Summary of Bible references on the Rapture

[ZNP]

𝐀𝐧𝐠𝐫𝐲 𝐑𝐚𝐛𝐛𝐢 𝐀𝐭𝐭𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐬 𝐂𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐏𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐍𝐨𝐚𝐡𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐋𝐚𝐰𝐬​

Recently I read the book from Jonathan Cahn called "the Altar of Pergamos". In that book he describes this altar to Zeus as referring to the "throne of Satan" mentioned in Revelation 2. He says that it was dug up and the Germans took possession of it prior to WW2, he also says that the birthdates of Hitler and Stalin were both tied to this altar. After the Germans lost WW2 it was taken by Russia. Then Obama copied the altar for the DNC when he became their candidate and now the altar is going back to Turkey.

I say this because at the same time that Turkey has this altar they are allowing archaelogists to investigate the site that many believe is the remains of Noah's ark. For two thousand years people mocked the story of Noah so if now it is confirmed to be true what happens? Think of a pendulum, it was all the way on one side mocking this story as a myth, now it swings all the way to the other and they use it to push the Noahide laws which make it a crime to be a Christian.

I posted this link because of the strong, visceral response from someone when Christians stand against making the Noahide laws the law of the land. Do not be deceived, the "Noahide" laws are not given in the Bible, the basis for them is given, but the one law that the world was given to keep is is someone is killed (murdered) it is the governments responsibility to investigate and deal with the murderer.

Jesus is the Messiah, He is the one who will take the throne of David for eternity. The idea that it is a crime to worship Jesus in the Bible is absurd.

 

[Psalm1]

More about the Parable of the ten virgins.

On Sukkot the women would go to the chamber of the women where they could watch the proceedings on the temple mount. The parable is using the Galilean practices as a template for this parable but Jesus is relating it to His coming and His wedding. Sukkot depicts His wedding. In this case the women have gone to the chamber of women, they have fallen asleep because the ceremony is running late, then when they hear the midnight cry they all wake up and trim their lamps. Now in the chamber of women there is a chamber of the oils. They have to go to the receipts, pay for the oil, get a receipt, then go to the chamber of oils, and buy the oil. So even though it is midnight it is still possible to buy oil. They should have done this earlier, hence the term "foolish virgins".

Now in the gospel of John he gives us a very detailed account of this holy feast.

First, Jesus goes up to the feast in secret. Jesus said "no one knows the day or the hour" of His coming, He also likened it to a thief in the night. Here we see Jesus coming to this feast, at night, in secret, just as a thief in the night.

Second, Jesus begins teaching in the middle of the feast

John 7:14 When the festival was already half over, Jesus went up into the temple complex and began to teach. 15 Then the Jews were amazed and said, “How does He know the Scriptures, since He hasn’t been trained?”

Think about that, this is what people have been saying for the last few years. Who are you to teach, you haven't been trained.

John 7:16 Jesus answered them, “My teaching isn’t Mine but is from the One who sent Me. 17 If anyone wants to do His will, he will understand whether the teaching is from God or if I am speaking on My own.

We are simply speaking the word of God, we didn't come up with this, it is in the Bible.

18 The one who speaks for himself seeks his own glory. But He who seeks the glory of the One who sent Him is true, and there is no unrighteousness in Him.

This is the second response, the accusation that you are a false prophet, no one knows the day or the hour becomes stop looking at prophesies, ignore them, anyone who is claiming the prophecies of the Lord's second coming are being fulfilled is a false prophet. The question is, are they seeking their own glory or are they seeking the glory of the one who sent them?

19 Didn’t Moses give you the law? Yet none of you keeps the law! Why do you want to kill Me?”

This is the third step, look at the incredible rage going on from people who are clearly unstable. A hundred women standing outside the court where a woman who killed her three children is being tried and they are cheering her. A man on an airplane appears demon possessed as he attacks Jonathan Cahn for publishing "The Altar of Pergamon". During Covid I was forced to leave my job, my wife was forced to leave her job, and we were forced to sell the house because we didn't want to take an experimental vaccine for Covid which I had already had and recovered from.

20 “You have a demon!” the crowd responded. “Who wants to kill You?” 21 “I did one work, and you are all amazed,” Jesus answered. 22 “Consider this: Moses has given you circumcision—not that it comes from Moses but from the fathers—and you circumcise a man on the Sabbath. 23 If a man receives circumcision on the Sabbath so that the law of Moses won’t be broken, are you angry at Me because I made a man entirely well on the Sabbath? 24 Stop judging according to outward appearances; rather judge according to righteous judgment.”

