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Published on: October 20, 2017 by RRadmin7
The Rapture: What is it?
It is Jesus coming to claim His bride, the church, and bring her back to His place in heaven. Why does He do that? Because we are in a period of time called the church age or the age of Grace. It initially began with the resurrection of Christ, but “officially” began at Pentecost when the Holy Spirit was poured out and indwelt all believers. From that day until now, all believers are born again with the Holy Spirit residing in them during this church age, which has a beginning at Pentecost and an end when Jesus comes for His bride and takes her back to heaven to be with Him.
Why is the church referred to as the bride of Christ?
A marriage relationship is the strongest, most intimate relationship God has set up. It is when two become one, and it means this in a much stronger context than simply physical union. We often say our spouse is our “soul” partner. We are “two become one” soul partners. Jesus says in John 14:20 that “I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.”
That is Divine God being “two become one” through our bride and marriage relationship with God. This is the most intimate relationship God provides. Not even the angels have this type of relationship with God. AND since the church is called the bride of Christ, it is important to examine the Jewish betrothal customs to see how this betrothal relationship unfolds.
When a Jewish bridegroom proposes to his perspective bride, he offers her a cup of wine. If she drinks from the cup, she has accepted his proposal. Next, the bridegroom goes away to prepare a place for them to live, sometimes back to his father’s house. When he is through preparing a place for He and his bride to live, he comes back for her. She has been waiting, not knowing when he will come back. When he comes back, there is a shout and a blowing of a trumpet or shofar. He gets his bride and takes her back to his place for a wedding and a wedding feast, which lasts seven days.
How does this line up with the church?
Jesus’ proposal to the church occurred at the last supper, when He had wine with His disciples, and told them He would not drink from the wine cup again until they were in His Father’s house. He then went away to prepare a place for He and His bride to live – in heaven. In John 14:2-3 He says, “In my Father’s house are many rooms. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.”
We, the bride of Christ, are still waiting for Him to return to take us back to His place in heaven. In 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 it says, “For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.” THAT is the rapture, and THAT is when Christ comes to take us back to His place in heaven.
The wedding feast lasts for a week, but in this case it will be for a week of years; and we shall see why in a moment. Jesus “promised” that He has prepared a place for us and that He will come and get us at some point. The rapture is the fulfillment of that promise.
Is the rapture the same thing as the Second Coming of Jesus?
No. What happens at the rapture is that Jesus comes back in the “air” ONLY for His bride, the church, to take her back to heaven for the wedding feast. It is immediately following the wedding feast at the end of the week-long feast of years in Revelation 19 that Jesus returns to Earth “with His bride, the church;” and THAT is His Second Coming. Matthew 24 says that every eye shall see Him as He comes back to judge the surviving wicked, and to rule over planet Earth.
He will rule from Jerusalem during a period of 1,000 years called the millennial reign of Christ. It will be an unprecedented time in history. His church, who are now immortal beings, will physically and visibly be reigning on Earth with Jesus. Human beings will co-exist alongside visible immortal beings. Only believers who survive the seven-year tribulation will be allowed to enter into the 1,000-year millennial reign of Christ.
What happens between the rapture and the Second Coming of Christ?
It is important to remember that God “still” has a covenant with the Jewish people, in which He told them that there is a time coming when they will receive their long-awaited Messiah. And they, Israel, will be the “predominant” nation on earth and will be held in high esteem. This covenant is spelled out in Daniel chapter 9 in what is called the 70 weeks of Daniel prophecy. This, too, is 70 weeks of years, which begins when the Jews in Israel, who have been in Babylonian captivity, are allowed to return and rebuild Jerusalem. And it says from that time until after 69 weeks or 483 years, the Messiah will be cut off or killed. That lines up in time with Jesus being crucified. The 490-year time-period “clock” of years stops due to the crucifixion of Christ, leaving a period of one week of years, the 70th week still remaining.
This 69 weeks of years is a covenant God has with Israel and does not include the church. The church never spent one day inside that first 69 weeks of years. The 69 weeks stopped when Jesus made His triumphal entry into Jerusalem on the donkey, and was rejected and crucified. Up until the church age, God used the nation of Israel to bring about revelation of Himself to the rest of the world through His word, written by Jewish authors, and through the Jewish people, since Jesus is from the linage of David – in fulfillment of Bible prophecy.
Following the crucifixion of Jesus, God turned from Israel to the “church” to bring about revelation of Himself to the world, and that is where we still are today. One of the main reasons for the rapture is for the Lord to bring the church home so that God can now turn back to Israel and restart the 70 weeks clock again. This is in order to fulfill His promise to the Jewish people, to bring them their Messiah and fulfill His other promises to them. This last 70th week of seven years is also called the seven-year tribulation period, in which God pours out His wrath on Earth and sees to it that Israel will “finally” recognize Jesus as their Messiah (Zechariah 12). They will call on Jesus to save them when they are surrounded by all nations, who want to destroy them at the battle of Armageddon. THIS is when Jesus returns at His Second Coming. He comes back to save Israel and to set up His reign on Earth for the 1,000 years.
Since the church did not spend even one day inside the first 69 weeks of God’s covenant with Israel, there is no reason to think it will spend even one day inside the 70th week, which is the seven-year tribulation period. This also shows why it is necessary that the rapture will be a “pretribulation rapture” versus a mid-trib or post-trib rapture.
