Little man:
2Th 2:1
Now we request you, brethren, with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him.
Paul gets what Jesus said right.
Mt 24:29
"But immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30
And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory. 31
And He will send forth His angels with A great trumpet and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.
Verse 29 marks this time as being coincidental with the sixth Seal. Of the "sign of the Son of Man":
Rev 1:7
Behold, HE is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him. So it is to be. Amen.
Rev 14:14
Then I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and sitting on the cloud was one like a son of man, having a golden crown on His head and a sharp sickle in His hand. 15 A
nd another angel came out of the temple, crying out with a loud voice to Him who sat on the cloud, " Put in your sickle and reap, for the hour to reap has come, because the harvest of the earth is ripe." 16
Then He who sat on the cloud swung His sickle over the earth, and the earth was reaped.
By a multitude of witnesses,
your premise is disproved! It is not that my premise is false, but that it disagrees with yours, and I'm only too glad to disagree with you.
Now onto more about the Day of the Lord.
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…with all his saints ― 1st Th. 3:13
With the Resurrection of the Dead established, how is it accomplished? Would a survivor of the Great Tribulation in a cemetery witness graves opening up at this time during the Day of the Lord as happened when Jesus was crucified? Would the Dead in Christ literally get a six-foot head start on our witness? The Bible does not describe any such occurrence in conjunction with the end-times.
Indeed, the idea that God needs a physical body to resurrect the soul seems negated by Paul who, in 1st Corinthians 15, describes the body as being sowed, but the harvest being of a different type than the seed which is planted. Looking at the physical logistics of raising a body from the grave works for those buried in the last few decades, but go a century or more back from today, and one has to ask: Where is the body? If the Dead were to go out of their graves as they did in Mt 27:52-53, God would have to reconstitute their bodies from the soil, grass and trees into which their elements have devolved.
The question then becomes, what is raised of a person? Naturally, one would think of the person’s soul. In the Bible, it is their spiritual body as Paul writes in 1Co 15:44. This same kind of spiritual body can be recognized in the story Jesus tells of Lazarus the beggar who is recognized in Paradise by the rich man from Hades across the abyss.
Jesus taught the Resurrection of the Dead to the Sadducees from Exodus 3:6 in Matthew 22:32. Jesus also is the only source for information past the grave with Lazarus in Luke 16:19-31. In John 5:24-25, one of four passages which indicate two Resurrections, Jesus says this:
JN 5:24
"I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life. 25
I tell you the truth, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live.
These statements have a dual nature. One, in the first sense of being saved, a person enters into God’s Kingdom when he believes in Jesus. This first sense is repeated in the follow-on statement with: “
and has now come.” The other, indicated by the phrase, “
a time is coming,” refers to a future. Like the Aorist tense, Jesus expressed this as a certainty, an occurrence without regard of the time it takes to accomplish it.
Furthermore, this first Resurrection is selective. In John 5:28-29, the call is universal. Jesus in explaining this says 'not to be amazed'. While not everyone accepts that dead souls will be resurrected, Jesus surpasses that and presents two Resurrections. A number of eschatologies fail to account for both.
The first Resurrection is only for the "Living", that is, those who are Dead in Christ. The second is inclusive and Jesus even splits their ultimate destiny between life and damnation.
Having last left Jesus on the Mount of Olives where He first touches down, initiating a second earthquake on the Day of the Lord which makes a way for those in Jerusalem to escape, and musters His Army calling in a likewise fashion from faraway lands and the ends of Heaven, i.e., from all over the whole earth - now Jesus calls the Dead in Him forth. Starting with a concept of a layers to Heaven, the first being Paradise, a place where beings with a spiritual body rest, their Resurrection; Jesus’ calling to them who hear leads to a spiritual awakening beyond this plane of existence. Jesus, who had mobility between Paradise and where the spirits from the days of Noah were imprisoned in death, and who had mobility between Heaven and Earth after His Resurrection; can easily traverse the divide and call the Living out of Paradise.
Once the Dead in Christ are raised with “the splendor of the heavenly bodies” then all that is required is for Jesus to be on the clouds. Indeed, leading the Dead in Christ, truly a Great Multitude in and of itself, could be done directly from that spiritual dimension to the clouds the Son of Man arrives upon in order to reap the earth, gathering the Elect from all over the whole earth, just as the firstfruits were summoned to Mount Zion.
