The Rapture and the Tribulation

[iluvJESUS]

How do we know exactly that the true church will be raptured before the tribulation? Where does it say it the bible?

[Hootmon]

Unfortunately, there isnt a clear statement of that in Scripture, though it is heavily implied, IMO.

The format of the Jewish Wedding custom shows the general outline of End Time events. You may find these articles interesting...

http://www.ariel.org/ffruit.htm

mbs-015 "The Wife of Jehovah and the Bride of Messiah"
mbs-038 "The Sequence of Pretribulational Events"

[HehasmagnifiedHisWord]

And it needs to be addresssed!

How do we know exactly that the true church will be raptured before the tribulation? Where does it say it the bible?

[HehasmagnifiedHisWord]

Would you be so kind and elaborate on what you mean?

I looked up those two articles and I could not clearly see where he found in the Bible where the true church would be raptured.

It is very disturbing to base a doctrine on heavy (assumption)implication,if you understand what I am getting at. Thanks

Unfortunately, there isnt a clear statement of that in Scripture, though it is heavily implied, IMO.

The format of the Jewish Wedding custom shows the general outline of End Time events. You may find these articles interesting...

http://www.ariel.org/ffruit.htm

mbs-015 "The Wife of Jehovah and the Bride of Messiah"
mbs-038 "The Sequence of Pretribulational Events"

[ATYCLB]

Would you be so kind and elaborate on what you mean?

I looked up those two articles and I could not clearly see where he found in the Bible where the true church would be raptured.

It is very disturbing to base a doctrine on heavy (assumption)implication,if you understand what I am getting at. Thanks

Are you saying you don't believe in the rapture? :scratch

[Paula W.]

Are you saying you don't believe in the rapture? :scratch

Sounds like it to me! :idunno

[SisterNChrist]

From Dr. Jack Van Impe's Prophecy Bible, page 22-23, here is how he explains things...

CHURCH AGE (Parenthetical Period)
For nearly 2000 years we have been living in a parenthesis, a prophetic interval.

Daniel's prophecy in the vision of the 70 weeks (or 70 seven-year periods) called for a total of 490 years when God would deal especially with Israel. When Christ offered himself as the Prince of Israel, 483 years, or 69 weeks of years had been fulfilled. When He was rejected and crucified, the prophetic clock stopped, not to begin again until the Jews were back in their land and the parenthetical period had ended.

During this interval, sometimes known as the Church Age, or Age of Grace, both Jews and Gentiles who are born again through faith in Christ become of the body of Christ or Bride of Christ. The signal that the "in between" period has ended, will be the removal of the Church (the Bride of Christ) from earth. This, great event is described in a number of Bible texts. One of the clearest is I Thessalonians 4:13-18. Then the prophetic clock ticks again for the final (70th) week. In addition, Dr. Dwight Pentecost says:

When the Lord returns with His bride to reign, her dwelling place is not to be left unoccupied for a thousand years. Rather, the place of occupancy is transferred from heaven to a position over the earth. Thus, John sees the "great city" descending out of heaven from God. This dwelling place remains in the air to cast its light...on the earth so that the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it; and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour unto it (Revelation 21:24). At the second advent, the time of the descent of the city into the air over the earth, the church saints are joined by the Old Testament saints, who are resurrected and take up residence at that time.

It may thus be seen that even though the earth is not in its eternal state, and though it is necessary for the King to rule the earth with a rod of iron, and though there will be a rebellion against the authority of the King, yet, as far as the church is concerned, she is of her salvation. From that heavenly city she will reign with Him, the One who bears the title of King of Kings and Lord of Lords. It is not eternity, but the church and the redeemed of the ages are in their eternal state.

Then he quotes Kelly:

There are two descents of the city in chapter 21, one at the beginning of the Millennium, and the other at the commencement of the eternal state. The second verse of that chapter gives us its descent when the eternal state is come, and the tenth verse its descent for the Millennium. The reason, I think, is that at the end of the Millennuim the old heaven and earth pass away; and naturally the city would disappear from the scene of the convulsion. Then, when the new earth dawns on our view, the heavenly city again comes down and takes its place permanently in the new heavens and earth (while at the end of the thousand years all will be changed, still the heavenly city will abide forever).

Oh! I might also add this too, from Dr. Jack's above Bible...

THE CHURCH
The Church is comprised of all born-again believers in Christ as Saviour, both Jew and Gentile, from Pentecost until the Rapture (Ephesians 2:13-15). We become one in Christ at conversion (I Corinthians 12:13). We are presently living in the Church age or Age of Grace and this will continue until the Rapture.

Hope the above helps you to understand more fully, iluvJesus?

[AnotherOldGuy]

How do we know exactly that the true church will be raptured before the tribulation? Where does it say it the bible?

2 Thess 2

[blitzkreig]

How do we know exactly that the true church will be raptured before the tribulation? Where does it say it the bible?The "Rapture" is just one thread in the cloth which makes up a method of literal interpretation of the Bible popularized perhaps a couple hundred years after the Reformation.

The Reformation itself of course being hundreds of more of these same threads which make up the same broad cloth of "Protestantism".

Many of these truths were lost entirely to Christians through what we call "the Dark Ages" when the Roman church ruled over the hearts and minds of men and kept the common people ignorant as best they could.

I suppose if you looked at the one standalone truth of the Rapture in isolation of all other truth it would would look like a quite a jump ... But you can't look at truth that way. You need to study it and let God shine a Light on it for you.

I recommend that if you are serious in learning about this a bit more you get hold of a book by Sir Robert Anderson called "Forgotten Truths". I'm sure you will enjoy his writing style.

If you can't find a copy (it is long out of print I'm sure) here is a link to a web version:

http://www.newble.co.uk/anderson/truths/preface1.html

(Anderson wasn't big on the use of the term of "secret Rapture". Scripture indicates no such thing. It is no secret and the word "rapture" isn't used in Scripture ... but I think you will find that he believed that the Lord will indeed meet his Church in the air ... and prior to the Tribulation period.)

[Hootmon]

Would you be so kind and elaborate on what you mean?

I looked up those two articles and I could not clearly see where he found in the Bible where the true church would be raptured. Its all about the 'Groom-Bride' relationship, IMO.

If you read the Wedding bits from those links, you would understand that the Bride would be removed by the Groom before any harm to the Bride occurred...

That is the Rapture in summary, IMO.