"A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver." Proverbs 25:11

“RAPTURE PREADY”

SHINING A LIGHT ON THE RAPTURE The Rapture is described as the believers blessed hope and we are to be alert and watchful as we see the days becoming more and more oppressive and dark.

"Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ;" Titus 2:13

It is true the word Rapture is not in the Bible, but it is according to translation. The term comes from a Latin word meaning "a carrying off, caught up, a transport, or a snatching away." The concept of being caught up or the Rapture of the church is clearly taught in Scripture.
In a twinkling of an eye ... eleven one-hundreths of a second ...we who believe will be caught up to receive our glorified bodies. Instantly transformed in the air. How this really transpires will be revealed when as it does happens, in that twinkling of an eye. But right now we can read the word Christ left us and receive our hope and promise from the scriptures that will keep us alert in these end time days that we are all facing.

Scripture tells us there will be a sound as of a trumpet and a great shout, so whether everyone hears this or just those who are caught up hear this call, we do know believers everywhere on this earth will be caught up i.e. raptured and instantly transfigured in a twinkling of an eye!
If that is not something to hope for ... I don't know what is!

1 Corinthians 15:50-54
Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, & the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.

This great word of hope is also confirmed in several scriptures and in the book of Revelation. This great book of supernatural events prophesied hundreds of years ago. Such prophecy tells us in the book of Revelation to look unto these things, which have been prophesied and that there is a blessing in understanding the prophesies within this great book. And yes, we must concur that most of the book of Revelation centers around the end time prophetic events.

We must also realize that all prophecies have already been fulfilled concerning the timing of the Rapture event. Yes, it is right at the door as we speak. We know many still fail to understand or even want to recognize the supernatural power of YHWH God our Father within the scriptures and especially in the concerning prophetic events and even more so concerning the events depicting the Rapture. We can say in positive sureness that we know God's timetable is still at work today on this earth and man's best either in the religious circles or the secular circles will never halt the truth of prophecy or end time events that are to occur.

Isaiah 55:8-9
For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.

As we stand before that supernatural prophetic moment when Jesus Christ comes accompanied by a great trumpet blow and a great shout when we will instantly be in the clouds with Jesus our Christ; there should also accompany a moment of total awe. Think about it ... our corruptible bodies will have instantly put on incorruption. The dead in Christ will already have been caught up and have been changed to meet our Lord in the air ... and then to beat all ... we will be taken to our true Home to be with Jesus Christ forever. This is the awesome event called the Rapture. This is exactly why we are to stay alert in these times and also to comfort one another with this blessed hope as was written.

1 Thessalonians 4:17-18 Then 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. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.

There is still much controversy and blatant confusing arguments concerning all the prophesied end time events; from the Rapture to the Great Tribulation and to the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. If any deception can be perpetrated against the understanding of the prophetic times we live and the revelation of the Rapture it is being accomplished today. Satan himself knows what is going to happen and the final hours of his encampment and territory on this earth is fulfilling his prophesied doom also. There is a war being waged against anything that stands for Godliness and the biblical truths that have been established at the throne of Christ.

Satan has always been the center of any deception. He is the father of lies and all he can do is wage warfare against the truth of God and His Word being accomplished.

Ephesians 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

John 8:44
Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.

1 Peter 5:8
Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:

Satan and his dominions are always ready to muddy the waters anywhere allowed. We see his work abounding in the religious and spiritual apostasy that is happening right now and also in the tumultuous times the world is suffering through.

We also know Satan discredits and still tries to taint the Word of God and how much more so the prophetic word. And, if I might add as my own personal note: he is holding many Rapture critics in hostage to keep them from hoping against all hope what has already been promised for all saints. That is one purposeful reason I keep on writing and presenting the clear scriptural evidence about the Rapture anytime I can.

It is most emphatically true that all who believe in Jesus Christ, all born again believers sealed with the Holy Spirit will be included in the Rapture. The question remains ... even if they don't believe? That, my friends will have to be solved at the appropriate time ... at the Rapture. Personally, I believe that all blood bought believers will be included!

