By John Aggson
Sr.
Please check out how all these
Scriptures fit together so perfectly. Like pieces to a great end
time puzzle, they go together to form an even greater overall
picture: (Areas to study closely are “CAPITALIZED”)
1Thessalonians 4:16) 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 “raising of the dead”
(verse 16) is known as the “RESURRECTION,” and when the Saints
rise up into the air to meet the Lord, or are “caught up,”
(verse 17) this is known as the “RAPTURE.” According to this
passage, both of these things happen together simultaneously as
one big event! The words “caught up” come from the Latin word
“Raptio” from which we get our modern word “Rapture.” Well
this SAME “RESURRECTION EVENT” is spoken of in verse 5 of
Revelation 20:4-6.
Revelation 20:4) 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. 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.
Notice that this “FIRST
RESURRECTION” (verse 5) comes AFTER these people were beheaded
by the antiChrist, for refusing to take the “mark of the
beast!?” (verse 4) That means that they were obviously still
here during this coming horrendous time, and were not raptured out
beforehand!? If the Rapture and Resurrection occur together
simultaneously in 1 Thessalonians 4:16 & 17, then they must
also occur together simultaneously HERE in Revelation 20:4-6 at
THIS RESURRECTION!? And since Revelation 20:5 says that this is
the “FIRST” resurrection, then there could not have been any
“pre-tribulational” one before it, right!? Otherwise it would
not be the FIRST!?
It ALSO speaks here of a
“JUDGMENT OF THE SAINTS” occurring at this Resurrection, in
which they are rewarded for remaining “faithful unto death,”
during the antiChrist’s persecution. (verse 4) It appears that
they are raised from the dead in the Rapture, and then Judged and
rewarded by the Lord accordingly!? Well THIS VERY SAME “JUDGMENT
EVENT” is spoken of in Revelation 11:15-18, as coming at the
blowing of the 7th and LAST TRUMPET of the TRIBULATION PERIOD!
This, therefore, places the RAPTURE & RESURRECTION at the
BLOWING OF THE 7TH and LAST FINAL TRUMPET OF THE TRIBULATION: (see
verse 18 below)
Revelation 11:15) And the SEVENTH
ANGEL SOUNDED; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The
kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of
His Christ; and He shall reign forever and ever. 16) And the four
and twenty elders which sat before God on their seats, fell upon
their faces, and worshiped God, 17) Saying, We give thee thanks, O
Lord God Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come; because
thou hast taken to thee thy great power and hast reigned. 18) And
the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, AND THE TIME OF THE
DEAD THAT THEY SHOULD BE JUDGED, AND THAT THOU SHOULDEST GIVE
REWARD UNTO THY SERVANTS THE PROPHETS, AND TO THE SAINTS, AND THEM
THAT FEAR THY NAME SMALL AND GREAT; and shouldest destroy them
which destroy the earth.
So by linking these verses all
together by the association of the same events involved in each
one; we see that this “Rapture / Resurrection / Judgement / and
Rewarding of the Saints” comes here at the blowing of the LAST
TRUMPET! This is exactly what Paul said in
1
Corinthians 15: 51 & 52 - “Behold, I show you a mystery; We
shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52) In a moment,
in the twinkling of an eye, at the LAST TRUMP: for the TRUMPET
shall sound, AND THE DEAD SHALL BE RAISED INCORRUPTIBLE, and we
shall be changed.”
You will notice that there is
also mention of a TRUMPET being blown in
1 Thessalonians 4: 16 & 17
above. There is also mention of a TRUMPET being blown at the
Second Coming of the Lord in Matthew 24. As a matter of fact,
these SAME THREE ELEMENTS that are found in 1 Thessalonians 4:16
& 17 above: (The Coming of the Lord - A Trumpet being blown -
and the Rapture, or “Raising up of the Saints” to meet the
Lord in the air) are ALSO found in Matthew 24:29-31, as well,
describing what is very obviously this SAME EVENT:
Matthew 24:29) 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: 30) 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. 31) And He shall send His angels with a GREAT SOUND OF A
TRUMPET, and they shall GATHER TOGETHER HIS ELECT FROM THE FOUR
WINDS, FROM ONE END OF HEAVEN TO THE OTHER..
(A
big “meeting” of the Saints with the Lord IN THE AIR!)
Notice also that in Matthew 24,
this “Rapture” or “Gathering Together” occurs IMMEDIATELY
“AFTER” THE TRIBULATION PERIOD, and not “BEFORE”??? (verse
29) This is all very strong Scriptural evidence AGAINST a
“Pre-Tribulational Rapture” of any sort. In fact, it makes
this all quite plain, in BLACK & WHITE!?
These verses CANNOT be taken any
other way than to mean exactly what they are saying! Most of the
verses in the Pre-Tribulational teaching, though, CAN be taken
another way, and interpreted to mean that, instead of being
Raptured out prematurely, we are merely, “kept” by the Lord
and protected RIGHT HERE ON THIS EARTH, until He returns to take
us out! This is what Jesus said in John 17: 15, “I pray NOT that
Thou shouldest TAKE THEM OUT OF THE WORLD, but that thou shouldest
KEEP THEM FROM THE EVIL.” This event of the “Gathering
Together” of the Saints or “Rapture” is even spoken of in
the Psalms!