Imagine then the splendor of Jesus, now on the clouds with a great host of Saints, reaping the four corners Earth. A minor criticism exists over an apparent dichotomy: Will Jesus gather the Elect, or Angels? Looking at the gathering as being done by Jesus at first, and in turn, by Angels is the same as when God allows Jesus to sit in His Throne, and then Jesus empowers those who overcome from the Church of Laodicea to sit with Him on His Throne as well. So there is no disparity between various images portrayed in the Bible as to who does the Gathering between Matthew 24:31 and Revelation 14:16. In this task, Jesus begins the process and then He is joined by Angels who complete it. God grants His authority to His servants to act on His behalf. Even the Two Witnesses are empowered to call out God's Wrath under God's Will.
Now while Jesus could Harvest the Earth in one fell swoop, what is suggested herein is that even the reaping is a process. The sky scrolling back the as Jesus comes again to touch down on the Mount Olives would continue. As it was suggested that clouds enveloped the Earth from east to west as the Earth rotated so that every land experienced the darkening of the sun at their brightest time of day: noon, the scrolling of the sky to reveal the Son of Man coming on the clouds is suggested here to be able to proceed in the same manner. In such a fashion, at each land’s nighttime, would then experience a shower of meteorites in a celestial fireworks show as they saw the sky scroll back to reveal the radiance of Heaven which is Jesus.
Indeed, a dimensional rift could explain how the night sky scrolls. It would reveal the radiance of Heaven as God folds “space” back to reveal what has been present but entirely unseen by Man. Furthermore, while this idea of a dimensional rift explains how light can pierce the darkness; Jesus gives some credence to the idea that it also proceeds from east to west in giving a warning to the Elect not to seek Him in inner rooms or out in the desert at the critical time of the Great Tribulation when so many nominal Christians fall away.
Mt 24:27
For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.
This concept of a rolling scroll across the globe also preserves the words of the prophet Zechariah for every time zone:
14:7
It will be a unique day, without daytime or nighttime--a day known to the LORD. When evening comes, there will be light.
It is this spectacle that Jesus addresses in Luke:
Lk 21:27
"At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. 28
When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near."
The description Jesus gives is from
an observer-true point-of-view. Jesus talking to His Disciples puts His second coming as if they are seeing it. Those who are still alive and are left (1Th 4:15) will witness just such a sight.
Paul adds to this in personally addressing the Thessalonians in verse 13:
1TH 3:11
Now may our God and Father himself and our Lord Jesus clear the way for us to come to you. 12
May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you. 13
May he strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones.
Paul is addressing the Thessalonians as if they were standing as they were then - at the end witnessing Jesus coming on the clouds. 1Th 3:13 is an observer-true point of view. Paul addresses them as if they are about to be gathered up. In this scene just prior to being translated to new immortal, imperishable bodies, they will see Jesus coming, as is stated as a prophetic fact, with His holy ones.
The "holy ones" is revealed as an added element to Jesus'
parousia. Jesus arrives with “Saints.” The NIV translates
hagios as “holy ones.” The word ‘
ones’ is added in translation. Actually, the underlying Greek just says
hagios which is normally translated as
holy. As discussed in Chapter 1, Definitions and Systematic Theology, the King James Version makes the determination for these “holies” to be Saints when the word “holy” is applied to people rather than God. Although Jesus does gather the Elect with Angels, these are not referenced here like they are explicitly in Mk 8:38.
Αγιων reflects the masculine or neuter, plural, genitive lexical from
hagios, or “holy.” As such it could reflect either Angels or people. Naturally, if Paul was indicating the Church the feminine form would be expected, but
hagios as an adjective does not have a feminine plural form in the genitive case which acts to suggest possession. Thus the “holies” Jesus comes with are in His possession: hence Saints, or holy ones.
From Geoffrey Bromiley’s Theological Dictionary of the New Testament (pg 16/17), hagios describes:
1. The Holiness of God
2. Jesus Christ
3. The Holy Spirit
4. The Holiness of the ekklesia
5. The Holy Life of Christians
6. The Ecclesia triumphans.
The last entry Geoffrey refers to Mark 8:38 and 1Th 3:13. However, in Mark,
hagios modifies angel, which does occur in the original writing. Geoffrey adds that in First Thessalonians that the use of
hagios could apply to departed Saints.
In 2nd Thessalonians 1:10, Paul again refers to a
hagiois in the Inflected Greek, but this is in the masculine, plural, dative case. The trouble with applying it to the Church is that there is a perfectly good feminine form if one were to suppose Paul is being consistent with the Gospel authors where they have Jesus referring to the Church in the feminine form. However, if Paul is addressing the men of Thessalonica primarily, then the masculine form makes sense.
