Dear Doves,
While we all are entitled to our own opinions, I personally do not believe that the Bride of Christ will have to endure ANY of God’s wrath or ANY of the Tribulation Period or ANY of the Anti-Christ’s persecution, all of which will commence shortly AFTER the Rapture / Sudden Destruction. If it wasn’t this way, what kind of “Blessed Hope” would it be?
Indeed, I believe strongly that what the Lord told Jason C. in the spirit confirmed this. In Jason’s post from yesterday (http://www.fivedoves.com/letters/feb2012/jasonc222.htm), Jason indicated that the following worry:
“I have always held the pre-trib rapture position. But, lately Bruce Warner’s posts have been making me question this. Last night while I was praying, I asked the lord to please confirm for me if the rapture would be pre, mid or post tribulation. Almost immediately I heard in the spirit “THE DEAD IN CHRIST SHALL RISE FIRST”. I have been meditating on this all morning trying to understand what this means. I have a strong feeling that the lord wants me to post this. Please reply if this means anything to any of you.”
As always, let us please the Lord by looking to the Bible for a specific answer to Jason’s question:
1 Thessalonians 4:16-17: “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.”
The underlined portion above is the EXACT words that the spirit gave Jason. He is specifically telling us that the next step on the prophetic horizon is the dead in Christ rising in the Rapture. However, the question then becomes, just how long will the “THEN” in 1 Thesselanians take to arrives, wherein we who are alive are “THEN” caught up?
Again, let us look to Scripture for the answer. 1 Corinthians 15:52 gives us a VERY CLEAR answer to this timing issue:
1 Corinthians 15:52: “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.”
Do you notice it says “AND we shall be changed”!! It is at the EXACT same time (perhaps a fraction of a second later) that the dead in Christ rise that we do to!! Your spirit confirmed that the first step will be the dead in Christ rising first. But just moments later, we, who are still alive in Christ, will follow!! 1 Corinthians 15:52 does NOT say “and LATER we ALSO shall be changed”. It SPECIFICALLY says “AND we shall be changed” in the VERY SAME SENTENCE.
And by the way, do not get too strung out about the “last trump”. Some feel that this is the 7th Trumpet of Revelation, but that would not make sense given the context of this event, as well as the context of the other verses I have in this post. The “last trump” is God signaling to the world and to His followers that the Dispensation of Grace era is OVER!! If you were left behind, you just missed the “last trump”. The ark is sealed and the door is SHUT!!
Speaking of doors being shut, is there a second witness in the Bible that confirms this Rapture timing? Let us once again turn to Scripture for confirmation, bearing in mind that it is we who LOVE the Lord with all of our heart that are the Church of Philadelphia!!
Revelation 3:7-13: “And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write; These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth; I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name. Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee. Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth. Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown. 'He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he will not go out from it anymore; and I will write on him the name of My God, and the name of the city of My God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God, and My new name. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.”
The Church of Philadelphia is the Lord’s faithful end-time Bride AND ARE FEW IN NUMBER (“thou hast a little strength”). In other words, this is SPECIFICALLY referring to US who are faithful to the Lord RIGHT UNTIL THE END!! The LAST STEP PRIOR to the “hour of temptation” therefore HAS to be the Rapture, the “open door”.
THIS is what Paul told us to base our Blessed Hope in, NOT BEING “LUCKY” enough to endure wrath!! We are specifically NOT assigned to wrath. We are faithful to the Lord and are therefore KEPT FROM the hour of temptation as a reward. We will therefore not even have to endure a minute of this “hour of temptation”!!
Please, fellow brothers and sisters-in-Christ, let no man make you doubt the BLESSED HOPE the Lord has promised us in the Pre-Tribulation Rapture. The Lord says that we are not assigned to wrath and I believe Him. So should YOU!!
Keep looking up, my brothers and sisters in Christ. Our redemption SURELY draws near!! What exciting times to be living in!!
YbiC, MathMan