Fred A Stover
2007-12-21 02:48:01 UTC
The Rapture: What is it? When is it?
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Early Church Father Tertullian (circa 160-225 AD):
"But we do confess that a kingdom is promised to us upon the earth, although
before heaven, only in another state of existence; inasmuch as it will be
after the resurrection for a thousand years in the divinely-built city of
Jerusalem, 'let down from heaven,'"[Five Books Against Marcion, Book 3,
Chapter 25]
Early Church Father Justin Martyr (circa 100-165 AD):
"We have perceived, moreover, that the expression, 'The day of the Lord is
as a thousand years,' is connected with this subject. And further, there was
a certain man with us, whose name was John, one of the apostles of Christ,
who prophesied, by a revelation that was made to him, that those who
believed in our Christ would dwell a thousand years in Jerusalem; and that
thereafter the general, and, in short, the eternal resurrection and judgment
of all men would likewise take place. Just as our Lord also said, 'They
shall neither marry nor be given in marriage, but shall be equal to the
angels, the children of the God of the resurrection.'"[ THE SECOND APOLOGY
OF JUSTIN FOR THE CHRISTIANS ADDRESSED TO THE ROMAN SENATE, Chap 81]
Early Church Father Irenaeus (circa 130-202 AD):
"For in as many days as this world was made, in so many thousand years shall
it be concluded. And for this reason the Scripture says: Thus the heaven and
the earth were finished, and all their adornment. And God brought to a
conclusion upon the sixth day the works that He had made; and God rested
upon the seventh day from all His works.' This is an account of the things
formerly created, as also it is a prophecy of what is to come. For the day
of the Lord is as a thousand years; and in six days created things were
completed: it is evident, therefore, that they will come to an end at the
sixth thousand year. Irenaeus against Hersies, Book 5, Chap 28, sec 3
"But when this Antichrist shall have devastated all things in this world, he
will reign for three years and six months, and sit in the temple at
Jerusalem; and then the Lord will come from heaven in the clouds, in the
glory of the Father, sending this man and those who follow him into the lake
of fire; but bringing in for the righteous the times of the kingdom, that
is, the rest, the hallowed seventh day; and restoring to Abraham the
promised inheritance, in which kingdom the Lord declared, that 'many coming
from the east and from the west should sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and
Jacob.'Irenaeus against Hersies, Book 5, Chap 30, sec 4
"The predicted blessing, therefore, belongs unquestionably to the times of
the kingdom, when the righteous shall bear rule upon their rising from the
dead." Irenaeus against Hersies, Book 5, Chap 33, sec 3
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In scripture the rapture is described in 1Thess 4:17 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. It is our being
caught up to meet the Lord. As He promised I go to prepare a place for you
and I will come again, and receive you unto myself (John 14:2-3).
The word rapture comes from the Latin Vulgate version of the Bible deinde
nos qui vivimus qui relinquimur simul rapiemur cum illis in nubibus obviam
Domino in aera et sic semper cum Domino erimus. The we...shall be caught up
in English is rapiemur in Latin. Rapiemur is the future passive of the Latin
verb for to seize away [rapio, -ere, rapui, raptum], and the English word
rapture comes from the future participle of rapio [rapturus, -a, -um], just
as the English word capture comes from the Latin word capio.
Our Lord was referring to the rapture in Matt 24:30-31 when He said, 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. However, the
rapture is only part of this thorough gathering of all His elect. In
addition to the Christians who will be gathered into His rest (Heb 4:9), and
go to the place prepared (John 14:2-3), the heavenly city (Heb 11:16). The
enemy-of-the-gospel elect are also gathered: As concerning the gospel, they
are enemies for your sakes: but as touching the election, they are beloved
for the fathers' sakes (Rom 11:28). They enter His wrath instead of His
rest: Unto whom I sware in my wrath that they should not enter into my rest
(Ps 95:11). As we go to the place prepared for us, they are returned to
Israel: Ezek 37:12 Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause
you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel,
where they are saved after He has arrived And I will pour upon the house of
David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of
supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they
shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in
bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn (Zech
12:10) and For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their
sins (Rom 11:27). The gathering of his elect from the four winds, from one
end of heaven to the other is all of His elect.
In Matt 24:37 the Lord says, But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the
coming of the Son of man be, and in Gen 7:16-17 it is written And they that
went in, went in male and female of all flesh, as God had commanded him: and
the LORD shut him in. And the flood was forty days upon the earth; and the
waters increased, and bare up the ark, and it was lift up above the earth.
