THE GREAT TRIBULATION AND THE RAPTURE : PART 5
Copyright 1994 - 2008 Endtime Prophecy Org
Last Updated : July 23, 2006
First Resurrection, Battle Of Gog And Magog, Demise Of The
Ungodly Trio, the Second Resurrection, Great White Throne
Judgment, The Lake Of Fire, Method Of Scriptural Research,
Judgment Seat Of Christ, Post-Armageddon Judgment, Proper
Timeframe Of Paul's Words, Two Raptures?, All One In Christ,
Dead In Christ Rise First, Respect Of Persons, Body Change!
Thus far, we have seen how the term 'not appointed to wrath'
cannot be applied to the Saints not being persecuted by the
Beast during the Great Tribulation, for indeed they shall be
as I have clearly shown through a preponderance of Biblical
evidence. In like manner, we have also seen how the Lord can
still pour out His Wrath upon the wicked, without the need
to remove His Saints from the world via a Rapture. This
would indeed fit not being appointed to Wrath; however, as
with the first possibility, it cannot be successfully used to
support a Pre-Tribulation Rapture, as the Lord can still pour
out the Vials of Wrath, while protecting His Children from
the same.
Another possible way to apply the phrase 'not appointed to
wrath', is to suggest that it might be referring to the
final Wrath of God against the living at the time of the
Battle of God and Magog, found in the twentieth chapter of
the Book of Revelation. Obviously, this cannot possibly be
referring to the Saints being caught up to Heaven in a
Pre-Tribulation Rapture, because as the following verses
make clear, we will all have been resurrected and raptured
one thousand years earlier during the First Resurrection of
the dead at the time of Christ's Second Coming. We will be
delving into this topic in just a moment. I also discuss it
in other Endtime articles such as 'From Armageddon To The
New Earth':
"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 worshipped 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. But the rest of the dead lived not again
until the thousand years were finished. This is the first
resurrection." (Revelation 20:4-5)
"And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be
loosed out of his prison, And shall go out to deceive the
nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and
Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom
is as the sand of the sea. And they went up on the breadth
of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about,
and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of
heaven, and devoured them." (Revelation 20:7-9)
You will notice that I have divided the previous verses into
two sections. This is to emphasize the fact that the events
in the second set of verses occur one thousand years later;
and that as such, while the Battle of Gog and Magog indeed
represents God's final Wrath upon wicked men remaining on
Earth, there is absolutely no way to associate it with the
events which transpire one thousand years before. This only
leaves us with one possible way in which we can apply the
phrase 'not appointed to wrath', and as with the previous
example of the Battle of Gog and Magog, it has absolutely
nothing to do with being raptured before, or even during,
the period known as the Great Tribulation. As I will now
conclusively prove, not being appointed to Wrath is directly
related to the Lake of Fire, which as we know, is reserved
for the totally incorrigibles, as is described by the
Apostle John in the following verses:
"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.
And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from
whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was
found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and
great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and
another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the
dead were judged out of those things which were written in
the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the
dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the
dead which were in them: and they were judged every man
according to their works. And death and hell were cast into
the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever
was not found written in the book of life was cast into the
lake of fire." (Revelation 20:10-15)
As we have already seen, by the time all of these events
occur, all of the Lord's saved children will have been
resurrected over a thousand years before. Likewise, the
Beast and the False Prophet will have been in the Lake of
Fire for one thousand years, as is described in the final
verses of Revelation chapter nineteen:
"And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet
that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived
them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that
worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake
of fire burning with brimstone. And the remnant were slain
with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword
proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled
with their flesh." (Revelation 19:20-21)
Clearly then, there will be absolutely no need for the
rapture of the Saints at the time of the Battle of Gog and
Magog, followed by the Great White Throne Judgment, for it
will have already occurred one thousand years before. Not
only that, but as the previous verses demonstrate, after the
Battle of God and Magog, that old serpent Satan will also be
cast into the Lake of Fire. The Great White Throne Judgment
will be preceded by one final resurrection, in which all of
the remaining dead on the Earth will be raised and judged
according to their works. Those whose names are not found
written in the Lamb's Book of Life, will face the Wrath of
God in the Lake of Fire. For me personally, it is absolutely
clear that destruction in the Lake of Fire is the Wrath to
which the Apostle Paul was referring when he said that we
the Saints are not appointed to wrath; but, as you may be
beginning to see, that Wrath does not begin at the Great
White Throne Judgment.
