Summary of Bible references on the Rapture

[ZNP]

2Samuel 14:1-22 The murders keep piling up

1 Joab son of Zeruiah knew that the king’s heart longed for Absalom. 2 So Joab sent someone to Tekoa and had a wise woman brought from there. He said to her, “Pretend you are in mourning. Dress in mourning clothes, and don’t use any cosmetic lotions. Act like a woman who has spent many days grieving for the dead. 3 Then go to the king and speak these words to him.” And Joab put the words in her mouth. 4 When the woman from Tekoa went[a] to the king, she fell with her face to the ground to pay him honor, and she said, “Help me, Your Majesty!” 5 The king asked her, “What is troubling you?” She said, “I am a widow; my husband is dead. 6 I your servant had two sons. They got into a fight with each other in the field, and no one was there to separate them. One struck the other and killed him. 7 Now the whole clan has risen up against your servant; they say, ‘Hand over the one who struck his brother down, so that we may put him to death for the life of his brother whom he killed; then we will get rid of the heir as well.’ They would put out the only burning coal I have left, leaving my husband neither name nor descendant on the face of the earth.” 8 The king said to the woman, “Go home, and I will issue an order in your behalf.” 9 But the woman from Tekoa said to him, “Let my lord the king pardon me and my family, and let the king and his throne be without guilt.” 10 The king replied, “If anyone says anything to you, bring them to me, and they will not bother you again.” 11 She said, “Then let the king invoke the Lord his God to prevent the avenger of blood from adding to the destruction, so that my son will not be destroyed.” “As surely as the Lord lives,” he said, “not one hair of your son’s head will fall to the ground.” 12 Then the woman said, “Let your servant speak a word to my lord the king.” “Speak,” he replied. 13 The woman said, “Why then have you devised a thing like this against the people of God? When the king says this, does he not convict himself, for the king has not brought back his banished son? 14 Like water spilled on the ground, which cannot be recovered, so we must die. But that is not what God desires; rather, he devises ways so that a banished person does not remain banished from him. 15 “And now I have come to say this to my lord the king because the people have made me afraid. Your servant thought, ‘I will speak to the king; perhaps he will grant his servant’s request. 16 Perhaps the king will agree to deliver his servant from the hand of the man who is trying to cut off both me and my son from God’s inheritance.’ 17 “And now your servant says, ‘May the word of my lord the king secure my inheritance, for my lord the king is like an angel of God in discerning good and evil. May the Lord your God be with you.’” 18 Then the king said to the woman, “Don’t keep from me the answer to what I am going to ask you.” “Let my lord the king speak,” the woman said. 19 The king asked, “Isn’t the hand of Joab with you in all this?” The woman answered, “As surely as you live, my lord the king, no one can turn to the right or to the left from anything my lord the king says. Yes, it was your servant Joab who instructed me to do this and who put all these words into the mouth of your servant. 20 Your servant Joab did this to change the present situation. My lord has wisdom like that of an angel of God—he knows everything that happens in the land.” 21 The king said to Joab, “Very well, I will do it. Go, bring back the young man Absalom.” 22 Joab fell with his face to the ground to pay him honor, and he blessed the king. Joab said, “Today your servant knows that he has found favor in your eyes, my lord the king, because the king has granted his servant’s request.”

This is another temptation. You don’t want your son to have to go to court for murder, yet at the same time you know he murdered Amnon. True, Amnon raped his sister so we can surely understand and sympathize with his response, and true he waited two years for David to do something about that crime and he did nothing. This is the problem, if you do not deal with sin and trespasses they fester and multiply. If David does nothing about Amnon raping Absalom’s sister but then prosecutes Absalom for murder that is not right. So we see that David is frozen, he can’t do anything. In a situation like that a good sounding story can help you pretend you are doing the right thing. This woman’s story was that the two fought and one died. That is not what happened, Absalom laid a trap and murdered Amnon, which of course was retaliation for Amnon laying a trap and raping Absalom’s sister. This in turn was David reaping what he sowed when he laid a trap and had Uriah killed and stole his wife. “As you have done it will be done to you”. Joab thinks that concocting this whole thing to encourage David that he does not need to carry out righteous judgement will put him back in David’s good graces after he had murdered Abner. The murders keep piling up.

 

[ZNP]

2Samuel 14:23-33 The word of God is a mirror

23 Then Joab went to Geshur and brought Absalom back to Jerusalem. 24 But the king said, “He must go to his own house; he must not see my face.” So Absalom went to his own house and did not see the face of the king. 25 In all Israel there was not a man so highly praised for his handsome appearance as Absalom. From the top of his head to the sole of his foot there was no blemish in him. 26 Whenever he cut the hair of his head—he used to cut his hair once a year because it became too heavy for him—he would weigh it, and its weight was two hundred shekels[b] by the royal standard. 27 Three sons and a daughter were born to Absalom. His daughter’s name was Tamar, and she became a beautiful woman. 28 Absalom lived two years in Jerusalem without seeing the king’s face. 29 Then Absalom sent for Joab in order to send him to the king, but Joab refused to come to him. So he sent a second time, but he refused to come. 30 Then he said to his servants, “Look, Joab’s field is next to mine, and he has barley there. Go and set it on fire.” So Absalom’s servants set the field on fire. 31 Then Joab did go to Absalom’s house, and he said to him, “Why have your servants set my field on fire?” 32 Absalom said to Joab, “Look, I sent word to you and said, ‘Come here so I can send you to the king to ask, “Why have I come from Geshur? It would be better for me if I were still there!”’ Now then, I want to see the king’s face, and if I am guilty of anything, let him put me to death.” 33 So Joab went to the king and told him this. Then the king summoned Absalom, and he came in and bowed down with his face to the ground before the king. And the king kissed Absalom.

This story is very confusing if we think that the “Holy Bible” presents only accounts of men of faith. James told us that when we read the Bible it is like looking in a mirror and seeing what we look like. No one knows how to deal with sin and transgressions, it is not something we are born with. Joab murders Abner, what did they do about it? Amnon rapes Tamar, what did they do? Absalom murders Amnon, did they do anything? King David kills Uriah so that he could steal his wife. Jonadab is advising Amnon in a way that will destroy him in the eyes of David and perhaps he had a hand in advising Absalom as well. Joab is trying to convince David to embrace sin and unrighteousness. Can you see yourself and your life in this picture?

Matthew 5:21 “You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder,[a] and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ 22 But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister[b][c] will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’[d] is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.

