Continued from Part 1
Question:
What must occur before the rapture?
God reveals to us several things that must occur before
the rapture—Day of the Lord event. 2 Thessalonians reveals to us that there
must be a falling away first, the man of sin or antichrist revealed, and for
him to perform the abomination of desolation.
2 Thes 2:1-4
Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord
Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him,
That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled,
neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of
Christ is at hand.
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;
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.
Acts 2:20 reveals to us that the sun must be darkened, and
the moon turned to blood, before the Day of the Lord—rapture event.
Acts 2:20
The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into
blood, before the great and notable
day of the Lord come:
This is also echoed in the Matthew 24 passage.
Mt 24:29-31
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:
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.
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.
Question:
What must occur before the rapture?
Answer:
A falling away, the antichrist revealed, the abomination of desolation, the sun
darkened, and the moon turned to blood.
Question:
Is the rapture imminent?
Answer:
No, because several things must occur first, which have not occurred yet.
That may be a shocker to you; that the rapture is not
imminent, but that is exactly the issue that God through the apostle Paul
addressed the Thessalonians on. They thought the rapture was imminent or that
it had already occurred and they missed it. They were clearly told that it
cannot happen until several things occur first. Read the passage again.
2 Thes 2:1-4
Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord
Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him,
That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled,
neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of
Christ is at hand. (Imminent)
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;
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.
Question:
As discussed above one of the events that must occur before the rapture is the
abomination of desolation and the taking over the world by the antichrist. When
in the end times does the antichrist perform the abomination of desolation and
take over the world?
Daniel 9:11 reveals to us that the abomination of
desolation occurs 1290 days before the end.
Dan 9:11
And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken
away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a
thousand two hundred and ninety days.
Thus, the abomination of desolation occurs near the
midpoint of the last 7 years. And passages in Revelation reveal to us that his
reign over the earth will last for 1260 days, thus his reign will begin at the
midpoint.
Rev 13:5
And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great
things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two
months.
Question:
When in the end times does the antichrist perform the abomination of desolation
and take over the world?
Answer:
Respectively just before and at the midpoint.
Question:
Two other events previously discussed that must occur before the Day of the
Lord—rapture is that the sun will be darkened and the moon turned to blood. When
in the end times are the sun darkened and the moon turned to blood?
That is a very easy question to answer for scripture
tells us succinctly that they occur after the opening of the Sixth Seal.
Rev 6:12 And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal,
and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of
hair, and the moon became as blood;
Question:
When in the end times are the sun darkened and the moon turned to blood, etc.?
Answer:
After the opening of the sixth seal.
Question:
What else occurs after the opening of the sixth seal?
God tells us that several other things occur after the
opening of the sixth seal the most prominent are that Jesus appears in the sky,
men hide, and God’s wrath begins.
Rev 6: 12-17
And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo,
there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair,
and the moon became as blood;
And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a
fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind.
And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled
together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.
And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the
rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and
every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains;
And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide
us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the
Lamb:
For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be
able to stand?
It is interesting to note that there are only two events
during the end times when Jesus will appear, at the rapture and at Armageddon.
Question:
What else occurs after the opening of the sixth seal?
Answer:
A great earthquake moving every island and mountain, a meteor shower, the sky
splits open, men see Jesus in the sky, and God’s wrath begins.
Question:
Considering all the previous scriptural facts, when in the end times do the scriptural
facts tell us that the rapture will occur?
Let’s put everything together and make a definitive
statement based on the Biblical evidence presented as to when in the end times
the rapture will occur. Realizing that the rapture occurs at the Day of the
Lord event and that the Day of the Lord occurs after the sixth seal is opened;
therefore, the rapture must occur after the sixth seal is opened. This truth is
confirmed by the fact that Jesus appears in the sky, men hide, and God’s wrath
begins after the opening of the sixth seal.
Question:
Considering all the previous scriptural facts, when in the end times do the
facts tell us that the rapture will occur?
Answer:
After the opening of the sixth seal.
Question:
When in the last 7 years or the end times is the sixth seal opened and the
rapture occurs?
Let me make it clear no one knows the day or hour of the
rapture and thus the opening of the sixth seal except God the Father.
Mark 13:32
But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the
angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.
But we can know a general timeframe in which it will
occur. Obviously the sixth seal is opened after the opening of the fifth seal,
which is the persecution of Jews and Christians by the antichrist.
Rev 6:9-11
And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the
altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony
which they held:
And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O
Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that
dwell on the earth?
And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it
was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their
fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were,
should be fulfilled.
The antichrist makes war against Jews and Christians
during his 42-month reign which begins at the midpoint and ends at Armageddon.
Rev 13:5-7
And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great
things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two
months.
And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to
blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven.
And it was given unto him to make war with the saints,
and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues,
and nations.
Therefore, the sixth seal and the rapture occur sometime
after the antichrist takes over the world at the midpoint.
Question:
When in the end times is the sixth seal opened and the rapture occurs?
Answer: The sixth seal is opened, and the rapture occurs at an unknown time after the midpoint.
To be continued
"Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man." — Luke 21:36
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