The Rapture Force

Let’s first take a look at the verses we are going to be speaking about here. I pray that someone somewhere will get the message the Lord intended here. Especially one or many who believe in a pre tribulation rapture. This is a story of endurance and patience. Not one of Christians and non Christians as some suggest. These are all Christians being spoken of here. But five are the foolish ones, who did not endure till the end. They did not get filled up with knowledge and wisdom,they had some, but stopped short of the full preparation. When a Bride get’s ready for her groom she sometimes takes years, or a year most often to plan her wedding. There is nothing that is left out of the plans The Bride does not stop when half way finished with her plans. No she works her tail off, weeks and months on end to make all things right and have it all exactly perfect.

It is no different for us Christians. We are to go till the end. Until our Groom meets us. If we give up half way to the finish line then we have done it all for nothing. It would be as though we never began the race in the first place. We are told hundreds of times,throughout the word, he who endures till the end, shall be saved. How can one expect to be saved unless they run the full race? We are to give it every ounce of what we have daily, nightly, weekly,monthly, and yearly Until He comes. We are to occupy,meaning we are to be about the kings business, so when He comes He sees that we have indeed been made ready, that we have been doing our part of the deal so to speak.Salvation is not a one way thing. We have a huge part in our own walk with the Lord. If we stop walking with Him then we have been lost and it was all for nothing. There are many verses that explain this straight forward.If you are half way in the Lord and half way in the world, then you are none of His. He is all about My way or the highway honey!

Ok here are the verses the only place that tells the parable of the Virgins,Matthew 25:

1 “At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 2 Five of them were foolish and five were wise. 3 The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. Preparation,stamina,perseverance. 4 The wise ones, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. they took knowledge, wisdom and were prepared. 5 The bridegroom was a long time in coming, (No pre tribulation rapture,He tarries that all who are coming to the Lord, will come) and they all became drowsy and fell asleep. 6 “At midnight the cry rang out: ‘Here’s the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’

7 “Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. 8 The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out. (Help us we do not know what to do,we were unprepared for the wait, the darkness got to us and we lost our way.) 9“‘No,’ they replied, ‘there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.(we cannot help you to see wisdom and truth and have knowledge)’10 “But while they were on their way to buy the oil,(on their way to learning what they needed to be ready and to have stamina) the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut.11 “Later the others also came. ‘Lord, Lord,’ they said, ‘open the door for us!’ 12 “But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I don’t know you.’

( I thought I knew you, but my sheep know my voice and they listen to me John 10:27,this is stated three times in John 10. The reason He would not know you, is because you did not listen to His words that were speaking truth to you,and preparing you, in the word, Instead you listened to strangers,and in those verses in John 10 it says ( my own would never follow a stranger! )

Those who believe it a pre tribulation rapture are not mentally spiritually or otherwise preparing for the darkness to come. They are not putting extra oil aside for the times coming because they believe they will not be here to endure it so therefore they are the picture of the foolish virgins.When the time is here and they are facing the terrors and the horrors they believed themselves to not be present for,their going to experience burn out rather quickly. They will have no ability to keep running the race, they will be unable to see their way clearly through the darkness, because they will be unprepared to withstand all the fiery darts hurled at them. And there will be darts flying at them from every angle. They will be shocked into immobility! With their understanding being why be worried? We are not to be here,the groom will not tarry He is coming any second.

when I read these verses, I get this same feeling from the Holy Spirit every time. That this is the preparation for the tribulation,the wise having prepared for it in advance, and the foolish not having prepared one drop,and their love waxing cold,towards the Lord,and their fellow brothers and sister. I believe some will actually accuse the Lord of lying to them and therefore will accept the mark, and will be the very apostates spoken of by Paul in the letters to the Thessalonians. I believe the oil outside of ourselves is actually the Holy Spirit He replenishes us as we go through tumultuous situations. He sustains us and whispers the word to our hearts that we already know such as say 1 Peter 4:1,2 1 Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because whoever suffers in the body is done with sin. 2 As a result, they do not live the rest of their earthly lives for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God.