Psalms 50:3) Our God shall come,
and shall not keep silence: A fire shall devour before Him, and it
shall be very tempestuous round about Him.. 4) He shall call to
the heavens from above, and to the earth, that HE MAY JUDGE HIS
PEOPLE. 5) “GATHER MY SAINTS TOGETHER UNTO ME; those that have
made a covenant with Me by sacrifice.”
Notice the “Coming of the
Lord,” (verse 3) and the “Judgment” of the Saints, (verse 4)
and the “Gathering Together” of the Saints to meet the
Lord?” (verse 5) All are elements in other passages above that
occur at this same time. Remember how
1 Thessalonians 4:16 says that
the Lord will “descend from heaven with a shout?” Perhaps
Psalms 50:4 & 5 tell us WHAT He will “shout” when He
returns!? (See this same event also in Daniel 7:9-14)
This same “Rapture” term,
“Gathering Together” is ALSO used in 2 Thessalonians 2:1, and
like Revelation 20:4-6, this chapter states very plainly and
clearly that the antiChrist must come FIRST before Jesus comes to
“Gather us Together” unto Himself!!! This IS in fact; and I
hope you will see, the whole reason that this chapter was even
written in the first place; to make this one point!
2 Thessalonians chapter 2:1-13:
1) “Now we beseech you,
brethren, by the COMING OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST, and by OUR
GATHERING TOGETHER UNTO HIM.”
(From
this introduction we can see that this chapter is going to deal
with that particular “Coming of the Lord” in which we are
“gathered together unto Him.”) (That would be “the
Rapture!”)
2) “That ye be not soon shaken
in mind or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by
letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.”
(Someone
falsely wrote the Thessalonians and told them they had missed the
Rapture, and signed Paul’s name to the letter) (So now Paul
tells them not to believe any such false reports, because before
Jesus returns to “gather” us unto Himself, the ANTICHRIST MUST
COME FIRST and sit in the temple claiming to be God; causing a
great falling away from the Christian Faith:)
3) Let no man deceive you by any
means: FOR THAT DAY SHALL NOT COME EXCEPT THERE COME A FALLING
AWAY FIRST, AND THAT MAN OF SIN BE REVEALED, THE SON OF PERDITION;
4) WHO OPPOSETH AND EXALTETH HIMSELF ABOVE ALL THAT IS CALLED GOD,
OR THAT IS WORSHIPED; SO THAT HE AS GOD SITTETH IN THE TEMPLE OF
GOD, SHOWING HIMSELF THAT HE IS GOD.
“THAT DAY,” according to
verse 1, is the day of Christ’s coming and our subsequent
“gathering together unto Him,” or “Rapture!” And these
verses make it very clear that, “THAT DAY”… “SHALL NOT
COME,” until the antiChrist, or “son of perdition” comes
FIRST!!!
Notice also the clear warning
here not to listen to men who might try to DECEIVE us into
thinking that this can happen some other way!? Jesus said in
Matthew 24:3-5 that in the End Time “MANY would come ‘IN HIS
NAME’- DECEIVING many;” SPECIFICALLY CONCERNING what would be
“THE SIGN OF HIS COMING,” and the “END OF THE WORLD!?” Is
this happening today? Are there “many” today teaching that
Jesus will come FIRST and rapture us out, instead of the
antiChrist coming FIRST like this plainly says? Can this be taken
any other way than to mean exactly what it is saying in plain
black and white?
Many of today’s preachers and
teachers are putting the Church to sleep with “comfortable
teachings,” by telling them that they will be Raptured out
before all these coming troubles, instead of PREPARING God’s
people to STAND STRONG through these coming perilous times? This
is exactly what happened to the Churches in China right before Mao
Tse Tung came through and began slaughtering them by the
thousands! The Chinese Church leaders that survived begged Corrie
Ten Boom to warn the American churches not to make this same
mistake. Her warnings have gone largely unheeded! Corrie Ten Boom
said, “There are some among us teaching there will be no
tribulation, that the Christians will be able to escape all this;
these are the false teachers Jesus was warning us to expect in the
latter days.”
Corrie said to start memorizing
your Bible, as the antiChrist will try to stamp out the Bibles and
destroy the Word of God, and the only Bible some of us may have in
the days ahead is what we have memorized and “hidden away” in
our hearts. Begin by memorizing key passages that the Holy Spirit
makes “stand out” to you. Amos speaks of this coming event,
and says that in the end time, there will be a “famine” for
“hearing the Words of the Lord;” and that people will travel
all over the world searching for the Word of the Lord, and shall
not find it!? (Amos 8: 11 & 12) This is something we should
all take quite seriously and begin doing in earnest. On with our
chapter…
5) Remember ye not, that, when I
was yet with you, I told you these things?
(Paul
had obviously, already told these folks before that the antiChrist
must come FIRST, yet they had forgotten or overlooked this upon
receiving this demonic letter telling them they had missed the
rapture. So Paul is chiding them, “Don’t you remember I told
you the antiChrist must come FIRST?” “You haven’t seen this
happen yet have you?” “Have you seen him sitting in the temple
claiming to be God?” “How could you have believed this false
report?”
