The book of Acts

Originally posted by galveston75
Well..actually most of it. I don't know how else to say it. Sorry.
But for instance the one part where I think you mention that others from earth will go to heaven besides the 144,000.
If that's what your saying why do these other humans go to heaven? What is the purpose of them being there?

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Well..actually most of it. I don't know how else to say it. Sorry.
But for instance the one part where I think you mention that others from earth will go to heaven besides the 144,000.
If that's what your saying why do these other humans go to heaven? What is the purpose of them being there?
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Vindication. Like Enoch was vindicated.

Their being "purchased from the earth" is a vindication of thier faith and a judging statement on the rest of society.

Enoch, in the midst of a declining society, went against the current of the age. Enoch walked with God. One day Enoch was not found. Enoch was raptured somewhere. Perhaps to heaven. I do not know. I do know that Enoch's testimony was a strong statement to the world. God took him, physically as well as spiritually.

The rapture of the 144,000 us a vindication of thier walk and a pleasure for God's satisfaction.

Does this answer that particular question for you ?

In a real sense, they are only physically removed to where their HEART was anyway. They walked in the heavenlies with Christ while on the earth. Their rapture is only a physical removal to where their heart and spirit were everyday of their lives.

I can be in the kitchen washing dishes but I am in the presence of God. I can be seated with Christ in the heavenlies. I can set my mind on the things which are above and not on the things which are on the earth. Even taking care of my practical earthly responsibilities I can be with Christ in a heavenly atmosphere.

Thier rapture is a vindication of the walk with God. FIRST fruits - means they were EARLY, BEFORE THE MAJORITY. So thier rapture is also a strong signal to the rest of God's people.

Any clearer ?

Originally posted by jaywill
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Well..actually most of it. I don't know how else to say it. Sorry.
But for instance the one part where I think you mention that others from earth will go to heaven besides the 144,000.
If that's what your saying why do these other humans go to heaven? What is the purpose of them being there?
============== ...[text shortened]... So thier rapture is also a strong signal to the rest of God's people.

Any clearer ?

A little but still what will they do there? So are you saying that all good people will go to heaven as some believe?

Originally posted by galveston75
A little but still what will they do there? So are you saying that all good people will go to heaven as some believe?

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A little but still what will they do there? So are you saying that all good people will go to heaven as some believe?
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Revelation 14 does not elaborate on what is done by 144,000 Firstfruits.

I cannot tell you very much about what is done by this group while they are there worshipping. There seems to be a celebration before they leave the heavens and descend with Christ in His return trip to the earth. Here is what we are told about thier enjoyment of God in the third heavens:

"And I heard a voice out of heaven like the sound of many waers and like the sound of loud thunder; and the voice which I heard was like the sound of harpsingers playing on their harps.

The solemnity of the moment is signified by the sound of "loud thunders".
The beauty of the moment is signified by the sound like "harps".
The solemness and the holy beauty of their rapture is stressed. What they are doing I cannot tell you, other than an unusual enjoyment of God's presence is being enjoyed.

Why unusual ? Because of these words:

"And they sing a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders; and no one could learn the song except the hindred and forty-four thousand, who have been purchased from the earth."

A "song" comes out of experience. The fact that they sing a new song means they have a new experience among human beings. And the fact that no one else could learn the song except them means that they have a unique experience.

What is the unique experience ? It is the experience of having during their life on earth, walked with God to such a degree that like Enoch, they did not physically die. Rather they walked right into God's own third heavens via rapture. This is a new experience. This is their unique portion.

Now, the Firstfruits represent the living overcomers among God's saints. Some have been well pleasing and matured in their walk in ages past. And those asleep saints are also raptured around the same time. But their rapture is covered in Revlation 12 as the "manchild".

I can tell you a bit more about what the "manchild" will be doing in the third heavens. They will be probably giving corporate command to the angels to fight with Satan and his angels to drive them down to the earth. The rapture of the manchild has a more "mulitary" aspect to it.

Firstfruits - emphasizes God's pleasure.
Manchild - emphasizes God's victory.

