BY PASTOR MIKE TAYLOR
BY PASTOR MIKE TAYLOR
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.”(1st Thessalonians 4:16 -17)
(caps and quotes are my emphasis in this message)
Very
familiar verses for all prophecy writers and readers alike has been
the subject of much debate and confusion over the last 150 years.
Many critics believe that this verse is talking about the church
being taken up in the air at the seventh trump that the seventh angel
blows to signal the bowl judgments spoken of in Revelation chapter
16. That would be a Post-Tribulation model. But are they right?
I
had a brother in Christ, who at the very mention of the word
“rapture”, became very irate and bellowed, loudly, quote “there
is no scripture in the bible that speaks of a rapture.” end-quote.
But is he right, or just ignorant of the fact that Paul and many
writers pointed to a “catching away” of the church and there are
found many instances in the bible that support that doctrine? You can
find examples of this teaching in both New and Old Testaments. Let's
take a journey through biblical chapters and see what we find, shall
we?
Noting the above verse quoted in the start of this
message, note the captitalized words to “be caught up”. Are there
any other verses in the bible with the same words that mean the same
thing as this verse does? The Greek word for this phrase is “harpazo”
#726 in Strong's Concordance that was translated into the Latin
Vulgate as “rapiemur” and came from the derivative of the Greek
word #138 in Strong's Concordance “haireomai” which literally
means “to seize, catch away up, pluck, pull, or take by force”,
hence the modern English word “rapture”, that often maligned
word, that many in the conservative church movements equate with some
type of emotional display or escape hatch for those who disbelieve
the church goes through the Tribulation. Getting back, are there any
other verses that use the exact same word used here of “harpazo”?
Turn with me now to 2nd Corinthians:
“I knew a
man in Christ above fourteen years ago, (whether in the body, I
cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;)
such an one CAUGHT
UP to
the third heaven.
12:3 And I knew such a man, (whether in the body, or out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;)
12:4 How
that he was CAUGHT UP into paradise, and heard unspeakable words,
which it is not lawful for a man to utter.”(2nd Corinthians
12:2-4)
Paul is speaking of himself being caught up into
paradise and heard things, that I believe he shared with the church
during his days when he wrote his epistles. He calls it a
mystery...what is the word he used....? Correct, it was the Greek
word,"harpazo". Paul was snatched in the spirit into
heaven. Paul uses the word twice. The Old Testament is full of the
prophecies concerning the second coming of the Lord God at the end of
the age, but in Paul's epistle, especially in this letter to the
Corinthians and the Thessalonians, Paul speaks of a mystery that
would not have been a mystery to those who studied the Torah or the
major/minor prophets, but here refers to this mystery, or something
that previously had not been known. And further, Paul equated it with
the known Feast of Trumpets, referring the last trump that is blown
at it's conclusion and not referring to John's description in
Revelation, as John had not even written the last book of the Bible
when Paul wrote these letters to the churches. So even in that
respect, they are not the same trumpet and should not be confused
with each other. One trumpet expresses indescribable joy and the one
in Revelation heralds the beginning of indescribable horror that
slays nearly all of mankind. Those Feast that God gave Israel at Mt.
Sinai are what I call “the plan for the redemption of
mankind”...note that Jesus fulfilled the spring feast observances
on the very day on the Jewish calendar. Since God is a God of order,
will He do so in the coming Fall Feast? I pray He will.
Now
let's turn to another verse that speaks of this same snatching away,
but in a different context.
(Matthew 11:12) , “And from the
days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth
violence , and the violent “TAKE IT BY FORCE.”
(Matthew
13:19) “When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and
understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and CATCHETH AWAY
that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by
the way side. “
Different context, but same meaning...to be
snatched away, by force. Now another, found in Gospel of John it is
used four different times.