We know the critics still chaff that the word Rapture never appears in the Bible, but that is due to interpretations and misinterpreting, and or just plain believing. It is just as easy to spout all of that, just as it is easy to spout that the word bible is never found in the Bible! And, it isn't. But it has never disqualified the bible from being the Bible. Truth abides forever, whether believed or not believed. It is all about translations, and the transliteration of the ancient writings. We must agree and understand that each come into more knowledge and discernment in the truth of the word as it is revealed. What we don't know as a new fresh born again believer is covered with God's great mercy and grace. Then as we begin to spiritually grow-up, more and more truth is added to us and is essential in living a balanced spiritual mature life in the faith. We come to understand that we can no longer rely upon spiritual grazing, and feeding like a chicken on everything that comes along. We learn that we must contend for the faith that has been given us and seek the whole council of God within the scriptures. Learning to accept the meat of the word and thereby growing in our maturity as a saint.

Again, personally I do believe it is the Holy Spirit's divine order to lead us into truth, but we as free willed individuals can block His leading and teaching. That is why we are to remain teachable on all accounts also and not become heady minded even in the scriptures as though we gained it all ourselves.

1 Corinthians 2:13-14
These things we also speak, not in words which man's wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

Matthew 23:24
Blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!

1 Peter 5:5
Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for 'God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble'.

We don't just all get it all at once ... and there is no judgement against that either. Truth abides, grows and imparts. It is our duty in the faith to know what is born of the Spirit of God and what is not born of the Spirit of God. We are to discern the times we are living in and to step forward in our faith and in the word of God that the Holy Spirit causes us to walk in. Letting all religious condemnations and religious rhetoric pass away, allowing the truth of His Holy Spirit to constantly refresh us in His truth and make us whole in His truth. which provides the equivalent of life in our spirit. Resurrection life
So lets look closely at the scriptures that tell us about the credence and precedence of the Rapture.

1 Thessalonians 4:17-18
Then 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. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.

Christ tells us in John 14:1-4
I will come again, and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.

I Corinthians 15:42-44 and 50-55
Behold, I tell you a mystery; we shall not all sleep, but we shall be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet.

All the schisms that try to besmirch the Rapture include arguments such as: improper word translations, lack of scriptural context, demonic teachings of Margaret MacDonald, John Darby, the deluge of pagan theologies that date back to Constantine and the Roman Catholic church, not to forget to mention ... the constant squabble of the timing of the tribulation and the second coming of Christ, and then the whole escapism theory! Simply put, we must stop listening to anything else other than the scriptures and the Holy Spirit.

I have found the most important stabilizing fact in support of the Rapture is this one little word ... imminence. We are instructed in the scriptures time after time as believers we must be; watching, waiting, and ready for our Messiah to appear. We are to be constantly alert as a believer knowing that Christ can come back at any time and especially more so as we see certain signs that point to His imminent arrival.

Matthew 24:42 to be prepared and ready at any given time ...
Matthew 24:44 to be on the alert all the time ...
Luke 12:35 keep our lamps alight and full of oil ...

Herein we know that we are to be taken out of the way at a precise time so that the antichrist spoken of in the end time prophesies can appear and the great tribulation begin to unroll its judgements all working up to the Second Coming of Jesus Christ back to this earth as it is written that His feet come down upon the Mt. of Olives.

Zechariah 14:4
And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, Which is before Jerusalem on the east, And the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, And there shall be a very great valley; And half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, And half of it toward the south.

Here is another stabilizing fact in support of the Rapture is that we as Christ's born again believers sealed with His Holy Spirit are promised protection from God's wrath. Here are the conclusive verses to ties this all in together.

Romans 5:9
Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.

1 Thessalonians 1:10
And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.

1 Thessalonians 5:9
For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ.

While taking the whole council of God we can find the affirmation of deliverance from tribulation and judgement and confirmation of this can be found starting in the Old Testament with Enoch, Noah, Lot and his family, and Elijah the Prophet. God's perfect plan is being progressively and systematically brought to its completion as every day passes. His dealings with mankind, His beloved Israel, and his church are yet to bee seen in its total completion.o covering as well. All according to God's will concerning the last of days, not ours. For we know that as the darkness increases, so does the light increase.

