Summary of Bible references on the Rapture

Luke 17:22- The Son of Man in His day.

22 Then he said to his disciples, “The time is coming when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, but you will not see it. 23 People will tell you, ‘There he is!’ or ‘Here he is!’ Do not go running off after them. 24 For the Son of Man in his day will be like the lightning, which flashes and lights up the sky from one end to the other.

CS Lewis said that suffering is God’s megaphone. The suffering we are seeing is God calling out to repent and seek Him. Right now we are seeing many believers watching intently for the Lord's coming and they are trying to find out "the days of the Son of Man". Everyone assumes that if God is the same yesterday, today and forever that the God who was very focused on "appointed days" would still be focused on appointed days. Doing that we have discovered revelation concerning the rapture in all the appointed feasts. The second Passover, Shavuot, Pentecost, 15th of AV, Trumpets, Sukkot, and Hanukkah all seem like wonderful candidates. Then they looked at the days of Noah, again more wonderful candidates. All of this was wonderful study, very enlightening, but at the same time I was bothered that they seemed to be ignoring Paul's word in Colossians not to let anyone judge you with respect to a sabbath or a feast day. Those days are part of the Old Covenant, the rapture prior to the tribulation is part of the New Covenant. As a result I was looking for a New Covenant day. So then the first part of this prophecy has definitely been fulfilled, all kinds of people have been saying "the Lord will return on this day or that" and everyone has been wrong (so far). But look at this verse "The Son of Man in His day". In His day? Is that the Lord's day? Is that the 8th day, the day of resurrection? In Luke it says the transfiguration was around the 8th day, that would suggest Hanukkah which is a shadow of the tribulation and an 8 day festival of lights. But I don't think so. I think Hanukkah is very instructive concerning the Day of the Lord but even though it is mentioned in the gospel of John I don't think it is a New Testament appointed day. Still we will come back to this concept "The Son of Man in His day".

Amos 5:21 “I hate, I despise your religious festivals; your assemblies are a stench to me.

If you think about the big "Christian" festivals it would be Christmas and Easter, but I think it is very safe to assume that the Lord despises these religious festivals.

Amos 8: 9 “In that day,” declares the Sovereign Lord, “I will make the sun go down at noon and darken the earth in broad daylight. 10 I will turn your religious festivals into mourning and all your singing into weeping. I will make all of you wear sackcloth and shave your heads. I will make that time like mourning for an only son and the end of it like a bitter day.

This is a very interesting prophecy. Generally speaking religious festivals are spread out throughout the year. The big exception is Christmas. We have Hanukkah, Christmas and Kwanzaa all at the same time of year. We have a solar eclipse on December 4th and the one Christian Holiday that is clearly associated with songs is Christmas. Now many might think that "Christmas" is "His day". Technically they are claiming to celebrate His birthday and yet everyone knows it isn't His birthday.

25 But first he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation.

I know many were disappointed with Trump being rejected, with Stop the Steal rallies being rejected, with calls for justice being rejected, but this has to happen first. At the end of the age those that are following the Lord to take up their cross and follow Him must also “first be rejected” and suffer many things.

The issue I have is not with people who are standing for righteousness and justice, regardless of whether they are with BLM or Stop the Steal Rallies. But everyone needs to know the royal road. First you must suffer many things and be rejected. If you are not willing to suffer for your faith no one else is interested in listening to you.

The Lord put the comets in the sky for a sign.

To summarize these verses in Luke 17:22-25

1. We will long to see one of the days of the Lord and won't be able to. -- Reminds me of them shutting down the church due to the pandemic.

2. People are telling you here he is, there he is. We are seeing that everywhere on the internet. The christians are like a bee hive that has been hit with a stick.

3. The rapture is referred to as "The Son of Man in His day". Joel tells you that the Pandemic and global shutdown is a warning that the day of the Lord is at hand.

4. "His day" should be a New Testament reference. I would think that the Lord's birthday would be "His day", Luke goes into great detail concerning His birth, enough that we know for a fact it wasn't Christmas. In Amos the Lord says He despises our religious festivals and no doubt that would include Xmas. He says they are a stench and one could see how ascribing this despicable celebration of Xmas would be a stench to the Lord with these nasty Santa (Satan) and his elves (demons, fallen angels) and magic (witchcraft) all to support a lie.

5. The Lord then talks about turning their festivals into mourning. That is weird, why are they plural? We often have multiple Christmas parties, one at work, one at church, one at home. If you are married you and your wife may have multiple Christmas parties. Friends may throw them. This is not true of Easter. Not only so but He also says He will make their singing into weeping. Christmas carols are a common practice but we don't have a similar practice in Easter. We have Christmas carols prior to Christmas but not after.

