Jesus will return to Mt.Zion after the great tribulation

[miamited]

Hi AL,

As I said, the passage doesn't indicate the length of time that the sun will be darkened. It just says that it will. During the plagues on Egypt the sun was also darkened for a length of three days.

Then the LORD said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand toward the sky so that darkness will spread over Egypt--darkness that can be felt." So Moses stretched out his hand toward the sky, and total darkness covered all Egypt for three days. No one could see anyone else or leave his place for three days. Yet all the Israelites had light in the places where they lived.

This darkness was even more amazing than how the darkness is explained in Matthew. This darkness was only over the land of Egypt, but where the Israelites lived they had light. God's power and abilities in working with the physical bodies contained within this realm that He created for us to live in is awesome. He can cause the sun to stand still in its place in the sky. He can cause the sun to go backwards in its place in the sky above us. He can cause water to stand up straight and tall to create a dry canyon through it. He can surely cause the sun to darken, as this passage says, but only for a relatively short time. Further, I think it very possible that the inclusion of the moon not giving its light is said for the very purpose that we understand that the whole earth will see this 'sign'. Since we know that the light of the moon is a reflection of the sun's light, it would naturally follow that the moon would not shine if the sun was not giving light. But so that we would understand that the whole world is going to see this miraculous 'sign', the passage further includes for us that the moon will also be dark.

So, the scenario could very likely be that the sun goes completely dark for a few hours or a day or two and then comes back to giving its light as Jesus returns to take those who are his. It could also be that the sun turns dark in the middle of the day for some, remember that it is always dark somewhere on the earth. This would also explain why it includes the account of the moon. Pretty much at any time upon the earth we are either seeing the sun or the moon and so by telling us that the sun and the moon go dark, then everyone on the earth will see this 'sign'. However, supposing that the sun just supernaturally goes dark within moments by God's command, those who were just 10 minutes ago working in the field would still be out in the field. So, yes, the sun can go dark and there be people out in the fields.

Therefore, your supposition that the gathering to the Lord could only happen before the tribulation because people only work in fields when it is daylight, cannot be supported by this Scripture. I think it elementary to understand that this darkening of the sun will not be some natural phenomenon that people will see coming or that will take a particularly long time to occur. The sun will be shining one moment and the next it won't. People will be at their jobs and working in fields when this happens and it will come about quickly enough that they will still be right there where they were when moments before the sun was shining.

This is similar to the argument made that the first days of creation cannot be accurate because there wasn't any sun. By definition of what determines a 'day' upon any of the planets in our solar system, the sun is not necessary. A day is merely the time it takes for any individual planet to make one complete rotation on its axis. So, a day can pass on the earth without there ever having been a sun included in our solar system at all. They would all surely be dark days, but days nevertheless.

God bless you
In Christ, Ted

 

[miamited]

deleted

 

[Another Lazarus]

Hi AL,

As I said, the passage doesn't indicate the length of time that the sun will be darkened. It just says that it will. During the plagues on Egypt the sun was also darkened for a length of three days.

God bless you
In Christ, Ted

Hi Ted, it may be possible, people work usual business then darkness comes and people raptured then the darkness remains for 3 days, who knows. what a creepy darkness.

Jesus bless u all HalleuYAH

 

[Another Lazarus]

Those "taken" in the passage above are destroyed, just as those taken in the flood were destroyed.

Father Yahuva we will wait till Rapture happens to see who shall be destroyed.

Jesus bless u all HalleluYAH

 

[miamited]

Hi Ted, it may be possible, people work usual business then darkness comes and people raptured then the darkness remains for 3 days, who knows. what a creepy darkness.

Jesus bless u all HalleuYAH

Hi AL,

Well, I don't know if it will last for 3 days. Like you say, and I have said, the Scriptures don't give any indication whatsoever how long the darkness will last, but I think it clear that it will be a supernatural, miraculous event that will cause the whole world to wonder and tremble. Yes, the darkness will likely fall on us fairly rapidly. As in, now it's light and now it's dark. Jesus says that the end will be like the days of Noah. People going about living their regular normal lives and then 'POW' the lights go out. The sun is darkened and at the same time, likely because the sun is now dark, the moon will not shine either. After all, the moon gets its light from the sun. Yes, I imagine it will happen quickly enough that people will be working and still where they are in doing their work, as the sun goes dark. This is why people will wonder and tremble. It will just be a sudden and completely unexplainable event with no one able to show any natural cause, like the moon moved in front of the sun or some giant meteor passed in front of the sun that we had been tracking for some time, to explain the event.

Of course, those who are slightly familiar with the Scriptures, but not belonging to the Lord will be seeing this and likely the first thing that would come to their minds is that this is the end. The account of the Scriptures is true! They will be crying for the rocks to fall on them and kill them before the dreadful day of God's wrath which they now highly suspect will shortly follow. This is certainly what the Scriptures recount of those days and what people will be saying and doing.

