The Rapture of the Church

The Rapture of the Church

By Pastor David Rose

“Immediately after the tribulation (Notice it did not say “wrath,” for God has not appointed us to wrath.) 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.” Matt. 24:29,30

The scripture make it clear that when Christ comes for his church it will be after the anti-christ shows up and just before He pours out His wrath on the earth. (2 Thessalonians 2:3-4)

“When you therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoever reads, let him understand:)” Matt. 24:15
Jesus makes it very clear that when we see (meaning we will see) the Anti-Christ, we are to flee to the mountains until he comes for us. If we are caught, then let God’s will be done. I am not going to just walk into these prison camps and neither should you. It will not be fun. But if we keep our ears to heaven God will tell us what to do and where to go. So be ready, not worldly! The day of the Lord is when Christ takes us out and God begins to pour out his wrath. Again, we must stay sober. Live holy for Christ.

For Christ is warning us that when we see judgement coming upon the face of the earth, to look up for our redemption draws nigh. Praise God! When things look about as bad as they can get, that’s when God steps in, just before every thing goes to hell (literally). We know this is the rapture here for the scripture goes on to say that, “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.” Matt. 24:31

Many people will panic when they read this and say, “I thought I was supposed to be taken out before things get rough.” But the word warns us that, “Confirming the souls of the disciples, [and] exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.” Acts 14:22 That we will face many hardships. God never said that he would deliver us from persecution or satans wrath against us. Which is being persecuted for righteousness and in some cases even martyrdom. Jesus told us we may be in for some hard times ahead but said for us to become overcomers through it. Romans 2:9-10, 1 Thess. 1:6

We see in Revelation 12 where it tells us that after satan was cast down he went to make war with the offspring (church) of the woman (Israel) that we the church are taken out. This is another one of those double prophecies that seem to have two meanings. So after Satan is cast down to inhabit his body (probably geneticly styled for him) after the 3 ½ years, the church will be ushered into safety in God’s presence.

God tells us that we are to refuse the mark of satan, (I believe this to be the microchip) even if it cost us our lives.

“And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; Men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: (we will come back to look at this verse latter, for it tells us something terrifying is coming on the earth. In fact, it is so terrifying that mens hearts are going to fail them for fear. Don’t miss the rapture. Follow Christ now while you still can. You do not want to be here when this happens.) for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.” luke 21:25-27

“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

This is a very encouraging verse. Live for Christ with all your heart and obey Him and you will come out at the end OK. (Read psalm 91) This verse could mean one of two things. It could mean God will take us home before things get real bad, or that God will provide a place of safety for us until we hear that trumpet. A place prepared in the wilderness, to hide us until He comes for us. Either way, I trust God will take care of His own. But make sure your ready when that trumpet is sounded. You do not want to miss that one!

“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, (this is speaking of the Anti-Christ) the son of perdition;” 2 Thes. 2:1-3

Here we are told that before Christ comes their will be a great falling away. Meaning many will turn away from their faith in Christ to the things of the earth. And that the man of sin be revealed, that is the Anti-Christ. We are told by Christ that when we see the Anti-Christ come into power, to get out of town, run to the hills. Don’t look back. But we know that when this happens, our redemtion draws knigh.

“When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains:” Matt. 24:15-17

If God shows you that you are in danger, there is nothing wrong with running and hiding. We just have to be willing to die for the gospel and never renounce our Lord.

“Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 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.” 1 Cor. 15:51,52

Here is where Paul tells us that the rapture will happen. At the last trumpet blast, just before the vials of God’s wrath are poured out. We will study the events of the seals, trumpets and vials latter, but just know that Paul tells us this is when we go. It is very clear for he says, “the last trump”.

“And ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their lord, when he will return from the wedding; that when he cometh and knocketh, they may open unto him immediately. Blessed are those servants, whom the lord when he cometh shall find watching: verily I say unto you, that he shall gird himself, and make them to sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them. And if he shall come in the second watch, or come in the third watch, and find them so, blessed are those servants. And this know, that if the goodman of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched, and not have suffered his house to be broken through. Be ye therefore ready also: for the Son of man cometh at an hour when ye think not.” Luke 12:36-40

So be busy for the Lord work until he comes. Be a light to all men and shine in holiness and purity that you cause none to fall because of your lifestyle. For “without holiness, no man shall see the Lord:” Heb. 12:14

There will be times where I will look at prophecies from another view point from other prophecy teachers not because I disagree with them, but because I look at all possibilities and bring every thought and revelation to the table to be tested and critiqued against the word of God. When one gets what he thinks is a revelation he should not sit on it, but rather bring it before the church and those that are mature in the faith and the word to look to see if it is contrary to the word of God, and if not, could it be a true revelation from God? God tells us in the last days he will reveal more and more revelation to us from the Word and it will get more and more clear as the day of the Lord draws near. If we ever get to the place to where we think we have it all figured out we have just barred ourselves from hearing any further revelation from God. I have told people in my congregation that if they study prophecy and they believe God showed them something to share it with me, even if it goes against what I believe, and what I’ve taught, as long as they have scripture to back it up. If some one has a revelation it is my responsibility as a pastor to judge it in light of scripture, and if it does not contradict scripture and holds credible weight as a theory then I will be open to it being from God. Like I’ve said before I would rather have truth, than be right. I am always open to more teaching and studing from anyone that studies prophecies as long as they are living right and seeking God.