Day of The Lord

JESUS CHRIST APPEARS IN GLORY

Art by Pat Marvenko Smith:  Revelation Illustrated Website: Revelation Productions revill@aol.com

"BEHOLD HE COMES WITH THE CLOUDS

EVERY EYE WILL SEE HIM AND THOSE WHO       

PIERCED HIM COMING WITH HIM.

PEOPLE ON EARTH WILL BE WAILING!"

Revelation 1:7

CHRIST COMES WITH MILLIONS WHO PIERCED HIM

SECOND COMING - This term is used for Christ's return in the clouds of heaven. Key Scripture text is Rev.1:7: "Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him." The next words are critical.  Do they  refer only to Zech.12:10 and the House of David who will mourn when they look on the One they pierced?  "AND every eye will see Him ... EVEN those who pierced Him." In this case, those who see Him coming can be restricted to those on earth as He comes.

Or should we read: "AND every eye will see Him ... AND those who pierced Him"? In that case, they see Him coming with those who took part in crucifying Him. That means every Jewish Believer since Abraham will be seen by those who mourn. It also fulfills His prediction that "they would see Him coming in the clouds of heaven ... having already seen Him seated at the right hand of power." This dashes the Preterist's claim that Jesus came the second time in AD 70. It allows those who see Him coming to include all those Believers coming with Him!

Jesus Christ, the central person in history, will come from the "third heaven." Appearing on the clouds with millions who pierced Him. His angels will have gathered all those who believe in Him. By His word, the gathering scope is "from earth to heaven and from all the extremities of the heavens. When Christ appears, every believer appears with Him." Mark 13:27; Matt.24:31; Col.3:4.

All mankind pierced Christ on the Cross. All Believers meet Him in glory. Not only does "every eye" of those left behind observe His Presence. But millions of those who pierced Him also appear ... including some of those who heard Jesus predict that "in the future they would see the Son of Man sitting on the right hand of power and coming in the clouds of heaven." Matt.26:64; NIV. Some standing near the Jewish High Priest in AD 32 have seen Jesus sitting there over 1970 years!

The difference arises because those coming with Him are redeemed from guilt. Many have claimed "those who pierced Him" were Jews because their own Scriptures refer to those who wail "when they see the One they pierced." "Every eye" includes Believers who both pierced Him and appear with Him to share in His glory.

Millions of SAINTS who pierced Him come from heaven and earth to meet Christ at the Synagogue in the Sky! The Big Picture: "Every eye will see Him; even those coming with Him who pierced Him." Before Jesus told the Jewish leaders: "From now you will see the Son of Man ... coming in the clouds of heaven," He had already said they will bless Him coming in the name of the Lord. Matt.23:39. Some standing there, nearly 2000 years ago, will be raised up as He appears! "God brings their souls with Jesus. They join Him as He raises up every Believer from earth to heaven." I Thess.4:14; Mark 13:27.

Every eye sees Him and millions following Him on white horses. Rev.19:14. It is irrelevant whether the horses are figurative or literal. Three things are certain. One: They include all ethnic groups. Two: Millions who pierced Christ come with Him. Three: Jewish leaders like Nicodemus, and a Gentile soldier who declared He was the Son of God, will accompany Him. No one who ever believed will be missing.

That is why "heaven must receive Him until the times to restore all things." Jews will not see Him until they say: "Blessed is the One coming in the Name of the Lord." Elijah must come to restore all things because Jesus is "about to come in glory." Acts 3:21; Matt.23:39; Matt.17:11; Matt.16:27; Rev.12:5 - Greek, mello, #3195.

As all people are guilty of crucifying Christ, so peoples of all nations wail when they see Him with all the Saints caught up and glorified. The Two Prophets will have restored Jewish hopes and brought Unity among Believers so the Day of the Lord comes unexpectedly to none but those who reject Jesus. At His hour of triumph, the Saints meet him to fulfill His wish to join Him in glory. This scene qualifies as the hour every tongue confesses Jesus as Lord or tastes the wine of God's wrath. Rev.14:10.

The Day of the Lord is "Near" now as it was for the Prophets 2,700 years ago. His return is obviously "nearer" today than when He went away. It was Near then and when John wrote the Book of Revelation. The Prophets had written: "The Day of the Lord is Near." The Book of Revelation of Jesus Christ opens and closes with "The Time is Near." Isa.13:6; Joel 3:14; Rev.1:3; Rev.22:10. His Messianic Manifesto states "The Son of Man is ABOUT TO COME in glory!" He fulfills Daniel's prophecy of the Son of Man coming with all the Saints when He destroys the Abomination. Nearness applies right up to the Day He manifests Himself.

We will "know the End is Near when the Abomination stands in the Temple." Matt.24:15,33; Dan.7:22-27; Dan.12:11. From the onset of these 1290 days, we realize that knowing the End is Near requires specific signs that relate to the Abomination in the Temple. The End includes the actual Presence of Christ. His physical return to restore the Kingdom to Israel occurs when Gentile Times are finished. Luke 21:22-36; Rom.11:22-36. 

Jesus Christ restores the Kingdom to Israel because "it was taken from them and given to the Gentiles to produce its fruits." Israel fell and was broken on this Stone. When Gentiles gather to destroy them, the Stone will "grind them to powder." Matt.21:42-44; Dan.2:42-44. Greater wrath faces Gentiles than Israel suffered for rejecting Messiah! Greater glory awaits Israel as He redeems them and restores their kingdom. Luke 21:28-31; Rom.11:28-31; Jer.31:28-31; Jer.32:28-31.

Christ appears "like lightning shining from east to west" several hours after the Day of the Lord begins as the sun remains dark. The Elect know the Day is Near 3½ years before The Sign given to Israel for knowing their redemption is Near. Seeing Christ appear with all the Elect, Jews will beg to stand before Him because they too will know their redemption and Kingdom are Near. Luke 21:28,31. When these things "are about to happen," Luke did not specify those who "beg to escape" are the Elect. Luke 21:36; Greek.  