The book of the Revelation chapter 12 also delineates the rapture and then release of God's wrath. It tells us that Jesus will return, or send his angel, to harvest the earth of those who are his and then goes right on to say that then the second angel comes along and throws everyone else into the winepress of God's wrath. There is no indication that these two events will be separated by some length of time such as years or decades.

Lastly, as far as I can tell, there is no second gathering of saints. Jesus comes one time to take those who are his. So, this idea that there will be life going on after Jesus comes and that during this following period there will be others who are then born again really doesn't fit with the Scriptures. Jesus comes once, takes his, then God's wrath is released up the remaining inhabitants of the earth. At the end of this time of God's wrath, which is not the same as the tribulation of the saints, those who Jesus took with him will return to the earth for the 1,000 year reign of Jesus upon the earth. He will be the King of Kings and we will live with him for 1,000 years, although there will still apparently be death during this time. Other places of the Scriptures speak about this time and say that someone who doesn't live to be very old will be considered cursed.

Then finally, everyone is raised from the dead to attend the judgment of God. At this time eternal destinies will be set and all those whose names are found written in the Lamb's Book of Life will be given the promise of life with God. Death will be destroyed and so both those living with God and those living apart from God will no longer die. This millennial reign may also be when Jesus writes down all the names. After all, as I understand it, every believer will have been raised during this time, but because there does still seem to be death during this period, some of those who are raised may not actually make the cut. I have often considered if the millennial reign isn't the final test for those who claimed to want to be God's children. Is it possible that this millennial reign is the final culling. A time when all those who proclaimed Jesus as Lord will be given an opportunity to see what the eternal life will really be like and make their final decision. This final part, of course, is just a musing on my part, but certainly explains why there would be a millennial reign and not just that after the rapture and wrath of God we don't just go straight to the judgment of God.

God bless you.
In Christ, Ted

 

[Another Lazarus]

Hi AL,
This is why people will wonder and tremble. It will just be a sudden and completely unexplainable event with no one able to show any natural cause, They will be crying for the rocks to fall on them and kill them before the dreadful day of God's wrath which they now highly suspect will shortly follow.
God bless you.
In Christ, Ted

Some people write that the leftbelow will comfort themselves by saying "those are the bad people taken by alien"
However i'm not sure if i am good enough to be raptured.

Jesus bless u all HalleluYAH

 

[miamited]

Some people write that the leftbelow will comfort themselves by saying "those are the bad people taken by alien"
However i'm not sure if i am good enough to be raptured.

Jesus bless u all HalleluYAH

Hi AL,

Well, you can comfort yourself in knowing that none of us are good enough. Our righteous works are as filthy rags before the eyes of God. But even though we fall and stumble; even though we fail and falter, what God asks is that we love Him with absolutely everything that we are; that we trust Him with and for everything that we need; that we love others as ourselves. According to His very Son, that constitutes the whole of the law. His Son also told us that our loving Father will forgive us in the same way that we forgive others, which follows right along with treating others as you would like to be treated.

He tells the parable of the slave who was forgiven by his master and then goes to another slave and demands what is due him or he will have justice against him. I know that I am often confronted with this issue and I always, when anger begins to well up within me for some perceived injustice that I think someone else has committed against me, try to recall this very parable. My loving Father has forgiven me some egregious sins and He expects me to do the exact same thing for those who I perceive have sinned against me. To love others as I myself want to be loved.

All of us, when we get caught out for some wrong, want to justify to ourselves how what we did isn't really wrong or hope for mercy from the judge. I'm a fairly speedy driver and have been pulled over a number of times in my life. I can tell you that every single time I've hoped for mercy from the officer making the decision to write me a ticket or not. My loving Father wants me to put myself in that same mindset as me hoping for mercy when I deal with others who I perceive have done me some wrong. I can choose to either forgive it or seek justice, but I must understand that whichever way I choose to go, my Father will do the same with me.

I can't afford to stand before God and receive what is due me, so I have to forgive every slight; every wrong; every pain or wickedness that someone else lays on me. Why? Because I know that my Father is going to judge me in the exact same way. Even in Israel when God was decrying the wickedness of His children and proclaiming how their sacrifices had become worthless to Him says that mercy is greater than sacrifice.

So, if you're feeling unworthy of God's promise, then I would encourage you to set a new course in who and what you love and how you love. Love God! Above all and everything on this earth; your wife, your children, your job, your home, your car, your favorite sports team: Love God! Then go out and show love and mercy to everyone. Your wife, your children, those you work with, your neighbors and yes, even your enemies.

None of us are righteous before God, but it is my deepest heartfelt and confident belief that love and mercy trumps sacrifice and works.

God bless you brother,
In Christ, Ted