The Rapture of the Church

THE RAPTURE - THE HOPE OF THE CHURCH

D.P. Weary

February 2009

One of the more controversial events of the Last Days is what has been popularly called the Rapture of the Church. Our quest in this study is to see what the scriptures have to say about this key event in the life of the true Church. Again, we will look for the obvious literal scriptures dealing with the Rapture, the stories about this event, the hints about this event, and the mysteries as the Holy Spirit reveals them to us.

           

We begin our study in 1 Thessalonians where Paul clearly tells us that there will be a catching away of the true Church to meet the Lord in the air.

Paul teaches about the Rapture:

1Th 1:10 and to wait for His Son from Heaven, whom He raised from the dead, {that is} Jesus, who rescues us from the wrath to come

We the true Church are now waiting for Jesus to come and rescue us from the wrath to come.

1Th 4:15 For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep.

This is from the Lord Himself. Believers who have died will be raised at His coming for us before we who are alive are raised.

1Th 4:16 For the Lord Himself will descend from Heaven with a shout, with the voice of {the} archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.

The dead in Christ will rise first as the Lord comes from Heaven with a shout and a blast from the trumpet of God.

1Th 4:17 Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord.

Then we who are alive will be caught up with the dead in Christ to meet the Lord in the clouds in the air. Christ does not come to the earth’s surface at this time. We meet Him in the clouds.

1Th 4:18 Therefore comfort one another with these words.

These are words of great comfort and joy for those that believe in, trust in, and have made Jesus the Lord of their lives.

Looking at this same event in 1 Corinthians:

1Cr 15:51 Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed,

Note that this event is one of the Bible’s mysteries. Some people will never die at all. But all that believe and trust in Jesus will be changed.

1Cr 15:52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.

This will happen very quickly (like in a blink of an eye). It will also happen “at the last trumpet”. The dead in Christ will be raised imperishable, and then we who are alive at this time will be changed from perishable humans to imperishable new creations. The phrase “at the last trumpet” is very key here. For any good religious Jew, Paul was telling them that this would happen on Rosh HaShanah, the Festival of the Blast of the Last Trumpet.

1Th 5:1 Now as to the times and the epochs, brethren, you have no need of anything to be written to you.

The phrase “times and epochs or seasons” is a Jewish phrase for Festivals. Paul expected the Jews to know the season or Festival of this event. He had already taught them in 1 Cor 15:52 that the season would be the Feast of the Last Trump (The Feast of Trumpets).

1Th 5:2 For you yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night.

The day of the Lord will come upon some like a thief in the night. For these, they will not have a clue that He is coming.

1Th 5:3 While they are saying, "Peace and safety!" then destruction will come upon them suddenly like labor pains upon a woman with child, and they will not escape.

Notice that it is the “they” that are saying “peace and safety” or all is well, when destruction will suddenly come upon them. The key words here are suddenly and like labor pains. They start slowly and not so intense. Then they begin coming more frequently and with more pain until the “baby” is born.

1Th 5:4 But you, brethren, are not in darkness, that the day would overtake you like a thief;

Notice, the brethren are not to be taken by surprise. They are to know the signs and the season of His coming to catch them up to meet Jesus in the air.

1Th 5:9 For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,

Why does Jesus come and catch us up to meet Him in the air? Because His wrath is about to be poured out upon the earth and we are not destined to experience His wrath.  An important implication is that this event will happen before God’s wrath is poured out upon the earth.

1Th 5:11 Therefore encourage one another and build up one another, just as you also are doing.

These are to be words and truths of great encouragement for all of us that believe in Jesus. They are words that we have to give to others to encourage them and to build them up. This is the true Church’s hope of glory!

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 is dealing with two issues here. The first is the second coming of Jesus at the end of the tribulation. The second is the Rapture, our gathering together to Him.

2Th 2:2 that you not be quickly shaken from your composure or be disturbed either by a spirit or a message or a letter as if from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come.

There was word being spread around that Jesus had already returned to earth (the day of the Lord had already come). It greatly disturbed the believers because they though they had been left behind.

