It’s not about
us “escaping” anything. God’s wrath is reserved for
the children of disobedience (i.e. the unbelievers).
Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in
the children of disobedience: Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of
wrath, even as others. (Eph. 2:2, 3).
Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the
wrath of God upon
the children of disobedience. (Eph. 5:6).
For which things' sake the
wrath of God cometh on
the children of disobedience (Col. 3:6).
...
escape...
The word
escape in Greek is
ekpheugō. It is found seven times in the New Testament - five times as
escape and two times as
flee.
The definition of
ekpheugō is:
1) to flee out of; to flee away
a) to seek safety in flight
a) to escape
Obviously, this word has nothing to do with a "rapture."
BTW,
...I also will
keep thee from the hour of temptation... (Rev. 3:10).
The word
keep in Greek is
tēreō. It is found 75 times in the New Testament -
keep 57 times,
reserve 8,
observe 4,
watch 2,
preserve 2,
keeper 1, and
hold fast 1.
The definition of
tēreō is:
1) to attend to carefully, take care of
a) to guard
b) metaph. to keep, one in the state in which he is
c) to observe
d) to reserve: to undergo something
Obviously, this word has nothing to do with a "rapture."
Amen.
Amen.
This is dogma. Take one portion of these claims at a time, and show us,
with scripture -- no excuses.
Then it should be an easy task for you to post those “many scriptures” -- with everything in order, one point at a time -- For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little (Isa. 28:10).
I am consistently surprised at how many believers continue to view the various
'Thief In The Night' passages in the Scriptures as being descriptive of a pretribulation rapture. Through widespread usage, the evocative phrase has evolved into a somewhat universal description of the much touted hypothetical secret coming of Christ to evacuate believers before the tribulation begins.
Christian books, multitudes of prophecy tapes, dramatic video productions, and a host of other media have been utilizing the theme for many years. For example, a feature film entitled
Thief In The Night has been extensively screened (on film & video) to Christian audiences throughout North America -- even as the word
thief has found its way into the titles of numerous rapture-oriented prophecy books and magazine articles. Clearly, a large portion of the church believes the various
thief verses in the Bible provide Scriptural support for the fictitious doctrine of the pre-trib rapture.
The fact is, the verses in the New Testament that reference Christ's coming as a thief,
without exception, refer to his second coming -- at the very end of the tribulation.
The word
thief actually appears 27 times in the entire Bible. It's found 12 times in the Old Testament, and 15 times in the New Testament. None of the OT references are germane to the study as they typically describe the sanctions and prohibitions against theft; e.g. Thou Shalt Not Steal. (Ex 20:15).
In the New Testament, all 15 occurrences of the word
thief are relevant, so they are representative of the intent and meaning inherent in the phrase 'come like a thief,' or 'thief in the night.' At the Olivet mountain, Jesus taught that "... if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the
thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up." (Mat 24:43). In this account, which is echoed in Luke, we see the concept of watching for the
unexpected arrival of the thief.
However, what most rapturists miss here is the obvious fact that the
thief is spoken of in a negative context for his actions are hardly desirable as his activity is textually limited to the 'breaking up' of the goodman's house -- hardly descriptive of someone coming on a mission of rescue and evacuation. It's also important to remember that this particular reference about the thief COMING TO DESTROY appears in the very chapter wherein Christ is articulating the events surrounding his return -- Matthew 24.
In the next occurrence of the word
thief, we see
Jesus responding to his betrayal and subsequent arrest by the Jewish and Roman authorities. As Judas led the armed guards to his former master, Christ asked "Are ye come out as against a
thief with swords and staves for to take me? I sat daily with you teaching in the temple, and ye laid no hold on me." (Mat 26:55). Here the text illustrates that thieves were considered to be dangerous enough that their arrest warranted 'swords and staves.'
In the book of John,
Jesus further elaborates on the characteristics of a "... thief (who) cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy...." (John 10:10). It is apparent from this passage that the term
thief connotes someone that does far more than simply steal. The thief also comes to
destroy. Indeed, when one remembers the two thieves that were ultimately crucified next to Christ, it's not difficult to see that the title was applied to persons that came to perpetrate an act of violence or pure destruction, for Roman society considered thieves a sufficient threat that they
crucified them.
Moving on to the epistles, while the rapture crowd chooses to characterize the allusion to a thief as an indication of the
imminency of the so-called rapture, the Apostle Peter chooses to describe the coming of the thief in the night as incredibly
destructive, highly visual, and even very noisy:
"But the day of the Lord will come as a
thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with a fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up." (2 Pet 2:10).
This vivid description doesn't sound at all like what one might expect from a 'secret coming' that suddenly and discriminately snatches up the faithful believer, and leaves everyone else in the clutches of the
Antichrist. After all, if the earth is "burned up" and the heavens pass away with a 'big bang' WHEN this "thief" comes, how could there then be 7 years left for the tribulation?