Firstfruits - emphasizes living overcomers upon the earth at the end.
Manchild - emphasizes deceased overcomers of the past at the end.

Firstfruits are raptured.
Manchild is resurrected and raptured.

Both groups will be taken by Christ to the third heavens before the Great Tribulation.

Both groups are a minority and a remnant.
Both preceed the general majority of God's saints.

That either is saved by God is not a matter of their being good. That is a matter of their being justified and regenerated.

That either is rewarded is a matter of their maturity in growth in the divine life which was implanted within them in seed form.

Thier reward in either case is not more than the millennial kingdom.
Their portion is not an eternal portion above that of the rest of God's believers.
Their special portion is only a reward during the 1,000 years before the eternal age of the new heaven and the new earth in Revelation 21,22.

Eternal redemption and eternal life is a GIFT.
Reward is for GROWTH and COOPERATION.

Originally posted by jaywill
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If that's what your saying why do these other humans go to heaven? What is the purpose of them being there?
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They do not remain there forever. The battle is over the earth as you know.

Of God's people all go away to heaven forever, the enemy of God will s ...[text shortened]... a strategic move against God's enemies. This is mostly seen in Revelation 12 rather than 14.[/b]

You do know that a rapture is not taught in the Bible, and also the literal earth will never be destroyed just as the heavens will never be destroyed?

Originally posted by galveston75
You do know that a rapture is not taught in the Bible, and also the literal earth will never be destroyed just as the heavens will never be destroyed?

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You do know that a rapture is not taught in the Bible, and also the literal earth will never be destroyed just as the heavens will never be destroyed?
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I write a lot and you write a few words. Okay. I'll join you in being sparse with my words.

I don't think I said anything about a destruction of the earth.

As for a rapture - How did the 144,000 get to be standing there in heaven ?
How do they get there if there is no rapture ?

Originally posted by jaywill
[b]=============================
You do know that a rapture is not taught in the Bible, and also the literal earth will never be destroyed just as the heavens will never be destroyed?
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I write a lot and you write a few words. Okay. I'll join you in being sparse with my words.

I don't think I said anythin ...[text shortened]... 44,000 get to be standing there in heaven ?
How do they get there if there is no rapture ?[/b]

When they die they are simply resurrected to heaven.
Here is some information on what the rapture is:

Rapture
Definition: The belief that faithful Christians will be bodily caught up from the earth, suddenly taken out of the world, to be united with the Lord “in the air.” The word “rapture” is understood by some persons, but not by all, to be the meaning of 1 Thessalonians 4:17. The word “rapture” does not occur in the inspired Scriptures.

When the apostle Paul said that Christians would be “caught up” to be with the Lord, what subject was being discussed?
1 Thess. 4:13-18, RS: “We would not have you ignorant, brethren, concerning those who are asleep [“those who sleep in death,” NE; “those who have died,” TEV, JB], that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. For this we declare to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, shall not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the archangel’s call, 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, shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air; and so we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words.” (Evidently some members of the Christian congregation in Thessalonica had died. Paul encouraged the survivors to comfort one another with the resurrection hope. He reminded them that Jesus was resurrected after his death; so, too, at the coming of the Lord, those faithful Christians among them who had died would be raised to be with Christ.)

Who are the ones that will be ‘caught up in the clouds,’ as stated at 1 Thessalonians 4:17?

Verse 15 explains that they are faithful ones “who are left until the coming of the Lord,” that is, they are still living at the time of Christ’s coming. Will they ever die? According to Romans 6:3-5 and 1 Corinthians 15:35, 36, 44 (quoted on pages 314, 315), they must die before they can gain heavenly life. But there is no need for them to remain in the death state awaiting Christ’s return. They will instantly be “caught up,” “in the twinkling of an eye,” to be with the Lord.—1 Cor. 15:51, 52, RS; also Revelation 14:13.

Will Christ appear visibly on a cloud and then take away faithful Christians into the heavens while the world looks on?

Did Jesus say whether the world would see him again with their physical eyes?
John 14:19, RS: “Yet a little while, and the world will see me no more, but you [his faithful disciples] will see me; because I live, you will live also.” (Italics added.) (Compare 1 Timothy 6:16.)