2Th 2:3 Let no one in any way deceive you, for {it will not come} unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction,

First Paul tells us that an apostasy (a great rebellion against God and His ways, a great falling away) must occur before the Rapture (our gathering together to Him). Paul also tells us that the man of lawlessness (Antichrist) must be revealed before the Lord returns to the earth as King of kings (the day of the Lord).

2Th 2:4 who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God.

This is the Antichrist.

2Th 2:5 Do you not remember that while I was still with you, I was telling you these things?

2Th 2:6 And you know what restrains him now, so that in his time he will be revealed.

We are supposed to know what is keeping the Antichrist from being revealed.

2Th 2:7 For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only he who now restrains {will do so} until he is taken out of the way.

The mystery of lawlessness is already at work, but it is restrained. And it will be restrained until “he” is taken out of the way. Who is the he? It is the Holy Spirit resident in and working through the true Church (the temple of God, one new man, both masculine terms). The true Church must be taken out of the way, or Raptured, before the Antichrist can be revealed. To those that know the Bible (especially the book of Daniel), Antichrist is revealed when he negotiates a seven-year Peace Treaty between Israel and the Islamic nations that attack her (this battle started at the breaking of the second seal) after the breaking of the sixth seal and the rapture of the church.

 To those who don’t know the Bible, Antichrist reveals himself when he declares himself to be God as he stands in a newly rebuilt Temple in Jerusalem later on. What these scriptures tell us is that the true Church is Raptured before the seven-year Peace Treaty is ratified or signed, but after the great apostasy (falling away). They also tell us that the Lord cannot return until the Antichrist is revealed.

2Th 2:8 Then that lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord will slay with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming;

Luke teaches about the Rapture:

Luke 17:34-36 (NKJV)

³⁴ I tell you, in that night there will be two men in one bed: the one will be taken and the other will be left.
³⁵ Two women will be grinding together: the one will be taken and the other left.
³⁶ Two men will be in the field: the one will be taken and the other left."

John (Jesus) teaches about the Rapture in the book of Revelation:

Rev 3:10 'Because you have kept the word of My perseverance, I also will keep you from the hour of testing, that {hour} which is about to come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth.

This word was given to the Church at Philadelphia. For those that persevere (a characteristic of a man who is not swerved from his deliberate purpose and his loyalty to faith and piety by even the greatest trials and sufferings) Jesus promises to keep them from the hour of testing that is coming upon the whole world. This hour of testing (or judgment) is the Day of the Lord, the Days of the Wrath of God.

Rev 6:12 I looked when He broke the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth {made} of hair, and the whole moon became like blood;

Rev 6:13 and the stars of the sky fell to the earth, as a fig tree casts its unripe figs when shaken by a great wind.

Rev 6:14 The sky was split apart like a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.

Rev 6:15 Then the kings of the earth and the great men and the commanders and the rich and the strong and every slave and free man hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains;

Rev 6:16 and they *said to the mountains and to the rocks, "Fall on us and hide us from the presence of Him who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb;

Rev 6:17 for the great day of their wrath has come, and who is able to stand?"

In these verses we see that the great earthquake of the sixth seal signals the beginning of the Days of the Wrath of God. The fullness of His wrath will not begin until the seventh seal is broken and the great scroll is opened.

Rev 7:9 After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could count, from every nation and {all} tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, and palm branches {were} in their hands;

Before the seventh seal is broken and the fullness of the wrath of God begins to be poured out, suddenly John sees a great multitude of people in Heaven from every tribe, tongue, and nation. They are clothed in white robes and carry palm branches, both signs that these are true believers in Jesus. The white robes are symbols of God’s righteousness and the palm branches are used in worship and symbols of protection. Palm branches were waved in worship as Jesus entered Jerusalem just before His crucifixion.

Rev 7:10 and they cry out with a loud voice, saying, "Salvation to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb."

These people are testifying that they were saved by the blood of the Lamb.