This is why murderers have no respect for anyone who judges them. They know that you have thought about doing the very same thing, the only difference between them and you is that they have followed through. The lesson is that if you don’t deal with sin with the blood of Jesus then it will fester, and continue to breed more sin. So then how do we deal with sin? Jesus showed us, you have to go to the cross and pay the price. Suppose David had dealt with Joab when he murdered Abner, he loses his general, and as a result he must lead the army. If he had done that he would not have been in Jerusalem being seduced by Bathsheba. If Joab had been dealt with for murder do you think Jonadab would have the nerve to advise Amnon to rape Tamar? If David had not sinned with Bathsheba would his son have felt free to rape his sister? One sin, leads to another and then another. You need to nip it in the bud, deal severely and thoroughly with sin. The price that needs to be paid is everything that we have. We cannot pay the price so Jesus paid it for us, but in return we are now His. As long as you are in Christ you are safe but the minute you step out of Christ as David did when he sinned with Bathsheba then you will be devoured by the enemy who walks around like a lion.

 

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Luke 12:39 -- But understand this, this word is about the Passover

Luke 12: 39 But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. 40 You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.”

The word “Passover” is thought to mean to “skip over” however the root word for Passover is much more like the word for stand or guard.

Lev 21:18 the word for Lame is from this root word. A person who “can’t stand”.

2Samuel 4:4 also refers to this word saying that Mephibosheth is lame, “can’t stand”.

1Kings 18:21 Elijah asks the people “how long are you going to stand holding both Gods?” The word for stand there is from the same root used for Passover.

So let’s go to Exodus 12 and consider using the word for “stand” or “guard” instead of Passover.

Exodus 12:12 “On that same night I will pass through Egypt and strike down every firstborn of both people and animals, and I will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt. I am the Lord. 13 The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are, and when I see the blood, I will [pass] Stand over you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt.

23 When the Lord goes through the land to strike down the Egyptians, he will see the blood on the top and sides of the doorframe and will [pass] Stand over that doorway, and he will not permit the destroyer to enter your houses and strike you down.

What is happening on Passover? The thief is coming to steal the firstborn. Those in the world don’t know what hour he is coming. Those who do know are ready, they have put the blood on the door posts and lintel, they have eaten the Passover meal while being shod ready to go at a moment’s notice. Meanwhile God is standing guard not allowing the destroyer to enter the house of those who display the blood of the lamb.

Now consider Acts 14:8-10 In Lystra there sat a man who was lame. He had been that way from birth and had never walked. 9 He listened to Paul as he was speaking. Paul looked directly at him, saw that he had faith to be healed 10 and called out, “Stand up on your feet!” At that, the man jumped up and began to walk.

This passage uses the same word for lame that Isaiah 35:6 does and the same word for leap that Isaiah 35:6 does. The word for lame is from the root for Passover.

Isaiah 35:6

Then will the lame leap like a deer,

and the mute tongue shout for joy.

Water will gush forth in the wilderness

and streams in the desert.


Once the lame are healed then he can [Passover] Stand, leap and prevent the house from being broken into.

Habakkuk 3:19 The Sovereign Lord is my strength;
he makes my feet like the feet of a deer,
he enables me to tread on the heights.

 

[ZNP]

Habakkuk 1:1-4 The leaders are lame and are unable to stand

Habakkuk 1:2 Jehovah, how long shall I cry and thou wilt not hear? I cry out unto thee, Violence! and thou dost not save. 3 Why dost thou cause me to see iniquity, and lookest thou upon grievance? For spoiling and violence are before me; and there is strife, and contention riseth up. 4 Therefore the law is powerless, and justice doth never go forth; for the wicked encompasseth the righteous; therefore judgment goeth forth perverted.

At least 6 of the hijackers that the 911 commission said were on the planes are still alive. One walked into the US embassy and said "Here I am, I'm still alive" and some were interviewed by the BBC. Yet the final commission report still gives their pictures and says they were the ones who were on the planes. Even to this day the flight manifests for the four planes have never been made public. Why would these people who supposedly all died on those flights be kept as classified information?

2 or 3 days prior to 911 there was a very large number of Puts bought on American Airlines, United Airlines and Morgan Stanley Dean Witter (which had 22 floors in the World trade towers). Puts allow you to make money if the stock price drops. This indicates that there was prior knowledge about the attack and that the perpetrators intended to make money off of it. So what did the 911 commission report say? They said they checked it out and there was no conceivable connection between the ones who bought the Puts and Al Qaeda. Therefore nothing to see here. This is not justice. This report that has gone forth, this is perverted.

The law was powerless. The steel from the World Trade Center was forensic evidence of the crime. It would have proven conclusively if the airplanes brought the buildings down or if it was brought down as a controlled demolition. However, the forensic investigators were not allowed to see the steel, it was guarded by the US military and then shipped to China to be melted down. They were powerless to do a real investigation and they were powerless to write the report.

 

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Habakkuk 1:5-11 Can anyone deny that He is talking about the US?

5 See ye among the nations, and behold, and wonder marvellously; for work a work in your days, which ye will not believe, though it be declared [to you]. 6 For behold, I raise up the Chaldeans, that bitter and impetuous nation, which marcheth through the breadth of the earth, to possess dwelling-places that are not theirs.

Can anyone deny that the US has marched through the breadth of the Earth to possess dwelling places that are not theirs? Doesn’t the word impetuous describe the US of all nations? We act quickly, without thought, we move forcefully or rapidly. And how about bitter, how bitter are people over what the US did to the Native Americans, how bitter are people about slavery, how bitter are they about broken treaties and broken promises. And it is a tenant of America that “God raised us up”. From Plymouth rock on we see God’s hand in raising up this country.

7 They are terrible and dreadful: their judgment and their dignity proceed from themselves.

At one point we were the sole superpower. Being a “superpower” includes “terrible and dreadful: their judgment and dignity proceed from themselves”.

8 And their horses are swifter than the leopards, and are more agile than the evening wolves; and their horsemen prance proudly, and their horsemen come from afar: they fly as an eagle that hasteth to devour. 9 They come all of them for violence: the crowd of their faces is forwards, and they gather captives as the sand.

Can anyone deny that our army is terrible and dreadful. We are swift and agile, fly as an eagle to devour. When we came to the Gulf war “our horsemen came from afar”. Our horsemen would be Seal Team 6, and Blue Angels, and Rangers and yes, they are a proud group. One translation is that “their faces shall sup up like the east wind”. When the wind blew from the east it was a dry and scorching wind for Israel. The Gulf war was like a dry and scorching wind. Perhaps you remember the oil fields set on fire by Iraq. Or the pictures of the caravan that was utterly destroyed.

10 Yea, he scoffeth at kings, and princes are a scorn unto him; he derideth every stronghold: for he heapeth up dust, and taketh it.

