As perfectly as the events surrounding the life of Jesus during His first coming fulfilled the prophecy, so shall the future events.  One in which there is great controversy amongst the churches is the rapture and its timing compared to the tribulation and the millennium of Christ.  This presents as men try to interpret the signs.  In the big picture does it matter so much.  Probably not.  What does matter is that Christ lived, died, paid the penalty that we might find life, hope and everlasting fellowship with God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  Yet, I do wish to present to you why I believe in the pre-tribulation rapture.

Going fully back to the time of Enoch, we see that he was “taken by God”.  Consider the first person ever raptured from earth.  “²³ And all the days of Enoch were three hundred sixty and five years:  And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him. And Methuselah lived a hundred eighty and seven years, and begat Lamech. (Genesis 5:23-25).  This rapture occurred prior to the time of judgement which came under Noah his great-grandson.  Elijah was also raptured; yet, he plays an important future role during the tribulation period as one of the witnesses that will be martyred and resurrected.  Still, his rapture occurred before the captivity of Judah and Israel; hence before the “tribulation” that they would face due to judgement.  They had sinned grievously against God by following idolatrous worship while not heeding the warnings of the prophets.

New Testament Scripture Regarding Pre-Tribulation Rapture

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Just as assuredly as the prophecies of old came true regarding Jesus Christ’s birth, life, death and resurrection, so shall the prophecies of His second coming be completed.  Christ’s Second Coming is written in God’s stone tablets and will occur.  In due time, Christ will reign over all of heaven and earth as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.  Daniel wrote of this truth in Daniel 9.  He had been praying for his people when Gabriel appeared before him.  Of this Daniel wrote.

O Lord hear. Lord, forgive,  O Lord, hearken and do. Defer not, for thine own sake, O my God: for thy city and thy people are called by thy name. And whiles I was speaking, and praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before the Lord my God for the holy mountain of my God; Yea, whiles I was speaking in prayer, even the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, touched me about the time of the evening oblation. And he informed me, and talked with me, and said, O Daniel, I am now come forth to give thee skill and understanding.

At the beginning of thy supplications the commandment came forth, and I am come to shew thee; for thou art greatly beloved: therefore, understand the matter, and consider the vision. Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy. (Daniel 9:19-24).

Second Coming as King of Kings

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We began this journey of faith along the road to Emmaus on March 19, 2019 as this series began with Jesus explaining how all of prophecies spoken of Him were true.  These two disciples who listened to Him that day had their eyes opened to the full truth.  The birth, life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ was foretold with exacting detail.  There were no surprises that God had not already known and foretold.  Christ came for this purpose so that men, women, and children might have a means of salvation.  Life was brought to those spiritually dead because of sin—that is all who would believe and accept this gift of salvation.  Over the course of this study, the truth of Jesus Christ has been verified.  Just as all these prophecies came true, so will those prophecies of the future be fulfilled as well.

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.  Do not be carried ^[b]about with various and strange doctrines. For it is good that the heart be established by grace, (Hebrews 13:8-9 NKJV).  God has given us such magnificent grace. He never changes and always fulfills His promises as He does His prophecies.  Joshua speaking of Him wrote:  Not one word of all the good promises that the Lord had made to the house of Israel had failed; all came to pass (Joshua 21:44).  Yet, despite this, the people failed to follow God, turned to worship idols instead since the idols allowed them to indulge in self-exaltation and lascivious living, fulfilling their sinful desires of the flesh.  Still, Jesus came to pay the penalty for their sins and ours as promised. The old testament prophecies regarding the Messiah came true as promised.

Prophecies Yet to be Fulfilled:

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If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation (Romans 10:9-10).

This series of messages present the truths of prophecies foretold in the Old Testament coming alive in Jesus Christ.  From His humble birth to the cross, every detail was foretold of and fulfilled with such accuracy.  Proof of His being the Messiah, the son of God who came to pay the price of sin for us once and for all.  His sacrifice meaningless without God’s miraculous resurrection of His Son from the dead on the third day as promised.  Jesus is seated on the right hand of God ever making intercession for all of us who believe in Him, desiring His gift of salvation, and grasping hold of this truth.  God raised Him from the Dead and with that same power He raises us from the spiritual death in which we dwell into newness of life in Him, by Him and through Him.

Psalm 119: 1,4 foretells this. “The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool…The Lord hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek.” Note, the words used here in Hebrew are: the Lord Yahweh (Jehovah) said unto Adonai (LORD).  God the Father said to God the Son, “Sit thou at my right hand.”  The Son in perfect obedience did all that the Father asked of Him.

Psalm 16: 9-11 

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Darkness fell across the entire earth, although this was midday.  The sun, the moon and the stars blackened as Christ hung upon the cross.  God’s full wrath and judgement fell upon Christ for our sin.  The utter darkness that covered the earth was not only recorded in Scripture; but also, was recorded by two first century historians.  They were Thallus and Phlegon who recorded that an unexplainable darkness fell upon the land during the reign of Tiberius Caesar during a time of a full moon. These historians reported that the darkness lasted from the 6^th to the 9^th hour, which is what we call 12 noon to 3 pm now.  Furthermore, they wrote of earthquakes that occurred around the same time which were also unexplained.

Prior to this, Jesus had shown forth such grace and mercy, despite His agony.  He had prayed for His accusers and those who nailed Him to the cross (Luke 23:34).  Then, He offered salvation to the thief who professed belief in Him (Luke 23:43).  Finally, with great compassionate love He asked John to care for His mother (John 19:25-27).  When one considers the beatings His body had endured, the nails driven into His hands and feet, the thorns piercing His brow with blood pouring down, the severe dehydration, the difficulty breathing on a cross, the pain throughout His muscles, and most likely a pericardial effusion reducing the outflow of blood-the fact that He even spoke is miraculous. Much less with such love, compassion, and grace.

A Gracious Glimpse

Continue reading That One Day When Darkness Covered the Light →