unveiling the rapture (part 4)

Beautiful painting!  Except, I really dislike images of a "long-haired Jesus."  Is the Son of God not identified, in Scripture (Rev. 19:13), as being the Word of God?  Does not that Word say, in 1 Cor. 11:14, that it is a "shame" for a man to have long hair?  How, then, did the Son of God engage in what he himself said was a shameful practice?  Jesus was and yet is altogether manly.  The worldly Church knows practically nothing about that Jesus.

Still, the above image is wonderfully done.  And it is very appropriate to my purposes in this, the fourth part in the series, "Unveiling the Rapture."

In part 3 of this series, our detective work led us to discover a great and important truth concerning the identity of the "rider" on the white horse, which is associated with the First Seal: that is to say, that "rider" is not "the Antichrist."  And since the First Seal does NOT indicate the appearing of "the Antichrist," therefore, there is no reason then to suppose that the "opening" of the First Seal indicates the beginning of the Tribulation!  That discovery alone is worth shouting about! for, it thus frees us from the bondage of numerous (and dangerous) false doctrines which have been derived from a wrong interpretation of the meaning of the First Seal.

We further deduced ~ by carefully following the "clues" provided to us in Scripture (don't you love studying Scripture this way?), that the First Seal indicates an "unprecedented" attack against the Church, by that antichrist spirit, which the Apostle John wrote about.

Let me return your attention to the above image.  It depicts the time when, merely days before Jesus would go to the cross, as he stood on the Mount of Olives overlooking the Temple, some of his disciples began to comment on the magnificence of that Temple complex.  Jesus then told them that the time was coming when that entire complex of buildings would be utterly destroyed.  The disciples were aghast!  Immediately, their minds were filled with thoughts of the end of the world.  (We know that was the case, because, they immediately questioned Jesus about when those things would occur ~ which, they associated with end-of-the-world events.)

"Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?" they asked Jesus (Matt. 24:3).  For the next 48 verses (in Scripture), Jesus gave himself to answer, in considerable detail, those very specific questions.  I want to spend some time in this essay, to address one aspect of that in particular, namely, that part of the disciples' question which asks, "...and what shall be the sign of thy coming[?]"

But, first, it shall be meaningful for us to examine more carefully that question; though it seems simple and straightforward enough.  Ah, but . . . .

The disciples of Jesus were Jewish men ~ and, probably, relatively young.  They had no New Testament.  Jesus had not yet gone to the cross.  The Holy Ghost was not yet given. They knew absolutely NOTHING about the then-coming Church, nor then did they know anything about the very lengthy (2,000 years-long) Church Age.  All they knew was that the Messiah, one day, was coming.  And, when he did come, he would restore the nation of Israel to its former glory and power, similarly (or greater than) as it was in the days of king David and king Solomon.  THAT is precisely what every Jew believed the Bible (the Old Testament) meant by "the Kingdom."  Messiah was coming.  He would restore the Kingdom to Israel.  That is basically all that Jesus's disciples knew about the plan of God for Israel.

But they did know something else: they knew that the Messiah had in fact already come!  They had by that time come to believe that Jesus was the Messiah (never mind what John Hagee has said and written, falsely, to the contrary).  But what they did NOT then know about Jesus, was, that he would soon be leaving them to go to heaven.

So . . , why in the world did they ask him what they did, concerning "the sign of [his] coming"?  There he was, standing right in front of them!  Neither did they have any idea at all that he would at any time be leaving them!  (Scripture says that they did not understand, when Jesus spoke to them about his coming suffering, etc.)  Why, then, did they inquire concerning "the sign" which would indicate the time of his "coming"?

The Word of God is neither a history book (though its historical accounts are true), nor is it a narrative, like a novel, in which a storyline plays out systematically.  But Scripture is divine revelation.  It is a spiritual book.  It is not like any other book.  And its Author is God.

God wanted to reveal some vital (prophetic) information ~ not to those men then standing there, but to that generation which would actually live to witness the return of Jesus Christ, and which generation would then (now) be capable, through reading and understanding the Word of God, to discern the signs of that (this) immensely important time period.  Thus, the Spirit of God "inspired" those men to ask the questions they did.  Does not the Bible say that "all Scripture is given by inspiration of God"?  And isn't the disciples' question a part of Scripture?  Moreover, it must also have been the case (truly, it ever was) that Jesus's answers were also divinely inspired.