The Day of the Lord is the Endtime's Lastday. Daniel's Abomination in the Temple is the specific Endtime Sign; but the Endtime of 1290 days is not the Day of the Lord. Seal Six heralds that Day and its wrath as following the Sign of that Day. Jesus even distinguishes between The Sign of that Day and the Hour He appears in glory.  All the Saints since Adam appear with Christ on the Day of His glory ... within hours after The Sign.

Luke's account, unlike Matthew and Mark, makes no distinction between the Day and the Hour of Christ's coming ... except that it is "about to occur." Luke inclusively refers to "all things that begin to happen, continue to happen and completely happens because they are being about to happen during that Day." Luke 21:28,31,32,36. He does this for the sake of Jews who are not among the Elect; but who observe what "begins to happen" at The Sign of that Day. They will be prepared to mourn when He appears.

The most amazing fact, in view of this, sees Jesus using the future tense for the wars that happen until Gentile Times are fulfilled at The Sign of the Day He appears. Matt.24:6. He limits His words to the present tense for Lastday events after that Sign appears. Until then, they would continually hear of wars and rumors of wars. This is the only time, with a singular reference to wars, that Jesus uses mello (about to happen) in the future tense.

Five things are future until Gentile Times are fulfilled. Luke 21:24. They are not "about to occur" until they apply to the Lastday when Jesus uses mello over and over in the present tense. (1). Jews would fall and be led captive until Gentile Times are finished - vs.24. (2). They must wait for the signs in the sun, moon and stars - vs.25. (3). They will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds - vs.27. (4). Then they will "know their redemption and kingdom are near" - vs.28,31. (5) They will beg to escape - vs.36. To understand this, we need to put ourselves in the Endtime period when the "generation that sees all these things includes every eye."

On the Lastday they continue to see things "about to happen" - vs.36. Indeed, the events begin to happen, continue to happen and completely happens on that Day. That generation of Jews will know their redemption and kingdom are near on that Day - vs.28,31,32. Jesus reverts to that Day coming in the future; and to the events of that day once the Signs of that day appear. The horror of the events that come "as a snare on all the inhabitants on all the face of all the earth" concern the Lastday only - vs.35. This alone is the Day of the Lord!

Finally, Luke again uses the present tense a 4th time for "all these things being about to happen"- vs.36. Each time, the word "about" appears in the present tense for events of the Lastday - vs.28,31,32,36. All these things about to happen on the Day of the Lord have been "Near" since Isaiah's prophecy. Isa.13:6,9,10,13. What is Near is God's Purpose for the Day of the Lord; not the passage of Time. A 1000 years to us is like a single day to God. That's why the Day of the Lord is a single solar day of 12 Hours or less. Zech.14:7,12. 

The Sign of the Day of the Lord has always been Near. Joel gives The Sign three times and each time states: "The Day of the Lord is Near. The earth quakes, heaven trembles, the sun and moon grow dark and the stars lose their brightness." Joel 1:15; Joel 2:1; Joel 3:14-16. Prophets declared that Day is Near centuries before John repeated: "The Time is Near." Jews have known for centuries to expect both Deliverance and Destruction on that Day. These are the things "About to Happen." The Day of the Lord should not be considered a period of years ... because one day is like a thousand years to Him.

The Sign engages a 12-Hour Day! When prophets like Isaiah and Joel declared "the Day of the Lord is Near," they gave the same sign Jesus gave to the Disciples. Jesus and John initiate the Day of the Lord with The same Sign. What the Sun ceasing to shine signals to those on the day-side of earth will equal what the Moon turning to blood signals to those on the night-side of earth. At the same instant, twelve hours apart, the Day of the Lord begins. 

The unknown Hour follows The Sign of that Day. On the Day of the Lord "every eye sees Christ coming in the clouds of heaven." Before everyone sees Him, the Lamb will bring Deliverance to 144,000 Firstfruit to God and the Lamb and then to every surviving Believer. The Son of Man brings Destruction to the hordes that cross the Euphrates River from the East. Rev.16:12-17; Rev.6:12-17; Rev.14:1-5; Mark 13:27; Matt.24:31; Rev.1:7; Rev.19:15.

The period in which we will know the End is Near begins with Five Endtime Catalysts. One is the Abomination standing in the Temple. Knowing the Day of the Lord is imminent depends on specific signs. Once it begins, the Hour is still unknown. The barrier to Unity among Believers about the Day of the Lord assumes we escape to heaven irrespective of these specific signs. Too many Believers assume the Day and Hour occur at the same moment. The Day of the Lord includes the Hour to Reap, the Hour Christ appears and Hour of Testing or Judgment. Daniel's 1290 Endtime Days are cut short at a specific Hour on the Day of the Lord. The Sign engages part of a 12-Hour Day ... for its events may occur in less than six hours!

Day of the Lord occurs after 1260 days of great tribulation. Mark 13:24; Rev.11:3; Rev.12:6. It does not occur on day 1260; but on one of three days after the Two Prophets are killed. Their rising up from death during The Sign will convert what is "Near" to imminent reality. Knowing the End is Here fills the moments during The Sign until The Hour Christ appears. Fervent expectation infuses hope with joy. Believers are not gripped with fingers of fear. The Context for Imminency begins when God's Two Prophets are killed. Rev.11:7-11.

Time ends "in the days whenever (these two die and) Trump Seven is about to sound." Time ends to "finish God's Mystery as told to Daniel." Prophetic (Chronos) Time ends with Trump Seven's appointed (Kairos) Time being most imminent. 

Trump Seven may be seen as the Last Trump if it sounds three times. Christ is crowned at that Trump. The Saints in heaven come with Christ at that Trump and the dead in Christ rise first. Those He gathers from earth are swept out of the four winds by the angels from all points of the heavens to Himself at that Trump. Among the Saints coming from heaven are 144,000 Jews "redeemed from earth by the Lamb" shortly before He appears in glory. Rev.14:1-5.

