Matthew chapter 24 verses 29-31,
We read,
Immediately
after the tribulation of those days
the sun will be darkened,
and the moon will not give its light;
the stars will fall from heaven,
and the powers of the heavens
will be shaken.
Then the sign of the Son of Man
will appear in heaven,
and then all the tribes of the earth
will mourn,
and they will see the Son of Man
coming on the clouds of heaven
with power and great glory.
And He will send His angels
with a great sound of a trumpet,
and they will gather together His elect
from the four winds,
from one end of heaven to the other.
Some believe the Elect are only Jews,
but it does not say that here.
And we see the term Elect
used to describe the believers
who are part of the Church
in other passages.
Such as
Colossians chapter 3 verse 12
Therefore,
as the elect of God,
holy and beloved
For more on the subject of exactly
who the Elect are,
please see the previous video and post,
Reference:
The Rapture of the Elect
Blog post =
The first point I want to mention is
it says the return of Christ is
visible to everyone.
And many will be mourning
when they see Him.
It is possible that some of those
witnessing the glorious return of Christ
will come to a saving faith
at that time.
While the majority of the world
will be in rebellion to the truth,
to the bitter end.
We see references in scripture
of a "remnant"
that will be saved.
See:
Romans 9:27
Isaiah also cries out concerning Israel:
Though the number of the children of Israel
be as the sand of the sea,
The remnant will be saved.
and
Romans 11:5
Even so then, at this present time
there is a remnant
according to the election of grace.
and
Jeremiah 50:20
In those days and in that time,"
says the Lord,
"The iniquity of Israel shall be sought,
but there shall be none;
And the sins of Judah,
but they shall not be found;
For I will pardon those
whom I preserve.
The majority of unbelievers will perish
during the time of the Great Tribulation,
and when the 7 bowls of wrath are poured out,
after the 7th and final trumpet is blown.
But clearly not all.
We see the Lord gathering
and judging those who are still alive.
But before that happens,
we are told that at the last trumpet,
The dead believers are to be resurrected
and those who are alive
shall be changed.
Reference:
1 Corinthians chapter 15 verses 51 and 52
Behold, I tell 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 trumpet.
For the trumpet will sound,
and the dead will be raised incorruptible,
and we shall be changed.
The dead are to be resurrected
upon the return of Jesus.
And those who are "alive and remain"
are to be transformed
as they meet the Lord in the air,
on His way down to the mount of Olives
in Jerusalem.
A parallel passage would be:
1 Thessalonians chapter 4 verse 16 -17
For the Lord Himself
will descend from heaven
with a shout,
with the voice of an archangel,
and with the trumpet of God.
And the dead in Christ
will rise first.
Then we who are alive and remain
shall be caught up
together with them
in the clouds
to meet the Lord in the air.
And thus we shall always be
with the Lord.
This resurrection is called
the First Resurrection.
And it includes those who are
martyred by the beast,
so this has to be an event
after the Great Tribulation.
Reference:
Revelation chapter 20 verses 4 - 6
And I saw thrones,
and they sat on them,
and judgment was committed to them.
Then I saw the souls of those
who had been beheaded
for their witness to Jesus
and for the word of God,
who had not worshiped the beast
or his image,
and had not received his mark
on their foreheads
or on their hands.
And they lived
and reigned with Christ
for a thousand years.
But the rest of the dead
did not live again until
the thousand years were finished.
This is the first resurrection.
Blessed and holy
is he who has part
in the first resurrection.
Over such
the second death has no power,
but they shall be priests
of God and of Christ,
and shall reign with Him
a thousand years.
The timing of this Resurrection
is one of the strongest proofs
that the Rapture occurs
at the end of the Great Tribulation,
and not before.
So if the resurrection
and the transformation
of the living believers
occurs at the end of the Great Tribulation
- at the return of Christ.
Then who are the two groups
that get divided after Jesus returns.
I have already referenced several places
where this is mentioned in the scriptures.
Again, most notable are
in Matthew 25:31-46
and in Ezekiel 34:17-31
Where we see a dividing
of the sheeps and the goats mentioned.
This would be the remnant
that is still alive,
but who were not transformed
at the return of Jesus Christ.
( when the rapture
or gathering of the Elect occurs ).
Those selected to enter the kingdom
would be the few that had not believed,
prior to the return of Christ,
AND
who also refused
the mark of the beast.
And they would have come to a saving faith
upon seeing the Lord of Lord,
and King of Kings return to Jerusalem.
Jesus will divide those remaining alive
soon after His physical return to Earth.
Not all those remaining will believe
or be spared by the Lord.
Only those whose names are
written in the book of life.
Revelation 17:8
And those who dwell on the earth will marvel,
whose names are
not written in the Book of Life
from the foundation of the world,
when they see the beast that was,
and is not,
and yet is.