6) And now ye know what
withholdeth that he might be revealed in His time.
(And
now you know what has to HAPPEN FIRST, before the Lord is revealed
in His time…the antiChrist MUST COME FIRST!!!)
7) For the mystery of iniquity
doth already work: only He who now letteth will let, until He be
taken out of the way.
Out of this entire chapter, verse
7 here is the only verse that is used in the Pre-Tribulational
teaching! They blindly ignore the first 6 verses in this chapter
which directly prove they are wrong, and teach that verse 7 means
that the Holy Spirit is taken from the earth, and that therefore
we must go with it in the Rapture!? That is “one heck of a
lot” to read into this verse!? This just says “until He be
taken out of the way!?” It doesn’t say to “where!?” That
could happen right here on this earth!? This verse mentions
nothing specific about a “catching up” or a Rapture; and it
could simply mean that the Holy Spirit “steps aside” and lets
evil come forth to fulfill it’s end time role.
To read all this into this one
short verse, while blindly ignoring the first 6 verses before it,
which state things totally contrary to this view, in plain black
and white, that cannot be taken any other way than to mean just
exactly what they are saying is, in my opinion, VERY, VERY
DANGEROUS! Yet this very view sums up the belief system of the
vast majority of God’s Church today!
Some of these doctrines being
taught in the modern American Church are rather like buying a car.
If you don’t look “too closely” or pay very close attention
to detail, you will buy the first thing that comes along and think
you got a good deal; till it quickly falls apart! And the car
dealers will polish it all up and make even a JUNK HEAP look good;
as long as you don’t look too closely! If you go over these
verses and read them quickly, not paying much attention to detail,
you will easily be deceived by some of the modern teaching on
them!
If you examine the Pre-Tribulational
position on this subject closely, you will see that in order to
believe this teaching, you would have to go back to verse 3 and
change it to read: “that day SHALL come first before the man of
sin sits in the temple claiming to be God;” instead of how it
presently reads, “that day SHALL NOT come…!?” You would have
to directly alter it so that it reads “EXACTLY THE OPPOSITE”
OF WHAT IT PRESENTLY SAYS!?
You would think that folks would
see that by doing this, they set themselves up as DECEIVERS
according to the first part of this verse!? This verse should
SCARE these people! It should make them REALLY EXAMINE what they
are teaching closely and carefully!? Folks, it is not a “light
thing” to alter the Scriptures in this way! Yet that is exactly
what many; even MOST, are doing!? It really appears that these
folks are unknowingly fulfilling Jesus prophecy in Matthew 24:3-5,
by “deceiving” people concerning the “sign of His Coming,”
and “the end of the world.” That is exactly what they are
doing! Telling them it’s going to come some other way than what
He plainly said in black and white!? The “signs of His Coming”
are clearly laid out by Him, and these people are teaching us that
we WILL NOT EVEN BE HERE to witness these very same “signs” He
said to look for! (see all of Matthew 24)
Some teach that perhaps the
“Coming of the Lord” spoken of here is the “Day of the
Lord,” as it is referred to in other areas of Scripture; and
that perhaps it is a 7 YEAR PERIOD, instead of something that just
happens in an instant on one certain day!? And that perhaps He
comes and raptures us out at the BEGINNING of this period, and
then the antiChrist comes and rules for 7 years, after we are
raptured out, and then Jesus returns once again at the end of this
7 year period!? (The “key” word in this belief is
“perhaps!?”) (That makes it a THEORY, yet it is taught and
accepted as FACT!) But even if you take this view; according to
verse 3, the antiChrist would STILL HAVE TO COME “FIRST”
BEFORE THE “VERY FIRST DAY” OF THIS 7 YEAR PERIOD; or, once
again; you would have to ALTER verse 3 to read “that day SHALL
come… before the antiChrist sits in the temple claiming to be
God;” rather than as it presently reads, “that day SHALL NOT
COME!?”
Does this seem like a “small
thing” to be harping on to you? Not worth arguing about or even
discussing? Well God turns the wheels of His great Omnipotence on
just such “very small things!” Because of the loss of a
“nail” in his hoof, a rider’s horse can lose a shoe;
stumble, fall and kill the rider! This one small “oversight”
by the Church may well cause this VERY THING to happen to it in
the end!? Why is it that people can never see the blindness and
sin in their OWN GENERATION? Why can we look back to the past and
see the sins of others in the Bible down through time, but do not
even suspect that today, we are doing the same thing the Pharisees
of old did? Why can we not see the “blindness” and
“callousness” in our own hearts?
Many folks have gotten fed up
over “arguing:” over this subject, and say that “they refuse
to even discuss it anymore!” I have seen brethren almost come to
blows and scream and yell at each other over this topic! The devil
gets really angry when it is brought up, because it is exposing
one of his GREATEST DECEITS THAT HE IS FOISTING UPON GOD’S
UNSUSPECTING CHURCH IN THE END TIME! It is certainly wrong to get
ANGRY over anything and get mad at each other, but it is not wrong
to discuss such a serious and important matter as this!? Satan
just loves that feint! That “cop out!” He knows that then
every one will be afraid to bring the subject up after that for
fear of starting a “hullabullo,” and will just not talk about
it. Then folks go on teaching their perverted and distorted view
to the flock of God’s Church! He is so clever! First of all, it
is NOT a light thing, and will have very dramatic negative effects
on God’s Church when things do not transpire as folks have been
taught they will!