We have puppet regimes that we have set up. In the US we have no regard for these Banana republic dictators, kings, princes, sheiks. And we derided the strongholds that Saddam had set up, it took us all of a week to take it.

11 Then will his mind change, and he will pass on, and become guilty: this his power is become his god.

Since JFK's assassination the mind changed. Our leaders and government have become guilty. We fabricated a reason to go to war in Vietnam. We fabricated a reason to go to war in Iraq. There were no WMD's in Iraq. 911 is the ultimate guilt where "power became his god". 911 was not perpetrated by a bunch of terrorists with box cutters, it was perpetrated by those for whom power became their god. 2 million people died in the Vietnam war, and we contrived a reason to attack them. Likewise with the first Gulf War, there were no weapons of mass destruction. Likewise with the 2nd Gulf war, Iraq had nothing to do with 911. The US has become guilty, and “power has become the god” of those who are perpetrating these crimes.

 

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Habakkuk 1:12-17 The Lord has appointed them for judgement and for correction

12 —Art thou not from everlasting, Jehovah my God, my Holy One? We shall not die. Jehovah, thou hast ordained him for judgment; and thou, O Rock, hast appointed him for correction.

The US, the World rulers in Europe, China, and Russia, they are all appointed for judgement. Do you really think the Secret Service leaves the President reading “My Pet Goat” to a kindergarten class if they thought the US was under attack? Why was Willy Brown warned not to fly? Why did FBI agents claim they knew the target and the date before the attack? Even the NSA admitted they had intercepted a message on September 10 which gave the go ahead for the attack. The 911 commission did not question the NSA as to why they didn’t act on that message, nor did they question the FBI agents, nor did they even question those who warned Willy Brown not to fly. The report that went forth as the official investigation was perverted. Why? Because the Lord our God has ordained Jesus to be the judge of all, and He has appointed this corrupt regime for correction.

13 [Thou art] of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on mischief: wherefore lookest thou upon them that deal treacherously, [and] keepest silence when the wicked swalloweth up a [man] more righteous than he?

Till now it seemed that God had kept silent while beholding the treachery, while seeing wicked men swallow up the righteous. We watched as wicked men swallowed up JFK, MLK Jr., RFK, and all the other martyrs.

14 And thou makest men as the fishes of the sea, as the creeping things, that have no ruler over them. 15 He taketh up all of them with the hook, he catcheth them in his net, and gathereth them into his drag; therefore he rejoiceth and is glad:

All the kids who went to war in Vietnam, and all those killed in 911, and all those killed in these Gulf wars, and in Afghanistan, they were like fish caught in the net of these corrupt rulers.

16 therefore he sacrificeth unto his net, and burneth incense unto his drag; for by them his portion is become fat, and his meat dainty. 17 Shall he therefore empty his net, and not spare to slay the nations continually?

Many complain that this pandemic is not righteous, it is like a net that catches everyone. But as you have done it will be done to you. We use terms like "collateral damage" and brush it off, until we are the collateral damage. Since these wars what have we done? We idolize our technological achievement. At first it was helicopters and fighter jets, but now it is smart bombs, drones, robots, computers, and AI. The reason for 911 was to sell the congress on the need for technologically advanced weapons to our military. We increased our military spending so that we could have the drones and robots. What is the point of doing this except to “slay the nations continually”. Now we have people in the US working regular 40 hour a week jobs, they go in to an office, fly a drone over some poor third world country and blow up suspicious gatherings. Our wars are now continual. We don’t call them “wars” we call them police actions.

 

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Habakkuk 2:1-8 Because thou has plundered many nations all the rest shall plunder thee

1 I will stand upon my watch, and set me upon the tower, and will look forth to see what he will say unto me, and what I shall answer as to my reproof.

We are servants of the Lord, this is the time you want to be found doing what the master has commanded you to do. The word of God is a strong tower, on this tower we can look forth. We can see the hand of God, we can see God’s will and we can answer those that reprove us, denying that this is God’s hand. We were told to stand watch and make sure our house is not broken into.

2 And Jehovah answered me and said, Write the vision, and engrave it upon tablets, that he may run that readeth it.

We need a word that we can act on. It needs to be put up in a public place, easily read, and especially for those that are in a hurry.

3 For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but it hasteth to the end, and shall not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; for it will surely come, it will not delay.

It seems like the Lord's word concerning the end of the age has tarried, but when it comes, it hastens to the end. Once it begins it will be rapid fire. “ it pants for the day of completion, which shall do it justice. It longs to fulfil its destiny.” Ellicot. Then when it does come it will "break forth as a blast." Jamieson-Fausset-Brown. What is the "appointed time"? The Bible is filled with appointed times, but which one is the "appointed time" for the Lord to judge Pharaoh and Egypt for blood guiltiness?

4 Behold, his soul is puffed up, it is not upright within him: but the just shall live by his faith. 5 And moreover, the wine is treacherous: he is a proud man, and keepeth not at rest, he enlargeth his desire as Sheol, and he is like death and cannot be satisfied; and he assembleth unto him all nations, and gathereth unto him all peoples.

We used to have leaders that walked by faith like Franklin D. Roosevelt, but these new people in charge are drunken, treacherous, proud, and ambitious heathen. The contrast between now and then is stark. This is exactly what we did with the first Gulf war, assembling all the nations to us and yet our desire was not satisfied, and so we had a 2nd Gulf war.

6 Shall not all these take up a proverb about him, and a taunting riddle against him, and say, Woe to him that increaseth that which is not his! how long?—and to him that loadeth himself with pledges! 7 Shall they not rise up suddenly that shall bite thee, and they awake up that shall vex thee, and thou shalt be for booties unto them? 8 Because thou hast plundered many nations, all the rest of the peoples shall plunder thee; because of men's blood, and for the violence [done] to the land, to the city, and all that dwell therein.

It is on full display to the entire world what is going on. They see us taking what is not ours. They will rise up suddenly. We have been plundering many nations so it is righteous that we also be plundered. This judgement comes, like the opening of the fifth seal in Revelation, because of men's blood and because of the violence done to the land, to the city, and to all that dwell therein.

 

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Habakkuk 2:9-14 They are trying to deliver themselves from the grasp of evil

9 Woe to him that getteth iniquitous gain to his house, that he may set his nest on high, that he may be delivered from the grasp of evil! 10 Thou hast devised shame to thy house, by cutting off many peoples, and hast sinned against thine own soul. 11 For the stone shall cry out of the wall, and the beam out of the timber shall answer it.