6. Immediately prior to this He tells us in Amos that there will be a solar eclipse. So it is interesting that on December 4th we do have a solar eclipse.

7. He tells us that He will make us wear sackcloth. Most people buy new clothes at Christmas. To wear sackcloth in the summer is no big deal, but to go from your brand new Christmas clothes to sackcloth, that would be much more fitting.

8. Then he says that the coming of the Son of Man will be like lightning that lights up the sky from one end to the other. Think about that, Christmas lights are another typical practice at this religious festival. Already we have 8 very interesting correlations between this verse and Christmas.

9. Next He says "but first He must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation". Of course that refers to the cross, that was how the age began. The age begins with Easter and then ends with Christmas. These are the two big appointed festivals of the Christian church, the religious festivals that He hates and despises. They are both a mixture with the world and with pagan worship. Also think about the "war on Christmas". Why no "war on Easter"? Why the urgency to remove Christ from Christmas but no similar issue with Easter? These two religious festivals are under the sovereignty of Jesus Christ but they have pagan origins and they indicate a compromise between Christianity and the world.

10. The Lord's coming begins with a judgement on the Great Babylon, it appears to be concurrently with the rapture (as we go up Satan and his angels come down). What do they cry about? Who will buy our junk now? The one religious festival that would coincide with buying junk from all over the world is Christmas.

11. The comet leonard is coming and can be seen in December. A comet is a sign. In Genesis we are told that God placed these things in the heavens for a sign.

12. However, the book of Luke says that the transfiguration was about the 8th day. The 8th day of Hanukkah is January 1st or actually December 31st in the evening. (The calendar says Hanukkah is now but they are wrong, we know that because the first day of the month Nisan is supposed to be after the spring equinox and this was confirmed when the 9th of AV was the same day as the debacle in Afghanistan).

13. There is another interesting correlation -- Christmas comes as a thief in the night. Santa coming down the fireplace in the middle of the night is just like a thief. Imagine Christians celebrating a holiday in which Santa (anagram for Satan) dressed in a red robe comes to your house using witchcraft like a thief in the night and requires you to lie to your kids. He is a thief and a liar.

14. Charlemagne was crowned King of the Holy Roman Empire on Christmas 1,200 years ago. Charlemagne is considered the father of Europe. Europa is depicted as the harlot that rides the beast.

15. William the Conqueror was crowned King of England on Christmas 954 years ago. England is the "mother of harlots" with the US being one of the daughters, the Great Babylon.

16. 1776 George Washington and the Continental army cross the Delaware river, a major turning point in the war. He defeated the German soldiers. In the Bible Germany is depicted as Gomer, the harlot that Hosea married.

17. The war of 1812 was concluded with the Treaty of Ghent which was signed on Christmas in 1814.

Conclusion -- I am not date setting. I do not think that signs like the solar eclipse or the comet tell you the day or the hour, rather they are like signs on the road that tell you that you are very close.

What I am doing is saying that God in the Old testament was very precise with festivals and dates and you had to keep them precisely. We are told that God is the same today, as He was back then so I see no reason why He wouldn't do the same today. No doubt Easter and Christmas are a corrupt mix of the word of God with pagan practices. However, Jesus is Lord, He is sovereign, and if the church has appointed feasts these are the two. Our year begins with the Cross of Christ where he was rejected and suffered many things and it ends with us celebrating the birth of a child even though it isn't the day Jesus was born. Perhaps it is the day the man child is born and caught up to heaven. Our celebration was a rehearsal.

When I look at some of these prophecies it does appear that a solar eclipse will precede the rapture, a comet would also be something that would seem to fit with the Lord's first coming, and the prophecy about turning your religious festivals which the Lord hates to mourning and your singing to weeping is definitely seems to be more a reference to Christmas than to Easter.

However, as to the date, don't know? As I said Hanukkah foreshadows the tribulation and the 8th day would start the eve of December 31st. That seems to fit with the transfiguration whereas Christmas seems to fit with the Lord coming as a thief in the night and with it being "His day". Also I have heard many describe the rapture as the most incredible Christmas light display ever.

My point is that if you want to look for "His day" do it in the New Testament covenant, not the Old Testament covenant. If the church is the bride of Christ the Jews would have every right to be jealous and outraged if we took one of their sacred days and made it our sacred day.

Lessons from "the Christmas story"

1. Mary and Joseph went to Bethlehem because Caesar had declared a census, right now we are seeing this worldwide push for a "vaccine passport".

2. The wise men see "His star" and so come to Jerusalem, right now we have many who are using Stellarium to say they have seen this great Revelation 12 sign in the heavens that is a harbinger for the Lord's second coming.