The NIV translates 2Th 1:10 as holy people, and the King James has it has Saints again. The NASB agrees with the King James in both instances in Thessalonians. The normal interpretation here is that Paul differs from Mark and he is describing an array of people with Jesus coming on the cloud. This is supported in 2nd Thessalonians because it is in the accomplishment of rescuing God’s Elect that Jesus is glorified.
Having established a reference for
hagios in Thessalonians as describing people instead of Angels; the point of 1st Thessalonians 3:13 then is that Paul is giving a view of Jesus coming after the Saints have been resurrected from Paradise. This is an observer-true point-of-view. Such a view to people with a reference of standing alive on the face of the earth naturally follows when combined with his instructions to the Corinthians that the Dead in Christ rise first. Having already raised the Dead from Paradise which has no Earthly locale, Jesus then proceeds around the Earth with them meeting with Him in the air on the clouds to gather those who are still alive and are left upon the Earth.
1Th 3:13 is an observer-true point-of-view of the coming of Christ. This view occurs between the Resurrection of the Dead in Christ which has already occurred, and the imminent Rapture of those still alive and left upon the Earth. Since the passage is addressed to believers standing on the Earth, it is much like Luke 21:28 and it describes as a multiple account, the same event. This single view of a portion of the Day of the Lord reinforces the lesson Paul gives in the next chapter and later imparts to the Corinthians that the Dead in Christ rise first, then those who are left will be caught up to meet Jesus in the air.
Two negative arguments will finish this section. First concerning a Pre-Tribulation eschatology, Paul is not describing the world’s view where Jesus passes them by with the Saints He rescues in the Rapture. The reason for this is the view is directed to believers as one they would have in being alive at that moment standing as they were when Paul wrote to them. While the whole world will see Jesus, according to Jesus and Paul, people on the Earth will see Him too who do not die, are alive, and will be gathered up. Thus when the Dead in Christ are raised first, they will already be with Christ to those who are still alive and are left when they see Jesus coming.
The second negative argument concerns Post-Tribulation eschatology. In this school of thought, 1st Thessalonians 3:13 reflects Jesus returning with the whole Church to either thoroughly crush the forces of the anti-Christ, or to establish His Millennium reign. First of all, this image of Jesus coming on the clouds agrees with Paul’s eschatology about the Day of Christ which is synonymous with the Day of the Lord. Thus 1Th 3:13 describes the Day of the Lord as well, and it is that Day that no one knows when it will arrive. Saying it arrives on the last day of the one ‘seven’ is negated by the unknowable nature of this Day.
Another argument against the idea that this view is of the whole Church returning centers on this basic flaw: Paul is addressing the same Thessalonians who are awaiting the Day of the Lord. Notice it is they who are said to be able to see the Lord coming with the Holy Ones. So the Thessalonians being on Earth cannot possibly have Christ come to them with themselves already or they would be in two places at once. An observer-true viewpoint necessitates that they could not see themselves coming from their vantage point.
Concerning the two possible reasons Jesus returns with the Elect in Post-Tribulation eschatology; first with the battle at Armageddon, the principle in the Bible is that God can defeat many with few. This was the example of Gideon. If Jesus needs the whole Church to take on the anti-Christ, He might well out-number the forces of evil after they have been whittled down by the Desolations God has decreed during the latter half of the one ‘seven.’ Furthermore, on the eve of the battle of Armageddon at the end of the one ‘seven’ a great multitude of voices is heard cheering Him and His Army on. As the 144,000 never leave the Lamb’s side, they must on condition of Revelation 14:4 be a part of that Army. The voices then would belong to the Church, Jesus’ Bride. Nowhere in the wedding analogy would a thoughtful Groom take his new Bride out to war, especially when He has a core of ostensibly young men to fit the bill. The power of Jesus is that with just 144,000 He can defeat hundreds of millions.
The latter argument is against a Post-Tribulation view saying the Church returns to reign with Christ on the Earth. While Christ will be on the Earth during the Millennium, He would certainly retain the mobility He has had between Heaven and Earth beforehand. In that respect, there are two Thrones in the Millennium, one in Heaven and a replica on Earth. So His Throne does not dictate a totally earth-bound existence. Secondly, the Saints are to be transformed into a Priestly class in Revelation 20:6 and reign with Him. As there are to be two Thrones, the question is which location: Heaven or Earth? Those who overcome from the Church of Laodicea sit with Jesus on His Father’s Throne. That is definitely in Heaven and would remain so during Christ’s millennial reign on Earth.