In addition to these citations from
Matthew,
Luke,
John, and
Peter, the Apostle
Paul also taught that the coming of the thief in the night would be accompanied by a tremendous and final
destruction. In a favorite passage frequently cited by the group I've come to refer to as
The Rapture Cult, Paul writes that "... the day of the Lord so cometh as a
thief in the night. For when they shall say peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape." (1 Thes 5:2, 3). Once again, the arrival of the thief in the night coincides with "sudden destruction."
When both Peter
and Paul describe the arrival of the thief in the night as an event of tremendous destruction, they
both state that true believers will not be caught unawares for they
will be watching for the return of The Lord.
Paul actually uses the word
thief again in the very next verse following his first reference to the thief in the night. He writes that the true believer is "... not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a
thief." (1 Thes 5:4).
This verse succinctly states that believers
WILL be on the earth when "the day" arrives, but they'll be prepared for that day for they've been WATCHING and
anticipating the Lord's arrival. This is
precisely what Christ instructed the errant church in
Sardis to do in order to renew their right standing with him: Repent and WATCH.
The allusion to Christ's return as a
thief actually occurs
twice in Revelation. In fact, the similarity between
The Thief of Sardis in Revelation 3 and the thief mentioned in Revelation 16 is
striking.
Both verses are the actual words of Jesus.
Both verses refer to
Christ coming as a
thief.
Both verses admonish believers to
watch.
Both verses state that believers are to keep their garments from being "defiled."
Obviously, both verses merit a close look.
When
The Thief of Sardis (Jesus) states that those who do not repent and watch "will... not know what hour (he) will come upon thee" (Rev 3:3), he states that his coming will then be "as a thief." (Rev 3:3). Much later, in
Revelation 16:15, Jesus says "Behold, I come as a thief... Blessed is he that
watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame."
At this point, all 7 seal judgment have occurred. All 7 trumpet judgment have gone by. And at least 6 of the 7 vial judgments have been poured out. Indeed, the very next verse says "And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue
Armageddon." (Rev 16:16). It is at the battle of Armageddon that Christ returns to the earth --
after the tribulation has fully run its course (Rev 19:19). Yet immediately preceding this battle,
AFTER the seal, trumpet, and vial Judgments, Christ says in the
FUTURE tense, "Behold, I come as a thief." (Rev 3:3).
Furthermore, there is no doubt this is the same coming of the thief that is referred to in Revelation 3 -- the words spoken to the church of Sardis, for both references include specific details such as not defiling one's garments, watching, and the actual reference to Christ's return as being like that of a
thief. In short, this is precise and irrefutable
Scriptural proof that the thief in the night comes AFTER the tribulation.
”caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air and so shall we ever be with the Lord” -- meet, greet and return to base (mount of olives) with him.
The rapture doctrine requires students of the scriptures to approach each relevant verse with certain preconceived notions about prophecy. If you simply read the various prophetic verses about the return of Christ, the Bible clearly teaches that believers will be “gathered”
at the second coming -- not some secret, invisible return that precedes his BIG second coming at the end of the tribulation. The problem isn’t in our understanding of the rapture, because the rapture as routinely taught today
doesn’t even exist; the difficulty is in our understanding of the
resurrection
There are two resurrections: one for believers and one for unbelievers. Guess which one your quote describes.
If you want the answer to the "rapture" question, simply study the RESURRECTION.
In John chapter five, Jesus tells us how God The Father has committed the power of resurrection to him. Jesus says “He that heareth my word and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life...for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice. And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto
the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto
the resurrection of damnation.” (
John 6:24,
28,
29) According to these passages, apparently there are two resurrections: one for those “that have done good,” and a resurrection for those “that have done evil.”
In one of the parallel accounts, a verse in Luke has Christ himself saying that the believer shall “be recompensed at
the resurrection of the just.” (
Luke 14:14) Another proof text of this dual aspect of the resurrection is found in the book of Acts when the Apostle Paul was brought before the Roman governor Felix and charged with heresy by the Jews.
Paul stated that he believes, as the Jews did, “that there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and the unjust.” (
Ezekiel 33:8,
4) A further example of this understanding of two resurrections is found in the Old Testament, when the prophet
Daniel was instructed by the archangel Michael concerning the tribulation
and the resurrection. In that instance, Michael said that in the time of the end, “many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.” (
Daniel 12:2)
Back in the New Testament book of Revelation, we find a reference to “
the first resurrection.” (
Rev. 20:5) This
first resurrection clearly relates to believers in Jesus, for the text states that they “lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.” (
Rev. 20:4)
In the same chapter, John (the writer of Revelation) says “the rest of the dead lived not again
until the thousand years were finished.” (
Rev. 20:5) Later in the chapter John says, “when the thousand years are expired...I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God...and the dead were judged...” (
Rev. 20:7,
12) These verses plainly state that
there are two resurrections -- one for believers and one for unbelievers.
The Revelation passages further clarify that these two resurrections are
separated by one thousand years; this being the period we commonly call the millennium during which the resurrected believers shall “reign with him a thousand years.” (
Rev. 20:6)
