Reasons for no rapture
before the 2nd coming!

Many scholars are no longer convinced...

The rapture is not clearly taught in the Bible and because of this, it's easy to jump to a mistaken conclusion. For example, Christ says that "when He comes and knocks," we should "open to Him immediately." Luke 12:36.  If you have been taught to believe in a rapture, it may be easy to think that's what Christ means here. But several points don't fit rapture teaching. Why would Christ say, "Have your loins girded, have your lights burning" if He were going to rapture us, even from sleep? We don't need to sleep with our clothes or lights on. This is about something else.

1.      When Christ said, “One shall be taken, and the other left” (Matthew 24:39-40), He wasn't talking about a rapture. Luke gives more details. The disciples asked, "Where, Lord? And He said unto them, Wheresoever the body is, there will the eagles be gathered.” (Luke 17:37). With this additional information, it suggests that those who are taken are not raptured to heaven; they become the dinner for vultures.  "One shall be taken and the other left" should not be understood as a rapture. 

2.      A pre-tribulation rapture is contrary to God’s way of dealing throughout history. History supports that “we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom.” Acts 14:22. Our belief that it won’t happen to us is based on a few texts that can be explained to mean something else. Everyone in history lived through trouble and died,  except for Enoch and Elijah (discussed below).

3.      Christ said, “As it was in the days of Noah” (Luke 17:26). Noah wasn’t raptured; he came through the storm. Enoch was raptured before Noah was even born, so his being taken to heaven had nothing to do with avoiding the Flood or tribulation. 

4.      Elijah was raptured, but Christ never said the end would be like Elijah for us. Elijah was raptured only after he confronted false worship of Baal. Our confrontation will be with Antichrist when the United Nations mandates everyone to be marked or implanted for identity purposes, but this will be contrary to the Bible, Revelation 13:16,17; 14:9,10.

5.  “As it was in the days of Lot, Luke 17:28. Lot wasn’t raptured, he was told to flee, and Christ told us to flee because there would be great tribulation, Matthew 24:15-21; Mark 13:14-20.

6.   Everyone else in history has faced trouble and death. “Now all these things happened unto them for  ensamples, and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come,” 1Corinthians 10:11.

7.    When asked about the end of the world, Christ said to understand Daniel. The book of Daniel shows no rapture. Daniel and his friends were tested by a series of life and death situations. "Daniel" means God is my Judge and we may only be judged when we face death and do right. Otherwise we may be "fair-weather" Christians.

8.  Christ was in the furnace with the three Hebrews. “Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you,” 1 Peter 4:12. God will be with us through the trials.

9.   “Broad is the way, that leads to destruction.” Matthew 7:13. Millions of rapture books sold like “Left Behind” suggest a broad following that does not fit well with the Bible’s teaching that “we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God,” Acts 14:22.

10.  “By their fruits ye shall know them.” The fruit of rapture teaching is a lack of Bible study in Revelation, thinking “we won’t be around.” But Revelation is the only book that Christ promises a blessing for reading and "keeping those things that are written therein." Revelation 1:3. Revelation uses symbols and imagery that we can decode from other parts of Scripture if we study and become familiar with the Bible. 

11. We would feel like second class citizens in heaven if we were raptured from trouble and lukewarm materialism (Revelation 3:17) if we did not have the opportunity to face trouble manfully as did Daniel, Peter or Paul.

12. Rather than rapturing "lukewarm...miserable" Christians (Rev 3:17), we should expect "the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple...But who may abide the day of his coming...for he is like a refiner's fire," Malachi 3:1,2. If we are faithful through this refining process (trumpet plagues of Revelation 8,9, the mark of the New World Order (Revelation 13:16,17) and the 7 vials that fall on those who receive that mark (Revelation 14:9,10; Rev 16) we will be ready to meet Christ when He comes visibly ("every eye shall see Him, Rev 1:7, Revelation 19:11). 

Please share your thoughts about this on my blog
at
http://TheBridegroomComes.wordpress.com

Dr. Richard Ruhling is an author and speaker Current Events & Bible Prophecy. If you would like to contact him for scheduling an event,  ), please email him at Ruhling7@juno.com and visit his webpage at http://TheBridegroomComes.com or leave a comment on his blog at  http://TheBridegroomComes.wordpress.com  

Thank you for visiting...please tell your friends, the wise in Matthew 25 and Luke 12:35 have lights to show the way and invite others to the wedding in Matt 22:2,3

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Faithfully warning others...

