Reason For The Repture
To understand the reasons for the rapture, we need a background on some biblical facts and worldwide events after the time of the rapture.
A. Biblical Facts:
1. Abraham seed is made up of:
a. Descendants by flesh.
Psalms 105:6
O seed of Abraham,His servant,
O sons of Jacob [Israel], His chosen ones!
Hosea 1:10 Yet the number of the sons of Israel will be like the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured or numbered; and in the place where it is said to them, "You are not My people," it will be said to them, "You are the sons of the living God."
Jeremiah 33:22 'As the host of heaven cannot be counted and the sand of the sea cannot be measured, so I will multiply the descendants of David My servant and the Levites who minister to Me.'
b. Descendants by faith John 8:39 They answered and said to Him, "Abraham is our father." Jesus *said to them, "If you are Abraham's children, do the deeds of Abraham."
Hosea 2:23 "I will sow her for Myself in the land.
I will also have compassion on her who had not obtained compassion, and I will say to those who were not My people,
'You are My people!' and they will say, 'You are my God!' "
The book of Revelation also refers to both groups, the descendants by flesh, and the descendants by faith. Out of the direct lineage from Israel, the grandson of Abraham, there are 144,000 virgins sealed. Read the file Who are the 144,000?
Revelation 7:3-4 Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees until we have sealed the slaves of our God on their foreheads.
And I heard the number of those who were sealed, one hundred and forty-four thousand sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel.
The other group consists of descendants by faith. It is made up from every nation on earth.
Revelation 7:9 After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could count, from EVERY NATION and all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, and palm branches were in their hands;
Revelation 7:10 and they cry out with a loud voice, saying, "Salvation to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.
The great multitude is celebrating because they have been RESCUED from Earth and they owe their salvation to "God and the Lamb.
The two populations, the descendants by flesh and the descendants by faith, make up the group that is raptured.
B. Events after the Rapture
1. Persecution of Abraham's Children
Revelation 13:3 I saw one of his heads as if it had been slain, and his fatal wound was healed. And the whole earth was amazed and followed after the beast;
Revelation 13:7 It was also given to him to make WAR WITH THE SAINTS and to OVERCOME them, and authority over every tribe and people and tongue and nation was given to him.
Revelation 13:8 All who dwell on the earth will worship him, everyone whose name has NOT been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who has been slain.
Revelation 20:4 ... And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received the mark on their forehead and on their hand; and they CAME TO LIFE and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.
The group that is LEFT BEHIND on this Earth after the rapture will suffer persecution by the government of the "beast." Christians killed by the government of the beast shall be raised to spirit during the FIRST RESURRECTION; thereafter they will NOT be able to reproduce because they are spirit.
Luke 20:35 but those who are considered worthy of the world to come and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry nor are given in marriage;
In order for Abraham's seed to be as numerous as the sand of the sea, God needs to take them -- in human form -- to a place of safety before the government of the "beast" will kill them.
2. The Battle of Armageddon
The saints that return with Jesus for the Battle of Armageddon are descendants of the humans taken from Earth at the time of the rapture. As the first resurrection occurs AFTER the Battle of Armageddon, the returning saints are flesh and blood.
3. The Gene Pool is Reduced after Armageddon
Isaiah 13:12 I will make MORTALS scarcer than pure gold, and Adamites than the gold of Ophir.
The few people left on this earth after the Battle of Armageddon are flesh and blood (mortals).
4. The First Resurrection Changes Saints to Spirit
The saints that return with Jesus are flesh and blood, and so is everybody else on Earth who survives the Battle of Armageddon, till the FIRST RESURRECTION occurs.
Only believers shall be changed to spirit during the First Resurrection. God never forces anybody to follow Him. It is our own decision to follow Jesus/Yeshua -- the only door to eternal life.
1 Thessalonians 4:15-16 For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ WILL RISE FIRST.
1 Corinthians 15:51-53 Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, 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 will be changed.For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality.
Revelation 20:4-5 Then I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was given to them. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received the mark on their forehead and on their hand; and they CAME TO LIFE and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were
completed. This is the FIRST RESURRECTION.
The believers who are Left Behind on this earth after the rapture will be given the opportunity to be changed tospirit at the time of the FIRST RESURRECTION. We believe there shall be very few due to the persecution of the "beast." The rest of the humans who survive the Battle of Armageddon will be left in physical form, able to reproduce.
The saints that return with Jesus from paradise for the Battle of Armageddon will be changed to spirit at the time of the FIRST RESURRECTION, but their children will continue as flesh and blood, able to reproduce.
Some people believe that when you die you go to heaven and become a spirit. This is not scriptural. We do not have eternal life. God says:
Ecclesiastes 9:5 For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know nothing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten.
