Jesus tells us in Matthew chapter 24 verses 29-31
that His visible return
and the gathering of the Elect
occurs after the Great Tribulation,
HOWEVER,
Many teach this passage is only meant for
the Jewish believers living at the end times.
And therefore can NOT be used to support
a Post Tribulation Rapture.
So today
we will look at some of the passages
outside of the Gospel of Matthew.
to learn WHEN
we should expect the Rapture to occur.
The KEY passages we will look at are:
John 6:40 = at the last day
John 11:24 = on the last day
I Thessalonians 4:15 - 17 = The dead in Christ will rise first
I Corinthians 15:20 - 23 = those who are Christ's at His coming
I Corinthians 15:50 - 52 = at the last trumpet
Revelation 20:4 - 6 = this is the first resurrection
2 Thessalonians 2:3 = for that day shall not come, except
To get a better idea
of when we should be
expecting the Rapture to occur.
Let us read these passages,
Starting with John 6:40 we read =
And this is the will of Him who sent Me,
that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him
may have everlasting life;
and I will raise him up
at the last day."
In John 11:24 we read =
"I know he will rise again in the resurrection
on the last day".
In 1st Thessalonians 4:15-17 we read=
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.
In 1 Corinthians 15:20-23 we read =
But now Christ is risen from the dead,
and has become the firstfruits
of those who have fallen asleep.
For since by man came death,
by Man also came
the resurrection of the dead.
For as in Adam all die,
even so in Christ
all shall be made alive.
But each one in his own order:
Christ the firstfruits,
afterward
those who are Christ's
at His coming.
The meaning becomes more clear
as you read further in the chapter.
I want you to note
that the resurrection of the dead,
and our Rapture occur
at the same time.
In 1 Corinthians 15:50-52 we read=
Now this I say, brethren,
that flesh and blood cannot
inherit the kingdom of God;
nor does corruption
inherit incorruption.
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 timing of this resurrection of the dead
is clearly shown to occur AFTER
The Great Tribulation.
It is called the First Resurrection.
This next passage makes this clear.
In Revelation 20:4-6 we read =
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.
In another passage,
we find the apostle Paul warning about being deceived,
and telling us that two things
MUST occur,
before our gathering
( aka the Rapture ).
In 2 Thessalonians 2:1 - 3 we read =
Now, brethren, concerning
the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ
and our gathering together to Him,
we ask you,
not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled,
either by spirit
or by word
or by letter,
as if from us,
as though the day of Christ had come.
Let no one deceive you
by any means;
for that Day will not come
unless the falling away comes first,
and the man of sin is revealed,
the son of perdition,
I don't want you to be afraid of the prospect
of being a believer that lives through
the coming time of Tribulation.
Knowing how this story is going to end,
should be a source of encouragement
for those watching it unfold.
Everywhere in the Bible we see both
the tribulation that is to come,
and the glorious conclusion
when the Lord returns
and makes things right
For example:
In 2 Thessalonians 2:8 we read =
And then the lawless one will be revealed,
whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth
and destroy with the brightness of His coming.
In Luke 21:28 we read =
Now when these things begin to happen,
look up and lift up your heads,
because your redemption draws near."
I'd also recommend reading the final chapters
in the book of Daniel,
and Revelation to see into our Future.
**
In Summary,
The verses we just looked at
show us that the 2nd coming of Jesus is
when all believers dead
or living at His return
are to be either resurrected,
or transformed
into incorruptible bodies.
And this parallels the events
listed by Jesus in Matthew 24.
We are told clearly in Revelation 20
that this First Resurrection
is the one we want to be a part of.
The rest have to wait for the Second Resurrection,
which is for judgement of those
NOT written in the Lamb's book of life.
No where does the bible state
that Matthew is only for the Jews.
While it likely was written with a Jewish reader in mind,
You will find many parallel passages
in the other 3 gospels.
Also I would like to point out that
Paul's teaching on the return of Christ,
and the events at the Last Trumpet,
all match perfectly with Jesus's statements
in Matthew 24 about the time of the end,
and His return.
And we find the Resurrection of believers
to occur on the Last Day,
as Jesus references in several passages.
Since the bible does not say
that Matthew is only for the Jews,
I would ask you to please consider
these words of Jesus carefully,
because they are meant to give you hope
should you find yourself living through these end times events.
Matthew 24:29-31
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.
I believe the end times events are something
we could live to see,
and that is why we are told
that we should be Watching and Waiting
so as to not be caught off guard
when these events begin to happen.
If you can bear with me another minute,
I'd like to share two more passages in closing.
In Luke 21:36 we read =
Watch therefore,
and pray always that you may be counted worthy
to escape all these things
that will come to pass,
and to stand before the Son of Man."
In 1 Thessalonians 5:4-6 we read =
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.
Want to learn more about what to expect
and when to expect it?
Please check out some of the other videos
on this channel.
Your LIKES
and COMMENTS
are appreciated.
Till next time,
Maranatha
Youtube Video of this blog can be watched here =
Saved by Grace,
Andrew Cross
"Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.
"Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.
And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works,
not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some,
but exhorting one another,
and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.
Hebrews 10:23-25
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