Rev 7:11 And all the angels were standing around the throne and {around} the elders and the four living creatures; and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God,

At the appearing of this great multitude, all the angels, the elders, and the four living creatures standing around God’s throne in Heaven fall on their faces and worship God. Something great and wonderful has just happened.

Rev 7:12 saying, "Amen, blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might, {be} to our God forever and ever. Amen."

Rev 7:13 Then one of the elders answered, saying to me, "These who are clothed in the white robes, who are they, and where have they come from?"

Rev 7:14 I said to him, "My lord, you know." And he said to me, "These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

One of the elders around the throne tells John who these people are. They are those that have just come out of a lot of trouble (erchomai megas thlipsis - to come from one place to another, or appear out of great trouble). They are here because of the blood of the Lamb. These are the true Christians (both those have died and those who are alive when Jesus comes for them) who have suffered through great trouble from the day the Church began on Pentecost nearly 2000 years ago until the great troubles of Revelation 6 and the first five seals of the great scroll. This is the Rapture.

Rev 7:15 "For this reason, they are before the throne of God; and they serve Him day and night in His temple; and He who sits on the throne will spread His tabernacle over them.

This is fulfillment of several OT promises that tell of God’s protection of His people during the Day of the Lord’s Anger (and in times of great trouble).

Jesus teaches about the Rapture:

Jhn 11:23 Jesus *said to her, "Your brother will rise again."

Jhn 11:24 Martha *said to Him, "I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day."

Jhn 11:25 Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies,

Those that have died will live again.

Jhn 11:26 and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?"

From Young’s literal translation – “and every one who is living and believing in me shall not die -- to the age.”  Paraphrased, every one who is living and believing in Me at the end of the age shall never die at all. They will be changed at the Rapture.

O.T. prophecies of the Rapture:

Zep 2:3 Seek the LORD, All you humble of the earth Who have carried out His ordinances; Seek righteousness, seek humility. Perhaps you will be hidden In the day of the LORD'S anger.

The righteous will be hidden in the day of the Lord’s anger.

Isa 26:20 Come, my people, enter into your rooms And close your doors behind you; Hide for a little while Until indignation runs {its} course.

Isa 26:21 For behold, the LORD is about to come out from His place To punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity; And the earth will reveal her bloodshed And will no longer cover her slain.

God’s people will be hidden until the indignation (or judgment) runs its course.

Gen 19:15 When morning dawned, the angels urged Lot, saying, "Up, take your wife and your two daughters who are here, or you will be swept away in the punishment of the city."

Gen 19:16 But he hesitated. So the men seized his hand and the hand of his wife and the hands of his two daughters, for the compassion of the LORD {was} upon him; and they brought him out, and put him outside the city.

Lot and his family were taken out of the city before the judgment of Sodom and Gomorra came.

Gen 6 – The story of Noah

Noah and his family were taken “out of” the world before the flood came.

Exd 19:4 NASB - 'You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and {how} I bore you on eagles' wings, and brought you to Myself.

The Hebrews were delivered out of Egypt and through the Red Sea before the armies of Egypt were destroyed.

Psa 17:8 Keep me as the apple of the eye; Hide me in the shadow of Your wings

The righteous are hidden in the shadow of His wings.

Psa 27:5 For in the day of trouble He will conceal me in His tabernacle; In the secret place of His tent He will hide me; He will lift me up on a rock.

The righteous are to be concealed in the secret place of His tent (tabernacle) in the day of trouble.

Psa 31:20 You hide them in the secret place of Your presence from the conspiracies of man; You keep them secretly in a shelter from the strife of tongues.

Hidden in the secret place of His presence from the conspiracies of man.

Psa 57:1 Be gracious to me, O God, be gracious to me, For my soul takes refuge in You; And in the shadow of Your wings I will take refuge Until destruction passes by.

The righteous are hidden in the shadow of His wings until the destruction passes by.

Psa 91:8 You will only look on with your eyes And see the recompense of the wicked.

The righteous will not be a part of the judgment of the wicked.