Remember that there are several heavens. One of them refers to the actual habitation of God. In this one, no flesh can enter. To clarify this further,
John 3:13 And no one has ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, the Son of man.
God is taking the humans at the time of the rapture to the third heaven, also called paradise, where there are trees and rivers and material life.
The dead in Christ are resurrected (to spirit) at the same time that the believers who are alive at His coming are "changed" to spirit.
1 Corinthians 15:22-23 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive.But each one in their own order: Christ the first fruits, after that those who are Christ's at His COMING,
Obviously, the change to spirit is at "Christ's coming for the FIRST RESURRECTION."
Do not confuse the Rapture with the First Resurrection. These two are not the same; they are separate events with many years in betweento the book of Revelation.
5. During the Millennium People Continue to Reproduce
After the Battle of Armageddon, Satan is chained for 1000 years and the saints are changed into spirit.
Revelation 20:6 Blessed and holy is the one who has a part in the FIRST RESURRECTION; over these the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with Him for a thousand years.
The populations that will be ruled over by the saints are flesh and blood, able to reproduce. Some of them will accept Jesus the Messiah; others will not.
Zechariah 14:16-17 Then it will come about that any who are left of all the nations that went against Jerusalem will go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to celebrate the Feast of Booths. And it will be that whichever of the families of the earth does not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, there will be no rain on them.
Zechariah 14:20 In that day there will be inscribed on the bells of the horses,
"HOLY TO THE LORD." And the cooking pots in the LORD'S house will be like the bowls before the altar.
Zechariah 14:21 Every cooking pot in Jerusalem and in Judah will be holy to the LORD of hosts; and all who sacrifice will come and take of them and boil in them. And there will no longer be a Canaanite in the house of the LORD of hosts in that day.
They need rain to grow crops. They need pots because people still eat. The pots are holy because people will not be eating unclean foods such as pork and lobster.
6. The New Earth
1 Corinthians 15:24 Then comes the end, when He hands over the kingdom to the God and Father, when He has abolished all rule and all authority and power.
This happens after the Millennium. In this new earth there will be a tree of life and there will be no death anymore.
1 Corinthians 15:25 For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet.
1 Corinthians 15:26 The last enemy that will be abolished is death.
1 Corinthians 15:54 But when this perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, "DEATH IS SWALLOWED UP in victory.
A. Biblical Facts:
1. Abraham seed is made up of:
a. Descendants by flesh.
Psalms 105:6
O seed of Abraham,His servant,
O sons of Jacob [Israel], His chosen ones!
Hosea 1:10 Yet the number of the sons of Israel will be like the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured or numbered; and in the place where it is said to them, "You are not My people," it will be said to them, "You are the sons of the living God."
Jeremiah 33:22 'As the host of heaven cannot be counted and the sand of the sea cannot be measured, so I will multiply the descendants of David My servant and the Levites who minister to Me.'
b. Descendants by faith John 8:39 They answered and said to Him, "Abraham is our father." Jesus *said to them, "If you are Abraham's children, do the deeds of Abraham."
Hosea 2:23 "I will sow her for Myself in the land.
I will also have compassion on her who had not obtained compassion, and I will say to those who were not My people,
'You are My people!' and they will say, 'You are my God!' "
The book of Revelation also refers to both groups, the descendants by flesh, and the descendants by faith. Out of the direct lineage from Israel, the grandson of Abraham, there are 144,000 virgins sealed. Read the file Who are the 144,000?
Revelation 7:3-4 Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees until we have sealed the slaves of our God on their foreheads.
And I heard the number of those who were sealed, one hundred and forty-four thousand sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel.
The other group consists of descendants by faith. It is made up from every nation on earth.
Revelation 7:9 After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could count, from EVERY NATION and all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, and palm branches were in their hands;
Revelation 7:10 and they cry out with a loud voice, saying, "Salvation to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.
The great multitude is celebrating because they have been RESCUED from Earth and they owe their salvation to "God and the Lamb.
The two populations, the descendants by flesh and the descendants by faith, make up the group that is raptured.
B. Events after the Rapture
1. Persecution of Abraham's Children
Revelation 13:3 I saw one of his heads as if it had been slain, and his fatal wound was healed. And the whole earth was amazed and followed after the beast;
Revelation 13:7 It was also given to him to make WAR WITH THE SAINTS and to OVERCOME them, and authority over every tribe and people and tongue and nation was given to him.
Revelation 13:8 All who dwell on the earth will worship him, everyone whose name has NOT been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who has been slain.
Revelation 20:4 ... And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received the mark on their forehead and on their hand; and they CAME TO LIFE and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.