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Rapture
This word conjures up more controversy and timing it has split eschatology in many varied components. Each seeks to develop a theology around its placement of the Rapture; others work around it and don’t even include it. This portion of this chapter explores various definitions about the word, who is to be included in it, and what kind of transformation the Rapture could entail. However, more importantly, this part of the chapter establishes a coherent sequence of events from the Bible which then determines the Rapture rather than placing the Rapture based on a premise of theology. Within a sequence of events analysis, one Biblical principle remains:
the Rapture comes before God’s Wrath falls. This is buttressed by examples Jesus gives surrounding the Rapture as well.
The Rapture is part of the first Resurrection. The first Resurrection, being wholly separate from the second (see Appendix C), has various parts. The Rapture is not the whole of the first Resurrection, nor indeed does it make up the bulk of those gathered on the Day of the Lord. However, as a seminal event, nothing is looked forward to so earnestly by Christians as their gathering to Jesus on the clouds.
The word ‘rapture’ comes from the Latin word
rapio. It is just the Latin translation of the Greek verb
harpazo which Paul uses in 2CO 12:2, 4 and 1TH 4:17. Idiosyncrasies of translation confuse a search of the term Rapture in the English and from the underlying Greek. It is only when an intervening step of translating the Greek into Latin and then into English can it be understood from where this word came into the English lexicon.
The same kind of duality exists with the Hebrew word
Yeshua, which means ‘God Saves.’ Going straight from the Hebrew into English, the word is transliterated as
Joshua. However when going from Hebrew into Greek, it is transliterated as
Iesous. Only when the Greek is transliterated into English does the name
Jesus appear. It is important for the reader using English to understand that the names
Joshua and
Jesus are identical in their original Biblical language whether it is Hebrew or Greek no matter how it is presented in an English version of the Bible.
The concept of the Rapture is contained within the Bible. While it can be traced to a single verb, the action of the Rapture is delineated by many different words. So while the word is not found in itself in the Bible, like the concept of the Trinity, it can easily be discerned. Here are references for all the various terms the Bible uses in the New Testament for this action, and the general sense of the Greek verbs used for each reference.
• MT 24:31 to come upon, come after
• MT 24:40 to take over, to receive, to inherit
• MK 13:27 to come upon, come after
• MK 16:19 to carry up
• LK 9:51 a taking up: ascension
• LK 17:34-35 to take over, to receive, to inherit
• LK 24:51 to take up, raise
• JN 14:3 to take over, to receive, to inherit
• AC 1:9-11 to lift up
• 1CO 15:51-54 to change
• 2CO 4:14 to waken, to raise up
• 2CO 12:2-4 to seize, to catch up, to snatch away
• 1TH 4:16
• 1Th 4:17 to seize, to catch up, to snatch away
• 2TI 2:18 (resurrection) a standing up, a raising up, rising
• 1TI 3:16 to take up, raise
• HEB 11:5 to transfer, change
• REV 12:5 to seize, to catch up, to snatch away
The words the authors use to describe the Rapture indicate various aspects of the action which will occur.
Some word definition is in order. In order to distinguish between those who are resurrected and those who are taken up, some distinction is needed to convey which group is being referenced. As all Saints are “living” as in being alive in the eternal sense, the use of “Living” will designate this group. This comes from Mt 22:32.
“‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not the God of the dead but of the living.”
The Rapture is only for living Christians, that is, those who are physically and bodily alive on the earth when Christ comes. This stands in contrast to a play on words as the first resurrection is also termed to be only for the Living, as in being spiritually alive. Do not confuse the Rapture as being the same as the First Resurrection; it is part of it, but not all of it.
At the time of the Day of the Lord’s gathering, the “dead in Christ” are first resurrected and then those who are still (physically) alive (1Co 15:51) and are left (1Th 4:17) after the Great Tribulation (Mt 24:22/31) are caught up, or gathered, or taken. Believing Christians will be the only ones qualified to be ‘taken up’ to ‘receive their inheritance’ (both usages come from the same word in the Greek). At this point, it matters little if these “Christians” are mainstream Christians of today, newly converted Christians from the Gospel message of the three Angels, or Messianic Jews; the key factor and only qualification for being lifted up is their belief in Jesus.
An Old Testament reference which reflects these New Testament references can be found in Isiah 26:
Isa 26:19
But your dead will live, LORD; their bodies will rise— let those who dwell in the dust wake up and shout for joy— your dew is like the dew of the morning; the earth will give birth to her dead. 20
Go, my people, enter your rooms and shut the doors behind you; hide yourselves for a little while until his wrath has passed by. 21
See, the LORD is coming out of his dwelling to punish the people of the earth for their sins. The earth will disclose the blood shed on it; the earth will conceal its slain no longer.
However, there are some differences here in this passage, which, is addressed to natural borne Israel and not the Church.
