rapture. some say it wont happen some say yes. my take is it will but kindly tell how.
rapture. some say it wont happen some say yes. my take is it will but kindly tell how.
This is a frequently asked question. There will be something like a rapture, however it won't necessarily be quite like many people make it out to be. It will be something more like a remnant that will be gathered as the first fruits, which are spoken of in Revelation 14 and will be redeemed from the earth before the seven trumpets sound during the apocalypse. Prior to this; Christ will descend from heaven with a shout; and the dead in Christ will rise first and then those who remain on earth in Christ will rise to be with him in the air.
1 Thessalonians 4:16-17
King James Version (KJV)
16For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: 17Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
It does not say believers will be taken to heaven.
It Just says '' meet the Lord in the air''
rapture. some say it wont happen some say yes. my take is it will but kindly tell how.
There was already a resurrection of the firstfruits of Israel (man-child) when Jesus was resurrected, with Christ being the first of those firstfruits.
1 Corinthians 15:20
But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.
But the remnant of Israel(redeemed from among men) that remains and are caught up, are those who are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord. But this event does not take place until the last trump is sounded.
The way you have it worded it sounded to me like you were saying prior to the sounding of the trumpets of God the Lord would descend.
No, upon reading Revelation 14 in context, we find that there are a total of at least 144,000 Israelites who will follow the Lamb of God wherever he goes before or during tribulation period.
When Christ's first resurrection occured, there were indeed some who were dead who came to life out of their sepulchres when he did, but they did not rise with him into heaven in his ascension, for there is no record of anyone rising with him, and it is said that the dead shall only rise at the end when they hear the voice of the Son of God sounding as the voice of the archangel. No one has been said to experience heaven in the presence of the Lord yet except only a select few who were chosen such as Moses, Elijah who was also John the baptist, possibly Melchizadec and a few others, that is all. But there are other prohpecies throughout the scriptures concerning the dead rising with the Lord; and here are some of them;
Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust: for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead. -Isaiah 26:19
After two days he will revive us;
on the third day he will raise us up,
that we may live before him.
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. -Hosea 6:2-3
The way I look at it is; (and I say this because I've gotten a warning on CF for stating it as a fact), The Lord will not necessarily descend prior to the sounding of the trumpets, but he will appear in person yet one more time to fulfill unfulfilled scripure such as Isaiah 26:19 which states that the dead will rise with his dead body. The main reason I say this is that it would be impossible for Christ to die if he descended from heaven in power and glory, for in that form he could not die, he would not die, and there would be no need for him to die, for in such a heavenly form he is immortal and death cannot overcome him, but he will indeed lay his life down yet again for the remnant, which are the 144,000, but it's possible there are more than 144,000, but as far as those who are of the nation of Israel, I believe it's only 144,000. It's possible that is not counting Gentiles.
Read Revelation 14 one more time, and you'll find that the 144,000 are those are pure and undefiled and may even be those who will endure afflction from the Antichrist during tribulation period, for this is not yet fulfilled. Christ was indeed the firstfruits, but he was not these firstfruits. They are called firstfruits because they will be the first of the harvest, just like the Israelites offered a 10% tithe of their fruits unto God before or during harvest. These 144,000 will also be as a tithe offering unto God before all of harvest, figuratively speaking. And the true "great harvest" will also be Christ's collection of the elect during tribulation period when he will then descend from heaven in power and great glory with his angels. No one has yet experienced the bliss of heaven except those select few, but do keep in mind the saying of Christ; 'The last shall be first and the first shall be last,' for I do think it is significant here even though I believe that this remnant shall be the first to experience heaven with the Lord even though they are among the last to walk the walk of faith, and that the dead shall then rise before those who are alive and remian on earth.
I don't want to go into too much detail about this subject because last time I did, I got that warning and it was called unorthodox heresie. But it is indeed scriptural and I encourage you to give it a good look see.
Also, do not forget that it is said that the day of the Son of Man shall be like the days of Noah. Well think good and hard about that; Noah was a man who was found faithful in a faithless generation, and only he and the remnant of his family were accounted worthy to be spared of sure destruction which was promised for that wicked generation. He built an ark before the flood; gathered his family and some animals and went on his way. Think about that, he did this BEFORE the flood and BEFORE destruction. Is this not a wicked generation like that one? And does not tribulation period, or the period in which God will sound the seven trumpets and pour out his seven viols of wrath upon the earth and its inhabitants resemble the flood? Keep in mind that it also says, will the Son of God find faith on earth when he returns? How will finding faith be a concern if he is coming in power and glory from heaven to recieve those who already have faith in him into heaven? And won't it be obvious who he is if he;'s descneding from heaven in glory even if he would be looking for faith? What need would there be to ask a question? There is something much more to the return of Christ than that which is commonly preached in the churches today.
No, upon reading Revelation 14 in context, we find that there are a total of at least 144,000 Israelites who will follow the Lamb of God wherever he goes before or during tribulation period.
When Christ's first resurrection occured, there were indeed some who were dead who came to life out of their sepulchres when he did, but they did not rise with him into heaven in his ascension, for there is no record of anyone rising with him, and it is said that the dead shall only rise at the end when they hear the voice of the Son of God sounding as the voice of the archangel. No one has been said to experience heaven in the presence of the Lord yet except only a select few who were chosen such as Moses, Elijah who was also John the baptist, possibly Melchizadec and a few others, that is all. But there are other prohpecies throughout the scriptures concerning the dead rising with the Lord; and here are some of them;
Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust: for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead. -Isaiah 26:19
After two days he will revive us;
on the third day he will raise us up,
that we may live before him.
