There is much controversy as to the timing of the rapture, but God’s Word is very clear on this subject, and we will explore what it really teaches. This is not a subject that should divide us, but it is critical that we be informed of the truth. The pre-tribulation rapture viewpoint is very dangerous because it teaches people that there is no need to prepare for the tribulation, or hard times ahead, because God is going to rapture you up to Heaven for seven years, then return again to establish his kingdom. This man-made doctrine is contrary to God’s Word and was created by taking scriptures out of context, as well as making scriptures jump through many hoops in order to bring about a man pleasing belief.
The Lord Jesus Christ told us exactly when he will return, as well as when he will send forth his angels to gather the elect. Christ said that immediately after the tribulation of those days he would return and gather his elect unto himself. (NKJV) Matt 24:29 “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30 Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31 And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
Christ was not speaking metaphorically. The pre-trib rapture doctrine teaches that this passage is in reference to the second coming of Christ, seven years after the ingathering of the saints. However, Christ said at this time, he would send forth his angels to harvest the elect. This passage alone is enough to establish that the rapture and the second coming of Christ are the same event. Christ was clear that his only return would occur immediately after the tribulation.
Many people take (Luke 17:34-37) out of context. They attribute these scriptures to a pre-trib rapture. However, Christ said that those taken, will be taken to the great slaughter, Not heaven. Those taken, will be taken to where the eagles (vultures) gather. That is a reference to the death of the wicked.
(KJV) Luke 17:34 I tell you, in that night there shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left. 35 Two women shall be grinding together; the one shall be taken, and the other left. 36 Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. 37 And they answered and said unto him, Where, Lord? And he said unto them, Wheresoever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered together.
Matt 24:27 For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. 28 For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together.
The Apostle Paul taught that we will not be caught up to meet the Lord in the air until the dead are raised first, then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them. Paul did not say that we will be caught up to Heaven, but that we will meet the Lord in the air as he returns, this is our transformation into immortality (1 Thess 4:13-18).
(1 Cor 15:51) Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed— 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. 53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.
If we establish when the dead are raised, we will know when the remnant who are alive, will be caught up and transformed. Christ said, that he will raise the dead on the last day. John 6:39 This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day. 40 And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.” Paul taught that the dead are raised first, then the living are caught up with them at the last trump. The last trump is a reference to the sounding of the seventh angel in the book of Revelation. Rev 10:7 but in the days of the sounding of the seventh angel, when he is about to sound, the mystery of God would be finished, as He declared to His servants the prophets. Rev 11:15 Then the seventh angel sounded: And there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!” As you can see, God’s Word clearly teaches that the dead are raised, as well as the living are transformed, on the last day, at the last trump.
Another interesting fact is that all those martyred within the Great Tribulation will have part in the first resurrection (resurrection of the righteous). If the rapture/resurrection occurred before the tribulation then the martyred ones would have no resurrection. Rev 20:4 And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. 5 But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. 6 Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years.
Isaiah 26:20 Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast. 21 For, behold, the Lord cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity: the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain.
God’s Word teaches us that God will protect many of his children in remote wilderness locations during this time of tribulation (Rev 12). (Isaiah 26:20-21) God instructs his children to hide themselves diring this time of indignation. The overcomers will be the remnant that will never see death.
(Rev 12:13) Now when the dragon saw that he had been cast to the earth, he persecuted the woman who gave birth to the male Child. 14 But the woman was given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness to her place, where she is nourished for a time and times and half a time, from the presence of the serpent. 15 So the serpent spewed water out of his mouth like a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away by the flood. 16 But the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed up the flood which the dragon had spewed out of his mouth. 17 And the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.
God did not rapture Noah out of the earth, nor did he build the ark for him, rather he instructed him how to build the ark. Noah was obedient to God and although it took him 120 years to build the ark, he did not give up. Because of Noah’s obedience to the Lord, we are here today. Like Noah, we need to be making preparations for the soon coming tribulation. I believe that the Lord is instructing people to prepare communities in remote wilderness areas for the time of trouble ahead. We all need to be seeking the Lord with much fasting and prayer concerning where to relocate to ride out the storm. The cities, as well as populated areas are destined for judgment. This is not a time for fear, but action. If we trust God, as Noah did, then we will be obedient to him and follow his voice. The Lord protected the Hebrews in the land of Goshen from the plagues that struck Egypt. I believe that he will do likewise for his children who obey His voice and relocate. Those who are waiting for a rapture to take them out will perish along with the Egyptians.