No matter at what age or time you trust
in Jesus as God Who Saves,
your name is already written in the Book of Life,
because God can't help but know who will believe.
So, there can be people who are "late" in believing,
but since they are part of those
written in the Book of Life,
they can be spared the complete delusion
that will befall most of the world
when the beast and the false prophet
come on the scene.
Seems like most are going to be fooled,
and take the mark of the beast,
believing the lie.
As we read in
2 Thessalonians chapter 2 verses 9 - 12
The coming
of the lawless one
is according to
the working of Satan,
with all power, signs,
and lying wonders,
and with all unrighteous deception
among those who perish,
because they did not receive
the love of the truth,
that they might be saved.
And for this reason
God will send them strong delusion,
that they should believe the lie,
that they all may be condemned
who did not believe the truth
but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
Note:
"those who perish"
are the ones
"who did not believe the truth
but had pleasure in unrighteousness".
We see that some survivors
are chosen by the Lord,
to repopulate the planet
during the 1,000 year reign of Christ.
And those of us that are to be resurrected
and transformed at His return
will have glorified spiritual
- incorruptible bodies.
No longer subject to death.
Reference:
I Corinthians 15:44
It is sown a natural body,
it is raised a spiritual body.
There is a natural body,
and there is a spiritual body.
This is part of the promised
First Resurrection mentioned in
Revelation chapter 20 and verse 4 - 6
we read earlier.
Okay, I have stated my theory on
Who is Who.
Now let's look at
the Sheep and Goats passage
found in Matthew chapter 25:31-46
It says,
When the Son of Man
comes in His glory,
and all the holy angels
with Him,
then He will sit on the throne
of His glory.
All the nations will be gathered
before Him,
and He will separate them
one from another,
as a shepherd divides
his sheep from the goats.
And He will set the sheep
on His right hand,
but the goats
on the left.
Then the King will say
to those on His right hand,
'Come, you blessed of My Father,
inherit the kingdom
prepared for you
from the foundation
of the world:
for I was hungry
and you gave Me food;
I was thirsty
and you gave Me drink;
I was a stranger
and you took Me in;
I was naked
and you clothed Me;
I was sick
and you visited Me;
I was in prison
and you came to Me.
In Verses 37 - 39,
They Ask -
when did we do these things?
Reading in verse 40 we see:
And the King will answer
and say to them,
'Assuredly, I say to you,
inasmuch as you did it
to one of the least
of these My brethren,
you did it to Me
The outcome of the rest is found in verse 41,
Then He will also say
to those on the left hand,
'Depart from Me,
you cursed,
into the everlasting fire
prepared for the devil
and his angels:
Verse 46,
And these will go away
into everlasting punishment,
but the righteous
into eternal life."
Now you might be thinking
"who" are the brethren
Jesus was referring to?
I would propose
they are the resurrected
and transformed believers
that meet the Lord in the air
on His way down to rule and reign.
Those believers lived
( or perhaps were martyred )
during the difficult 3 1/2 years
of the reign of the beast.
This would be the Elect
mentioned in Matthew 24:31,
and those mentioned
in 1 Corinthians 15:52
in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye,
at the last trumpet.
For the trumpet will sound,
and the dead will be raised incorruptible,
and we shall be changed.
AND 1 Thessalonians 4:17.
Then we who are alive and remain
shall be caught up together
with them in the clouds
to meet the Lord in the air.
And thus we shall always be with the Lord.
I would like to point out,
as I've done in other posts,
The return of Christ is to occur
at the Mount of Olives.
See Acts chapter 1
and Zechariah 14:4
Our meeting Him on His way
down to earth would be a commonly understood
practice of the inhabitants of a city
coming out to meet
an arriving dignitary.
Please check out this previous Post
and Video for more details.
The Rapture - Meeting the Lord on His way down to Earth
Now let's take a closer look at
a passage from the Old Testament.
Which is Ezekiel
chapter 20 verses 34-44
Let's look specifically
at Verses 34 - 38
I will bring you out
from the peoples
and gather you out
of the countries
where you are scattered,
with a mighty hand,
with an outstretched arm,
and with fury poured out.
And I will bring you into
the wilderness of the peoples,
and there I will plead My case
with you face to face.
Just as I pleaded My case
with your fathers in the wilderness
of the land of Egypt,
so I will plead My case with you,"
says the Lord God.
I will make you pass under the rod,
and I will bring you into
the bond of the covenant;
I will purge the rebels
from among you,
and those who transgress against Me;
I will bring them out of the country
where they dwell,
but they shall not
enter the land of Israel.
Then you will know
that I am the Lord.