First, there is no Rapture; only a resurrection from the dead. This allows for the possibility for believing Jews who died before Jesus’ first Advent to be included in the first Resurrection on the Day of the Lord. Second, the instruction given mimics the action in the Songs of Solomon (covered in chapter 13) whereby the non-Messianic Jews living at the time of Jesus’
parousia “miss” their chance for salvation. Third, in the same vein as the lesson of Noah and Lot, God’s Wrath follows the Resurrection of the Dead in Christ – which would include everyone who had called on the Lord or believed that He would save them from their sin.
The Rapture for the Church describes the process which happens to those who are alive when Christ comes. Those Christians who have passed on are resurrected from the dead. Those who are resurrected from the grave may include more than just followers of Christ since His first Advent because some people before the time of Christ looked forward to His coming and believed in Him as Job did. However, concerning those who are alive since Christ’s first Advent, the only people who believe in Him are Christian by definition. Not all Christians in name only qualify, but in the sense of believing, only Christians qualify to be saved in the Rapture.
The Resurrection from the dead is separate from the Rapture. While the Rapture is only for the living believer, the Resurrection from the grave is selective as well; it is only for the “Living” as newly defined here. In this aspect, both those who are alive and believe in Christ, and the Living from those called out from beyond the grave; are selected by God, ergo: Elect.
There is a double entendre in John 5:25 which has both a near and a far aspect.
Very truly I tell you, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live.
Here Jesus has two times, one which is coming and another which has come. The second verb tense was satisfied with His Gospel message in that spiritually “Dead” people believed and thus became spiritually “Alive.” However, on the Day of the Lord, which is still to come, and included in Jesus’ statement of fact; among the dead in the grave, not all will be selected to hear His Trumpet call to life. This “selection” based on being spiritually alive again reflects whether or not there is a basis in faith in God to save the person in that soul.
This separation between Resurrection and Rapture of the Living depends on whether they have passed on in a normal sense by dying from normal causes or are alive at the time of Christ’s coming. If they have died then the Living will be resurrected from the dead in a selective calling. This is from Paradise, the first Heaven. (Those who died a martyr’s death will have their own special resting place as revealed with the fifth Seal.) If the Living are still alive and are left as Paul describes them, then they will be part of the Rapture. Saints who have died (without being martyred) will be resurrected from the dead. Saints who are still alive will be in the Rapture.
An aspect of the Rapture then has to do with the transformation of the soul from a body of flesh and blood to one that is imperishable and immortal. This change or exchange (the Greek word can convey either sense equally) happens in an instant. However it is put into effect, and God rarely if ever describes how He works, it does so without causing the person to experience death! This is evidenced with Paul’s words:
1Co 15:51
Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed-- 52
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.
Sleeping is a euphemism for death. Since not all will die, then the Rapture does not cause death. For the few who are able to survive the terrible ordeal, pain, and suffering explicit with the Great Tribulation, this instant transformation from a mortal to an immortal body will be their reward. However, only those who remain faithful until the very minute of Christ’s return have this ultimate joy so as to be able to lift up their head and know their redemption draws near.
The resurrection of the Living from Paradise and the Rapture of the Elect from the Earth happen on the Day of the Lord. These two parts then constitute the Great Multitude seen by John in Heaven. This glorious dual event, gathering and delivery, happens after the specific and unique sign, the Sun/moon/star sign, is given by Jesus in the Olivet Discourse as happens as with the opening of the sixth Seal. Between the two Living groups, the dead in Christ make up the bulk of all those gathered up who become the Great Multitude John sees delivered into the “barn” of the third Heaven of God’s presence.
However, the Great Multitude does not include all the Living who will live in Heaven during the Millennium. While it is the main and majority portion of the Harvest, it is not the entire crop which has been planted in the field. In addition to the Great Multitude, the first who are apart from them are the Firstfruits of the Harvest: the 144,000. The second group is those who are martyred. God makes these distinctions between Living souls, and special provisions are made for them. These two smaller groups are separate from the Great Multitude. While the 144,000 and the martyred Saints may receive additional crowns, all receive the same basic reward: life eternal. It matters not which group any individual Christian ends up in; only that they remain faithful and endure patiently during their life until their end, whatever that may be.
So far, this paper has defined the word rapture, shown the composition of the groups, and described the aspect of transformation as not dying. Next is to show where the Rapture fits in sequence on the Day of the Lord.