“When
Jesus therefore perceived that they would come and “take
him by force” to make him a king, he departed again into a mountain himself
alone.”(John
6:15)
12
“But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the
sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming , and leaveth the sheep, and
fleeth : and the wolf catcheth
them, and scattereth the sheep.”(John
10:28-29)
28
“And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish ,
neither shall any man PLUCK THEM OUT of
my hand.
29 My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able “to pluck them” out of my Father's hand.
30 I
and my Father are one.” (John
10:28-30)
Again, in Acts 23:10, Jude 1:23, Revelation 12:5
“And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations
with a rod of iron: and her
child was caught up unto
God, and to his throne.” (the child is the body of Christ, the
Church in the rapture)
Let's not forget Phillip the apostle
when he had baptized the Ethiopian eunuch after explaining who Isaiah
chp. 53 was speaking of and revealed to Him that Jesus was the
Messiah,
“And when they were come up out of the water,
the Spirit of the Lord “caught
away” Philip,
that the eunuch saw him no more: and he went on his way rejoicing.”
(Acts, 8:39)
If
you've been keeping count, that is 13 times in the New Testament
including the ones I didn't quote , but gave reference to, that the
word “Harpazo” is used and it means in every instance to be
removed by force, without warning being snatched away...not each
mention of the Greek word “Harpazo” has to do with with the
mystery that Paul speaks of, but it shows that the word was used
repeatedly to speak of with the same definition and example.
WHAT
ABOUT THE OLD TESTAMENT?
Good
question. Is there anything that can point to a parallel word that
has the same meaning used in Greek in these passages found in also in
the Old Testament.? Matter of fact, there is. There a examples of men
being “snatched up” and removed from this earth. Let's start with
the earliest known example in Genesis:
22 "And Enoch walked with God after he begat Methuselah three hundred years, and begat sons and daughters:
23 And all the days of Enoch were three hundred sixty and five years:
24 And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God “took him.” (Genesis 5:22-24)
Here
the word for the phrase “took him ” is the Hebrew word #3947 in
Strong's, “leqach” which means to “receive, reserve, seize,
send for, take away, or fetch”.
Paul speaks of Enoch this
way in the book of Hebrews:
“By faith Enoch was taken from
this life, so that he did not experience death; he could not be
found, because God had taken him away (translated him). For
before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God.” (
Hebrews 11:5)
The word used for “translated, or
taken him away” is the Greek word, metatithemi, Strongs
#3346, which means “transport, exchange, change sides, carry over,
change, remove”. Scoffers will use the passage in verse 13 of that
same chapter,13 “These all
died in faith,
not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and
were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they
were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.” (Hebrews 5:13)
But
to use that verse as proof that Enoch died contradicts verse 5, and
the bible cannot contradict itself. So Enoch was “snatched away,
removed” from this earth alive and did NOT see death, but verse 13
applies to all others who lived by faith.
Another example is
the prophet Elijah and we will turn to 2nd Kings
“ And
it came to pass, when the LORD would “TAKE UP” Elijah into heaven
by a whirlwind, that Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal.” (
2nd Kings 2:1)
And
as we read down “And it came to pass, as they still went
on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and
horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went
up by a whirlwind into heaven.”(2nd Kings
2:11)
What is the Hebrew word for the phrase “would take up”
in verse 1 of the above passage? It's the word and the equivalent
word as used in the example of Enoch, as this word is “Leqach”
used to describe the snatching away of Enoch. Some will make a
convoluted argument that both men are dead and died in faith, but
they use logic that is beyond their grasp of the infinite, not
believing that God is Sovereign and He can do whatever He wishes to
do, apart from their finite analogies. They will use “did not see
death” and try to explain the second death. That's stretching the
meaning of the text and we have no clue to do so. It's best to take
what the Word says literally and not add your own meaning, by adding
or subtracting from God's message. They will say that he lived 365
years and no longer, but you can't count eternity, because it's
without time. So again, they try to rationalize their preconceived
ideas to support their doctrine of “believers in Jesus Christ”
not being removed bodily from this earth in an instant....or the
bible says, in the “twinkling of an eye.”