3. Herod kills 2,000 kids and we now have this vaccine mandate for kids.

4. Mary was a hillbilly, a "deplorable" -- and we are seeing these deplorables rise up with the "Stop the Steal" movement.

5. There was no room at the Inn for Mary and Joseph and if you are not vaccinated there is room at the Inn for you.

6. The Shepherds who are in the Field are the ones who get to see the Lord first and the Lord tells us that those servants who are doing what they are supposed to when He returns will be blessed.

7. The religious leaders in Jerusalem know the Bible well enough but do not bother to come and see the Lord, just like all these ones saying "no one knows the day or the hour".

The attack on the church

Three examples of broken cisterns based on the influence that Darwin, Freud and "Higher criticism" has had in the church.

Process of Indoctrination

Repeat an idea or belief to someone until they accept it without criticism or question.

1920s -- Nazi party targeted German youth

Stalin also targeted indoctrination of the youth to train them to be marxists.

It is important to point out that if parents hand over the responsibility to educate their children to the state that they will be indoctrinated. The state has a vested interest in this and as they become more corrupt their interest in indoctrination will become more intense. Tyranny is simply a symptom of corruption and tyrannical leaders are more intent on indoctrination.

We also have indoctrination in cults, religious organizations run by a false prophet like Jim Jones, hence the term "to drink the kool aid".

3 key components

1. Isolation -- Russia had the Iron curtain, China has intense censorship like their great wall, and now we see that censorship coming to the US.

2. Deprivation -- manufactured scarcity is a powerful weapon when trying to control the masses so that they depend on the benevolence of the elite. Cultivate loyalty through the reward for submission.

3. Repetition -- Indoctrination often masquerades as education. Education is a broad investigation into what is true while indoctrination is a focus on having you believe that the opinions they give you are truth. They confine their indoctrination to a few points and repeat them over and over -- "Orange man bad". Repeat a lie often enough and you will come to believe it.

Force and fear make up the foundation for all indoctrination.

It is just as it was in the days of Noah

26 “Just as it was in the days of Noah, so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man. 27 People were eating, drinking, marrying and being given in marriage up to the day Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed them all.

It is amazing how so many people all over the earth are able to tune out what is going on. Pandemic, no big deal, we’ve seen these before. Hurricanes and floods happen every year. Fires in California, that is old news. Climate change, it isn’t real, nothing to see here. The ice is melting, happened before, besides now we can sail through the North pole, saving money. So yes, a judgement is coming, only this time it will be by fire and not flood. Just because you don’t see people getting ready doesn’t mean that Noah and his family aren’t preparing. In the last few months I have seen China preparing for war with Taiwan, Israeli drones and US bombers attacking Iran, and a massive cyber attack by China on our infrastructure. Meanwhile Biden’s focus has been on reversing an Executive order to prevent China from having access to our power grid, opening the border to immigrants during the pandemic, and on destroying women’s sports. The order that men can use the women’s locker room, bathroom, and compete against women is not just going to destroy women’s sports, it will also destroy public school. Noah was a preacher of righteousness right up until he entered the ark. This age we have had preachers of righteousness and will have them right up until the rapture. Right now we see a flood of information coming out condemning the rich and the elite. The Ghislaine Maxwell trial has started, the "Laptop from Hell" book has been released, Durhams' investigation into the FISA scandal is going ahead full steam, and the hypocrisy in the January 6th investigation on the hill is exposing congress while a major abortion rights case hits the Supreme court.

28 “It was the same in the days of Lot. People were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building.29 But the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all.

Why hasn’t God judged us already? Because Abraham is praying that his cousin Lot would be saved. God wants to rescue the very last person that He can before the fire falls. These are the two types of the rapture that the Lord gives us. You have Noah whose focus and labor was on building a boat that would make it through the flood. His entering that boat with his family is a type of the rapture. Imagine you are Noah, you have flocks and herds of every kind of domesticated animal and you have built a huge barn that is an ark. When the flood is over you inherit the entire world. It may seem terrible but it is also the way in which the Lord’s kingdom comes to the earth. We heard the warning and we heeded the warning. In contrast to that Lot also is saved, but what a pathetic salvation. Don’t think that just because you are righteous you can ignore the sins of Sodom and Gomorrah, you will pay the price if you don’t come out from their midst today.

Today they are mandating the vaccine or else you lose your job -- so then "come out from her my people". This is a lawless, perverse generation with a pedophile island where pedophilia and pagan worship are mixed together and all the elites have been caught in this net. They are forcing this vaccine on people, Greece has a monthly fine if you are not vaccinated, Australia has quarantine camps, Germany wants to use the military to administer the vaccine, and Austria has mandated it for everyone. Canada says you cannot take a train or plane without the vaccine and Scandinavia has little RFID chips that can be implanted in your hand so that your credit card and vaccine passport can all be kept there.

