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Understanding the Final Rapture by Rev. Dr. Leslie Mary Trombly I wonder how many of you are aware of the number of raptures there were in the Bible. Those who are not aware, haven't studied the bible enough or those who pick and choose the verses to match what they believe are not helping themselves or the members of their flocks that God entrusted them with. The first rapture [caught up] is recorded in Genesis 5:21-24; concerning Enoch. Hebrews 11:5 verifies this as well. In Hebrews verse is that the word translation means to "to transfer to another place" (meta, tithemi, "to put"), is rendered "to translate". Therefore Enoch was "caught up" [raptured] The Second One was that of Elijah - [2nd Kings 2:1-12] Here we see he was caught up with a chariot of fire. Again raptured. It is also interesting and important to note that these two prophets didn't die. The reason it is important is because it shows us - even from the Old Testament - that God caught up [raptured] these two prophets, while they were alive. The third Rapture is that of Jesus Christ - Luke 24:49-53; Matthews 26-28] In order to fulfill the prophecy of the catching up of both the living and dead; Jesus had to die for the redemption of our sins, lay dead in the grave for two days and rise on the third day to fulfill the promise of eternal life with him and his father. BUT there was one other thing that is always overlooked. That is the fact in order to fulfill the other half of the prophecy that both the dead and living in Christ will be caught up when Jesus returns to gather His own unto himself, it had to be proven. When Christ rose from the dead in body [flesh and bone ] with the scars in his hands and feet and in his side that was the resurrection of the dead. Jesus wasn't a spirit, he was exactly as I tell you He was - a Man of flesh and bone. Thomas had his doubts until he touched the wounds of Jesus. John 20: 26-29 - "And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you. Then saith he to Thomas, reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing. And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God. Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed." Then He ascended into heaven. His father caught Him up in such a manner that the disciples would know that what he had told them through His teachings and the Olivet discourse was so and they would remember. So it also was it Enoch and Elijah from the Old Testament that also bore witnesses to this as well. So now, we have biblical proof of God's ability to rapture [catch-up] both the living and the dead. But there are three more raptures we need to touch on. First, the rapture of all who are in Christ, then second is the two witnesses and the third is the final rapture. Yes, there are three more separate events. One occurs before the Tribulation, one during the tribulation and the other after the completion of the battle of Armageddon. First we will touch on the Pre-tribulation rapture. First of all let me tell you that people choose to believe that the rapture of Revelation 20 is for all "in and out" of Christ. This is not only deceptive but it is also very false. Hopefully, after I have shown you these three raptures and their vast differences; you will have a better understanding of each one. I. Rapture of all who are in Christ: First I want to clear up the "rapture" of Revelation 12:5 - The Greek word "harpazo" is again translated into English as "caught up" in Revelation 12:5. Here it is used to describe the ascension of Christ into heaven; a demonstrated rapture event: "And she gave birth to a son, a male child, who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron; and her child was caught up to God and to his throne." Paul - [Now commonly known as a Near Death Experience]. Paul lay dead on the road to Damascus; yet he was caught up t the third heaven. In Corinthians 15:50-54, Paul describes the transformation of the believer into the heavenly kingdom of God. A perishable, mortal human body cannot enter the kingdom, therefore believers will be given new bodies that are imperishable and immortal. Paul reveals a mystery: every believer will not die but some will be translated into the kingdom of God in the blink of an eye. During the rapture, living Christians will enter the kingdom directly without experiencing death! Paul uses the term "SLEEP". But when a believer, either dead or alive is changed, they are immortal for eternity: 50. Now I say this, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. 51. Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all SLEEP, but we will all be changed, 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 will be changed. 53. For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality. 54. But when this perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality ... Also in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 - The apostle Paul again uses the word SLEEP for physical death, this time clearly explaining that those Christians who have experienced physical death will be resurrected by Christ. This bears witness also to the fact of the two living "raptures" of the Old Testament and that of the New testament through the death and resurrection of Christ followed by his Ascension into heaven. One More thing to note: In Luke 21:34-36 For nearly 2,000 years, Christians have been eagerly awaiting the return of Jesus Christ to earth. This anticipation has inspired fervent evangelism and steadfastness in trials and tribulations. Jesus admonished Christians to not become so preoccupied with the cares of this life that they become unfruitful. Jesus promised that the faithful will be accounted worthy to escape the terrible things that will come upon the earth in the last days. Some ridicule "escapism", yet Jesus taught it himself: "And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares. For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth. Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the son of man." The word of the Lord is very clear that the dead in Christ and those who are alive at the time of the rapture will be caught up. We shall see our loved ones at that time. In I Corinthians 15 verse 22-24, "for as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. But every man in his own order; Christ the first fruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming. Then cometh the end when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the father; when he shall have put down all rule;and all authority and power." This is the rapture of the departed saints as they will rise from the dead to meet the Lord in the air and I Corinthians 15 says we will meet the Lord with them. It includes us in this Chapter as well in verse 51-52. "behold I show 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 trump; for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed." In 1 Thessalonians 4;17, it tells us that his church (his people) will meet Christ in the air. The Lord and his angels will gather the people of his church up into the air in phase one of his second coming. The Lord's feet will not touch the earth at this time and he will appear as he did at the time of his crucifixion and resurrection. All the wounds he suffered during that time will be visible, so all may know that he is the son of God. II. The two Witnesses - First we see from Revelation Chapter 11: 7-10 that the two witnesses sent by God to Jerusalem are killed and left to lay dead in the street for three days "And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them. And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified. And they of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three days and an half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves. And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth." But then those who dwelt in Jerusalem were in for a big surprise after those three and a half days. When we continue on in Revelation 11, we see verses 11-12, give us a clear and concise view of the (1) raising of the dead and then (2) the rapture[catching-up] of the two witnesses. "And after three days and an half the Spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them. And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them." III. The Final Rapture: As I stated earlier, those who are not aware, haven't studied the bible enough or those who pick and choose the verses to match what they believe are not helping themselves or the members of their flocks that God entrusted them with. The Final rapture deals with those who were not in Christ, albeit dead or alive. These are those who turned their backs on God, cursed Him, denied Him and rejected Him. These are those who are brought before the Great White throne of Judgment. This is where people believe that all saints & sinners come forth to face their final Judgment. Not So. Those who were raptured up to Jesus in the clouds before the tribulation, have already been judged and rewarded. These are those who also refused to turn from their sin and iniquity. The Book of Life is also opened there to show them that their names are not in the book of life and they are the ones who will be cast into the Lake of Fire. First let's take a look at Revelation 20:1-3: "And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. 2And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, 3And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season." During the thousand year reign of Christ, Satan and all his minions will not be free to tempt or seduce mankind. But God will let him loose for a little season to resume his evil and deceptions. God knows the evil that lurks in the hearts of men, even though they have had the benefit and blessings of God for a thousand years. They will still turn from him and rebel against Him with Satan at the helm. Now take a look at what Revelation 20:7-4 - "And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them. And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever. And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire." This final rapture and Judgment are quite clear as to who stands before the Great white throne of Judgment. I doubt very seriously that God would bring all the raptured saints {Those who remained faithful and true to Him} that were caught up before the Tribulation, would be judged and sent to a second death when they were promised eternal Life. Does that make any sense to you? Next let's take a look at these verses from revelation 20: 5-7 "And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years." How much more clarified can it get? It point blank tells you that those who were the SOULS pf them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus and the word of God. This means all those who had not worshipped the beast nor his image or received his mark in their foreheads or right hands in the tribulation. This is the first resurrection and it means that it is separate and apart from the final resurrection. It also makes it clear that the second death has no power over them. Now here is where the confusion between the rapture of the Church and the resurrection of the martyrs comes in. In the bible, Neither Jesus nor Paul never referred to those who had died as being dead, but rather as sleeping. Here is some proofs: (1) In Mark 5:39 - Jarius' daughter had died, but Jesus didn't say she was dead. He said, "And when he was come in, he saith unto them, Why make ye this ado, and weep? The damsel is not dead, but SLEEPETH." (2) From John 11:11: " These things said he: and after that he saith unto them, Our friend Lazarus SLEEPETH; but I go, that I may awake him out of SLEEP." (3) From 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18: "But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are ASLEEP, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which SLEEP in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are ASLEEP. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words." Because they died [sleep] during the tribulation] because of being beheaded by the Antichrist] they must remain in their graves until the second coming of the Lord. In Matthew 24:29-31, it is clearly stated that elect are those who died during the tribulation that are also gathered from the four winds along with the elect who are still alive, so they also can rule and reign with Jesus during His thousand year reign. "Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other." Why then are they not resurrected during the Tribulation? Because their time has not come and they missed the rapture spoken about by Paul and Jesus both. There is no one on earth from the kingdom of God that has that power during the tribulation. Therefore they must wait until His second coming. Remember the Holy Spirit is removed from the earth during this period as well and people are left to make the decision about Salvation on their own with out any encouragement from the Father, Son or Holy Spirit. The earth becomes fully under the control of the Antichrist and Satan for 7 years. Good and evil can not abide the same space at the same time, just as darkness and light can't abide the same space at the same time. It is also important to note that Jesus never referred to "his own" [the true believers and followers] as being dead. It referred to them as being asleep. Those who are in Christ are only ASLEEP. For them the grave is a time of rest for their bodies. Remember what Paul said in 1 Corinthians 15:51-54, "Behold, I shew 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 trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory." Again we see the word sleep as opposed to the word dead. Jesus said "let the dead bury the dead. [Luke 9:60 - "Jesus said unto him, let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God." Also in Matthew 8:21-22 - "And another of his disciples said unto him, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father. But Jesus said unto him, Follow me; and let the dead bury their dead."] Do you know what this means? It means that those who are dead in him will bury the dead who are not in him as well. In other words, "The key is that serving God is more important than serving people, even though we minister to our fellow human beings as God's ambassadors. In this respect, we could expand Jesus' remark to say, "Allow the spiritually dead to bury their own dead." It means that you make 'a clear and total break with the spiritually dead. As for the loved ones who have "died" that are in Christ, their bodies merely rest. As for those who are not they are dead, both physically and spiritually. Remember what Paul told us that "to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord". Our souls - who we really are, leave our bodies and go home to the Lord if we are redeemed by the blood of the Lamb and believed that Jesus was and is the Son of God, sought forgiveness for our sins and confessed that He is Lord. ON THE OTHER HAND, those who are not in Christ, their souls also leave their body and reside in Hell until the final judgment of both the living and the dead as well. These are those who will face the "second death". The rapture of the Church [His people] is entirely different from these verses on the resurrection. Jesus also never said resurrect he always used the word "rise". This also confirms the usage of the word "SLEEP" that he used. He was telling them that they needed to wake up from their sleep. It is important to distinguish between what Jesus and Paul referred to as sleep and that of being dead, because it has a lot to do with understanding the raptures of the bible and the resurrections of the Bible. In Matthew 27:50-53, concerning the "death of Jesus" on Calvary. It doesn't say he "died" It says he gave up the Ghost and then when this occurred the saints in the grave rose from their sleep and were "resurrected". Why is resurrected used here? Because until the "death of Jesus on Calvary, they remained ASLEEP in the grave until the prophecy of redemption from sin and life everlasting were fulfilled by Jesus Let's look at the verses concerning this: "Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost. And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent; And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which SLEPT arose, and came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many." Now let's look at Christ's time in the tomb and his "resurrection". You must notice that the word resurrection concerning Jesus is not used. Read what it says in Matthew 28:2-5 - "And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it. His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow: And