Churchwork
09-14-2006, 01:42 PM
Are You Going to Be Legalistic About the Word Rapture?
Are Because the word rapture is not in the Bible, does not mean Jesus was not raptured or that Enoch was not raptured or that Elijah was not raptured or that the saints won't be raptured.
The condition set forth by God to be received at the first rapture if "thou hast kept the word of my patience" (Rev. 3.10), He "will keep thee from the hour of trial, which shall come upon all the world". But, if you have no desire to be "Watch ye therefore, and pray always" (Luke 21.36), then you won't be "accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man".
The trumpets of the Tribulation are loud as will be the events of the consummation of this age. You know the trumpets in Tribulation in the future consummation (Dan. 9.27), is not about the pasts feasts of Israel, for war and desolations are characteristic of the Tribulation.
Don't think God says be watchful and prayerful in vain to escape the hour of Trial of the Tribulation for no reason at all. He can only promise to be received through rapture, since death is no blessing and can not be avoided when one is in the Tribulation.
"Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come" (Matt. 24.42). "Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left" (v.40).
If you don't believe the church is going to be raptured, you simply aren't a Christian and you know that, for we see those raptured to heaven at Rev. 7.9 before the trumpets of the Tribulation are blown, "stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes" (Rev. 7.9).
We see in these verses John, Luke and Matthew write about the first rapture according to readiness. What about Paul? He too writes about two raptures.
By reading Matthew 24.42 together with 1 Thessalonians 5.2, 4, it is evident that there are at least two raptures: for note that the first passage suggests rapture before the Tribulation because one must be watchful since he does not know when his Lord will come; while the second passage suggests rapture after the Tribulation because one knows when the day of the Lord shall come.
The places to be raptured towards are also different. Whereas Revelation 7.15 mentions to “the throne of God” and Luke 21.36 mentions “to stand before the Son of man”, 1 Thessalonians 4.17 says that it is to “the air” – Such distinctions would thus indicate that the entire body of believers is not raptured all at one time.
What about Mark?
Mark 13 states, “But of that day or that hour knoweth no one, not even the angels in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father” (v.32), So that the day of the coming of Christ is unknown. But 1 Thessalonians 4 declares that “the Lord himself shall descend from heaven, with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God” (v.16). From this second passage we know that the appearing of Christ is after the sounding of the seventh trumpet. And hence the first passage relates to pre-tribulation rapture while the second relates to post-tribulation rapture.
Some argue that according to I Thessalonians 4.15, the living “shall in no wise precede them who are fallen asleep” -The dead are resurrected at the seventh trumpet; and so timewise, rapture occurs after the Tribulation. Now if there is a first rapture, it will have to take place before the resurrection of the dead. But since this verse distinctly says “shall in no wise,” how then can rapture take place twice? Let me say in reply that it is most precious and significant to find in both verse 15 and verse 17 the qualifying clauses “we that are alive, that are left” - Now to be alive is obviously to be left on earth; why, then, is there this apparent unnecessary repetition? Because it implies that there are people who though alive yet have already gone ahead (that is, raptured) and therefore are no longer left on earth. Would Paul enlist himself among this class of people who are alive and are left? Not at all. He uses the word “we” only because he is speaking at that moment of writing, and the proof of this is that since Paul no longer lives today, he cannot be numbered among those who are left on earth. Our summary conclusion to all this is that the third school of interpretation seems to be the correct one - that is to say, that one group of believers will be raptured before the Tribulation while another group of believers will go through the Tribulation and be raptured afterwards.
Others object that rapture is part of redemption, that since redemption is according to grace, rapture cannot be based on the concept of worthiness. In reply, it needs to be pointed out that while the act of changing (see 1 Cor. 15.51-52) is indeed according to grace, the act of being taken (rapture) is according to works.
Some observers ask, is it not rather cruel to take away hope from the church? To which we must answer that in the Scriptures there is no such false hope given; and therefore it is better to alert people to this fact.
Since the dead will not go through the Great Tribulation, would it not be unfair to the living for them to go through it? Will not the righteous God be unjust in this regard? In response, let me say that we do need to be concerned; for during the millennium each and every believer (including all believers who died prior to the Great Tribulation) will receive, as a consequence of appearing before Christ’s judgment seat, the things done in the body while alive, according to what he has done whether it be good or bad (2 Cor. 5.10).
Since in 1 Cor. 15:50-52 (“We all shall not sleep, but we shall all be changed”) “all” is the word used, surely this signifies the whole body. Yes, the “all” here does indeed refer to the entire body, but it does not have reference to the same time. For example, we all will die, but certainly not all of us will do so in one day.