Somewhere, then, amongst those 48 verses (Matt. 24:4-51) consisting of Jesus's lengthy answer to his disciples' question(s), Jesus MUST have described what is "the sign of [his] coming."  Indeed, he did.

Here, let me say, that it is impossible to further understand the meaning of the First Seal (beyond the point at which we have thus far arrived, by logical deduction and inference), without rightly understanding the twenty-fourth (24th) chapter of Matthew (together with what I called, in my book, the "companion" chapters to that, namely, Mark 13 and Luke 21).  For, in fact (though I don't have the time and space to elaborate upon that, here), a careful study of Scripture reveals that ~

there is a one-to-one correspondence between

a certain section of Matthew 24,

and the Seven Seals in the Revelation.

That "one-to-one correspondence" has been recognized by others besides myself; some of whom wrote about that, long ago. 

Why do the Seven Seals appear in the Revelation?  I have shown that they are pre-Tribulation.  And we also know, from the nature of that last book of the Bible, that the Revelation essentially deals with End-time events.  We (should) further understand that the Seven Seals are not given by the Holy Ghost to confuse Christians but, rather, to instruct and to enlighten the true disciples of Jesus Christ ~ especially, those who would be alive at the time when the events described in the Revelation would actually occur.

That time is right now. 

The following is one of the most important statements within this whole series of essays:

 The Seven Seals are the ONLY thing given in Scripture, 

 whereby the Church can know ~ within a very narrow window ~ 

 the time of the Rapture. 

Somewhere, in Matthew 24, Jesus described "the sign" of his "coming."  I also said that there is a one-to-one correspondence between that portion of Matthew 24, and the Seven Seals.  But in order to discern that "correspondence" ~ which is needful to do, for several reasons, we must first briefly discuss a few more of the Seals.

"And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see.  And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword."  (Rev. 6:3-4)

A red horse; a rider with a "great sword," who was given "power...to take peace from the earth."  What can that mean, except, exceptional wars and turmoil amongst the nations of the world?  

"And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand.  And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine."  (Rev. 6:5-6)

The color black stands for darkness and death.  The phrase, "A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny," signifies extraordinarily expensive costs for the most ordinary foods (basically, a whole days' wages for one loaf of bread).  Whereas, the phrase, "see thou hurt not the oil and the wine," seems to suggest that the wealthy would nevertheless have access to buy food ("oil" and "wine" are not food staples).  A curious kind of "famine," indeed.

"And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see.  And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth."  (Rev. 6:7-8)

A "pale" horse ~ in the given context, suggests ghastly sickness, wasting death: pestilence, disease.  "Death" and "Hell" clearly indicate otherworldly (demonic) powers.  The phrase, "...to kill with the sword, and with hunger..," etc., tells us that the effects of previous judgments (earlier seals) ~ once unleashed in the world, would be persistent (continue).

The association of TWO "riders," with the Fourth Seal, directs our attention to two different modes, or forms, of judgments.  Whereas "Death" by "the sword" and by "hunger" involve circumstances which are largely observable in the physical realm.  "Hell" ~ and the "beasts of the earth," have reference to unnatural kinds of plagues and destruction.  "Beasts of the earth" does not mean 'lions, and tigers, and bears.'  But, in Scripture, "beasts" is usually a reference to demonic spirits.

"And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: and they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?  And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled."  (Rev. 6:9-11)

The Fifth Seal clearly entails martyrdom of Christians.  It is very important to understand what their cry to God (after they have been killed) means, which says: "How long, O Lord, . . dost thou NOT judge and avenge our blood...?"  In other words, those martyrs are crying out to God for vengeance upon their murderers!  Yet, God has NOT YET acted to "judge" and to "avenge" them!  Does that sound like something which so-called "Tribulation martyrs" would say?  Is the Tribulation NOT a time of God's wrath poured out in fury ~ as the following Scripture says?

"Howl ye; for the day of the LORD is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty.  Therefore shall all hands be faint, and every man’s heart shall melt: and they shall be afraid: pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them; they shall be in pain as a woman that travaileth: they shall be amazed one at another; their faces shall be as flames.  Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it."  (Isaiah 13:6-9)

The Christian martyrs, signified in the Fifth Seal, are NOT "Tribulation martyrs," ~ as so many prophecy teachers insist they are.  The Seven Seals are ALL pre-Tribulation.  The Fifth Seal reveals a time when Christians would suffer persecution and martyrdom in unparalleled measure ~ shortly before the Rapture of the Church!  