The first instance listed in the Bible by Jesus in the Olivet Discourse is perhaps the best example of where this event is ordered in the sequence. This occurs in order in Matthew chapter 24 with verses 15 to 31, and correspondingly with Mark chapter 13 verses 14 to 27. (Mark’s account does not include the statement about the vultures.) The Olivet Discourse has already been shown to be using parallel construction and it answers the original question the Disciples pose concerning the end of the age. Jesus first gives an overall sequence of events which lead up to the end in verse 14 and 13 respectively, then going back to the middle of the one ‘seven,’ He gives a parallel account to the first which describes in detail what will happen at the very last portion. This starts at the midpoint of the one seven with the Abomination(s). Diagramming the latter part out follows with dual verse references to the respective chapters in Matthew and Mark:
• (v. 15/14)
Midpoint Abomination(s)
• (v. 21/19)
Great Tribulation
• (v. 29/24-25)
Sun/moon/star event
• (v. 30/26)
Sign of Jesus in the sky
• (v. 31/27)
Gathering the Elect from the Earth
The Rapture word used here is
episunago: to gather together. This is akin to the parable of the wheat and tares where the wheat is gathered,
sunago, and indeed is built up in the Greek from that word. The theme of harvest is evident within Jesus’ Olivet Discourse which best defines the Rapture in the sequence of events. Regarding that time, Jesus elaborates:
MT 24:36
"No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 37
As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 38
For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; 39
and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 40
Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. 41
Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.
Here, interesting enough, is the second listing of a Rapture verb. This time Matthew uses
paralambano to describe Jesus’ words. An interesting word, it is rendered here as simply “taken,” it means to take over, to receive, to inherit. It is used in the Greek world to describe how instruction is received from a teacher. Also in context of the Greek world it would mean to inherit secrets, especially by oral means. The ‘taking over’ refers then to a position of idea, rather than a physical carriage from place to place.
In the New Testament,
paralambano is used chiefly when one “receives” Christ in 1Co 11:23; Gal 1:12; 1Th 2:13 and 1Th 4:1. In an eschatological sense, Jesus uses this same word in John 14:3 when He will take us to where He is going. So when this word is used here for taking one and leaving the other, it is the one who is taken who is saved. In Daniel 12, which is the first instance in the Bible to show two resurrections, Daniel is told in the last verse to wait rest until he receives his allotted inheritance. paralambano carries just such a meaning here too so that all three definitions of it are included in the action which the authors describe from Jesus’ words.
A Synoptic Gospel account which gives the same kinds of details of one being taken and another one left begins with Jesus giving two examples of rescue/wrath in sequence. The example of Noah and Lot indicate that each was taken out of harms’ way in one fashion or another:
LK 17:26
"Just as it was in the days of Noah, so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man. 27
People were eating, drinking, marrying and being given in marriage up to the day Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed them all.
LK 17:28
"It was the same in the days of Lot. People were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building. 29 But the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all.
With the example of Noah, especially if one looks only at Matthew’s account, some confusion can exist which one is saved. Some people will argue that only Noah was left, so that it is the ones who are left who are saved as Jesus comes to establish His Millennium Kingdom since all the others were washed away in the flood. Again, this goes against the meaning of “taken” as to be able to receive an inheritance. In addition, it confuses how Noah was led to safety:
GE 7:11
In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, on the seventeenth day of the second month--on that day all the springs of the great deep burst forth, and the floodgates of the heavens were opened. 12
And rain fell on the earth forty days and forty nights.
GE 7:13
On that very day Noah and his sons, Shem, Ham and Japheth, together with his wife and the wives of his three sons, entered the ark.
It is on the same day that the rain fell on the earth that Noah enters the Ark. Thus, God has through prior instruction to Noah, prepared a place for him and his family to go which was safe. In a very real sense, Noah “
rose above” the earth, because the ark floated. Those who were left behind drowned and eventually sank back to the earth now covered with water. Thus being “taken,” (into the ark) is the better option than to be left behind to suffer the flood. The fire which will burn the tares in the field is in lieu of water since God promised not to replicate this desolation again.
In Luke, with the additional example of Lot, the distinction is clearer, but also the parallel of rescue/wrath becomes clear. Here Lot and his family are taken out of the city and those who are left behind perish. Again it happens on the same day as with the previous example of Noah. Both examples imply a condition where rescue/wrath can occur on a single day, such as the long-day of the Day of the Lord.
The last Synoptic Gospel of Luke does not exhibit a complete presentation of the Olivet Discourse. In one respect this can be excused as Luke, writing to the Greeks, is also writing after the fact. So in Luke, the Olivet Discourse found in Matthew and Mark is split up into two sections, the main part in chapter 21 with the follow on presented earlier in chapter 17. The variations between the Gospels do assist in forming an interpretation about the gathering in Matthew and Mark which is definitely tied in sequence to being after the midpoint of the one ‘seven.’
