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In the Olivet Discourse which Jesus delivered two days before He went to the cross, the disciples came to Jesus asking Him what they should look for in the last days.
Jesus told them they would see the "abomination of desolation", followed by a time of "great tribulation" for believers...and that would be followed by a "gathering of the elect" whereby the angels will supernaturally gather believers away from earth and "from one of the heavens to the other".
In other words, this will be a supernatural translation...i.e. a rapture. And it is a rapture which occurs AFTER the time of "tribulation".
A description of a "pre-tribulation" rapture is found nowhere in the Bible. It is non-existent on the pages of Scripture.
According to Jesus' plain description in the Olivet Discourse, the time of tribulation commences on the occasion of the "abomination of desolation"...almost universally understood to occur at the middle point of the seven year period, the 70th Week of Daniel.
The time of tribulation for believers ends on the occasion of hugely dramatic cosmic disturbances - "the sun will be darkened, the moon will not give its light, the stars will fall from the sky" - Matthew 24:29.
Thus, Jesus is quoting an oft recurring passage/statement found throughout the OT which describes the commencing of God's wrath upon the wicked:
Joel 2:31 - "the sun will be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and awesome Day of the Lord comes".
In other words, according to Jesus, the "gathering of the elect" rapture occurs just moments after these huge cosmic disturbances...and THEN will the wrath of God (i.e. the Day of the Lord) commence. God's people are removed before the wrath of God but NOT before the wrath of the Devil and the hatred of the world is visited upon them.
The Olivet Discourse is so simple, I asked my little 12-year-old daughter to read it. It took her a mere 15 minutes, and when she was done she has a good grasp of all the important aspects of the events of the last days.
This not rocket science. Jesus has made the facts of the end times very simple and very straightforward. Some of the comments I have read on various discussion boards...with people talking about the fourth seal and the seventh bowl and the twelfth whistle...oy vey.
Jesus told them they would see the "abomination of desolation", followed by a time of "great tribulation" for believers...and that would be followed by a "gathering of the elect" whereby the angels will supernaturally gather believers away from earth and "from one of the heavens to the other".
In other words, this will be a supernatural translation...i.e. a rapture. And it is a rapture which occurs AFTER the time of "tribulation".
A description of a "pre-tribulation" rapture is found nowhere in the Bible. It is non-existent on the pages of Scripture.
According to Jesus' plain description in the Olivet Discourse, the time of tribulation commences on the occasion of the "abomination of desolation"...almost universally understood to occur at the middle point of the seven year period, the 70th Week of Daniel.
The time of tribulation for believers ends on the occasion of hugely dramatic cosmic disturbances - "the sun will be darkened, the moon will not give its light, the stars will fall from the sky" - Matthew 24:29.
Thus, Jesus is quoting an oft recurring passage/statement found throughout the OT which describes the commencing of God's wrath upon the wicked:
Joel 2:31 - "the sun will be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and awesome Day of the Lord comes".
In other words, according to Jesus, the "gathering of the elect" rapture occurs just moments after these huge cosmic disturbances...and THEN will the wrath of God (i.e. the Day of the Lord) commence. God's people are removed before the wrath of God but NOT before the wrath of the Devil and the hatred of the world is visited upon them.
The Olivet Discourse is so simple, I asked my little 12-year-old daughter to read it. It took her a mere 15 minutes, and when she was done she has a good grasp of all the important aspects of the events of the last days.
This not rocket science. Jesus has made the facts of the end times very simple and very straightforward. Some of the comments I have read on various discussion boards...with people talking about the fourth seal and the seventh bowl and the twelfth whistle...oy vey.
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