for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead men. And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. He is not here: for he is risen, as he said, Come, see the place where the Lord lay." The angel of the Lord doesn't say he had resurrected, he says "HE IS RISEN" then he tells the women to "come and see where he lay. He lay in the grave for three days [slept] He didn't go to heaven not to hell. He lay in the grave to make people understand that when he rose from his sleep that those who were in God and Him were merely sleeping, not dead and that like the rapture, he was risen from the grave as was the saints at his crucifixion on the cross when He gave up the ghost. The dead remain dead until the final judgment and their souls are in hell until the final judgment. This is when they are resurrected and brought before the Great White throne of Judgment along with those who are alive at the end of the Battle of Armageddon to face their second death. This is the final rapture. I do so hope that I have helped you to understand the differences between the raptures and the difference between God's children merely sleeping [Their bodies at rest], while their souls are in heaven with the Lord until they are reunited with their bodies. The dead being dead [They are without God and dwelling in hell until the final judgment where their second death comes into play], Then they are reunited with their bodies for the second death and final judgment. 
Top tags: dead, jesus, god, rapture, christ, lord, death, heaven, earth, final Comments from PaulsHealthBlog.com 99.26.192.85 I find it interesting that the word "Rapture" cannot be found in the entire New Testament. Or the whole Bible, for that matter. Comments from Mar Matthias Darin Rapture is the engligh translation of "caught up" in Latin. Comments from Kenneth 65.37.78.98 The NEWEST Pretrib Calendar ! Hal (serial polygamist) Lindsey and other pretrib-rapture-trafficking and Mayan-Calendar-hugging hucksters deserve the following message: "2012 may be YOUR latest date. It isn't MAYAN!" Actually, if it weren't for the 179-year-old, fringe-British-invented, American-merchandised pretribulation rapture bunco scheme, Hal would still be piloting a tugboat on the Mississippi. roly-poly Thomas Ice (Tim LaHaye's No. 1 strong-arm enforcer) would still be in his tiny folding-chair church which shares its firewall with a Texas saloon, Jack Van Impe would still be a jazz band musician, Tim LaHaye would still be titillating California matrons with his "Christian" sex manual, Grant Jeffrey would still be taking care of figures up in Canada, Chuck Missler would still be in mysterious hush-hush stuff that rocket scientists don't dare talk about, and John Hagee might be making - and eating - world-record pizzas! To read more details about the eschatological British import that leading British scholarship never adopted - the import that's created some American multi-millionaires - Google "Pretrib Rapture Diehards" (note LaHaye's hypocrisy under "1992"), "Hal Lindsey's Many Divorces," "Thomas Ice (Bloopers)" and "Thomas Ice (Hired Gun)," "LaHaye's Temperament," "Wily Jeffrey," "Chuck Missler - Copyist," "Open Letter to Todd Strandberg" and "The Rapture Index (Mad Theology)," "X-Raying Margaret," "Humbug Huebner," "Thieves' Marketing," "Appendix F: Thou Shalt Not Steal," "The Unoriginal John Darby," "Pretrib Hypocrisy," "The Real Manuel Lacunza," "Roots of (Warlike) Christian Zionism," "America's Pretrib Rapture Traffickers," "Pretrib Rapture - Hidden Facts," "Dolcino? Duh!" and "Scholars Weigh My Research." Most of the above is written by journalist/historian Dave MacPherson who has focused on long-hidden pretrib rapture history for 35+ years. No one else has focused on it for 35 months or even 35 weeks. MacPherson has been a frequent radio talk show guest and he states that all of his royalties have always gt group and not to any individual. His No. 1 book on all this is "The Rapture Plot" (see Armageddon Books online, etc.). The amazing thing is how long it has taken the mainstream media to finally notice and expose this unbelievably groundless yet extremely lucrative theological hoax! Comments from Rev. Dr. Leslie Trombly It is interesting to note that Kenneth used the references to Hal Lindsey, Tim LaHaye and Jack Van Impe, but didn't contest the Bible. It seems that in order to explain away the rapture [caught up in the bible or translated] as bogus, he uses them. guess the One True and Living Word of God can't be disputed! In fact as many as have tried to dispute it, they ahve only succeeded in proving over and over again that the Bible is the infallible word of God. On a side note: It will be interesting to see the expressions on the faces of those who are left behind to face the Antichrist and the worst nightmare of their lives. all they have ever seen in life or in horror movies is nothing compared to what they will have to deal with during the tribulation] By the way, If you are not redeemed by the blood of the lame by receiving the free gift of Salvation, you will be left behind. Let me know, if you change your mind during that time, if you now believe in the rapture and the one True and Living God. Of cours you won't, because you don't believe in anything that has to do with God, especially when God promises to keep us from the hour of tribulation...now do you? I hope that you are prepared for what is to follow you into eternity from which ther is no escape! Have fun. I know I will becuse I will dancing with the Lord in heaven!
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