At no other time, and in no other text than Rev.11:18, will you find the "appointed Time for God's wrath or the time to judge and reward the prophets and Saints and all who fear His name, both small and great." God's wrath occurs after 1260 days of great tribulation. Daniel qualifies 1290 solar days or 43 thirty-day months for the three and a half year solar countdown. Jesus and John reveal why Daniel's final thirty days are "cut short."

The Primary Key to Revelation focuses on Lastday events. John uses 100 verses to describe things happening on that Day ... from the Last Plague suspended in midair to Christ treading the Winepress of God Almighty and casting the Beast and False Prophet to Hell. These things happen on the Day of the Lord. It does not come "as a Thief" for the Saints because they will  be prepared as Paul and Jesus indicate. I Thess.5:2,4; Rev.16:15.

The Sign of the Day of the Lord grants a few hours to unbelievers. No hope exists for the wicked. Armageddons have just killed a third of mankind over a quarter of the earth's surface. They refuse to repent of their wickedness. Luke reports men's hearts failing from fear. Warnings of disaster escalate like the rush of tornados with ominous intent. John shows the initial effects: "Every mountain and island (begin to) move out of place." Rev.6:14; Rev.16:20.

Believers know what to expect. Jews know the Day of the Lord brings dramatic release from Diaspora. They bless Him with hope measured in moments! Zealous for His land and true to His promise, "the Lord will never again make them a reproach among the nations. They will never be put to shame. No more will strangers pass through their holy City." Joel 2:18,19,27; Joel 3:17.

The Sign of the Day of the Lord signals Imminent Deliverance or Impending Disaster. The Day of the Lord is great and awful because it is the Day of His epiphany, His Presence. Who can endure? Joel 2:11,31, LXX; Rev.6:17. No hope exists for those cast into God's Winepress of great anger. Incarcerated under God's great anger and awaiting His anger-filled-wrath, they are indicted and then crushed without mercy and destined for Hell. Rev.14:10,11,19-20; Rev.19:15; Rev.20:15.

Many who face the Hour of Testing may escape God's wrath by pleading they deserve to die on the Day the Son of Man is revealed. Luke 17:30,33. "Whoever calls on the Lord will escape." Joel 2:32. Jewish hope rests in the Day of the Lord. It takes place after the Two Prophets' days of death when they arise "in the hour of the great quake." Rev.6:12; Rev.11:12,13.

That Day the Two Prophets are killed alerts 144,000 chosen of God to meet the Lamb on Mt. Zion. The quake that strikes Jerusalem and kills 7000 "men of names" accompanies The Sign and signals the time to seal the chosen Firstfruit. The same quake that strikes Jerusalem may also trigger The Sign. Armies from the East will have just killed a third of mankind in history's greatest Holocaust. Death will have exercised power over a quarter of the earth's surface. The armies of death are consumed with hatred for Israel. Rev.6:8; Rev.9:15; Rev.16:12-16. Saints watch with intensity as the certainty of being caught up to Christ occupies their thoughts.

The Firstfruit are reaped first. In quick order after the great quake and before Christ appears, an angel seals 144,000 celibates on Mt. Zion. The Lamb rescues them. Joel sees them rescued at Mt. Zion. The Firstfruit "follow the Lamb everywhere He goes." Rev.14:4. In heaven they sing a new song which only they can learn and attend His Court when He opens Seal Seven. The people of the Saints are given the Kingdom as Messiah comes from heaven with all the Saints; including the 144,000 Firstfruit. Dan.7:9-27.

Observation One: The death-days for the Two Prophets, while massive armies threaten Israel, display the depths of depravity to which evil men descend in their animosity to God and His people. Seven classes will hide in the mountains from these armies. What is their reaction when they see The Sign of the Day of the Lord given by the Prophets and Jesus and John? They fear God more than they fear the armies. They know there is no escape. Rev.6:15-17.

The Holocaust killing two billion people has just "passed by." Here is a Hidden Key to the order of events in Revelation. The Holocaust that kills a third of mankind has "passed by" as of the Lastday when the Two Prophets arise, ascend to heaven and the 7th Trumpet is about to sound! Rev.10:6,7. They ascend right after the Hour has come to Reap the Wicked to the "Winepress of God's great anger." This immediately precedes Seal 7's Verdict and Trump 7's Victories. Rev.14:14-19; Rev.11:12,14.

The world's armies menace Israel and the Two Prophets arise just before the great multitudes out of Great Tribulation indict the wicked in the open court of Seal 7. The wicked are reaped to the Winepress and placed on trial. Indeed, the Saints praise God and the Lamb while The Sign causes seven classes of safety-seekers to fear God much more than they fear Satan's armies. We consider the Holocaust having just "passed by" a Hidden Key. But by knowing the armies from the East face imminent disaster, many give glory to God as the Two Prophets ascend, a great quake strikes Jerusalem. In that hour that quake kills 7000 men of rank. Rev.11:13.

Those who glorify God know the wicked armies gathered against them will drown in a blood bath when heaven opens and Christ descends. The birds in mid-heaven are called on to eat seven kinds of flesh at the great supper of God. Rev.19:17-21. "The vats overflow with blood to the horses' bridles, for great is their wickedness." Rev.14:20.

The Valley of Decision is the apt phrase Joel uses to describe the human dilemma. But "on Mt. Zion and in Jerusalem, there will be those who escape ... the survivors whom the Lord calls. 'I will gather the nations to judgment that have scattered My People.' The Lord roars from Zion. Judah and Jerusalem will be inhabited for all generations. He will avenge their blood." Joel 2:32; Joel 3:2,12,13,20,21; Rev.6:11. He avenges the Martyrs quickly after the Holocaust wherein the wicked will have slaughtered a third of mankind.

