THE RAPTURE / HARVEST
First of all, where does "the rapture" fit into all of this? Most Christians think that they have nothing to worry about, because as soon as the "antichrist" is revealed, then "He’s gonna toot and we’re gonna scoot!"
This belief goes hand in hand with futurism, which is the belief that the Revelation 13 Beast of the Sea is in the future and that it is one man who heads up the New World Order as the False Messiah to the Jews. If you follow the Biblical patterns and the flow of Prophetic Vision in the old Testament with Daniel and Ezekiel, you find that the antichrist man is a bogus interpretation, and the Revelation 13 beast is actually the Islamic Kingdom that had control of the Holy Land and Holy City with it’s Abomination of Desolation (the Dome of the Rock and al-Aqsa Mosque) for 42 prophetic months, which when you calculate in lunar prophetic months is 1,260 years and in the solar prophetic months is 1,279 years. From 688 AD until 1948 is 1,260 years and from 688 AD until 1967 is 1,279 years.
We need to look at the scriptures that the "Rapture Doctrine" comes out of. Matthew 24:29-31 "Immediately after the tribulation of those days: The sun will be darkened, and the moon will not shed its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the celestial powers will be shaken. Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the peoples of the earth will mourn; and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with great power and great glory. He will send out His angels with a loud trumpet, and they will gather His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other."
Since there are pre-tribbers, mid-tribbers and post-tribbers out there who insist on placing the rapture wherever they feel like it in the book of Revelation without actually having a verse to reference to in Revelation, I think I will offer a little help. Let’s take this verse bit by bit and look at the clues.
THE TRIBULATION
Immediately after the tribulation of what days? In verse 15 Jesus talks about the Abomination of Desolation, which we know is the Dome of the Rock and the al-Aqsa Mosqe. The days that he is talking about is the days, more specifically, the 1,279 prophetic days (years) of the Islamic occupation of the Holy Land and Jerusalem. So, immediately after the time of the Islamic Occupation of Israel is over, these things will begin to take place. And we know that when Jesus says, "Immediately", it is not our immediately but His immediately. He’s been coming quickly for 2000 years now. His immediately would be more like 100 years or less. If it was our immediately then these signs in the heavens would have shown up in 1968 right after Jerusalem was restored.
SIGNS IN THE SKY
And let us discuss this part about the sun being darkened and the moon not shedding its light. Where did this come from? This is a reference to the second fall of Babylon that is found in Isaiah 13:10 "Indeed, the stars of the sky and its constellations will not give their light. The sun will be dark when it rises and the moon will not shine."
Why does Christ make a reference to Babylon? Because the whore of Babylon, which is a title for Babylon is destroyed a second time by the 8th Beast, Iran, in the Book of Revelaton. In Revelation 14, Babylon incurs the wrath of God upon her because she caused the earth to take part in her sexual immorality. Let’s look at that:
Revelation 14:6-11 "Then I saw another angel flying in mid-heaven, having the eternal gospel to announce to the inhabitants of the earth – to every nation, tribe, language and people. He spoke with a loud voice: ‘Fear God and give Him glory, because the hour of His judgement has come. Worship the maker of heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water.’"
"A second angel followed, saying: ‘It has fallen, Babylon the Great has fallen, who made all nations drink the wine of her sexual immorality, which brings wrath.’"
"And a third angel followed them and spoke with a loud voice: ‘If anyone worships the beast and his image and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, he will also drink the wine of God’s wrath, which is mixed full strength in the cup of His anger. He will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the sight of the Lamb, and the smoke of their torment will go up forever and ever. There is no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and his image, or anyone who receives the mark of his name.’"
SON OF MAN COMING IN THE CLOUDS
Where do we see the Son of Man coming in the clouds in Revelation? Revelation 14:14 "Then I looked, and there was a white cloud, and One like the Son of Man was seated on the cloud with a gold crown on His head and a sharp sickle in His hand."
This verse is located after the 8th Beast has caused the world to worship Allah, after the world was made to worship the image and after the world was made to take the Mark of the Beast. It happens right before the Bowls of wrath are poured out upon the Beast and all who have the mark.
THE GATHERING OF THE ELECT
Revelation 14:15 The Son of Man is told to "’Use your sickle and reap, for the time to reap has come, since the harvest of the earth is ripe.’ So the One seated on the cloud swung His sickle over the earth, and the earth was harvested."
There it is. Revelation 14:14-15 is where it is located. We are in it for the long haul. The saints of God have had to endure persecution for 2000 years. They have been thrown to the lions. They have been boiled in oil. They have been crucified. They have been burned at the stake, decapitated, stoned to death, drowned, starved, tortured with no mercy and hunted down like animals. If God were going to save us from persecution, He would have done it two-thousand years ago.