This is the way of the world. This is what Dupont did with Teflon, this is what the NFL did with CTE, this is what the US military industrial complex did, this is what the world's oil industry has done to other nations. They have built their houses on iniquitous gain. They have cut off many people. People who are making a lot of noise about Climate change don't actually believe it. If they did believe that it was real they would know that the Pentagon and the elites would know about it. They would then see that all their actions are to set their nest on high so that they would be delivered from the grasp of evil. The 1% are terrified of the 99%. They are trying to bankrupt the middle class, trying to start a race war between whites and everyone else, have 50% of the country fight 50% of the country so that they can escape. They are trying to print the US dollar as fast as they can with multi trillion dollar packages, if people are bankrupt they will be too focused on feeding their family to try and go after the 1%. And more than anything they are terrified of Americans having guns. Even if they control the military they can never control towns and cities when there are hundreds of millions of guns in the US. They are trying to censor anyone who might expose them. They want to shut down churches, control schools. They are terrified of anywhere that people could gather and organize.

12 Woe to him that buildeth a town with blood, and establisheth a city by unrighteousness! 13 Behold, is it not of Jehovah of hosts that the peoples labour for the fire, and the nations weary themselves in vain?

It is not of the Lord that the US budget is dominated by our military spending, we labor for fire and we weary ourselves in vain for these treacherous men to bring on death and destruction like we saw in Vietnam, the Gulf wars, and of course 911. This new world order of globalization is built on blood and established on unrighteousness.

14 For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of Jehovah as the waters cover the sea.

Amen and amen. We will see the mighty hand of the Lord. What is the enemy terrified of, that the Earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord. This is the focus of this battle and the end of the age. Holding down the truth in unrighteousness.

 

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Habakkuk 2:15-17 A shameful spewing shall be on thy glory

15 Woe unto him that giveth his neighbour drink,—that pourest out thy flask, and makest [him] drunken also, that thou mayest look on their nakedness! 16 Thou art filled with shame instead of glory; drink thou also, and let thy foreskin be uncovered: the cup of Jehovah's right hand shall be turned unto thee, and a shameful spewing shall be on thy glory.

Our media reveals our shame. These reality TV shows do just this, they entice people with a paycheck, and fame. This is all so they can look on their nakedness. What is happening all day long now on this social media “shameful spewing on thy glory”. We recently had a televised awards ceremony during prime time for the music industry where two women acted out a lesbian sex scene during the song. They are filled with shame, they are looking on their nakedness, it was like a shameful vomit all over the airwaves.

17 For the violence [done] to Lebanon shall cover thee, and the destruction of beasts which made them afraid; because of men's blood, and for the violence [done] to the land, to the city, and all that dwell therein.

This is why we have pandemics. This is why the media has become so bitter, so untrusting, so cynical. Men’s blood refers to those they murdered. Violence done to the land is not simply the war, it includes the burning oil fields, and the destruction to the land. Violence done to the city indicates the devastation done to the economy. Think about 911, that was violence done to a city, that was also men’s blood, and it was violence to all that dwell therein. Think about all those first responders who got cancer, and all the other issues.

 

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Habakkuk 2:18- 20 When the Lord arises you need to stop what you are doing and be silent

18 What profiteth the graven image that the maker thereof hath graven it? the molten image, and the teacher of falsehood, that the maker of his work dependeth thereon, to make dumb idols? 19 Woe unto him that saith to the wood, Awake! to the dumb stone, Arise! Shall it teach? Behold it is overlaid with gold and silver, and there is no breath at all in the midst of it.

Money is a graven image. Coins are a molten image. The stock market is a dumb idol. The governments are going to do all they can trying to say "Awake!" and "Arise!" But the judgement has been declared, woe unto them. So I wonder why the investment bankers were so certain the federal government was going to bail them out in 2008? Could it be they knew about who was involved in 911? Surely they had a trump card they could play which they knew would guarantee they would be bailed out. What are we seeing today? Over $6 Trillion in stimulus bills, they are trying with all their might to tell these dumb idols to arise! They have artificially inflated the stock market to such a ridiculous height no one in their right mind would invest in it. The valuations are absurd, it is all a facade, a pretense. Imagine the Capital building is a giant vacuum cleaner vacuuming up all the money you have in the bank. That is what happens when they do these trillion dollar stimulus bills, they are vacuuming up your money out of your bank account.

20 But Jehovah is in his holy temple. Let all the earth keep silence before him!

What they didn’t figure on is God’s holy temple, the church. These are the people who are praying. Matt 18:10 “See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven. God hears their prayer. A pandemic silences everyone. They are forced to stop what they are doing, sit, be quiet, and keep silence before Him! This is why the Bible says “Plague went before him; pestilence followed his steps.” When the Lord arises to declare His judgement you need to stop what you are doing and be silent.

 

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Habakkuk 3:1-8 The God who hides himself is not hiding any longer

1 A Prayer of Habakkuk the prophet upon Shigionoth. 2 Jehovah, I heard the report of thee, I feared.

It is time for God’s people to remember the fearful things that the Lord has done in the past. Having a healthy fear of God is the beginning of wisdom. Consider what happened in Egypt.

Jehovah, revive thy work in the midst of the years, In the midst of the years make known: In wrath remember mercy!

This is the ominous silence before the day of wrath.

3 God came from Teman, And the Holy One from mount Paran. Selah.

This is why I love the Bible, it is so awesome. We are all on the edge of our seat, what is going to happen, is this the end of the age, is this the day of wrath? But God is in no rush. There is nothing the enemy can do. Look, God has a plan, He has been moving steadily with this plan, step by step and there is nothing the enemy can do. It was prophesied that He would come, and now we see Him coming. This word Selah to me is not simply a pause or a direction to the musical director, it demonstrates that the enemy is powerless. Do you want to end the lockdown, go ahead, the second wave of death will be bigger and more intense than the first. Do you want to keep the lockdown, go ahead the depression will be greater that the Great Depression. Does China want to strike at the US, go ahead, trade is down 30%, your economy is contracting, your only hope to avert a total economic meltdown is the US recovery. How about Russia, go ahead. With oil plummeting to 0 you have lost all your economic clout, you better hope that revolution doesn’t sweep through your land. The powers that be are paralyzed, selah.

His glory covereth the heavens, And the earth is full of his praise. 4 And [his] brightness was as the light; Rays [came forth] from his hand; And there was the hiding of his power. I heard the report of You, and I fear to look on your glory, but the earth is full of Your praise. Until now you have hidden the power in your hands. Our God is a God that hides Himself, but no longer! 5 Before him went the pestilence, And a burning flame went forth at his feet.

Yes, this got our attention and caused us all to sit up and take notice. We are watching the stock market go up in flames, the oil industry go up in flames, and the corrupt governments go up in flames. They are all under His feet. We are watching the leaders have their sins exposed and they are going up in flames. The God who hides Himself is not hiding any longer.