Note that we
have covered Enoch, Elijah, Phillip, Paul, our Lord and Savior, and
finally the Church itself, the bride of Christ being described with
the words “snatched up, or plucked by force” from the
earth.
But still the critics will not believe. I point
them to some passages that mirror each other and tell us why these
examples were given to us. First is Isaiah:
“Thy dead men
shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise. Awake and
sing, ye that dwell in dust: for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and
the earth shall cast out the dead.
20 Come,
my people, ENTER THOU INTO THEY CHAMBERS and shut thy doors
about thee: hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the
indignation be overpast.
21 For,
behold, the LORD cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of
the earth for their iniquity: the earth also shall disclose her
blood, and shall no more cover her slain.”(Isaiah 26:19-21,)
And
her companion verse, spoken of by my Lord,
“In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.
4 And
whither I go ye know, and the way ye know.”(John chapter
14:2-4)
What do these companion verses say to you? They tell
me that Jesus will bring us unto Himself and we will be rewarded a
mansion in the New Jerusalem, as He promised. There we will wait for
the indignation, or His wrath to be over-past or to subside. These
verses speak of resurrection, changing from mortal to immortal, and
not being present when His wrath comes upon this earth, both the
resurrected dead in Christ, and the living who are both changed as
Paul spoke of in the very first verses of this message.
THE
DOCTRINE OF THE RAPTURE IS A MODERN ONE?
In
recent years, many opponents of the pre-tribulation rapture view have
made dogmatic assertions that this view was never taught before 1820
A.D. There have been attempts to attribute the origin of this view to
John N. Darby.... but this is false and misleading. Ephraem
the Syrian wrote,
in 373 AD,
"For all the saints and Elect of God are gathered, prior to the tribulation that is to come, and are taken to the Lord lest they see the confusion that is to overwhelm the world because of our sins." …
Revealing
that the early church fathers themselves were indeed teaching
this.
This
text was originally a sermon called “On the Last Times, the
Anti-Christ, and the End of the World.” There are four existing
Latin manuscripts (the Parisinus, the Augiensis, the Barberini, and
the St. Gallen) ascribed to St. Ephraem or to St. Isidore . Some
scholars believe this text was written by some unknown writer in the
sixth century and was derived from the original Ephraem
manuscript.
The sermon describes the events of the last days,
beginning with the rapture, the Great Tribulation of 3 1/2 years
duration under the Antichrist's rule, followed by the Second Coming
of Christ. In Ephraem's book “The Book of the Cave of
Treasures”, written about 370 A.D., he expressed his belief that
the 69th week of Daniel ended with the rejection and crucifixion of
Jesus the Messiah. Although this does not prove that the doctrine of
the Rapture is correct, it does show that even early Church
Theologians were teaching this and it is NOT a modern device of an
immature girl and John Darby, as some claim, but a doctrine of the
early church.
The glorified Jesus, the Great I AM, that I AM
spoke of this in the His precious Word, as Ephraem the Syrian did,
when our Lord spoke in Revelation:
“Because thou hast kept
the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of
temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that
dwell upon the earth.”(Revelation 3:10)
As I
have hammered home the interpretation of what Jesus was telling John,
that the Greek word for “Will keep thee from” is the Greek Word
“EK” which literally means to be taken from the time and period
of the event. That abolishes the theory that the church goes
“through” the coming Tribulation, instead of as Jesus spoke, to
be removed from the time of the event.
Paul echoes what Jesus
spoke to John some 30 years later, when he penned these
verses,
“But let us, who are of the day, be
sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an
helmet, the hope of salvation.
9 For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,
10 Who
died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together
with him.”(1st Thessalonians
5:8-10)
POINT
AND COUNTERPOINT!!
The
Church is a specific group of believers in Jesus Christ. It is
not a building ... nor is it any particular denomination or religion.
It is also known as the Body of Christ. The Living Church of
God is a living organism that began at Pentecost -- see Acts
2:1-4 and
culminates at the rapture -- see 1st
Thessalonians 4:16-18.
