Is the false teaching of pre-tribulation rapture, getting the power of "him" out of the way, who restrains the antichrist?

  • Christian Chat is a moderated online Christian community allowing Christians around the world to fellowship with each other in real time chat via webcam, voice, and text, with the Christian Chat app. You can also start or participate in a Bible-based discussion here in the Christian Chat Forums, where members can also share with each other their own videos, pictures, or favorite Christian music.

    If you are a Christian and need encouragement and fellowship, we're here for you! If you are not a Christian but interested in knowing more about Jesus our Lord, you're also welcome! Want to know what the Bible says, and how you can apply it to your life? Join us!

    To make new Christian friends now around the world, click here to join Christian Chat.

BenjaminN

Well-known member
Oct 7, 2020
1,504
307
83
Romans 11 tells us that God isn’t done with His chosen people. He did after all chose them to be their God forever. And according to Romans 13, they’ve only experienced a partial hardening until the fullness of the gentiles has come in.

So..Israel is still in play and God will bring them back to Himself...scripture confirms it..
Zechariah 12:10
I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and of supplication, so that they will look on Me whom they have pierced; and they will mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him like the bitter weeping over a firstborn.​
Yes definitely, as prophesied in Romans 11:26 all Israel (Judah among the Jews and Ephraim among the Gentiles) will be saved, when all become part of Christianity, God's chosen people, when the remainder (Judah among the Jews) come out of their blindness in part, when God lifts their "spirit of stupor" (Romans 11) and replace it with the "Spirit of grace", when also Judah among the Jews realised who the One is that they have pierced (Zechariah 12:10). The land promises to God's chosen people will be fulfilled in the millennial kingdom (Ezekiel 37-48, Revelation 20:4-6), following the return of Christ to this earth.

Romans 11 (New King James Version)

8Just as it is written:
“God has given them a spirit of stupor,
Eyes that they should not see
And ears that they should not hear,
To this very day.”

25For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own [f]opinion, that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. 26And so all Israel will be [g]saved, as it is written:
“The Deliverer will come out of Zion,
And He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob;
27For this is My covenant with them,
When I take away their sins.”

Zechariah 12 (New King James Version)

10“And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn.
 

BenjaminN

Well-known member
Oct 7, 2020
1,504
307
83
Christian zionism however teaches that God has two separate chosen peoples, ie. Christians and Israel - as if Israel can not be Christians. There are no place for a Christ denying person in God's chosen people. All Israel that will be saved, will accept Christ in due course and become part of the one chosen people of God, the one Body of Christ, Christianity, before his return to this earth. ( http://bit.ly/Christianzionism teaches two chosen peoples of God, Christianity separate from Israel ).
 

BenjaminN

Well-known member
Oct 7, 2020
1,504
307
83
Christ Yeshua was prophesied to Israel as the Messiah, but for the sake of the Gentiles to come to the fulness of their faith in Christ Yeshua, hardness in part has come over Judah (among the Jews, as part of Israel's Ephraim and Judah tribes).

Ezekiel 37 is prophesying that at the return of Christ Yeshua to earth, he will reunite the Ephraim tribes among the Gentiles, with the Judah tribes among the Jews, and He will regather Ephraim among the Gentiles, and Judah among the Jews, to their forgotten promised land of Israel, in Christ Yeshua's millennial Kingdom reign here on earth.
 

Lisamn

Active member
Dec 29, 2020
795
229
43
Christian zionism however teaches that God has two separate chosen peoples, ie. Christians and Israel - as if Israel can not be Christians. There are no place for a Christ denying person in God's chosen people. All Israel that will be saved, will accept Christ in due course and become part of the one chosen people of God, the one Body of Christ, Christianity, before his return to this earth. ( http://bit.ly/Christianzionism teaches two chosen peoples of God, Christianity separate from Israel ).
Do they become Christians though? Wouldn’t they still be a separate chosen people?
 

TheDivineWatermark

Well-known member
Aug 3, 2018
10,214
1,980
113
[to go along with verse 39 of Deut32 in Post #660]


Hosea 5:14-6:3 [re: Israel] -

14 For I am like a lion to Ephraim

and like a young lion to the house of Judah.

I, even I, will tear them to pieces

and then go away.


I will carry them off

where no one can rescue them.

15 Then I will return to My place

until they admit their guilt and seek My face;

in their affliction

they will
earnestly [or, early] seek Me.”

6:1 Come, let us [Israel] return to the LORD.

For He has torn us [Israel] to pieces,

but He will heal us [Israel];

He has wounded us [Israel],

but He will bind up our [Israel's] wounds.