6 He stood, and measured the earth; He beheld, and discomfited the nations; And the eternal mountains were scattered, The everlasting hills gave way: His ways are everlasting.

Right now we are being measured. We are using all kind of statistical analysis to measure our nations to determine can we reopen, how much stimulus, can we afford it, what are the impacts. All of the nations have been discomfited. There are mountains that we think of as eternal, they have been around as long as human history, Peter refers to them They will say, “Where is this ‘coming’ he promised? Ever since our ancestors died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.” All of these atheists are scattered and give way.

7 I saw the tents of Cushan in affliction; The curtains of the land of Midian did tremble.

To the right hand and to the left God’s people see the tyrants tremble as God leads us out between the curtains and the tents.

8 Was Jehovah wrathful with the rivers? Was thine anger against the rivers? Was thy rage against the sea, That thou didst ride upon thy horses, Thy chariots of salvation?

Before it was Pharaoh and his chariots raging in anger. When God split the ocean or the Jordan was He angry with the river or the sea? No, Pharaoh came with His chariots and horses, and God came with His chariots of salvation.

 

[ZNP]

Habakkuk 3:9-19 We want to pause and consider, God is not mocked, you reap what you sow.

9 Thy bow was made naked, The rods [of discipline] sworn according to [thy] word. Selah.

Once again, selah. There is nothing they can do. They will be severely disciplined and it will be plain for all to see, just like Pharaoh was put to an open shame. This is definitely a place where we want to pause and consider that God is not mocked, you reap what you sow.

Thou didst cleave the earth with rivers. 10 The mountains saw thee, they were in travail: Torrents of waters passed by; The deep uttered its voice, Lifted up its hands on high. 11 The sun [and] moon stood still in their habitation, At the light of thine arrows which shot forth,—At the shining of thy glittering spear. 12 Thou didst march through the land in indignation, Thou didst thresh the nations in anger.

We have heard of all the things You have done and we do believe the great day of your wrath will be even more awe inspiring, terrifying for the wicked, but the glorious chariots of your salvation to those who are your people. The end of the age there will be a reaping, the wheat will be gathered into the Lord’s barns, while the chaff will be burned up in the fire.

13 Thou wentest forth for the salvation of thy people, For the salvation of thine anointed; Thou didst smite off the head from the house of the wicked, Laying bare the foundation even to the neck. Selah.

Yes, this is why you have come forth. This is the answer to our prayers. The house of the wicked is what we were looking at in the very beginning of Habakkuk. Why do you cause me to see iniquity? Because you have to see the iniquity if you are going to see God’s hand smiting the head from the house of the wicked, laying bare the foundation even to the neck. Did you see arrogant assassins who knew they would never face justice, because justice goes forth perverted? The bankers did, that is why they knew they would get bailed out, if they revealed the truth about the government it would be mutually assured destruction.

14 Thou didst strike through with his own spears the head of his leaders: They came out as a whirlwind to scatter me, Whose exulting was as to devour the afflicted secretly.

Jehoshaphat went out to war in 2Chronicles 20, the Lord had told him you don’t need to fight, just praise. So he had worshippers singing and praising. Meanwhile the three armies that had come up against Israel ended up attacking and killing each other. God killed them with their own spears. The church is the warrior of God, but we will not use sword or spear, we will praise our God. The Lord will deal with those who want to devour the afflicted secretly, just as the evil Haman, but it will be the gallows that Haman built where he will be hanged.

15 Thou didst walk through the sea with thy horses, The heap of great waters.

I am reminded of the time we crossed the red sea, I am reminded of Pharoah's armies.

16 I heard, and my belly trembled; My lips quivered at the voice; Rottenness entered into my bones, and I trembled in my place, That I might rest in the day of distress, When their invader shall come up against the people. 17 For though the fig-tree shall not blossom, Neither shall fruit be in the vines; The labour of the olive-tree shall fail, And the fields shall yield no food; The flock shall be cut off from the fold, And there shall be no herd in the stalls:

Scary times are coming. If you have been paying attention you know that we will have a great depression. The drop in the stock market we saw this year is about the same as what we saw in 1929, the spike in unemployment is more than anything we have ever seen and is on par with the Great depression, the drop in world trade of 30% and the drop in many very large manufacturing contracts is the deflation we saw during the time of the Great depression. The $2.5 trillion in stimulus is 5x what we did during the mortgage crisis and is probably only half of what the US government will do. Inflation plus deflation is a terrifying combination, especially once no one buys the debt.

18 Yet I will rejoice in Jehovah, I will joy in the God of my salvation. 19 Jehovah, the Lord, is my strength, And he maketh my feet like hinds' [feet], And he will make me to walk upon my high places. To the chief Musician. On my stringed instruments.

My God is the God of resurrection. He is the God of my salvation. He is my strength. He makes me to walk in high places. Our praise and worship should focus on rejoicing in the Lord.

 

[ZNP]

2 Peter 2 -- The rapture will be judgement on the false prophets

1 But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you.

Recently, during the lockdown I have been going to Youtube everyday (never did that before) and I have seen many false prophets masquerading as prophets and men of God. Peter explains how to identify them. Paul also gives us a different approach to identifying them in 2Timothy 3, I discussed this in my post on “unveiling impostors”.

They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves.

We can talk about the destructive heresies they bring in, and I have already referred to this in my discussion of the apostasy in 1Timothy 4. Instead of repeating what was posted in those two posts I want to focus on one destructive heresy concerning the rapture.

2 Many will follow their depraved conduct and will bring the way of truth into disrepute.

Paul goes into great detail concerning their depraved conduct in 1Timothy 4. This conduct has certainly caused the way of truth to be brought into disrepute, which was Satan’s strategy. For example the Pedophile priests in the Catholic church have caused the church to be mocked derisively. Televangelists and Preachers of the “prosperity gospel” who are always hawking their books and peddling their prayers are another group that bring disrepute onto Christians. A third group very easy to mock are those who predicted the day and hour of the Lord’s rapture only to be totally shamed. But in this chapter I want to focus on a fourth group that is never brought up. After the rapture there will be many Christians who are left behind. Among those will be those who ignored the Lord’s word and taught others to ignore it as well.

3 In their greed these teachers will exploit you with fabricated stories.

Their claim to a ministry is based on a falsehood, a fabricated story. Dig down and you will see their entire house rests on a foundation of sinking sand.

Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping. 4 For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell, putting them in chains of darkness to be held for judgment;

This is a direct reference to the Book of Enoch, a prophecy that predated Peter’s epistles and yet did not make it into the Bible. There are several possible explanations for this that fall into two categories. The first is that although it is a true prophecy inspired by God it is not part of our Covenant with God. The Bible does not include all of the genuine prophecies and speakings of God, only those that are part of our covenant with God. The fact that Peter, Jude and Paul reference Enoch tells you they consider the revelation to be genuine. The second explanation is that Enoch says things that can be considered idolatrous. This is a key point in discerning false prophets, the fact that they speak the truth is not evidence that they are true prophets. Just like John said, any who deny that Jesus has come in the flesh are one with the spirit of the antichrist. In 2Timothy 3 Paul tells us we’ll identify the impostors by what they do, not by what they say. Their actions expose who they are. Jesus said we would know them by their fruit, not by their works (leaves).

5 if he did not spare the ancient world when he brought the flood on its ungodly people, but protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness, and seven others;

Noah was a preacher of righteousness and as a result his whole family was saved. There is a big difference between a “preacher of righteousness” and “the prosperity gospel”. A preacher of righteousness speaks words that are salt, killing the germs, and light, shining in the darkness and exposing the creeping things.

6 if he condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah by burning them to ashes, and made them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly; 7 and if he rescued Lot, a righteous man, who was distressed by the depraved conduct of the lawless 8 (for that righteous man, living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard)—

A righteous man is different from a “preacher of righteousness”. Lot was distressed by the depraved conduct of the lawless, he was tormented by the lawless deeds he saw and heard. But he didn’t preach anything to his neighbors. We see him being rebuked by the people of the town “how dare you tell us how to live” when they wanted to rape the two angels sent to him. Lot had learned to keep his mouth shut and not cause trouble. As a result he barely saved himself and his two daughters and even then it was a shameful rescue. Some people think “can’t we all get along”? No, we can’t. The Lord is bringing in His kingdom, that means Satan and his angels are going to be judged, condemned and cast into Hell. They are not going to go without a fight. You can’t straddle the fence, pick a side. Either you are with the Lord or you aren’t. Once again, this is the group of false prophets I want to focus on, those that want to blend in with Sodom and Gomorrah and just hope that everyone can just get along but are too timid to be a preacher of righteousness.

9 if this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials and to hold the unrighteous for punishment on the day of judgment. 10 This is especially true of those who follow the corrupt desire of the flesh and despise authority.

What is he talking about? Go to Youtube and search for “Protests” and you can see videos shot in the last month of people following the corrupt desire of the flesh and despising authority. I can’t repeat what is said in those videos on this blog because ChristianChat would censor that. Suffice it to say they despise authority, they are corrupt, and the deeds I have seen and heard about are lawless.

Bold and arrogant, they are not afraid to heap abuse on celestial beings;

They are very bold with bull horns, very arrogant, and very abusive. I have heard a lot of four letter words from their mouths aimed at Presidents, Governors, Mayors, Police departments, and anyone else in authority.

11 yet even angels, although they are stronger and more powerful, do not heap abuse on such beings when bringing judgment on them from the Lord. 12 But these people blaspheme in matters they do not understand. They are like unreasoning animals, creatures of instinct, born only to be caught and destroyed, and like animals they too will perish.

We have seen this as well. Jacob Blake was shot in the back seven times on a Youtube video while trying to get into his car with three kids in the back seat. This provoked a stream of blasphemous comments from people who did not understand why. It turns out that they had a warrant for his arrest because he had not shown up to court on a charge of domestic abuse which could also be understood as rape. In addition, the woman who had a restraining order on him had called the police because he was at her home in violation of that order. Also the children in the car were in danger of becoming hostages. The police had tried to restrain him but he had gotten free and was trying to pull out a knife from the front seat of his car. By the time the truth had gotten out concerning what had happened many had already heaped abuse on the police and started riots and looting in that city.

13 They will be paid back with harm for the harm they have done.

They destroy their own town. The jobs lost will be the jobs that they might have gotten. It will take time but many will be caught, convicted and have a permanent record as a felon as a result of their rioting and looting. Meanwhile many people will avoid that city.

Their idea of pleasure is to carouse in broad daylight.

100+ days of protests in some cities. Who has the time or inclination to do this? Also, the disgusting display done during music awards on prime time.

They are blots and blemishes, reveling in their pleasures while they feast with you. 14 With eyes full of adultery, they never stop sinning; they seduce the unstable; they are experts in greed—an accursed brood! 15 They have left the straight way and wandered off to follow the way of Balaam son of Bezer, who loved the wages of wickedness.

It turns out that many of these people in these "protests" were being paid. But once they created this monster they can no longer control it. Cancel culture will never stop. BLM protests don't stop just because Trump is no longer president. Their expertise, their skill set is in slander and race baiting. They love getting paid to incite hatred.

 

[Platosgal]

There is no such thing as a "Rapture" its simply not in the text
Why should it be?
Why should American Christians be so special to be "Raptured" from the responsibilities of our faith

 

[ZNP]

2Peter 2: 16-22 You have been played

This chapter refers to Enoch, Noah, Lot and Balaam. These are all fascinating examples, some of which are false prophets. Balaam is the Old Testament example of a false prophet. Every word he spoke, recorded in Numbers was the word of God. A false prophet does not mean “phony” prophet. Balaam was a legitimate prophet, but he was false. He didn’t love God, he loved the wages of wickedness. His refusal to not deviate from one word that the Lord spoke was because he realized his value and worth came from people trusting that he was speaking the word of God. Privately, secretly he taught Balak how to put a stumbling block before the children of Israel. He knew how to bring down God’s people according to the word of God and he had no qualms about teaching that to others for a price. His selling the word of God and the truth for money was what made him false. It was his prophecy that Daniel was able to interpret and know what the sign in the heavens would be when Jesus came. Daniel taught this to the Magi who then brought gifts to Jesus in Bethlehem when they saw His star.

16 But he was rebuked for his wrongdoing by a donkey—an animal without speech—who spoke with a human voice and restrained the prophet’s madness.

Yes, Balaam could read the signs in the heavens, but was clueless when it came to wrongdoing and chasing after money like a lunatic. Even a donkey, an animal known for acting like a donkey, had to rebuke this guy.

17 These people are springs without water and mists driven by a storm. Blackest darkness is reserved for them.

What is a spring without water? In the desert you can come upon dried up springs. You know at one time there was water there, but there is nothing but dry sand now.

18 For they mouth empty, boastful words and, by appealing to the lustful desires of the flesh, they entice people who are just escaping from those who live in error.

This sounds like many of these rock and roll bands. The words to their songs empty, boastful words that appeal to the lustful desires of the flesh.

19 They promise them freedom, while they themselves are slaves of depravity—for “people are slaves to whatever has mastered them.”