If it is by the Spirit of God that I drive out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.

24 But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, “It is only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, that this fellow drives out demons.”

The strategy of the evil one is to divide and conquer. Imagine the church is composed of many different saints, all with different gifts, different ministries and some are focused on "driving out demons". They expose lies, corruption, and crimes. They use the law courts, they are involved in fighting against abortion, or election fraud, or political crime families. Satan would have you believe that everything they accomplish is actually his doing. He does nothing but takes credit for everything. But that in turn could cause you to question everything.

25 Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand.

Once again, the strategy of Satan is to divide and conquer because this will ruin the church, ruin the kingdom of God. During the protestant revolution the church was divided. Then with the ecumenical movement there was an effort to unite all the different factions. This ecumenical movement involved compromise. They compromised repeatedly with the word of God and the Bible. This is why we have LGBTQ priests, this is why they are wishy washy on a pro life stance, this is why they don't preach against sin, this is why they have allowed the prosperity gospel to proliferate, this is why we have the apostasy. Dividing the church and then compromising with sin in order to reunite the church is a strategy to ruin the church.

26 If Satan drives out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then can his kingdom stand?

Now when the church stands up as salt and light it drives out Satan. It may appear that Satan is divided against himself as some corrupt court will find some corrupt elite guilty of sins. This is not a victory for Satan it is a defeat. If you watch a chess match one person will give up a pawn and yet it could result in an advantage for them. There are plays called "sacrifice" or "gambit". Yet in reality most times when you lose a piece it is a loss and not part of some great hidden strategy. The Lord Jesus and Satan are playing chess and Satan is losing. Satan is being driven out and yet he wants to claim that "no, no, this is part of my game winning strategy". Suppose you are Ghislaine Maxwell who has been involved in pedophilia and pagan worship and now you learn from your "god" that he is simply sacrificing you for the sake of some great strategy. That really stinks. In the Lord's kingdom Jesus sacrificed Himself for us. In Satan's kingdom he will sacrifice anyone and everyone to save his own skin. So when we drive out Satan it puts him into a no win situation, he doesn't want to admit it was a defeat that looks bad, on the other hand if he claims it is a victory all those who are being "sacrificed" may decide to double cross others and so Satan's kingdom cannot stand.

27 And if I drive out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your people drive them out? So then, they will be your judges.

This is what is happening right now. Miranda Devine published "The Laptop from Hell". It is sold out everywhere and you can only get it on backorder. This is not a "victory" for Satan, it is a major defeat. Durham is currently prosecuting the FISA warrant scandal. Again, not a victory for Satan, a major defeat. Various states are passing legislation to put a stop to abortion, again not a victory for Satan but a major defeat. We are exposing election fraud in the US, not a victory but defeat for Satan. His entire kingdom is collapsing like a house of cards. In the book of Revelation we see Russia make a major attack but lose only for Europe to emerge as the focus of this one world government. Where is the US? They are Babylon the Great and their judgement comes in an hour, they collapse like a house of cards, their destruction is like that of Sodom and Gomorrah. The elites finance Russia to take out the US and then to be destroyed leaving them in charge. But hey, what about China? The idea that China is a Superpower is based solely on the US being their customer. If a Fortune 500 company loses their biggest customer responsible for 50% of their orders the company is no longer a Fortune 500 company. When the US collapses and no one will buy China's goods anymore then China collapses with it as well.

The Antichrist setting up the one world government, the reformed Roman empire is not a sign that Satan is winning but that his kingdom on earth is collapsing. It is a restructuring deal that takes place after a bankruptcy.

In a chess game many of the moves are forced by the opponent. You basically have no good options. This is what is happening now because of all the corruption and incompetent actions of these world governments. The US is broke, 80% of China's water supply is polluted, crop yields are collapsing, we are on the brink of famine, and economic collapse. Right now they are desperate to get everyone "vaccinated" because it will give them much more control during the collapse. They'll be able to track you and maybe even kill you by simply turning up the 5G. If they can control whether or not you can buy or sell they can control you. They want social credit scores so they can punish anyone who does not obey.

28 But if it is by the Spirit of God that I drive out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.

This is the big problem with the current situation. Satan likes to be in the shadows, hidden, so that no one can see him. It is like a snake or a scorpion. They are very effective if their attack is a surprise. However, if you can see them they are at a great disadvantage. We can easily stomp on a scorpion or kill a snake once we see it. Everything that he is doing is bringing him out into the open where the whole world can see their lies, theft and murders.