These things happen "in the days Trump 7 is about to sound." Within 3½ days after the Two Prophets are killed. The End comes "quickly" when the Holocaust armies cross the Euphrates River. The great quake strikes, the sun darkens, the moon does not give her light, the stars fall from heaven. Heavens' powers shake and fold up like a scroll. The Hidden Key of the Holocaust having "passed by," as the 7th Trump sounds, pinpoints the time for God's wrath. Rev.11:14. Here we see the factors that jumpstart the final events on the Day of the Lord.

1) Israel's enemies threaten her very existence after the Holocaust of Trump Six. 

2) The decisive moment for the last Martyr determines on which of three days the Two Prophets arise, the sun stops shining and Trump 7 decrees "God's wrath has come ... to judge prophets and Saints, small and great, and to destroy the wicked." 

3) That Day guarantees imminent deliverance in the midst of impending disaster.

Observation Two: Many say Christ may come at "Any-Moment; Perhaps Today." They reject the word of Jesus that we will really "know the end is Near when the Abomination stands in the Temple and Satan launches the great tribulation." Matt.24:15,21,33. They do not accept God's word that knowing this specific Sign is a condition for knowing the End is Near. They create a Tension Complex by saying the Day of the Lord begins with the great tribulation. Why would our Lord specify "we will know the end is near" if He might come at "any moment"? Jesus "destroys the Abominator by the epiphany of His presence" on the Day of the Lord. That is the only Day on which "The Son of Man gathers the Elect from earth to heaven." Mark 13:27.

Jesus removes this Tension Complex about the time He comes by telling us when to "know the End is Near." We propose that no such tension should exist. Tension arises by failing to realize that what is "about to happen" includes Lastday events. Or it arises by not heeding Jesus' caution to recognize false teachers. We cannot know the Day is Near until the Abomination stands in the Temple. Matt.24:15,21,33.

Jesus separated the Day and the Hour of His coming. He knew "all things that happen" on that Day. Paul taught Believers, in the meantime, not to be concerned with "times and seasons." Tension should not exist. The lawless one must come before the Day of the Lord; not before the Great Tribulation. Paul repeated the sign Jesus gave to "know the End is Near." Times and Seasons are uncertain until the Lawless One stands in the Temple. I Thess.5:1,2; 2 Thess.2:3-5. Again, Elijah must set things right before the great Day that manifests God's Power and Presence. Mal.4:5,6; Matt.17:11; Rev.11:3-12; Joel 2:31.

Disputes arise from the false idea that Christ may come at any moment ... apart from these specific signs. The known 42-month countdown must run its course except for the last thirty of 1290 days to be cut short. We are to expect Him when the Two Prophets are killed with less than 3½ days left. Only God knows the Day of the last Martyr. Jesus said: "No one, not even the Son of Man, knows the Day." It begins with The Sign. "The Hour" quickly follows.

1.The Signs: Two Prophets ascend to heaven in the hour of the great quake. Catastrophes of Seal 6 continue to mount during that Day. The last Martyr precipitates this crisis and Lastday events as the Last Plague exhausts God's anger. The Day of Wrath comes as a snare on all who do not expect the Messiah. Great tidal waves are included among the signs. Luke 21:25.

2. The Effects: Desperation results from "all the things coming on all inhabitants on all the face of all the earth." Luke 21:26,35; Rev.3:10. These effects escalate the panic of those seeking refuge from the armies that threaten Israel.

3. The Hope: Jesus urges Jews to "Look Up; for their redemption and kingdom are Near." Luke 21:28,31,36. Here they will "beg to escape and to stand before the Son of Man."

4. The Rescue: Christ appears, raises and gathers the Elect from earth to heaven. Angels gather all believers from the four directions of heavens' extremities. All the Saints appear with Christ. Mark 13:27; Matt.24:31; Dan.7:27; I Thess.3:13.

5. The Escape: Jews and earth's tribes mourn and beg to be able to escape and stand before the Son of Man. Rev.1:7; Matt.24:30; Luke 21:36.

These factors occur between the onset of the Day of the Lord and the Hour Christ displays His glory in the clouds with the Saints. The scenes beneath a stormy sky forestall uncertainty. The Holocaust has "passed by" when the great quake strikes Jerusalem. "In that same Hour the Two Prophets arise." Every Believer arises on the last day. These Signs indicate the "final Woe comes quickly." Rev.11:14. But even the Hour of wrath is unknown after men realize the Day of Wrath has come. All events of our Centerpiece are fulfilled on that Day!

Jews will know Daniel's Son of Man has received the Kingdom to give to the Saints when they see the Saints with Him in the clouds. Dan.7:22,27; Rev.1:7; Zech.12:10. To receive the Kingdom, they confess their guilt as those have done who come with Him. Salvation comes to Israel when the Lord roars out of Zion. Joel 3:16. Unsaved people in every nation will wail.

This is the crowning epoch of time and space in all of their dimensions. Questions of life and death, of truth and fraud, instantly flash before every person's mind. This invasion of millions from outer space, of every race and nation, displays God's Elect from earth and all of heavens' extremities in a moment of time. Mark 13:27; Matt.24:31; Matt.16:27; 2 Thess.1:10; I Pet.1:7 

For all Believers, the meeting in glory is the central focus of Christ's Presence. What is still "about to happen" becomes the central focus for unbelievers. The gathering of the Elect will be so quick that those left behind see it happening as a flash of lightning. 

Neither Revelation nor Luke 21 mentions the Elect being gathered above. Jews only know the Prophets prophesied the Saints come with Christ, Dan.7:22-27; Zech.14:5. Those who are alive and remain until He appears, "if they believe Jesus died and rose, are caught up with the dead in Christ to meet the Lord." Millions more will beg for mercy when they see it happen.

When the Diaspora ends, Luke still has The Sign of the Day of the Lord for Jews! Why does he omit the Abomination in the Temple? And why does he omit preaching the Gospel to the End, or the days to be cut short for the Elect's sake or even that Jews will mourn? Because he concentrates on that Day's redemption for Jews who "beg to survive" when He appears!