2 After two days He will revive [H2421] us [Israel]; [see H2421 in Ezekiel 37 also, vv.3,5,6,9,10,14]

on/in the third day He will raise [H6965] us [Israel] up, [see H6965 in Isaiah 26 also, v.19]

that we [Israel] may live [H2421 (ditto the above note)] in His presence.

3 So let us [Israel] know—

let us [Israel] press on to know the LORD.

As surely as the sun rises,

He will appear;

He will come to us [Israel] like the rain,

like the spring showers that water the earth [/as the latter rain unto the earth].


____________

[then... quoting Gaebelein's Commentary on Hosea 5]

"And like the lion after his attack withdraws to his den, so the Lord would withdraw from them, leave them and return to His place, waiting till their repentance comes and they seek Him early in their affliction.

"The last verse of this chapter has a wider meaning than the past judgment which came upon the house of Israel. The Lord of glory came to earth and visited His people. He came with the message and offer of the kingdom to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. He came unto His own, but His own received Him not. After they had rejected Him, delivered Him into the hands of the Gentiles to be crucified, He returned to His place. There He is now at the right hand of God, waiting for that day, when the remnant of Israel will repent and seek His face Acts 3:19-26. [I mentioned Acts 3:21's reference to FUTURE events (i.e. the "UNTIL") in my Post #71 of this thread (NOTE: in a different thread)]. That will be in their coming great affliction, in the time of Jacob’s trouble.

"Hosea 6:1-3. The division of the chapter at this point is unfortunate. The three verses of chapter 6 must not be detached from the previous chapter. Here we have the future repentance of the remnant of Israel, that is during the great tribulation. Believingly they will acknowledge His righteous judgment and express their faith and hope in His mercy and the promised blessings and restoration. They express what their great prophet Moses so beautifully stated in His prophetic song, that great vision given to him, ere he went to the mountain to die. “See now that I, even I, am He and there is no god with Me; I kill, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal; neither is there any that can deliver out of My hand” Deuteronomy 32:39. After two days will He revive us; on the third day He will raise us up, and we shall live in His sight (literally, before His face).” They have been dead spiritually and nationally, but when the two days of their blindness and dispersion are over, there is coming for them the third day of life and [what is *LIKENED UNTO a] resurrection."

--Gaebelein, Commentary on Hosea 5 (taken from Bible Hub)

[end quoting Gaebelein; bold and underline mine; bracketed insertions mine; parenthesis original]

____________

[note the passages I've listed before that *LIKEN this UNTO a RESURRECTION ^ (re: Israel's "FUTURE"): Romans 11:15(25-29); Ezekiel 37:12-14,20-23; Isaiah 26:16-21; Daniel 12:1-4,10; John 6:39 (distinct from v.40); Hosea 5:15-6:3 "after TWO days" and "IN the THIRD day"... which is "THE LAST" of these three (counting from His resurrection/ascension [32ad], per Hos5:15), or "THE LAST" of seven (if you count from creation/Genesis 1, i.e. the "sabbatismos" of Heb4:9 (see Ex31:13,17 "it [the sabbath/7th day] is A SIGN between Me and the children of Israel for ever"), aka the Millennial Day of REST, that is, the 7th Millennium, or "THE LAST")]

I believe it is a big mistake to view the phrase "The Last Day" to be referring to "a singular 24-hr day"

[end quoting old post]
 

TheDivineWatermark

Well-known member
Aug 3, 2018
10,214
1,980
113
Do they become Christians though? Wouldn’t they still be a separate chosen people?
I think it's fine to call them "Christians" (after all, they will indeed be believers in Christ / their Messiah, at that point)... I just believe they are never called "the Church WHICH IS HIS BODY" (and that Eph1:10 is not speaking of "in this present age [singular]," but that awaits a future time--unlike the rest of the epistle which IS speaking of "this present age" [the 'one new man' etc; where there is neither Jew or Gentile in our standing before God IN CHRIST])
 

Lisamn

Active member
Dec 29, 2020
795
229
43
Indeed, our God does not break covenant.
Deuteronomy has some of the foundational prophecies. Then the later prophets colour it in with more detail.
I adore these 66 books!

Deut 4:31

30 When you are in distress and all these things have happened to you, then in later days you will return to the Lord your God and obey him. 31 For the Lord your God is a merciful God; he will not abandon or destroy you or forget the covenant with your ancestors, which he confirmed to them by oath.

Deut 32

36 The Lord will vindicate his people
and relent concerning his servants
when he sees their strength is gone
and no one is left, slave or free.
37 He will say: “Now where are their gods,
the rock they took refuge in,
38 the gods who ate the fat of their sacrifices
and drank the wine of their drink offerings?
Let them rise up to help you!
Let them give you shelter!
39 “See now that I myself am he!
There is no god besides me.
I put to death and I bring to life,
I have wounded and I will heal,
and no one can deliver out of my hand.

