Many people teach that the rapture occurs after the Tribulations, This is false teaching, many will miss the rapture because of this false teaching, don't be one of them.

Think about it, why would there be a rapture after the Tribulations? what would be the purpose? it's time then to return, so a rapture after the Tribulations makes no sense.

There won't be anything to be raptured from, nowhere to go as its time to return with Christ to Earth to rule the world for a thousand years.

Christ is coming back twice:

Revelation 4:1-2.
Ver. 1: After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter.

Ver. 2: And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne.

John's translation to the throne in heaven pictures the church at the end of the age. (The Rapture)
It occurs prior to the opening of the first seal and the appearance of the rider on the white horse (Rev. 6). The 'come up here' command heard by John is the same command given to the two witnesses in Revelation 11 when they were translated back to heaven.

1 Corinthians 15:23.
But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming. (rapture).

1 Thessalonians 4:15-17.
Ver. 15 For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.

Ver. 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:

Ver. 17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

II Thessalonians 2:1-2.
Ver. 1 Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him,

Ver. 2 That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.

The movement of the believer at the Rapture is from earth to heaven in which the Lord comes to call His bride up to His Father's House (John 14:3).

John 14:3.
And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.

1th Corinthians 15:51-54.
51 Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,
52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.
54 So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.

There are too many misguided Christians who try to relate the last trump of 1 Corinthians 15:52 with the trumpet judgments in the Book of Revelation. It is a common problem of post-tribbers, but easily rectified if you understand the Old Testament and the Jewish Feasts.

There doesn't appear to be anything left in prophecy that needs to be fulfilled before the Rapture can take place other then the dead in Christ rising.
And that means the next thing to take place in Bible prophecy is the the dead in Christ rising then the Rapture of Gods true believers.
It could easily happen this year so be ready and watch for our lord to return. . .

Please believe me when I tell you time is short, days are few, if you are every going to get right with God this is the time to do it, don't make the biggest mistake of you life and put it off another day.

I think most of you will agree that it is in fact the right time for Jesus to return and to rapture his true believers from this would before the world is cleansed.

Matthew 24:27 For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

II Thessalonians 2:8 And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:

At Christ's Second Coming, the Lord appears with His saints, coming from heaven to earth to set up His Messianic Kingdom (Zechariah 14:4-5; Matt. 24:27-31).

Long before Christ was born; the Jewish rabbis taught a six-day theory about the future of the world. They believed that the world would face several eras lasting a total of 6,000 years, from Adam's creation until the Messiah would come. This theory was based, in part, on Psalm 90:4: "For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday." Since God created the world in six days and rested on the seventh day, they reasoned, the world would go on for 6,000 years followed by a 1,000-year millennial "rest" period presided over by the Lord himself.

Think about this, from the creation of Adam until the birth of Christ a period of 4,000 years - or four days passed. From Christ's time on earth until now represents approximately another 2,000 years - or two days. This total of six days is just one more reason to believe that Jesus could return very, very soon.

Six-day periods, followed by remarkable transitions, have been important throughout scripture. Look at Matthew 17:1, for example. "And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart, And he was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light." Jesus was giving them a preview of what it would be like when He comes back as King of Kings and Lord of Lords as described in Revelation 19:16. When they came down from that mountain, He told them not to tell anyone of these things until after His Resurrection.

Not only did the ancient Jewish rabbis teach this six-day theory, but so did the church during the first 300 years of Christendom. The church leaders based their belief on II Peter 3:8: "But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day." St. Victorinus, the bishop of Petah, wrote a commentary on the book of Revelation in 270 AD. He said he saw another great and wonderful sign - "Seven angels having the last seven plagues, for in them is completed the indignation of God. And these shall be in the last time when the church shall have gone out of the midst." In other words, St. Victorinus was talking about the Rapture! This teaching is not a present day innovation but a doctrinal statement dating back 17 centuries to St. Victorinus and 20 centuries to Jesus and Paul.

