In 1 Thessalonians 4:14-18 Paul tells the Thessalonians that the dead in Christ and those who remain alive are caught up at the parousia – that is, the event of the Lord’s presence or coming. (Parousia is a Greek noun.)
1 Th. 4:15: “For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, and remain until the parousia/coming of the Lord, shall not precede those who have fallen asleep.”
In 1 Corinthians 15:20-23 Paul tells the Corinthians that the resurrection of believers occurs at the parousia – the event of the Lord’s presence or coming.
“But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep. For since by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all shall be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, after that those who are Christ’s at His parousia/coming.”
In 2 Thessalonians 2:1 Paul introduces instruction regarding the Lord’s parousia – the event of His presence or coming and our gathering together to Him:
“Now we request you, brethren, with regard to the parousia/coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and our gathering together to Him…”
These three passages tie the resurrection/rapture of those who are dead in Christ and the rapture/gathering of those who are alive and remain to the parousia - the event of the presence or coming of the Lord.
The Lord Himself teaches in Matthew 24 that His parousia – the event of His presence or coming - will occur sometime after the midpoint of Daniel’s 70th Week.
Matthew 24:15-16, 21-22, 27-31: “Therefore when you see the ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place...flee…for then there will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever shall. And unless those days (of great tribulation) had been cut short, no life would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short…For just as the lightening comes from the east, and flashes even to the west, so shall the parousia/coming of the Son of Man be. Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather. But immediately after the tribulation of those days THE SUN WILL BE DARKENED, AND THE MOON WILL NOT GIVE ITS LIGHT, AND THE STARS WILL FALL from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken, and then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the SON OF MAN COMING ON THE CLOUDS OF THE SKY with power and great glory. And He will send forth His angels with A GREAT TRUMPET and THEY WILL GATHER TOGETHER His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.”
(Matthew 24:30 says that all the tribes of the earth will see the SON OF MAN COMING/erchomai ON THE CLOUDS OF THE SKY with power and great glory. In this verse the word “coming” is the Greek verb “erchomai”. It’s always used of persons and of their movement from one place to another. So at the event of the Lord’s presence or coming the tribes of the earth will see Him coming/moving on the clouds.)
Jesus instructs that days of great and unprecedented tribulation/affliction against the elect begin after the midpoint of Daniel’s 70th Week when the abomination of desolation is seen standing in the holy place. (The word tribulation can also be translated as “affliction”.) Jesus says those days of great affliction against the elect are cut short by the event of His presence or coming. The event of His coming will be just as the lightening comes from the east and flashes to the west. The brilliance of His glory will streak across the blackened sky and He will be seen moving on the clouds with power and great glory. His angels will be with Him and they will gather the elect.
Does Paul refer to this affliction that will be going on in reference to the Lord’s return? Look at his words to the Thessalonians in his second letter to them. Note the near/far prophetic tone of this passage…
2 Thessalonians 1:6-7: “For after all it is only just for God to repay with affliction those who afflict you, and to give relief to you who are afflicted and to us as well when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire…”
His Beloved, the rapture and the second coming are one event, not two separate events. They occur together somewhere between the midpoint of Daniel’s 70th Week but before the end. Jesus said in Matthew 24:26, “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone. The event of Lord’s parousia/coming will cut short the days of great tribulation against the elect and give relief to those who are being afflicted. When He is revealed the angels will gather those being afflicted, but not before the dead in Christ are raised first and raptured/gathered too!
(My very next post compares another passage with Matthew 24 giving support that the elect in Matthew 24 is the church.)
7 comments:
I believe the best inference of Scripture is that the Rapture will occur at the beginning of the Tribulation. The most important reason I believe this has to do with the issue of imminence. Over and over in Scripture we are told to watch for the appearing of the Lord. We are told “to be ready” (Matt. 24:44), “to be on the alert” (Matt. 24:42), “to be dressed in readiness” (Luke 12:35), and to “keep your lamps alight” (Luke 12:35). The clear force of these persistent warnings is that Jesus can appear at any moment. There are numerous parables in the Bible that refer to this.
Jesus will take us when we least expect it (as in the days of Noah). With the church as the bride and Jesus as the groom - he loves us and a groom would never allow his bride to be tested - and God will never allow believers to be tested by the antichrist. He loves us and has promised to keep us from this temptation;
"Because you have kept the word of My perseverance, I also will keep you from the hour of testing, that hour which is about to come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell upon the earth.” Revelation 3:10
The saints of Old Testament times will be resurrected at the end of the Tribulation and not at the time of the Rapture of the Church. Daniel reveals this fact in Daniel 12:1-2 where he says that the saints of that age will be resurrected at the end of the “time of distress.”
I believe this, and live looking to the skies knowing that my savior is coming for me!
Yes, there are verses that you've cited that indicate we are to be ready, watching, and alert but do they say He can return at any moment?
