In response to http://www.fivedoves.com/letters/oct2012/gerlinda1013-1.htm
and http://www.fivedoves.com/letters/oct2012/gerlinda1016-1.htm
Gerlinda (and Doves),
I agree with Rowina’s explanation, that the
death mentioned in verse 55 of 1 Corinthians 15 refers
specifically to the group who will have had their bodies
glorified up to that time, that is, the Body of Christ,
which will be complete then. Those belonging to that group
in particular will never have to fear death’s sting
anymore. But you are right that there are going to be
deaths on Earth after that event, so the word death in
that verse doesn’t seem to refer to any other group. This
seems to be a coherent explanation because verse 55 is
immediately preceded by the description of the group it’s
referring to (the Body of Christ, which will be complete
then).
I also agree with Marilyn Agee’s view that
there is going to be more than one Rapture. However
I don’t think that the first Rapture will be midtrib, but
before the Tribulation, and I don’t think that the 7th
Week of Daniel has started yet.
For me, the chronology seems to be as
follows:
I.
1st Rapture (the Bride of Christ,
those who are ready)à The first Trumpet, Feast of Pentecost some
year. Christ comes Himself to gather His Saints and
meets them in the air. In regards to the date (Pentecost),
I don’t mean the date modern Judaism commemorates
Pentecost (in the 3rd month, Sivan), but the
correct Shavuot date, the 29th of the 4th
Hebrew month (Summer, end of the barley and wheat harvest,
last days of the 4th Hebrew month, which was
later named “Tammuz” after the Babylonian exile). The book
of Ruth is an interesting illustration for that and the
story occurs at that time. The Feast of Pentecost hasn’t
had its final prophetic fulfillment yet.
II.
Rapture of the Two Witnesses à exact middle of the Tribulation. It seems
this event only includes those 2W. Yes, I think the
ministry of the 2W starts in the first half of the 7th
Week and not in the second half. For me, they are Elijah
and the apostle John, for several reasons.
III.
2nd Rapture some year (the
surviving Tribulation Saints plus the 144K, the completion
of the Body of Christ) à The last Trumpet, on a Feast of Trumpets,
approx. 6 years after the start of the 7th Week
of Daniel. Immediately after the evacuation of the
last believers from Earth (surviving Tribulation Saints)
performed by angels (and not by Christ Himself),
the Wrath of God is then poured on Earth.
Who is left to populate the Millennium? There
are going to be many who will be protected at that time. A
remnant of the Jews and unbelieving gentiles who were
meek. But in the Judgment of the Nations (after Christ’s
coming, described in Matthew 25:31-46), unbelieving meek
gentiles will be judged according to their works,
according to how they treated the Tribulation Saints and
also the Jews, and those gentiles who didn’t take the mark
of the Beast and who helped the Tribulation saints and the
Jews will be the “sheep” . Those who didn’t help (and
those who took the mark and didn’t repent and are still
alive at that time) will be the “goats”, and won’t be
allowed to populate the Millennium Reign of Christ.
I believe that the Tribulation Saints are
also part of the Body of Christ, so they can’t experience
the Wrath of God, otherwise the Bible would contradict
itself. Therefore there must be a final rapture before God
pours His Wrath on Earth.
I agree that the opening of the 7 Seals
deflagrates a severe judgment on Earth, which is allowed
by God, but the first 6 seals are not the Wrath of
God yet.
I think that the parable of the Hidden
Treasure (Matthew 13:44-50) might be a picture of
different groups of people. The hidden Treasure is the
Body of Christ, a group of people for whom He gave all He
had to rescue and redeem for Himself. First the Jews had
this opportunity but most of them rejected their own
Messiah and many gentiles accepted His message and
Salvation offered by Him. Then another group of believing
Gentiles (typified by the pearl of great value – in Hebrew
culture the pearl is not considered kosher) accepted
Christ’s gospel and were redeemed by Him. Then comes
verses 47-50, which seems to refer to the ones on Earth
(Jews and unbelieving gentiles) who happen to be alive at
the time of the Second Coming. A part of them are the good
fish (who will populate the Millennium Reign) and the
other part are the bad fish which are cast away (they
don’t participate in the Millennium).