And 1 Pet 4: 12-19 12 Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. 13 But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. 14 If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. 15 If you suffer, it should not be as a murderer or thief or any other kind of criminal, or even as a meddler. 16 However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name. 17 For it is time for judgment to begin with God’s household; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God? 18 And, “If it is hard for the righteous to be saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?19 So then, those who suffer according to God’s will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good.

I take a lot of flack from some family and some friends, for my outlook on the end times. I do not rightly care! Seriously I look towards that Hope the Blessed hope, with every ounce of me. Filled with joy at the prospect of it. That is not doom and gloom friends it is the fulfillment of all we have been walking with the Lord for. It is that everlasting glorious appearing of our savior that we might be made into perfect beings immortal and Christ like. Never to ever worry about sinning again. What is gloom and doom about that I ask? We are told through out the NT that we keep going until the end, time and again we are told we must keep going even though we will experience fiery trials. Even though we will go through some times where we say Lord help me I cannot do this one more minute. Then we are reminded I can do all things let me type that again, I can do ALL things through Christ who strengthens me. We in ourselves could never withstand all that is coming. So that is why we need that extra oil. The Lord has provided the truth to us and those who wish to adhere to the whole truth, and not hear what their itching ears wish to hear only. We are prepared at all times through His word for every single thing to come upon us.

We need to be ready in season and out of season,and filled with knowledge wisdom and strength that only comes from the Lord (The Word). Jesus suffered and each and every one of His apostles suffered. They were all of them persecuted,and all but one was killed for their witness of Christ! But Though John was not killed by anyone and died of old age, he was persecuted. We cannot think it a strange thing to think of the chances of us being persecuted to death. We are told through out the scriptures it is going to happen. There will be no excuse for those who are unprepared! And mere humans cannot give you that extra oomf your going to need, our words will sound hollow and meaningless to one who is suffering immeasurably. I don’t even care if you have decided I am nut’s for telling you this. My only hope is that some of you will retain this warning in your memory, so that when you are going through the hellish ordeals promised us, you will think back and maybe, just maybe, not become the apostate that is fully expected of believers in that time. Unbelievers cannot become apostate! Get that out of your head right away.

Matthew 5:9 Blessed are the peacemakers, For they shall be called sons of God. 10 Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. 12 Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. Time and time again we are told we will be persecuted. How does one come up with your getting away scott free?. How does one for one moment believe themselves better than the apostles? Each and every apostle as I said earlier was persecuted severely! Are you considering yourself better than the apostles,to not have to withstand,to not have to persevere? He who perseveres to the end he shall be saved.

Matt 24:13 The funny thing is Jesus through out the testimony of the end times,tells us we will be persecuted, we will be killed, we will be turned over by those we love. And no one denies Jesus is speaking of the tribulation here,yet they destroy, (to rip apart, to make useless.) the whole thing by insisting He is not speaking to everyone. That He is only speaking to the Jews. I have to point out one more time here God makes no distinction between the Jews and the gentiles. Galatians 3:28 says it all when it comes to that. We when we get saved as just like Jews. We get grafted into the olive tree. So if the branches of the olive tree can be ripped off how much worse for we who have been grafted in if we make a fool of the Lord,and His ultimate sacrifice? Let me show you the verse I speak of here.

Romans 11:16 For if the first fruit is holy, the lump is also holy; and if the root is holy, so are the branches. 17 And if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive tree, were grafted in among them, and with them became a partaker of the root and fatness of the olive tree, 18 do not boast against the branches. But if you do boast, remember that you do not support the root, but the root supports you.

19 You will say then, “Branches were broken off that I might be grafted in.” 20 Well said. Because of unbelief they were broken off, and you stand by faith. Do not be haughty, but fear. 21 For if God did not spare the natural branches, He may not spare you either. 22 Therefore consider the goodness and severity of God: on those who fell, severity; but toward you, goodness, if you continue in His goodness. Otherwise you also will be cut off. 23 And they also, if they do not continue in unbelief, will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. 24 For if you were cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and were grafted contrary to nature into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these, who are natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree?

25 For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. 26 And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written:

The fullness of the Gentiles dear brothers and sisters, is not until the very last person who is not a Jew has been saved. Jesus would never go and celebrate while a part of His bride, His promised one, or ones are still being persecuted and ripped apart. Does it make sense that the party starts with out the full body being there? The wedding feast does not begin until the bride in full regalia walks in. The bride being every Christian who ever lived and every Jew who walked in the will of the Lord, since time began,made pure by her fiery trials. Made white by her acceptance of Her Lord,and washed clean by His very blood. We must be as pure and chaste as is possible to receive the prize,our Lord and Savior Our Groom!

