Matthew 24:29-31 KJV Bible. According to those scriptures, mankind IS INDEED going through the Great Tribulation and no one is flying anywhere.
The world was once again waiting for the "rapture" on September 23 and 24 and it didn't happen.
Now, all the rapture believers have to start all over again gaining everything that they sold, donated or threw away.
Hi, thanks for the email. Yeah, a truth can sometimes suffer from both its friends and foes! I'll state a few thoughts on what you wrote. Your comments in blue...
Matthew 24:29-31 KJV Bible According to those scriptures, mankind IS INDEED going through the Great Tribulation and no one is flying anywhere.
Here is the passage cited (in the KJV):
Mat 24:29-31 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.
This is a passage about the events 'after the Tribulation' as mentioned in verse 29. This is what we typically call the Second Coming of Christ where all see Him coming in great power and glory. There is a gathering of all the saints at this time from the 'four winds'. The four winds typically speak of universal reach and scope and in this case it includes both heaven and earth. In fact it specifically says that the elect of God will be gathered from one end of heaven to the other. The rapture is the 'catching up' of the Church from the earth to meet the Lord in the air. According to His promise, He is coming again to take us to be with Him, where He is, ie Heaven (John 14:1-3). As such this is not speaking of the rapture and doesn't annul a pretribulation rapture at all. The church, God's elect, is in heaven prior to the Tribulation. They are brought together with the elect still on earth at Jesus' second coming. That is why we see the bride of Christ (the Church) leaving heaven with Jesus (Rev 19:14 in connection with Rev 19:8). The elect on earth that are also gathered together at that time (Matt 24:31) include the Tribulation saints and the believing remnant of Israel. Pastor John MacArthur writes:
from one end of heaven to the other: All the "elect" from heaven and earth are gathered and assembled before Christ. This culmination of world history ushers in the millennial reign of Christ (cf. Rev_20:4).
John MacArthur
Now the world certainly is going through the Tribulation which is specifically purposed by God as a judgment upon the world. It is not a judgment upon believers which is why this promise is given to the true Church:
Rev 3:10 'Because you have kept the word of My perseverance, I also will keep you from the hour of testing, that hour which is about to come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth.
You will note that the promise to the Church is that they will be kept FROM the hour of testing (not 'through' or 'in' the hour of testing). You will also note that the hour of testing will come upon the WHOLE WORLD, those who DWELL ON THE EARTH. This is a reference to unbelievers, the earth dwellers... the world. In contrast to this, Paul commended the believers at Thessalonica because he heard how they:
1Th 1:10 ...wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, that is Jesus, who rescues us from the wrath to come.
They were waiting for Jesus who would rescue them from the wrath to come. And they were commended for this. Are you doing that? Would Paul/God commend you here or are you someone who thinks that Jesus can't come yet, isn't going to rescue us from the wrath to come, and instead are waiting for the Antichrist? There is no commendation for that.
The world was once again waiting for the "rapture" on September 23 and 24 and it didn't happen.
The vast majority of the world knew nothing about the so-called rapture of September 23/24, and certainly weren't waiting for it. The reality is that most in the world wouldn't even know what 'the rapture' is. But the hype does go up in September each year and it did get more coverage in the media this particular year because of a so-called 'prophecy' made by a South African Pastor, Joshua Mhlakela, who said he had a vision of Jesus who apparently told him this date for the rapture. This was clearly false and yes, it is very unfortunate that people like to sensationalize this event and make big claims deceiving some believers. Some just like to get lots of views/clicks on their sensational Youtube vids. As Jesus said concerning the signs of the last days, 'Watch out that no one deceives you.' (Matt 24:4). All the date setting over the years has a 100% strikeout rate, makes the Church look stupid quite frankly, and true Bible prophecy loses credibility because of it. Though, to be fair, there are false teachers and false prophets deceiving believers on many topics, not just wild claims about 'a sure thing rapture date'. And while various people have claimed various rapture dates over the years, it should be said that this 'date setting' is not encouraged by the vast majority of pretribulation believers. Even in the lead up to this Sept 23-24 I watched videos by good solid Bible teachers, who believe in the pretribulation rapture, rightly warning against the hype and against date setting. Again, as Jesus clearly said:
Mat 24:42 Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come.
We do not know the day (and shouldn't say that we do) and that is why we watch.
Now, all the rapture believers have to start all over again gaining everything that they sold, donated or threw away.
Yeah, in the lead up to Sept 23rd I sold my house, my car, most of my clothes... I quit my employment... and look at me now, out on the street, wearing borrowed clothes, picking up litter for a job trying to work my way back up again! Ha... ok, I'm being naughty : ) but I couldn't help it. I don't think you would genuinely believe that all the rapture believers sold their things do you? I did a search and yes there were a few isolated stories of people selling things as they thought Sept 23rd was 'the date'. Again, these are the type of people that are happy to believe a so-called prophecy from someone they don't know, instead of what scripture says. They are probably the same type of people that are also quick to give money to a 'faith/prosperity' preacher who tells them 'Jesus said you need to give to my ministry, and you will get back 100-fold on your seed-faith-gift if you do.' Like I said, there will always be some with little to no discernment unfortunately... whatever the topic.
And just concerning your comment about 'all the rapture believers', it should be noted that every believer is (or at least should be) a rapture believer as scripture declares it will happen (1 Thes 4:13-18). The main debate is simply when in connection to the Tribulation it occurs. As mentioned pretribulation believers see the Tribulation as the hour of trial for the 'earth dwellers', 'the whole world', not believers who are citizens of Heaven (Phil 3:20) and the Church is given a distinct promise to be kept from this time (Rev 3:10). So that is my hope and should be the hope of all believers. We don't and won't know the date. We aren't to get sucked into the sensational claims made by those who tell us they do. But we do know the general season as we have been given signs to look for, so we continue to watch for His return as instructed. And as Jesus said in connection to the last days:
"Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man." (Luk 21:36)
I trust that is your prayer and hope also.
God Bless,
Iain.