This refers to a man who was born blind that Jesus healed on the sabbath. They wanted to kill Him for violating the sabbath. Think of the Sabbath as the third rail, something you just couldn't touch. Jesus could touch it because He was the Lord of the sabbath. Well at the end of the age the "third rail" is prophecies about the Lord's second coming. No one will state that you are not permitted to talk about these, but from my experience that is the way they act. It is an unwritten rule that everyone obeys mindlessly.

25 Some of the people of Jerusalem were saying, “Isn’t this the man they want to kill? 26 Yet, look! He’s speaking publicly and they’re saying nothing to Him. Can it be true that the authorities know He is the Messiah? 27 But we know where this man is from. When the Messiah comes, nobody will know where He is from.” 28 As He was teaching in the temple complex, Jesus cried out, “You know Me and you know where I am from. Yet I have not come on My own, but the One who sent Me is true. You don’t know Him; 29 I know Him because I am from Him, and He sent Me.” 30 Then they tried to seize Him. Yet no one laid a hand on Him because His hour had not yet come. 31 However, many from the crowd believed in Him and said, “When the Messiah comes, He won’t perform more signs than this man has done, will He?”

Notice this expression "his hour had not yet come". This is taking place during Sukkot and "the hour has not yet come". What did they want to do? They wanted to seize Him. That is what is going to happen to Christians who are left behind during the tribulation. Already we can see the preparations are being made, the flock cameras, the new laws, embracing the Noahide laws which will make preaching Jesus illegal, punishable by death. This is an accurate description of where we are right now.

32 The Pharisees heard the crowd muttering these things about Him, so the chief priests and the Pharisees sent temple police to arrest Him. 33 Then Jesus said, “I am only with you for a short time. Then I’m going to the One who sent Me. 34 You will look for Me, but you will not find Me; and where I am, you cannot come.”

This is a clear reference to the rapture. At the end of the age the saints will be preaching and once they are raptured, those that are listening will not be able to come.

35 Then the Jews said to one another, “Where does He intend to go so we won’t find Him? He doesn’t intend to go to the Dispersion among the Greeks and teach the Greeks, does He? 36 What is this remark He made: ‘You will look for Me, and you will not find Me; and where I am, you cannot come’?”

I am not sure what you are framing, in the virgin parable.
Are you saying the parable is not the rapture?
Also, are you saying the virgins are actually "bridesmaids"?

The virgin parable vividly depicts the rapture.

 

[ZNP]

Jesus is one with the father. He said if you have seen Him you have seen the Father. He said He "is in the Father and the Father is in me." He said He shared glory with the Father before the world began.

Jesus is the bread of life.

Jesus is the light of the world.

Jesus is the door of the Sheep.

Jesus is the good shepherd.

Jesus is the resurrection and the life.

Jesus is the way, the truth and the life.

Jesus is the true vine.

Jesus said "that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him."

Jesus also said "Now the Son of Man is glorified, and God is glorified in him. If God is glorified in him, God will also glorify the Son in himself."

Making it illegal to worship Jesus Christ as the Son of God is no different from what the Jews tried to do to the apostles after the resurrection. It is no different than the laws enacted during Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego's time in Babylon.

If there was nothing to this, if the Noahide laws were the basic laws that everyone in the world already has on the books (don't murder, don't steal, etc) then why do they need a Noahide conference in November? Also why would this rabbi go ballistic over this, you would think he would simply laugh and think it is not worth commenting on.

No, what is happening is the whole world has come to realize that if they don't put a stop to Christians the whole world will follow Jesus. Jesus is the way, the truth and the life, no man comes to the Father but by Him. That is what is freaking out Jews and Muslims and the Roman Catholics. The whole world is not converting to Buddhism, or to Shintoism. The need to stamp out the worship of Jesus is what the spiritual warfare is about, and this is why this rabbi (Post 17,121) who has rejected Jesus as the Messiah, is having a melt down over this.