Jesus urges the Jews: "Stand Erect, Look Up, Pray and Beg." They will not "see the Son of Man until they bless Him coming in the name of the Lord." The Elect, therefore, are not His only concern. The Elect are taken bodily to His Presence. Christ's concern for Israel's redemption shines forth. He focuses on what begins to happen on that Day to show their redemption and Kingdom are Near.

Jews always knew the Day of Deliverance comes with The Sign. "Redemption is near and they know the kingdom is Near." Luke 21:25-28,31. Hope awakens on the edge of disaster. Disaster fills the Hour of Testing. In the same Hour, Saints are joined with Christ and bask in the ephiphany of His glory and receive their eternal rewards.

This generation remains until God restores the Jews a second time. They are being restored "from earth's four corners." Coupled with this promise, Jesus says: "Heaven and earth will pass away, but not My words." He solemnly vowed, as Creator of all things, before the Diaspora began, "all things written in the prophets are fulfilled before this generation passes away."  Isa.11:11,12; Luke 21:22,32.

The evidence is incontestable. Jesus meant "this generation will not pass away ever!" Earth will pass away. Just as a new earth will take its place, Israel will be restored before this generation is assimilated by the nations. In Luke 21 these statements are fulfilled in the context of things "beginning to happen (vs.28) and happening (vs.31) and being completed (vs.32) after He appears on a cloud in power and great glory ... after Gentile Times cease" (vs.24). What they see begins with the Day of the Lord as Gentile times end (vs.24-27)!

With an astounding statement that Gentile Times will be finished when "these things happen," Jesus is not talking about a day that might occur at any time. The Any-Moment Rapture belief  has overtaken Christians prematurely. Jesus reveals The Sign initiates the Day of the Lord "in the days after the greatest tribulation that ever occurred from the start of creation or that will ever occur." This truth cannot be accepted by those who want Seal 6 to occur years before the Day Christ appears in glory! In rejecting the true scenario, some modern scribes insert an Any-Moment Rapture years before End of the Age. Some even assume their Pre-Trib Rapture is the End of the Age!

Jesus would be cruel to promise this generation will remain until Gentile Times are finished and still let them perish at His coming or pass away by assimilation before He comes. He shows this generation (including the Elect by implication) will not pass away before all is fulfilled. He said: "Some of those (not some of you) standing (appointed) here (in the Endtime period when I am about to come in glory (Matt.16:27; Greek) will not taste death until after the Son of Man comes in Kingdom Power." Matt.16:28; Mark 9:1; Rev.12:10. This generation will not perish! All these things must be fulfilled before Israel passes away by assimilation.

"This generation will never pass away." God will restore what He broke in pieces before they intermarry with the nations and lose their identity. As of Israel's Jubilee celebration, according to a poll by the Los Angeles Times in 1999, "one in five American Jews say that being Jewish is of little or no importance to their own identity." They will not lose their identity. Christ will redeem His people.

God will bestow on this generation of Jews the blessings of the New Covenant. The death-throes of Gentile power occurs with Israel's restitution. "All these things happens" is considered a Singular Event. Luke 21:32 (Greek); Acts 3:21; Isa.11:11,12; Jer.31:35-37. By addressing the Jews in the context of the Lastday, Luke reveals that Israel would not be assimilated by the nations before "all these things happens." Those who say Jesus restricted "this generation" to the last martyrs in the first century have taken His words out of the context of what is "about to happen" on the Lastday!

The "last day" for Preterists concludes that Christ came in AD 70 (Paradise Restored or Days of Vengeance by David Chilton). They place the last day in the first century. They miss that "some of those (who will know the End is Near) will not taste death before Christ comes" in Endtime Kingdom Power. The NOW of God's Kingdom Power coincides with the 1260-day Endtime period of the Two Prophets. It coincides with the "3½ times" of Daniel's prophecy. Rev.11:3; Rev.12:10,14; Dan.12:7. The "unknown day" of His coming requires The Sign which the Prophet Joel three times declared is "Near." We will know how Near it is with Daniel's "Abomination standing in the Temple." Therefore, "Imminency" is not relevant to times or seasons, except to the kairos (appointed 3 1/2) times of Daniel's Endtime.

Jesus used the word "about" in the present tense for the end to "all things that happens" because He had the Lastday in mind. English translations render this word as if it applies to the unknown future instead of what is about to happen on the Day of the Lord. We view Jesus' lone use of the future tense of the word "about" as a dramatic contrast to His other references regarding Endtime signs. "Wars and rumors of wars," including the destruction in AD 70, but not the war of Armageddon, belong to His one use of the future tense. Matt.24:6. 

The present tense requires that "all things about to happen" (Luke 24:25,36) occur on the Day Christ appears. Christ's Endtime Mandate (Mark 9:1) precludes His return in glory before Two Prophets arise on the Lastday. Until their task is finished, not even the threat of millions of soldiers coming against Israel determines the Day for "all things about to happen."

Two events are separated by two millennia; yet are connected by what is "about to happen." Satan sought to kill Jesus when Mary was "about to bear her child." Even then, He was "about to rule all nations with an iron staff." His being about to come and about to rule point to His return at the Lastday. Luke 1:33; Matt.16:27; Rev.12:4,5. Present Time is not relevant to Imminency! Imminency begins with the death of the Two Prophets "in the days Time Ends ... and Trump Seven is about to sound." Rev.10:6,7.

Even the first of the four uses of "about to happen" in Luke 21 separates first century events from Lastday signs. The disciples asked what sign would indicate when these things were "about to happen." It was the first century time-frame for the Temple's destruction when those to whom He spoke would see "armies surrounding Jerusalem." Luke 21:7,20. 

So armies surrounding Jerusalem would be the (present tense) sign Jerusalem was "about to fall." Armies surrounding Jerusalem will not be (a present tense) Sign of Destruction as in AD 70 nor even The Sign of His coming in glory. That sign is preceded by the Sun ceasing to shine and a great quake killing 7000 in Jerusalem and the Two Prophets arising and ascending to heaven. Those who survive will glory God. Rev.11:13.