There is a distinction made in the Bible between wheat and tares, some say, but no difference made between wheat and wheat; consequently, all wheat must be raptured. In reply, it should be noted that the times of ripening for wheat are not the same. Thus there are the firstfruits and the later harvest.
So all Christians overcome, but the question is when? Will you be ready at the first rapture, or will you need to go through the Tribulation? Will you even be ready at the last trumpet? Some Christians (5 wise virgins) will return with Christ (Jude 14,15) reign in the millennium, while non-overcomer believers shall lose this reward for being slothful and preferring to be tied down to the world like a balloon.
Question: Will there be a partial rapture? Yes.
1 Cor. 15.50-57 pertain to the rapture of those who are "alive" and "left" or waiting to be resurrected at the last trumpet. This agrees with 1 Thess. 4.13-18. Those who were raptured beforehand did so in the verses as previously explained. There are other verses too for first rapture such as Rev. 14.-15, 12.5, firstfruits and harbingers in every sphere.
Just because there is a rapture at the last trumpet does not take away from the hope of the church for a first rapture if we are accounted ready and watchful.
Matt. 25.1-13 is not describing partial rapture, but is describing the rewards of reigning in the millennial kingdom. It can be said those included in the first rapture are definitely included in the millennial rewards, but not all those included in the last trumpet resurrection and rapture are included in the millennial rewards.
"I do not know you" is that loss of rewards in Matt. 25.12, since they already have eternal life, that is, their sins really have been washed by the precious blood.
“I know you not”—Will the Lord ever say to the saved that He does not know them? However, we need to examine this answer of our Lord’s very carefully:
(1)”But he answered and said”—The word “but” shows that the answer is unusual and out of all expectation. In Luke 15.22 the same word indicates how totally unthought-of, unhoped-for, and unexpected by the prodigal son were the father’s words to his servants. The word “but” here proves that the “know not” is not an ordinary not knowing.
(2) The Lord knows all who are saved (2 Tim. 2.19, Gal. 4.9, John 10.14). Two Greek words are used for “know” in the New Testament: ginosko and oida. The former signifies an objective knowledge while the latter signifies a subjective and deeper knowledge. Now oida is the Greek word employed here by the Lord.
(3) How is oida used in the Scriptures? It is recognizably employed to mean approve, commend, endorse, or applaud. What follows are a few examples from the New Testament which illustrate the use of this Greek word. In each example, the verb “to know” or “to not know” is oida or its variant. “In the midst of you standeth one whom ye know not” (John 1.26). In this situation, of course, the Jews know (ginosko) the Lord, but they do not really know (oida) Him because they do not love Him. “I knew him not” (John 1.31). Since John and the Lord Jesus are cousins, the Baptist certainly knows Jesus objectively (ginosko) but not subjectively (oida)—that is to say, John does not know Him deeply. “Ye know neither me, nor my Father” (John 8.19). Though the Jews know (ginosko) the Lord quite well externally, they do not approve of Him nor do they receive Him. “I know you not whence ye are” (spoken twice in Luke 13.22-30). Here the Lord speaks of the situation in the kingdom. Some who have eaten and drunk with the Lord and have also heard Him teaching in their streets doubtless know objectively (ginosko) the Lord well, yet they are referred to by the Lord as “workers of iniquity”—a phrase which in the original is worded as “workers of unrighteousness”—that is to say, those who do not walk according to rule. “Ye know the house of Stephanas” (1 Cor. 16.15). The Corinthian believers know deeply (oida) and not just know objectively (ginosko) the house of Stephanas. Hence from all these examples we learn that oida is subjective knowing of a person, which implies a sense of trust.
(4) “Whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father who is in heaven” (Matt. 10.33; cf. also Luke 12.9). These two instances of the word “deny” have reference to things in the kingdom. Secret Christians will not perish, yet neither will they be approved by the Lord in the kingdom. “Deny” (arneomai) is to not know (in the oida sense of not knowing) (see Matt. 26.70). It is to contradict, refute, or overturn.
(5) There are similar examples of this matter of knowing and not knowing in the Old Testament, as for instance in 1 Samuel 3.7 (“Now Samuel did not yet know Jehovah”) wherein Samuel had indeed objectively known Jehovah, but he had yet to know the Lord in a subjective way.
(6) The reward of the kingdom is based purely on righteousness. For the Lord to deny has about it the flavor of righteousness. Just as a judge must ask the name of the offender even if the latter is his own son, so the denial here in Matthew 25.12 (“I know you not”) refers to the action and not to the person. It means the Lord cannot accept or approve.