For those who require that I leave no stone unturned, I have
taken the long route in order to prove that the Lake of Fire
can be the only Wrath to which Paul was referring; however,
for those of you who have the faith to believe without such
a preponderance of Scriptural evidence, there is actually a
much shorter Biblical route which one can take in order to
arrive at the same sound conclusion. As my readers know, I
strictly adhere to the practice of comparing Scripture with
Scripture. I've stated before that in trying to understand a
verse, we should first look for other verses in the same
chapter which might serve to open up our understanding. If
an answer cannot be found there, then we should examine
other chapters of the same book. If that still does not
reveal the truth to us, then we simply need to expand our
investigation to include other books of the Bible as well.
In this particular case, I think you will be amazed by how
easy it is to arrive at the same conclusion regarding the
phrase 'not appointed to wrath', simply by studying the
writings of the Apostle Paul. It only makes sense that in
some other place in his Epistles, he must have written
something which would be associated with that phrase, and
which would thus help us to move in the right direction in
our understanding of what he meant. As happens on quite a
few occasions, because I hungered after the truth regarding
this matter, I believe that the Lord has been faithful to
reward me with the answer. As I pondered the phrase 'not
appointed to wrath', the Lord, by His Holy Spirit, quickened
another verse to my mind which I first learned many years
ago. When this verse came to me, I was simply amazed by the
similarity between these two verses, and how they really do
fit together like a hand in a glove. Here they are side by
side for your consideration:
"And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this
the judgment:" (Hebrews 9:27)
"For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain
salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ," (1 Thessalonians 5:9)
Notice that in both verses, Paul talks about being appointed
to something. In the first verse, he talks about how all men
are appointed to die, and then must face judgment. It should
be obvious that Paul is referring to the Judgment Seat of
Christ. As we have already seen, with the majority of the
unsaved, this judgment will occur during the Great White
Throne Judgment; however, as we have also already seen, this
will not be the first time that the Lord judges the wicked.
Remember again the words of the Apostle John who wrote 'And
I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was
given unto them'. To clarify this vital point for you even
further, consider some of the other things that Paul said
regarding this issue of judgment, and how it will be carried
out:
"For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ;
that every one may receive the things done in his body,
according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad."
(2 Corinthians 5:10)
"For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the
knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice
for sins, But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and
fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries...It
is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living
God...For our God is a consuming fire."
(Hebrews 10:26-27, 31, 12:29)
Notice how Paul very clearly associates this judgment with
the fiery Wrath of God 'which shall devour the adversaries'.
When Jesus begins to judge the world, and we with Him, this
judgment will include the fiery destruction of the wicked;
and it will begin the minute the Lord wins the Battle of
Armageddon. It is at that time, and not one thousand years
later, that the Lake of Fire, the final Wrath of God, first
comes into play. As I point out in the article 'Hell And The
Lake Of Fire', Jesus Himself referred to this fiery judgment
in the Lake of Fire many times during His Ministry, such as
in the following verse:
"And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to
kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy
both soul and body in hell." (Matthew 10:28)
As I explain in the aforementioned article, in this case the
word 'hell' is referring to the Lake of Fire, and is derived
from the Greek 'geenna' or 'Gehenna of fire', which was the
Greek name applied to the valley of Hinnom, located to the
south of Jerusalem, where the Israelites burned their trash,
sacrificed their children on the fiery altars of the false
god Molech, and burned the bodies of dead livestock and
criminals. Jesus was using this valley as a stern warning to
the rebellious Jews of what the Lake of Fire would be like
for those who rejected Him and His message of Salvation.
