Posted by AU on 1/7/2002, 2:31 pm

Posted by Author Unknown on 12/1/2001, 7:22 am , in reply to "Final Chapter" According to the teachers who maintain that the Church is what withholds or restrains an event from happening in II Thessalonians, these same teachers claim that the Church will have ascended in the Rapture years before the four angels of Revelation 9:15 are released. If there is a force left in place after the Church is gone, that needs to be lifted before an event can take place on Earth; that lessens the possibility the Church is what Paul was speaking of as the restraining force in II Thessalonians. Let’s continue our investigation by taking a good look at the context of these verses in Thessalonians: “Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to him, we ask you, brothers, not to become easily unsettled or alarmed by some prophecy, report or letter supposed to have come from us, saying that the day of the Lord has already come. Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction” (II Thessalonians 2:1-3, NIV). There is strong reason to believe that this warning from Paul starts off speaking about the First Resurrection with the words, “Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to him,” then Paul shifts his focus to an event that is called “the day of the Lord.” When discussing Bible prophesy the terms, day of the Lord and Rapture/Resurrection are not randomly interchanged. The Day of the Lord speaks of Christ’s Millennial Kingdom starting with God’s wrath upon Earth, while the First Resurrection precedes God’s wrath. The final factor that must be accepted in order to maintain this widespread position is that when Paul speaks of that day in verse 3, he is speaking of the Rapture from verse 1 and not the Day of the Lord from verse 2. If Paul were speaking of the Day of the Lord in our text when he penned that day, this teaching would fail: The Day of the Lord—In Scripture 1. “Woe to you who long for the day of the LORD! Why do you long for the day of the LORD? That day will be darkness, not light. It will be as though a man fled from a lion only to meet a bear” (Amos 5:18-19, NIV). 2. “A day of the LORD is coming when your plunder will be divided among you. 2 I will gather all the nations to Jerusalem to fight against it; the city will be captured, the houses ransacked, and the women raped” (Zechariah 14:1-2, NIV). 3. “The great day of the LORD is near— near and coming quickly. Listen! The cry on the day of the LORD will be bitter, the shouting of the warrior there. 15 That day will be a day of wrath, a day of distress and anguish, a day of trouble and ruin, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and blackness” (Zephaniah 14-15, NIV). 4. “The day of the LORD is great; it is dreadful. Who can endure it?” “The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD” (Joel 2:11, and 31, NIV). Again, if we were to deem that the terms The Day of the Lord and The First Resurrection were speaking of the same event, then this last verse would demand that The First Resurrection will not occur until the sun turns to darkness and the moon to blood. Yet these events happen deep into Antichrist’s reign. The Day of the Lord speaks of a time when the nations are punished. This day also encompasses Christ’s return and the duration of His Kingdom. If this is what Paul is referring to in II Thessalonians when he penned, 3“Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed.” Then Paul was no longer speaking of the Rapture—Paul had moved on and was speaking of Christ’s Kingdom. During Paul’s day, there was a widespread teaching that maintained the world had entered into the Millennial Kingdom. Paul was addressing the Church defending against this teaching by expressing that there was yet to come, “the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to him.” To strengthen his position, Paul went on to explain that there were other events that must also occur before The Day of the Lord, such as the revealing of the “man of lawlessness.” “ He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God” (II Thessalonians 2:3-4, NIV). If we were to maintain that the Day of the Lord is simply another term that Paul used in this one text speaking of the Rapture, then we must also maintain that the Rapture will not come until the Antichrist sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God, because this is also mentioned in our text; yet this event doesn’t occur until the very end of Antichrist’s reign. Both positions maintain that “the abomination that causes desolation” is an event that happens after the Rapture; yet one looking into Scripture will note that this desecration of the temple clearly occurs before the Day of the Lord. In order for this verse in II Thessalonians to make sense, we need to admit that Paul was speaking of two events in his discourse, and once we have done this, this Scripture no longer offers proof that the Church will be caught up as soon as Antichrist is revealed. Understanding that Paul was not expressing the Church would be caught up before the Antichrist reins brings the understanding of this verse into harmony with the rest of the Bible: Christians—Still On Earth 1. “And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony for Jesus and because of the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or his image and had not received his mark on their foreheads or their hands” (Revelation 20:4, NIV). Because it is said of them, they “had not received his mark on their foreheads,” this demonstrates that they were living on earth during Antichrist’s reign. The following verse says that they are a part of the “first resurrection.” As we have studied, two resurrections are spoken of in Scripture; in the first one the dead will be raised and those “who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air” (I Thessalonians 4:17, NIV). The second resurrection takes place 1000 years later. So these people not only lived on earth under Antichrist but they took part in the Rapture as well. 2. “And I saw what looked like a sea of glass mixed with fire and, standing beside the sea, those who had been victorious over the beast and his image and over the number of his name” (Revelation 15:2-3, NIV). This verse also shows Christians who had been living on earth during the Antichrist System; these souls are now seen in heaven right before the bowls of wrath are poured out, demonstrating they too have ascended in the Rapture. 3. “As I watched, this horn was waging war against the saints and defeating them,” … “He will speak against the Most High and oppress his saints and try to change the set times and the laws. The saints will be handed over to him for a time, times and half a time” (Daniel 7:21and 25, NIV). This horn is Antichrist. The saints are all the Christians who make up the Church. This word usage in Daniel: time, times and half a time and the identical word usage, in Revelation 12:12 “time, times and half a time” are speaking of a 3&1/2 year period in which Antichrist rules the world. Our text goes on to say, “Then the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to make war against the rest of her offspring—those who obey God’s commandments and hold to the testimony of Jesus” (Revelation 12:17, NIV). As we have studied, the (woman) is the church: (her offspring) is also a part of the church. This text is clearly speaking of Christian persecution during the time of Antichrist’s Government. The teaching that Christians will have ascended before Antichrist reigns as found in the current interpretation of our II Thessalonians text, runs contrary to all these Scriptural verses whose interpretations are straightforward. It also goes against the teaching of a last trumpet Rapture and violates the whole design of Revelation. The earth will not be void of the Church a full seven years before Armageddon. The two witnesses are seen performing miracle-working power as they deliver their testimony, and if the witnesses are an illustration of the Church, then surely the Church as pictured in Revelation is still on the earth during this seven year time frame. Seven Years until Armageddon One of the great truths this work established is that the Rapture occurs in the days of the seventh trumpet when it shall begin to sound. It happens right before the bowl plagues are poured out. This understanding has changed the way many of us look at Revelation. Instead of seven years on Earth void of the Church, Revelation’s pages speak of men, women, and children delivering a testimony to the world!