Hi John.....You are such a great moderator of so many opinions.  Reading all the letters every day gives me so many emotions....laughter, sadness, awe, inspiration, frustration, etc.  But the greatest thing your site does is cause people to think as well as communicate.  We are such a mixture of Christians...."milk drinkers" and "meat eaters".....and it becomes a kind of responsibility in order to NOT mislead those who might be susceptible to error. I remember being a new member of the "body"....and I thought all the information I needed to know would flood in the minute I "accepted Jesus as my Saviour".....unfortunately, it didn't work that way.  Soon enough, I found out I had to get my "shovel" out and do some heaving digging into scripture to get out the nuggets that God left us.  I thank God for Marilyn Agee, as she did a lot of the digging for me....she is some wonderful lady who is well-blessed by our Lord Je! sus.  I remember her talking about Job 11:6..."the secrets of wisdom that they are double to that which is!"  And the secrets came pouring forth for me.....thank you Marilyn!!

I think if I had to tell one thing to clarify prophecy, it would be to talk of what our Lord taught on a great deal......the "Harvest"!!  So, understanding that the harvest is at the end of the age is the clue to who will be raptured and when.  This link helps to explain how the parts of the harvest describe the harvest(s) of God's people:

http://www.loafofbarley.com/clue6ruthboaz.htm

Briefly:  There are three parts to the harvest.....the barley, the wheat, and the grapes.  Each in its own order.

The "barley" is winnowed by throwing it into the air...it requires no beating of the grain.  This is the first harve! st and indicates the "bride" at Firstfruits.

The "wheat" is the main crop, and it is harvested by going through a "tribulum", or by being beaten to separate the grain from the chaff (or whatever they call it)....this is harvested at the time of Pentecost.  This main harvest indicates the "body of Christ" that was not part of the "bride"....the Laodicean church and new believers.

[Both the barley and the wheat harvests contain both Gentiles and Jews who become believers on the Lord Jesus Christ and His salvation.]

The "grape" harvest is the remaining unbelievers who are reaped after both the barley and the wheat have already been harvested....usually in the Fall.  The grapes must be crushed and pressed until the juices run.  Most people refer to this as the "grapes of wrath"...

Concerning the Tribulation of 3 1/2 years, which is the last part of Daniel's 70th week, this is likened to the harvests.  The "barley" or "bride" needs! no "tribulum" to be harvested, so it is caught up right at the beginni! ng (Rev. 12..."man-child").  The wheat goes through the tribulum for the 1260 days and is then caught up to be with the "barley".  The "barley" is the "bride", and the "wheat" is the wedding party going to the wedding supper.  The grapes are those who refuse salvation and must be subjected to the "wine press" of God's wrath.

Perhaps looking at the harvest this way will make it clearer when the rapture(s) occur.....I saw it this way, so maybe others will as well...

YsiC,

Arlene