Remember Lot's wife

30 “It will be just like this on the day the Son of Man is revealed. 31 On that day no one who is on the housetop, with possessions inside, should go down to get them. Likewise, no one in the field should go back for anything.

There are two raptures, the one at the beginning of the tribulation is compared to Noah, the one at the end is compared to Lot. If you have forgotten, Lot is pulled out of Sodom right before the fire and brimstone falls and destroys it. But that was in the cities. If you are there at the end of the tribulation you need to flee the cities. Getting prepared means just that, you are ready to go the minute you hear the word. If you need a go bag you better be carrying that with you. Believers need their lamps to be lit and their vessels to be full of oil. That is what it is to be prepared. If you don’t realize something is about to happen then you are asleep. Xi has stated clearly to the world that the entire world will be under one government, a government that is controlled by China and other totalitarian states. However, to accomplish that they will need to take out the US and it will happen so fast that you will have to run. It will be almost instantaneous. Shock and awe. Like a blackout where in an instant nothing works.

32 Remember Lot’s wife!

She looked back at Sodom. She actually longed for that sinful world. She almost made it out. To be prepared is to set your mind for the Lord, looking for a kingdom of righteousness. The Lord’s warning is you can’t go back, you can’t even look back. Either you are longing for a world in which righteousness dwells or you aren’t. No middle ground.

But this also tells us that it is like Noah -- he enters the ark and a week later the flood comes wiping everyone out. It is like Lot, he flees the day the fire from heaven falls and destroys Sodom and Gomorrah. When we go up fire comes down.

Think about this attitude, it is like the minute men, it is like someone with a go bag. We are not invested in this world, we know it is condemned, we have been warning and speaking about the coming judgement for 2,000 years and we are ready that when the Lord is revealed we will leave immediately.

Where the dead body is there the vultures will gather together

33 Whoever tries to keep their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life will preserve it. 34 I tell you, on that night two people will be in one bed; one will be taken and the other left. 35 Two women will be grinding grain together; one will be taken and the other left.”

This is referring to the rapture. The Lord is comparing the day Noah entered the ark with the day people all over the world are raptured and the day Lot left Sodom to the day of the rapture. For those that think the story of Noah is a myth you haven’t been paying attention to the major archaeological discoveries made over the last 40 years. This is a very clear reference to the fact that the Earth is a sphere and that at the same moment someone is working in the field or grinding grain, others are sleeping in bed. This tells us something else which is almost a contradiction. People are not in the fields or grinding grain during a holy day. This verse indicates the Lord does not return during a Holy feast day.

But this is a very strange juxtaposition. Whoever tries to keep their life will lose it? Wasn't Noah trying to keep his life? Wasn't Lot trying to keep his life? I think the point is that Noah did not try to keep his life when he spent all that time building the ark and Lot didn't try to keep his life when he refused to hand over the two angels to be abused. Don't take the easy way out, don't live according to your flesh (as everyone at the time of Noah or in Sodom was doing).

The expression "on that night" must be allegorical. The earth is a sphere, when it is night in one place it is day in another. When some are in bed others are in the field or at work. So then the rapture will take place during a dark time spiritually and many believers will be tempted to save their lives and He is saying don't do that, take the way of the cross.

37 “Where, Lord?” they asked. He replied, “Where there is a dead body, there the vultures will gather.”

Where? He was telling them when, not where. If the rapture is worldwide the question about “where” doesn’t make sense. So I think this question goes all the way back to “first the Son of man must be rejected by this generation and suffer many things”. During the first Gulf war you had the coalition forces arrayed against Iraq. A huge airforce in the desert, they were like vultures and they had gathered where the dead body, Iraq, was. When the bombs began to drop it was lightning lighting up the sky. CNN was beaming this from one end of the sky to the other. That was like a dress rehearsal for the Lord’s return. Where was Jesus crucified -- that was in Jerusalem. Who were the vultures? The Romans and the Jewish leaders dividing up the empire. I don’t doubt that during the Great Tribulation we will also return to Jerusalem in Israel. But that is the depiction in the book of Matthew and the end of the Great Tribulation, Luke appears to present the situation at the beginning of the Great Tribulation. In my opinion based on my reading of the Old and New Testaments and world history Jerusalem today is not the “light on the hill” nor is it “salt and light” to the nations. I believe that was what the New world was dedicated to be 400 years ago with the Mayflower compact. I believe you will see the vultures in the US along with the dead body. A dead body cannot stand up for righteousness, it cannot speak the truth, it cannot uphold justice. It is dead and simply something for the vultures to pick at and eat. The last three months the response from our elected officials to calls for transparency, righteousness and justice have gone unheeded. It is as though the body of our government is dead, surrounded by vultures ready to devour it.