 

[Psalm1]

Again, I like to know a little about who I am engaging with .. if engaging ... I grasp a little, now, about your focus ... good start. I too am an expectant of the so-called "rapture" ... it's not a good title, but it is recognized, so will deal with it as such ... Just lately, on another site, I have gleaned some information about the early "fathers" ... some of whom, did, indeed, view the so-called rapture as an awaited event. Thought this interesting, because there iw so much fluff on the internet about this subject being something that was "invented" within the last couple hundred years, by certain scriptural notables ... or by some teenager, even! Bottom line, it is scriptural, so just because the various church corporate "orgaizations" did not recognize it ... we are suppose to hold it at arms length ... I, on the other hand, hold all church "organization" at arms length, and am every so much mor happy and at peace doing so ... But I ramble ... You are "into" rapture information ... alright, I like that. But honestly, all I really know about it ... for sure ...is what Paul tells us. Anything else, I have to look at with at least some hesitation ... What say you ... ZNP ... about that stance?

You are doing good to have your eyes open.
The pretrib rapture is solid Bible doctrine .
I have 7 or verses directly pointing to the pretribulational rapture.

Postribbers erroneously believe in a theory that believers "go through" the trib and are rescued at the white horses coming, at the end of the 7 yr period.
That outlandish theory is nowhere in scripture.
Zero.
Nada.

 

[ZNP]

I am not sure what you are framing, in the virgin parable.
Are you saying the parable is not the rapture?
Also, are you saying the virgins are actually "bridesmaids"?

The virgin parable vividly depicts the rapture.

Yes, I am saying the virgins depict bridesmaids whose job was to light the way to the wedding feast.

It should not be too hard to realize that one person can have two statuses. I can be a teacher at school and a husband at home. I can be a father, and also a coach.

So yes, the foolish and wise virgins would refer to those who are servants of the Lord. John the Baptist likened himself to the friend of the bridegroom, that would be "the best man" in the wedding.

The church is the bride, that is clear in Ephesians, but Paul said that he desired to present the church to Jesus as a pure and spotless bride. Was Paul a member of the body of Christ? Yes. So then, wasn't he part of the bride? Yes. But he was also a slave of Jesus, and as a servant of the Lord it was his job to light the way to the wedding feast with the Lord through the dark night.

As a servant of the Lord you can be wise or foolish. You can be a "good and faithful servant" or a "wicked and lazy" servant.

Most of Christianity has conflated forgiveness with salvation. Our sin debt was paid by Jesus on the cross, there was nothing we could do to pay for our sins resulting in our forgiveness. That was all of Jesus, none of us. But since you have received that forgiveness how should you react? Jesus tells us clearly that we should forgive others as we have been forgiven. So if you don't forgive others and keep a root of bitterness, then does that mean you aren't saved? No, but it does mean you are not wearing a spotless robe. You are spotted and Paul wants to present a pure and spotless bride.

 

[Psalm1]

Yes, I am saying the virgins depict bridesmaids whose job was to light the way to the wedding feast.

It should not be too hard to realize that one person can have two statuses. I can be a teacher at school and a husband at home. I can be a father, and also a coach.

So yes, the foolish and wise virgins would refer to those who are servants of the Lord. John the Baptist likened himself to the friend of the bridegroom, that would be "the best man" in the wedding.

The church is the bride, that is clear in Ephesians, but Paul said that he desired to present the church to Jesus as a pure and spotless bride. Was Paul a member of the body of Christ? Yes. So then, wasn't he part of the bride? Yes. But he was also a slave of Jesus, and as a servant of the Lord it was his job to light the way to the wedding feast with the Lord through the dark night.

As a servant of the Lord you can be wise or foolish. You can be a "good and faithful servant" or a "wicked and lazy" servant.

Most of Christianity has conflated forgiveness with salvation. Our sin debt was paid by Jesus on the cross, there was nothing we could do to pay for our sins resulting in our forgiveness. That was all of Jesus, none of us. But since you have received that forgiveness how should you react? Jesus tells us clearly that we should forgive others as we have been forgiven. So if you don't forgive others and keep a root of bitterness, then does that mean you aren't saved? No, but it does mean you are not wearing a spotless robe. You are spotted and Paul wants to present a pure and spotless bride.

Who are " brisdesmaids" and who are "virgins"?.
Jesus is coming for "bridesmaids" when the rapture of the church is...in fact... the rapture of the bride.

Where is the bride in the virgin parable?

 

[ZNP]

You are doing good to have your eyes open.
The pretrib rapture is solid Bible doctrine .
I have 7 or verses directly pointing to the pretribulational rapture.

Postribbers erroneously believe in a theory that believers "go through" the trib and are rescued at the white horses coming, at the end of the 7 yr period.
That outlandish theory is nowhere in scripture.
Zero.
Nada.

The bible is very clear that a number of people are raptured prior to the tribulation, they stand on the glassy sea. But then an innumerable number are caught up to a sea mingled with fire after them.