I must submit, without the power of the Holy Spirit giving discernment and the light of the truth in Christ ... we could not hold on to this blessed hope that is spoken of concerning the Rapture, since the times right now are so full of darkness and horrific oppressions. It goes that others who are not able to see or know this hope right now will be dealt with according to the word and the power of the Holy Spirit at His discretion. I believe we (all of mankind) have entered the time in which the Holy Spirit is not only uncovering ... but also ... What does scripture really show us concerning the Rapture and the difference between the Rapture and the Second Coming of Jesus Christ? Here are the major scriptures comparing both:

>> At the Rapture: all believers meet the Lord in the air ... 1 Thessalonians 4:17
>> At the Second Coming: all believers return with the Lord to the earth ... Revelation 19:14

>> The Rapture: occurs before the Tribulation ... 1Thessalonians 5:9 & Revelation 3:10
>> The Second Coming: occurs after the Great Tribulation ... Revelation chapters 6-19

>> The Rapture: is the removal of believers from the earth as an act of deliverance ... 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17 & 5:9
>> The Second Coming: includes the removal of unbelievers as an act of judgment ... Matthew 24:40-41

>> The Rapture: is imminent and could take place at any moment ... Titus 2:13; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 & 1 Corinthians 15:50-54
>> The Second Coming: will not occur until after certain other end-times events take place ... 2 Thessalonians 2:4 & Matthew 24:15-30 & Revelation chapters 6-18

So the basis difference can be plainly seen: The Rapture is the return of Jesus Christ in the clouds to remove all His believers from the earth before the time of God's wrath i.e. the time of Jacobs trouble. Jeremiah 30:7 says, "That day is great, so that none is like it." The only time period that fits this description is the period of the Great Tribulation. This time is unparalleled in history. The Second Coming is then the return of Christ to the earth to bring this great Tribulation to an end and defeat the Antichrist and his evil world empire.

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For tif we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For 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: Then 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. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.

This primary awesome scripture passage above on the Rapture in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 states that all living believers, along with all believers who have died, will meet the Lord Jesus Christ in the air and will be with Him forever. The Rapture is explicitly God's removal of His people from the earth. A few verses later, in 1 Thessalonians 5:9, it is written "For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ." The book of Revelation, which deals primarily with the time period of the tribulation, is a prophetic message of how God will pour out His wrath upon the earth during this tribulation period. It seems illogical and inconsistent for God to promise believers that they will not suffer wrath and then leave them on the earth to suffer through the wrath of the most terrifying tribulation, that is often referred as the Great Tribulation. The fact that God promises to deliver His followers/believers from wrath shortly after promising to remove His people from the earth seems to link those two events together conclusively.

Another crucial passage on the timing of the Rapture is Revelation 3:10, in which Christ promises to deliver believers from the "hour of trial" that is going to come upon the whole earth. This could mean two things. Either Christ will protect believers in the midst of the trials, or He will deliver believers out of the trials. Both are valid meanings of the Greek word translated "from."

However, it is still important to recognize what believers are promised to be kept from God's wrath. It is not just the trial, but the "hour" of trial. Christ is promising to keep believers from the very time period that contains the trials, namely the tribulation!

The purpose of the tribulation, the purpose of the rapture, the meaning of 1 Thessalonians 5:9, and the interpretation of Revelation 3:10 all give very clear support to the pre tribulational position of the Rapture. If the Bible is interpreted literally and consistently, the pre tribulational position is the most biblically-based interpretation that stands the test of time, prophetic time.

Without going into the scriptural breakdown of the Tribulation Period it is suffice to state that the Rapture is a great event in itself and not to be taken lightly. Is certainly precurs all the tribulation since it is in itself so cataclysmic in its purpose and timing. Can you image what the world stage looks like right after the Rapture? Let your own imagination fill in the blanks.

We know right now that the Rapture is imminent and no other biblical prophecy needs to be fulfilled before the rapture is purposed to happen. So it is only a matter of a ticking clock and what we as believers do in persevering in the word of God and remaining faithful unto the end. I believe the light of the Rapture will continue to increase and I pray it shine unto you with all the purposes and plans of YHWH God being revealed for you in prime time. Right now all I can say is ... I will be seeing you all real soon!
Amen & Maranatha!

© C.L. Mareydt, Editor AWFSM
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