Rapture

I made a post some time back about the “Rapture” doctrine that caused many people to question it’s Truth. Because of those questions I wrote this post to further prove where the origin or the “Rapture” doctrine started and what Scripture truly has to say about the end. I will leave a link to the original post I made at the end if you haven’t read it yet.

Does the Scriptures really teach that believers will be “Raptured” up to heaven?

It’s time to unlearn the lies we have been taught...

I know that sometimes the Truth hurts, and because the Truth hurt we want to avoid the Truth.

But I can’t do that!

This may be unpleasant. I wouldn’t be surprised if some of the friends and followers I have will unfriend me or block me. Maybe even make judgmental comments on this.

When Truth comes out and you understand the Truth you only have two choices.
1. You ignore it and conceal
2. You share it and allow other to come out from the veil of deception with you.

I’m choosing to come out from the veil of deception and share the Truth.

We’ve always hear the “Rapture” being taught in the church and the only questions were, is it PRE-, MID-, or POST-Tribulation. But the one thing nobody ever talked about was, where did we get this idea that there is a “Rapture”?

We got it from Scriptures that were taken out of context. And the problem with this “Rapture” theory is that many people think they will have a second chance. In other words if I miss the “Rapture” I just repent during the Tribulation. That would make this whole “Rapture” teaching a doctrine of demons.

Any doctrine that is designed to deceive people from the Truth, thus a doctrine of demons taught by seducing spirits.

The “Rapture” doctrine is one of the most recent lies to develop in churchanity. It was developed around the 19th century and has become exceedingly popular in the last 50 years.

It is sometime refered to as “The Secret Rapture” because they believe it will come suddenly and without warning. They teach that the “Rapture” could happen at any moment, so we must always be ready because no one know the day nor the hour.

Many of the recent books and movies about the “Rapture” convey an almost comical situation in which piles of close are left on chairs were people once sat, vehicles are suddenly abandoned while driving down the road, and everyone on earth who is left behind are overcome with confusion and fear.

So where did the “Rapture” doctrine come from? There is no documented evidence of anyone teaching the “Rapture” prior to the 18th century. That means for the first 1700 years since Messiah, no one was teaching “Rapture”.

The first known mention was in an essay published in 1788 by Morgan Edwards and the next by a Jesuit Priest named Emmanuel Lachaussée in 1811. Then in 1827 John Nelson Darby put forth one of the most noteworthy works regarding the “Rapture” which causes the theory to circulate among the masses. As a result Darby is believed by many to be the one who introduced the “Rapture” doctrine since there were no major teachings about it prior to him.

He was not the first to mention it, but Darby was definitely the one who made it popular. Darby is also called the “father of dispensationalism” because he was so instrumental in spreading the belief that Elohim (the Might One) changes the rules and the way He interacts with people during different periods of time.

Darby taught that the prophetic time table had been paused and the founding of the “church” and that the unfulfilled biblical prophecies will not take place until after the “Rapture”. He also taught that the “Rapture” was be a secret catching away that could happen at any moment, without any signs and warnings.

By the late 19th century preachers like Scofield began teaching the “Rapture” doctrine along with dispensationalism and it increased its popularity among protestant churches worldwide. Scofield also published his own translation of the Bible called the Scofield Reference Bible which he used to teach the “Rapture” theory in his footnotes. With over 3,000,000 copies printed in the first 50 years this popular Bible was widely distributed in both the United States and England.

Many of the preachers who read this Bible accepted his footnotes as authoritative and began teaching the “Rapture” theory in their own churches. This is when this doctrine really became a comm belief among Protestants. It became even more popular in the 1970’s when Hal Lindsey wrote “The Late Great Planet Earth”. It was further cemented into churchanity in the 1990’s with the “Left Behind” series by Jerry Jenkins and Tim LaHaye. The Left Behind books were so popular that in 1998 the first four book of the series held the top 4 slots in the New York Times best seller list simultaneously. And the total sales for this series has surpassed over 65,000,000 copies.

Obviously the “Rapture” doctrine has become very popular among the churches, but popularity is not what determines sound doctrine. Our doctrine must always come from the Word of Elohim and not the imagination of men.

Scripture is our source for Truth and Sound Doctrine, so we need to find out if what these men teach are Scriptural or not.

There are a few verses that are commonly used to support the “Rapture” doctrine, so we need to examine those verses to see what Scripture is actually telling us.

One of the most common verses used is
1 Thessalonians 4:17
“Then we, the living who are left over, shall be caught away together with them in the clouds to meet the Master in the air – and so we shall always be with the Master.”

However, when we looks at the context of this verse we find out that Sha’ul (Paul) was actually talking about the resurrection of the dead.
1 Thessalonians 4:13-16
13 Now, brothers, we do not wish you to be ignorant concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you be sad as others who have no expectation.
14 For if we believe that יהושע (Yahusha) died and rose again, so also Elohim shall bring with Him those who sleep in יהושע (Yahusha).
15 For this we say to you by the word of the Master, that we, the living who are left over at the coming of the Master shall in no way go before those who are asleep.
16 Because the Master Himself shall come down from heaven with a shout, with the voice of a chief messenger, and with the trumpet of Elohim, and the dead in Messiah shall rise first.

Many who hold to the “Rapture” doctrine claim it will happen secretly and without warning but these verse describe a shout and a trumpet that will announce the return of Yahusha. This is not a secret vanishing of believers, this is a world wide announcement of His return.

Notice also what the text says, “we, the living who are left over at the coming of the Master shall in no way go before those who are asleep.” (verse 15) So is the living do not preceded the dead, then how are we “Raptured” before the Tribulation? Because Sha’ul (Paul) said (verse 16) that when Yahusha returns the “dead in Messiah shall rise first.”