Again, these rock and roll groups are slaves of depravity and yet they promise a way to freedom. There are preachers of a “social gospel” who do the same. The message is hateful and self righteous, but it promises “freedom”.

20 If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and are overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning.

Again, this is the group of false prophets that I want to focus on, those that knew Jesus Christ and Lord and Savior, they exposed the corruption of the world, but then they were entangled again by it and overcome by it. This can refer to televangelists, preachers of the “prosperity gospel”, some rock and roll singers, “poets”, those that know the truth but are motivated by the wages of wickedness, and those like Lot who are silently tormented by what they see and hear.

21 It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them.

Lot is obviously an exception to this, he did escape, but barely and shamefully. What happens to many is that they start out on the way but then stumble and instead of repenting they allow a root of bitterness to grow up. Now it isn't their sin or flesh that caused them to stumble, instead they blame others and come up for some kind of justification for what they have done and introduce a destructive heresy.

22 Of them the proverbs are true: “A dog returns to its vomit,” and, “A sow that is washed returns to her wallowing in the mud.”

And this is the first point I want to make based on this chapter, we should not be surprised that there are some that turn back. This is worse than backsliders. If I am walking up a steep, muddy hill and “backslide” I am still trying to go up, I haven’t turned back yet. Noah was walking up that steep muddy hill, Lot was backsliding, Enoch may have gotten himself entangled, and Balaam had left the straight path and was teaching others about a crooked path they could take.

So let’s look at one destructive heresy they taught you concerning the rapture.

In the book of Revelation chapters 2 and 3 we see Balaam, the false prophet in the church in Pergamum. He is teaching them to leave the straight path and sure enough this leads us to Thyatira where we see Jezebel, the woman who calls herself a prophetess and leads the Lord’s people astray. That takes us to Sardis where the Lord warns them

“I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead. 2 Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have found your deeds unfinished in the sight of my God. 3 Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; hold it fast, and repent. But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you.” (Revelation 3:1b-3).

This church is ready to die. They need to wake up! This is like the virgins waiting for the Bridegroom to come who had fallen asleep. What is remarkable about this warning is that the Lord tells them if they don’t wake up He’ll come as a thief and they won’t know what time He will come. That is the New International Version, a much more accurate version is the American Standard 1901 which says you won’t know what hour I will come to you. Why change it? Well there are many Christians who teach that “you can’t know the day nor the hour” concerning the Lord’s return as a reason why they don’t want to study it. There are a hundred Bible verses telling believers to wake up, watch, be ready, be alert, or some other warning concerning the Lord's coming. The prophets rebuked the Israelites repeatedly for not watching and not paying attention. But because of this one verse they teach you don't need to watch.

“Behold, I am coming like a thief! Blessed is the one who stays awake, keeping his garments on, that he may not go about naked and be seen exposed!” Revelation 16:15

That was the warning given to Laodicea that they were blind and naked. The story is that the high priest would go around the Temple late at night and if the watchmen were sleeping he would set their tunic on fire. They would wake up, throw their tunic off, and go running naked and be exposed. When the Lord returns and raptures the saints, what do you think happens to those who were sleeping and are left behind? They will be naked and be seen exposed!

1Thess 5 Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need to have anything written to you. 2 For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. 3 While people are saying, “There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. 4 But you are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief. 5 For you are all children of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness. 6 So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober. 7 For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, are drunk at night. 8 But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. 9 For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, 10 who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him. 11 Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.

This is another portion that makes it clear that the Lord’s return should not surprise us like a thief. Yes, it will be like a thief to many, many people. But for faithful servants who are not in darkness that day will not surprise them like a thief in the night. If you are a child of the day you are not asleep, you are not drunk on the stupefying wine of the world, but you are clothed in faith, love and salvation.

Matt 16:6 Jesus said to them, “Watch and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”

Their bread is their teaching. These are the same guys that told the Magi Jesus would be born in Bethlehem and yet did not go to see Him, nor did they know He had been born. They were caught unawares at the first coming, do you really think they won’t be caught unawares at the second coming? Leaven makes it easier to eat the bread, telling you that you don't need to watch because "no one knows the day or the hour" makes it easier for you to be a Christian.

 

[ZNP]

What do they teach concerning the rapture?

You hear this word repeated like a mantra “no one knows the day or the hour, so as long as you are right with the Lord you are good”. It sounds very good. It is like saying as long as you have prepared for the exam and are ready for the exam it doesn’t really matter if you know when it is because whenever it is you will be ready. It sounds right because to a certain extent it is right. The best lies are those that have a kernel of truth. If their teaching were blatantly and obviously wrong then the Lord wouldn’t have to say “beware”. So let’s actually “beware” and examine this very carefully the same way we would a poisonous snake.

Matthew 25:12 But he answered, ‘Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.’ 13 Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.

Jesus says that because we don’t know the day nor the hour we need to watch. They teach because we don’t know the day nor the hour we don’t need to watch. Jesus said if you don’t wake up and watch the day will catch you by surprise like a thief, and you will be naked and exposed. Paul said that we are of the day, we are in the light, we are not asleep and that day will not catch us by surprise. So yes, we are not told the day or the hour in the Bible, but there are so many clues that it is really clear that those who are paying attention, awake and in the light will see His coming before He comes. Peter in this chapter say that these false prophets will even deny the sovereign Lord. You may not understand what Jesus said, but you should definitely be able to understand that their teaching denies what the Lord taught. You should also be able to realize the Pharisees and Saducees teaching is like a lullaby, saying “go to sleep”.

So then what does the Lord mean by “watch therefore, for you neither know the day nor the hour”? Personally I need to confess that I have been a very careless Christian. I didn’t understand or know about the Lord’s calendar. I knew that Colossians says that the festival days are a shadow of things to come but never studied the calendar.

Colossians 2:16 Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. 17 These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ.