The word tribulation comes from a greek word for Tribulum which was a heavy roller used to crack the chaff away from the wheat grains. The rapture is the offering of the first fruits to God so that He can bless the whole harvest, believers are likened to grains of wheat. The first fruits might refer to 10% of the believers, meanwhile the general harvest of 90% of the believers will take place during the tribulation.

The church age officially ends when the two witnesses are killed in Jerusalem and then raised 3 1/2 days later. That is during 2nd Passover and will be in 2030. That is when the Jews as a nation will say "blessed is he that comes in the name of the Lord". That word is referring to all the Christians who brought the gospel of Jesus Christ to the nations including the Jews right up to the two witnesses. They are repenting for rejecting the gospel.

We have been commissioned to bring the good news of the savior to the world. Will everyone receive it? No. But everyone who does receive it is a glory to God and you can be sure He desires all men to be saved. The Lord is exceedingly wise, He understands every way to win souls and will employ every technique including the tribulation. For example, fulfillment of prophecy is very effective in preaching the gospel and so the rapture sets the stage for many people to get saved.

 

[ZNP]

Who are " brisdesmaids" and who are "virgins"?.
Jesus is coming for "bridesmaids" when the rapture of the church is...in fact... the rapture of the bride.

Where is the bride in the virgin parable?

Jesus is the bridegroom, he comes for His bride but it is the middle of the night and they need to walk back to his father's house. This was before street lamps. Someone needs to light the way. The word of God is a lamp unto my feet. So the pastors, preachers, prophets, evangelists, shepherds and teachers are all holding lamps to light the way.

The parable does not condemn them for falling asleep and that is key.

The festival that proclaims "the coming of the king" is the Feast of Trumpets. In that feast you need two witnesses to tell the court that they have seen the sign that the Feast of Trumpets has begun. When they confirm this sign they can then begin blowing the trumpets and making a great shout. This parable describes the friends of the bridegroom making that great shout. So if we add those two witnesses to the ten virgins we get 12, the number of the apostles, the number of the 12 tribes and a complete number referring to all the believers in the Lord. The shout during the Feast of Trumpets is always at night because the sign is the sliver of the new moon which they would see at night.

According to Jewish tradition the gates are opened on the Feast of Trumpets, Tishrei 1, and they are closed at the sunset of Tishrei 9 right when the Day of Atonement begins. At the end of this parable the foolish virgins come with the oil and Jesus tells them the gates are closed. Prior to that He said the wise virgins had entered in. So the parable is talking about the Feast of trumpets right up until the day of judgment. The day of judgment is the 10th of Tishrei and the wedding feast begins on the 15th of Tishrei.

So instead of asking "where is the bride" you should be asking "who is Jesus talking about in these parables?

First, you have faithful and wise servants over the household and evil servants (Matt 24:45, 48), then you have the foolish and wise virgins. Finally you have the Lord who gave talents to His servants to invest. Some invested and had a profit to give to the Lord, one hid and buried his talent. These three parables are all focused on our responsibility, not as the bride but as servants. Some are servants over the house who are supposed to give the believers the right food at the right time. The evil ones refuse to feed them the word saying the Lord is coming, instead saying the Lord delays His coming. Then you have the bridesmaids who have a very specific job, when the bridegroom comes light the torches to light the way. These are the watchmen. But five of them were foolish, they were more than happy to light the torch, but they didn't have enough oil to keep their torches from going out. Finally you have those who were supposed to invest the word of God. For example, Jonathan Cahn has invested the word of God writing ten books. I suspect millions have read his books. Earning the Lord a profit is not a reference to money but to souls. Billy Graham would be a second person. But each one of us can share our testimony, preach the gospel, and lead people to the Lord. I had a dream where I was in a large church meeting hall, it probably sat a thousand people or more. I didn't recognize anyone but somehow I knew that they all knew me. I am not going to go through the whole dream but later I realized the interpretation was that all those people had come to the Lord as a result, in part, of my ministry. I don't know what part I had played, but after bringing it to the Lord I realized that was the point.

Christianity has simplified the gospel so that the concept of sanctification and being a servant of the Lord are all but erased from their concept of salvation. To be saved is not simply to be saved from hell. It is also to be saved from vanity.

 

[ZNP]

𝐀𝐧𝐠𝐫𝐲 𝐑𝐚𝐛𝐛𝐢 𝐀𝐭𝐭𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐬 𝐂𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐏𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐍𝐨𝐚𝐡𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐋𝐚𝐰𝐬​

The rabbi brings up a key point that the Old Testament does not refer to an antichrist. I think it is essential that we show him what we are talking about because I am sure he is familiar with this.