Now remember, concerning this fiery indignation of God, Paul
used the words 'which shall devour the adversaries'. That is
very important when we consider what he said in that second
verse above about not being appointed to Wrath. If we read
just a few verses earlier in the fifth chapter of his first
Epistle to the Thessalonians where that verse is found, we
see that Paul is talking about the sudden Second Coming of
Christ, and the fiery Wrath of God which will befall wicked
men upon their dismal defeat at the Battle of Armageddon. In
other words, in those verses, the sudden destruction to
which Paul is referring, is the Lake of Fire, in which the
Lord 'shall devour the adversaries'. Consider exactly what
Paul wrote, keeping in mind that it is only six verses later
that he says that we are not appointed to this Wrath:
"But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need
that I write unto you. For yourselves know perfectly that
the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. For
when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden
destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with
child; and they shall not escape."
(1 Thessalonians 5:1-3)
This firmly places this sudden destruction, or Wrath as he
calls it in verse nine, precisely at the time of Christ's
Arrival, and not before. As soon as the Battle of Armageddon
has been won, and as soon as Christ, and we, have sat upon
our Earthly thrones in order to begin judging the world, one
of the very first things that the Lord is going to do, is to
'devour the adversaries' in the Lake of Fire. Here again are
the verses I shared with you earlier which prove this point
beyond a shadow of a doubt:
"And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet
that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived
them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that
worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake
of fire burning with brimstone. And the remnant were slain
with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword
proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled
with their flesh." (Revelation 19:20-21)
Do you see how clear it all becomes when we put things in
their proper context and stop trying to twist the Scriptures
in order to fit our own interpretation? This is the fiery
indignation, the sudden destruction, and the Wrath of God
which the Beast and the False Prophet will face at Christ's
sudden Return, when these evil rulers least expect it; and
those who follow them into battle will face similar sudden
destruction. This is the Wrath to which we the Believers are
not appointed; because at that time, we will all be given
Thrones, upon which we will judge the world with Christ! It
should now be very clear to you that not being appointed to
Wrath has absolutely nothing to do with escaping the wrath
of the Beast, or even the Wrath of God, during the Great
Tribulation through a Pre-Tribulation Rapture. The people
who make such claims have totally misunderstand the exact
timeframe of the events Paul is describing in his Epistle to
the Thessalonians. They are trying to push this Wrath back
in time to during the Great Tribulation, when this is
definitely not the case whatsoever.
As I point out in the article 'From Armageddon To The New
Earth, while the Millennium will be a time of judgment and
strict rule by the Lord and His children, as we saw earlier,
this will not be the major judgment of the world. That will
not occur until a thousand years later at the Great White
Throne Judgment. We will further discuss this strict rule in
just a moment. As we have already seen, just as the Beast,
the False Prophet and their deluded followers will face very
certain fiery indignation, sudden destruction and Wrath at
Christ's Coming, the very same fate awaits Satan, and the
unsaved dead at the final Judgment mentioned by the Apostle
Paul earlier. Allow me to share those verses from the Book
of Revelation one more time to refresh your memory:
"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.
And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from
whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was
found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and
great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and
another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the
dead were judged out of those things which were written in
the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the
dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the
dead which were in them: and they were judged every man
according to their works. And death and hell were cast into
the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever
was not found written in the book of life was cast into the
lake of fire." (Revelation 20:10-15)
Based upon all of this Scriptural evidence, I am personally
convinced that not being appointed to Wrath has absolutely
nothing to do with a Pre-Tribulation Rapture, or even with a
Mid-Tribulation Rapture, in order to escape the Wrath of God
upon the wicked. Neither does it have anything to do with
escaping the wrath of the Islamic Beast. Not being appointed
to Wrath is referring to the final and worst Wrath of all;
that is, the Lake of Fire, experienced by some at Christ's
Second Coming, and experienced by the vast majority at the
Great White Throne Judgment one thousand years later.