What is the meaning of the Lord’s ‘descending from heaven’?

Could the Lord “descend from heaven,” as stated at 1 Thessalonians 4:16, without being visible to physical eyes? In the days of ancient Sodom and Gomorrah, Jehovah said that he was going to “go down to see” what the people were doing. (Gen. 18:21, RS) But when Jehovah made that inspection, no human saw him, although they did see the angelic representatives that he sent. (John 1:18) Similarly, without having to return in the flesh, Jesus could turn his attention to his faithful followers on earth to reward them.

In what sense, then, will humans “see” the Lord “coming in a cloud”?

Jesus foretold: “Then they will see the Son of man [Jesus Christ] coming in a cloud with power and great glory.” (Luke 21:27, RS) In no way does this statement or similar ones in other texts contradict what Jesus said as recorded at John 14:19. Consider: At Mount Sinai, what occurred when God ‘came to the people in a thick cloud,’ as stated at Exodus 19:9? (RS) God was invisibly present; the people of Israel saw visible evidence of his presence, but none of them actually saw God with their eyes. So, too, when Jesus said that he would come “in a cloud,” he must have meant that he would be invisible to human eyes but that humans would be aware of his presence. They would “see” him with their mental eyes, discerning the fact that he was present. (For further comments, see the main heading “Return of Christ.&rdquo😉

Is it possible for Christians to be taken to heaven with their physical bodies?

1 Cor. 15:50, RS: “I tell you this, brethren: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.”
Does the experience of the prophet Elijah contradict this? Not at all. It must be understood in the light of Jesus’ clear statement centuries later: “No one has ascended into heaven but he who descended from heaven, the Son of man.” (John 3:13, RS) Although Elijah was seen as he “went up by a whirlwind into heaven,” this does not mean that he went into the spirit realm. Why not? Because he is later reported as sending a letter of reproof to the king of Judah. (2 Ki. 2:11, RS; 2 Chron. 21:1, 12-15) Before humans invented airplanes, Jehovah there used his own means (a fiery chariot and a whirlwind) to lift Elijah off the ground into the heaven where the birds fly and to transport him to another place.—Compare Genesis 1:6-8, 20.

Will faithful Christians perhaps be taken to heaven secretly, simply disappearing from the earth without dying?

Rom. 6:3-5, RS: “Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? . . . For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.” (What occurred in the case of Jesus set the pattern. His disciples as well as others knew he had died. He was not restored to heavenly life until after his death and resurrection.)
1 Cor. 15:35, 36, 44, RS: “Some one will ask, ‘How are the dead raised? With what kind of body do they come?’ You foolish man! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. It is sown a physical body, it is raised a spiritual body.” (So death comes before one receives that spiritual body, does it not?)

Will all faithful Christians be taken miraculously from the earth by the Lord before the great tribulation?

Matt. 24:21, 22: “Then there will be great tribulation such as has not occurred since the world’s beginning until now, no, nor will occur again. In fact, unless those days were cut short, no flesh would be saved; but on account of the chosen ones those days will be cut short.” (This does not say that “the chosen ones” will all have been taken to heaven before the great tribulation, does it? Rather, it holds out the prospect to them, along with associates in the flesh, of surviving that great tribulation on earth.)
Rev. 7:9, 10, 14, RS: “After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no man could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, ‘Salvation belongs to our God who sits upon the throne, and to the Lamb!’ . . . ‘These are they who have come out of the great tribulation.’” (To “come out” of something a person must go into it or be in it. So this great multitude must be persons who actually experience the great tribulation and come out of it as survivors.) (Regarding their being on earth, see pages 167, 168.)

What protection will there be for true Christians during the great tribulation?

