Notes to Download: Rapture or Tribulation
Today we are told that the Rapture will overtake us all and there is no preparing. Yet over and over Jesus tells us to watch and pray that we may be counted worthy to escape. One third of the bible is prophecy, most of it is still yet to happen. Why would God spell out the events that no saint will see or experience?
Why would Paul reassure the church that they are the children of light and so will not be caught unprepared. He actually says they know perfectly that the Day of the Lord will catch the unprepared by surprise. 1Th 5:1 But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. 1Th 5:2 For yourselves know perfectly that the Day of the Lord (not Rapture) so cometh as a thief in the night. 1Th 5:4 But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. 5 Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.
“Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man.”
– Luke 21:36
God has assured us He will nothing but first reveal it to His prophets. So please review what Jesus said and compare it to what Paul said. It is my prayer that these events not be a mystery to you any longer.
POST TRIB AND THE 2nd COMING OF YESHUA (Matt 24)
Matthew 24:29-31 says: Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: [30] And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. [31] And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
IS THIS A PRETRIB “RAPTURE??? “ (1 Thess 4 v 16)
1st Thessalonians 4:16-17 says: For the YHVH himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of YHVH, and the dead in Yeshua will rise first. [17] After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the YHVH in the air. And so we will be with the YHVH forever.
Are these two verses speaking about the same event, or two different events?
Pre-Tribulation advocates claim that 1st Thessalonians 4:16-17 is the rapture, and that Matthew 24:29-31 is the “glorious appearing.”
Applying two separate terms to these verses makes you believe it’s two separate events. But look at the similarities. If it’s two separate events, then this event happens twice. The word ‘rapture’ comes from the Latin, and means “caught up.” This word has always meant our being gathered into the clouds when Yeshua returns. And the word was around long before Darby introduced the pre-tribulation rapture in 1830. As we can see, the rapture happens in both of these verses. YHVH’s people are “caught up” into the clouds, by the angels, at the sound of YHVH’s trumpet. Another passage that is commonly referred to as a “rapture passage” is 1 Corinthians 15:52. Although I would agree that this is describing the same event, the rapture is not specifically mentioned here. The reason we connect the two is because similar events are mentioned.
Both passages mention a trumpet and the resurrection of believers. Because of this, we conclude that these are both the same event. However, as I already mentioned, Matthew 24:27-31 has much more in common with the one clear rapture passage.
Notice the similarities:
| Matt. 24:27-31 | 1 Thess. 4:15-17 | 1 Cor. 15:52 |
| 1. Called he parousia, “the coming” (27)2. Yeshua appears in heaven (30)3. Coming on the clouds (30)4. Angels present (31)5. Great sound of a trumpet (31)6. —7. Gathering of the elect (31) | 1. Called he parousia, “the coming” (15)2. The YHVH descends from heaven (16)3. . . with them in the clouds (17)4. Archangel present (16)5. Shout and trumpet of YHVH (16)6. Dead in Yeshua will rise (16)7. We are caught up to meet him (17) | 1. Called he parousia, “the coming” (23)2. —3. —4. —5. At the last trumpet (52)6. Dead will be raised (52)7. — |
But pre-tribulation rapture advocates must believe these are separate events, because the verse in Matthew clearly states it happens after the tribulation.