The sign of armies surrounding Jerusalem was given by Luke for contemporary history. The Lastday sign occurs at Christ's coming after Gentile Times are fulfilled. The Signs on the Day of the Lord are "about to happen" after the Endtime countdown. Christ fulfills "all these things about to happen" on that Day! Jesus uses this phrase three times of what they will see on the Day of His apocalypse. Only on that "same day will those willing to die be kept alive." Luke 17:30,33.

Not only will the Two Prophets rise up on that Day; but those also who survive until the sign of the Son of Man. What is about to happen relates to the events that occur during The Sign of that Day and at the sign of Christ's arrival. Without stating the exact nature of the final sign, Matthew gives both signs because they are separated by hours. Matt.24:29,30.

Revelation reveals what Daniel did not know about God's Kingdom Power. Two Kingdom Power Prophets begin the countdown to the End. Daniel, Jesus and John anticipate the count- down. At present, Gentile primacy as members of the Kingdom sees its saved peoples grafted as a wild olive tree into the Jewish Olive Tree. Rom.11:18-24. Jews will know their Kingdom is Near when Christ appears in the clouds! They will "bless Him coming in the name of the Lord, partake of the New Covenant and be grafted back in their own Olive Tree." Matt.23:39; Rom. 11:25-31. God's mercy to Jews is the essence of His unsearchable wisdom. Rom.11:32-36.

Restoration of the Jews a "second time as God's people" is as certain as heaven's fixed order of lights. The prophets declare His intent. Jesus revealed the "second happening for this generation." It will not pass away before all that is written is fulfilled. Israel's temporal judgment coincides with the times of the Gentiles and their salvation. Jer.31:35-37; Jer.32:37-40; Jer.33:25,26. 

The temporal judgment is also terminal when their deliverance comes on the very edge of disaster. "Days of vengeance" constitute the temporal judgment until Gentile Times cease on the Day of the Lord (achri; terminal; Luke 21:22,24-27)! A remnant of Jews will be redeemed in the generation that survives the Endtime display of God's Kingdom power. Rev.12:10; Mark 9:1. God's Two Prophets begin the restoration of all things. Christ comes to restore the Temple and the Ark. All nations will seek Him and Jews will never again be rooted out of their land. Jews will lead the nations at Christ's return. Acts 3:21; Acts15:16,17; Amos 9:15!

Achri, a terminal particle, occurs ten times in Revelation with the force of a future perfect (Thayer's Greek Lexicon). It accents a sudden halt to Satan's acts at the First Resurrection. He is bound while the rest of the dead live not until (achri) the 1000 years are finished. Rev.20:3,5. Endtime terminates in the days before the Day of the Lord. Rev.10:6,7.

Overcomers who "keep my works until the End ... until I come ... rule the nations with an iron staff." Rev.2:25-27. So, too, no intimation of a terminal point to Israel's condition exists until (achri) or before Christ visibly appears to restore their kingdom and glorify their Temple with the Ark first seen in heaven moments before He descends. "The Lord will possess Judah as His portion in the Holy Land and will again choose Jerusalem." Zech.2:12; NASB. Preterists wish to bludgeon this truth to death by claiming Jesus came in AD 70.

Observation Three: Christ's concern for Israel means the "Any-Moment" hope of His coming must wait for and be derived from what is about to happen when all Israel is saved on the Day of the Lord. This prime point focuses on the Jews whom God purifies and refines through the times of trouble. Dan.12:9. It also focuses on His Elect so that all Believers may be blameless.

The Elect of Mark 13:27 and Matt.24:31 are Believers. Today, Jews may be a "remnant in the present election of grace." Rom.11:5. Jews who believe are among the Elect gathered from earth to heaven. Obviously, Jesus does not urge Believers to "beg to stand before the Son of Man." The Jewish remnant will be prepared for Messiah while still in a state of unbelief.

Observation Four: The answer to "who are the Elect" determines your view of when the Rapture is imminent. The Elect are already in the Lord's Presence while Jews beg to escape the Hour of Testing that "comes as a snare on all the earth." 12,000 out of each Tribe of Israel are among the Elect. The Sign of the Day of the Lord precedes these Firstfruit taken above from Mt. Zion by the Lamb. They are raised up before Jesus "gathers (the rest of) the Elect together above ... on the last day." Mark 13:27; John 6:39,40. All mankind faces the Hour of Testing when Christ appears. 

That's when Christ gathers the Elect above and delivers Israel. They look on the One whom they pierced and mourn as for an only son. They weep bitterly. Daniel's Son of Man receives the Kingdom and gives it to the Saints and to the people of the Saints. Dan.7:9-27. Having claimed to be the Son of Man coming to deliver them, the sight of all the Saints coming with Him reminds Israel of His coming to "anoint the most Holy Place." Dan.9:24.

During the Lastday's Trial, Daniel seven refers to the Saints six times---more than any single chapter in the Bible. The prayers of all these Saints go up from the Altar before God in Seal Seven. Dan.7:9-27; Rev.8:3,4. They possess the Kingdom forever; for all ages to come. Dan.7:18,21,22,25,27. Matthew and Mark alone describe the angels gathering the Saints to meet the Son of Man. Jesus uses the action-form of the word for "gathering the Elect above to His Presence." Paul adopts the noun-form, Synagogue, for the meeting place above ... the Synagogue in the Sky. Episunago; Episunagog; Mark 13:27; Matt.24:31; 2 Thess.2:1.

Observation Five: Jesus and Paul add EPI to "sunago and sunagog" to gather us to the meeting place above. This is not an exercise in robotic propulsion or merely one of supernatural power. This is the Hour of Christ's glory, Saints' rewards, Gentile judgment and Israel's total restoration as God's light to the nations. This is when "Jesus brings His rewards with Him"... and millions are "left behind" to face imminent wrath. Matt.16:27. Jesus will "gather the Elect together above out of the four winds." Paul refers to the "word of the Lord" that all who "believe He died and rose will be caught up." That word is that Jesus "will raise up every believer on the last day ... gathering them together above from earth to heaven." Mark 13:27; John 6:38-40. Paul adds that every one who believes will "meet Jesus Christ "at the gathering place above ... when God brings their souls with Jesus and Jesus raises their bodies." These souls include the Tribulation Martyrs! 2 Thess.2:1; I Thess.4:14-17.  