Contrary to the Biblical evidence I have provided thus far,
I have learned that there are some Pre-Tribulation Rapture
theorists who are expecting not one, but rather two raptures
to occur. According to this view, the first rapture is due
to occur just before the beginning of the Last Seven Years;
which as I stated earlier, Pre-Tribulation Rapture theorists
view as comprising the entire Great Tribulation period. They
suggest that this first rapture will include all of the New
Testament Saints; that is, everyone who has lived and died
believing in Jesus over the past two thousand years. This
includes Jews and Gentile Believers alike, since there is no
difference, and we are all one in Christ Jesus, as per the
following verses from the various Epistles of the Apostle
Paul:
"For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek:
for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon
him." (Romans 10:12)
"There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor
free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one
in Christ Jesus." (Galatians 3:28)
"Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor
uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but
Christ is all, and in all." (Colossians 3:11)
As if the idea of two separate raptures occurring isn't
already confusing enough, the proponents of this theory go
on to state that this first rapture will not include all of
the Old Testament Saints. They claim that the Old Testament
Saints, as well as those Endtime Saints who die during the
Great Tribulation, will be resurrected either right at the
Lord's Second Coming, that is, right at the end of the Last
Seven Years, or else during the seventy-five day period
which follows the Last Seven Years, which I described for
you in part four of this series. This is apparently what
they are referring to when they talk about a second rapture.
To support the idea of a second resurrection and rapture,
these people point to the following verse which I shared
ealier:
"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 worshipped 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." (Revelation 20:4)
According to this belief, being as all of the New Testament
Christians will already have been resurrected seven years
earlier in order to participate in the first rapture, I can
only assume that this second resurrection and rapture will
include people who actually become Christians during the
Great Tribulation period. The reason I find it so difficult
to accept this point of view, is because, as we have already
seen, in the very next verse, not only does John refer to
this as the First Resurrection, but he also clearly places
it after the Battle of Armageddon during which the Beast and
the False Prophet are cast into the Lake of Fire, and their
armies slain and devoured by the fowls of the air. This is
exactly where this First Resurrection should be:
"But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand
years were finished. This is the first resurrection."
(Revelation 20:5)
Please notice that John is not saying that the resurrection
which occurs a thousand years later after Armageddon is the
First Resurrection. That last sentence 'This is the first
resurrection' is referring back to what he said in verse
four regarding the Saints being resurrected and raptured in
order to reign with Christ for a thousand years during the
Millennium. If John is saying this is the First Resurrection
at the end of the Great Tribulation, we can only wonder how
the Pre-Tribulation Rapture theorists justify the one which
they insist will occur just prior to the beginning of the
Great Tribulation seven years before. Please don't forget;
these people believe that the Great Tribulation will last
for the entire Last Seven Years, and not just the final
three and a half years as I have already explained.
Obviously, first means first; and John clearly states that
the Resurrection and Rapture which occurs at Christ's Return
is the first. There is absolutely no way to circumvent this
belief. This is not the only fatal flaw in the two raptures
theory. We have already seen that there is no distinction
between Jew and Gentile Christians. According to the Apostle
Paul, we will all be resurrected and raptured at the same
time. First will be those who have died in Christ, to be
followed by those who are still alive at His Coming. Allow
me to remind you of the verses I shared in part one from
Paul's first Epistle to the Thessalonians:
"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: 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." (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17)
Here we have a clear picture of the Lord descending from the
Heavenlies as the Elect rises from the Earth to meet Him in
the air; exactly as the Lord Himself described it for us in
Matthew chapter twenty-four. Notice that Paul says that 'the
dead in Christ shall rise first'. The dead are the dead, and
we are all one in Christ Jesus. Paul does not make any kind
of a distinction between a dead Old Testament believing Jew,
a dead Old Testament believing Gentile, a New Testament
believing Jew, or a New Testament believing Gentile. If one
is dead in Christ, he is dead in Christ. The only difference
is that while the pre-Christian era believers looked forward
in faith to Jesus' coming Sacrifice, those of us born in the
Christian era look back in faith to the same. We are all of
the same seed of faith. There is absolutely no distinction.
