THE RAPTURE - THE
HOPE OF THE CHURCH
D.P. Weary
February 2009
a
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 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 keywords 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
thought 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.”
When the Blast of the Last Trump sounds, only those who are
born again by the Holy Spirit of God will be taken, those whose names are written
in the Book of the Righteous.
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 in 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 troubles of the first 5 seals in
Revelation 6 are the of man’s failures and the working of the man of sin
released in the first seal. The earthquake of this sixth seal is a natural disaster
released by 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 great tribulation,
and they have washed their
robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
From Young's Literal Translation
and I have said to him, 'Sir, thou hast known;'
and he said to me, 'These are those who are coming out of great tribulation, and they did wash their
robes, and they made their robes white in the blood of the Lamb
One of
the elders around the throne tells John who these people are. They are those
that are coming or 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 the
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). Note 1 Cor. 15:51-52.
·
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 Remembrance.
·
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 they 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 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, seven years 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 like 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 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.
Other
scripture references relative to the Feast of Trumpets – Yom Teruah:
From: The Feasts of the Lord, Mark Biltz, El Shaddai
Ministries, 2008.
Idioms for The Feast of Trumpets – Yom Teruah
Signs, seasons, days, and years
Gen 1:14 Dan 7:25
Remembrance
Lev 23:23, 24
Num 10:9
Mal 3:16-18
The blowing of trumpets
Num 29:1
1 Cor 14:8
Ps 47:5
1 Thes 4:16
Ps 89:15
Jacob’s trouble
Jer 30:6,7
Isa 26:17
Isa 13:6-8
Dan 12:1
Zeph 1:14-16
Mat 24:7,8
Am 5:20
Rev 17:5
Dan 11:32
Pro 7:1-3
Pro 7:4-10
Pro 7:13-15
Mar 13:34
Mat 25:14,15
Mat 20:1,11
Pro 7:18
Comes as a thief
Rev 3:1-3
Rev 16:15
Mat 24:8-13
Lu 12:37-46
Mat 16:13
Lu 19:41,44
I Thes 5:1-5
Ezek 33:2,3,7
Jer 6:10,16,17,29
Isa 58:1
The Day of the Awakening Blast
Dan 12:2
Isa 26:19
I Thes 4:16,17
I Cor 2:8
I Cor 15:51-53
SoS 2:10,11
SoS 3:1,2
SoS 5:2-6
Eph 5:4
Judgment – Opening of the books and opening of the gates
Num 13:24,25
Rev 14:18
2 Cor 5:10
I Cor 3:13-15
Dan 7:10,11
Rev. 5:11-13
Rev 20:11,12
Rev. 4:1,2
Psm 24:7-10
Psm 118:19,20
Isa 26:1-3
Joel 2:1,2
Joel 2:11-13
Zeph 1:14-16
The Hidden Day – Yom HaKeseh
Zeph 2:1-4
Psm 27:5
Isa 26:20,21
The Wedding – HaKiddushin
Joel 2:15,16
Jer 23:5,6
Jer 33:15,16
Gen 24:53,58
I Pet 1:8
Matt 1:18,19
I Pet 1:18,19
I Cor 6:20
Jer 2:2
Hos 2:19,20
2 Cor 1:20
1 John 5:14,15
Rom 10:8-10
Ex 24:3
Eph 4:7,8
1 Cor 12:1
Ezek 16:8,9
Mk 13:32
Matt 25:6,7
Isa 62:5-7
Luke 14:16-18
Rev 19:7-9
Rev 19:14-18
Matt 22:1-5, 8-11
Luke 14:16-24
The Coronation – HaMelech
Psm 98:6-9
Psm 2:6,7
Gen 49:10
Heb 1:8
2 Sam 5:3
1 Kings 1:39-46
Rev 4:1-4, 9-11
The Acclamation
1 Kings 1:34
Psm 50:4,5
Psm 47:1-9
Psm 102:13, 16-18
Rev 19:1-16
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
(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).
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 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 tribulation of the first five seals of
Revelation 6. We suspect that it does
not happen before the sixth seal because the fifth seal tells us that many
believers are being killed for their faith during the first five seals. It will
probably 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.
(1 Thes.
4:18)