Most folks teaching this
“pre-trib” view, are doing it in ignorance; just
“parroting” what they have been taught since they got saved,
without having ever taken the time to study it all out carefully,
and prayerfully. The Lord is very merciful, and understanding, and
patient. He is trying to get folks to “see the light” on this,
but it is very difficult. “As the branch bends, so grows the
tree!?” And once a person is grounded deeply in this false
belief system, it seems to be very hard to convince them
otherwise, or to even get them to LOOK AT THE FACTS surrounding
all this, and read Scriptures like the ones in this study.
Most will “stubbornly” cling
to this false view, until it becomes apparent that it is wrong,
and then they will say, “Oh WHY, didn’t we see this plain and
simple truth laid out in the Scriptures?” “WHY couldn’t we
see what Jesus warned SO CLEARLY of concerning all this?”
Suddenly the “blinders” will be “ripped off” and they will
clearly see; but too late to alter the effects of what it will
cause on “the Body!” Those who are “strong” in the Lord
will survive, but sadly, it will not go so good for those who
“follow afar off; who will begin to question their FAITH, and
the LORD, and to become very confused!” Many may just “give
up!?”
This is something that should be
brought out into the open and discussed above almost all else,
after Salvation and other basics of the Faith! People say that it
is just “causing division.” The TRUTH always causes division
among those who resent hearing it! Jesus’s Words caused
division. Paul’s words caused division, and Paul ARGUED with the
Pharisees and “contended” and “disputed” with them for 3
years in the Book of Acts, before getting fed up with them and
telling them he’d had it with them and was now going to the
Gentiles! So it is not wrong to “contend” for the Truth! When
satan has successfully deceived a group of people and you come
along preaching the truth, THERE ARE GOING TO BE FIRE WORKS! THE
DEVIL HATES BEING EXPOSED AND HIS WORK RUINED! People get MAD! WE
should not argue in anger, but discuss important topics like this
with love and patience and prayer. This should not be swept under
the rug! Let’s go on…
8)And
then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume
with the spirit of His mouth, and SHALL DESTROY WITH THE
BRIGHTNESS OF HIS COMING:
9) Even him, whose coming is
after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying
wonders,
As you can see by verse 8, the
antiChrist is DESTROYED by the “brightness” of this same
“Coming of the Lord;” in which He “gathers us together”
unto Himself, according to verse 1. So if this is the case, then
how can the antiChrist rule or reign for another 3 ½ or 7 years
as is taught by so many, today, in the Christian world?
Perhaps it’s time to
prayerfully rethink all of these teachings, and put aside devotion
to a particular Church’s beliefs out of blind obedience alone,
and start studying the Scriptures deeply and praying for God’s
guidance, and preaching the truth! “He who has ears to hear, let
him hear!?” If the Church doesn’t get straightened out on
this, this one false teaching could wreak more havoc on God’s
church than any of the calamities that have befallen it before
down through time! It may even help facilitate the “great
falling away” from the Christian Faith spoken of here.
Many Christians will even support
the antiChrist when he comes, thinking that he couldn’t possibly
be the antiChrist or they would have been raptured out already!?
He’s not coming with “horns and hoofs” and a
“pitchfork!?” He will appear as “AN ANGEL OF LIGHT!” He
will appear to be a very righteous and Godly man, a great man of
peace, who will be championing the cause of Israel in the world
courts, demanding that they be given the right to rebuild their
temple, (which he plans to sit in and rule from) and that they
should be given the right to re-start their animal sacrifices once
again.
Folks will think he’s the
greatest man of peace and friend of Israel to ever come along!?
He’s going to fool nearly EVERYONE! DON’T YOU BE DECEIVED!
Read these Scriptures again and pray over them, asking the Lord if
these things are really the truth!? Satan is setting the entire
church system up for the greatest “sucker punch” he’s ever
given them; knocking their faith out by total surprise and shock,
when things do not turn out the way folks have been taught! He’s
lulled almost the entire church to sleep. Wake up and see what’s
coming! He just LOVES this method of catching folks off guard by
total surprise, and causing the greatest amount of fear possible
in an instant! It causes such great confusion, and he is the
“author of confusion.” He wants to totally KNOCK OUT THE
CHURCH IN ONE PUNCH!!!
Like a great commanding general
who studies out his war strategies long in advance, satan sat back
and looked over this “end time” scenario centuries ago. He
knew he would have to put the Church to sleep to be able to catch
them by surprise in this fashion. He began to enter the Church
with false “sleepy” doctrines.