Therefore, instead of adding our own private interpretation
to these verses found in Paul's first Epistle to the church
at Thessalonica, in order to support our pet theories, why
don't we just accept them for what they really say? These
people who say New Testament Christians will be resurrected
seven years ahead of dead Old Testament believing Jews are
totally contradicting the Scriptures. They are creating an
erroneous doctrine through a twisting of the Scriptures.
Jesus Christ Himself never once mentioned two raptures in
any of His Endtime sermons, and neither did the Apostle Paul
or anyone else. If such a thing were true, doesn't it seem
likely that the Lord would want us to know about it? Doesn't
it seem to you that this would be an important piece of
information which would be useful to us in the Endtime? That
being the case, why then didn't Jesus mention it in any of
His Endtime sermons? He clearly tells us that His Angels
will gather the Elect one time at His Coming, and not twice
as these people would have us to believe.
If you still doubt that all dead New Testament Christians
and Old Testament Believers will be raised together at the
very same time, when Christ returns at the end of the Great
Tribulation, before those of us who may still be alive at
that time, then consider what the Apostle Paul writes in the
following verse which comes right before the two I have just
quoted:
"For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we
which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall
not prevent them which are asleep." (1 Thessalonians 4:15)
For those of you who may not be familiar with Elizabethan
English, that word 'prevent' simply means to come before, to
precede, to go before. It is derived from the Greek word
'phthano'. Notice also that Paul is saying that he received
this revelation straight from the Lord. This isn't just some
strange new doctrine he made up; he received it 'by the word
of the Lord'. Jesus Himself revealed this truth to Paul, for
as Paul wrote in another place:
"But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was
preached of me is not after man. For I neither received it
of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of
Jesus Christ." (Galatians 1:11-12)
Therefore, when Paul tells us that the dead in Christ shall
rise first three times, it is obvious that we should accept
his word as being true. If there was a distinction between
Old Testament Jews and New Testament Believers, why didn't
the Lord tell Paul to inform us of this? Why didn't John
clearly tell us the same; or perhaps Peter? In my mind, the
answer is rather obvious and quite simple; because such a
difference is non-existant except in the minds of those who
wish to escape the suffering of the Great Tribulation, by
means of a Pre-Tribulation Rapture. They want to pre-empt
everyone, including the Old Testament Saints; but again, it
is a false doctrine based upon a nebulous understanding of
the Scriptures.
To insert a resurrection and a rapture before the Last Seven
Years begins, is making three resurrections; in fact four,
if you include the one mentioned in the Gospel of Matthew.
These people who hold to this doctrine claim to believe that
there is no difference between Gentile and Jewish Believers,
but then they turn around and totally contradict themselves
by saying that there is in fact a difference because the Old
Testament Believers had to look forward in faith to Christ's
Crucifixion on the Cross. Why does that make them any less
worthy than us, so that they have to wait until seven years
later before they too are resurrected and raptured? Don't
the Scriptures plainly tell us that God is no respector of
persons? Please consider the following verses:
"Wherefore now let the fear of the LORD be upon you; take
heed and do it: for there is no iniquity with the LORD our
God, nor respect of persons, nor taking of gifts."
(2 Chronicles 19:7)
"These things also belong to the wise. It is not good to
have respect of persons in judgment." (Proverbs 24:23)
"To have respect of persons is not good: for for a piece of
bread that man will transgress." (Proverbs 28:21)
"Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I
perceive that God is no respecter of persons:"
(Acts 10:34)
"For there is no respect of persons with God." (Romans 2:11)
"And, ye masters, do the same things unto them, forbearing
threatening: knowing that your Master also is in heaven;
neither is there respect of persons with him."
(Ephesians 6:9)
"But he that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which
he hath done: and there is no respect of persons."