Psa 91:9 For you have made the LORD, my refuge, {Even} the Most High, your dwelling place.

The Lord is our refuge and dwelling place.

Other O.T. scriptures that hint of the Rapture:

Psalms 12:1 (NKJV) ¹ To the Chief Musician. On an eight-stringed harp. A Psalm of David. Help, Lord, for the godly man ceases! For the faithful disappear from among the sons of men.

Psalms 12:5 (NKJV) ⁵ "For the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy, Now I will arise," says the Lord; "I will set him in the safety for which he yearns."
Psalms 17:8 (NKJV) ⁸ Keep me as the apple of Your eye; Hide me under the shadow of Your wings,
Psalms 17:15 (NKJV) ¹⁵ As for me, I will see Your face in righteousness; I shall be satisfied when I awake in Your likeness.
Psalms 31:19-21 (NKJV) ¹⁹ Oh, how great is Your goodness, Which You have laid up for those who fear You, Which You have prepared for those who trust in You In the presence of the sons of men!
²⁰ You shall hide them in the secret place of Your presence From the plots of man; You shall keep them secretly in a pavilion From the strife of tongues.
²¹ Blessed be the Lord, For He has shown me His marvelous kindness in a strong city!
Psalms 32:7 (NKJV) ⁷ You are my hiding place; You shall preserve me from trouble; You shall surround me with songs of deliverance. Selah
Psalms 94:12-13 (NKJV) ¹² Blessed is the man whom You instruct, O Lord, And teach out of Your law,
¹³ That You may give him rest from the days of adversity, Until the pit is dug for the wicked.

The Feast of Trumpets – Rosh HaShanah

The Prophecy of the Rapture

(Leviticus 23:24)

   

This Feast occurs on the first day of Tishrei, a new moon, the 7th month of the religious calendar but the first month of the civil calendar. The Feast of Trumpets, or Rosh HaShanah, is also known in Judaism as:

·        Yom Teruah or the Day of the Awakening Blast.

·        The Day of the Blowing of the Last Trump (Pentecost is called the Festival of the First Trump).

·        Yom HaDin - The Day of Judgment.

·        The Day of the Resurrection of the Dead.

·        It is the first day of the Yamim Nora’im, The Days of Awe, the last 10 days of Teshuvah.

·        Yom HaZikkaron - The Day of Rememberance.

·        Yom HaKeseh - The Day of Concealment.

·        Ha Melech – The Day of the King (the day of the King’s coronation or wedding).

·        Also known as “The Day That No One Knows,” "One Long Day," and “The Day of the Gathering of the Nobles”.

In Judaism, the gates of Heaven are opened during the first service of the Feast of Trumpets. Tradition also teaches that three books are open during this Feast. If a person has repented and gotten right with their fellow man and God by accepting the righteousness of God, his name is found written in the Book of the Righteous (or the Book of Life). A person with his name in this Book is judged acceptable and will be concealed during the Awesome Days that precede Yom Kippur. 

The Book of the Rashim (the wholly wicked) contains the names of those forever rejected of their own accord due to their rejection of God. The third book is the Book of the Intermediates (the Book of the Undecided). These are those that have not been judged righteous or wholly wicked. They are given seven more days to repent. If the do repent during the seven days between the Feast of Trumpets (Rosh haShanah) and the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur), their names are written into the Book of the Righteous. If they do not repent their names are written into the Book of the Wicked. Their fate is sealed on Yom Kippur (Hosea 14:1-9; Tosefta Rosh haShanah 1:13; Rosh haShanah 16b-17a). The last service of Yom Kippur is called the “Closing of the Gates of Heaven.”

Prophetically, what is this Feast of the Last Trump all about? How will Jesus fulfill this Feast as He fulfilled the Spring Feasts? What about the Church, those accepting the righteousness of Christ Jesus, both Jew and Gentile (1 Thes. 4:16-17; 1 Cor. 15:51-52)? Are not these the ones whose names have been written into the Book of Life? And what is this Gathering of the Nobles? Is this not the gathering of the saints to meet the Lord in the air, what we call the Rapture?