This promise might be one of the passages
Paul was thinking about
when he wrote "thus all Israel will be saved".
Romans chapter 11 verse 26 and 27,
we read,
And so all Israel will be saved,
as it is written:
The Deliverer will come out of Zion,
And He will turn away
ungodliness from Jacob;
For this is My covenant with them,
When I take away their sins.
We see in Ezekiel chapter 20 and chapter 34
both a gathering and a division
similar to Matthew 25
with the sheeps and the goats.
However, don't forget that Matthew 25 says
All the nations will be gathered
before Him,
and He will separate them
one from another
This could either include the Jews,
or the Jews get their own
separate judgement -
division of those still alive.
The Remnant
- are to be divided.
Some are going to enter the kingdom,
and some will be excluded.
There is no need to say
the Rapture of believers
must occur before
the time of the Great Tribulation,
In order for this gathering
and dividing to occur.
The remnant can be those who "mourn"
upon seeing Jesus Christ
actually return as foretold.
We see this mourning referenced
in several places.
Matthew 24:30, we read
Then the sign of the Son of Man
will appear in heaven,
and then all the tribes of the earth
will mourn,
and they will see the Son of Man
coming on the clouds of heaven
with power and great glory.
Revelation 1:7 we read
Behold, He is coming with clouds,
and every eye will see Him,
even they who pierced Him.
And all the tribes of the earth
will mourn because of Him.
Even so, Amen.
Zechariah 12:10 we read
And I will pour on the house of David
and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem
the Spirit of grace and supplication;
then they will look on Me
whom they pierced.
Yes, they will mourn for Him
as one mourns for his only son,
and grieve for Him
as one grieves for a firstborn.
Ezekiel 36:31-33 we read
Then you will remember your evil ways
and your deeds
that were not good;
and you will loathe yourselves
in your own sight,
for your iniquities
and your abominations.
Not for your sake do I do this,"
says the Lord God,
"let it be known to you.
Be ashamed and confounded
for your own ways,
O house of Israel!
Thus says the Lord God:
"On the day
that I cleanse you
from all your iniquities,
I will also enable you
to dwell in the cities,
and the ruins
shall be rebuilt.
The Lord has shown us
in many other passages,
that is He is both willing and able
to keep a "remnant" that survives
times of His wrath.
Ezekiel 12:16 we read
But I will spare a few of their men
from the sword,
from famine,
and from pestilence,
that they may declare
all their abominations
among the Gentiles
wherever they go.
Then they shall know
that I am the Lord."
Ezekiel 9:4 we read
and the Lord said to him,
"Go through the midst of the city,
through the midst of Jerusalem,
and put a mark on the foreheads
of the men who sigh and cry
over all the abominations
that are done within it."
I Kings 19:18 we read
Yet I have reserved
seven thousand in Israel,
all whose knees
have not bowed to Baal,
and every mouth
that has not kissed him."
We could go on,
but I hope you get the point
I'm trying to make here.
Namely, we should never underestimate
God's ability to protect or save
those with whom
He has found favor.
Now let's look at
Point # 2 of Reason 7
Reference:
Zechariah 14:5**:
The Lord comes with His saints.
* Yes,
He does come with His saints,
as we meet our descending Lord
in the air
on His way to earth,
before His feet touch the ground
on the mount of olives
just outside of Jerusalem.
Not because we were Raptured 7 years earlier.
And
Point # 3 of Reason 7
Reference:
Revelation 19:14**:
The armies of heaven,
including the Church,
follow Christ at His second coming.
Typically the armies of God
are referenced as His angels.
And we would be His "holy ones"
or "saints that might be included.
Reference:
1 Thessalonians chapter 3 and verse 13
we read
so that He may establish your hearts
blameless in holiness
before our God and Father
at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ
with all His saints.
We don't need to be raptured 7 years earlier
to be with the Lord
at the time of His coming.
All we have to do is meet Him in the air
on His way down.
As we see in
1 Thessalonians 4:17.
Then we who are alive
and remain
shall be caught up together
with them in the clouds
to meet the Lord in the air.
And thus we shall always be
with the Lord.
I have discussed both points # 2 and # 3
in more detail in the previous Post and Video
Reason 4 - Absence of the Church in Revelation Chapters 4 - 19
Blogpost
Reason 7 has a concluding statement
which is,
These passages indicate a logistical difficulty
in reconciling a Post-Tribulation Rapture
with the return of Christ
if the Church is raptured
and returns immediately.
I don't see the difficulty mentioned.
As the Rapture of the Church
is not a removal to Heaven.
It NEVER says that in scripture.
It only states we will be transformed
into spiritual and incorruptible bodies.
It says this happens
at the same time
as the Resurrection
of those asleep in Christ,
and at the time of his coming.