Shortly after the death of my nephew in 2013, the Lord blessed me with a dream of his return. I was also grieving over the death of my only brother and this dream brought me great comfort. Throughout the entire dream I heard a song by Sandi Patti entitled, "We shall behold him." I also woke up singing this song. In my dream, I saw a great city descending from God, out of Heaven, it looked like many castles, shining brighter than the sun. This may have been the New Jerusalem, or symbolic of the Kingdom of God coming to the earth. Then I heard a loud voice shout, "Every eye shall behold him!" Then I saw the face of Jesus Christ fill the entire sky! His face was turned away from the earth because of wickedness, but as he was returning, he turned his face toward the earth. His face was transparent like that of a spirit, but you could clearly see his features. He was wearing a very large crown filled with many jewels. When the elect saw him, they fell to their knees, and lifted up their faces and hands toward him. Then their faces began to glow brightly, and soon their entire bodies were transformed into their immortal form. I know that the return of Christ will occur soon, because the Lord has spoken to me three times that I will never see death, yet will be transformed when he returns.
(Rev 1:7) Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen.
In the next chapter, I will share visions that the Lord has given me of the soon coming nuclear war. The great war to come, will cause a famine greater than this world has ever known. The Lord told me that people will eat their pets, as well as each other. The Lord also showed me that it is crucial that Christians relocate to very remote areas in order to protect their families, as well as their food supply. During this time of war and famine, people will be desperate to feed their families and they will kill you for your food, as well as supplies. Out of necessity, people will eventually consume all of the natural resources, including all the wildlife. In Revelation chapter, six we read about the four horseman of the apocalypse. The white horse is symbolic of Christ, who executes his righteous judgments, then we read of the red horse, which is war, followed by the black horse of famine with scales in his hand, then the pale horse of death, and Hades follows. As you can see from God’s Word, war is followed by worldwide famine. In addition, the time will come when money will be worthless and no one will be able to buy or sell without the mark, number, or name of the beast. It is crucial that Christians prepare ASAP, for sudden destruction will come and most people will be unprepared.
As I stated previously, we need to be in prayer, as well as fasting for direction from the Lord as to where to relocate to ride out the storm. The Lord has instructed me to relocate to a place of true wilderness, away from all towns and human population. The time will soon come when Christians will need to band together and share their resources in order to survive. In the book of Acts, we read where the early church did exactly this. Those who had an abundance shared with those who lacked, so that everyone’s needs were met, and the Apostles distributed the food accordingly. I believe that this type of community will be necessary once again.
Mountains can serve as a barrier between populated areas and wilderness, as well as slow down human traffic. I believe that remote mountainous areas are ideal for survival. I would recommend very tall mountains, like the Rockies, or the Coastal Mountains of British Columbia Canada. It is also necessary to live near a good water source, such as a lake, river, or year round creek. It is also a good idea to live near plenty of trees, for firewood, as well as building materials. I would also recommend stockpiling as much food as possible. The dehydrated foods with a shelf life of thirty or forty years are ideal. I believe that it is a good idea to hide your food underground if possible. It is also a good idea to learn as much as possible about farming, gardening, hunting, and fishing. The time will come when there will be no more electricity, gasoline, or grocery stores, to depend on. When the war comes, society will be set back to primitive conditions.
According to government sources, if one nuclear bomb were to be set off in the stratosphere above the central United States, it would create an electromagnetic pulse that would knock out the national power grid, as well as all electronic devices and most cars. It would take over a century to get it up and running again. Also according to government sources, if this occurs, ninety percent of the American population will die within one year. Most people are dependent upon Wal-Mart for food and supplies. We all drive cars to work, and trucks, trains, and planes are necessary for transport of food etc. All of our modern conveniences that we take for granted, will come to an end. That is why it is important to learn how to survive. In fact, the Lord spoke to my wife that a nuclear device will be set off in the stratosphere, above the United States. Russia, China, North Korea, as well as Iran, have war plans in place, which mention using a stratosphere bomb against America.
I believe that nuclear radiation will not affect God’s elect. I also believe that we will once again, see the same type of miracles that we read about in Exodus, as well as Acts. That is why we must learn to live by faith, and not fear, but like Noah, we need to prepare our ark of safety according to God’s direction.
Final comment. The doctrine of the Rapture is not mentioned in any Christian writings of which we have knowledge, until after the year 1830. It is believed that this doctrine originated in England. Many scholars claim that the pre-tribulation rapture doctrine originated with Puritan preachers and Cotton Mather, and increased in popularity in 1830s due to John Nelson Darby. The pre-tribulation rapture doctrine was also popular with the Plymouth Brethren, and became popular in the United States in the early 20th century due to the Scofield Reference Bible.