The Lord our God would not give His son a less than pure bride. If a girl was not pure when she came to the marriage bed that marriage was annulled. Made void and her embarrassment was complete, because everyone would then know she was impure. She would be made ashamed! In the middle ages they would actually display the maidens bloody sheets out the window to show she had been pure. We cannot expect that the Lord would ever consider giving His son a bride, who still had hang ups and could not love even her enemies. We cannot expect our perfect Lord to wish any other than the purest most devoted to His ways,bride. The tribulation is to test and separate the goats from the sheep,the thorns from the wheat. Let us not forget that the Lord told us in Matthew 13:30 Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.

That sounds exactly like at the end. There is no two harvests there is but one,and that is the last day. Revelation chapter 14 verses 12 through 18 show us the harvesting,with the Lord our Savior our King of Kings,sitting on the clouds that He just rode up on,where the whole world is seeing Him and the trumpet has already sounded and here is the shout of the arch angel shouting reap for the harvest is ripe for reaping. Which says God looked upon the earth and sees His own reflection looking back at Him from His children’s faces. They have been purified through the fiery trials,the dross has been drawn off, they now reflect their Lord,and it is good.

God Bless you all,Love in Christ Jesus,Tammy

I will now post as many of the verses as I know of, that pertain to the day of the Lord. I know there are many more too, but for times sake, I cannot post every one of them or at this moment find them all. This would take me at least a year. The day of the Lord is also called,that day,the day of judgment,the day of His wrath, the great day. The day of reckoning, day of salvation, day of battle, the day of trouble, day of the Lord Jesus, and finally the day of God. This way no one can say oh this does not say the day of the Lord.

Now there is no particular order to my account of the verses that pertain to the day of the Lord, so please bear with me.
Rev 6:14 The sky vanished like a scroll that is being rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place.
Rev 16:20 And every island fled away, and no mountains were to be found.
Isaiah 34:4 All the host of heaven shall rot away, and the skies roll up like a scroll. All their host shall fall, as leaves fall from the vine, like leaves falling from the fig tree.

2Peter 3:10But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.
Psalm 102:26 They will perish, but you will remain; they will all wear out like a garment. You will change them like a robe, and they will pass away. Isaiah 2:16-17 against all the lofty mountains, and against all the uplifted hills; against every high tower, and against every fortified wall; against all the ships of Tarshish, and against all the beautiful craft. And the haughtiness of man shall be humbled, and the lofty pride of men shall be brought low, and the Lord alone will be exalted in that day.

Jer 4:23-26 I looked on the earth, and behold, it was without form and void; and to the heavens, and they had no light. I looked on the mountains, and behold, they were quaking, and all the hills moved to and fro. I looked, and behold, there was no man, and all the birds of the air had fled. I looked, and behold, the fruitful land was a desert, and all its cities were laid in ruins before the Lord, before his fierce anger.
Jer 51:45“Go out of the midst of her, my people! Let every one save his life from the fierce anger of the LORD!

Ezek 38:19 For in my jealousy and in the fire of my wrath have I spoken, Surely in that day there shall be a great shaking in the land of Israel;
Isaiah 54:17 But in that coming day no weapon turned against you will succeed. You will silence every voice raised up to accuse you. These benefits are enjoyed by the servants of the LORD; their vindication will come from me. I, the LORD, have spoken!

Hab 3:12-14 12 In wrath you strode through the earth and in anger you threshed the nations. 13 You came out to deliver your people, to save your anointed ones. You crushed the leader of the land of wickedness, you stripped him from head to foot. 14 With his own spear you pierced his head when his warriors stormed out to scatter us, gloating as though about to devour the wretched who were in hiding.

Notice verse 13,came out to save your anointed ones? Hmmmm if all the anointed ones have been take away from the earth already, then whom is this speaking of? No dear brothers and sisters I am sorry to say, but the Lord Jesus comes to bring wrath,the day of the Lord is only minutes after the rapture. Let’s look at the meaning of the word anointed.