Suddenly, when the Elect appear with Jesus, Jews realize they have been left behind at the Rapture! Jesus left them a message. "Stand Erect, Look Up, Pray ... and Beg to escape." Luke, the physician, records the reasons for their response: "Their Redemption is Near. Their Kingdom is Near. They must beg to escape (the Hour of Testing) and to stand before the Son of Man." Dan.7:27; Luke 21:28,31,35,36. To assume Jesus urges Believers to be "begging to be worthy to escape" the great tribulation, when it is already passed by and Christ appears, strains the text beyond reason. It produces the Tension Complex that permeates the writings of those who fail to see the real meaning of Mark 9:1 and Rev.12:10. See KINGDOM and especially Meditations #1 to #36.   

TEN GOALS IN GATHERING THE ELECT ABOVE

Let it not be thought that what is "Near" is future to the Rapture-Day of the Lord! Nearness relates to fulfillment; not to the day of prediction or to some "unknown day" prior to the great tribulation. Else the prophecy of what is "near" has no application for those who survive to the Lastday; nor for the living and dead who are "about to be judged at His appearance ... because Christ is about to bring His rewards when He comes in glory." Reaping the wicked first to the "winepress of God's great anger" is required by Matt.13:30 and Rev.14:14-19. What is Near  climaxes with "multitudes, multitudes gathered in the valley of decision." Joel 3:14. That crisis is the Day of the Lord; not the great tribulation. 

Observation Six: "The sign" of His Presence (Matt.24:29) differs from The Sign of that Day. Matt.24:30. The first Sign applies to the Day of the Lord; the second sign applies to the Hour every eye sees Him in glory. The Sign of that Day comes first. Why do so many of the modern scribes place The Sign of that Day years before He appears? The Signs betoken Israel's redemption and the immediate demonstration of Christ's glory before all mankind! How could that occur during the Tribulation or in AD 70? Deliverance for the people of the Saints occurs on the Day of Wrath and at the Hour of Testing.

The specter of death over a quarter of the earth will have just "passed by!" An interim of hours separates the onset of that Day and the Hour Christ appears. One hundred verses describe the events of Three Concentric Paths climaxing with heaven's Drama, earth's Destruction and the Saints' Deliverance. God pours the wine of His anger into Wrath's Cup quickly after the Drama of Trump Seven. See Meditations #37 to #48. 

Observation Seven: John employs 100 verses (one quarter of Revelation) to describe Lastday events. The action begins with what happens in midair and in heaven while armies are gathered to Armageddon. Seal 7, Trump 7 and God's Decree, "It is Done," show the immensity and finality of the manifold crises.

We offer a plan for the order of events. Each one of four Flashbacks ends with Lastday events. The Key Phrase ends the 7th Seal and 7th Trumpet and triggers the execution of God's Decree of wrath ... in that order. The third instance of this Key Phrase, Rev.16:18, does not immediately follow Rev.16:17. The Voice coming out of the Temple from the Throne signals the Lamb to open Seal 6 and launch the Day of the Lord. The Drama begins after seven last Plagues complete God's righteous judgments. See Ten Keys.

Saints pray under the altar while the Temple is filled with the smoke of God's glory and power. All the Martyrs petition God while darkness and four hurricane winds stifle the killing hordes. Once the smoke clears the Temple, Martyrs enter and will become its Pillars. After receiving their immortal bodies at the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, they will serve God 1000 years in heaven's Temple ... a unique and exclusive honor for the Martyrs! Rev.7:15; Rev.20:4. 

Who would dare belittle this singular selection of those "beheaded" as being too "narrow" for God to have devised? Who can establish that all the Saints must reign with Christ on the earth? Only "overcomers will sit on thrones." Only for those "beheaded" will Christ be their "Shepherd in heaven's Temple" as promised in Rev.3:11,12; Rev.7:15-17; Rev.20:4,5.   

CHRIST'S MANDATE set the stage for what is about to happen.

Jesus revealed His Messianic Mission when Peter confessed that He was the Christ. Matt.16:16-28. He would build His Church against which the gates of Hades could not prevail. He foretold His death and resurrection. His Disciples took up their crosses and followed Him in death. They were not worthy if they failed. His Mandate extends to "those who will not taste death before they see Him coming in Kingdom power." NIV; Mark 9:1; Rev.12:10.

A year before Jesus gave the sign to "know the End is Near," He revealed His Mandate would be fulfilled when He is "about to come in the glory of His Father with His angels to reward those who are unashamed of Him. Matt.16:27; Mark 8:35,38. The Mandate will be fulfilled before He gathers us to Himself in glory! Some will taste death while the Two Prophets lie dead in Jerusalem. Besides Revelation, Luke uses achri, the particle with future-perfect force, to include the 3½ appointed Gentile Kairos-Times of Dan.12:7. This is the time of God's Kingdom Power "after" which some will still taste death; but not God's wrath. The only place Revelation gives the appointed Kairos-Time for " God's wrath" occurs at Trump 7. Rev.11:18.

Overcomers who "keep my works until the End ... until I come ... will rule the nations with an iron staff." Rev.2:25-27. No intimation of a terminal point for suffering Saints or to the persecution of Israel exists until (achri) or before Christ visibly appears. He will restore their kingdom and glorify their Temple with the Ark seen in heaven moments before He descends. Their Kingdom is Near at The Sign of that Day.

Here are the questions answered by Jesus relating to this Day:

1) When will the Temple be destroyed? 

2) What is the Sign of the End of the Age? 

3) What is the Sign of your Presence? Matt.24:3.

