There was a long message on Facebook today, and the essence was: "
2Th 2:3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
2Th 2:4 Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.
According to that (as well as Mark 13 and Matt 24) certain things must happen first before we can expect to see Jesus. As you can see the "man of sin" or "son of perdition", aka "antichrist" must be revealed first.
Now I follow current events pretty carefully, and I have yet to see anyone step into the limelight as the savior of the world. So until that event takes place, I don't think structurally we can expect to be raptured.
1Co 15:52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
Here it says at the "last trump"...well, if there's a "last", mustn't there also be a "first". The only place I see clearly spelled out in the Bible where it talks about prophetic events more than one "trump" mentioned is in Revelation and the 7 trumpets. So, that would mean "after" the Tribulation has started, and even been going on awhile." Which also lines up with Mark 13:
Mar 13:24 But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light,
Mar 13:25 And the stars of heaven shall fall, and the powers that are in heaven shall be shaken.
Mar 13:26 And then shall they see the Son of man coming in the clouds with great power and glory.
and Matt 24:
Mat 24:29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:
Mat 24:30 And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
Mat 24:31 And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
Notice both say "after" the tribulation that Jesus comes, and in Matt 24:31, it is very clear that this is the time when the "elect" are gathered".
All of these also have something else in common...Jesus coming for his saints (the elect) is going to be a very noisy affair...with trumpets, and shouts"brightness".
It's not going to be a secret. People aren't just going to "disappear" and all the sinners get left behind, where hopefully some can muddle through and get saved and have their heads chopped off to be counted as worthy for the third coming of Jesus.
Oops! There ain't no "third coming" just like there isn't any pre-tribulation rapture. You see the entire tribulation is NOT the wrath of God. It's Satan's wrath and God's jugdments and finally opportunity for non-believers to acknowledge Jesus Christ. But the Wrath of God is not "poured out" until the 7 Vials of God's Wrath. They get poured out after the "last trump"...which means those that are "alive and remain", those that "overcome to the end" have be gathered from "the four winds".
That's the Rapture of the Church...a one-time event."
So, the Rapture of the Church is NOT going to be today and probably not tomorrow, 'cause there's a lot of things that have to happen first. However, that doesn't mean you get to go out and live the wild life, yuck it up...because the one thing you don't know is when you will die.
Anyone that uses the fact that the Rapture isn't going to happen today as a reason to continue in sin, needs to remember what happened 10 years ago today. On September 11, 2001 over 3000 people died and met their Maker, ready or not. If you are reading this, you still have time. Don't waste it.
Many terrible things are...not getting ready to happen..but have already started happening: tornadoes, hurricanes, wildfires, earthquakes...they sound like natural events, but God moves in the whirlwind and his judgment is falling on the nations of this world (especially the US), so you never know how long you will have to "get ready." Better get ready now, for tomorrow may not come for either of us.
2Th 2:3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
2Th 2:4 Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.
According to that (as well as Mark 13 and Matt 24) certain things must happen first before we can expect to see Jesus. As you can see the "man of sin" or "son of perdition", aka "antichrist" must be revealed first.
Now I follow current events pretty carefully, and I have yet to see anyone step into the limelight as the savior of the world. So until that event takes place, I don't think structurally we can expect to be raptured.
1Co 15:52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
Here it says at the "last trump"...well, if there's a "last", mustn't there also be a "first". The only place I see clearly spelled out in the Bible where it talks about prophetic events more than one "trump" mentioned is in Revelation and the 7 trumpets. So, that would mean "after" the Tribulation has started, and even been going on awhile." Which also lines up with Mark 13:
Mar 13:24 But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light,
Mar 13:25 And the stars of heaven shall fall, and the powers that are in heaven shall be shaken.
Mar 13:26 And then shall they see the Son of man coming in the clouds with great power and glory.
and Matt 24:
Mat 24:29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:
Mat 24:30 And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
Mat 24:31 And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
Notice both say "after" the tribulation that Jesus comes, and in Matt 24:31, it is very clear that this is the time when the "elect" are gathered".
All of these also have something else in common...Jesus coming for his saints (the elect) is going to be a very noisy affair...with trumpets, and shouts"brightness".
It's not going to be a secret. People aren't just going to "disappear" and all the sinners get left behind, where hopefully some can muddle through and get saved and have their heads chopped off to be counted as worthy for the third coming of Jesus.
Oops! There ain't no "third coming" just like there isn't any pre-tribulation rapture. You see the entire tribulation is NOT the wrath of God. It's Satan's wrath and God's jugdments and finally opportunity for non-believers to acknowledge Jesus Christ. But the Wrath of God is not "poured out" until the 7 Vials of God's Wrath. They get poured out after the "last trump"...which means those that are "alive and remain", those that "overcome to the end" have be gathered from "the four winds".
That's the Rapture of the Church...a one-time event."
So, the Rapture of the Church is NOT going to be today and probably not tomorrow, 'cause there's a lot of things that have to happen first. However, that doesn't mean you get to go out and live the wild life, yuck it up...because the one thing you don't know is when you will die.
Anyone that uses the fact that the Rapture isn't going to happen today as a reason to continue in sin, needs to remember what happened 10 years ago today. On September 11, 2001 over 3000 people died and met their Maker, ready or not. If you are reading this, you still have time. Don't waste it.
Many terrible things are...not getting ready to happen..but have already started happening: tornadoes, hurricanes, wildfires, earthquakes...they sound like natural events, but God moves in the whirlwind and his judgment is falling on the nations of this world (especially the US), so you never know how long you will have to "get ready." Better get ready now, for tomorrow may not come for either of us.