Anointed = to consecrate or make sacred. Jesus Christ makes us sacred and we are consecrated through Him. What is consecrated? Consecrated = to make or declare sacred; set apart or dedicate to the service of a deity: Also sacred = entitled to veneration or religious respect by association with divinity or divine things; holy. We are set apart to be Holy,as the Lord is holy. We are striving more and more daily to be holy like the Lord.

We are perfected through trials and tribulations, In I Pet 1:7 we read that the trial of our faith, which is much more precious than gold, is for praise and glory to our Lord Jesus Christ. Gold in its original state has many impurities. Gold has to go through a period of purification by melting it in a furnace at a very high temperature. After this process of purification, the impure gold becomes perfect. This is the same way we are perfected through fiery trials,we are purified.

James 1:4 So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing. I love this. I don’t know about most people, but I am looking forward to being purified. I know that may seem strange, but think about it this way. We are going to see ourselves perfected. We will through Christ be able to withstand anything and everything. Now back to verses about the day of the Lord.

Obadiah 1:15 “The day of the LORD is near for all nations. As you have done, it will be done to you; your deeds will return upon your own head.
Joel 3:14 Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision.
Isaiah 13:6 Wail, for the Lord’s day of judgment is near; it comes with all the destructive power of the sovereign judge.

Zeph 1:14 The Lord’s great day of judgment is almost here; it is approaching very rapidly! There will be a bitter sound on the Lord’s day of judgment; at that time warriors will cry out in battle.
Ezek30:3 For the day is near, the day of the Lord is near; it will be a day of storm clouds, it will be a time of judgment for the nations.
Joel 1:15 How awful that day will be! For the day of the Lord is near; it will come as destruction from the Divine Destroyer.

Ezek 7:7 Doom is coming upon you who live in the land! The time is coming, the day is near. There are sounds of tumult, not shouts of joy, on the mountains.
Jer 46:10 But that day belongs to the Lord God who rules over all. It is the day when he will pay back his enemies. His sword will devour them until its appetite is satisfied! It will drink their blood until it is full! For the Lord God who rules over all will offer them up as a sacrifice in the land of the north by the Euphrates River.

Amos 5:20 Don’t you realize the Lord’s day of judgment will bring darkness, not light – gloomy blackness, not bright light?
Zeph 1:7 Be silent before the Lord God, for the Lord’s day of judgment is almost here. The Lord has prepared a sacrificial meal; he has ritually purified his guests. Do you see here? He has ritually purified His guests! that is HUGE,and so important to understand.

Ezek 13:5 You have not gone up in the breaks in the wall, nor repaired a wall for the house of Israel that it would stand strong in the battle on the day of the Lord.
Ezek 30:3 For the day is near, the day of the Lord is near; it will be a day of storm clouds, it will be a time of judgment for the nations.
Mal 4:1 “For indeed the day is coming, burning like a furnace, and all the arrogant evildoers will be chaff. The coming day will burn them up,” says the Lord who rules over all. “It will not leave even a root or branch.

Zeph 1:18 Neither their silver nor their gold will be able to deliver them in the day of the Lord’s angry judgment. The whole earth will be consumed by his fiery wrath. Indeed, he will bring terrifying destruction on all who live on the earth.
Isaiah 2:12 Indeed, the Lord who commands armies has planned a day of judgment, for all the high and mighty, for all who are proud – they will be humiliated;
Isaiah 2:19 They will go into caves in the rocky cliffs and into holes in the ground, trying to escape the dreadful judgment of the Lord and his royal splendor, when he rises up to terrify the earth.

The rest of the verses I will put up in another post. God Bless and watch over you all always.
Love in Christ Jesus,Tammy

So many people find themselves believing that the day of the Lord is different from the day of the rapture. But they are one and the same. There is biblically only one return of Jesus, one second coming. One plus one do not make three, and nowhere in the word do we find this secret coming of the Lord for His bride. When the bride groom comes for his bride, it is always with much fanfare. There will be no difference when Christ comes for His bride. It will be preceded by a Trumpet blast and a loud shout from the archangel.