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. -Hosea 6:2-3
The way I look at it is; (and I say this because I've gotten a warning on CF for stating it as a fact), The Lord will not necessarily descend prior to the sounding of the trumpets, but he will appear in person yet one more time to fulfill unfulfilled scripure such as Isaiah 26:19 which states that the dead will rise with his dead body. The main reason I say this is that it would be impossible for Christ to die if he descended from heaven in power and glory, for in that form he could not die, he would not die, and there would be no need for him to die, for in such a heavenly form he is immortal and death cannot overcome him, but he will indeed lay his life down yet again for the remnant, which are the 144,000, but it's possible there are more than 144,000, but as far as those who are of the nation of Israel, I believe it's only 144,000. It's possible that is not counting Gentiles.
Read Revelation 14 one more time, and you'll find that the 144,000 are those are pure and undefiled and may even be those who will endure afflction from the Antichrist during tribulation period, for this is not yet fulfilled. Christ was indeed the firstfruits, but he was not these firstfruits. They are called firstfruits because they will be the first of the harvest, just like the Israelites offered a 10% tithe of their fruits unto God before or during harvest. These 144,000 will also be as a tithe offering unto God before all of harvest, figuratively speaking. And the true "great harvest" will also be Christ's collection of the elect during tribulation period when he will then descend from heaven in power and great glory with his angels. No one has yet experienced the bliss of heaven except those select few, but do keep in mind the saying of Christ; 'The last shall be first and the first shall be last,' for I do think it is significant here even though I believe that this remnant shall be the first to experience heaven with the Lord even though they are among the last to walk the walk of faith, and that the dead shall then rise before those who are alive and remian on earth.
I don't want to go into too much detail about this subject because last time I did, I got that warning and it was called unorthodox heresie. But it is indeed scriptural and I encourage you to give it a good look see.
Also, do not forget that it is said that the day of the Son of Man shall be like the days of Noah. Well think good and hard about that; Noah was a man who was found faithful in a faithless generation, and only he and the remnant of his family were accounted worthy to be spared of sure destruction which was promised for that wicked generation. He built an ark before the flood; gathered his family and some animals and went on his way. Think about that, he did this BEFORE the flood and BEFORE destruction. Is this not a wicked generation like that one? And does not tribulation period, or the period in which God will sound the seven trumpets and pour out his seven viols of wrath upon the earth and its inhabitants resemble the flood? Keep in mind that it also says, will the Son of God find faith on earth when he returns? How will finding faith be a concern if he is coming in power and glory from heaven to recieve those who already have faith in him into heaven? And won't it be obvious who he is if he;'s descneding from heaven in glory even if he would be looking for faith? What need would there be to ask a question? There is something much more to the return of Christ than that which is commonly preached in the churches today.
The 144,000 are standing on mount Sion(in heaven) with the Lord. That is where mount Zion is by the way, sorry.
Jesus did ascend with a great cloud of witness which is a metaphor paul used for the saints who ascended up with Jesus after being raised when Jesus was raised as shown in Matthew 27:52.
Also James stated that the saints of his day were the firstfruits of Israel.
Where are the Lamb and 144,000 standing?
Revelation 14
1And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father's name written in their foreheads.
2And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder: and I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps: 3And they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders: and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth.
Notice the 144,000 were with the Lamb on mount Sion(heavenly Jerusalem) when they sang the new song before the throne.
Where is the throne of God? The scriptures tell us heaven is His throne, and the earth is his footstool.
Also notice the 144,000 and the Lamb stood before the 4 beasts and the elders. So where were they?
If you go back to Revelation chapter 4 you will clearly see they were in heaven. You will see the throne is in heaven, the 4 beasts in heaven, and the elders in heaven and also the Lamb in heaven.
Also keep in mind the earthly mount was just a shadow of the heavenly.
Hebrews 12:22;"But you are come unto mount Sion, unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels."
I believe the scriptures are very clear on that point.
Where are the Lamb and 144,000 standing?
Revelation 14
1And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father's name written in their foreheads.
2And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder: and I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps: 3And they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders: and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth.
Notice the 144,000 were with the Lamb on mount Sion(heavenly Jerusalem) when they sang the new song before the throne.
Where is the throne of God? The scriptures tell us heaven is His throne, and the earth is his footstool.
Also notice the 144,000 and the Lamb stood before the 4 beasts and the elders. So where were they?
If you go back to Revelation chapter 4 you will clearly see they were in heaven. You will see the throne is in heaven, the 4 beasts in heaven, and the elders in heaven and also the Lamb in heaven.
Also keep in mind the earthly mount was just a shadow of the heavenly.
Hebrews 12:22;"But you are come unto mount Sion, unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels."
I believe the scriptures are very clear on that point.
You do realise that the 144000 aren't a literal people, don't you? It symbolic, otherwise only 12000 jews from each tribe get to take part. Not you and me.
You do realise that the 144000 aren't a literal people, don't you? It symbolic, otherwise only 12000 jews from each tribe get to take part. Not you and me.