Summary of Bible references on the Rapture

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ZNP

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The Lord has set the stage for the end of the age.

Luke 21:1 And he looked up, and saw the rich men casting their gifts into the treasury. 2 And he saw also a certain poor widow casting in thither two mites. 3 And he said, Of a truth I say unto you, that this poor widow hath cast in more than they all: 4 For all these have of their abundance cast in unto the offerings of God: but she of her penury hath cast in all the living that she had.

We often look at Matthew 24 to see the signs of the Lord's coming, but this chapter in Luke gives us a unique perspective. First, this section about the poor widow is huge. The Catholic church is not a "poor widow", they are a world power, they control one of the largest banks in the world, and it is fair to describe the Catholic church as the "whore of Babylon" that "sits on seven hills". Consider the evil, nasty scandals the Catholic church has been involved in from their association with Nazi Germany, to the child trafficking scandal and pedophile priests. So there is a contrast here between a poor widow which would be the church, giving all the living she has, and this great golden edifice of the Catholic church as the "temple of God" but that is totally corrupt.

5 And as some spake of the temple, how it was adorned with goodly stones and gifts, he said, 6 As for these things which ye behold, the days will come, in the which there shall not be left one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.

I want to look at this chapter considering what happened to the temple in 70 AD as a prophetic fulfillment, but also as something foreshadowing the end of the age. The Jewish leaders had rejected Jesus as the Messiah, they claimed He was casting out demons by the prince of the demons, Beelzebub. From that moment Jesus declared their judgement on them saying they had committed the unforgivable sin. 40 years later, to the day, the temple was cast down, not one stone left upon another. So Jesus said this judgment on the 9th of Av in 30AD. The 40 year period is the sign of Jonah, along with His death, burial and resurrection. During these forty years the Jews were given many signs that God was judging them. But my point is that this attack on Jerusalem and judgment on the Jews was brewing for forty years. What is happening today with WW3 has been brewing for forty years. The reason that the stones were cast down so that there was not one stone left upon another was because the Romans were stealing the gold that the stones were covered with. So why did the Jewish leaders reject Jesus as the Messiah? If we read the four gospels we can see a rock solid case made for Jesus being the Messiah that was prophesied and that fulfilled all the prophecies. The reason they gave was ridiculous, Jesus is fulfilling the prophecies to come with healing in His wings because "Beelzebub is helping him"? That does not make any sense. Jesus even points out that if Satan is destroying Satan's kingdom then his kingdom cannot stand. But it reveals a lot. Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. Look at the Catholic church, they are intertwined with demons, they have worked with demons to build up their massive edifice. It is not unreasonable to think that the Jewish religious leaders had also become involved with demons and witchcraft. They refused to acknowledge Jesus as the Messiah because He threatened their kingdom of darkness. In many ways the Mafia and drug cartels are much more honest and transparent than the Catholic church. We think they are evil, but they are not nearly as evil as these evil religious ones. Jesus said they stole widows houses and for a pretense made long prayers. The Mafia doesn't do that, they steal from other criminals, they are loan sharks to people who can't get legitimate loans, they offer protection for money, they sell drugs to people who want to buy drugs. They commit a lot of crimes and yet they wouldn't steal a widows home. Satan disguises himself as an angel of light, not as a drug kingpin. We know that many Freemasons and Satanic priests are also Catholic priests.

So then the context of the end of the age is something akin to Custer's last stand. Satan has been lying and deceiving for thousands of years, but in the end all the lies are being exposed. The first ones to get judged are not the Romans, it is the Jewish religious leaders at the start of the church age and the Catholic religious leaders at the end of the church age.

We also learn how Satan has been able to operate. Not one stone will be left upon another. You have a Bishop or Priest and he tells you "the word of God" and soon you simply trust what he tells you rather than going to the word of God. When that is the case you are a stone (believers are living stones) that is "upon another stone". Your faith is not resting on the word of God, your faith is resting upon what the priest tells you or what the Bishop tells you. What happens when you discover they have been lying? You are cast down.