Rom. 10:13, RS: “Every one who calls upon the name of the Lord [“Jehovah,” NW] will be saved.”
Zeph. 2:3, RS: “Seek the LORD [“Jehovah,” NW, AS, Yg, By], all you humble of the land, who do his commands; seek righteousness, seek humility; perhaps you may be hidden on the day of the wrath of the LORD.” (Also Isaiah 26:20)
Will all true Christians perhaps be taken to heaven after the great tribulation?
Matt. 5:5, RS: “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.”
Ps. 37:29, RS: “The righteous shall possess the land [“earth,” Ro, NW], and dwell upon it for ever.” (Also verses 10, 11, 34)
1 Cor. 15:50, RS: “Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God.”

Why are some Christians taken to heaven to be with Christ?

Rev. 20:6, RS: “They shall be priests of God and of Christ, and they shall reign with him a thousand years.” (Since they are to reign with Christ, there must be people over whom they reign. Who are these? See Matthew 5:5 and Psalm 37:29.)
See also the main heading “Born Again.”

Will those who go to heaven be returned later to the earth to live forever here in Paradise?

Prov. 2:21, RS: “The upright will inhabit the land [“dwell on earth,” NE], and men of integrity will remain in it.” (Notice that the scripture does not say that such upright people will return to the earth but that they will remain there.)
1 Thess. 4:17, RS: “And so we [Christians caught away to heaven] shall always be with the Lord.”

Originally posted by galveston75
When they die they are simply resurrected to heaven.
Here is some information on what the rapture is:

Rapture
Definition: The belief that faithful Christians will be bodily caught up from the earth, suddenly taken out of the world, to be united with the Lord “in the air.” The word “rapture” is unders ...[text shortened]... 1 Thess. 4:17, RS: “And so we [Christians caught away to heaven] shall always be with the Lord.”

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When they die they are simply resurrected to heaven.
Here is some information on what the rapture is:
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Where does it tell you that the 144,000 in Revelation 14 died ?

Originally posted by jaywill
[b]========================
When they die they are simply resurrected to heaven.
Here is some information on what the rapture is:
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Where does it tell you that that 144,000 in Revelation 14 died ?[/b]

I don't believe it does there but it does here.....

1 Thess. 4:13-18, RS: “We would not have you ignorant, brethren, concerning those who are asleep [“those who sleep in death,” NE; “those who have died,” TEV, JB], that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. For this we declare to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, shall not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the archangel’s call, 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, shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air; and so we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words.”

In order for anyone to go to heaven to serve with Jesus their fleshly body would have to die. But as the Bible shows they would not linger in death but would be taken to heaven immediately in spirit form.

There are a couple reasons for this. They have a commission to do with Jesus and it's something that needs their immediate attention. And death is something that we have to suffer for our sinning. But in their case no punishment is needed. They have remained as faithful to God as any humans possibly could given the conditions here on earth. So no need to enforce that punishment on them.

This scripture also points out that Jesus will not be coming back to earth to rule from a physical throne as many believe.

Originally posted by galveston75
I don't believe it does there but it does here.....

1 Thess. 4:13-18, RS: “We would not have you ignorant, brethren, concerning those who are asleep [“those who sleep in death,” NE; “those who have died,” TEV, JB], that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God wi ...[text shortened]... ut that Jesus will not be coming back to earth to rule from a physical thrown as many believe.

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I don't believe it does there but it does here.....
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It does not say they died in Revelation 14. They simply were taken alive. Therefore rapture is a perfectly legitimate theological term to discribe what happens to them.

So you would would not be right to say there is no rapture in the Bible.

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1 Thess. 4:13-18, RS: “We would not have you ignorant, brethren, concerning those who are asleep [“those who sleep in death,” NE; “those who have died,”
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That may be true of those discribed in 1 Thess. 4:13-18. But that is not Revelation 14 where nothing is said about them dying.

Furthermore the event of 1 Thess. 4:13-18 should be the event discribed as the Harvest being reaped at the end of the great tribulation in Revelation 14:14-16 and not the taking of the Firstfruits earlier in the chapter.

The two takings are separated by the intervening events which apparently are the persecutions and calamities of the great tribulation.

So rapture is indicated in both instances. You do not have a case to say rapture is not in the Bible in the most basic sense of the phrase - a taking up and away in an ecstatic state.