The Rapture: What is it?
It is Jesus coming to claim His bride, the church, and bring her back to His place in heaven. Why does He do that? Because we are in a period of time called the church age or the age of Grace. It initially began with the resurrection of Christ, but “officially” began at Pentecost when the Holy Spirit was poured out and indwelt all believers. From that day until now, all believers are born again with the Holy Spirit residing in them during this church age, which has a beginning at Pentecost and an end when Jesus comes for His bride and takes her back to heaven to be with Him.
Why is the church referred to as the bride of Christ?
A marriage relationship is the strongest, most intimate relationship God has set up. It is when two become one, and it means this in a much stronger context than simply physical union. We often say our spouse is our “soul” partner. We are “two become one” soul partners. Jesus says in John 14:20 that “I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.”
That is Divine God being “two become one” through our bride and marriage relationship with God. This is the most intimate relationship God provides. Not even the angels have this type of relationship with God. AND since the church is called the bride of Christ, it is important to examine the Jewish betrothal customs to see how this betrothal relationship unfolds.
When a Jewish bridegroom proposes to his perspective bride, he offers her a cup of wine. If she drinks from the cup, she has accepted his proposal. Next, the bridegroom goes away to prepare a place for them to live, sometimes back to his father’s house. When he is through preparing a place for He and his bride to live, he comes back for her. She has been waiting, not knowing when he will come back. When he comes back, there is a shout and a blowing of a trumpet or shofar. He gets his bride and takes her back to his place for a wedding and a wedding feast, which lasts seven days.
How does this line up with the church?
Jesus’ proposal to the church occurred at the last supper, when He had wine with His disciples, and told them He would not drink from the wine cup again until they were in His Father’s house. He then went away to prepare a place for He and His bride to live – in heaven. In John 14:2-3 He says, “In my Father’s house are many rooms. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.”
We, the bride of Christ, are still waiting for Him to return to take us back to His place in heaven. In 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 it says, “For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.” THAT is the rapture, and THAT is when Christ comes to take us back to His place in heaven.
The wedding feast lasts for a week, but in this case it will be for a week of years; and we shall see why in a moment. Jesus “promised” that He has prepared a place for us and that He will come and get us at some point. The rapture is the fulfillment of that promise.
Is the rapture the same thing as the Second Coming of Jesus?
No. What happens at the rapture is that Jesus comes back in the “air” ONLY for His bride, the church, to take her back to heaven for the wedding feast. It is immediately following the wedding feast at the end of the week-long feast of years in Revelation 19 that Jesus returns to Earth “with His bride, the church;” and THAT is His Second Coming. Matthew 24 says that every eye shall see Him as He comes back to judge the surviving wicked, and to rule over planet Earth.
He will rule from Jerusalem during a period of 1,000 years called the millennial reign of Christ. It will be an unprecedented time in history. His church, who are now immortal beings, will physically and visibly be reigning on Earth with Jesus. Human beings will co-exist alongside visible immortal beings. Only believers who survive the seven-year tribulation will be allowed to enter into the 1,000-year millennial reign of Christ.
What happens between the rapture and the Second Coming of Christ?
It is important to remember that God “still” has a covenant with the Jewish people, in which He told them that there is a time coming when they will receive their long-awaited Messiah. And they, Israel, will be the “predominant” nation on earth and will be held in high esteem. This covenant is spelled out in Daniel chapter 9 in what is called the 70 weeks of Daniel prophecy. This, too, is 70 weeks of years, which begins when the Jews in Israel, who have been in Babylonian captivity, are allowed to return and rebuild Jerusalem. And it says from that time until after 69 weeks or 483 years, the Messiah will be cut off or killed. That lines up in time with Jesus being crucified. The 490-year time-period “clock” of years stops due to the crucifixion of Christ, leaving a period of one week of years, the 70th week still remaining.
This 69 weeks of years is a covenant God has with Israel and does not include the church. The church never spent one day inside that first 69 weeks of years. The 69 weeks stopped when Jesus made His triumphal entry into Jerusalem on the donkey, and was rejected and crucified. Up until the church age, God used the nation of Israel to bring about revelation of Himself to the rest of the world through His word, written by Jewish authors, and through the Jewish people, since Jesus is from the linage of David – in fulfillment of Bible prophecy.
Following the crucifixion of Jesus, God turned from Israel to the “church” to bring about revelation of Himself to the world, and that is where we still are today. One of the main reasons for the rapture is for the Lord to bring the church home so that God can now turn back to Israel and restart the 70 weeks clock again. This is in order to fulfill His promise to the Jewish people, to bring them their Messiah and fulfill His other promises to them. This last 70th week of seven years is also called the seven-year tribulation period, in which God pours out His wrath on Earth and sees to it that Israel will “finally” recognize Jesus as their Messiah (Zechariah 12). They will call on Jesus to save them when they are surrounded by all nations, who want to destroy them at the battle of Armageddon. THIS is when Jesus returns at His Second Coming. He comes back to save Israel and to set up His reign on Earth for the 1,000 years.
Since the church did not spend even one day inside the first 69 weeks of God’s covenant with Israel, there is no reason to think it will spend even one day inside the 70th week, which is the seven-year tribulation period. This also shows why it is necessary that the rapture will be a “pretribulation rapture” versus a mid-trib or post-trib rapture.