I knew that Jesus was crucified on the Passover exactly like the Passover lamb and even according to the time table given in the Old Testament. I knew that Jesus' death and burial fulfilled the feast of unleavened bread, and I knew that His resurrection was on the feast of firstfruits. I also knew that the church came into existence on the feast of Pentecost. I saw repeatedly in the Bible the use of the term “appointed time” and just ignored it. This age is the church age and it began with the first four festivals of the year being exceedingly significant days of the age. What I didn’t know was that the fifth festival, the feast of trumpets, is referred to as “you don’t know the day nor the hour”. A strange idiom, kind of like saying the fourth thursday of November is “Turkey day”. In fact I studied the Bible seriously for over 40 years and until this year did not pay any attention to the festival of Trumpets. So let me confess and repent for this careless mistake as a servant watching for the Lord’s coming. I also didn’t know that the reason it is called this is that you need two witnesses to certify that they have seen the new moon. Since it is highly unlikely that the new moon will be at exactly sunset the day doesn’t start at a normal time and so this day is also called “the long day”. I also didn’t know that this day is called the Festival of Trumpets because they will blow the Trumpets 100 times, the last time being called “the last trump”. But there is a good reason that I didn't study this, Paul said I didn't need to. Yes, the Festival of Trumpets is a shadow of things to come, but that is part of the Old Testament, a covenant with the Jews. It is not part of the New Testament, the covenant that I have. What does that mean? The age of grace is a parenthesis within the Old Covenant. At the time of Jesus' crucifixion it was the "69th week" in Daniel's prophecy and the age of the Gentiles began. During the last two thousand years the age of the Jews has been suspended while we this age of grace. The ministry of the Spirit and the building up of the church is likened by Paul in 2 Corinthians to the festival of Hanukkah, the rededication. So then I would suggest that the fulfillment of this age will coincide with the festival of Hanukkah. There are many other prophecies that suggest that fulfillment (the end of the age of grace) should be in 2024. What is interesting about that is that Hanukkah occurs on December 25th in 2024. I find that interesting because there are prophecies that say the Lord's coming takes place in the "midst" of our religious festivals. That is very weird since there is almost no overlap in "our religious festivals" (assuming this is referring to Jew and Gentile. Also, the "midst" would be a strange term for many festivals, but not Hanukkah which is 8 days long. So then we would need to work backward 42 months from October 2, 2024 (festival of Trumpets) and you get the feast of Pentecost 2021 which is in May. Remember a month is from one new moon to the next. One of the key prophecies that sets the time is the prophecy of the fig tree sprouting. Most understand that to refer to May 14th, 1948 which would then require that all things take place by May 14th 2028 (80 years later). That would indicate that the 70th week begin by May 14th 2021.

1Cor 15:52 “in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed.”

There has been a very interesting play on words, Trump/Pence sounds like Trumpets. Trump caused great trouble with his "Tweets", again sounding like the noise from a trumpet. Perhaps the Lord was just playing with us.

2Thess 2:3 Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, 4 who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God. 5 Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? 6 And you know what is restraining him now so that he may be revealed in his time. 7 For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way.

The rebellion refers to the apostasy. The apostasy is given to us in great detail by Paul and I have already shown how every single item of that rebellion has already been fulfilled in Christianity. The Pope and the Catholic church as well as other denominations have already fully fulfilled this. I gone through this in 1Timothy 4 -- What is the Apostasy.

 

[ZNP]

There is no such thing as a "Rapture" its simply not in the text
Why should it be?
Why should American Christians be so special to be "Raptured" from the responsibilities of our faith

Is there a wedding of Christ and the church in the scripture? How about a reaping of the wheat and the tares? What about a coming of the king? How about two in the field, one is taken and one is left, is that in scripture? Is the man child caught up to heaven, is that in scripture? What about the resurrection? How about "the dead will rise" or "we will be caught up to the clouds"?

For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words.

Is there a "being caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord"?

Behold, I tell you a mystery: we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed – in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet shall sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

Is there a sudden change, in the twinkling of an eye?

 

[ZNP]

There is no such thing as a "Rapture" its simply not in the text
Why should it be?
Why should American Christians be so special to be "Raptured" from the responsibilities of our faith

The Bible never uses the word "problem" does that mean Christians should not teach that there are no such things as problems? Bible never uses the word solution or happiness. What about them, should Christians deny their existence? Trinity and Triune God are also not used.

 

[Platosgal]

The teaching that God will vacuum up believers in the time of trouble is just not in the Bible
It is a Christian invention
Margaret McDonald had a vision- an non biblical - " vision" of the "end times"
This is where the idea came from

It is absurd to imagine that God would do such a thing for the later times Christians
after 2000 years of historical death and sacrifice of
Apostles and true believers

Margaret McDonald was a False prophet, not by intention I am sure but by design

 

[ZNP]

The teaching that God will vacuum up believers in the time of trouble is just not in the Bible
It is a Christian invention
Margaret McDonald had a vision- an non biblical - " vision" of the "end times"
This is where the idea came from

It is absurd to imagine that God would do such a thing for the later times Christians
after 2000 years of historical death and sacrifice of
Apostles and true believers

Margaret McDonald was a False prophet, not by intention I am sure but by design

I have not once referenced Margaret McDonald, so saying that she is a false prophet is completely irrelevant to this blog.

Parousia is in the Bible, the Lord's coming is in the Bible, the Day of the Lord is in the Bible, the day of vengeance is in the Bible, the manchild being caught up to heaven is in the Bible, the resurrection is in the Bible, the coronation of Jesus Christ as king is in the Bible, the wedding of Jesus is in the Bible, etc.

Saying that the word "rapture" is not in the Bible therefore the teaching is false is a fallacy, there are many teachings that use words not in the Bible. Abortion is not in the Bible, doesn't mean there isn't more than enough in the Bible to condemn this practice. Homosexual is not in the Bible, doesn't mean this isn't discussed simply because they don't use this word.

However, it is valid to ask why use "rapture" instead of parousia, or coming or appearing or even the Bema judgement? There are plenty of Biblical terms that clearly do refer to what I am discussing, the problem is they are very specific terms and for the most part theologians have done a very good job in expounding on these terms. I am not interested in regurgitating accepted teachings. What I am interested in is putting together this puzzle of "what is the rapture". The closest equivalent term to what I am focused on in this blog is "the day of redemption". That is a Biblical term, but the minute you refer to "redemption" everyone assumes they already know that. Rapture is a "forbidden" topic as your posts indicate. Rapture is a topic that is filled with false prophets and cults. Why is the enemy so focused on keeping us from discussing this topic? Those are two reasons I have selected this topic: it is still a mystery, a puzzle, and the enemy tells us we are not allowed to talk about it.

Not only so but if you are not told that it is a forbidden topic then you are told that "no one knows the day or the hour" so no need to get into it. This is a direct contradiction of many, many warnings by the prophets, apostles and the Lord Jesus that we need to watch or else that day will come upon us as a thief. So we are commanded by the Lord to watch precisely because no one knows the day or the hour. Using that as an excuse not to watch is "the leaven of the pharisees" that we were told to beware.

This puzzle involves so many pieces, so many references it is truly overwhelming. Which is why my first goal was to just put down as many references as possible. I have come to the conclusion that it isn't possible to put them all down, instead I see this age ending in a judgement similar to a final exam and so everything on that exam is relevant. Since that exam covers the entire covenant we have with God the entire covenant is relevant.

Still I have made quite a few discoveries, they are peppered throughout this blog. You could say that this blog might become "the idiots guide to the end of the age".