A Tribute to Camping's Thousands

Summary: May 21, 2011 won’t be the end of the world, but since God reads the heart and discerns the motives of those who love and serve Him, many of Camping’s followers may be blessed in a déjà vu of the “Great Disappointment” in 1844 by an understanding of this information.

Christ is coming for all "who love His appearing," so let's not be so eager to forget Camping's follower's sincere effort to share what they believed. Below is a life-time medical missionary's input half way down, "Incredible data..." but first--

Camping took texts out of context to compose his May 21 date, and he used a chronology that was thousands of years in excess of Ussher and Sir Isaac Newton.

His use of the 2300 days taken from Daniel 8:14 and pasted into the last 23 years (??) before May 21, 2011 date has the flimsiest excuse to make things look exact.

It's impressive for him to say, "We learned that..." but when he is unwilling to unlearn anything and it's impossible to communicate with him, it's shameful for him to be so positive and he was probably insincere because he did not accept an offer of $100,000 for his radio stations by Doug Batchelor of Amazing Facts telecast.
 
The “rapture” is not found in most translations of the Bible, but that doesn’t disprove the concept. But a sudden snatch of believers to heaven could be wrong because some of the texts used to support it are about a marriage and the Bible gives us an example...

We forget the Old Testament model when God took Israel from calamity in Egypt to a covenant relationship at Sinai and later said, “I am married to you,” Jeremiah 3:14.

The Bible’s best theologian (Paul) includes the Exodus when he wrote, “All those things happened unto them for [types] and they are written for our admonition upon whom the ends of the world are come.” 1Corinthians 10:1,11.

We are living amid unprecedented calamities. Calamities are a time of crisis. The Chinese characters for crisis are two: danger + opportunity. The Greek word, krisis, is translated “judgment” in Revelation 14:7.

A time of judgment is impending and what we do in a crisis can determine our destiny. It did for Israel as they left Egypt and bondage for the land that God promised to give Abraham and his seed.

When He got ready to do so, God attacked the gods of Egypt. They worshiped the Nile; it turned to blood. They worshiped cattle; they got disease. Money is our god—“in this god we trust,” and it’s going! We’ve kicked God out of courtrooms and classrooms; can we blame Him for withdrawing His blessing?

Camping rightly uses "a thousand years are as a day," (2Peter 3:8) but he dates the Flood at 4990 BC, a thousand years off 4004 BC which millions of King James Bibles have for the creation, based on Ussher’s Chronology and approximated by Sir Isaac Newton.

Astronomy confirms Newton: “May 5, 2000: The date that Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn will line up with the sun and moon, the first time in 6000 years.” TIME Magazine, Jan 17, 2000.

That supports Genesis 1:14 when God put “lights in the sky for signs and seasons” as being 6,000 years ago (and creation as 4000 BC). But Camping’s error in calculation is offset by his choice to use 7,000 years versus the Bible’s giving man six days (Exodus 20:9) and 6,000 years. Speaking of the day of judgment, “one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day,” 2 Peter 3:8.

The Bible has a solar system alignment in which the sun, moon and stars “made obeisance” to Joseph who was sold as a slave to Egypt, but after seven good years, his brothers bowed to him like the stars in his dream during seven bad years that followed.

Since 2000, we had seven good years, but in 2008, troubles came and we could be flirting with the beginning of the bad years. A huge earthquake would mean it's Christ’s “knock” in Luke 12:36. This is a wedding parable and we must “open unto Him immediately” by a readiness considering information necessary for us to make a covenant (marriage) with Christ. To understand this better, or for more information, please visit www.TheBridegroomComes.com

May God help us to be ready to respond to Him when He comes to “knock.” This is not a visible coming, but a coming in Judgment as God said in Egypt, “I will execute judgment,” Exodus 12:12.

Leave a comment at  http://TheBridegroomComes.wordpress.com  Thank you for visiting...please tell your friends, the wise in Matthew 25 and Luke 12:35 have lights to show the way and invite others to the wedding in Matt 22:2,3