The door was shut and the flood was on the earth. The door to His rest is
shut when the last gentile enters-in: For I would not, brethren, that ye
should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own
conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of
the Gentiles be come in" (Rom 11:25)], as in the days of Noah, His wrath
will rain down upon the earth. We are also told that the rapture follows the
revealing of the man on sin: Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of
our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, that ye be
not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor
by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. Let no man
deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a
falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is
worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself
that he is God (2 Thess 2:1-4). These verses not only tell us that His
coming and our being gathered to Him will follow the revealing of the
antichrist, but also tell us how he will be revealed. He will sit in the
temple shewing himself to be God by sitting in God's place: the mercy seat
between the cherubim on the ark of the covenant.
The time of the rapture is at the time when the two witnesses ascend into
heaven in Rev 11:12 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. The two witnesses are part of all His elect which are
gathered from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other (Matt
24:31). They are changed, putting on immortality and ascending into heaven,
at the same time, the same twinkling of an eye, that we all are changed at
the last trump in Rev 11 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
(1Cor 15:51-53). The church enters His rest and the rest of mankind enters
His wrath.
The rest into which the church enters but His-enemy-of-the-gospel elect do
not enter is His day of rest Again, he limiteth a certain day, saying in
David, To day, after so long a time; as it is said, To day if ye will hear
his voice, harden not your hearts (Heb 4:7). It is the same day as the day
of the Lord But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in
the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements
shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein
shall be burned up (2Pet 3:10). It begins with His coming like a thief in
the night and ends at the end of His 1000 year reign when there is a new
heaven and a new earth And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first
heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea" (Rev
21:1) and His bride, the church, descends in the place He prepared for her
And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of
heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband (Rev 21:2).
It is written in 2 Pet 3:8 But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing,
that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as
one day, and the day of His rest, the day of the Lord, is a 1000 year day,
which is the third day of the prophecy in Hosea 6:2 to Jews who will live in
His millennial reign After two days will he revive us: in the third day he
will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight.
What is revealed by the 1000 year days in scripture is a week of 1000 year
days with the last day of the week being the day of the Lord, the day of His
rest. The three days of Hosea 6:2, the three at the end of the week, are
what scripture calls the last days, and the first day is the day in which
Adam ate of the forbidden fruit and died at the age of 930 But of the tree
of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day
that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die (Gen 2:17).
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Early Church Father Tertullian (circa 160-225 AD):
"But we do confess that a kingdom is promised to us upon the earth, although
before heaven, only in another state of existence; inasmuch as it will be
after the resurrection for a thousand years in the divinely-built city of
Jerusalem, 'let down from heaven,'"[Five Books Against Marcion, Book 3,
Chapter 25]
Early Church Father Justin Martyr (circa 100-165 AD):
"We have perceived, moreover, that the expression, 'The day of the Lord is
as a thousand years,' is connected with this subject. And further, there was
a certain man with us, whose name was John, one of the apostles of Christ,
who prophesied, by a revelation that was made to him, that those who
believed in our Christ would dwell a thousand years in Jerusalem; and that
thereafter the general, and, in short, the eternal resurrection and judgment
of all men would likewise take place. Just as our Lord also said, 'They
shall neither marry nor be given in marriage, but shall be equal to the
angels, the children of the God of the resurrection.'"[ THE SECOND APOLOGY
OF JUSTIN FOR THE CHRISTIANS ADDRESSED TO THE ROMAN SENATE, Chap 81]
Early Church Father Irenaeus (circa 130-202 AD):
"For in as many days as this world was made, in so many thousand years shall
it be concluded. And for this reason the Scripture says: Thus the heaven and
the earth were finished, and all their adornment. And God brought to a
conclusion upon the sixth day the works that He had made; and God rested
upon the seventh day from all His works.' This is an account of the things
formerly created, as also it is a prophecy of what is to come. For the day
of the Lord is as a thousand years; and in six days created things were
completed: it is evident, therefore, that they will come to an end at the
sixth thousand year. Irenaeus against Hersies, Book 5, Chap 28, sec 3
"But when this Antichrist shall have devastated all things in this world, he
will reign for three years and six months, and sit in the temple at
Jerusalem; and then the Lord will come from heaven in the clouds, in the
glory of the Father, sending this man and those who follow him into the lake
of fire; but bringing in for the righteous the times of the kingdom, that
is, the rest, the hallowed seventh day; and restoring to Abraham the
promised inheritance, in which kingdom the Lord declared, that 'many coming
from the east and from the west should sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and
Jacob.'Irenaeus against Hersies, Book 5, Chap 30, sec 4
"The predicted blessing, therefore, belongs unquestionably to the times of
the kingdom, when the righteous shall bear rule upon their rising from the
dead." Irenaeus against Hersies, Book 5, Chap 33, sec 3
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In scripture the rapture is described in 1Thess 4:17 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. It is our being
caught up to meet the Lord. As He promised I go to prepare a place for you
and I will come again, and receive you unto myself (John 14:2-3).