Recently the foreign press has described Biden as a walking corpse.

Look at the news: Durham is proceeding with his prosecution of the FISA scandal, election audits have the evidence of treason during our presidential election and a fraudulent election, the Ghislaine Maxwell trial is exposing a worldwide ring of pagan pedophiles among the elites, and the January 6th investigation is exposing the false flag operation of the deep state. The vultures are all gathered together because there is a feast for these lawyers to devour.

New wine skins


Matthew 9:17 Neither do people pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst; the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.”

The church is filled with new wine and so we are a new wine skin. The festivals in the Old Testament are old wine skins. The Lord cannot pour the Holy Spirit into the Old wine skins or they will burst. So the Lord never said it would be the days of Noah but "as in the days of Noah". When you pour new wine into new wine skins it is just like what you did with the old wine that is already in wine skins.

Once again the Christian church has two major festivals: Easter and Christmas. Although you could argue that we weren't directly given these festivals we were clearly given the Lord's table, instituted at the Passover and told to keep that. The cross of Christ is a major part of the gospel message. Not only so but Jesus birth is recorded, it is an extraordinary story and it talks of God incarnated into man.

So we have been given the Lord's table to celebrate, and we certainly would remember the cross of Christ and the incarnation of Jesus.

What I find very interesting is that Christmas is a combination of all the worst pagan practices, the full expression of the apostasy of the church, and then in the Bible we get very different accounts depending on which gospel we are in.

For Matthew we get the story of Rachel weeping for her children, Mark skips it altogether saying the gospel for them began with the preaching of John the Baptist (who we are told is Elijah who is to come during the tribulation) and in Luke we get the wonderful stories of Mary, Elizabeth, Simeon, Anna, the Wise men, the Shepherds, etc. Meanwhile in John we are told the word became flesh.

The rapture will be very different for different groups of people whether they are the Jews, the Christians who are left behind, or those who are raptured. Still in every case it will be the word become flesh.

On the day He comes to be glorified

2 Thessalonians 1:10 on the day he comes to be glorified in his holy people and to be marveled at among all those who have believed. This includes you, because you believed our testimony to you.

Our job is to speak the truth, the light, the salt. We need to release our burden, but once we do be at peace. The Lord will be glorified when He comes, He will be glorified in His holy people, He will be glorified in those who believed the word of the apostles.

More on Jesus birth in the gospels

In Revelation 12 it describes the man child who is to rule the nations with a rod of iron. Therefore it is commonly taught that the man child refers to Jesus. However, the term for "caught up to heaven" is harpazo whereas the term for Jesus ascension was different, He was not snatched up to safety. Also the gospels say that the believers are to rule and reign with Jesus. The Bride of Christ "completes" Him according to Genesis.

In Genesis 1:28 God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”

This word is to both the male and the female, God said to "them" to "rule over" the creatures of the earth. Because of this many see that the man child refers to those who are "harpazo'd" at the end of this age. I would call them the firstfruits, some refer to them as "the church". But if you read Revelation 2-3 it is clear that although individuals in the various churches are raptured only one of the seven churches, the church in Philadelphia is raptured as a church.

So then this got me wondering if this man child being born can be a picture of both Jesus and the Bride, then perhaps the birth of Jesus in the gospels can also enlighten us to the rapture as well as the Lord's birth.

Matthew

I have already shared earlier in this blog how the first three gospels all have different agendas with Matthew appearing to give the gospel to the Jews who will be here for the full tribulation and then taken as a nation. I find the discussion of the Lord's birth very interesting from that perspective.

18 This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. 19 Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.20 But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” 22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23 “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”). 24 When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. 25 But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.

This does not even talk about Jesus birth, rather their discussion is about Mary being righteous and should not be rejected by Joseph! First the chapter is about the genealogy showing that Joseph's line goes all the way to David but that he was of the line that God cut off from the Messiah yet through his association to Mary he gets brought back into the blessing.

Then it is talking about God speaking to Joseph that he should not be afraid to take her as his wife because this was from the Holy Spirit.

This word is to the Jews to see that the rapture was from God and they need to join themselves to the Christians. If you combine this with Revelation 12 the woman fleeing into the wilderness correlates with Mary while the Jews correlate with Joseph.

Mark

The agenda in Mark is for those Christians who are left behind after the rapture.