Some have traced this
“pre-tribulational” teaching back to around 1830 when a young
Scottish girl named Margaret MacDonald received a prophecy which
began to lead others this way in their thinking. Immediately
influenced were John Darby of the Plymouth Brethren, and Edward
Irving of the Church of the Irvingites. Then C.I. Scofield, author
of the Scofield Bible, picked it up and brought it to America
where it swept the religious world like wildfire; even Moody Bible
Institute and Dallas Theological Seminary! Undoubtedly, this is a
fulfilling of the prophecy that “the time will come when they
will not endure SOUND DOCTRINE, but will heap to themselves
teachers having “itching ears,” and their ears shall be turned
from the truth to hearing “fables!?” (2 Tim 4: 3 & 4)
Author and researcher Dave
Macpherson went back and studied the sermons of these two men,
Irving and Darby, and found that up until the time of Margaret’s
prophecy, they both preached what the Church had believed for the
first 1800 years! What we now call “Post-Tribulation” /
“Pre-Wrath” rapture. Then suddenly they both began to preach
this new “altered” view, and to vie with each other over who
was the first to come out with it.
Now it has become such a part of
standard Church dogma, that if you speak against it, people think
you are a false prophet coming along speaking against the Lord and
the Bible!?
What people grow up hearing for
many years over and over is what they usually believe very
strongly in, and it forms a “stronghold” in their mind; which
in this case is a strong hold of satan, even though they don’t
know it! When you come along preaching the truth on this, many
folks think you are teaching some “new doctrine” which is
against the “old teaching:” that has been around since the
beginning!? Most are totally unaware that the “post-trib” /
“pre-wrath” view is what the Church believed FIRST for nearly
1800 years!!! This “pre-trib” teaching is the
“JOHNNY-COME-LATELY;” a mere 170 - 200 years old!
Other researchers have traced
this “pre-trib” teaching to a Jesuit priest named Father
Immanuel Lacunza, who wrote similar things in 1790. Who ever came
out with it, it is part of satan’s long term strategy to get the
Church right where he wants us so he can wreak the most havoc and
cause the greatest amount of confusion and damage possible when
his man; the “beast” or “antiChrist” comes to power!? From
what I’ve read of Church history, no one believed or taught any
doctrine like this from the time of the Church Fathers clear up to
the time of the Reform Era Fathers like Luther! THEY ALL believed
that we would go through the tribulation just like Jesus said, and
be “gathered together” unto Him at the end; although there are
a “host” of Churchy, “pre-trib” teachers and
“apologists” right now, trying very hard to trace it clear
back to the early Church!? I think they are “making it all up as
the go along,” because from all I’ve studied, I’ve seen it
NOWHERE! They are trying to fit a modern belief into a past where
it never existed!
The “Reform Era Fathers,”
like Luther, believed in “post-trib” rapture; they just had
the “lengths of time” for end time events off. Because, before
in the Book of Ezekiel, God had told the Prophet to lie on his
side for “so many days” and that the nation of Israel would
suffer for an equal time in “years,” these reform era fathers
all thought that the 3 ½ years of tribulation that were coming
were also according to this same “day / year” principle!? 3 ½
years or 1,260 days were to be considered 1,260 YEARS that the
church would be in “tribulation” under the wicked Pope’s of
Rome!? This is what they all thought, and that the Pope’s were
the antiChrist!? But none of them believed that we would be
raptured out before the tribulation. One would think that since
the first 69 weeks of Daniel’s “70 weeks” prophecy of the
end, (Daniel 9: 24-27) were NOT according to the “day / year”
principle; that therefore the “LAST” and “FINAL” week
would NOT BE EITHER; but would be actual days and years in real
time, just as the first 69!? But sadly this was not the case;
another of Satan’s tricks! They thought He meant a day for a
year during this era in Church history.
One by one, all their theories on
the year Jesus would return turned out to be wrong; the final one
being the most dramatic, in the fall of 1844; where William
Miller’s followers (the Adventists) all got up on their
housetops dressed in white sheets awaiting the Lord’s return on
a specific day Miller thought he got by calculating this time
period from one Pope whom Miller considered to be the most
wicked!? Well it obviously came and went and the movement fell
into disorder, and out of it came the 7th Day Adventists and the
Church of God 7th Day. THEN the “pre-tribulational” view came
on the scene in the mainstream Church world, and over the course
of the next 100 or so years, swept the religious world like wild
fire! Like I said, NOW everybody thinks it is the “old
standard” believed by everyone since the very beginning, and
they don’t realize that it is a relative “newcomer” in the
Bible Eschatology, or “End Time Bible Prophecy” field!?
That was a tragic day for much of
the church in 1844, when Miller was proved wrong, but not nearly
as tragic as what’s coming when the lie of
“pre-tribulational” rapture comes to “full fruit” and has
it’s full effect on the Lord’s Church!!? As I said before,
many may support the antiChrist thinking he’s a good man, and
not suspecting him at all because they have been taught they will
be “raptured out” first before he comes!? Then many will have
their faith destroyed when he takes off the “halo” and puts on
the “horns!” The entire Church will be in disarray, and many
who have been taught that the “good” Christians will be
raptured out, and the “bad” ones “LEFT BEHIND,” may give
up in total discouragement.
There may be many suicides and
many in great depression, disillusionment, and discouragement!? To
think that you’ve “failed the Lord” and that “He’s LEFT
YOU BEHIND TO SUFFER!?” So many people are going to be hurt by
this unScriptural teaching! The Church will “rock and reel”
under the fiery darts of the one who will “speak great words
against the Most High,” and “wear out the Saints of the Most
High;” who will “make war with the Saints and PREVAIL against
them!?” And when the “guillotines begin to fall,” and people
begin to lose their heads for refusing to deny their Faith in
Jesus Christ; many may begin to “jump off the boat” like
“scared men fleeing a sinking ship!?”
