ugmug
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- May 17, 2010
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Is the Rapture Important?
While some believe that the rapture is a quaint concept only to shock the unsaved into listening to the Christian message of salvation it is more than that. All of the major biblical stories, parables taught by Jesus Christ, and even Christ’s own crucifixion foretell of the coming rapture. The rapture is a common theme that is repeated throughout the bible in the structure of its stories where one person is taken and the other is left behind.
Consider the story of Noah where Noah and his family are ‘raptured’ out of the presence of the sinful and are spared the judgment levied on those left behind. The boat that keeps Noah and his family safe is of course symbolic of the salvation gained by the belief in Jesus Christ. Here again you have the central theme of the rapture where one person is taken and one is left behind where the faithful are one in their belief in God and the others that are left behind are one in their practice of evil and sin.
Then in the story of Sodom and Gomorrah you have Lot’s family rescued (raptured) by the angels when they are told to flee God’s impending judgment. Here again one is taken, those who are one in their belief in God, and one is left behind, those who are one in their practice and desire to sin which ultimately included Lot’s wife. Lot’s wife is interesting in that she represents man’s desire to redeem evil by the practice of good, what we call ‘redistribution of wealth’ nowadays. In all of the stories of the bible, and God’s judgment of man, you have those who are faithful to God intertwined with those who practice evil and yet evil is not changed into good. God must physically remove his faithful to enact judgment on those who practice sin just to stop the evil running rampant in man’s heart. If the believer’s own generosity in ‘redistributing his wealth’ could change men’s hearts then God wouldn’t have a need to ‘rapture’ anyone. Lot’s wife represents her own act of redistribution of the wealth of God’s goodness back onto the sinners of Sodom with the horrific consequences that she is included in their judgment.
In the story of Moses you have two symbolic raptures. The first rapture is of the Israelites taken from the sin of Pharaoh and Egypt. Once again one is taken, the Israelites who are one in their belief in God, and one if left behind, the sinful Egyptians led by Pharaoh. The second rapture in the story of Moses comes when the Israelites finally reach the Promised Land. But here Moses is the one left behind and the Israelites are taken into the Promised Land. To me, this is warning to all the religious leaders of the Christian faith not to expect ‘diplomatic immunity’ when it comes to the rapture. They may be left behind especially with today’s popular belief to accept homosexuality and homosexual marriage and ‘redistribution of God’s wealth’ to our present day Sodom like sinner.
Still another story indicative of symbolizing the rapture is when Elijah is taken up and Elisha is left behind. One is taken and one is left behind. Elijah is representative of Jesus Christ who is resurrected to be with God the Father in heaven and Elisha is representative of God’s spirit left behind to indwell the believer who has now gained forgiveness through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
The parable of the 10 virgins (Matthew 25 1-13) is clearly representative of the rapture where many grow tired of waiting for the rapture (the great apostasy perhaps) and fall asleep only to waken by the arrival of the bridegroom (Jesus Christ) and find themselves locked out of the wedding banquet.
Let us not forget Matthew 24:40 – 41 “Two men will be in a field; one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.“ This verse is very important in that it has two men together and two women together when one of the other is taken up in the rapture. Please notice that if God accepted marriage between two men and two women in a homosexual relationship then this verse would violate the concept of two people becoming one in marriage because the possibility would exist then that God would be separating two people in the rapture who are one in marriage. It is clear that by using two men and two women to illustrate the rapture and not a man and a woman together that God considers marriage between a man and a woman as being one and a homosexual marriage as being an invention of man’s evil heart and is not honored by God as two people becoming one.
Then there is the story of Christ’s crucifixion itself. Where Jesus Christ was crucified between two thieves whereby one accepts Christ, and is promised by Christ to be with him in heaven, and the other rejects Christ and is left behind to suffer the punishment of his sins in hell. Clearly the symbolic nature of Christ’s crucifixion points to a rapture where one is taken and one is left behind. It is also interesting that the one thief only had to believe in Jesus Christ and was saved. Clearly the ritual structure of Christianity that man imposes on salvation has no effect on our salvation. You either believe or don’t believe and any ritualistic act to bring about one’s salvation is man’s creation alone, not God’s.