It seems that the names and rituals of this Festival certainly speak of the calling home of the true Believers. It is at the ‘Blast of the Last Trump’ that the Church is caught to meet the Lord in the air. It is during this Feast that the dead in Christ are awakened or resurrected. It is “the Day No One Knows” as it is called in the New Testament. It is the true Church that is called to the Wedding of the King. This feast is a prophecy of the Rapture of the true Church (those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life). It is the gathering of the nobles. The true Church is taken to Heaven and protected (or concealed) during the coming days of the Judgment of God on those on earth. It is the beginning of the Days of Awe (the days of judgment and of the wrath of God). It is this Festival that tells us that the catching up of the Church is one of the events that initiates Daniel’s last 7 years, the Time of God’s Wrath (Daniel 9:24-27). On earth, this festival begins the Time of Judgment. In Heaven, it initiates the Wedding of the Church and the Lord, King Jesus.

In summary then the Feast of Trumpets can be seen as the rehearsal of the beginning of The Day of the Lord. In it, we see the call for all to repent and return to the Lord. We see the resurrection of the dead and the calling home of all who have come to a condition of righteousness through faith in God and in His Messiah. We see the catching up of the Church to meet the Lord in the air (the Rapture). In Heaven, it is the time of the Wedding of the King of Kings. It is also the time when all others, those whose names are not written in the Book of Life, enter into the Yamin Nora'im, the Days of Awe, a seven-year time period of judgment and the wrath of God on earth. At the same time, in Heaven, it is the time of the Chupah, the concealment of the Bride.

Paul, in 1 Thessalonians 5, also teaches us that we should know the Season or Festival of these events. For “they” (the world) it will come upon then as a thief in the night. But for us it should not be so! He also implies that this Feast initiates the judgment or wrath of God and that we are to escape and be concealed during this coming Time of the Wrath of God, the Days of Awe, or the Awesome Days.

1 Corinthians 15:51-52 (ASV) - Behold, I tell you a mystery: We all shall not 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.

1 Thessalonians 4:15-18 (ASV) - For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we that are alive, that are left unto the coming of the Lord, shall in no wise precede them that are fallen 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 that are alive, that are left, shall together with them be caught up in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.

1 Thessalonians 5:1-11 (ASV) - But concerning the times and the seasons (the festivals), brethren, ye have no need that aught be written unto you. For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. When they are saying, Peace and safety, then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall in no wise escape. But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief: for ye are all sons of light, and sons of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness; so then let us not sleep, as do the rest, but let us watch and be sober. For they that sleep sleep in the night: and they that are drunken are drunken in the night. But let us, since we are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for a helmet, the hope of salvation. For God appointed us not into wrath, but unto the obtaining of salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him. Wherefore exhort one another, and build each other up, even as also ye do.

One of these years, during the fall during at the Feast of Trumpets or Rosh HaShanah, with a shout and the blast of the Last Trump, Jesus will cry out “Come up here!” and the dead in Christ will rise to meet Him in the air. Then we who are alive will join them to be with the Lord forever and ever.

The Rapture Prefigured in the Ancient Jewish Wedding

In the traditional Jewish wedding, the ceremony would be held at a time not known to the townspeople, but prearranged with the bride. The bridegroom and his friends go at night in a torchlight procession to the gates of the girl's village. With a shout and with the blast of a shofar, he calls her to come out and go with him. She is ready, all packed, and with her friends (attendants) she goes out at his shout. As she goes out to meet him, he enters into the center of the village, meeting her there. 

This is a prophecy of Jesus coming “in the air” and we, the Bride going out (rising in the air) to meet Him there. She then returns with him to his father's house for the Marriage Ceremony. We don't know the exact hour of the Lord's coming for us (if evening, midnight, or morning, Mark 13:33-35). But, as to the times or season, we are not in the dark (1 Thes. 5:1-10). He will come for us with a shout (1 Thes. 4:16), at the blast of the Last Trump (Rosh HaShanah, the Feast of the Last Trump), and we will be taken to the Father’s house for the Wedding and a 7-year ‘honeymoon’. Earth’s time is not Heaven’s time. Even in scripture, a “seven” can mean 7 hours, days, years, etc. The meaning is determined by the context of the use of the Hebrew word for seven.