40 I lift my hand to heaven and solemnly swear:
As surely as I live forever,

41 when I sharpen my flashing sword
and my hand grasps it in judgment,
I will take vengeance on my adversaries
and repay those who hate me.
42 I will make my arrows drunk with blood,
while my sword devours flesh:
the blood of the slain and the captives,
the heads of the enemy leaders.”
43 Rejoice, you nations, with his people,
for he will avenge the blood of his servants;
he will take vengeance on his enemies
and make atonement for his land and people.


40 I lift my hand to heaven and solemnly swear:
As surely as I live forever,


Rev 10
5 Then the angel I had seen standing on the sea and on the land raised his right hand to heaven.
6 And he swore by him who lives for ever and ever, who created the heavens and all that is in them, the earth and all that is in it, and the sea and all that is in it, and said, ‘There will be no more delay!

1 Thess 4:16
16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.
I’m not sure what you are trying to say beyond Deut 4:31 that agrees with what I posted.
 

Lisamn

Active member
Dec 29, 2020
795
229
43
I think it's fine to call them "Christians" (after all, they will indeed be believers in Christ / their Messiah, at that point)... I just believe they are never called "the Church WHICH IS HIS BODY" (and that Eph1:10 is not speaking of "in this present age [singular]," but that awaits a future time--unlike the rest of the epistle which IS speaking of "this present age" [the 'one new man' etc; where there is neither Jew or Gentile in our standing before God IN CHRIST])
I don’t think they become Christians. They go into the millennial kingdom but not as Christians...they look upon the one they have slain and realize He was their messiah..but do they also believe that He’s shed His blood for them? Scripture doesn’t say they do that they only realize that He was the Messiah they’ve been waiting for.
 

BenjaminN

Well-known member
Oct 7, 2020
1,504
307
83
I think it's fine to call them "Christians" (after all, they will indeed be believers in Christ / their Messiah, at that point)... I just believe they are never called "the Church WHICH IS HIS BODY" (and that Eph1:10 is not speaking of "in this present age [singular]," but that awaits a future time--unlike the rest of the epistle which IS speaking of "this present age" [the 'one new man' etc; where there is neither Jew or Gentile in our standing before God IN CHRIST])
Should we say Jesus, his twelve disciples turned apostles, the apostle Paul, and all of the early solely Jewish church, before the apostle Paul went to the Gentiles, were to be called part of His church? Christ Yeshua instituted His church, Body of Christ, God's restored chosen Christian people:

Matthew 16 (New King James Version)

18And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not [g]prevail against it.

John 11 (New King James Version)

49And one of them, Caiaphas, being high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all, 50nor do you consider that it is expedient for [e]us that one man should die for the people, and not that the whole nation should perish.” 51Now this he did not say on his own authority; but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation, 52and not for that nation only, but also that He would gather together in one the children of God who were scattered abroad. 53Then, from that day on, they plotted to put Him to death. 54Therefore Jesus no longer walked openly among the Jews, but went from there into the country near the wilderness, to a city called Ephraim, and there remained with His disciples.

The restored Kingdom of Israel will be a continuation of the work Christ Yeshua started in his Body of Christ believers, God's chosen people, the Christians of which believing Israel will be part of, along all other believing peoples of all tribes, tongues and nations - but Israel is not a separate chosen people from God's Christians. Israel will however be God's Christians residing in Israel when Christ Yeshua resides in Jerusalem during His millennial Kingdom reign here on earth, whilst believing Christian peoples from all tribes and tongues and nations will be residing all over earth during Christ Yeshua's millennial Kingdom reign here on earth. We are however in for a surprise on who all were from Israel, as Israel's Ephraim tribes is still scattered without identity among the Gentile nations.

Acts 1 (New King James Version)

5for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” 6Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, “Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” 7And He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority. 8But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be [c]witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

Revelation 20 (New King James Version)

4And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for [a]a thousand years. 5But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. 6Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years.

Ezekiel 37 (New King James Version)

14I will put My Spirit in you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken it and performed it,” says the Lord.’ ” . 25Then they shall dwell in the land that I have given to Jacob My servant, where your fathers dwelt; and they shall dwell there, they, their children, and their children’s children, forever; and My servant David shall be their prince forever. 26Moreover I will [c]make a covenant of peace with them, and it shall be an everlasting covenant with them; I will establish them and multiply them, and I will set My sanctuary in their midst forevermore.

