As Christians, we all wait for the Lord's return? John's last words in the book of Revelation were, "Even so, come, Lord Jesus." Compare this with, Rev.3:3, He is speaking to the church of Sardis, "If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee."
There are two important issues concerning the end days. They are the rapture, and the tribulation period. First let's get this one fly off our plate. Its the word Rapture. There are those who will say, Ah'hhh, the word rapture is not in the Bible. This is there only argument for falsely claiming there is no rapture of the church.
The word Rapture does not appear in the English Bible, but its meaning is projected in several verses. The word rapture, is derived from the Latin word raptu, which means caught away, or caught up. The word rapture can be found in both the Latin, and German Bible.
The Latin, "raptu," is equivalent to the Greek, harpazo, caught up in English. English has no single word for rapture, thus caught up, caught away, taken by force, etc.
1 Thes.4:16-17, 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. After that, we who are still alive and are left 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.
Acts 8:39, "And when they = (Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch) were come up out of the water the Spirit of the Lord CAUGHT AWAY Philip, that the eunuch saw him no more." Also,
John 6:15, "When Jesus therefore perceived that they would come and take Him by force, to make Him a king, He departed again into a mountain." To depart, is the same as to be caught up, or snatched away. Jesus then departed from where he was to the mountains. See also, 2 Cor.12:2-4. Rev.12:5. Jude 22-23.
To be raptured up, or to be caught up, is spoken of that which is snatched suddenly away, to carry away, to hurry off by force, involuntarily taken away; and is spoken only of persons.
The timing of the Rapture has long been the subject of debate. Why is it important? "We must be prepared, we must watch, wait, and know that our Lord will keep his promise to us,
John 14:3, "Where I am, there ye may be also."
Lets talk about the tribulation. We have the, Pre-Tribulation, Mid-tribulation, and the Post-tribulation teachings. Only one can be right, and the others are false teachings.
Synonyms for tribulation, are, affliction, pressure, compression, straitness. In N.T. only as a metaphor, it implies pressure from evils, afflictions, distress, Often for putting one work for another; as evils by which one is pressed, affliction, distress, calamity,
When the noun, "Tribulation," is put with, "great." What does it mean?
Great, Greek is, megas. As a metaphor, it implies, great in force, intensity, effect, as affecting the EXTERNAL senses, great, vehement, violent, Mark 4:37, "Great storm of wind," with ver. 39, "A great calm." Rev.11:19, "Great hail." Matt.7:27, "Great was the fall." Luke 6:49. Matt. 24:31, "great sound." Acts 8:2, "Great lamentation."
Great as of events, Matt.24:21, "Great tribulation." Luke 4:25, "Great famine." Luke 21:23, "Great distress." Acts 8:1, "Great persecution against the church." James 3:1, "Greater condemnation." Rev.16:21, "Plague -- was exceeding great." Septuagint, Job 2:13, "They saw that his grief was great,"
Great as affecting the mind, causing emotion, as in Matt. 2:10, "Great joy." 3 John 4. Mark 5:42, "Great astonishment." Luke 2:9, "sore = (greatly) afraid." Rev.12:12, "Great wrath."
Great in price, cost, great, solemn. Of the day of judgment, Acts 2:20. Jude 6, "Unto the judgment of the great day." Rev.6:17, "Great day of His (God's) wrath." Rev.16:14, "That great day of God Almighty." Septuagint, Mal. 4:5. "Great and dreadful day of the LORD." Joel 2:11-31, "The great and the terrible day of the LORD come."
Well you get the idea.
God speaks directly to two of the churches in Revelation concerning tribulation.
Rev.2:22, "I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds."
In God's letter to the church at Philadelphia, Rev.3:10, John writes, "Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them (the world) that dwell upon the earth."
Now the question we have to ask ourselves is, "When will the Christian church, both the living and the dead be caught up to meet the Lord in the air?" Will it be before the tribulation? or will Jesus leave His bride in the middle of it?
Phil LaSpino
There are two important issues concerning the end days. They are the rapture, and the tribulation period. First let's get this one fly off our plate. Its the word Rapture. There are those who will say, Ah'hhh, the word rapture is not in the Bible. This is there only argument for falsely claiming there is no rapture of the church.
The word Rapture does not appear in the English Bible, but its meaning is projected in several verses. The word rapture, is derived from the Latin word raptu, which means caught away, or caught up. The word rapture can be found in both the Latin, and German Bible.
The Latin, "raptu," is equivalent to the Greek, harpazo, caught up in English. English has no single word for rapture, thus caught up, caught away, taken by force, etc.
1 Thes.4:16-17, 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. After that, we who are still alive and are left 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.
Acts 8:39, "And when they = (Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch) were come up out of the water the Spirit of the Lord CAUGHT AWAY Philip, that the eunuch saw him no more." Also,
John 6:15, "When Jesus therefore perceived that they would come and take Him by force, to make Him a king, He departed again into a mountain." To depart, is the same as to be caught up, or snatched away. Jesus then departed from where he was to the mountains. See also, 2 Cor.12:2-4. Rev.12:5. Jude 22-23.
To be raptured up, or to be caught up, is spoken of that which is snatched suddenly away, to carry away, to hurry off by force, involuntarily taken away; and is spoken only of persons.
The timing of the Rapture has long been the subject of debate. Why is it important? "We must be prepared, we must watch, wait, and know that our Lord will keep his promise to us,
John 14:3, "Where I am, there ye may be also."
Lets talk about the tribulation. We have the, Pre-Tribulation, Mid-tribulation, and the Post-tribulation teachings. Only one can be right, and the others are false teachings.
Synonyms for tribulation, are, affliction, pressure, compression, straitness. In N.T. only as a metaphor, it implies pressure from evils, afflictions, distress, Often for putting one work for another; as evils by which one is pressed, affliction, distress, calamity,
When the noun, "Tribulation," is put with, "great." What does it mean?
Great, Greek is, megas. As a metaphor, it implies, great in force, intensity, effect, as affecting the EXTERNAL senses, great, vehement, violent, Mark 4:37, "Great storm of wind," with ver. 39, "A great calm." Rev.11:19, "Great hail." Matt.7:27, "Great was the fall." Luke 6:49. Matt. 24:31, "great sound." Acts 8:2, "Great lamentation."
Great as of events, Matt.24:21, "Great tribulation." Luke 4:25, "Great famine." Luke 21:23, "Great distress." Acts 8:1, "Great persecution against the church." James 3:1, "Greater condemnation." Rev.16:21, "Plague -- was exceeding great." Septuagint, Job 2:13, "They saw that his grief was great,"
Great as affecting the mind, causing emotion, as in Matt. 2:10, "Great joy." 3 John 4. Mark 5:42, "Great astonishment." Luke 2:9, "sore = (greatly) afraid." Rev.12:12, "Great wrath."
Great in price, cost, great, solemn. Of the day of judgment, Acts 2:20. Jude 6, "Unto the judgment of the great day." Rev.6:17, "Great day of His (God's) wrath." Rev.16:14, "That great day of God Almighty." Septuagint, Mal. 4:5. "Great and dreadful day of the LORD." Joel 2:11-31, "The great and the terrible day of the LORD come."
Well you get the idea.
God speaks directly to two of the churches in Revelation concerning tribulation.
Rev.2:22, "I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds."
In God's letter to the church at Philadelphia, Rev.3:10, John writes, "Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them (the world) that dwell upon the earth."
Now the question we have to ask ourselves is, "When will the Christian church, both the living and the dead be caught up to meet the Lord in the air?" Will it be before the tribulation? or will Jesus leave His bride in the middle of it?
Phil LaSpino
