginning of the world till now. Verse 29: Immediately AFTER the tribulation, the sky and sun and moon and stars have a fit (my expression) – and the Son of man (Jesus) comes and as you may have read in my last write up, gathers his elects. Verse 40: (Popular reference) Two will be in the field and one will be taken, and so on…
PLEASE, when you have time, READ THE WHOLE CHAPTER to establish a solid context and understanding.



Passage 2: Mark 13. Verse 18 – 20. Same reference to ‘pray your flight is not winter for there will be GREAT TRIBULATION, so bad that if the days were not shortened, no HUMAN BEING will be saved. This is an extreme key point linked to what I said earlier about the convergence of several spheres in the disaster that will occur. Verse 24: After the Tribulation…. Verse 26: The Son of man comes, and Verse 27: He gathers his elects.
Once again, read the whole chapter when you can.


Passage 3: 2 Thessalonians 2. Verses 1 through 4 breaks it down ‘About the coming of Jesus and us being GATHERED to MEET him, don’t be deceived when people say he has come, because that day will not come except there is a massive falling away from true belief in God and a REVEALING of the ‘man of sin’ (the Anti-Christ)’ (I summarized the key points in the verses, do read through yourself).



Passage 4: Revelation 13: 7. This talks about the BEAST (the Anti-Christ) and says he was given power to wage war against the saints – and to overcome them! This also tallies with the open seal in Revelation 6: 9-10. There will be saints present to overcome.


Note: Revelation has been talked about as a complex book. It is NOT else it would not have been written for US. That view, from my point of view, is just disinformation to discourage reading. The things we are not supposed to know uttered by the 7 thunders, John was expressly told NOT to write – furthermore, Daniel was told that at the end times, people would gain understanding of how things were meant to unfold. So step forward in faith and know you can understand Revelation if you want to.



The open seals give a synopsis of events that will happen at the end from a TOP-DOWN perspective. John (not me!) was allowed to peep into the Heavenlies to see God (the spiritual) speaks the the Seven churches that were in existence at the time, and then he saw the throne room from where events to be played out on earth would be set in motion. Sequences of events play out, jumping back and forth from a heavenly to earthly point of view BUT you can almost follow in precise sequence events on earth as they unfold.


Now, before I go on. There are two major events that happen on earth caused by heavenly forces – the bowls and trumpets of WRATH. First, a series of trumpets are blown and much later, a series of seven bowls are poured out. Every time a trumpet is blown or a bowl poured, very bad or very strategic events play out on earth. An example is Revelation 8: 7.
“And the first angel blew and hail and fire mingled with blood was cast to earth and one-third of tree burnt...” and so on.


NOW LOOK CLOSELY at a verse you may not have noticed before.

Are you ready for this?

Passage 5: 1 Corinthians 15: 51 – 52.
Verse 51 says we won’t all die but we will be changed.
Verse 52 says, ‘In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye…(and here it comes) AT THE LAST TRUMP, for A trumpet will sound and ….you have read the rest – or are reading it now.
But it talks about the rapture occurring and being heralded by A LAST TRUMPET.


Passage 6: is Daniel 12: 1 – 2.
Before you read this, you should know that bible books did NOT have chapters, but chapters were put in for ease of reading. That is why many chapters FLOW right into the next.
Daniel 11 has been talking about the Anti-Christ and in Daniel 12 it starts by saying there will be GREAT trouble such as has not been from the beginning of time. Yeah, even Daniel sees this – and as you will find if you do some research, some Mayans, Hopis and other tribes share similar ‘knowing’ about cataclysmic events that will shake the world. An ancient tribe leader said to his tribe that they would see a sign in the sky and “your celebrations will be no more”. And as Daniel 12:1 finishes, at that time of tribulation, your people will be saved, those whose names are written in the book of life…


And with that, I come an end of my case for a “Post-Tribulation Rapture”
Next, I will be talking about The Great Tribulation highlighting Geophysical, Spiritual and Political Dimension as well as discussing the Anti-Christ.


Also, there will be related articles posted onto my blog. You can just click on the ‘post’ RSS link on the top left and save yourself the hassle of checking MANUALLY for new post – or you can follow my blog by clicking the “Follow” on the Middle Right of the page page

Cheers

3 comments:

  1. Good research.

    Post-tribulation is interesting when you realize that folks seem to limit Gods ability to save us His way. Why does he have to remove you from the tribulation to save you? An example, John 17:15. Or the exodus. God led them out of Egypt, without taking them out of the world.

    The Bible also talks about being tested and refined by fire. Zech 14:1-8, Rom 5:3, Rom 8:35, 1 Cor 3:13-15, and many more.

    The whole point is that you have to have faith, period (Mat 14:30, Rom 10:13, Heb 11:+, Acts 7:59, Lk 23:46). By faith you are saved and your faith will be tested.

    There are many more verses that support this truth.

    Keep reading and studying the word. Preach Christ. People seem to forget that being a Christian is like running a race and you have to run until the end.

    I thank our Lord Jesus Christ for sending us the Holy Spirit.

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  2. Hello

    Thanks for the comment.

    I am going to put up this reply on facebook - but credit it as YOUR point of view.

    Thanks so much.

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  3. You're welcome.

    Some folks don't like to think that God would say He loves us, but make us "suffer". Christ suffered and besides, you are trading less than 120 years (Gen. 6:3) of suffering (max), for an eternity of peace. Christ saves, now and forever. Sounds like a blessing to me, because we don't deserve it.

    The bible is an amazing revelation for all humans, some will reject it and some will believe it. Sometimes even those that believe it add their own thoughts to make it fit their ideology, very dangerous. Why do folks like to verse jack, just let the text speak for itself. This is an exact science.

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