Thief in the Night!
For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. 1Thess5:2
Today a Defiled Church waits anxiously for the Return of the Lord, to Rapture them out of their tribulations and usher in the Anti-Christ. They all hope to Escape the Wrath of God because they believe in Jesus and MANY are Cashing in on their delusion. Since the turn of the Twentieth Century teachers and preachers have been making predictions and writing books about the Return of Christ. ALL of it is based on the fallacy that came directly out of the early 1800’s, which introduced this false teaching into the Main stream systems.
In Ancient times the early Christians viewed the Return of the Lord as the Final Trumpet and Judgment of mankind. Although some second Century Saints adopted the Jewish view that a temporary Messianic Kingdom would reign on earth, according to Rev20. Among these were Justin Martyr, Irenaeus and Tertullian. They divided the Resurrection of the Just and un-just by this Thousand year reign of Christ in the New Jerusalem. Their understanding was based on what they understood as un-fulfilled prophecies of Isaiah concerning Abraham’s inheritance of the land. Since Father Abraham had yet to inherit any land, they believed God would finalize this prophecy and bring it about. Thus John’s 20th Chapter of Revelation was also literal. Satan would be bound for a thousand years and Christ would rule.
This belief, called: Premillennialism, was widely accepted in early times, but it was NOT written into any Creeds or Doctrinal devotions of the time. Generally all early Saints expected an imminent Return of Christ and then the Judgment of the world. No one espoused a Secret Rapture theory or divided the End times into some kind of Dispensations that included a seven year tribulation period. By the third century however it was Augustine who set the tone for future views of Christ’s Return, to one extent or another. He himself shifted his views during his lifetime to amillennialism, which denies that Christ will have a literal reign on earth and that His authority was spiritual in nature and extended to the present Church until its time was finished and then the Judgment. This held fairly firm until the early Reformation with few exceptions.
In the early 1700’s there was a radical shift to millenarianism, which teaches that by social and religious upheaval a New Kingdom on Earth would be ushered in and a general reform of mankind would take place under Christian leadership. This came about with the decline of the Catholic Church and rise of Protestantism. Some notable teachers however, still held to a literal Millennium and return of Christ to Judge the world and set up His Kingdom on earth. But NO ONE taught a Secret Rapture of Believers until a man named: John Nelson Darby first proposed a Pre-tribulation Rapture theory in 1827. His views caught hold through a series of Bible Conferences in 1878 where his Dispensationalism was introduced. As a result many books were written on the subject including the Scofiled Reference Bible, published in 1909.
The Popularization of the Term RAPTURE came about through Darby’s teaching and was prominent among the Plymouth Brethren. The theories mixed Premillennial teaching with Dispensationalism and was further brought into main stream denominations by William Eugene Blackstone who published a book, ‘Jesus is Coming Soon, in 1908, which sold over a Million copies. Combined with the Scofiled Bible, this teaching became entrenched in the Churches throughout the 20th Century and is widely held to this day.
By 1957 MOST Churches were teaching a Pre-Tribulation Rapture of the Church followed by a Seven Year period in which the anti-Christ would rise, deceive the world, dispense a Mark of some sort, behead anyone who refused to follow him and finally be Judged at the Return of Christ. In 1957 a Baptist theologian from Dallas Theological Seminary, named John Walvoord, authored a book called: ‘The Rapture Question’ which sold very well and was followed by several more books by others. But the False teaching really caught on in the 1970’s when Hal Lindsey published ‘The late Great Planet Earth’ which out did them all, selling over 15 million copies! Lindsey claimed the Rapture was imminent and Armageddon was just around the corner. At the time the European Community consisted of only Ten nations out of the remnant of old Europe. This fit into his twisted understanding of the Beast with the Ten horns in Revelation. As a result Millions of Professing Christians were dubbed by this man as he made a fortune promoting his books and secretly committing adultery on his wife and family.
Others naturally had to jump on the band wagon since the churches were swallowing these fallacies hook, line and sinker. One promoter who really cashed in was Tim LaHaye in 1995 with his ‘Left Behind’ series which swept the Church World like wild fire. His books were made into movies and shown in churches all over the world. Needless to say, Multitudes of Professing Christians have been Totally Deceived by these books and truly believe they are going to be Raptured out by the Lord very soon. When in Reality this Teaching was INVENTED out of thin air by the SAME people who believe you are Born a Sinner, Pre-forgiven of Sin, Transferred Righteous and Eternally Secure!