It does not include anyone who was a believer prior to or
after the two above-mentioned events. The terms saints or
elect refer to another specific group of believers. This group
includes all the Old Testament saints, as well as those who become
believers in Christ after the rapture. I've made many references in
past messages that the Tribulation is designed for two things, and
two things only and that is:
-Pouring out of God's wrath on an
unrepentant, and rebellious world,
-refining Israel as silver
is refined in the fire....and we are NOT included in that refining.
Why?
Because
there is no need, as Jesus paid it all at the cross, and to think
otherwise smacks of “catholic purgatory” that Jesus blood and
sacrifice just was not sufficient to fully save the sinner. A serious
mistake by a past ruling Theocracy.
There is a marked
difference in the Bible when you look at references to the Church
compared with references to the saints or the elect. The
Church is always referred to in very narrow and distinct terms,
whereas the saints or the elect are always referred to in very broad
terms. More pointed, however, is the fact that the word Church
never appears again after Revelation 3:22 -- you'll only see the
words “saints or the elect” mentioned throughout the rest of the
book -- and this is directly after a very significant reference to
this “catching away by force” , that Jesus mentions in Revelation
3:10
ASSESSMENT
and CONCLUSIONS
What
is the tribulation? It is the wrath of God. When does it start? When
the first seal is broken in chapter 6 of Revelation by our Lord,
Jesus Christ. What are we not appointed to? We are not appointed to
wrath, but salvation through Him, Jesus Christ our Lord. How will the
tribulation begin to commence? When the Church of God is removed out
of the way. Isaiah 26:19 we covered above, and in
2nd Thessalonians
“For the mystery of
iniquity doth already work: only he
who now letteth will let (the
Holy Spirit), until he be taken out of the way.
2:8 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:
2:9 Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,
2:10 And
with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish;
because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be
saved.” (2nd Thessalonians
2:7-10)
But forewarning to those who belong to a
“church”...these bible verses which speak of the removal of the
CHURCH will not be everyone who sits in pew, or says some “hail
marys” in some repetitive fashion, or think their pope, priest, or
their pastor can usher them into God's Kingdom. It's not about being
Catholic, or Protestant or something somewhere in between. It is
solely dependent on the application of the blood of Jesus Christ to
your life and clothing your spirit with His Righteousness. There are
many verses that point solely to Jesus Christ being the “Way, the
Truth and the Life”. No man can come to the Father in Heaven except
through Him. All roads do not lead to eternal life, but believing in
your heart of hearts and accepting His free pardon for your sins
through Grace and faith in the only Begotten Son of God.
“For
God so loved the world, that whosoever believeth in Him should not
perish, but have everlasting life.
17,
God sent not His Son to condemn the world, but the world through Him
might be saved.” (John 3:16-17)
God has given us example
after example. He has given us story after story to show the TRUE
children of God being removed out of the way (and there are many more). He has given us words
to show that HE WILL remove the TRUE, blood washed church before His
wrath is poured out on this earth. How much more clear does He need
to be? When someone remarks, “the rapture is not found in the
bible”, then my reader, you can direct them to passages that show
they misunderstand. And if they still don't get it, then that's
Ok...you can explain it to them on your way up to meet the Lord in
the air
“Believe on the Lord Jesus, and thou shalt be
saved” Don't be left behind when all hell breaks loose on this
earth in the coming Tribulation, which may be sooner than anyone
cares to think of....maybe even this year??? ARE YOU READY?
This
is Pastor Mike Taylor, praying God's salvation in your life and to
ready for the soon return of our King of kings, and Lord of lords,
Jesus Christ, our Savior. If there is anything I can help you with,
pray with you about, or just listen, email me at
pastormiketaylor@yahoo.com. Or visit me online at
www.pastormiketaylor.blogspot.com, for more messages based on
the Word of God. God bless you all,
Till we meet at Jesus Feet.