Two close friends are assigned to assist the groom throughout this process. They are known as “the friends of the groom”. They function as the two witnesses required for a Jewish Wedding. One assists the bride in her preparations, and also assists in leading her to the ceremony. It is not hard to see that this ‘groomsman’ who prepares the Bride for the Wedding is none other than the Holy Spirit. 

The other ‘friend’ assists the groom. He has the duty to stand at the door of the Chadar (the bridal chamber) until the bridegroom announces the consummation of the marriage. The friend then makes this known to the wedding guests, and great rejoicing breaks forth in a weeklong celebration.

In John 3:29, it is John the Baptizer who stands by and listens, and rejoices greatly on account of the Bridegroom's voice. Perhaps this is a clue that John the Baptizer is the other ‘friend’ of the Bridegroom. After the marriage between Christ and His Church is consummated (completed), the Bride is hidden away in the bridal chamber (or Chadar) for 7 years in earth time.

In the traditional Jewish wedding, the bride and groom stay in the Chadar for 7 days (the “honeymoon”). At the end of the week, they emerge from the Chadar (or chupah – honeymoon bed or chamber) to begin the actual Wedding Feast. This traditional wedding ritual is a mo’ed (or rehearsal) of the Church being hidden for one seven (7 years) during the Days of Wrath on earth.  At the end of the week, Jesus the Bridegroom brings His Bride out of the chamber, presents her to His friends (Old Testament Saints), and begins the Wedding Feast (Joel 2:15-16; Luke 12:35-37). This ‘honeymoon’ pictures the 7 years between Messiah's Wedding and His Second Coming to earth with His Bride, the Church.

Jesus and the Church come out of the Chupah in Heaven at the blowing of the Great Shofar, the Shofar haGadol (Joel 2:15-16). This Shofar is blown during the last ceremony of Yom Kippur known as "Neilah," the “Closing of the Gate.” At this time the elect of God (the believing remnant of Israel) are gathered from one end of the universe to the other to participate in the fulfillment of the last Holy Feast, Sukkot, where the Wedding Feast is a central theme (Joel 2:15-17, 23; Isa. 27:13; Zech. 14:16; Rev. 11:15). Angels gather the scattered Believers to Jerusalem to participate in the Feast of Tabernacles. Sukkot  (or the Feast of Tabernacles) begins the time when God once again lives among and provides for His people on earth. "The marriage of the Lamb is come” (has happened) (Rev. 19:6-9, 11, 16-18). "Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb" (Believers coming out of the tribulation period). "Blessed are those servants waiting when the Lord returns from the wedding" (Luke 12:35-37), those saved during the tribulation (Matt. 22:1-14).

Summary

It does not take much imagination to see the prophetic significance of the Hebrew Wedding Ceremony. This beautiful ceremony is nothing less than a rehearsal (or mo'ed) of the Great Wedding of King Jesus. Ephesians chapter 5 tells us clearly who the Bride is; it is His Church, His body on earth. Like the Hebrew Wedding, our Wedding has been arranged for us. Our Groom, Jesus, has brought a dowry and a contract. We who are Christians have accepted His proposal with the drinking of the Wine, and now we are legally betrothed. Our Lord has gone to prepare a place for us, and we are now preparing ourselves to be His spouse with the help of the Holy Spirit whom Jesus has sent to be our helper. We are presently waiting expectantly for His shout and the blast of the Last Trump, with which He will call us out to join Him in the air that we might go with Him to the Father's House to the place He has prepared for us. There we will exchange gifts with Him, and in the Holiest sense we will become one with Him. We will be hidden away with Him for 7 years (7 Heaven-days) and then we will be revealed to the world as the Bride of Christ. Then, with the blast of the Great Shofar, Christ and His Bride return to the earth for the final defeat of the enemies of the Lord. The Wedding Feast will begin, which initiates God's physical rule on earth through Jesus the King, where for 1000 years Christ will rule and dwell with His people on earth. This time reestablishes the relationship between God and man, as it was in the Garden of Eden.