In my opinion it’s important to understand
that concept of “tagma” (a Greek word that means “order”,
“ranks”, turn”) used to describe the phases of the
resurrection in 1 Corinthians 15:23. The first “tagma” was
Christ’s own resurrection, which is part of the first
resurrection. At the time of the final Rapture (on a
future Feast of Trumpets), the body of Christ will be made
complete and nobody who belongs to His Body will have to
fear death’s sting anymore. At that time, all members of
the complete Body of Christ will have been changed and the
process will be concluded then. I think that the
expression “we shall all be changed” doesn’t necessarly
mean that we shall all be changed at the exact same time.
The process of the transformation of the body will happen
“in the twinkling of an eye” for the respective group, but
I think that that passage says that at that time the
resurrection and glorification process of the final part
of the Body of Christ will be complete, so we all will
have been changed at that moment in time. I think that
there are resurrections and raptures both in the First
Trump (first rapture) event and in the Last Trump (final
rapture) event.
In my view, everything that happened in the
Old Testament regarding the First Trump was real but also
prophetic of the First Trump that is still to happen in
the near future. (just like the Passover in Egypt was real
but also a type and shadow of the final Passover in
Calvary).
The birth of the Church on Pentecost (Acts 2)
was not the final fulfillment of the Feast of Pentecost,
because in Leviticus 23:20, the Priest had to wave two
loaves of leavened bread lifting them up with his arms, in
a gesture similar to the one used (Lev. 23:11) on the
Feast of Firsfruits (the day Christ rose from the dead).
The waving of the sheaf (lifting it up and waving it) was
symbolic of Christ presenting Himself (together with other
saints, as in a sheaf of firstfruits) to the Father in
Heaven as the Firstfruit of those who slept.
Likewise, the same gesture will also happen
on a future Feast of Pentecost. In Acts 2, the Holy Spirit
came down from Heaven, nothing went up to Heaven as part
of Christ’s harvest (in terms of resurrection/rapture).
The waving (lifting up) of the two leavened loaves of
bread (probably typifying believing Jews and believing
Gentiles) is a very significant detail in the description
of the Feast of Pentecost, which I think represents the
Rapture of the Bride of Christ.
Remember Ruth (a type of the Church, a
gentile who fell in love with the Kinsman Redeemer, Boaz)
secretly went to the threshing floor where Boaz was
resting (reclined on the pile of the grain harvest, which
happens to be on Pentecost, in the end of summer), and she
was at His feet at a moment when he was merry and
celebrating the grain harvest (wheat planted in spring
gets ripe in the end of the 4th Hebrew month.
This is the Feast of Pentecost, and as Ruth, I think we
will be together with our Redeemer on a day that He will
be extremely happy and He will take us as His bride, in
the end of the barley AND wheat harvest (Ruth 2:23). Then,
and only then, will Naomi (a type of Israel) get to know
Boaz (a type of Christ) personally, as the story doesn’t
narrate any encounter of Naomi and Boaz before his
marriage with Ruth. Likewise, Israel will get to know
Christ after the Rapture, the veil will be removed from
their eyes and many will believe. After the marriage of
Boaz an Ruth, notice that their baby Obed (which means
“worshipped”) is nursed by Naomi and treated as her own
son. I think this typifies the fact that after the
marriage of Christ and the Church, a remnant of Israel
will worship the true Messiah, Christ, as the Bride will
not be on Earth anymore.
The story of Ruth is so significant and
profound, full of types and shadows, that I even wonder if
Orpha was a type or shadow of anything. After much
thought, it came to my mind that Orpha might be a type of
the Tribulation Saints. She seems to vanish from the
narrative in chapter 1 and be totally forgotten, never to
be mentioned again. But if we pay attention to verse 9 of
chapter 4, we read: “And Boaz said unto the elders, and
unto all the people, You are witnesses this day, that I
have bought all that was Elimelech's, and all that was
Chilion's and Mahlon's, of the hand of Naomi.”
This makes me think that Orpha is mentioned
again because she was Chilion’s widow and the price of the
redemption was extensive to herself (because she “was
Chilion’s”) and the texts says “all that was Chilion’s”
was purchased by Boaz. Not only the land. (Just a
thought).
I think that in these times, not knowing
exactly when prophetic events will occur, we should always
try to do like Ruth was instructed by Naomi to do in Ruth
3:3: “Wash yourself therefore, and anoint yourself, and
put your best clothes upon you”.
Washing means the washing of the Word of
God, the washing of our sins.
Anoint means to be anointed by the Holy
Spirit, in prayer and living a holy life.
Put our best clothes upon us means that we
should discard our widow’s clothes and wear the “garments
of praise”. (mentioned in Isaiah 61:3)
Regards,
Eliane