This is the key point. Do not think that the Romans don't believe in Jesus and the Jewish leaders don't believe in Jesus so they are both one. No, they are all liars, cheats, thieves and murderers. The Romans discover that the Jewish leaders were rebellious or deceived them, then they come and destroy them. The same thing will happen at the end of the age, everyone will discover they have a reason to hate the Catholic church and so they will destroy her. It could be because they helped Hitler, or because they trafficked kids, or because of the Pedophile priests, or because of things the Vatican bank did, or who knows what other evils they are currently involved in. They are likened to a whore because they use seduction, lies, and all forms of deceit.

Also, consider this, they refused to confess that Jesus was the Messiah because they wanted the vineyard for themselves. That is how it is in the world, everyone is fighting to be the "king of the hill". This hill is a heap of collapse, but they are all fighting with each other to be king. This is the context, the Lord has set the stage for the end of the age.
 

ZNP

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Luke 21:7 And they asked him, saying, Master, but when shall these things be? and what sign will there be when these things shall come to pass?

We must keep these two questions in mind, they are different.

8 And he said, Take heed that ye be not deceived: for many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and the time draweth near: go ye not therefore after them.

Look at the first point, all war is a matter of deception. This is a fight over who is the Christ, who is the King. We are told from the outset that it will be by the father of lies. First and foremost we must know the truth, we must know Jesus Christ, the incarnated word of God and we must be able to hear His voice so that we will not follow another. Notice the Lord does not say "don't listen to them", no He says "don't go after them". There are some who expose these liars and cheats. There are whistleblowers. There are prosecutors. You can't do this job unless you are willing to go over every word with a fine tooth comb. Not everyone is suited for that job, but some are and because of people like Esther and Mordecai we can expose Haman and his evil plots. So first and foremost we must take heed to not be deceived and very few believers even know how to discern a false prophet. I have shared previously on this topic, but if you think that you discern a false prophet from a true prophet by whether or not a prediction comes true then you are setting yourself up to be deceived. Go to the Bible, see exactly what the Bible says and you will see your error.

9 But when ye shall hear of wars and commotions, be not terrified: for these things must first come to pass; but the end is not by and by.

This is a strange warning. I would have thought "when you see wars and commotions" not "when you hear". The Lord is not talking about a battle, He is talking about propaganda. The CIA and other intelligence agencies specialize in manipulating the masses with propaganda. The goal is to make people terrified. If you are terrified you will be willing to hand over authority to the government to "keep you safe". This is the same thing the Catholic church did selling indulgences. They teach you the word of God, they tell you about sin and hell, and then you start to get terrified about going to hell. Do they teach you about justification by faith or the Lord's redeeming blood? Nope, not until Martin Luther. Instead they tell you that you must pay them money so their dead relatives can get out of purgatory, and of course you also hope that your children will pay to get you out of purgatory. This has to come first.

10 Then said he unto them, Nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom:

But that kind of fear porn can only last for so long before someone will find out the truth. It is like the saying that you can fool most of the people most of the time but you can't fool all the people any of the time. There will always be a few who will not be fooled. The truth will come out and that will result in wars as people are not happy being slaves to others and being cheated and deceived by others.

11 And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.

This makes no sense unless earthquakes and famines and pestilences are acts of war. We know that Genghis Khan used bioweapons in war, throwing infected people with the plague over the walls of cities to make the inhabitants sick. So pestilences here are not simply sicknesses, but bioweapons used in war. We also know that famine is a very common tactic in war. Use an embargo or in some way cut off food and water to your enemy and they will have to surrender. We also know that the military has DEW (Direct Energy Weapons) that can cause earthquakes. It is stunning that Jesus knew about this two thousand years ago. Remember this age is about all the world leaders rejecting Jesus as Lord and all of them fighting to be king of the hill using whatever tools they can get their hands on.

12 But before all these, they shall lay their hands on you, and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues, and into prisons, being brought before kings and rulers for my name's sake.

This verse is referring to the apostles during the apostolic age. He is telling them "before all these things you apostles will suffer persecution". So anyone who thinks this prophecy was fulfilled in 70 AD is clearly wrong. The apostolic age went through John and he died decades after the temple was destroyed. The world wars, propaganda by intelligence agencies, bioweapons, manufactured famines, and DEW are all things that are coming long after the apostolic age. But Jesus is also comparing what happened prior to the destruction of the temple with what is happening right now in this generation.
 

