Neither of you have commented on the undeniable promise of Almighty God that the righteous will escape His wrath as they did with Noah, Lot, and in Egypt. I've pointed to you in Revelation and 1st Thessalonians yet you rebuff them as not saying what they LITERALLY say. I don't interpret the Bible I read it and know it to be the inerrant and infalible Word of the Living God.
Wrong. Why ever would you limit the Father to having to physically take us away in order to protect us?Hebrews 12:29
For our God is a consuming fire.
God is consuming fire and this is a two-edged sword for all of us. On one hand, that fire empowers us as his children. On the other hand, that righteous fire burns anything and everything unrighteous.Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego never had to be taken away from the fire as Nebuchadnezzar watched!Daniel 3:24-25
Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonied, and rose up in haste, and spake, and said unto his counsellors, Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? They answered and said unto the king, True, O king.
YHVH is NOT limited by the physical and how dare you suggest that he is. He was right there with the three in the furnace that was seven times hotter than it ever was. How hot do you think the coming of our Lord Jesus the Christ is going to be for all too see! There's no secret rapture, he's coming in the blaze of his glory for all to see!Revelation 1:7
Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.
You say there will be no seven year tribulation, Revelation quite clearly states otherwise.
Scripture.Matthew 24:21-24
For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened. Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.
Again, this idea of this secret rapture is based on an absolutely astounding amount of picking and choosing Scripture. I'll be happy to talk about I Thessalonians 4:I Thessalonians 4:14-17
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.
How you guys interpret secret rapture in these words really gets to me. It clearly says at the trump of God and it also, quite clearly, says that we - not they, them, those or anything else - will be alive and remain there. Coming is singular, not plural. There's one coming and all will witness it.
My faith and my mind are a gift of that Great I Am. The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob sends a light through my soul even as I write this. I tell you truly that God lives and His promises are true and everlasting. Amen and halleliuha to the Lamb of God!
Revelation 13:11
And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon.
I submit that some will know the difference between The Lamb and the lamb that speaks just as a dragon. He'll show up just as promised saying that he's come to save us all, looking just like the lamb. I just hope people will know the Word well enough to know him for what he is.There's a whole lot of words in this thread, but let's please stick to Scripture. Quoting the occasional three wonder verses to talk about the rapture out of context won't work when we read the context. I have enough faith that those with eyes to see and ears to hear will.