Written by Dillon
What can i say about the Rapture. At first i too was a believer of the rapture. Why? Because my pastor and fellow christians believed it. They told me Jesus would save his church from enduring the great tribulation. So interested, a couple years later, I began doing research of my own. I then, based on long studies of scripture and conviction given to me by the holy spirit, i no longer believe in the rapture. Before you dismiss what i am saying, try to consider what i am telling you. You probably believe in the rapture because, like I, have been swayed to believe in it. Pastors teach it in their church, and even claim to have scripture that validate it. The Left Behind series has been a best selling book about the pretribulation rapture. It has also been made into a movie seen and accepted by many. Because of its popularity, it is easily accepted by all who claim to be a christian. But as christians, it is our job to read Gods word and learn for ourselfs. This is what i have done, and in doing so can definatley proof the rapture is a false doctrine. Lets take a look at come of the verses people who believe in the pre-tribulation rapture use. First is 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 says "Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. 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. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage one another with these words." Many people who believe in the pre-tribulation rapture use this verse to proof their case. But upon closer examination we can see that their is more then meets the eye. First off, this verse is saying that the dead in Christ, those who have died for Christ, will rise before the living that are alive and remain on earth (verse 15). Not only will the living not be raised with Christ before those who are dead, but look at what else this verse says. It says "...we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep" You see, this verse says ...we that are alive, who are left until the coming of the lord... This verse is saying that they will have endured something, because it says they that are "still alive and left". That is a negative conotation. Then it goes to say that we will not precede those who are dead. Take a look at when the dead will rise. 1 Corinthians 15:52 says "in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed." So this verse says that the dead will be raised at the LAST TRUMPET." During the tribulation, 7 angels are given 7 trumpets to sound (Revelation 8:2) So when the 7th angel sounds his trumpet, that will be the last trumpet. The dead are raised at the last trumpet, and those who are alive follow them to meet the lord in the air. The bible verse 1 Corinthians 15:52 says that ...the dead in Christ will be raised at the last trumpet... Take a look what happens when the 7th (last) trumpet is blown. "[ The Seventh Trumpet ] The seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, which said: “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Messiah, and he will reign for ever and ever." (Revelation 11:15) You see, at the seventh trumpet (The last trumpet), this is when Jesus returns and the dead are raise. And those who are living will not precede the dead, so if the dead meet Christ at the end of the tribulation then so do the living. At the last trumpet the world has become the messiahs (Jesus's) because he has returned to establish his kingdom. This makes sense, and perfectly coincides with 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 "... For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call (last trumpet) of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first (rise at last trumept as stated in 1 Corinthians 15:52, and return of Christ, see Revelation 11:15). After that, we who are still alive and are left (from the tribulation) will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Something else i want to point out is 1 Thessalonians 4:13. It says "Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope." This verse says those who are asleep in death (unprepared; living in sin) will grieve. Well the verse that can validate this is found after Jesus return. In Matthew 24:30 it says "Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then all the peoples of the earth will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory" You see many will grief when they see Jesus return. This is when the "end has come". Then notice in the next verse, Matthew 24:31 says "And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other". So to sum it up, 1 Thessalonians 4:13 is validated by Matthew 24:30, and 1 Thessalonians 4:14-18 is validated by Matthew 24:31. This is all after the "end has come" (see Matthew 24:14) You see it is at this trumpet call, after the son of man has returned and people grief, that the elect (saved) will be gathered by Gods angels. This would also validate the verses of the two men and women working when one is taken and the other left, in Matthew 24:40-41. Because this is when the elect (saved) will be delivered, when the tribulation ends. Also one thing that i think is very interesting that I want to mention. During the tribulation, the angels in heaven will be opening up the seal judgements. When the fifth seal judgement is opened (keep in mind that this is being opened during the tribulation, because the judgements brought by the opening of these seals are part of the tribulation) it says in Revelation 6:9-11 "When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained. They called out in a loud voice, “How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?” Then each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to wait a little longer, until the full number of their fellow servants, their brothers and sisters, were killed just as they had been." You see, the souls who had been killed in the past could not be avenged, not until their brothers and sisters (we are brothers and sister in Christ) were killed just as they had been. And the bible makes clear that during the revelation christians will be hated and killed. John 15:18-19 says "If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you." You see, the souls could not be avenged until we had been killed just as they had, that is dying for Christ. So all this proves that christians will have to endure the tribulation. For the record, Jesus himself prayed to God that God would not take people out of this world. Jesus prayed "I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one" (John 17:15) Thanks for reading. If you have any questions, concerns, or need someone to pray with email me at daarkangel777@yahoo.com