(Colossians 3:25)
"And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of
persons judgeth according to every man's work, pass the time
of your sojourning here in fear:" (1 Peter 1:17)
As you have probably understood from the previous verses,
when the Bible talks about having no respect of persons,
what that means is that we should treat others with the same
impartiality as our Heavenly Father treats us. The Apostle
James makes this point very clear in the following verses:
"My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ,
the Lord of glory, with respect of persons. For if there
come unto your assembly a man with a gold ring, in goodly
apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment;
And ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing,
and say unto him, Sit thou here in a good place; and say to
the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool:
Are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges
of evil thoughts? Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God
chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of
the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him?
But ye have despised the poor. Do not rich men oppress you,
and draw you before the judgment seats? Do not they
blaspheme that worthy name by the which ye are called? If ye
fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt
love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well: But if ye have
respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the
law as transgressors." (James 2:1-9)
It seems to me that the idea of saying that the Believers of
the Old Testament must wait until the end of the Last Seven
Years for their resurrection, shows a lack of respect, or
honour, for those Old Testament Patriarchs. Showing honour,
and being impartial in our views, are not necessarily the
same thing. As I point out in other articles, physical time
on Earth does not affect the Lord; because He lives outside
of it in the Eternal Now, where past, present and future are
all blended together as one. In God's eyes, those people
were saved already, because they looked forward in faith;
even if Jesus hadn't been physically born or died on the
Cross yet. They are just as much of the seed of faith as we
are, and deserve to be resurrected at the same time as we
New Testament Believers, exactly as Paul says they will be.
Sadly, this is not the end of the confusion which surrounds
the Pre-Tribulation Rapture theory. To make matters even
more difficult to understand, it appears that some of the
Pre-Tribulation Rapture theorists hold to the belief that
those Christian Believers who are still alive at the end of
the Great Tribulation, when Christ returns, will continue
their existences in their natural bodies right into the
Millennium; and not only that, but they will have children
as well. Again, this is in total contradiction to everything
we have examined thus far. All of the verses I have shared
clearly show that when Jesus returns, the dead in Christ
will be resurrected, changed and raptured; and then we who
are still alive will likewise be miraculously changed and
raptured, in order to meet the Lord in the air. As we have
already seen, this wonderful event will occur at the sound
of the Seventh Trump. Allow me to once again share with you
some of the inspiring verses which prove this point:
"For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be
conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the
firstborn among many brethren." (Romans 8:29)
"And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also
bear the image of the heavenly. Now this I say, brethren,
that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God;
neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I shew
you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be
changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the
last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall
be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed."
(1 Corinthians 15:49-52)
"For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle
were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made
with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this we groan,
earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which
is from heaven: If so be that being clothed we shall not be
found naked. For we that are in this tabernacle do groan,
being burdened: not for that we would be unclothed, but
clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life."
(2 Corinthians 5:1-4)
"For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look
for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall change our
vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious
body, according to the working whereby he is able even to
subdue all things unto himself." (Philippians 3:20-21)
"Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet
appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall
appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he
is." (1 John 3:2)
There should be no doubt about it whatsoever. None of those
verses indicate in any way that the Believers will remain in
their natural bodies, whether they are dead or alive, at the
time of Christ's Second Coming, following the period known
as the Great Tribulation. Every single one of us is going to
be miraculously transformed together; first the dead Saints,
and then those of us who are still alive! It will be the
most wonderful event of our entire Earthly lives as we rise
in the air in order to join the Saints of ages gone by of
whom we have only read, as well as our departed relatives
who have died in Christ, and of course the Lord Himself and
His Angelic Host, in the clouds of Heaven.
In the final part of this series, we will continue our
discussion of the Great Tribulation and the Rapture, by
taking a look at the fate of those who survive the Battle of
Armageddon and live into the Millennium. This will include
additional comments on Christ's rule with a Rod of Iron,
Millennial backsliders, the final rebellion at the Battle of
Gog and Magog, John's 'Come up hither', female symbolism in
the Bible, uniformity in interpretation, the Right Hand of
God, the 'caught up' experience, the Mystery of God and the
Seventh Trump, and Jesus' indisputable words in Matthew
chapter twenty-four. I trust that you will join me.
[ Click Me ] Go To Part Six . . .