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A different view.

Three interesting points regarding the rapture

1) The first point is in Matthew 24:9, where Jesus tells the apostles that a great tribulation will begin and that the believers in Christ will become objects of hatred and begin to be tortured and killed.

Matthew 24:9-- "Then people will deliver you up to tribulation and they will put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of my name.

Notice that this is happening to believers during the tribulation period, because the end times is what Jesus is referring to. And we find that during this time the believers are being martyred and yet no rapture is taking place to save the souls of these believers, and that is because there is no rapture. The only rapture that is going to take place is when Jesus comes the second time, when the history of earthly man is over, and then and only then will we be whisked away into the clouds to be with God for ever.

Look also at verse 13, because that verse tells us that there is no rapture, and that the ones that are alive during this time will have to endure the entire tribulation till the very end in order to be saved. So no one is going to be whisked away in any rapture.

Matthew 24:13, "But he that has endured to the end is the one that will be saved".

2) The second point is that in Matthew 24:3, the apostles ask Jesus what will be the sign of his coming back and the signs that the end of this system of things is near. It is very interesting what Jesus says next. He doesn't talk about signs but instead he gives a warning, a warning about false prophets, and only after the warning does Jesus tell the apostles about the various signs. Matthew 24: 4-5 says,

Matthew 24:4-- Jesus answered them, "Beware that no one leads you astray.

Matthew 24:5-- For many will come in my name, saying, "I am the Messiah! and they will lead many astray.

Only then did Jesus tell the apostles about the different signs in verses 6,7,8,9, and 10. But then Jesus is back with his warning against false prophets that are going to come onto the scene during the end times. You see this warning once again in Matthew chapter 24 in verses 11,23,24,26.

Verse 11--And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray.

Verse 23--Then if anyone says to you, "Look! Here is the Messiah! or "There he is!-do not believe it.

Verse 24--For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and produce great signs and omens, to lead astray, if possible, even the elect.

Verse 26--So, if they say to you, "Look! He is in the wilderness, do not go out. If they say, "Look! He is in the inner rooms, do not believe it.

So Jesus is warning us to be very careful of false prophets, but why now. Why is it so important at this point? And this leads us to where people who believe in the rapture are in error. They look at verses 40 and 41 in chapter 24.

Verse 40--Then two men will be in the field; one will be taken and one will be left.

Verse 41--Two women will be grinding meal together; one will be taken and one will be left.

Now verses 40 and 41 are the two verses that most say prove that believers will be raptured right off the face of the earth. First of all it says nothing about the men in the field or the women at the mill being believers.

And secondly to truly understand the meaning of verses 40 and 41 you just have to read verses 37-39 and you will see that Jesus is talking about how the people during the flood of Noah were swept away and destroyed and how he is comparing that time with the end times.

Verse 37--For as the days of Noah were, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.

Verse 38--For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark,

Verse 39--and they knew nothing until the flood came and swept them all away, so too will be the coming of the Son of Man.

Matthew 24:40-41--The foundation for the rapture theory.

Then Jesus talks about the two men who are in the field and one is taken and the other isn't. He isn't talking about a rapture here. The one taken isn't raptured up to God, he is deceived by satan and goes with satan willingly to be lost forever just like those men who were lost in the flood during Noah's time were. Like wise the two women who are grinding at the hand mill, the one taken isn't raptured, she is deceived by satan and she also goes with satan willingly. The two that were taken, were fooled by satan because they failed to stay alert in the Word of God and were lead astray. Verse 40 and 41 can only be interpreted by first reading verse 37 through 39. Verse 39 says that the men of Noah's time took no note until the flood came and then they were swept away and so they were lost. They were deceived, fooled, tricked, and of course lost. And Jesus is simply warning people to watch out in the last days because he knows that many of them are also going to be mislead by satan and wind up lost. And one of the many ways that satan is going to deceive people is by making them believe in the rapture theory. This is the reason why Jesus spends so much time in Chapter 24 talking about false prophets and false teachers such as in verses 4,5,11,23,24,25,26, and why verses 37,38,39 concerning similar times that took place in Noah's days, becomes so extremely important in understanding verses 40, 41, and 42.

And in verse 42 Jesus gives another warning to the people of the end times to please stay alert in the Word of God right up till the time that Jesus comes back so you are not deceived by satan and wind up being eternally lost.

Verse 42-- Keep awake therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming.

Then if you go down to verse 43 Jesus is telling us one last time that if we are not going to be on our guard against satan then we are going to be like the householder who fell asleep and allowed his house to be broken into. In other words if we don't keep alert we are going to let satan mislead and trick us and steal our eternal salvation right out from under us.

Verse 43--"But understand this: if the owner of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into".
It is just incredible how much time and effort Jesus took to warn us of being mislead by false teachers. Of their ability to take the truth and twist it and reshape it, so it is no longer the words of God but is now the words of men.

3) The third point is that it's interesting that there is a place in the Bible where God himself tells us that he is against the catching away or the rapturing of souls so that they might be saved from punishment. It is found in Ezekiel 13:20.

Ezekiel 13:20--"Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord Jehovah has said, Here I am against your cushions, with which you are hunting down the souls as though they were flying things, and I will rip them from off your arms and let go the souls that you are hunting down, souls as though they were flying things".

The wicked are to be removed.

BOOK OF ENOCH

Chapter 1

1 The words of the blessing of Enoch, wherewith he blessed the elect and righteous, who will be 2 living in the day of tribulation, when all the wicked and godless are to be removed. And he took up his parable and said -Enoch a righteous man, whose eyes were opened by God, saw the vision of the Holy One in the heavens, which the angels showed me, and from them I heard everything, and from them I understood as I saw, but not for this generation, but for a remote one which is 3 for to come. Concerning the elect I said, and took up my parable concerning them:

The Holy Great One will come forth from His dwelling,
4 And the eternal God will tread upon the earth, (even) on Mount Sinai, [And appear from His camp] And appear in the strength of His might from the heaven of heavens.

5 And all shall be smitten with fear And the Watchers shall quake, And great fear and trembling shall seize them unto the ends of the earth.

6 And the high mountains shall be shaken, And the high hills shall be made low, And shall melt like wax before the flame

7 And the earth shall be wholly rent in sunder, And all that is upon the earth shall perish, And there shall be a judgement upon all (men).

8 But with the righteous He will make peace.

And will protect the elect, And mercy shall be upon them.

And they shall all belong to God, And they shall be prospered, And they shall all be blessed.

And He will help them all, And light shall appear unto them, And He will make peace with them'.

9 And behold! He cometh with ten thousands of His holy ones To execute judgement upon all, And to destroy all the ungodly:

And to convict all flesh Of all the works of their ungodliness which they have ungodly committed, And of all the hard things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.

Malachi 4
1 “For behold, the day is coming, Burning like an oven, And all the proud, yes, all who do wickedly will be stubble. And the day which is coming shall burn them up,” Says the LORD of hosts, “ That will leave them neither root nor branch.

2 But to you who fear My name The Sun of Righteousness shall arise With healing in His wings; And you shall go out And grow fat like stall-fed calves. 3 You shall trample the wicked, For they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet.

Matthew 13
40 Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age. 41 The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, 42 and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!