Shalom, Jack.
shturt678s said:
Thank you for caring again!
The word "Rapture" wrongfully conveys a partial resurrection thus maybe we should use the word "Caught up" where all will be raised in the sense of Jn.5:28, 29 (although IThess.4:17 deals with only the Saints).
Secondly "Temple" in IIThess.2:4 should be rendered "Sanctuary" so not to give an impression there may be a physical "Temple" to be built at some future time.
Old Jack
What you said is true about the word "Rapture"; however, "
harpazoo" should really be rendered "snatched away," as it also does NOT imply "in an upward direction."
Also, I know that John 5:28-29 is used by many to suggest that both resurrections occur on the same day, but these verses do NOT imply that, either!
John 5:24-30
24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.
25 Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live.
26 For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself;
27 And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man.
28 Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice,
29 And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.
30 I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.
KJV
At NO point in this statement does Yeshua` imply
WHEN they will hear His voice! He's just making the point that they ALL
SHALL hear His voice at some time in the now (Yeshua`s "now" when He spoke these words) or in the future! And, later, in John 11:43-44, Elezar ("Lazarus" in Greek)
DOES hear His voice! And, notice too, that this is a LITERAL,
BODILY RESURRECTION! (I say that last sentence more for the sake of others who are reading along.)
Now, about your rendering of "Sanctuary" for the Greek word "
naos," that may SEEM like a good way out for you to ignore what 2 Thes. 2:4 says, but you're neglecting other passages of Scripture that use THIS SAME WORD!
Acts 17:24-28
24 God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples (Greek: naois, plural locative of naos) made with hands;
25 Neither is worshipped with men's hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things;
26 And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation;
27 That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us:
28 For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring.
KJV
Acts 19:21-25
21 After these things were ended, Paul purposed in the spirit, when he had passed through Macedonia and Achaia, to go to Jerusalem, saying, After I have been there, I must also see Rome.
22 So he sent into Macedonia two of them that ministered unto him, Timotheus and Erastus; but he himself stayed in Asia for a season.
23 And the same time there arose no small stir about that way.
24 For a certain man named Demetrius, a silversmith, which made silver shrines (Greek: naous, the plural accusative of naos)) for Diana, brought no small gain unto the craftsmen;
25 Whom he called together with the workmen of like occupation, and said, Sirs, ye know that by this craft we have our wealth.
KJV
Now, I know that Acts 17 says that God doesn't dwell in "temples (
naous) made with hands," HOWEVER, that is PRECISELY the point! The fact that this word DOES refer to "temples made with hands" means that your choice to limit the usage of the word to "sanctuary," as though it
COULDN'T refer to a physical building, is insufficient.
Besides, there are other locations in Scripture that tell us that there SHALL be a future "temple made with hands!" Remember: God has NEVER dwelt in a "temple made with hands!" S

moh (Solomon) admitted this from the dedication of the building!
1 Kings 8:22-29
22 And Solomon stood before the altar of the LORD in the presence of all the congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands toward heaven:
23 And he said, LORD God of Israel, there is no God like thee, in heaven above, or on earth beneath, who keepest covenant and mercy with thy servants that walk before thee with all their heart:
24 Who hast kept with thy servant David my father that thou promisedst him: thou spakest also with thy mouth, and hast fulfilled it with thine hand, as it is this day.
25 Therefore now, LORD God of Israel, keep with thy servant David my father that thou promisedst him, saying, There shall not fail thee a man in my sight to sit on the throne of Israel; so that thy children take heed to their way, that they walk before me as thou hast walked before me.
26 And now, O God of Israel, let thy word, I pray thee, be verified, which thou spakest unto thy servant David my father.
27 But will God indeed dwell on the earth? behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house that I have builded?
28 Yet have thou respect unto the prayer of thy servant, and to his supplication, O Lord my God, to hearken unto the cry and to the prayer, which thy servant prayeth before thee to day:
29 That thine eyes may be open toward this house night and day, even toward the place of which thou hast said, My name shall be there: that thou mayest hearken unto the prayer which thy servant shall make toward this place.
KJV
I hope this helps you.
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Shalom, "Marcus O'Reillius."
Marcus O'Reillius said:
Ah, no, again.
The Great Tribulation is not "a mere 7 years (or 3.5 years) long." It is even less than that. It is cut short after the midpoint Abomination by the arrival of the Day of the Lord, and that is the time of Jacob's trouble because God will tramp His Wrath out on Israel first.
Think of a two-dimensional graph such that the x-axis is time and the y-axis is the intensity of pressure that a people suffer. Now, picture the graph looking like that of a heart monitor, with peaks and troughs. God didn't cut the graph vertically at the end (in the future), God cuts the graph HORIZONTALLY and shifts it down (effectively raising the x-axis)! THAT is how the "days of trouble" are shortened! He won't shorten the TIME SPAN; He will shorten the number of TROUBLE-DAYS
DURING that time span!
The Jews (including other Isra'elites, as well) and true Gentile Believers (who MIGHT call themselves "Christian") have been suffering these "trouble-days" of persecution for almost two millennia now! However, God gives them times of reprieve so that they won't be persecuted out of existence! Persecutions, houndings, banishment, inquisitions, pogroms, the Holocaust, suicide bombings, bus bombings, missile launches from Gaza - if these had been a steady bombardment, all would have died out long ago! BUT, God is faithful - He is LOYAL and CONSISTENT - who will not allow us to be tested above our endurance!
1 Corinthians 10:11
13 There hath no temptation (Greek:
peirasmos = testing, a "putting to proof") taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted (Greek:
peirastheenai = to-be-tested) above that ye are able; but will with the temptation (Greek:
sun too peirasmoo = with the testing) also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.
KJV
I know that most use this verse for the INTERNAL testing we all go through, but it is also true for the EXTERNAL testing we might suffer by means of persecution from others!