Instead of a “pre-tribulational
rapture,” many are going to be “yanked” out of their beds in
the middle of the night, by complete surprise; by “jackbooted”
storm troopers, brandishing sub-machine guns, and dressed in black
S.W.A.T. gear; and hauled off to PRIZON CAMPS, that have already
been set up all over America, under a program first designed by
Lt. Colonel Oliver North, in the days of President Ronald Reagan,
called “REX 84!” This was even exposed in Congress by
Congressman Jack Brooks, who publicly challenged Oliver North
about it and was told to “shut up” as it was a matter of
national security! Although originally designed to “house”
American gun-owners, and patriots who refuse to go along with a
“new world order” takeover, complete with a massive “gun
confiscation program;” as well as other “dissidents;” this
same program in the hands of a future administration, may be used
to lock up even other “Christian dissidents” who, although
“peaceful” and non-violent; do not “believe” the way they
are supposed to. (ie: folks who dare to expose America and
Israel’s sins!)
Jesus spoke of this terrible
“end time persecution” that would occur in every nation of the
world, against His followers, near the time of His return in Matthew
24:9 & 10 “Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted
and shall KILL you: and ye shall be hated of ALL NATIONS for My
Names sake.” 10) “And then shall many be offended, and shall
betray one another, and shall hate one another.” Notice that
this great “end time” persecution the Lord speaks of here,
comes BEFORE the RAPTURE of verses 29-31? GREAT PERSECUTION COMES
FIRST!!!
Daniel the Prophet also spoke of
this same event over and over; of a GREAT PERSECUTION of God’s
Saints in the END TIME TRIBULATION PERIOD, under the TERRIFYING
REIGN OF THE ANTICHRIST:
Daniel 7: 21,22,25-27 “I
beheld, and the same horn MADE WAR WITH THE SAINTS, and PREVAILED
AGAINST THEM: 22) until the Ancient of Days came, and judgement
was given to the Saints of the Most High, and the time came that
the Saints possessed the Kingdom.” 25) And he shall SPEAK GREAT
WORDS AGAINST THE MOST HIGH, AND SHALL WEAR OUT THE SAINTS OF THE
MOST HIGH, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be
given into his hand until a TIME and TIMES and the DIVIDING OF
TIME. (3 1/2 years) 26) But the JUDGMENT shall sit, and they shall
take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it unto the end.
27) And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom
under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the Saints
of the Most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all
dominions shall serve and obey Him.”
Daniel 8:23-25 “And in the
latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to
the full, and king of fierce countenance and understanding dark
sentences shall stand up. 24) and his power shall be mighty, but
not by his own power: and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall
prosper, and practice, AND SHALL DESTROY THE MIGHTY AND THE HOLY
PEOPLE.
(Wake up America!
YOU ARE the “MIGHTY AND THE HOLY PEOPLE!” The American
Churches are going to feel the main brunt of this persecution,
along with the tiny nation of Israel! It’s not just the Jews,
folks, who are going to suffer during this time as many also
falsely teach today!)
Jesus said in Matthew 24:15, to
pay special attention to the “abomination of desolation” being
placed in the temple, and to FLEE at this time to places of
refuge! . Matthew 24: 15 -
21 “When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation,
spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso
readeth, let him understand:) 16) then let them which be in Judea
FLEE into the mountains: 17) Let him which is on the housetop not
come down to take anything out of his house, 18) Neither let him
which is in the field return back to take his clothes. 19) And woe
to them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those
days! 20) But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter,
neither on the sabbath day: 21) FOR THEN SHALL BE GREAT
TRIBULATION SUCH AS WAS NOT SINCE THE BEGINNING OF THE WORLD TO
THIS TIME, NO, NOR EVER SHALL BE.”
Again, there is no mention of a
“rapture” before this time anywhere in Matthew 24. It comes
LATER in verses 29-31. If you follow pre-tribulaional
teaching, it truly must be a “secret rapture!?” It’s SO
SECRET, that it’s NOT EVEN MENTIONED IN THE SCRIPTURES!!! Ha!
People should be “truly leary” of such a teaching! There
should certainly be a lot more HARD EVIDENCE for it if it were
true! But there is not! All the HARD EVIDENCE falls on the side of
“post-tribulational,” “pre-wrath rapture!” Apparently,
this placing of the “abomination of desolation” heralds the
BEGINNING of the GREAT TRIBULATION PERIOD!? Let’s go to Daniel
and read what happens at this time, as the Lord suggested above:
Daniel 11: 31-36 “And arms
shall stand on his part, and they shall pollute the sanctuary of
strength, and shall take away the daily sacrifice, AND THEY SHALL
PLACE THE ABOMINATION THAT MAKETH DESOLATE. 32) And such as do
wickedly against the covenant shall he corrupt by flatteries: BUT
THE PEOPLE THAT DO KNOW THEIR GOD SHALL BE STRONG, AND DO
EXPLOITS. 33) And they that understand among the people shall
INSTRUCT MANY: YET THEY FALL BY THE SWORD, AND BY FLAME, BY
CAPTIVITY, AND BY SPOIL MANY DAYS. 34) Now when they shall fall,
they shall be helped with a little help: but many shall cleave to
them with flatteries. 35) AND SOME OF THEM OF UNDERSTANDING SHALL
FALL, TO TRY THEM, AND TO PURGE, AND TO MAKE THEM WHITE, EVEN TO
THE TIME OF THE END: because it is yet for a time appointed. 36)
And the king shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt
himself, and magnify himself above EVERY GOD, AND SHALL SPEAK
MARVELOUS THINGS AGAINST THE GOD OF GODS, and shall PROSPER till
the indignation be accomplished: for that that is determined shall
be done.