God Bless
While some believe that the rapture is a quaint concept only to shock the unsaved into listening to the Christian message of salvation it is more than that. All of the major biblical stories, parables taught by Jesus Christ, and even Christ’s own crucifixion foretell of the coming rapture. The rapture is a common theme that is repeated throughout the bible in the structure of its stories where one person is taken and the other is left behind.
Consider the story of Noah where Noah and his family are ‘raptured’ out of the presence of the sinful and are spared the judgment levied on those left behind. The boat that keeps Noah and his family safe is of course symbolic of the salvation gained by the belief in Jesus Christ. Here again you have the central theme of the rapture where one person is taken and one is left behind where the faithful are one in their belief in God and the others that are left behind are one in their practice of evil and sin.
Then in the story of Sodom and Gomorrah you have Lot’s family rescued (raptured) by the angels when they are told to flee God’s impending judgment. Here again one is taken, those who are one in their belief in God, and one is left behind, those who are one in their practice and desire to sin which ultimately included Lot’s wife. Lot’s wife is interesting in that she represents man’s desire to redeem evil by the practice of good, what we call ‘redistribution of wealth’ nowadays. In all of the stories of the bible, and God’s judgment of man, you have those who are faithful to God intertwined with those who practice evil and yet evil is not changed into good. God must physically remove his faithful to enact judgment on those who practice sin just to stop the evil running rampant in man’s heart. If the believer’s own generosity in ‘redistributing his wealth’ could change men’s hearts then God wouldn’t have a need to ‘rapture’ anyone. Lot’s wife represents her own act of redistribution of the wealth of God’s goodness back onto the sinners of Sodom with the horrific consequences that she is included in their judgment.
In the story of Moses you have two symbolic raptures. The first rapture is of the Israelites taken from the sin of Pharaoh and Egypt. Once again one is taken, the Israelites who are one in their belief in God, and one if left behind, the sinful Egyptians led by Pharaoh. The second rapture in the story of Moses comes when the Israelites finally reach the Promised Land. But here Moses is the one left behind and the Israelites are taken into the Promised Land. To me, this is warning to all the religious leaders of the Christian faith not to expect ‘diplomatic immunity’ when it comes to the rapture. They may be left behind especially with today’s popular belief to accept homosexuality and homosexual marriage and ‘redistribution of God’s wealth’ to our present day Sodom like sinner.
Still another story indicative of symbolizing the rapture is when Elijah is taken up and Elisha is left behind. One is taken and one is left behind. Elijah is representative of Jesus Christ who is resurrected to be with God the Father in heaven and Elisha is representative of God’s spirit left behind to indwell the believer who has now gained forgiveness through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
The parable of the 10 virgins (Matthew 25 1-13) is clearly representative of the rapture where many grow tired of waiting for the rapture (the great apostasy perhaps) and fall asleep only to waken by the arrival of the bridegroom (Jesus Christ) and find themselves locked out of the wedding banquet.
Let us not forget Matthew 24:40 – 41 “Two men will be in a field; one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.“ This verse is very important in that it has two men together and two women together when one of the other is taken up in the rapture. Please notice that if God accepted marriage between two men and two women in a homosexual relationship then this verse would violate the concept of two people becoming one in marriage because the possibility would exist then that God would be separating two people in the rapture who are one in marriage. It is clear that by using two men and two women to illustrate the rapture and not a man and a woman together that God considers marriage between a man and a woman as being one and a homosexual marriage as being an invention of man’s evil heart and is not honored by God as two people becoming one.
Then there is the story of Christ’s crucifixion itself. Where Jesus Christ was crucified between two thieves whereby one accepts Christ, and is promised by Christ to be with him in heaven, and the other rejects Christ and is left behind to suffer the punishment of his sins in hell. Clearly the symbolic nature of Christ’s crucifixion points to a rapture where one is taken and one is left behind. It is also interesting that the one thief only had to believe in Jesus Christ and was saved. Clearly the ritual structure of Christianity that man imposes on salvation has no effect on our salvation. You either believe or don’t believe and any ritualistic act to bring about one’s salvation is man’s creation alone, not God’s.
God Bless