This belief goes hand in hand with futurism, which is the belief that the Revelation 13 Beast of the Sea is in the future and that it is one man who heads up the New World Order as the False Messiah to the Jews. If you follow the Biblical patterns and the flow of Prophetic Vision in the old Testament with Daniel and Ezekiel, you find that the antichrist man is a bogus interpretation, and the Revelation 13 beast is actually the Islamic Kingdom that had control of the Holy Land and Holy City with it’s Abomination of Desolation (the Dome of the Rock and al-Aqsa Mosque) for 42 prophetic months, which when you calculate in lunar prophetic months is 1,260 years and in the solar prophetic months is 1,279 years. From 688 AD until 1948 is 1,260 years and from 688 AD until 1967 is 1,279 years.
We need to look at the scriptures that the "Rapture Doctrine" comes out of. Matthew 24:29-31 "Immediately after the tribulation of those days: The sun will be darkened, and the moon will not shed its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the celestial powers will be shaken. Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the peoples of the earth will mourn; and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with great power and great glory. He will send out His angels with a loud trumpet, and they will gather His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other."
Since there are pre-tribbers, mid-tribbers and post-tribbers out there who insist on placing the rapture wherever they feel like it in the book of Revelation without actually having a verse to reference to in Revelation, I think I will offer a little help. Let’s take this verse bit by bit and look at the clues.
- Immediately after the tribulation of those days
- The sun will be darkened . . . Signs in the sky
- All the people will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven
- He will send out His angels with a loud trumpet
- They will gather His elect from the four winds
THE TRIBULATION
Immediately after the tribulation of what days? In verse 15 Jesus talks about the Abomination of Desolation, which we know is the Dome of the Rock and the al-Aqsa Mosqe. The days that he is talking about is the days, more specifically, the 1,279 prophetic days (years) of the Islamic occupation of the Holy Land and Jerusalem. So, immediately after the time of the Islamic Occupation of Israel is over, these things will begin to take place. And we know that when Jesus says, "Immediately", it is not our immediately but His immediately. He’s been coming quickly for 2000 years now. His immediately would be more like 100 years or less. If it was our immediately then these signs in the heavens would have shown up in 1968 right after Jerusalem was restored.
SIGNS IN THE SKY
And let us discuss this part about the sun being darkened and the moon not shedding its light. Where did this come from? This is a reference to the second fall of Babylon that is found in Isaiah 13:10 "Indeed, the stars of the sky and its constellations will not give their light. The sun will be dark when it rises and the moon will not shine."
Why does Christ make a reference to Babylon? Because the whore of Babylon, which is a title for Babylon is destroyed a second time by the 8th Beast, Iran, in the Book of Revelaton. In Revelation 14, Babylon incurs the wrath of God upon her because she caused the earth to take part in her sexual immorality. Let’s look at that:
Revelation 14:6-11 "Then I saw another angel flying in mid-heaven, having the eternal gospel to announce to the inhabitants of the earth – to every nation, tribe, language and people. He spoke with a loud voice: ‘Fear God and give Him glory, because the hour of His judgement has come. Worship the maker of heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water.’"
"A second angel followed, saying: ‘It has fallen, Babylon the Great has fallen, who made all nations drink the wine of her sexual immorality, which brings wrath.’"
"And a third angel followed them and spoke with a loud voice: ‘If anyone worships the beast and his image and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, he will also drink the wine of God’s wrath, which is mixed full strength in the cup of His anger. He will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the sight of the Lamb, and the smoke of their torment will go up forever and ever. There is no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and his image, or anyone who receives the mark of his name.’"
SON OF MAN COMING IN THE CLOUDS
Where do we see the Son of Man coming in the clouds in Revelation? Revelation 14:14 "Then I looked, and there was a white cloud, and One like the Son of Man was seated on the cloud with a gold crown on His head and a sharp sickle in His hand."
This verse is located after the 8th Beast has caused the world to worship Allah, after the world was made to worship the image and after the world was made to take the Mark of the Beast. It happens right before the Bowls of wrath are poured out upon the Beast and all who have the mark.
THE GATHERING OF THE ELECT
Revelation 14:15 The Son of Man is told to "’Use your sickle and reap, for the time to reap has come, since the harvest of the earth is ripe.’ So the One seated on the cloud swung His sickle over the earth, and the earth was harvested."
There it is. Revelation 14:14-15 is where it is located. We are in it for the long haul. The saints of God have had to endure persecution for 2000 years. They have been thrown to the lions. They have been boiled in oil. They have been crucified. They have been burned at the stake, decapitated, stoned to death, drowned, starved, tortured with no mercy and hunted down like animals. If God were going to save us from persecution, He would have done it two-thousand years ago.