I know what your thinking you who find it hard to understand that God would have you go through trials and tribulations. The verse your thinking of is the one about the thief in the knight. 1Thess 5:2 and also 2Peter 3:10 both state the day of the Lord comes like a thief in the night. So now let us examine that. We know the day of the Lord is also called the last day. How do people equate this verse with a pre tribulation rapture?

There are 35 books of the bible that speak of this day, the day of the Lord. It is the most important topic of prophecies. It is the most talked about of all prophecies through the prophets. The day of the Lords revenge. Yet our churches barely ever, if ever touch on this subject. The reason being that people only ever want to hear the good stuff. They do not want to hear that there is punishment, and pastors of this day and age are only too willing to comply.

Now the next and probably bigger reason why the Day of the Lord is not preached is because it conflicts with the pre- and mid-tribulation rapture views.  That is because the Rapture happens after the great tribulation and on the Last Day of this Age…which is the Day of the Lord!  Jesus, our Lord and Savior, says this in His conversation of the end-times in Matthew 24…that He will come after the tribulation and on the Last Day of this Age.   He says in verses 21- 31: “For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.  And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened.

Then if any man shall say to you, ‘Look, here is Christ, or there; believe it not.  For there shall arise false christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.  Behold, I have told you before.   Therefore if they shall say to you, ‘Look, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not.  For as the lightning comes out of the east, and shines even to the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.  For wherever the carcass is, there will the eagles be gathered together.”

Read very carefully as Jesus continues, “Immediately after the tribulation of those days, shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken.  And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet [same trumpet of 1 Cor. 15:52; 1 Thes. 4:16,17 and Rev. 11:15-18 where the seventh angel sounded the seventh and last trumpet], and they shall gather together his elect [the Rapture] from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.”  Here is the order of events from Jesus in Mt. 24 -  greatest tribulation ever , then the heavenly signs of Joel and Peter (and the rest of the prophets), then His coming in the clouds, then the last trumpet, then the Rapture on the Last Day which is the Day of the Lord.

I want to give you a better understanding of this, so let’s go into another explanation and this is the first resurrection. Compared to the last. This is a much longer part. The whole reason I have to break this down is because it is going to be a huge article, and I do not want to bore you or lose you. So after this section I will end this one, and post it and go on to the next part.The next part will list all the verses or as many as I can possibly find that speak of the day of the Lord. Also above I did not mention Revelation chapter 14 but it is a huge huge part, of understanding the rapture is a last day rapture. We see the rapture in chapter 14.

Daniel realized in his vision in Daniel 12:2 that “many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt”, only he did not receive details on it.  Paul told us in Acts 24:15 “that there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust”, only he didn’t know it was two different resurrections.  Jesus talked about two resurrections in John 5:28-29 when he said, “Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his [i.e. the Son of Man] voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation”, only He did not tell us that there was a time span between the two and how long it was.

But thank God for John’s revelation by vision where he is told definitely that there are two resurrections separated by 1000 years in Rev. 20:1- “And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. 2 And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, 3 and cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.

And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: 4 and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshiped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.  5 But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished.  This is the first resurrection.  6 Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.   7 And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison.”

Some people believe the “second death” is an allusion to annihilation, but this is not the case as we shall see.  Even though the phrase “second resurrection” does not appear in this passage, it is obvious that if there is a first resurrection, there must be at least one other resurrection, or “first”, misleads us to a wrong conclusion.  The second resurrection is rather referred to as the “second death” instead to reflect its nature as being unto death rather than to life.  If it were only eternal unconsciousness or annihilation, there would be no need to have a resurrection of the body just to destroy it totally and instantaneously, and there would be no such thing as a first resurrection!

Furthermore, in Rev.19:20, 20:7, 10 we read, “And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet who performed miracles before him, with which he deceived them who had received the mark of the beast, and those who worshiped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone…And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison…And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.”  We discover, that after 1000 years of being tormented in the lake of fire, the beast and false prophet are still being “tormented day and night for ever and ever”!  So much for any annihilation views!