Isaiah 66 (New King James Version)

23And it shall come to pass
That from one New Moon to another,
And from one Sabbath to another,
All flesh shall come to worship before Me,” says the Lord.
 

Lucy-Pevensie

Senior Member
Dec 20, 2017
9,265
5,622
113
I don’t think they become Christians. They go into the millennial kingdom but not as Christians...they look upon the one they have slain and realize He was their messiah..but do they also believe that He’s shed His blood for them? Scripture doesn’t say they do that they only realize that He was the Messiah they’ve been waiting for.
That his whole last days plan is revealed in detail throughout scripture. The prophecies start early on in The Torah.
Most Jews at the time of the apostles were familiar with the themes & patterns of prophecy. Even the women. (John 11:23-27)
John's visions gave us a close-up focus on those themes but none of them were new. His return is exciting.
His coming kingdom & his vengeance are really part of the Gospel.

You just gave me an excuse to get carried away. ;)
 

BenjaminN

Well-known member
Oct 7, 2020
1,504
307
83
I don’t think they become Christians. They go into the millennial kingdom but not as Christians...they look upon the one they have slain and realize He was their messiah..but do they also believe that He’s shed His blood for them? Scripture doesn’t say they do that they only realize that He was the Messiah they’ve been waiting for.
Hebrews 8 (New King James Version)

A New Covenant
7For if that first covenant had been faultless, then no place would have been sought for a second. 8Because finding fault with them, He says: “Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah— 9not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they did not continue in My covenant, and I disregarded them, says the Lord. 10For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. 11None of them shall teach his neighbor, and none his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them. 12For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.” 13In that He says, “A new covenant,” He has made the first obsolete. Now what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.

Zechariah 12 (New King James Version)

10“And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn.

 
Jul 23, 2018
12,199
2,775
113
Christian zionism however teaches that God has two separate chosen peoples, ie. Christians and Israel - as if Israel can not be Christians. There are no place for a Christ denying person in God's chosen people. All Israel that will be saved, will accept Christ in due course and become part of the one chosen people of God, the one Body of Christ, Christianity, before his return to this earth. ( http://bit.ly/Christianzionism teaches two chosen peoples of God, Christianity separate from Israel ).
Basically and sorta yes.

The Jews come in last and it is through Jesus.
Rev 14
Jews, but are mesianic.
 

BenjaminN

Well-known member
Oct 7, 2020
1,504
307
83
Basically and sorta yes.

The Jews come in last and it is through Jesus.
Rev 14
Jews, but are mesianic.
Yes, also, although till this day, the identity of Ephraim's tribes among the Gentiles are unknown to themselves and everyone else except to God, still Ephraim's tribes (excluding Dan) are sealed before God's destruction is poured out on the earth, the sea or the trees:

Revelation 7 (New King James Version)

The Sealed of Israel
1After these things I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, on the sea, or on any tree. 2Then I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God. And he cried with a loud voice to the four angels to whom it was granted to harm the earth and the sea, 3saying, “Do not harm the earth, the sea, or the trees till we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.4And I heard the number of those who were sealed. One hundred and forty-four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel were sealed:
5of the tribe of Judah twelve thousand were sealed;
of the tribe of Reuben twelve thousand were [a]sealed;
of the tribe of Gad twelve thousand were sealed;
6of the tribe of Asher twelve thousand were sealed;
of the tribe of Naphtali twelve thousand were sealed;
of the tribe of Manasseh twelve thousand were sealed;
7of the tribe of Simeon twelve thousand were sealed;
of the tribe of Levi twelve thousand were sealed;
of the tribe of Issachar twelve thousand were sealed;
8of the tribe of Zebulun twelve thousand were sealed;
of the tribe of Joseph twelve thousand were sealed;
of the tribe of Benjamin twelve thousand were sealed.

A Multitude from the Great Tribulation
9After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands, 10and crying out with a loud voice, saying, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” 13Then one of the elders answered, saying to me, “Who are these arrayed in white robes, and where did they come from?” 14And I said to him, “Sir, you know.” So he said to me, “These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
 

TheDivineWatermark

Well-known member
Aug 3, 2018
10,214
1,980
113
I don’t think they become Christians. They go into the millennial kingdom but not as Christians...they look upon the one they have slain and realize He was their messiah..but do they also believe that He’s shed His blood for them? Scripture doesn’t say they do that they only realize that He was the Messiah they’ve been waiting for.
I believe the following passages are referring to them (early-ish in the trib, like during "the BEGINNING of birth PANGS"/the SEALS; FOLLOWING our Rapture); and that they are who will be leading the charge, so to speak, in the trib yrs... that is, it is THEY who will be DOING the "INVITING" (of the "guests [plural]" [i.e. Gentile nations]) TO the earthly MK age/the wedding FEAST/SUPPER, via the msg of Matt24:14/26:13 and Matt22:9-14/Rev19:9 [not v.7], etc... :


Matthew 10:22 -
And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.

