Post by Jo Smith on Jul 18, 2021 12:42:16 GMT -5
From: joie (Original Message)
Sent: 8/17/2002 10:19 PM
The Rapture Question
In the 110 Psalm we read the following: (this is copied from Truth Seekers, 2000) P.s. sure hope they do not mind- (with people would copy and carry our messages - to spread the truth more--- a true Christian will be glad.
The LORD says to my Lord: "Sit at my right hand until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet".
This is the God and Father of the Lord Jesus speaking to His Son. This fact is proven beyond doubt by the Lord Himself and all of the apostles. Just one quote from the 10th. chapter of Hebrews to show that this sentence is taken with seriousness by the apostles.
Heb.10:12-13: But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, "He sat down at the right hand of God", and since then has been waiting, "until His enemies would be made a footstool for His feet".
No matter what I say, or some great man says, or any apostle (true or false) says, or some great bible scholar says, these words can not be broken. This is not difficult to understand. It says as plain as day that the Lord Jesus will remain in heaven by the Fathers side until the Father makes His enemies to be a footstool for His feet.
Each of us is required to live by faith. This is done by believing what God says. When we do this we "rest" in what He says. It does not matter at all that we do not see yet what is said; nor are we to rest in our "feelings" about it. When, and only when, the Father has made the enemies of our Lord Jesus footstools for His feet, can He leave heaven.
And not only do we have to "rest" in this, but the Lord Himself has to "rest" in the words as well. At this very moment, as I write and you read, the Lord Jesus is "resting" in these very words spoken to Him in the 110th. Psalm.
In the light of what the Spirit has said on the subject through king David and the apostle who wrote the book of Hebrews, let us now examine what the apostle Paul says in his first letter to the church of the Thessalonians. Chapter 4 verse 16:
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... (This verse has been given a name by men. It is called "the rapture".)
Now this can not happen for any reason what ever until what is stated in the 110th. Psalm has been fulfilled. There is no way that we can get around what is clearly stated in the 110th. Psalm and the 10th. chapter of Hebrews. If you can get the Lord Jesus out of heaven and not first make His enemies a footstool for His feet your are greater than the Father.
Some say that there will be a secret rapture. He will leave heaven and come down to the cloud level, but not touch earth, snatch His own up to Him and carry then back to heaven and leave the Jews (who don't even believe in Him as their messiah) to fulfill scripture. But in order to accomplish even this limited mission, He Himself has to leave heaven. Again, the 110th. Psalm stands in the way. Jesus is not going to do that.
THERE IS NO RAPTURE! (this whole thread will be copied from that community)
The church systems are literally filled today with carnal, earthly-minded Christians who sit back in ease and self-complacency and await a future rapture that will translate them out of the midst of earth's Great Tribulation at the beginning of the Day of the Lord. To this generation of Lukewarm Laodiceans the Spirit speaks in certain tones of warning: "Woe unto you that desire the day of the Lord to what end is it for you? the day of the Lord is darkness, and not light" (Amos 5:18). In the vast majority of evangelical circles we are taught that at any moment Jesus will come and secretly, silently snatch away His elect to a heaven in the far-flung skies - to escape the Great Tribulation which shall soon visit the earth. It is not true. The saints shall be "caught up" all right; but it is not speaking of distance in terms of miles or light years, but to glorious reality in the Spirit. When Christ comes to lift our inner-man nature UP into the fullness of UNION IN HIM we certainly know the reality of being raised up and made to sit together in the heavenlies in Christ Jesus. This is not a place in the sky, but a spiritual position of eminence, glory and authority. Paul says that we shall be caught up "in the air," that sphere of influence, authority and spirit-control now occupied by "the god of this world," the "prince and power OF THE AIR"
"Rapture" is not a biblical word. Let all of God's people stop speaking of the "rapture." The word rapture is not in the scripture and is at best very misleading. If instead of the rapture we speak of being caught up in the spirit (Acts 8:39; II Cor. 12:2-4; Rev. 4:1-2), translated into the Kingdom (Col. 1:13), raised up into the heavenlies with Christ (Eph. 2:5-6), and caught up into the throne, the spiritual dimension of the Christ's authority, power and glory (Rev. 4:1-2; Rev. 3:21; Rev. 12:5) we will rid ourselves of much confusion and carnal delusion, and we will have a much better understanding of present spiritual realities and the immediate program of God.
Religionists debate loud and long about WHEN THE "RAPTURE" IS TO TAKE PLACE. Some believe in the "pre-tribulation rapture." That means that God's people will be removed from the earth just before the beginning of the tribulation. Thus they will not be here for any of the seven years of plagues, vials, etc. Bumper stickers state: "In case of Rapture, this car will self-destruct". Tracts for airliners say: "In case the trumpet sounds, be prepared for this plane to crash, your pilot may be a Christian." These are fear tactics. Then there are those who teach the "mid-tribulation rapture." They believe that the Bible teaches that the Church will have to go through the first three and a half years of the tribulation while the Antichrist is warring against the saints, but will be raptured and spared the last three and a half years of the intense wrath and judgment of God. Finally there are the "post-tribulation" people. They teach that the Church goes through the entire seven years of tribulation, and that only after the tribulation are the saints "caught up", as according to I Thes. 4:17. They see a Church being empowered by the Spirit of God to survive the worst onslaughts of Satan and pass through victoriously to the other side. This is an admirable concept, and much closer to the truth, but these still embrace the notion of the rapture
Sent: 8/17/2002 10:19 PM
The Rapture Question
In the 110 Psalm we read the following: (this is copied from Truth Seekers, 2000) P.s. sure hope they do not mind- (with people would copy and carry our messages - to spread the truth more--- a true Christian will be glad.