Rev. 20:11-15 goes on to say that at the conclusion of the thousand years those not in the Book of Life were cast into the lake of fire which is the “second death”.  No wonder that “blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection” in verse 6!The Word of God makes it clear that the Rapture can not be a pre-trib event.  Here’s how it does.  Pre-trib Christians will say that there is a resurrection of the saved at the start of the 7 years and a resurrection of those saved during the 7 years at the end of the 7 years, but the Word says there is only ONE First Resurrection unto eternal life, for if there were more than one resurrection unto eternal life , then the Second Resurrection would not be unto eternal death!

And if there is only ONE First Resurrection, 1 Thes. 4:16 tells us when it will be: “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.  17 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.”"The dead in Christ shall rise first” is the First Resurrection, and “then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up” is the Rapture.  Do you see it?  The dead rise; then the living are caught up.  First is Resurrection, then is the Rapture.

Now Rev. 20:4 says, “And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshiped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.”Those who were killed through the Tribulation were raised in the First Resurrection to reign a thousand years.  So they had to be raised after the last Tribulation saints were murdered.  Now if the Rapture, according to 1Thes. 4:16,17, follows the Resurrection, then we have undeniable proof that the Rapture necessarily has to follow the First Resurrection after the death of the last Tribulation martyr has been murdered!  What could be simpler.

Just as no one knew that almost 5 centuries of time came between Daniel’s 1st and 69th weeks (of years) in Dan. 9:24-27 and maybe some 20 centuries between the 69th and 70th, so no one knew before John’s vision that one thousand years would come between the First Resurrection (of the “just” and “good”) and the Second Resurrection (of the “unjust” and “evil”).

The serious end-time student should be able to read between the lines when the point is made here.  Look at I Cor. 15:20-28 – “But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the first fruits of them that slept.  For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. But every man in his own order: Christ the first fruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming. [1000 thousand year break here] Then comes the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power.

For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet.  The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.   For he has put all things under his feet. But when he says all things are put under him, it is manifest that he is excepted, which did put all things under him.   And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all.”

Some confusion has come into the minds of some people because they didn’t see a break in time between verses 23 and 24 where the two sections necessarily deal with events on both sides of a period of reign…and Rev. 20 tells us that Christ and the redeemed reign for 1000 years, rebellion is done away at the end of the 1000 years, death is done away with, and gives the details of this period of reign and who will reign with Him and the duration of that reign!

2 Peter 3:7-13 – “But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.  But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.  [could this preceding verse be alluding twice to the thousand years and it connecting with one day - the Day of the Lord?]

The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is long suffering toward us, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.  But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night [1000 year break] in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.

Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God [1000 year break repeated again in this summary], wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?  Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwells righteousness.”   Again, note that according to Rev. 20:7-11, fire coming down upon the earth from heaven, the old earth fleeing away happen after the 1000 years are over.

Hopefully, enough has been said to show that the Day of the Lord occurs at the end of the Age. It is a time to judge the world, for God to contend with the nations and for the Lord Jesus Christ to come, take up His rule along with the saints of God. For the Millennial earth to glorify God in the way He intended it back in the beginning before sin came into the world, through Adam and Eve. Part two follows this one. God Bless and watch over you all  in all ways. In Christ Jesus, Tammy

What is Eschatology?
How does it affect every one in the world?
Why should we study the end of things?
When people say the end of the world, they are really basically misunderstanding what the end times means. It will not be the end of the world. It will be the end of the way things have been for nearly 6,000 years. It will be Christ our Messiah,coming to rule the world, a thousand years of peace and prosperity. A wonderful life, that people the world over, wish it was right now. In fact the people who are involved in trying to make the new world order, the one world government are in fact, hoping to achieve this utopia, where there is no crime no sick people, only wealthy, healthy, people. The sad fact is, it can never be done without God.

Eschatology is the study of end times prophecies in the bible. It is a deep look at what is coming, and how it will all start and end. This is the study of the ultimate destiny of human kind. The study of the final confrontation between the forces of good versus evil, and the establishment of a realm of deliverance from suffering and sin based on the restoration of an original world of goodness. There are many forms of Eschatology,such as the Jewish, the Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist,and of course Christian. I pay attention to the Jewish,and the Christian,with a bit of study on the Muslim end times study as well.

