Greetings
Doves,
I
don't see how the scriptures you mentioned disprove a pretribulation rapture
of the Church at all. In fact every scripture I've found about His
"Appearing" is one of joy and reward, the great hope of the Church.
Here are a few:
Tts 2:13
Looking for that blessed hope,
and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;
| 1Th
4:14 |
For
if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even
so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring WITH
him. |
| Col
3:4 |
When
Christ, [who is] our life, shall appear, then
shall YE ALSO appear with him in glory. |
2Ti 1:10
But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished
death, and hath brought life and immortality to light
through the gospel:
| Rev
4:1 |
After
this I looked, and, behold, a door [was] opened in heaven: and
the first voice which I heard [was] as it were of a trumpet talking with
me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter. |
| Rev
4:10 |
The
four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne, and
worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and
cast their crowns before the throne, saying, |
I
feel there is a difference in the tone of the scriptures between His appearing
(as in the clouds where we are gathered together with Him?) and the great
and terrible Day of the Lord when He reveals Himself to the world.
The rapture of the church is a "hidden day," that He never meant explained,
just hinted at because of all the generations of man that it would not apply
to--only the generation after Israel was re-established in her land--in
the end days.
In
my opinion, when we are told to be comforted by the appearing of the
Lord, it would only make sense in the pre-tribulation view.
Naturally, the dead in Christ rise first, but these
verses tell us they shall appear WITH him!
If
therefore, the Day of the Lord is a dark day of judgment upon
the wicked, I've never understood WHY anyone that's part of the Church should
look forward to that day...in fact there is a warning about desiring
to see it...
As
you read the scriptures of the "Day of the Lord" ask yourself, is this the
day we are told to look forward to; to comfort one another with THESE words?
The
Day of the Lord is a fearsome day for sure.
Amos 5:18
Woe unto you that desire the
day of the LORD! to what end
[is] it for you? the day of the LORD [is] darkness,
and not light.
Isa 2:12
For the day of the LORD of hosts [shall
be] upon every [one that is] proud and lofty,
and upon every [one that is] lifted up; and he shall
be brought low:
Isa 13:6
Howl ye; for the day of the
LORD [is] at hand; it
shall come as a destruction from the Almighty.
Isa 13:9
Behold, the day of the LORD cometh,
cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the
land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof
out of it.
Jer 46:10
For this [is] the day of the Lord GOD of hosts,
a day of vengeance, that he may avenge him
of his adversaries: and the sword shall devour, and it shall be satiate
and made drunk with their blood: for the Lord GOD of hosts hath a sacrifice
in the north country by the river Euphrates.
Eze 13:5
Ye have not gone up into the gaps, neither made up the hedge for
the house of Israel to stand in the battle in the day
of the LORD.
Eze 30:3
For the day [is] near, even the day of the
LORD [is] near, a cloudy day; it shall
be the time of the heathen.
Joe 1:15
Alas for the day! for the day of the LORD
[is] at hand, and as a destruction from the
Almighty shall it come.
Joe 2:1
Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my
holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of
the land tremble: for the day of
the LORD cometh, for [it is] nigh at hand;
Joe 2:11
And the LORD shall utter his voice before his army: for his camp [is]
very great: for [he is] strong that executeth his word: for the day of the
LORD [is] great and very terrible; and
who can abide it?
Joe 2:31
The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before
the great and the terrible day
of the LORD come.
Joe 3:14
Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for
the day of the LORD [is] near in the
valley of decision.
Amo 5:20
[Shall] not the day of the LORD [be]
darkness, and not light? even
very dark, and no brightness in it?
Oba 1:15
For the day of the LORD [is] near
upon all the heathen: as thou hast done, it shall
be done unto thee: thy reward shall return upon thine own head.
Zep 1:7
Hold thy peace at the presence of the Lord GOD: for the day
of the LORD [is] at hand: for the LORD hath prepared a sacrifice,
he hath bid his guests.
Zep 1:14
The great day of the LORD [is] near, [it is]
near, and hasteth greatly, [even] the voice of the day
of the LORD: the mighty man shall cry there bitterly.
Zep 2:2
Before the decree bring forth, [before] the day pass as the chaff, before
the fierce anger of the LORD
come upon you, before the day
of the LORD'S anger come upon you.
Zep 2:3
Seek ye the LORD, all ye meek of the earth, which have wrought his judgment; seek righteousness,
seek meekness: it may be ye shall be hid in the day of
the LORD'S anger.
Zec 14:1
Behold, the day of the LORD cometh,
and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee.
Mal 4:5
Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the
great and dreadful day of the LORD:
Act 2:20
The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before
that great and notable day of the Lord come:
1Th 5:2
For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the
Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.
2Pe 3:10
But the day of the Lord will come
as a thief in the night; in the which the
heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt
with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall
be burned up.
SEALED UP--:
Dan 9:24
Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and
upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of
sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting
righteousness, and to seal up
the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.
Rev 10:4
And when the seven thunders had uttered their voices, I was about to write:
and I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Seal
up those things which the seven thunders uttered, and
write them not.
Dan 12:4 But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and
seal the book, [even] to the time of
the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.
I
will close by saying that none of us has been taken up to Heaven, had
a lengthy Q & A session with Almighty God, and come back with any
answers to share with our brothers and sisters in Christ regarding His
plan to rapture His bride. Oh that we could! All we can
do is read and study God's Word and try to discern what He has planned
for this hidden time (Daniel's vision for the Jews and Jerusalem)
that is SEALED UP for the future, and where we all fit in.
We theorize based on what He has told us so far, but there may be tons
more to it that is sealed that we could never imagine! My prayer
is that despite what rapture view we each take that it not divide
the Body of Christ while we are here. That, I know is not His will
for us. Whatever His plan is for the rapture of His Bride and His
Revelation to the world, I have the comfort of knowing it is AWESOME and
perfect as always and HE is in control of all things. We are not
to fear but have faith in Him. Perhaps we have different roles to
play in His end time consummation of things. I feel we are to intercede
for the Jews and the peace of Jerusalem, and bring as many as possible
into His glorious Kingdom. And boy do we (Jews and Christians) need
a righteous King! This world is imploding all around us, good is
bad and bad is now good. I can't even read any Jerusalem newspapers
anymore without crying and beseeching God on their behalf. But,
while the world's gone nuts and is morphing into pure evil and insanity,
we have our great hope! Never give up; Never give in! Pray
without ceasing!
Christmas
Blessing to All,
Kay