But by mis-interpreting the meaning of the First Seal ~ which mainstream teachers mistake for the beginning of the Tribulation; therefore, they must also conclude (as they do) that ALL Seven Seals occur DURING the Tribulation.  Therefore, they still further conclude, that the martyrs signified by the Fifth Seal, are "Tribulation martyrs."  That is to say, that mainstream prophecy teachers insist that a very great number of Christians are going to be killed during the Tribulation!

But, how, do they suppose, is there going to be a "great number of Christians" DURING the Tribulation ~ seeing, that practically all of those mainstream teachers insist that the Rapture is pre-Tribulation?  They must (and they do) then concoct two, new doctrines, to prop up their already flawed system of interpretation; namely:

1. The only way to have a "great number" of "Christian" martyrs during the Tribulation ~ when the Rapture, supposedly, already occurred pre-Tribulation: is, in the case that there may be a GREAT REVIVAL coming, DURING the Tribulation!
2. There must also then be a SECOND Rapture, or Resurrection (or both) ~ whereby all those "Tribulation martyrs" may be taken to heaven.  (The first Rapture/Resurrection having already occurred pre-Tribulation.)

Jack VanImpe said (on one of his tape-recordings, which is still sold on his website,) that: "The greatest Revival in the history of time is going to occur during the Tribulation."  Of course, that is also the message that the majority of mainstream prophecy teachers are also proclaiming.  Importantly, that is essentially the same message promulgated worldwide by Tim LeHaye and Jerry Jenkins, in their wildly popular "Left Behind" series of books and movies.

Earlier in this series, I said that mainstream prophecy teaching involves some very "deadly" doctrines ~ which are becoming more and more deadly the closer we get to the Tribulation.  Is it not a hellish doctrine which leads people to believe that they can miss the Rapture, and yet have a "second chance" to be saved, during the Tribulation?  I realize that may be a very big pill for some of you to swallow ~ since you have only ever known (and believed) that system of mainstream prophecy teaching which has dominated the Christian Church for at least the past two or three generations.  But just because that a majority of people believe an idea, doesn't mean that it is therefore true.  Remember a guy named Noah?  He stood virtually alone against the whole apostate world of his time.  Uh, by the way, are we not also in the same situation that Noah was in?  Didn't Jesus say, "As it was in the days of Noah..."?  And are we not witnessing the death-throes of the Apostate Church, in our time?

Let me quickly lay out that "one-to-one correspondence" I have been trying to lay the groundwork for.  In the following lengthy quotation, from Matthew 24, I have associated each of the seals, in order, as they appear in the following passage of Scripture:

"And Jesus answered and said unto them, [First Seal] Take heed that no man deceive you.  For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.  [Second Seal] And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.  For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: [Third Seal] and there shall be famines, [Fourth Seal] and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.   All these are the beginning of sorrows.  [Fifth Seal] Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake.  And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.  And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.  And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.  But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.  And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come."  (Matthew 24:4-14)

Above, I highlighted two parts in red with white letters.  "All these" ~ are the "beginning of sorrows."  All what?  All of the first five Seal judgments.  "Then shall the end come."  When is that?  After the Fifth Seal ~ but before the Sixth Seal (the events of which are not described in the above passage in Matthew).

"He that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved"; "this gospel...shall be preached in all the world..; and then shall the end come."  Endure. Saved. Gospel. Preached.  Those are not words which shall have any meaning during the Tribulation.  The Tribulation is not a time of God's mercy and grace poured out to those who refused to prepare themselves to be received at the Rapture.  (I will have more to say about that in a later post.)  

In the next essay, I will focus on two aspects of that "one-to-one correspondence," above identified.  One aspect is related to the fact that the description which Jesus gave, in Matthew 24 ~ which answers to his disciples' question concerning "the sign of his coming," is in perfect keeping, in sequence of time, with the description of the first five Seals, in the Revelation.  The other thing I will address involves a deeper look at the meaning of the First Seal ~ in order to discern the timeframe in which that Seal HAS ALREADY BEEN OPENED, IN RECENT HISTORY . . . .