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TEV, JB], that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep.
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If before the Harvest, at the end of the Great Tribulation, Christ has already taken up some as Firstfruits, it is logical that as He descends from Heaven He would bring some with Him - a minority, a remnant.

The majority, having not yet been raptured, would then be caught up to Him. In the second case it is not to heaven but to the air for he is close to the earth about ready to descend upon it.

In either case, whether Firstfruits before the Great Tribulattion or as Harvest and general majority at the end of the Great Tribulation ( 1 Thess. 4:13-18; Revelation 14:14-16)[/b] we are safe to say "rapture" is involved in both cases.

So you would be wrong to say no rapture is in the Bible, given its basic theological meaning.


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For this we declare to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, shall not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the archangel’s call, 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, shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air; and so we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words.”
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There is nothing in this passage arguing for you that there is no rapture in the Bible.

And the timing of this event is not that of the taking of the living Firstfruits to stand with God and Christ on some heavenly Mt. Zion in Rev. 14:1-5.

You have not demonstrated that the Firstfruits died. You have not demonstrated that thier being taken alive up to the third heaven could not be rightly be called rapture.

Even ignoring Revelation 14 and just considering the Thessalonian passage, you really have no ground to say a rapture is not involved there in the basic theological sense.

So I think you are just showing some Russellite reactionary adversion to the word "rapture".

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In order for anyone to go to heaven to serve with Jesus their fleshly body would have to die. But as the Bible shows they would not linger in death but would be taken to heaven immediately in spirit form.
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This makes God the God of the DEAD rather than the God of the living.

Full salvation shows the preservation of all three parts of the human being - "spirit and soul and body" (1 Thess. 5:23).

Christ is the Savior of the body too. And a glorified and resurrected body is part of the full salvation of man.

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There are a couple reasons for this. They have a commission to do with Jesus and it's something that needs their immediate attention. And death is something that we have to suffer for our sinning. But in their case no punishment is needed. They have remained as faithful to God as any humans possibly could given the conditions here on earth. So no need to enforce that punishment on them.
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The fact of the matter is that at the end of the church age some are living, having never tasted death, who will be thier to be raptured. This is completely logical and quite evident even by the warnings of the Lord Jesus to watch and pray for His return.

What makes you think all believers in Christ HAVE to be DEAD at the time of His changing the age ?

The example of Enoch is a warning and and encouragement. Not all saints MUST physically die. And to walk with God may reap the reward of being taken by Him before one sees physical death.

The many warnings to watch and be ready for His sudden return imply some must be living on the earth to meet Him, ie. be raptured to Him.

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This scripture also points out that Jesus will not be coming back to earth to rule from a physical thrown as many believe.
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It is another subject really. But I think you add error to error. He will sit in Jerusalem and govern many nations. Christ is very practical.

But before you jump into a different subject, tell me what problems you still have with a being taken up and away by the Lord in a so called rapture ? Admittedly, not a biblical word perhaps. But it is a truth which is plainly taught in Scripture.

Originally posted by jaywill
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I don't believe it does there but it does here.....
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It does not say they died in Revelation 14. They simply were taken alive. Therefore rapture is a perfectly legitimate theological term to discribe what happens to them.

So you would would not be right to ...[text shortened]... ly, not a biblical word perhaps. But it is a truth which is plainly taught in Scripture.[/b]

The rapture as most believe it from what I understand is while alive they are seen floating up into the sky and disappear into the clouds.
First the Bible is very clear that flesh and blood cannot inherit heaven. That would only make sense as once you leave the lower layers of the atmosphere you would die.
But if one did float up as far as their body would allow it then what? What happens to the body? Where does it go?
The scriptures that I just showed you explains in great detail that many of the ones that will go to heaven to serve with Jesus were in the grave dead when that scripture was written.
Again the rapture in the sense you think it is, is not explained that way in the Bible at all.
It clearly says when they do die as all humans do, that split second they are taken to heaven without any mention of their physical bodies going with them. It just can't happen that way.