The “indignation” spoken of
here is “God’s indignation” against the nation of Israel for
“trying to take their kingdom back in the flesh,” without
going through the proper “doorway” of JESUS CHRIST His Son,
(as per John 10) and winning the world through His love, instead
of considering themselves better than everyone else (God is no
respecter of persons) and mowing them down with machine guns,
bombs and bullets, to take back what they consider “rightfully
theirs,” but is NOT, since the Lord drove them out 2,000 years
ago. And also because they are willing to accept “one who comes
in his own name” to get this great advantage and blessing,
instead of having accepted Him who came “in the name of His
Father;” Jesus Christ! This “indignation of God” is also
against the duped American Church system for “aiding and
abbetting” them in this great end time “fiasco!”
Both the American Church system
and the modern nation of so-called “Israel” are going to be
PURGED, AND PURIFIED, AND MADE WHITE HERE to get them straightened
out on this issue! When they finally realise all this; under the
antiChrist’s relentless attacks and his actual “winning”
against them and subduing and destroying them, AND THEY REPENT (as
per Zechariah 13) then the “Lord will come and fight against
those nations that have come against them, and will return in all
His glory to fight for His people and deliver them from their
STRONG OPPRESSOR!” (as per Zechariah 14)
This is another “great lie”
that has entered the “corrupt and compromised American Church
system” that the Lord is going to expose before all, before the
great day of His Coming! Jesus said in John chapters 8 & 10,
to the Pharisees, that they were not going to be saved and blessed
by God merely because they were “flesh sons of Abraham,” and
that they had to go through “HIM, the ‘DOOR’ to get into the
kingdom!?” Now, 2,000 years later the same bunch with the same
mindset have returned to foist this same belief on the followers
of Christ, and most have warmly received it with open arms, no
questions asked, and would support them to the death fighting to
get their land back for them; thinking that they are “doing God
service!?” But don’t worry! God is going to “straighten
everyone out on this” before the Lord returns! It will be made
very plain!
As both America and Israel
“rock and reel” under the antiChrist’s future attacks, and
coming terrorist attacks, and natural disasters like famines,
earthquakes, weather related disasters, disease, and ill health;
many will TURN HARD to the Lord and begin questioning, “why is
all this coming upon us?” And the Lord will begin to show them
the reasons for these things. But many of the new, coming, end
time Prophets, who will show people this, and expose these things,
will be killed in great anger, just like Jesus, His followers, and
all the Prophets of old were; by these same people, or possibly,
even by infuriated “fundamentalist-evangelicals” with their
.30-30’s in the back of their pick-up windows; “thinking that
they are doing God service!?” (John 16:1 & 2)
The majority of American Churches
have become SPIRITUALLY BLIND, and DECEIVED on almost EVERYTHING
THAT THEY BELIEVE!!! The only thing most have right is the
foundation of receiving the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior!
From there on it goes downhill quite rapidly, and even most of
them are confused on that, and get folks SAVED going in one door,
and then UNSAVED going out the other! Folks leave totally confused
about their salvation and deluded on most every other teaching!
From “RICHES AND PROSPERITY”
to “PRE-TRIBULATIONAL RAPTURE,” and “FALSE HOLINESS” or
more properly, “SELF RIGHTEOUSNESS” (the sin of the Pharisees)
they compass “land and sea” to make “one convert” and when
they have found him they make him two-fold more the “child of
hell,” as Jesus said, than they are themselves!? Most Churches
are turning their people into “MODERN PHARISEES” instead of
loving followers of Christ, like the early disciples were.
And then they are built on the
false foundation of these other modern “comfortable” teachings
that put them TOTALLY TO SLEEP, concerning the totally serious and
sometimes “horrifying” end time events that are coming; and
make them into “self-righteous judges” of today’s “wicked
sinners,” and “publicans, and harlots,” who condemn folks to
hell with their tongues, instead of loving them into the kingdom.
God bless you if your Church is NOT doing this, and is trying to
do it right the way Jesus intended. This message is not to all
here, but to the “blind majority!” There are a few that are
really trying to do it right and follow the Lord!
Most Churches are being taught
that they are the “Church of Philadelphia” spoken of in the
Book of Revelation; and that they are going to be “kept from
that hour,” (the great tribulation) by being “raptured out
beforehand!?” But if you will read on in your Bible to the very
next church in that chapter, you will find a little more accurate
description of todays modern Church systemn as a whole; the
“Church of Laodicea!”