The group that is LEFT BEHIND on this Earth after the rapture will suffer persecution by the government of the "beast." Christians killed by the government of the beast shall be raised to spirit during the FIRST RESURRECTION; thereafter they will NOT be able to reproduce because they are spirit.
Luke 20:35 but those who are considered worthy of the world to come and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry nor are given in marriage;
In order for Abraham's seed to be as numerous as the sand of the sea, God needs to take them -- in human form -- to a place of safety before the government of the "beast" will kill them.
2. The Battle of Armageddon
The saints that return with Jesus for the Battle of Armageddon are descendants of the humans taken from Earth at the time of the rapture. As the first resurrection occurs AFTER the Battle of Armageddon, the returning saints are flesh and blood.
3. The Gene Pool is Reduced after Armageddon
Isaiah 13:12 I will make MORTALS scarcer than pure gold, and Adamites than the gold of Ophir.
The few people left on this earth after the Battle of Armageddon are flesh and blood (mortals).
4. The First Resurrection Changes Saints to Spirit
The saints that return with Jesus are flesh and blood, and so is everybody else on Earth who survives the Battle of Armageddon, till the FIRST RESURRECTION occurs.
Only believers shall be changed to spirit during the First Resurrection. God never forces anybody to follow Him. It is our own decision to follow Jesus/Yeshua -- the only door to eternal life.
1 Thessalonians 4:15-16 For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ WILL RISE FIRST.
1 Corinthians 15:51-53 Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, 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 will be changed.For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality.
Revelation 20:4-5 Then I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was given to them. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received the mark on their forehead and on their hand; and they CAME TO LIFE and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were
completed. This is the FIRST RESURRECTION.
The believers who are Left Behind on this earth after the rapture will be given the opportunity to be changed tospirit at the time of the FIRST RESURRECTION. We believe there shall be very few due to the persecution of the "beast." The rest of the humans who survive the Battle of Armageddon will be left in physical form, able to reproduce.
The saints that return with Jesus from paradise for the Battle of Armageddon will be changed to spirit at the time of the FIRST RESURRECTION, but their children will continue as flesh and blood, able to reproduce.
Some people believe that when you die you go to heaven and become a spirit. This is not scriptural. We do not have eternal life. God says:
Ecclesiastes 9:5 For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know nothing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten.
Remember that there are several heavens. One of them refers to the actual habitation of God. In this one, no flesh can enter. To clarify this further,
John 3:13 And no one has ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, the Son of man.
God is taking the humans at the time of the rapture to the third heaven, also called paradise, where there are trees and rivers and material life.
The dead in Christ are resurrected (to spirit) at the same time that the believers who are alive at His coming are "changed" to spirit.
1 Corinthians 15:22-23 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive.But each one in their own order: Christ the first fruits, after that those who are Christ's at His COMING,
Obviously, the change to spirit is at "Christ's coming for the FIRST RESURRECTION."
Do not confuse the Rapture with the First Resurrection. These two are not the same; they are separate events with many years in betweento the book of Revelation.
5. During the Millennium People Continue to Reproduce
After the Battle of Armageddon, Satan is chained for 1000 years and the saints are changed into spirit.
Revelation 20:6 Blessed and holy is the one who has a part in the FIRST RESURRECTION; over these the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with Him for a thousand years.
The populations that will be ruled over by the saints are flesh and blood, able to reproduce. Some of them will accept Jesus the Messiah; others will not.
Zechariah 14:16-17 Then it will come about that any who are left of all the nations that went against Jerusalem will go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to celebrate the Feast of Booths. And it will be that whichever of the families of the earth does not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, there will be no rain on them.
Zechariah 14:20 In that day there will be inscribed on the bells of the horses,
"HOLY TO THE LORD." And the cooking pots in the LORD'S house will be like the bowls before the altar.
Zechariah 14:21 Every cooking pot in Jerusalem and in Judah will be holy to the LORD of hosts; and all who sacrifice will come and take of them and boil in them. And there will no longer be a Canaanite in the house of the LORD of hosts in that day.
They need rain to grow crops. They need pots because people still eat. The pots are holy because people will not be eating unclean foods such as pork and lobster.
6. The New Earth
1 Corinthians 15:24 Then comes the end, when He hands over the kingdom to the God and Father, when He has abolished all rule and all authority and power.
This happens after the Millennium. In this new earth there will be a tree of life and there will be no death anymore.
1 Corinthians 15:25 For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet.
1 Corinthians 15:26 The last enemy that will be abolished is death.
1 Corinthians 15:54 But when this perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, "DEATH IS SWALLOWED UP in victory.