At the Rapture, we are going to a wedding – the Lord’s wedding, and our wedding. 

Main points to remember:

·        Our hope, our joy, our crown of rejoicing is that we are in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at His coming (1 Thessalonians 2:19).

·        With the trump of God, we who are alive shall be caught up to meet the Lord in the air (1 Corinthians 15:51-52; 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17).

·        He has not appointed His Church to wrath (1 Thessalonians 5:9).  The Great Tribulation is defined as the time of the wrath of God, beginning with the breaking of the sixth of the seven seals in the book of Revelations (Revelation 6:12-17).  Also we see the Church gathered out of every nation before the throne and before the Lamb in the seventh chapter of Revelation (Revelation. 7:9).

·        He shall keep us from the hour of trial that is to come upon the whole earth (Revelation 3:10).

·        The Lord Himself will come for the Church (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17), but angels will gather the Elect, or Remnant of Israel at the coming of the Lord (Matthew 24:30-44).

·        Other indications supporting the Rapture of the Church:

·        The Church is mentioned 19 times in the first 3 chapters of Revelation.  From chapter 4 to 19, there is not one mention of the Church.  From 19 on the Church is described as participating in the Marriage Supper of the Lamb, and as being the Bride of Christ, with Him in Heaven.

·        God has not appointed the Church to wrath (1 Thessalonians 5:9; 1 Thessalonians 1:10).

·        The Man of Lawlessness, Antichrist, cannot be revealed until He who restrains is taken out of the way (2 Thessalonians 2:1-9).  The true satanic nature of the antichrist is revealed when he seats himself in the Temple of God, claiming to be God and demanding to be worshiped.  This restraining is related to "our gathering together unto Him" (vs. 1) and the "He" is the Church (the body of Christ, the one new man) functioning as the restrainer of lawlessness (John 16:8-11). Thus the Church must be removed before Antichrist can be revealed.

·        Jesus taught the Rapture of the Church.  Jesus said, "Whoever believes in Me, although he may die, yet shall he live.  And whoever continues to live (to the time of my coming) and believe on Me shall never die at all (John 11:25-26).

·        Paul taught that:  1) Not all Christians will die.  2) Before those who are alive are Raptured, Christ will raise up the dead in Christ into incorruptible new bodies.  3) It will be an instantaneous event.  4) The Rapture will occur at the blowing of the last trumpet (Rosh HaShanah).  5) All believers will be changed, their mortal earthly bodies changed into incorruptible, immortal bodies (1 Corinthians 15:51-54).

Old Testament promises of protection in the Day of Trouble or Wrath:  Psalms 27:5; 91:8; Noah, Gen 6; Zephaniah 2:3; Isaiah 26:20; Lot, Gen 19:15-16 and many others.

            What all of this tells us is that there is going to be a Rapture! The dead in Christ will rise first then we who are alive will rise to meet the Lord in the air (not on the earth). We will arise in our new, imperishable bodies. This catching away of the true Church will occur before the wrath of God is poured out upon the wicked on earth. It will occur before the Antichrist is revealed but after the great tribulation of the first five seals of Revelation 6.  We know that it cannot happen before the sixth seal because the fifth seal tells us that there are many believers being killed for their faith during the first five seals. It will happen right before or during the great earthquake of the sixth seal of Revelation 6. This earthquake is the first indication the time of the Wrath of God has come. It will occur on, and be a fulfillment of, the Feast of Trumpets. It occurs during the fall of the year. It is the true Church’s hope of glory and its finest hour. We are going to the wedding of King Jesus and His Bride, the true Church. We are going to our wedding. The true Church becomes Queen of Heaven, the wife of the King and we will reign with Him for all eternity.

Therefore comfort, encourage, and build up one another with these words.