The word rapture comes from the Latin Vulgate version of the Bible deinde
nos qui vivimus qui relinquimur simul rapiemur cum illis in nubibus obviam
Domino in aera et sic semper cum Domino erimus. The we...shall be caught up
in English is rapiemur in Latin. Rapiemur is the future passive of the Latin
verb for to seize away [rapio, -ere, rapui, raptum], and the English word
rapture comes from the future participle of rapio [rapturus, -a, -um], just
as the English word capture comes from the Latin word capio.
Our Lord was referring to the rapture in Matt 24:30-31 when He said, 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. However, the
rapture is only part of this thorough gathering of all His elect. In
addition to the Christians who will be gathered into His rest (Heb 4:9), and
go to the place prepared (John 14:2-3), the heavenly city (Heb 11:16). The
enemy-of-the-gospel elect are also gathered: As concerning the gospel, they
are enemies for your sakes: but as touching the election, they are beloved
for the fathers' sakes (Rom 11:28). They enter His wrath instead of His
rest: Unto whom I sware in my wrath that they should not enter into my rest
(Ps 95:11). As we go to the place prepared for us, they are returned to
Israel: Ezek 37:12 Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause
you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel,
where they are saved after He has arrived And I will pour upon the house of
David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of
supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they
shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in
bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn (Zech
12:10) and For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their
sins (Rom 11:27). The gathering of his elect from the four winds, from one
end of heaven to the other is all of His elect.
In Matt 24:37 the Lord says, But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the
coming of the Son of man be, and in Gen 7:16-17 it is written And they that
went in, went in male and female of all flesh, as God had commanded him: and
the LORD shut him in. And the flood was forty days upon the earth; and the
waters increased, and bare up the ark, and it was lift up above the earth.
The door was shut and the flood was on the earth. The door to His rest is
shut when the last gentile enters-in: For I would not, brethren, that ye
should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own
conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of
the Gentiles be come in" (Rom 11:25)], as in the days of Noah, His wrath
will rain down upon the earth. We are also told that the rapture follows the
revealing of the man on sin: Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of
our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, that ye be
not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor
by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. Let no man
deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a
falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is
worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself
that he is God (2 Thess 2:1-4). These verses not only tell us that His
coming and our being gathered to Him will follow the revealing of the
antichrist, but also tell us how he will be revealed. He will sit in the
temple shewing himself to be God by sitting in God's place: the mercy seat
between the cherubim on the ark of the covenant.
The time of the rapture is at the time when the two witnesses ascend into
heaven in Rev 11:12 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. The two witnesses are part of all His elect which are
gathered from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other (Matt
24:31). They are changed, putting on immortality and ascending into heaven,
at the same time, the same twinkling of an eye, that we all are changed at
the last trump in Rev 11 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
(1Cor 15:51-53). The church enters His rest and the rest of mankind enters
His wrath.
The rest into which the church enters but His-enemy-of-the-gospel elect do
not enter is His day of rest Again, he limiteth a certain day, saying in
David, To day, after so long a time; as it is said, To day if ye will hear
his voice, harden not your hearts (Heb 4:7). It is the same day as the day
of the Lord But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in
the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements
shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein
shall be burned up (2Pet 3:10). It begins with His coming like a thief in
the night and ends at the end of His 1000 year reign when there is a new
heaven and a new earth And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first
heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea" (Rev
21:1) and His bride, the church, descends in the place He prepared for her
And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of
heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband (Rev 21:2).
It is written in 2 Pet 3:8 But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing,
that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as
one day, and the day of His rest, the day of the Lord, is a 1000 year day,
which is the third day of the prophecy in Hosea 6:2 to Jews who will live in
His millennial reign After two days will he revive us: in the third day he
will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight.
What is revealed by the 1000 year days in scripture is a week of 1000 year
days with the last day of the week being the day of the Lord, the day of His
rest. The three days of Hosea 6:2, the three at the end of the week, are
what scripture calls the last days, and the first day is the day in which
Adam ate of the forbidden fruit and died at the age of 930 But of the tree
of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day
that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die (Gen 2:17).
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~