1 The beginning of the good news about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God, 2 as it is written in Isaiah the prophet:

“I will send my messenger ahead of you,
who will prepare your way”—
3 “a voice of one calling in the wilderness,
‘Prepare the way for the Lord,
make straight paths for him.’”
4 And so John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5 The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River. 6 John wore clothing made of camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. 7 And this was his message: “After me comes the one more powerful than I, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. 8 I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

John the Baptist is "Elijah who is to come" during the tribulation, one of the two olive trees. We have two groups who are left behind, the Jews and these Christians and there are two olive trees for them. I lean towards the interpretation that the other olive tree is Moses since we saw Moses and Elijah on the mount of transfiguration. Who better to speak to the Jews than Moses. This would also explain why we are told that John the Baptist is Elijah who is to come and yet there is no hint as to who the other olive tree is since this gospel is for Christians.

The tribulation will be a time of great revival where those Christians who are left behind are baptized with the Holy Spirit and the Lord's word that "greater works than these will you do" will be fulfilled. This gospel says nothing about Jesus birth (the rapture) but rather begins with Elijah preaching a gospel of repentance. If you were left behind the first thing you need to do is repent.

Luke will require much more discussion, so I'll handle that in the next post.

More on the birth of Jesus, part 2

Luke

Here we find an amazingly detailed account.

1 Many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us, 2 just as they were handed down to us by those who from the first were eyewitnesses and servants of the word. 3 With this in mind, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, I too decided to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, 4 so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught.

I was reading Mary's song and wondered "how did Luke know this is what Mary said"? I would think by the time Luke was writing Elizabeth and Zechariah were both dead. Jesus and John had not yet been born. That means that Mary had to have told him, and that is what he says here, that those who were "from the first eyewitnesses and servants of the word" handed down the account to him. Mary was not simply an eyewitness, she was a servant of the word. Yes, Zechariah and Elizabeth are most likely dead by the time Luke wrote this but that doesn't mean Zechariah wasn't listening and couldn't have written down what Mary said and then passed that down to us. But that gives you a very interesting picture of who those who are raptured are. This makes perfect sense. If God has given you some treasure like Mary's song you need to share that with the whole body. If you write it down and pass it on then you have released that burden and the Lord is free and clear to take you from the earth, but if you don't He'll need to leave you if you have some valuable treasure the church needs.

The Birth of John the Baptist Foretold
5 In the time of Herod king of Judea there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah; his wife Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron. 6 Both of them were righteous in the sight of God, observing all the Lord’s commands and decrees blamelessly. 7 But they were childless because Elizabeth was not able to conceive, and they were both very old.

We learn even more about these ones who are raptured, they are priests, righteous in the sight of God and they observe all of His commands and decrees. Yet they were childless which in this age of prosperity gospel looking for outward signs of blessings would be taken as a sign of not being blessed by God. To be poor is to lack something. To not have a child means you have no future, no hope.

8 Once when Zechariah’s division was on duty and he was serving as priest before God, 9 he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to go into the temple of the Lord and burn incense. 10 And when the time for the burning of incense came, all the assembled worshipers were praying outside. 11 Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. 12 When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear. 13 But the angel said to him: “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John. 14 He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, 15 for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born. 16 He will bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God. 17 And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

This is quite revealing as to the situation. Zechariah has been praying, and he is part of an assembly of those who are devout and praying. But what exactly were they praying for? Zechariah might have been praying for a son but that is unlikely since he seemed incapable of believing that he would have a son. However, it might have been that they were praying that God's people would be brought back to the Lord. This is John's mission and we see it carried out at the start of the gospel of Mark. His mission is to bring those who were left behind at the rapture back to the Lord. His mission is to turn the hearts of the parents to the children (those who were being indoctrinated by Satanists who had infiltrated the school system) and to turn the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous (all these ones infected by the apostasy to question and reject the word of God).

18 Zechariah asked the angel, “How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years.” 19 The angel said to him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news. 20 And now you will be silent and not able to speak until the day this happens, because you did not believe my words, which will come true at their appointed time.”

I think this is fabulous message of hope to us. These great men of faith like Zechariah struggled with doubt and unbelief.

21 Meanwhile, the people were waiting for Zechariah and wondering why he stayed so long in the temple. 22 When he came out, he could not speak to them. They realized he had seen a vision in the temple, for he kept making signs to them but remained unable to speak.

When you struggle with unbelief you cannot tell people of your visions. Think of Ken Peters, he got a vision of the tribulation in 1980 and couldn't go public with it until 2000 because he didn't know the word well enough to believe it. When I was 13 I heard from the Lord that I would see Him return. I thought no one knew the day or the hour, I didn't know the word, but I was concerned that this word might have contradicted the Bible so I never spoke a word about it, though I may have made some signs to people that something had happened. It wasn't until a few years later when I learned about Simeon and Anna that I realized this word did not violate the Bible.