Revelation 3: 14-20 “And unto
the Angel of the Church of the Laodiceians write; These things
saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of
the creation of God; 15) I know thy works, that thou art neither
cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. 16) So then because
thou art lukewarm, I will spew thee out of my mouth. 17) Because
thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of
nothing:
(The modern
“riches and prosperity doctrine of many?”) and knowest not
that thou are wretched, and miserable, and poor, and BLIND, and
naked:
(SPIRITUAL BLINDNESS!!! When you
try to show folks about pre-trib rapture, or riches and
prosperity, or any of these other false teachings, they just
cannot seem to “see” it no matter how hard or long you try to
patiently explain it and show Scriptures!? They read over and over
them and just cannot seem to see what they are saying, they have
been so programmed! It’s quite discouraging, but that is exactly
what this verse is addressing here!)
18) I counsel thee to BUY OF ME
GOLD TRIED IN THE FIRE, THAT THOU MAYEST BE RICH; and white
raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy
nakedness do not appear; (In
one place in the Gospels, Jesus said that you get “RICHES IN
HEAVEN” when you give of the money and blessings you have on
this earth! You get RICHES THERE, by GIVING HERE! Of your time,
your love, your material blessings, and your ALL!)
Instead of the Gospel being
perverted to mean that it’s “okay” to seek to be rich and
have lots of money, prestige, and power; as the modern, mainly
“Dallas based” televangelists teach; we are NOT to seek these
things; but to give our lives as a “living sacrifice,” and to
give our all for Jesus in every way we can. We are to seek to GIVE
OF OURSELVES, NOT TO GET!!! …and to anoint thine eyes with
eye salve, that thou mayest see. (Once again, to pray hard
against the SPIRITUAL BLINDNESS of the teachings of the vast
majority of today’s modern Churches, and inability to see
messages such as this one that are preaching the “unpopular
truth!”)
19) As many as I love, I rebuke
and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.
Getting back to the subject of
the rapture; one thing that might be causing confusion over this
issue is this: the “pre-trib” view confuses two separate time
periods in the Book of Revelation as being one and the same; the
TRIBULATION and the WRATH! They are not the same event. 1
Thessalonians 5:9 says that, “we are not appointed to God’s
wrath, but to obtain salvation;” so therefore “pre-tribbers”
assume that we are not HERE on this earth for almost the ENTIRE
BOOK OF REVELATION!? Folks! That is a lot of paper for God to
“waste!?” There are a lot of very intricately detailed
prophecies in there to just be discarded if the main body of the
church isn’t even going to be around for them!?
In the Book of Revelation the
TRIBULATION PERIOD is heralded by the BLOWING OF 7 TRUMPETS, and
as shown before here, we are raptured out at the LAST ONE.
(Revelation chapters 8-11) This is then -FOLLOWED- by the WRATH
PERIOD, which is heralded by the POURING OUT OF 7 VIALS, -AFTER-
we are gone! (Revelation chapter 16) Therefore, we are NOT HERE
for that event, but in heaven with the Lord at the Marriage Supper
of the Lamb. So we “are not appointed unto wrath.” Most
churches are taught that “the wrath” covers the ENTIRE BOOK OF
REVELATION!? As you can see if you will look up Revelation and
read this, this simply is NOT TRUE!?
The TRIBULATION is the time
period in which the antiChrist tries to stamp out all other
religions; and mainly Christianity; and to foist upon the world
the worship of himself as God. The WRATH is the time period which
DIRECTLY FOLLOWS THE TRIBULATION, in which the Lord returns to
rescue His people from the antiChrist’s wicked and cruel
clutches in the rapture, and then pours out His WRATH on him and
his followers after we are gone!
During the tribulation, 1/3rd of
everything is destroyed by the Lord’s “selective judgments,”
while we are protected miraculously by the Lord right here on the
earth. (1/3rd of the sky is darkened, 1/3rd of the oceans turn
blood red) This is a bit like how the U.S. uses “smart bombs”
so as not to hit the innocent civilians in warfare. (I’m sure
the Lord’s a lot more accurate though!) An example of the Lord
doing this in the Old Testament is found during the plagues in
Egypt of old; the judgments of the Lord fell only on the
Egyptians, and not on the Hebrews who lived right next door to
them. During the wrath period, EVERYTHING is judged by the Lord. (ie:
the WHOLE sky darkened, ALL the oceans turn blood red, etc…)
(read Revelation chapters 8-11, and 16 to see this)
It is my earnest prayer that
Christians will begin to wake up and see all these things that are
coming, and to prepare accordingly. This study is not written to
make people mad, or to cause division. Please don’t take
anything that is said here in that way. PLEASE pray hard about
this message, and ask the Lord if it’s the truth!? Ask Him to
remove any “spiritual blindness” from former teachings that
might be hindering, and not allowing you to see these things, if
you are having trouble understanding them! PLEASE don’t let
these things come upon you unawares!
Please begin an active Bible
Memory Program, and begin to prayerfully study the Bible as never
before. Pray and learn to hear the “voice of the Lord” in your
heart. (Jeremiah 29:13, 33:3, John 16:13,14) These are three
things that we will all need to be accomplished in to go through
what lies ahead victoriously! We are indeed going to enter shortly
into “times that will try men’s souls!” Let’s prepare now
by getting as close to Jesus as we can, and by preparing in every
way we can, as we are led by His Spirit. Thank you for your time.
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