ZNP

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Now will I rise, saith the Lord

Isaiah 33:10 Now will I rise, saith the Lord; now will I be exalted; now will I lift up myself. 11 Ye shall conceive chaff, ye shall bring forth stubble: your breath, as fire, shall devour you. 12 And the people shall be as the burnings of lime: as thorns cut up shall they be burned in the fire. 13 Hear, ye that are far off, what I have done; and, ye that are near, acknowledge my might.
 

ZNP

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Just as I am

1
Just as I am, without one plea,
But that Thy blood was shed for me,
And that Thou bid’st me come to Thee,
O Lamb of God, I come! I come!
2
Just as I am, and waiting not
To rid my soul of one dark blot;
To Thee whose blood can cleanse each spot,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come!
3
Just as I am, though tossed about
With many a conflict, many a doubt;
Fightings within, and fears without,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come!
4
Just as I am, poor, wretched, blind;
Sight, riches, healing of the mind;
Yes, all I need, in Thee to find,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come!
5
Just as I am, Thou wilt receive,
Wilt welcome, pardon, cleanse, relieve;
Because Thy promise I believe,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come!
6
Just as I am, Thy love unknown
Has broken every barrier down;
Now, to be Thine, yea, Thine alone,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come!
 

ZNP

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And it shall turn to you for a testimony

Luke 21:13 And it shall turn to you for a testimony.

This is the proper way to look at persecution. Yesterday we went to an event where a Pastor blesses this years High School graduates at the high school. We handed out New Testaments to all the graduates. In recent years we had handed out about 125 New Testaments but this was a bigger graduating class, this year they had 300. When it was all over we estimated 10% of the kids refused a New Testament. We handed out less than 90, so that also meant we estimated there were probably less than 100 kids there. This was not a mandatory event. So then two thirds of the high school graduates declined to come and be blessed and of those that did choose to come another ten percent didn't want a New Testament. However, the best way to look at this is what the Lord just said here. With all this outward pressure on kids where almost three fourths of the graduates don't want the blessing and don't want the New Testament look at the one fourth who do. Coming to be blessed and taking a New Testament means something, it is a testimony for each of those kids.

14 Settle it therefore in your hearts, not to meditate before what ye shall answer: 15 For I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries shall not be able to gainsay nor resist.

Take a look at the New Testament, it is an amazing book. They have done statistical analysis of it which is utterly amazing. For two thousand years the adversaries have tried to resist and gainsay the New Testament and have been unable. That same wisdom is available to all of us.

16 And ye shall be betrayed both by parents, and brethren, and kinsfolks, and friends; and some of you shall they cause to be put to death.

This is good news, not bad. It was this betrayal that really helped me abandon the world and go all in for the Lord. I saw first hand how friends will betray you and it was a mercy. I also saw how genuine Christians, even if they weren't your friend, even if you had mocked them, would not betray you. It was a humbling experience but it was the Lord's mercy to help pull the curtain back on what an evil, ugly kingdom the kingdom of darkness is.

17 And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake.

This might be the most important verse in this chapter. We often say to "get right with the Lord". What does that mean? Well, the apostles were right with the Lord and they were hated of all men for Jesus' name's sake. Just because you are hated doesn't mean anything. But are you hated for Jesus' name's sake? That is an important indicator of whether or not you are right with the Lord. None of us want to be hated, we will do whatever we can to not be hated. We may appear stupid, but we aren't. We know when we say a word that is offensive to others. This verse indicates that you have been faithful to the Lord to share the full counsel of God despite the cost.

18 But there shall not an hair of your head perish. 19 In your patience possess ye your souls.

I like this, it also is the part that has turned out for a testimony. The world knows how hard they are attacking you, they know how much hate they are sending your way, they know the persecutions, and despite all of that you keep on keeping on. That is a testimony. I remember the first time I went through this withering attack. I got down on my knees and I prayed wondering what I should do. Then I read in Galatians where Paul said he did not give place to them, not for five minutes. So that is what I did, next day I am speaking as though nothing happened and you should have seen the shocked faces.