I am not in any way shape or form a Muslim,but being aware of the biggest enemy of the Christian religions eschatological views, is quite important. It parallels ours (Christian) so very well. Where we have our savior coming back to the earth, at the end of the whole thing, with the culmination of Armageddon. The Muslims expect their messiah to come as the twelfth Imam or the Mahdi, at the beginning of troubles. They believe they must create Chaos on the earth, to usher in their messiah. While our beliefs are, we must tell the whole world of Jesus Christ, and then the bad times come, then the taking away of those who are truly Christs own.

That is called the rapture to most people. There is no such word in the bible as rapture. It is either called harpazzo the Greek word, which means caught up, or parusia, another Greek word which means, to be present with,such as being present with the Lord. Then comes the battle of Armageddon, in which all the armies of the world come together at the valley of Meggido, to come against Israel, and that is when the Lord steps in.

There is a great need today to study eschatology (the doctrine of future things) as God’s Word unfolds before our very eyes. There are many Christians today who know very little about God’s plans for the here-and-now, and they know even less about God’s plans for their future. The Scriptures give several reasons why the study of eschatology is profitable for us. First of all it is for the purity in the believer’s life 1 John 3:3. It comforts the believer in their time of bereavement 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18. Thirdly, the study of eschatology gives us a divine viewpoint in our outlook 2 Corinthians 4:16-18. And finally, study produces motivation for the believer’s faithful service 2 Timothy 4:7-8.

Now Matthew chapter 24 is the best New Testament start to finish explanation of the end times, by Christ to His disciples. The book of Revelation is the explanation of what will be happening through the tribulation period into the millennial kingdom,which is when Christ will reign on earth with His elect or saints,which are those of us who are Christs own. We have been chosen by God to receive salvation,and we have accepted the free gift of God’s grace for the forgiveness of our sins. The bible tells us many have been called but few are chosen. Matthew 22:14.

Here is a link to be able to read all of Matthew chapter 24 for yourselves. If the link is not click able please copy and paste into your browser. http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%2024&version=AMP
I would ask that you who read that chapter, would pay close attention to the words of Jesus in verse 29 when it says AFTER those days of tribulation. Too many people do not seem to see those words,or they disregard them.

The end times are through out the entire bible, but there are some that are much deeper involved in the study, of end of the age studies than others. In the Old Testament the book of Jeremiah,the book of Daniel,the book of Isaiah,the book of Ezekiel,the book of Amos and Joel and Zechariah ,Malachi and more. It is amazing to study these prophecies, and then watch the world news, at least world news that tell you the truth, and do not hide information from you. Watching the news these days is like reading your bible,and suddenly getting an understanding you never understood before. Seeing the very steps that are being taken world wide, to bring us to the end of the age.

The New Testament, has many prophecies of the end of the age too. It is exciting to this writer to read and get understanding, of what the Lord is telling us. The preparations He has set in His Word for us. But to get the blessings that are coming in the end of the age, you must be one of Christs own. To become one of Christs called ones, or chosen ones, we must become born again in order to receive the promises in the Word of God.

Here is the prayer you say to become born again. No one needs to know you said this prayer, but eventually the changes that take place in you are going to show up, but by then you will be proud to let the world know you are one of Christs.

“Father, I know that I have broken your laws and my sins have separated me from you. I am truly sorry, and now I want to turn away from my past sinful life toward you. Please forgive me, and help me avoid sinning again. I believe that your son, Jesus Christ died for my sins, was resurrected from the dead, is alive, and hears my prayer. I invite Jesus to become the Lord of my life, to rule and reign in my heart from this day forward. Please send your Holy Spirit to help me obey You, and to do Your will for the rest of my life. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.”

I’ve Prayed It; Now What? If you’ve prayed this prayer of salvation with true conviction and heart, you are now a follower of Jesus. This is a fact, whether or not you feel any different. Religious systems may have led you to believe that you should feel something – a warm glow, a tingle, or some other mystical experience. The fact is, you may, or you may not. If you have prayed the prayer of salvation and meant it, you are now a follower of Jesus. The Bible tells us “that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9)

Welcome to the family of God! I encourage you now to find a local church where you can be baptized and grow in the knowledge of God through His Word, the Bible.

As we go along, my hope is that you will understand very well the end times prophecies. May God Bless and watch over you. May the Lord guide you in wisdom and knowledge,and grow you into a strong and joy filled Christian.
Love in Christ, Tammy