This is the first resurrection as described in Revelation. However, Revelation tells us that the first resurrection will take place after the Tribulation when Yahusha comes to set up His Kingdom.

Revelation 20:2-6‬
2 And he seized the dragon, the serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years,
3 and he threw him into the pit of the deep, and shut him up, and set a seal on him, so that he should lead the nations no more astray until the thousand years were ended. And after that he has to be released for a little while.
4 And I saw thrones – and they sat on them, and judgment was given to them – and the lives of those who had been beheaded because of the witness they bore to יהושע (Yahusha) and because of the Word of Elohim, and who did not worship the beast, nor his image, and did not receive his mark upon their foreheads or upon their hands. And they lived and reigned with Messiah for a thousand years
5 (and the rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended) – this is the first resurrection.
6 Blessed and set-apart is the one having part in the first resurrection. The second death possesses no authority over these, but they shall be priests of Elohim and of Messiah, and shall reign with Him a thousand years.

Probably the most popular verse to support the “Rapture” doctrine is
1 Corinthians 15:52
“in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.”

However, when looking at the rest of the chapter we see that this verse has been completely taken out of context to support their theory. The entire chapter of 1 Corinthians 15 is about the resurrection of the dead. Verse 52 is part of Sha’ul ‘s (Paul’s) answer to the question “How are the dead raises up and with what body do they come?” He points out that there are different types of bodies belonging to humans, and animal, and angels. Then he explains that our body will be changed instantly into an immortal spiritual body at the resurrection.
1 Corinthians 15:42-44
42 So also is the resurrection of the dead: it is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption;
43 it is sown in disrespect, it is raised in esteem; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power;
44 it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body; there is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.

The Sha’ul (Paul) explains that we must obtain a spiritual body before we can inherit the Kingdom of Elohim because corruption cannot inherit incorruption.

Now look at the text in question (verse 52) and see how it fits into Sha’ul ‘s (Paul’s) argument for the resurrection.
1 Corinthians 15:51-55
51 See, I speak a secret to you: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,
52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
53 For this corruptible has to put on incorruption, and this mortal to put on immortality.
54 And when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall come to be the word that has been written, “Death is swallowed up in overcoming.”
55 “O Death, where is your sting? O She’ol (the grave), where is your overcoming?”

Notice again that Sha’ul (Paul) mentions the trumpet sound and the dead begin resurrected.  This is the same event he was describing in 1 Thessalonians 4 which takes place after the Tribulation. This entire chapter is about the resurrection of the the dead not a “Rapture”.

Another popular verse that is used to support the “Rapture” is
Matthew 24:31
“And He shall send His messengers with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together His chosen ones from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.”

Again notice that it is announced with trumpets, so this is not a secret gathering of believers. In Matthew 24 Yahusha is answering a question that his talmidim (disciples) asked saying,
Matthew 24:3
“When shall this be, and what is the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?”
To which Yahusha responded describing a number of events that will take place before he returns.

He warned that there will be false messiah’s, false prophets, wars, famines, earthquakes, and Tribulation. Then He described His return.

Matthew 24:29-31
29 And IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE TRIBULATION of those days the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give its light, and the stars shall fall from the heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken.
30 And then the sign of the Son of Aḏam shall appear in the heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth shall mourn, and they shall see the Son of Aḏam coming on the clouds of the heaven with power and much esteem.
31 And He shall send His messengers with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together His chosen ones from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.

It’s very clear from this passage that Yahusha is going to return after the tribulation to gather His people. We have the same elements here as we read in 1 Thessalonians 4 and 1 Corinthians 15. The trumpet sound, Yahusha coming in the clouds, and gathering His people to Him. But Yahusha makes it clear that these things will happen immediately after the tribulation, which competency disproves to Pre-Tribulation “Rapture”.

Another related Scripture that is often sighted as proof of the “Rapture” is also found in Matthew 24 and it speaks about one person begin taken while another is left behind. This is actually were the Left Behind book series got it name. However, we must look at the co text of these of these verse to find out who is being taken and who is being left behind.

Matthew 24:37-42
37 And as the days of Noaḥ, so also shall the coming of the Son of Aḏam be.
38 For as they were in the days before the flood, eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noaḥ entered into the ark,
39 and they did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also shall the coming of the Son of Aḏam be.
40 Then two shall be in the field, the one is taken and the one is left.
41 Two women shall be grinding at the mill, one is taken and one is left.
42 Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Master is coming.

Yahusha said that His return will be like the days of Noaḥ and just as the flood took away everyone outside of the ark, so will the wicked be removed from the earth when He returns.

This is the opposite of the Left Behind series which portrays to His people being taken away and the wicked being left behind. We don’t want to be “taken away” like those in the days of Noaḥ.

Before Yahusha died He prayed an amazing prayer for all of His followers present and future and the Words of His prayer go against the very idea of a “Rapture”.

John 17:14-17
14 I have given them Your Word, and the world hated them because they are not of the world, as I am not of the world.
15 I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You keep them from the wicked one.
16 They are not of the world, as I am not of the world.
17 Set them apart in Your truth – Your Word is truth.

Did you can’t that? Yahusha was opposed to the idea of a “Rapture”. His prayer was that we would remain on the earth and that we would be set-apart from the world by the Truth of His Word.

This is very similar to the parable he told about the wheat and the tares in which the owner instructed the servants to let the wheat and tares grow together until the time of harvest.
Matthew 13:30
30 Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I shall say to the reapers, First gather the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barns.

As we have seen the Scriptures describe the snacking away of the wicked by the righteous ones staying on and inheriting the earth under His Kingdom.

For more proof and information about this see my other post covering the Qodeshim (Righteous Ones) staying on and inheriting the earth see the link to my other post below...

https://www.facebook.com/1329259515/posts/10213786143110996/