The LORD says to my Lord: "Sit at my right hand until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet".
This is the God and Father of the Lord Jesus speaking to His Son. This fact is proven beyond doubt by the Lord Himself and all of the apostles. Just one quote from the 10th. chapter of Hebrews to show that this sentence is taken with seriousness by the apostles.
Heb.10:12-13: But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, "He sat down at the right hand of God", and since then has been waiting, "until His enemies would be made a footstool for His feet".
No matter what I say, or some great man says, or any apostle (true or false) says, or some great bible scholar says, these words can not be broken. This is not difficult to understand. It says as plain as day that the Lord Jesus will remain in heaven by the Fathers side until the Father makes His enemies to be a footstool for His feet.
Each of us is required to live by faith. This is done by believing what God says. When we do this we "rest" in what He says. It does not matter at all that we do not see yet what is said; nor are we to rest in our "feelings" about it. When, and only when, the Father has made the enemies of our Lord Jesus footstools for His feet, can He leave heaven.
And not only do we have to "rest" in this, but the Lord Himself has to "rest" in the words as well. At this very moment, as I write and you read, the Lord Jesus is "resting" in these very words spoken to Him in the 110th. Psalm.
In the light of what the Spirit has said on the subject through king David and the apostle who wrote the book of Hebrews, let us now examine what the apostle Paul says in his first letter to the church of the Thessalonians. Chapter 4 verse 16:
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... (This verse has been given a name by men. It is called "the rapture".)
Now this can not happen for any reason what ever until what is stated in the 110th. Psalm has been fulfilled. There is no way that we can get around what is clearly stated in the 110th. Psalm and the 10th. chapter of Hebrews. If you can get the Lord Jesus out of heaven and not first make His enemies a footstool for His feet your are greater than the Father.
Some say that there will be a secret rapture. He will leave heaven and come down to the cloud level, but not touch earth, snatch His own up to Him and carry then back to heaven and leave the Jews (who don't even believe in Him as their messiah) to fulfill scripture. But in order to accomplish even this limited mission, He Himself has to leave heaven. Again, the 110th. Psalm stands in the way. Jesus is not going to do that.
THERE IS NO RAPTURE! (this whole thread will be copied from that community)
The church systems are literally filled today with carnal, earthly-minded Christians who sit back in ease and self-complacency and await a future rapture that will translate them out of the midst of earth's Great Tribulation at the beginning of the Day of the Lord. To this generation of Lukewarm Laodiceans the Spirit speaks in certain tones of warning: "Woe unto you that desire the day of the Lord to what end is it for you? the day of the Lord is darkness, and not light" (Amos 5:18). In the vast majority of evangelical circles we are taught that at any moment Jesus will come and secretly, silently snatch away His elect to a heaven in the far-flung skies - to escape the Great Tribulation which shall soon visit the earth. It is not true. The saints shall be "caught up" all right; but it is not speaking of distance in terms of miles or light years, but to glorious reality in the Spirit. When Christ comes to lift our inner-man nature UP into the fullness of UNION IN HIM we certainly know the reality of being raised up and made to sit together in the heavenlies in Christ Jesus. This is not a place in the sky, but a spiritual position of eminence, glory and authority. Paul says that we shall be caught up "in the air," that sphere of influence, authority and spirit-control now occupied by "the god of this world," the "prince and power OF THE AIR"
"Rapture" is not a biblical word. Let all of God's people stop speaking of the "rapture." The word rapture is not in the scripture and is at best very misleading. If instead of the rapture we speak of being caught up in the spirit (Acts 8:39; II Cor. 12:2-4; Rev. 4:1-2), translated into the Kingdom (Col. 1:13), raised up into the heavenlies with Christ (Eph. 2:5-6), and caught up into the throne, the spiritual dimension of the Christ's authority, power and glory (Rev. 4:1-2; Rev. 3:21; Rev. 12:5) we will rid ourselves of much confusion and carnal delusion, and we will have a much better understanding of present spiritual realities and the immediate program of God.
Religionists debate loud and long about WHEN THE "RAPTURE" IS TO TAKE PLACE. Some believe in the "pre-tribulation rapture." That means that God's people will be removed from the earth just before the beginning of the tribulation. Thus they will not be here for any of the seven years of plagues, vials, etc. Bumper stickers state: "In case of Rapture, this car will self-destruct". Tracts for airliners say: "In case the trumpet sounds, be prepared for this plane to crash, your pilot may be a Christian." These are fear tactics. Then there are those who teach the "mid-tribulation rapture." They believe that the Bible teaches that the Church will have to go through the first three and a half years of the tribulation while the Antichrist is warring against the saints, but will be raptured and spared the last three and a half years of the intense wrath and judgment of God. Finally there are the "post-tribulation" people. They teach that the Church goes through the entire seven years of tribulation, and that only after the tribulation are the saints "caught up", as according to I Thes. 4:17. They see a Church being empowered by the Spirit of God to survive the worst onslaughts of Satan and pass through victoriously to the other side. This is an admirable concept, and much closer to the truth, but these still embrace the notion of the rapture