Originally posted by galveston75
The rapture as most believe it from what I understand is while alive they are seen floating up into the sky and disappear into the clouds.
First the Bible is very clear that flesh and blood cannot inherit heaven. That would only make sense as once you leave the lower layers of the atmosphere you would die.
But if one did float up as far as their body ...[text shortened]... en without any mention of their physical bodies going with them. It just can't happen that way.

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The rapture as most believe it from what I understand ...
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You're talking to me now. And I can't see where you have defended your criticism.

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is while alive they are seen floating up into the sky and disappear into the clouds.
First the Bible is very clear that flesh and blood cannot inherit heaven. That would only make sense as once you leave the lower layers of the atmosphere you would die.
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A resurrected and/or glorified body does not count as fallen Adamic flesh and blood inheriting the kingdom of God.

And if going up involves going through clouds, then it just does.

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But if one did float up as far as their body would allow it then what? What happens to the body? Where does it go?
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The Firstfruits and the Manchild are raptured to the third heavens. Then Christ begins His descent to the earth from where ever that is. And the majority are raptured to the air.

It hasn't happened yet so I cannot give you more details. But if God can march thousands across the Red Sea I am sure He can lift as many people as He wants up into the air and beyond.

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The scriptures that I just showed you explains in great detail that many of the ones that will go to heaven to serve with Jesus were in the grave dead when that scripture was written.
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You did not deal with the 144,000 who were NOT in graves and were NOT dead. And they were raptured to heaven.

The sound of their singing is heard from heaven. So we know that is where they went.

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Again the rapture in the sense you think it is, is not explained that way in the Bible at all.
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I just briefly explained it. You have not refuted it as far as I can tell.

Do you dare read the New Testament apart from Watchtower liturature ?

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It clearly says when they do die as all humans do, that split second they are taken to heaven without any mention of their physical bodies going with them. It just can't happen that way.
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Where do you read that ?

To be raptured is the response of OBEDIENCE to the command of Christ:

"But be watchful at every time, beseeching that you would prevail to escape all these things which are about to happen and stand before the Son of Man." (Luke 21:36)

I believe that this is a prayer and petition to be raptured to stand before the Son of Man in the third heavens. So being watchful to be raptured is the response of faith and obedience to the command of Jesus Christ.

Originally posted by menace71
I don't believe in the rapture. When did God ever take his people out of tribulation?





Manny

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I don't believe in the rapture. When did God ever take his people out of tribulation?
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You have an interesting point. However, it would not be hard to demonstrate that at times God DID remove His people from tribulation.

I said "at times" and not "all the time".

The point with a pre-tribulation rapture of some Christians is that the LESSONS learned through daily endurance will be learned by SOME faithful and watching Christians WITHOUT NEED for the three and one half year Great Tribulation. Because the LESSONS of living by Christ and in Christ were obtained beforehand, cooperatively, the REWARD is to be taken out of the Great Tribulation.

Yes, right here:

"Because you have kept the word of My endurance, I also will keep you out of the hour of trial, which is about to come on the whole inhabited earth, to try them who dwell on the earth" (Rev. 3:10)

Please notice that this keeping is conditional. "BECAUSE ... you have kept the word of My endurance ... ". This is not a GIFT. This is a REWARD for keeping the word of His endurance.

It follows logically that some overcoming Christians are presently learning to keep the word of Christ's endurance and some are not. Only Jesus knows who is learning and who is not. So early rapture out of the very "hour" of tribulation is a reality for those whom Christ will select.

Where Christianity goes wrong is assuming that ALL who are believers are raptured in this promise. We have no garuantee of that. And in fact all promises of raptured seemed linked to a condition. So it is quite logical that SOME Christians will experience an early rapture out of the very hour of the tribulation. And taken out of the hour many take to be taken out of the world.

But aside from this. I will not elaborate here, but early rapture should not be thought of as merely escape from trouble. Early rapture is also a matter of strategic warfare. It is a spiritual "military" victory.

In fact, it is the early rapture that CAUSES the Great Tribulation to commence. So you should not regard early rapture as only an escape hatch. It is an integral part and driving force that turns the age.

I will prove this to you in another post after I see if you have understood this up to now.