Cinda
Godfrey (5 June 2004)
"A Closer Look at 1 Thessalonians
4:16"
Hello John and Doves,
I have been following the Planet X story very closely
since last Summer and this thing is for real. It is the "great red
dragon" of Revelation 12. Only a large planetary body entering our
solar system and interfering with Earth's magnetic field could cause all
the climate changes and erratic weather the world is experiencing right
now. It is also dragging meteors and space debris along with it and
we are beginning to see the impacts already. It is now starting to
become crystal clear that our Rapture is going to coincide with some type
of major global disaster. Understanding that fact prompted me to
take a closer look at the translation of 1 Thessalonians 4:16, the famous
Rapture passage.
We all know the passage, but for reference, here it is
again:
"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."
God seems to work very much in the "natural" and with
natural laws. So, it's always baffled me about the graves opening
and the dead rising into the air just before the Bride is taken.
Maybe, just maybe, that's not how it's going to work. Hear me out.
If the Rapture coincides with a natural disaster, whether
it be Planet X, asteroid impacts, Yellowstone exploding or whatever, then
the "dead rising first" could mean that thousands or millions are killed
at the moment of calamity.
So, I went to my Concordance and looked up the other
translations of some key words in 1 Thess 4:16 and BINGO!!!!
Here's another way it can be translated:
"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 who are alive and survive (remain) shall
be caught up at the same time (together) with them in the clouds to meet
the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord."
In the Greek, the word "remain" can mean "survive" and
the word "together" can mean "at the same time".
Sounds to me that when these disasters hit, some of us
will be killed instantly and the Lord will Rapture those saints who aren't
killed simultaneously. Either way, we will be with Jesus and likely
won't know what hit us.
The other curious passage which is now making sense is
Song of Solomon 2:14. "Oh my dove, that art in the clefts of the
rock, in the secret places of the stairs, let me see thy countenance......"
etc. Noah had a seven-day warning and it is likely that we will also
have a seven- day warning about the coming disasters. If we are suddenly
informed (at the very last minute) of an asteroid impact by national news,
we are going to be told to take cover immediately (as with a tornado warning).
With huge hailstones and space rocks about to pummel the planet, we will
be told to hide in caves, rocks, basements under stairs - anywhere to avoid
being hit. Now Song of Solomon makes sense. When Jesus comes
back for his beloved Bride, she is found hiding under stairs and in the
clefts of the rocks. Better stock up on food and water for a seven-day
period as we await our Lord's return. It can't be long now.