23 When his time of service was completed, he returned home. 24 After this his wife Elizabeth became pregnant and for five months remained in seclusion. 25 “The Lord has done this for me,” she said. “In these days he has shown his favor and taken away my disgrace among the people.”

Isn't that something! They were Jesus freaks. The rapture will take away our disgrace among the people. Right now in Christianity there are many "respectable Christians" it is only the "Jesus freaks" that are considered the embarrassing relative no one wants to talk about.

What is the best way to put an end to the pandemic?

I think it is fair to say that the vaccine does show a temporary effectiveness at reducing severe cases of Covid. The fewer people that get the vaccine the longer the effectiveness will last.

However, it is also fair to say that the vaccine does not prevent you from getting Covid or transmitting it. So to claim that you will help society and keep others safe by getting the vaccine is a proven lie. It is patently false to say that the vaccine should be mandated for the public health.

Yet we don't want to do nothing, what should we do?

1. Emphasize healthy living -- vitamin D, decrease obesity, get exercise, plenty of sleep, stay healthy.

2. Social distancing -- this is truly an effective strategy at reducing the viral load with which someone will be exposed. However, this is somewhat misunderstood. The most important thing is don't go into public if you have fever or symptoms. That is the single most important thing. Take temperatures at the door of schools, etc. The second thing you do is put up these sneeze guards at grocery stores, etc. You want to protect cashiers and bus drivers because they could become super spreaders. Finally, social distancing should be 3 feet not 6 feet. This would allow businesses to be open with minor inconvenience for the most part. Indoor stadiums and theaters are the main group that would be impacted. However, this would be based on metrics indicating when there is a localized issue.

3. Encourage large outdoor events -- Why is it that all those packed out rallies held outdoors never became super spreader events? Trump rallies, and other outdoor events in Florida were all decried as superspreader events and they never materialized. We see packed out stadiums at outdoor football events and they aren't becoming super spreader events. This is because the wind will blow the virus away and the sun will destroy the virus in fifteen minutes. It isn't possible to become concentrated enough to make people very sick (except perhaps in the bathroom or box holding 20 people, etc). As a result many people in these events will presumably get exposed to a very small, weakened viral load and therefore develop immunity without getting sick. I believe this is why Florida is doing the best in the entire country and many of the Red states that held these Trump rallies are doing quite well.

4. Treat people who are sick with therapeutics -- We have Ivermectin which was proven effective in India and HCQ which has been proven effective in Africa. This is undeniable and irrefutable. We also have oxygen. These three things work. Ventilators do not work.

More on the birth of Jesus, part 3

26 In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 27 to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”

We talk so much about this story that it is surprising to me how it is not covered in any other gospel. No other gospel talks about Mary prior to Jesus' birth. Isn't that amazing? This is the only gospel that focuses on people like Zechariah, Elizabeth and Mary! What do we learn about her, "you are highly favored, the Lord is with you". I suspect this was a revelation. Outwardly it may have seemed like she was a poor hillbilly kid, didn't grow up in a palace, no gold chains or big cars to "prove she is highly favored" or that "the Lord is with her". Luke wants us to see the people who are raptured prior to the tribulation.

29 Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be.

I like this. Mary is greatly troubled when it seems like someone is trying to butter her up. We know from the beginning of this chapter that she is a "servant of the word". She does not need a pat on the back, she does not need "this kind of greeting", this was from God. He is disgusted with what he sees with all these Pharisees practicing their faith to be seen of men. The rapture is a very strong testimony from God concerning who He says is highly favored and who He is with. In Revelation 3 it says that Philadelphia is raptured as a church and then the synagogue of Satan comes before then and confesses that God is truly with them.

30 But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. 31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”

This is the essence of what we are preaching.

34 “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”

This is different from what Zechariah said. Zechariah was wondering how this could be since he and his wife were old. That is unbelief. Mary wants to know how this will be since she is a virgin. There is no unbelief there, rather she has received the word by faith which is why she is asking this question. In the same way those who are preaching that the rapture will take place want to know how this will be, that is not unbelief, rather that is a valid question for someone who has received this word by faith.

35 The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. 36 Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. 37 For no word from God will ever fail.”

No word of God will ever fail

38 “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.

What a wonderful contrast. Zechariah has been a servant of God his whole life and this girl has been a servant of God for a far shorter period of time. Still she is able to receive the word by faith while Zechariah struggles with unbelief. Faith comes by hearing, not by time, and hearing comes by the word of God, not by simply being involved in religious activities. Both of these belong in our history of faith, both of these represent those who were faithful servants of the Lord and who were raptured. But as Luke says the key component is to be a servant of the word.

Clearly not a lense flare