CLEARLY the Bible Teaches that when the Lord Does Return it is going to be for a Church without Spot and Blameless, PURIFIED by Obedience to the Truth! (2Pet3:14, 1Pet1:22) His TRUE Saints will NOT be overtaken as a Thief, or Walking in Darkness, (1Thess5:4-5) or sinning everyday in thought, word and deed. (as the churches are being taught) They will be Watching and Waiting Diligently Serving the Lord and Contending earnestly for the Truth in these Dark times. Genuine Believers are NOT Double-Minded, Divided in heart or trying to Serve Two Masters. They have Crucified the flesh with its passion and desires and sin does NOT reign in their mortal bodies.
All this is FAR Removed from Church teaching that focuses on entertainments and vain amusements. The Rapture teaching tickles the ears of people who think God is their sugar daddy showering them with blessings and coming to rescue them from the Great Tribulation. But in reality they are riding the Scarlet Beast as the Great Harlot of Revelation 17, corrupted to the Core and Deceived by an Army of False teachers who have convinced them they can sin and Not Die. They find support for their fallacies in the Bible and insist their theology is sound. Surly 1Thess4:16-17 supports the Rapture of the church! BUT WHY, for centuries, dating back to the earliest Disciples, did NO ONE see this? Does it make sense that no one until Darby in 1827, understood this passage?
And what about the commercialization of this teaching. HOW does that fit into the Preaching of Repentance and Faith Proven by Deeds? IT DOESN’T! Not in anyway whatsoever. Whether living Saints will be translated into Glorified Saints at the Lord’s Return is NOT the central focus of New Testament teaching. Perhaps the early Christians were correct and Revelation 20 is literal, I don’t know. But ONE thing is for certain, the Lord is going to Return some day to Judge the World in Righteousness. He will separate the Sheep from the Goats and burn away the Chaff with unquenchable fire! For the Defiled Churches this will be a Very Dark Day indeed.
They will be weeping and gashing their teeth, Crying Lord, Lord and begging for a reprieve. But their own Strong Delusion will be their undoing. They traded the Truth of God for LIE and Refused to Search out the Scriptures to Verify what their preachers were telling them was Sound. The Shepard’s themselves blindly followed the doctrines of men instead of God so Everyone was dubbed by the spirit of error. Anyone with a brain could have easily searched out the Rapture teaching and uncovered the fallacies, but the COST was too high for them to buck the mainstream. It was Fun watching the Movies, following Sunday School themes with LaHaye’s work books and handing out his material to the people. It kept the congregation happy and content and fostered a great deal of discussion that took the focus off their sinful conduct. They are all looking forward to the Rapture to solve all their problems and give them peace.
Telling them they are going to be Judged According to their DEEDS when the Lord returns (or they die) would ruin all the enjoyment. (Rev22:11-14) They would then have to be Personally Responsible to the Lord for their conduct and Obey the Word! Also it would be necessary for them to maintain Pure hearts and Clear consciences. And Crucify their flesh with its passions and desires. All the games would be over. As the Scriptures have directed all Saints throughout time, it is absolutely essential to Test the Spirits, Examine the Truth, Compare Scripture with Scripture, be Fully equipped with the amour of God, Dig Deep and Discern! Deception is everywhere. It’s FOOLISH to follow a Teacher / Preacher Without first checking them out with the Bible. BUT you MUST KNOW the BIBLE!!!
You Can’t Walk about in a Daze ignorant of these things and expect to be safe and secure. The Religious System that you are a part of is founded on shifting sands! You are Wise in Worldly Matters, TURN your Attention to Spiritual things before you find yourself being Cast into the furnace of affliction. The RAPTURE is a FRAUD, What more Proof do you Need? Darby Invented it!
The DAY of the Lord is NOT Divided into Dispensations or Separated by any time frames. As the Early Saints understood it was a SINGLE Day of the Lord’s Return and Judgment. Here are some Proof Texts:
Matthew 25:13 “Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.”
Acts 17:30-31 Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, 31 because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead.”
Romans 2:16 in the day when God will judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ, according to my gospel.
1 Corinthians 1:8 who will also confirm you to the end, that you may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.
2 Corinthians 1:14 as also you have understood us in part, that we are your boast as you also are ours, in the day of the Lord Jesus.
Philippians 1:10 that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ,
1 Thessalonians 5:2 For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night.
2 Thessalonians 2:2 not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come.
2 Timothy 4:8 Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.
1 Peter 2:12 having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation.
If ANY of the inspired Writers understood a Secret Rapture of the Saints, WHY didn’t they mention it in these passages? Collectively they referred to His Appearing a DAY of the Lord, NOT a Rapture of the Church, as your Pastors are calling it. People in the churches who following this teaching are typically focused solely on the entire End times Package, NOT Obeying the Lord or seeing anyone Saved from the Corrupting influence of Sin. They have embraced a TOTAL Fallacy of Doctrine and Teaching and the Present Condition of Professing Christians testifies to how far they have fallen into the depths of Satan.
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