Jason0047 said in post #255:
Rapture of Faithful Church (Revelation 4)
Note that Revelation 4:1 refers only to the apostle John, by himself, making an only-temporary visit up to the third heaven at one point during his lifetime in the first century AD, just as 2 Corinthians 12:2 refers only to the apostle Paul, by himself, making an only-temporary visit up to the third heaven at one point during his lifetime in the first century AD. Neither verse refers to the future rapture of the Church only as high as the clouds of the sky (the first heaven) to hold a meeting in the air with Jesus Christ at His Second Coming (1 Thessalonians 4:15-17; 2 Thessalonians 2:1-8, Matthew 24:29-31, Revelation 19:7 to 20:6).
Jason0047 said in post #255:
For Enoch was translated before the Flood, right?
Note that Enoch was not translated into heaven so that he would not have to go through the Flood (along with righteous Noah and his family in the ark: 2 Peter 2:5; 1 Peter 3:20). For Enoch (Noah's great-grandfather) was translated 669 years before the Flood.
The way that we can know this is first by knowing when Noah's flood happened:
Noah's flood occurred about 2458 BC. This is based on Bible verses which make it possible to work back from the year BC that Solomon's temple began to be built. Historians say that it began to be built about 966 BC. And the Bible shows that it began to be built 480 years after Israel's Exodus from Egypt (1 Kings 6:1). And Israel had spent 430 years in Egypt before the Exodus (Exodus 12:40-41). And Israel had entered Egypt when Jacob was 130 (Genesis 47:9). And Jacob had been born when his father Isaac was 60 (Genesis 25:26). And Isaac had been born when his father Abraham was 100 (Genesis 21:5). And Abraham had been born when his father Terah was about 70 (Genesis 11:26). And Terah had been born when his father Nahor was 29 (Genesis 11:24). And Nahor had been born when his father Serug was 30 (Genesis 11:22). And Serug had been born when his father Reu was 32 (Genesis 11:20). And Reu had been born when his father Peleg was 30 (Genesis 11:18). And Peleg had been born when his father Eber was 34 (Genesis 11:16). And Eber had been born when his father Salah was 30 (Genesis 11:14). And Salah had been born when his father Arphaxad was 35 (Genesis 11:12). And Arphaxad had been born two years after the Flood (Genesis 11:10).
So all we have to do is add up the numbers of years above to see that Noah's flood occurred about 2458 BC. Then, to determine when Enoch was translated into heaven, we need to work further back. If Arphaxad had been born two years after the Flood, then Arphaxad had been born about 2456 BC. And Arphaxad had been born when his father Shem was 100 (Genesis 11:10). And Shem had been born when his father Noah was 502 (Genesis 11:10, Genesis 7:6). And Noah had been born when his father Lamech was 182 (Genesis 5:28-29). And Lamech had been born when his father Methuselah was 187 (Genesis 5:25). And Methuselah had been born when his father Enoch was 65 (Genesis 5:21).
Adding up the numbers of years above, we see that Enoch was born about 3492 BC. He was translated when he was 365 (Genesis 5:23-24), and so he was translated about 3127 BC, which was 669 years before the Flood. Adding these 669 years to Enoch's age of 365, we find that Enoch was 1,034 years old at the time of the Flood. This means that had he stayed on the earth, he would have almost certainly died from old age before the Flood came (cf. Isaiah 57:1). For Methuselah (Noah's grandfather) was the longest-living person who stayed on the earth, and he died at the age of 969 (Genesis 5:27), the same year as the Flood. For Enoch was born about 3492 BC, and Methuselah was born when his father Enoch was 65 (Genesis 5:21). So Methuselah was born about 3427 BC, and he died 969 years later, which was about 2458 BC, the same year as the Flood.
Methuselah could have died of old age right before the Flood started. God could have waited to bring the Flood until after Methuselah died of old age and was buried. Lamech (Noah's father) had already died some five years before the Flood. For Methuselah was born about 3427 BC, and Lamech was born when his father Methuselah was 187 (Genesis 5:25). So Lamech was born about 3240 BC, and he died 777 years later (Genesis 5:31), which was about 2463 BC, which was five years before the Flood.
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Jason0047 said in post #256:
"If that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; And shall begin to smite his fellowservants, and to eat and drink with the drunken;" ~(Matthew 24:48-49)
In Matthew 24:48-51 the evil servant did evil and was surprised by the Lord's return because when the Lord did not return sometime before or during the Tribulation, the servant thought that the Lord was indefinitely "delaying" His return (Matthew 24:48). But in fact the Lord's return will not be delayed at all, but will occur "immediately after" the Tribulation (Matthew 24:29-31). Also, even when Christians know this truth, they still need to live each day knowing that any of them could die at any time (Luke 12:20, James 4:14).
Jason0047 said in post #256:
In fact, Jesus Christ warned us that if a church does not repent of it's wickedness, it will go thru the great tribulation...
"And unto... the church in Thyatira... And I gave her space to repent of her fornication; and she repented not. Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds." ~ (Revelation 2:18, 21-22)
Note that in Revelation 2:22, even the original Greek does not refer to "the" great Tribulation, as in the Tribulation of Revelation chapters 6 to 18 and Matthew 24. For the seven letters to seven churches in Revelation chapters 2-3 were sent to seven, literal, first century AD local church congregations in seven cities in the Roman province of "Asia" (Revelation 1:11), which is today western Turkey.
Similarly, the letters of the New Testament books of Romans, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 Thessalonians and 2 Thessalonians were sent to literal, first century AD local church congregations in seven places in the Roman empire.
And just as nothing requires that this latter set of letters addresses "seven church ages", so nothing requires (as is sometimes claimed) that the former set does.
Also, the entire Bible is profitable for Christians (2 Timothy 3:16). So they can learn lessons for their own lives today by reading all of these letters.
Jason0047 said in post #256:
Also, Paul used the words "Last Trump" in Corinthians as a reference to the Jewish "Last Trumpet" of the Feast of Trumpets.
Note that the Feast of Trumpets of Leviticus 23:24 could be antitypically fulfilled at Jesus Christ's future, Second Coming, when the Second-Coming trumpet will sound (Matthew 24:30-31; 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17; 1 Corinthians 15:52), after the seven trumpets of the future Tribulation of Matthew 24 and Revelation chapters 6 to 18 have sounded (Revelation 8:2).