The Hebrew “Chai” means “Life.”

Maybe this comes as a surprise to many of you, but I do not believe in the “rapture” as portrayed in many movies and recent books.  This term “rapture” should be called the “resurrection of the just” (Luke 14:14) as the LORD referred to it, when the saints are changed, which happens at the Feast of Trumpets, at the last trump!  Could it be that the idea of the “pre-trib” rapture, as presented in many churches, is not preparing the Church for the tribulation?  

Let’s just consider Scripture:   

THE COMING OF THE LORD

SCRIPTURE: “For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep [died]. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.”  (1 Thessalonians 4:15-18)  (See also Coming with Clouds.)

ORDER:

LORD RETURNS WITH TRUMPET BLAST

DEAD IN CHRIST RISE

THEN OTHER BELIEVERS RISE

See also Coming with the Clouds to learn the significance of clouds.

SCRIPTURE:  “But each in turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when He comes, those who belong to Him.” (1 Cor 15:23)

THIS, IN CONTEXT, IS RESURRECTION!

ORDER:

LORD RETURNS,

BELIEVERS RISE (resurrected)

SCRIPTURE:  “in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed.“  (1 Cor 15:52)

ORDER:

TRUMPET BLAST,

DEAD IN CHRIST RISE,

THEN OTHER BELIEVERS RISE (“be changed”/”rapture”/resurrected!)

SCRIPTURE:  “1 Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to Him, we ask you, brothers, 2 not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed, either by a spirit or a spoken word, or a letter seeming to be from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. 3 Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, 4 who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God.” (2 Thess 2)

ORDER:

REBELLION,  (I believe this rebellion is in the process:  lawlessness)

MAN OF LAWLESSNESS REVEALED (abomination of desolation),

THEN CHRIST RETURNS AND THE GATHERING TOGETHER OF THE SAINTS.

SCRIPTURE: Matthew 24

ORDER:  Tribulation (v.9), MAN OF LAWLESSNESS REVEALED (abomination of desolation) (v. 15) THEN GREAT TRIBULATION (v. 21),  THEN CHRIST RETURNS (v.30)  THEN THE GATHERING TOGETHER OF HIS ELECT (v. 31)

Putting all these Scripture together, this is what seems plain:

ORDER:

ongoing tribulation THEN

antichrist revealed (abomination of desolation)  THEN

great tribulation  THEN

Christ returns with trumpet blast  THEN

the dead in Christ THEN

we who are alive  THEN

So shall we ever be with the LORD!   HalleluYAH!

I want to point out this Scripture: Matthew 24:21 For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. 22 And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened.

***

NOT APPOINTED TO GOD’s WRATH

Scriptures proclaim that we are not “appointed to wrath”.

1 Thessalonians 5

9 For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, 10 who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him.

Isaiah 26

20 Come, my people, enter your chambers,
And shut your doors behind you;
Hide yourself, as it were, for a little moment,
Until the indignation is past.
21 For behold, the Lord comes out of His place
To punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity;
The earth will also disclose her blood,
And will no more cover her slain.

To the Church in Philadelphia, one of two that did not get a rebuke, the LORD conveys:

Revelation 3

10 Because you have kept* My command to persevere, I also will keep* you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth. 11 Behold, I am coming quickly! (*Same root word! G5083) 

The Church of Philadelphia, with agape love and faithfulness to His Word, is definitely not appointed to the wrath of God nor to the “hour of trial”! An “hour” is 15 literal days (360 divided by 24). This is the time between the Feast of Trumpets, when the church will be resurrected, and the Feast of Tabernacles.

However, it could be that some are protected while in the earth as well.  (As an example, see this article on the BOZRAH DELIVERANCE. written by Gavin Finley, MD.)  

Have you ever heard of the Galilean Wedding?  There are parallels to what Jesus Christ taught about His Second Coming.  The rapture/resurrection of the church occurs at the Feast of Trumpets, before the Day of Judgment (Yom Kippur).  

I pray that we are all faithful to the LORD no matter what happens!