Matthew 24:9 -
Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake.

Mark 13:13 -
And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.

Luke 21:17 -
And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake.


[as well as these (in the bold, below)]

Matthew 25:40 -
40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

Matthew 25:45 -
45 Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.

[where, those who will have aided (blessed) them will be called "ye BLESSED" by our Lord, and those who will NOT have aided (blessed) them will be called "ye CURSED" by our Lord, (in the context of) when He returns to the earth Rev19--So... "BLESSED" / "CURSED" reflective of a certain OT passage regarding this...]



____________

[none of these passages referring to the Church which is His body, who will already have been raptured out prior to the INITIAL "birth PANG"/FIRST SEAL]
 

Lisamn

Active member
Dec 29, 2020
795
229
43
Hebrews 8 (New King James Version)

A New Covenant
7For if that first covenant had been faultless, then no place would have been sought for a second. 8Because finding fault with them, He says: “Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah— 9not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they did not continue in My covenant, and I disregarded them, says the Lord. 10For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. 11None of them shall teach his neighbor, and none his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them. 12For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.” 13In that He says, “A new covenant,” He has made the first obsolete. Now what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.

Zechariah 12 (New King James Version)

10“And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn.

God has always said that He has an everlasting covenant with Israel to be their God.

I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.
Looks like they are still under the law and not grace in the millennium...can’t really call that Christian then can you? Plus Jesus is going to rule with a rod of iron.

I think the Spirit of grace God pours out in the last days is because without it the Jews won’t be saved...they can’t see God for the jealousy they have of Christians.
 

TheDivineWatermark

Well-known member
Aug 3, 2018
10,214
1,980
113
Luke 21:17 -
And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake.
I should clarify... I believe the above verse ^ is the only one of those I listed (Post #675), that took place in the 70ad events (Lk21:12-24 section of the Olivet Discourse = the events surrounding 70ad...) The rest of the list being "far-future" to when written/spoken, that being in the future trib yrs (FOLLOWING "our Rapture")
 

awelight

Well-known member
Aug 10, 2020
1,491
449
83
68
Do you agree that if the scripture says "first resurrection", it is the "first resurrection"?

Revelation 20 (ESV)

4 Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed. Also I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. 5 The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended. This is the first resurrection.
Yes I would agree that the First Resurrection is the first resurrection and the Second Resurrection is the second resurrection. However in 1 Thes. 4:17, this is not a resurrection it is a catching away or being taken up. The Greek word used here, αρπαγησομεθα, is from the root word, ἁρπάζω, which can mean: "To snatch, Pluck or Take by force". This catching away is the same thing that happened to Paul.

2Co 12:2 I know a man in Christ, fourteen years ago (whether in the body, I know not; or whether out of the body, I know not; God knoweth), such a one caught up even to the third heaven.
2Co 12:4 how that he was caught up into Paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter.

This was not a resurrection and was not witnessed by others or if it was, Scripture does not reveal by whom. Additionally, this word appears in Revelation:

Rev 12:5 And she was delivered of a son, a man child, who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and unto his throne.

These are the only four places where this Greek word is used in the NT.

We also know that when Christ ascended, He had already been resurrected. His ascension is in the same vein as the Rapture. For He said to His disciples:

Joh 14:2-4 In my Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. And whither I go, ye know the way.

This was not a general announcement. He was speaking with His own chosen disciples.
 

BenjaminN

Well-known member
Oct 7, 2020
1,504
307
83
God has always said that He has an everlasting covenant with Israel to be their God.

I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.
Looks like they are still under the law and not grace in the millennium...can’t really call that Christian then can you? Plus Jesus is going to rule with a rod of iron.

I think the Spirit of grace God pours out in the last days is because without it the Jews won’t be saved...they can’t see God for the jealousy they have of Christians.
A Christian by definition is a follower of Christ. There are no Jew nor Gentile in Christ, just a Christian.
 

Lisamn

Active member
Dec 29, 2020
795
229
43
A Christian by definition is a follower of Christ. There are no Jew nor Gentile in Christ, just a Christian.
Sure..but the Jews are still defined by their Jewish roots and the Abrahamic covenant that God made with them. He will be getting back to them very soon and that’s when the fullness of the gentiles will come in and God will turn back to His chosen people and bring them back to Himself.