Many people believe in
a pre-tribulation "invisible" rapture,
because they are afraid
of experiencing the Great Tribulation,
and being persecuted for their faith.
This fear makes it difficult
and sometimes
impossible for them
to look at the scriptures objectively.
I would like to show you
from scripture
why the rapture comes at the visible
return of Jesus Christ.
Which is at the end of the tribulation period,
AND
why you should not be afraid.
If you look at the passages that tells us
about the return of Jesus Christ,
you should be able to see
it is clearly
a visible event.
And Jesus tells us clearly
the when, what and who
in Matthew 24:29-31
"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.
Similar passages about our gathering
include what Paul shares in
I Corinthians chapter 15 verses 51 and 52,
which says
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.
And the most popular Rapture passage
is I Thessalonians chapter 4 verses 13 - 18
which says,
But I do not want you to be ignorant,
brethren,
concerning those who have fallen asleep,
lest you sorrow
as others who have no hope.
For if we believe that Jesus died
and rose again,
even so God will bring with Him
those who sleep in Jesus.
For this we say to you
by the word of the Lord,
that we who are alive and remain
until the coming of the Lord
will by no means precede
those who are asleep.
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.
Therefore
comfort one another with these words.
This last passage is sometimes twisted to say
the comfort is that believers get to escape
the Great Tribulation.
If you read it closely,
you should be able to see that
the reason to have comfort
is in the knowledge that
we can look forward to being reunited
with those who have fallen asleep in Jesus
( the believers who have previously died ).
And this occurs when
Jesus descends back to earth.
There is no mention of escaping the Tribulation period.
Nor of going to Heaven
in this passage.
Jesus is coming back to the Earth,
and we are transformed
and united with Him
as He descends.
We meet Him in the air
and join up with Him
on His way back down to Earth.
This is the physical and visible return
that is promised in several other passages.
What the Bible does promise believers
is that we are to escape
the wrath of God.
In 1 Thessalonians 5:9
we read,
For God did not appoint us to wrath,
but to obtain salvation
through our Lord Jesus Christ,
and John the Baptist
said in John 3:36
He who believes in the Son
has everlasting life;
and he who does not believe the Son
shall not see life,
but the wrath of God
abides on him.
If you look in the book of Revelation,
you'll see the wrath of God is mentioned
right after the 6th seal is opened.
Revelation 6:17
says,
For the great day of His wrath has come,
and who is able to stand?
And after the 7th Seal is opened
we see things happening
to the earth and to the earth dwellers
as the 7 trumpets are sounded.
With the worse events at the 7th trumpet
which includes 7 plagues or bowls of wrath.
Please note
this wrath is directed to the unbelievers
who have taken the mark of the beast.
Revelation chapter 16 verses 1 and 2
says
Then I heard a loud voice from the temple
saying to the seven angels,
"Go and pour out the bowls
of the wrath of God on the earth."
So the first went
and poured out his bowl upon the earth,
and a foul and loathsome sore
came upon the men
who had the mark of the beast
and those who worshiped his image.
God has shown many times that is His able
to punish and destroy the wicked,
while at the same time,
protecting His own.
I've discussed this topic
in more detail in other videos,
such as
Will God Protect You
in the time of the Great Tribulation?
Maybe.
It is important to understand that
there is only One Return of Jesus.
Nowhere does scripture say
there is more than one.
And this one return is visible to all.
In Matthew 24:27
Jesus tells us,
For as the lightning
comes from the east
and flashes to the west,
so also will the coming
of the Son of Man be.
In Acts 1:11 two angels speak,
"Men of Galilee,
why do you stand gazing up into heaven?
This same Jesus,
who was taken up from you into heaven,
will so come in like manner
as you saw Him
go into heaven."
Revelation 1:7
tells us,
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.
Let's move on to some of the reasons
you should
not be afraid.
First off, we are loved by God
and He knows what you need.
Can't buy and sell
because you did not take the mark of the beast?
Not a problem.
God has shown repeatedly throughout time
that He can provide food.
Manna and Quail for the Israelites
see Exodus chapter 16
Elisha feeds 100 with 20 loaves
see 2 Kings chapter 4 verses 42-44
Jesus feeds 5000
with just 5 loaves and 2 fish
see Matthew chapter 14 verses 13-21
A net full of fish,
when there seemed to be none.
see John 21:6
Food and covering are really
all we need to be concerned with.
At least according to Jesus
in Matthew chapter 6 verses 31 and 32
He says,
"Therefore do not worry,
saying,
'What shall we eat?'
or 'What shall we drink?'
or 'What shall we wear?'
For after all these things the Gentiles seek.
For your heavenly Father
knows that you
need all these things.
Will some believers be cast in jail?
Yes.
Will some believers be killed for their faith?
Yes.
This is nothing new.
Through out history
we see believes in various places
and at various times
( including NOW )
suffering this treatment
from those who are still in darkness.
Death is not something you should fear or dread.
It is the normal outcome of our lives.
If you are a born again child of God,
you have a beautiful eternity awaiting you.
We are told that to be absent from the body
means we will then be present with the Lord.
In 2 Corinthians 5:8
Paul wrote,
We are confident,
yes, well pleased
rather to be absent from the body
and to be present with the Lord.
Death is not the end,
it is a new beginning
for those who have been
saved by grace through faith.
When explaining this salvation to someone
I have always shared the passage in
Ephesians chapter 2 verses 8 and 9
which says
For by grace
you have been saved through faith,
and that not of yourselves;
it is the gift of God,
not of works,
lest anyone should boast.
Paul's words of encouragement to the Thessolonians
sums up what we are to expect
both now
and in the future.
In 2 Thessalonians chapter 1 verses 4-10
we read
so that we ourselves
boast of you
among the churches of God
for your patience and faith
in all your persecutions
and tribulations
that you endure,
which is manifest evidence
of the righteous judgment of God,
that you may be counted worthy
of the kingdom of God,
for which you also suffer;
since it is a righteous thing with God
to repay with tribulation
those who trouble you,
and to give you who are troubled
rest with us
when the Lord Jesus is revealed
from heaven
with His mighty angels,
in flaming fire
taking vengeance
on those who do not know God,
and on those
who do not obey the gospel
of our Lord Jesus Christ.
These shall be punished
with everlasting destruction
from the presence of the Lord
and from the glory of His power,
when He comes,
in that Day,
to be glorified in His saints
and to be admired among
all those who believe,
because our testimony among you
was believed.
Jesus told us
what to expect before His return to Earth,
in several passages.
In Luke chapter 21
He shares this word of encouragement,
in Verse 28
Now when these things begin to happen,
look up
and lift up your heads,
because your redemption draws near."