The truth is not unreasonable, it is just unloved.
Are Because the word rapture is not in the Bible, does not mean Jesus was not raptured or that Enoch was not raptured or that Elijah was not raptured or that the saints won't be raptured.
The condition set forth by God to be received at the first rapture if "thou hast kept the word of my patience" (Rev. 3.10), He "will keep thee from the hour of trial, which shall come upon all the world". But, if you have no desire to be "Watch ye therefore, and pray always" (Luke 21.36), then you won't be "accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man".
The trumpets of the Tribulation are loud as will be the events of the consummation of this age. You know the trumpets in Tribulation in the future consummation (Dan. 9.27), is not about the pasts feasts of Israel, for war and desolations are characteristic of the Tribulation.
Don't think God says be watchful and prayerful in vain to escape the hour of Trial of the Tribulation for no reason at all. He can only promise to be received through rapture, since death is no blessing and can not be avoided when one is in the Tribulation.
"Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come" (Matt. 24.42). "Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left" (v.40).
If you don't believe the church is going to be raptured, you simply aren't a Christian and you know that, for we see those raptured to heaven at Rev. 7.9 before the trumpets of the Tribulation are blown, "stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes" (Rev. 7.9).
We see in these verses John, Luke and Matthew write about the first rapture according to readiness. What about Paul? He too writes about two raptures.
By reading Matthew 24.42 together with 1 Thessalonians 5.2, 4, it is evident that there are at least two raptures: for note that the first passage suggests rapture before the Tribulation because one must be watchful since he does not know when his Lord will come; while the second passage suggests rapture after the Tribulation because one knows when the day of the Lord shall come.
The places to be raptured towards are also different. Whereas Revelation 7.15 mentions to “the throne of God” and Luke 21.36 mentions “to stand before the Son of man”, 1 Thessalonians 4.17 says that it is to “the air” – Such distinctions would thus indicate that the entire body of believers is not raptured all at one time.
What about Mark?
Mark 13 states, “But of that day or that hour knoweth no one, not even the angels in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father” (v.32), So that the day of the coming of Christ is unknown. But 1 Thessalonians 4 declares that “the Lord himself shall descend from heaven, with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God” (v.16). From this second passage we know that the appearing of Christ is after the sounding of the seventh trumpet. And hence the first passage relates to pre-tribulation rapture while the second relates to post-tribulation rapture.
Some argue that according to I Thessalonians 4.15, the living “shall in no wise precede them who are fallen asleep” -The dead are resurrected at the seventh trumpet; and so timewise, rapture occurs after the Tribulation. Now if there is a first rapture, it will have to take place before the resurrection of the dead. But since this verse distinctly says “shall in no wise,” how then can rapture take place twice? Let me say in reply that it is most precious and significant to find in both verse 15 and verse 17 the qualifying clauses “we that are alive, that are left” - Now to be alive is obviously to be left on earth; why, then, is there this apparent unnecessary repetition? Because it implies that there are people who though alive yet have already gone ahead (that is, raptured) and therefore are no longer left on earth. Would Paul enlist himself among this class of people who are alive and are left? Not at all. He uses the word “we” only because he is speaking at that moment of writing, and the proof of this is that since Paul no longer lives today, he cannot be numbered among those who are left on earth. Our summary conclusion to all this is that the third school of interpretation seems to be the correct one - that is to say, that one group of believers will be raptured before the Tribulation while another group of believers will go through the Tribulation and be raptured afterwards.
Others object that rapture is part of redemption, that since redemption is according to grace, rapture cannot be based on the concept of worthiness. In reply, it needs to be pointed out that while the act of changing (see 1 Cor. 15.51-52) is indeed according to grace, the act of being taken (rapture) is according to works.
Some observers ask, is it not rather cruel to take away hope from the church? To which we must answer that in the Scriptures there is no such false hope given; and therefore it is better to alert people to this fact.
Since the dead will not go through the Great Tribulation, would it not be unfair to the living for them to go through it? Will not the righteous God be unjust in this regard? In response, let me say that we do need to be concerned; for during the millennium each and every believer (including all believers who died prior to the Great Tribulation) will receive, as a consequence of appearing before Christ’s judgment seat, the things done in the body while alive, according to what he has done whether it be good or bad (2 Cor. 5.10).
Since in 1 Cor. 15:50-52 (“We all shall not sleep, but we shall all be changed”) “all” is the word used, surely this signifies the whole body. Yes, the “all” here does indeed refer to the entire body, but it does not have reference to the same time. For example, we all will die, but certainly not all of us will do so in one day.
