Dear Bruce,
I just wanted to compliment you on your post "Parallels in the Bible
Redux." I enjoy insights into Biblical patterns, models and types – and
your insight into a "foot" pattern between the birth of a baby, the
statue in Daniel, and the end-time Church was a new one for me.
I personally do not think that there will be two Raptures of the
Church, however. I think that the Gentiles saved after the Rapture will
stay on the earth for the duration of the Tribulation. (Though, I do
think that there will be other translations; for example, the 144,000
Jews in Revelation 14:1-5; and the 2 Witnesses in Revelation 11:11-12.)
Whether you call these end-time believers the Church, Tribulation
Saints, etc., there will be believers on earth during the entire
Tribulation period. They are the ones who will be persecuted by the
Antichrist. "And the earth helped the woman,
and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the
dragon cast out of his mouth. And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ." Revelation 12:15-17.
I guess that the big question is whether the Church is complete at the
time of the (for you, first) Rapture. For me, it is. The Church is the
Bride. But there are also friends of the bridegroom (John 3:29),
virgin companions of the bride (Psalm 45:14; 1 Samuel 25:40-42 --
Abigail and 5 virgins), and guests (Matthew 22:11) that will
attend the Wedding when Christ returns to earth. (Please note that it
is plainly stated in Revelation 19:7 that the Wedding is not until after
the end of the Tribulation: "Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.") So there can be believers who are not the Church; believers who do not have the expectation of the Rapture.
I believe that the Holy Spirit is the guarantee that all of the
Church/Bride will be included in the Rapture:
"Now
it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed
us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as
a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come." 2 Corinthians 1:21-22.
"For
we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a
building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human
hands. Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed instead with our
heavenly dwelling, because when we are clothed, we will not be found
naked. For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened,
because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed instead with
our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. Now the one who has fashioned us for this very purpose is God, who has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come." 2 Corinthians 5:1-5.
" And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory." Ephesians 1:13-14.
As far as I am concerned, at the time of the Rapture of the Church, you
either have the Holy Spirit in you or you do not. You either have the
Guarantee or you do not. And there is no other deposit required for
redemption by Christ. But once it is done, it is done. I see no
Biblical patterns where people are granted a second chance of rescue after
God's judgment starts -- for example, in the Flood or in Sodom and
Gomorrah. Nobody got on the Ark after the door was shut. No one got
out of the cities after the fire and brimstone began to fall. And note
that the Tribulation is compared to both of these judgments – Matthew
24:37 and Luke 17:29-30.
Because we see different instances of translation/rapture in the Bible,
I do not think that we can just assume that Enoch and Elijah represent
the Church. But if they are prophetic types for the Church, then they
should resemble the Church or track events connected to the Church.
This is because the Bible compares prophetic types to shadows: “Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holy day, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.” Colossians 2:16-17.
An object will cast a shadow that has a similar shape to the object;
likewise, a prophetic pattern or type will resemble the shape of a
future event or person.
I agree with you that Enoch is a type for the Church and the Rapture. “And Enoch walked with God: and he was
not; for God took him.” Genesis 5:24. “By faith Enoch was translated
that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had
translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that
he pleased God.” Hebrews 11:5. So we know that Enoch was
translated before the Flood (a divine judgment) and based solely upon
his faith. Likewise, the Church walks by faith. It should also be
translated before divine judgment and based solely upon faith. “For we walk by faith, not by sight.” 2 Corinthians 5:7. “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” Hebrews 11:6.
But I contend that Elijah, on the other hand, is a type for Israel. In
his role as a prophet, Elijah announces to the evil King Ahab that rain
is going to be withheld in divine judgment. He then flees and is
miraculously fed by God during the ensuing famine. See 1 Kings 17.
Three years into the drought, Elijah prophesies to Ahab that God will
send rain. 1 Kings 18:1-2. Sometime thereafter, he is taken up into
heaven in a whirlwind. 2 Kings 2:1. So, in broad strokes, during a
period of judgment from God, Elijah flees from an evil ruler and is
miraculously cared for by God, and after that period of judgment, he is
taken up in a whirlwind.
Now compare the outline of the shadow of Elijah to the Woman of
Revelation 12. That passage takes place during the last half of the
Tribulation – a time of God’s wrath. The Woman flees from the Dragon
into the desert and is miraculously cared for by God. Not only is she
in the desert, but she is there during a time of famine. Furthermore,
Scripture expressly tells us what will happen to her at the end of the
Tribulation: “Immediately after the tribulation
of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give
her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the
heavens shall be shaken: And then shall appear the sign of the Son of
man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and
they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power
and great glory. And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a
trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.” Matthew 24:29-31. So, she will be gathered from the four winds – like Elijah's whirlwind.
The Woman who flees from the Dragon in Revelation 12 is described as
being “clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of
twelve stars on her head.” In Genesis 37:9-11, Joseph dreams about the
sun, moon and eleven stars bowing down to him. His father Jacob – also
known as Israel – interprets this to mean him, Joseph’s mother and
eleven brothers. So the woman can be identified as the nation of
Israel.
Finally, in connection with your comment about the Garden of Eden,
there is a book that also makes an interesting comparison between Eden
and Jerusalem. It is called The Rod of an Almond Tree in God's Master Plan
by Peter A. Michas. I don't agree with everything that the author has
to say, but it is rich in Biblical patterns. I think that you would
like it. I did a search on the author and discovered that he has posted
most the book on his ministry's website: http://messengers-of-messiah.org/
(Caveat: I can only vouch for the book and not the content of the
website itself. It is new to me and I have not had the chance to check
it out.)
God bless you in your studies.
– Lisa Taylor