In the 16th century there were those expressing assurance of the Rapture. Hugh Latimer, burned at the stake for his faith in 1555, said: "It may come in my days, old as I am, or in my children's days, the saints shall be taken up to meet Christ in the air and so shall come down with him again." Joseph Medde, the great 16th century literalist understood I Thessalonians 4:13-18 to teach the catching up of the saints and even used the word "rapture." So this is not some new idea.

However, understand this: The Rapture is not the same thing as the second coming. You can find it twice in the Gospel of John. And in a few others places in the Gospels. Most other times when you are reading about Christ's return in the gospels, it is not referring to the Rapture. Instead, these are references to the second phase of Christ's return - when He physically comes back to earth to rule over it after a seven-year Tribulation period and it's called, in theological circles, "The Revelation" or the revealing of Christ upon earth.

Where are the two Rapture texts in the Gospel of John?

John 14:1-3: "Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also."

This is not His coming to the earth. This is the point at which He receives us unto Himself at the great Rapture - the snatching away - to be with Him in heaven as the seven years of torment occur on earth. The second reference is in:

John 11:25,26. Christ said: "I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?"

The actual word "rapture" is not found in most Bibles. The original Greek word "harpazo" which was translated "caught up" in the King James version (see 1 Thess 4:17), was translated in the Latin as "rapturo." So, the term "rapture" comes from a Latin translation. In fact, the original Greek word "harpazo" easily could have been, or should have been translated, "to seize, to pluck away, or to take by force." There are two precedents in the Bible ... Enoch (the 7th from Adam in the book of Genesis) and the prophet Elijah were both taken ('raptured') before they died . . .

• A Warning: The Parable of the Ten Virgins . . .

  Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins, who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.

  Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish. Those who were foolish took their lamps,and took no oil with them, but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.

  While the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept. And at midnight a cry was heard, Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!

  Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps.

  And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are gone out.

  But the wise answered, saying, No, lest there should not be enough for us and you; but go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves. And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and they that were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut.

  Afterward the other virgins came also saying, Lord, Lord, open to us.

  But he answered and said, Verily I say to you, I do not know you.

After the Rapture . . . the door in heaven will then close.

Note: Throughout the Bible, certain symbols are used consistently as "idioms" or "types."

As both a parable and a prophecy, consider the following . . .

What does "Born again" mean?

Nicodemus, a powerful Jewish religious leader (who we find later did believe and accept Jesus as the promised Messiah) came to speak with Jesus one night . . .

Jesus answered and said to him, Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

Nicodemus said to Him, How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?

Jesus answered, Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God [Heaven].
That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.'"
John 3:3-6

Please remember, the Kingdom of Heaven is available to every man, woman, boy, and girl in this world, no matter who they are, where they live, or what they have done. It is freely offered to any and all who will receive it. Simply learn of Jesus, the promised Messiah, invite Him into your life as Lord, believe He died on the Cross for all of your sins and rose from the grave (proving there is a Kingdom of Heaven ... and a Hell). Learn of Him and believe in Him . . . for He was the only one who has ever loved you enough to substitute Himself for you on the Cross. He shed His blood, suffered, and died on the Cross to save you from your sins and from the utter darkness and torment of Hell, if you will accept it, believe it, and trust in it. That is why Jesus is called Savior.

He now lovingly and graciously offers you life in Heaven (and we are warned it is a "take it or leave it" proposition.) We have to consciously receive it and accept it in faith. If you sincerely admit you have sinned (which means you will need a Savior to get into Heaven) and ask Jesus to come into your life and honestly try to stop doing (and saying) those things God says are wrong, you will go to Heaven ... and with open arms and tears of joy He will receive all who will come to Him in faith and in love ... It's God's Promise!!!

The only unpardonable sin is to reject God's love and His free offer of life in the Kingdom of Heaven by rejecting Jesus, the Messiah, who stepped forth from Heaven (as promised) ... not to condemn the sinner, but to save the sinner (from the loneliness, darkness, and torment of Hell) and who willingly and lovingly shed His blood on the Cross so we can be washed clean of all our sins. The Bible warns there will be no peace in our lives until we make peace with God through His Son, Jesus, the promised Messiah . . .

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.

He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already"
John 3:16-18

After the "Rapture" the door of shelter and escape will be closed . . .

Rev. JR Seabolt

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