LK 21:20
"When you see Jerusalem being surrounded by armies, you will know that its desolation is near. 21
Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those in the city get out, and let those in the country not enter the city. 22
For this is the time of punishment in fulfillment of all that has been written. 23
How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! There will be great distress in the land and wrath against this people. 24
They will fall by the sword and will be taken as prisoners to all the nations. Jerusalem will be trampled on by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.
LK 21:25
"There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea. 26
Men will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken. 27
At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. 28
When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near."
Here the sequence neglects the Abomination, but as discussed previously, there is a strong parallel between Daniel 11:45 and Luke 21:20. Furthermore, before the anti-Christ can be in the Temple, he first has to arrive. The sequence aligns nicely overall with the previous two Synoptic Gospels and adds one detail: (Parentheses represent Matthew 24; Mark 13; and Luke 21.)
• (v. --/--/20) Armies surround Jerusalem
• (v. 15/14/--)
Midpoint Abomination(s)
• (v. 21/19/23)
Great Tribulation
• (v. 29/24-25/25)
Sun/moon/star event
• (v. 30/26/27)
Sign of Jesus in the sky
• (v. 31/27/28)
Gathering the Elect from the Earth
The first part did aid the first century Christians escape the siege of Jerusalem in A.D. 70, but the second part was not fulfilled in the first century. Indeed, that time was not the most distressful as portrayed in Daniel 12:1; Matthew 24:21 and Mark 13:19. Distress during siege warfare was always stressful, and this did not differ from hundreds of others in scope, intensity, or duration. The Great Distress will be worse than all those due mainly to the two onerous laws put into effect at the midpoint as revealed in Revelation 13.
Some schools of eschatology reject the gathering of the Elect in Matthew and Mark as being the Church, however, the picture which emerges when Luke 21 is compared to them indicates Jesus is talking to the Disciples and addressing them as the Church. Indeed, the picture of lifting up your head matches nicely with the image Paul presents to the Thessalonians looking up to see Jesus coming on the clouds:
1Th 4:17
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.
Indeed the reason Paul addresses the Thessalonians with the observer-true point of view with the qualification that they are “still alive and are left” is that these people who will see Jesus coming have survived the Great Tribulation. As the Elect, which is how the Church is described in the New Testament, they are the survivors Jesus speaks of in the Olivet Discourse between Matthew 24:22 and Mark 13:20. The picture of Christ coming on the clouds is the same in all instances. This then represents the picture the Church will see of Jesus coming for them in the Rapture.
From a sequence of events viewpoint, Thessalonians agrees with the Olivet Discourse, and in addition, another account works to view this event from a slightly different vantage point. Writing from Heaven, John records a sequence of events in Revelation chapters 13 through 16. This parallel account within Revelation aptly convey a timeline of the one ‘seven.’
• In chapter 13, one half of the one ‘seven’ comes first, with authority given to the beast for forty-two months.
• Then comes the
Abomination revealed as the talking image of the anti-Christ.
• Then
two laws are put forth which make the
Great Tribulation so terrible for the Elect.
• In chapter 14,
Jesus is revealed with the 144,000 upon Mt Zion
• The three Angels proceed with the Gospel message and more.
• Then Jesus arrives on the clouds for the
Harvest.
Interestingly enough, the next thing to follow the Harvest in Revelation 14 is an Angel coming out of God’s Temple in Heaven with a sickle, but this reaping is cast into the winepress of God’s Wrath. The distinction between Jesus gathering from the clouds versus the Angel coming from the Temple indicates two separate sources. The first is the Harvest; the second results in a bodily, physical judgment of death. Indeed, just as Jesus gave the examples of Noah and Lot to indicate the sequence of
rescue/wrath - this follows in the same vein. The first Harvest is the rescue, and the second reaping is part of God’s Wrath. As that gets ahead of the total timeline narrative at this point, it will be laid aside for the moment. However, as a parallel account, it lays out its own timeline from its perspective. That perspective serves to add certain details, and as the Day of the Lord progresses, this passage will be revisited.