Please review
I Corinthians chapter 15
and
I Thessalonians chapter 4,
both passages
have been referenced in this post.
I have tried to answer the question of
WHO is left
to enter the kingdom in physical bodies.
Here is a brief summary
of what I currently believe
that we can expect to happen
and when.
1 )
A time of tribulation ( testing )
is coming upon the whole earth.
Reference: Luke 21:35 =
For it will come as a snare
on all those who
dwell on the face
of the whole earth.
2 )
Many will die
( believers and unbelievers )
because of the wrath of Satan
against the saints,
and God's 7 plagues
upon the unbelievers
Reference:
Revelation 6:8 =
4th Seal mentions authority
over a fourth of the earth to kill
Revelation 9:15 =
6th Trumpet =
four angels kill a third of mankind
Revelation 15 & 16 =
And at the very end
we see 7 bowls of the wrath of God
primarily upon the men
who had the mark of the beast
and those who worshiped his image.
The wrath of God is never directed to the believers.
And He is quite capable to protect His saints,
as promised in
1 Thessalonians chapter 5 verses 9 and 10
For God did not appoint us to wrath,
but to obtain salvation
through our Lord Jesus Christ,
who died for us,
that whether we wake or sleep,
we should live together with Him.
3 )
When the Lord returns -
There is a resurrection of those believers
( old and new testament saints ),
and a transformation of those
who are alive and remain.
Reference:
John 11:25-26 =
Jesus the resurrection and the life.
and
I Corinthians 15:52 =
At the last trumpet the dead will be raised
and we shall be changed.
4 )
All those who join the beast
at the battle of Armageddon
will be killed.
Reference:
Revelation 19:19-21
assembled armies
killed by the sword of Jesus
5 )
After Christ has returned,
We see a judgement
and a division is to occur
involving those few people
who are left alive.
Reference:
Matthew 25:31-46
also Ezekiel 34:17-31
Dividing the Sheep and the Goats
Ezekiel 20:34-44
Israel to be judged
and rebels purged,
and a time of loathing
for previous evils
6 )
Those who helped the believers
( the Elect )
during the great tribulation,
and who realized that Jesus is
the returning promised Messiah,
will be allowed to enter the kingdom
( and now have eternal life ).
Those who rebelled
and never believed,
will be destroyed in the lake of fire.
Reference:
Matthew 25:34 =
inherit the kingdom prepared for you
Matthew 25:46 =
but the righteous into eternal life
7 )
We, the believers
( resurrected or transformed ) ,
are to rule and reign
with Christ for 1,000 years.
Reference:
Revelation 20:4-6 =
they came to life
and reigned with Christ
for a thousand years.
8 )
After the 1,000 years,
Satan is released
to gather a large number of unbelievers
who were born
during the 1,000 year reign.
They attempt to fight against the Lord
at Jerusalem.
It fails -
Satan is cast into the Lake of Fire.
Reference:
Revelation 20:7-9 =
- deceive the nations
- gathered for the war
- fire came down from heaven
and devoured them
9 )
Then comes
the great white throne judgement.
All the unbelievers are raised
to be judged by their deeds,
and if they are not written
in the lamb's book of life
( where all the believers' names are written )
The unbelievers are thrown
into the Lake of Fire -
which is the Second Death.
Reference: Revelation 20:11-15 =
This is the second death,
the lake of fire.
If anyone's name was not found
written in the book of life,
he was thrown into the lake of fire.
10 )
And we are promised a new heaven,
and a new earth,
and the city of God,
New Jerusalem
as we move forward
into the future with our God.
Reference:
Revelation chapters 21 and 22.
The timeline and various events
are like a puzzle,
and I don't want to pretend
like I have it all figured out.
We are told in
1 Thessalonians chapter 5,
that we should not be confused
if we are paying attention.
In Verses 1 - 6 we read
But concerning the times and the seasons,
brethren, you have no need
that I should write to you.
For you yourselves know perfectly
that the day of the Lord
so comes as a thief in the night.
For when
they
say,
"Peace and safety!"
then sudden destruction
comes upon
them,
as labor pains upon a pregnant woman.
And
they
shall not escape.
But you, brethren,
are not in darkness,
so that this Day should overtake you as a thief.
You are all sons of light
and sons of the day.
We are not of the night
nor of darkness.
Therefore let us not sleep,
as others do,
but let us watch and be sober.
I will provide LINKS to additional Blog Posts
and Videos on this subject in the description below.
And I will combine this 7th Reason discussion
into a playlist covering all 7 parts
of this series on the
7 common Reasons
that are taught to support
a Pre-trib Rapture.
Thanks for making it to the end of this video,
please leave your comments below,
and click on the Like button,
to help others find this information.
Maranatha.
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