Jesus said in Mt. 24:37: "For the parousia (the event of His coming or presence) of the Son of Man will be just like in the days of Noah." He is obviously referring back to His appearance in the clouds with His angels who then will gather the elect. You said Jesus will take us when we least expect it. What Jesus was saying there is that He is going to come when unbelievers least expect it, just like the flood came unexpectedly to the ungodly in Noah's day and took them all away (v. 39). They were the ones who were eating and drinking and marrying. And just before the Lord returns the ungodly will be eating and drinking and marrying, enjoying peace and safety because they’ve aligned themselves with AC. We can be prepared for the difficult time it is going to be for the believer BEFORE the Lord returns if we will heed the Lord's warnings and watch for the signs that He gives us in Mt. 24.
As for Rev. 3:10 I wrote about this in an earlier post. I understand this to be saying that the faithful will be protected during the great tribulation or that because we remain faithful to Him during the great tribulation proving we were His all along He will keep us from His day of the Lord's wrath which is going to come upon those who dwell upon the earth after the elect are gathered.
Thanks for visiting Overcomer. Our Savior is coming for both of us...Blessings to you Friend.
And as far as Him coming when we least expect it...don't forget what Paul says in 1 Th. 5:4: "But you, brethren, are not in darkness, that the day should overtake you like a thief...”
Paul is referring to the day of the Lord (1 Th. 5:2) which will come upon the unbeliever like a thief in the night. Just prior to that he spoke of the rapture.
That day will overtake those in spiritual darkness because they are not looking for the day of the Lord.
Peter instructs in 1 Pet. 3:12 that we should be “looking for and hastening the coming day of God…” He too says in 3:10 that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night…”
But it won’t come like a thief in the night for the believer who heeds the Lord’s instruction and warnings in Mt. 24!
I love hearing all sides and will meet you face to face in the near future!!
There are other sound theological reasons why the Church will be raptured before the End Times judgments begin. One is that the Lord seems to keep Israel and the Church separate, never dealing with both at the same time (Acts 15: 13-18) If the primary purpose of Daniel's 70th week is to finish fulfilling the six promises to Israel in Daniel 9:24, then the Church has to disappear.
Another is that the Church was purified at the cross at which time all the punishment due us was born by the Lord Himself. From that time forward the Church is considered by God to be as righteous as He is (2 Cor 5:17 & 21) The idea that the Church needs to undergo some discipline to become worthy to dwell with God is unscriptural and denies the Lord's completed work on the cross.
And third, the stated purpose of the Great Tribulation is twofold, to purify Israel and completely destroy the unbelieving nations. (Jeremiah 30:1-11) The Church isn't destined for either of these outcomes.
Friend,
Let me ask you, what do you do with Paul's usage of parousia and the Lord's use of parousia? It's staring at us squarely in the face.
We are positionally perfect in Christ if we have repented and trusted in Him as Lord and Savior. We need no further purification to make us fit for heaven as far as a right standing before God. The great tribulation will weed out those who are truly His and those who claimed to be His but really weren't.
Mt. 24:13: "The one who endures to the end, he shall be saved." This is not speaking of salvation in the sense from sin, but deliverance from the persecution of AC when Christ comes and the angels gather the elect. They endure because they are saved. The one who does not endure proved they did not belong to the Lord in the first place.
Daniel 9 is a prophecy for Israel. The first 483 years were a timeline specifically concerning the Jewish people however Gentiles were a part of the prophecy - Artaxerxes was the one who made the decree to rebuild the wall in 445 BC and Cyrus decreed the temple to be rebuilt in 538 BC. The final seven years are a specific timeline concerning the Jewish people - a firm covenant, in the middle the sacrifices stop and he makes desolate. But the church does not need to be gone to fulfill 9:24. Once the church is raptured at the end of the great tribulation, which is cut short! God will then go back to dealing directly with Israel for the remainder of the Week. Daniel 9:24 will be fulfilled. If you think about it, the Church and the Jewish sacrificial system/temple existed together until 70AD.
Your turn. =)
Friend,
You said you believe the best inference of Scripture is that the rapture will occur at the beginning of the tribulation. Paul said the rapture occurs at the event of the Lord's coming. The Lord tells us the event of His coming cuts short the great tribulation which places the rapture within Daniel's 70th Week, not at the beginning. There is no inference in these two passages. These are direct statements. That is what I meant by the usage of parousia in both what Paul taught and what Christ taught. Does the Scripture teach more than one second coming? I can't find it anywhere. There would have to be two second comings for the rapture to take place at the beginning of the tribulation since Paul says the rapture occurs at the coming of Christ and Christ places His coming sometime after the midpoint of D's 70th Week.
Readers might enjoy tripping on over to Googleville and putting in "Famous Rapture Watchers," "Pretrib Rapture Diehards," and "Revisers of Pretrib Rapture History" - which collectively can be regarded as Pretribulation Eschatology 101. If you have inclination, get the bestselling book "The Rapture Plot" (see Armageddon Books) - the greatest assemblage of documentation (ever) on the long covered up beginnings of the rapture view promoted by LaHaye, Lindsey, Hagee etc. You will lose some sleep but get a lot of smarts! Irv
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