There is a distinction made in the Bible between wheat and tares, some say, but no difference made between wheat and wheat; consequently, all wheat must be raptured. In reply, it should be noted that the times of ripening for wheat are not the same. Thus there are the firstfruits and the later harvest.
So all Christians overcome, but the question is when? Will you be ready at the first rapture, or will you need to go through the Tribulation? Will you even be ready at the last trumpet? Some Christians (5 wise virgins) will return with Christ (Jude 14,15) reign in the millennium, while non-overcomer believers shall lose this reward for being slothful and preferring to be tied down to the world like a balloon.
Question: Will there be a partial rapture? Yes.
1 Cor. 15.50-57 pertain to the rapture of those who are "alive" and "left" or waiting to be resurrected at the last trumpet. This agrees with 1 Thess. 4.13-18. Those who were raptured beforehand did so in the verses as previously explained. There are other verses too for first rapture such as Rev. 14.-15, 12.5, firstfruits and harbingers in every sphere.
Just because there is a rapture at the last trumpet does not take away from the hope of the church for a first rapture if we are accounted ready and watchful.
Matt. 25.1-13 is not describing partial rapture, but is describing the rewards of reigning in the millennial kingdom. It can be said those included in the first rapture are definitely included in the millennial rewards, but not all those included in the last trumpet resurrection and rapture are included in the millennial rewards.
"I do not know you" is that loss of rewards in Matt. 25.12, since they already have eternal life, that is, their sins really have been washed by the precious blood.
“I know you not”—Will the Lord ever say to the saved that He does not know them? However, we need to examine this answer of our Lord’s very carefully:
(1)”But he answered and said”—The word “but” shows that the answer is unusual and out of all expectation. In Luke 15.22 the same word indicates how totally unthought-of, unhoped-for, and unexpected by the prodigal son were the father’s words to his servants. The word “but” here proves that the “know not” is not an ordinary not knowing.
(2) The Lord knows all who are saved (2 Tim. 2.19, Gal. 4.9, John 10.14). Two Greek words are used for “know” in the New Testament: ginosko and oida. The former signifies an objective knowledge while the latter signifies a subjective and deeper knowledge. Now oida is the Greek word employed here by the Lord.
(3) How is oida used in the Scriptures? It is recognizably employed to mean approve, commend, endorse, or applaud. What follows are a few examples from the New Testament which illustrate the use of this Greek word. In each example, the verb “to know” or “to not know” is oida or its variant. “In the midst of you standeth one whom ye know not” (John 1.26). In this situation, of course, the Jews know (ginosko) the Lord, but they do not really know (oida) Him because they do not love Him. “I knew him not” (John 1.31). Since John and the Lord Jesus are cousins, the Baptist certainly knows Jesus objectively (ginosko) but not subjectively (oida)—that is to say, John does not know Him deeply. “Ye know neither me, nor my Father” (John 8.19). Though the Jews know (ginosko) the Lord quite well externally, they do not approve of Him nor do they receive Him. “I know you not whence ye are” (spoken twice in Luke 13.22-30). Here the Lord speaks of the situation in the kingdom. Some who have eaten and drunk with the Lord and have also heard Him teaching in their streets doubtless know objectively (ginosko) the Lord well, yet they are referred to by the Lord as “workers of iniquity”—a phrase which in the original is worded as “workers of unrighteousness”—that is to say, those who do not walk according to rule. “Ye know the house of Stephanas” (1 Cor. 16.15). The Corinthian believers know deeply (oida) and not just know objectively (ginosko) the house of Stephanas. Hence from all these examples we learn that oida is subjective knowing of a person, which implies a sense of trust.
(4) “Whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father who is in heaven” (Matt. 10.33; cf. also Luke 12.9). These two instances of the word “deny” have reference to things in the kingdom. Secret Christians will not perish, yet neither will they be approved by the Lord in the kingdom. “Deny” (arneomai) is to not know (in the oida sense of not knowing) (see Matt. 26.70). It is to contradict, refute, or overturn.
(5) There are similar examples of this matter of knowing and not knowing in the Old Testament, as for instance in 1 Samuel 3.7 (“Now Samuel did not yet know Jehovah”) wherein Samuel had indeed objectively known Jehovah, but he had yet to know the Lord in a subjective way.
(6) The reward of the kingdom is based purely on righteousness. For the Lord to deny has about it the flavor of righteousness. Just as a judge must ask the name of the offender even if the latter is his own son, so the denial here in Matthew 25.12 (“I know you not”) refers to the action and not to the person. It means the Lord cannot accept or approve.
The truth is not unreasonable, it is just unloved.