1. David, a type of the Messiah had to deal with Saul. King Saul was a "counterfeit messiah", a "counterfeit anointed one". That is what we mean by Antichrist and King Saul chased David through the wilderness trying to kill him. That is what the book of Revelation describes will happen to believers during the tribulation.

2. Adonijah is the prime example of a counterfeit Messiah. King Saul was someone the people wanted, Adonijah is someone all the lords and rulers in Israel rallied behind.

Those are the two Old Testament examples of the Antichrist, one at the time of David and one at the time of Solomon. David signifies the Messiah's earthly ministry and Solomon signifies His heavenly ministry.

If he understands the context of the term Antichrist, and sees that we are referring to counterfeits to the king, just like is recorded in the Bible, then he should be able to understand how many Jews will support the counterfeit just as they supported Saul and Adonijah.

 

[ZNP]

𝐀𝐧𝐠𝐫𝐲 𝐑𝐚𝐛𝐛𝐢 𝐀𝐭𝐭𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐬 𝐂𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐏𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐍𝐨𝐚𝐡𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐋𝐚𝐰𝐬​

I also need to respond to this pastor who says that Zionism is a wicked doctrine that has infiltrated Christianity.

He is right when he says that Jesus is the way the truth and the life, no man comes to the father but by Him. If the Jews have rejected Jesus then they are in the same boat as unbelievers. However, there is a path for the Jews to find salvation as a nation. That is clearly laid out for is in the prophets and in the New Testament. We have messianic Jews like Jonathan Cahn who have been saved. Peter and Paul were Jews and that was important, that background helped them tremendously in their ministry.

As a Christian I embrace Peter, Paul, John and James. They were all Jews and I don't forget that. I embrace Abraham, I embrace the pioneers of faith mentioned in Hebrews 11. I also know that Jesus has a covenant with Abraham and with David and He has not forgotten it. His faithfulness to that covenant, even when they are not faithful, allows me to trust that Jesus will be faithful to His covenant with me, even when I am guilty of being a failure.

The fact that we are not delivered from hell because we have kept the law doesn't mean I have a problem with laws against murder and stealing and rape and bestiality. Jesus has saved us from sin, that doesn't mean sin is no longer sin. Jesus paid the price for sin so that I could be forgiven and redeemed from death. That doesn't mean that God does not consider these things to be sin, or that there is no longer a death penalty and that the wages of sin is death.

There are laws against sin, and then there are ordinances. Eating bacon violates an ordinance, it doesn't violate the ten commandments. In Acts they said we don't have to keep the kosher rules about what you can eat and can't eat, nor do we have to keep the laws about circumcision and nor do we have to keep the laws about whether to worship on Saturday or Sunday.

If you think about it, preaching the gospel would have been absurdly difficult if you required that those saved keep these laws. I was in Taiwan, if I had to make sure that every meal I ate was kosher it would have been absolutely impossible. Likewise, if you preach in a country where you have to work six days a week and they give you Sunday off, how can you force them to keep Saturday as the sabbath?

But those ordinances are still relevant to Christians. The Cross of Christ "cleansed all animals" which is why we don't have to keep the kosher laws. The death of Christ is the true day of rest. As long as we abide in the death of Christ we are keeping the Sabbath rest. Finally, the cross of Christ has left a mark on us that is far more important than circumcision. Paul said the cross of Christ was the true circumcision.

So yes, I agree the Jews in Israel are for the most part unregenerated. They have not been born again any more than any other unbeliever. However, I also realize that to this people God entrusted the word of God and they have done a very good job (in my opinion) of caring for that word of God. I commend them for that. I am thankful for their faithfulness in this aspect. Also, I know from the prophesies that the nation of Israel is very significant and prominent in end time prophecies. You can't truly interpret and expound on these prophecies unless you include the nation of Israel into the discussion and this is because the end of this age takes place when the Jews, as a nation are delivered by Jesus.

In conclusion I think both the pastor and the rabbi are too extreme in their condemnations. It may be the rabbi is responding because of the extreme positions the pastor is taking and vice versa. I don't know, but I think that the Noahide laws will be used as an excuse to hunt down Christians during the tribulation and I also think Israel has a very prominent role to play in the end time prophecies. They don't play this role based on their own works, but rather it is evidence and proof that the Lord is faithful even when we aren't.