Going back to the matter at hand, to blend the first part of Revelation 13 through 16 with the Olivet Discourse requires the additional information where events are sequenced in another account: the Seal chronology of Revelation. Noting from the Seal Chronology where the 144,000 follow the Sun/moon/star event, the Harvest portrayed in Revelation 14 can with its precedent events can be wed to the sequence of events from the Olivet Discourse. The Seal chronology dictates that the opening of Revelation chapter 14 be put after the Sun/moon/star event Jesus describes as coming immediately after the Great Tribulation. The accounts diverge as Revelation gives us additional information, but they both match again with the image of Jesus coming on the clouds. In this manner, the Harvest is shows as being identical to the gathering of the Elect from both the Heavens and from the Earth:
• First half of the one ‘seven’
• Army invades/surrounds Jerusalem
•
Midpoint Abomination(s) - talking statue
•
Two laws (666)
•
Great Tribulation
•
Sun/moon/star event
• 144,000
• Three Angels
•
Sign of Jesus in the sky, coming on the clouds
•
Gathering/Redemption/Rapture
This compilation compares favorable with another sequence of events which describes the first resurrection. In Daniel chapter 11 after the dual lens of focus in verse 31, there is a descriptive passage in verses 36-39. The text then proceeds with a sequence of events in 11:40 which leads up to the anti-Christ as the King of the North, encircling the Holy Mountain, which in chapter 8 was linked to Luke’s account of the Olivet Discourse. This action will result in his end, but at that time, the events portrayed in Daniel 12:1 take place which also describes a time of great tribulation and following that: deliverance. The liner narrative of Daniel 11:45-12:1 can be presented as a sequence of events:
• Army encampment
• Michael arising
•
Great Tribulation
•
Deliverance
This sequence agrees with the Olivet Discourse and can be incorporated into the combined sequence adding the aspect of God’s reaction to the midpoint Abomination as delineated in chapter eight as coming after the midpoint and with additional study from chapter nine discussing the Two Witnesses can be seen in their arrival:
• First half of the one ‘seven’
• Army invades/surrounds and encamps around Jerusalem
•
Midpoint Abomination(s) - talking statue
• Michael arising (Two Witnesses)
•
Two laws (666)
•
Great Tribulation
•
Sun/moon/star event
• 144,000
• Three Angels
•
Sign of Jesus in the sky, coming on the clouds
•
Gathering/Redemption/Deliverance/Rapture
Finally, this holistic approach is not at odds with the other sequence of events laid out by Paul in his eschatological teaching to the Thessalonians. There he presents an argument that their Rapture will not come until certain prerequisite events occur. That sequence of events was elaborated upon in chapter seven and the final compilation incorporating all of his explanations to the Thessalonians was presented as this:
• The rebellion occurs
• Opposition and exaltation
• The “one” removed from the midst
•
Setting himself up as God
• The man of lawlessness revealed.
•
Jesus comes
•
Our being gathering to Him
o Dead in Christ
o Those who are alive and are left
Rebellion, opposition and exaltation can be seen in the first half of the one ‘seven.’ The “one” removed from the midst occurs before the midpoint which is where the talking image is set up in the Temple and the anti-Christ commits the ultimate abomination, calling himself god. The events in this sequence can easily be put into the overall sequence which is developed from the Olivet Discourse, Revelation chapter 13 and part of 14, and Daniel 11:45 & 12:1.
• First half of the one ‘seven’
• The rebellion occurs
• Opposition and exaltation
• The “one” removed from the midst
• Army invades/surrounds and encamps around Jerusalem
•
Midpoint Abomination(s) - talking statue / setting himself up as God
• The man of lawlessness revealed.
• Michael arising (Two Witnesses)
•
Two laws (666)
•
Great Tribulation
•
Sun/moon/star event
•
Jesus comes, touching down on the Mount of Olives
• 144,000
• Three Angels
•
Sign of Jesus in the sky, coming on the clouds
•
Gathering/Redemption/Deliverance/Rapture
o Dead in Christ
o Those who are alive and are left
This so far, gives a comprehensive review of the sequence of events which can be compiled into a single timeline. All the supporting passages which give a linear account of events are in agreement with each other, and like a Mensa puzzle which gives clues for the order of contestants in a race, or the age of siblings in a family, can be compressed without conflict. Indeed, the areas of agreement between Daniel, the Olivet Discourse, Paul’s second letter to the Thessalonians, and the first part of the parallel account in Revelation chapters 13 through 16 all point to a Rapture which happens after the midpoint Abomination as laid out by Gabriel in Daniel 9:24-27.
The first half of the Day of the Lord encompasses the last five events in the total sequence of events as it exists at this point. This sequence is not yet complete though, as the Seal chronology has not yet been added in. That analysis starting on the presentation of the sixth Seal as incorporating the Day of the Lord in chapter 10 will be included shortly, but first there is a sidebar issue to be tied up. Before getting to the second half of the Day of the Lord, a loose end needs to be tightened, and then a conclusion to the gathering will be shown from the Seal chronology which will complete the first half of the Day of the Lord.