Jesus answered the first question as given in Luke 21 only. He answered the second in Matthew and Mark and gave The Sign for the third in all three Gospels. Daniel's Midweek Sign is not directly related to the first question because the Temple was destroyed in AD 70 and the third Temple will not be destroyed. Matthew and Mark deal with the third Temple and the other questions that alone require the Gospel to be preached in all the world through the Endtime until the End of the Age. Luke does not include this mandate because he alone deals with the time for the first question to be answered. The End of the Age did not occur in AD 70!

The Temple's defilement is one of five Catalysts that let us know the Endtime is here. But the Great Commission involves the CHURCH to the End of the Age. Matt.24:14; Matt.28:20. The Mandate to be fulfilled by the Two Prophets, to manifest God's Kingdom Power, prepares God's people to endure to the End; and, with their deaths, for knowing the End has come.

The argument that the Church is not responsible for the Gospel during the Great Tribulation comes from assuming He may come at "Any-Moment." He said His coming depends on spreading the Gospel to the End of the Age. He did not imply our task ceases when the Antichrist is revealed. Jesus did not mean "all things written are fulfilled" prior to the End or that the Gospel reached the uttermost part of the earth by AD 70. Luke 21:22; Acts 1:8. The End is Near when we know He is about to come.

Civilizations like the Mayan people lived and died in unreached parts of the world before their existence was discovered. If the Church's task was fulfilled in the first century, the End did not come. Nor did Gentile Times cease. Nor did Christ come because the task was not finished. With the "End" comes the cessation of all wars and of death's dread sway! That happens at our Lord's personal Presence to re-establish the Davidic Kingdom.

Until the End, the Church must "keep His works" if its members expect to win His approval as Overcomers. Mark 8:38; Rev.2:26. There is no statement that the 144,000 are Endtime evangelists with power given them by God. Not one of them will be killed! The Church must complete Christ's mission, even in the face of death, until He comes.

Jesus did not mean the End would come with Jerusalem's destruction. When armies surround Jerusalem again, the City and Temple will be saved. His one use of the future tense was for wars, one of which destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple. Matt.24:6. These future wars apply to the Diaspora among the Gentiles. The desolation of AD 70 was the "beginning of sorrows" for Israel; not the End! When Gentile Times cease on the Day of the Lord, Jesus uses the present tense for what is "about to happen." Luke 21:28,31,32,36.

Jesus couples our being "saved (physically) by enduring to the End" with preaching the Gospel to the End. Matt.24:13-15. He did not mean it must reach all nations before the fall of Jerusalem. If so, He would have come and put an end to wars. The Holocaust preceding Armageddon is an important sign because, when it passes by, all these things are "about to happen." The End, in that context, must be imminent. The wicked must be destroyed quickly.

Two signs relate to the Disciple's third question: The Sign of that Day precedes the sign of His Presence and it precedes the Hour He sends the angels to gather the Elect above. The sign of His Presence belongs to "gathering the Saints from earth to heaven." How can His coming be separated from His Presence and be forced out of context to excuse the Church from fulfilling its task until the End of the Age? Or, how can it be said that Believers, who endure to the end and witness faithfully to the Gospel, must be left behind to populate the Kingdom?

The teaching that Believers will be "left behind" on the Day of the Lord to populate the Kingdom is an attempt to deny the Post-Trib Rapture. It ignores the necessity of specific signs. Supposing you were to leave home on a secret government mission and promised to send your family a pre-arranged message before they should expect to see you again. Would they look for you prior to the message? If you gave the reason, that you must not divulge the exact day, should they then expect you at "Any-Moment"? Such an imagination ignores the need for the special message. There would be no reason to give The Sign. Daniel requires the Endtime countdown until Saints possess the Kingdom. Our prime point is that "all these things (including the Rapture) are about to happen" as The Sign of the Day of the Lord and gathering the Elect together above occurs "in the days after the tribulation." Mark 13:24,27!

That Day follows the Holocaust of a third of mankind. And the sudden marvel of Two Prophets rising up to heaven. And signs in the heavens. And a great quake in Jerusalem killing 7,000 "men of names." In order for the sign of Christ coming with all the Saints, The Sign given by the prophets must occur. That Day is Near and His coming is Near precisely in that context.

The Hour to Reap waits on the last Martyr. The Son of Man reaps the wicked to the Winepress. As the Lamb, He escorts the 144,000 Firstfruit on the clouds to the Ancient of Days. They sing a new song which only they can learn. The Three-Act Drama ensues in the Temple of the Tabernacle of Testimony. These things "happen" before the Hour to gather the Elect above from earth to heaven.

During the Temple Drama, signs in the heavens and the four winds on earth keep millions of God's enemies off base, paralyzed with fear. Luke and John refer to this fear. Once the wicked kill their last victim and the Firstfruit are sealed and rescued, these winds destroy trees and create giant sea waves and surf breakers. Heaven shakes and earth shudders. God controls the outcome.

The "End of the Age" refers to what is "about to happen" on the Lastday up to the moment Christ appears and the Jews bless the One coming in the name of the Lord. He raises up every Believer. He sends His angels to gather them out of the four winds while the winds keep the wicked at bay. Every eye beholds the Saints baptized in His glory! This occurs at the Last Trump, the Great Trump, moments after Trump 7 sounds on the Lastday. The great trumpet of Matt.24:31 is the Last Trump that sounds to gather the Elect from the four directions in the heavens. For a detailed look at the order of events, see TEN KEYS, the Text Key.

Observation Eight: Jesus bestows the rewards He brings with Him. Saints are not left on earth to miss out on His promises when He comes in His Father's glory. Matt.16:27; Rev.22:12. Instead of Jews being "re-gathered to their land" at The Sign as taught by the Scofield Bible, Jesus gathers the Elect from earth to heaven. (Scofield Notes, P.1033, Point 5 refers to Matt.24:29-31 prior to the 1984 edition. The note appears three verses later for Matt.24:34). In order to maintain Scofield doctrine, one must deny Jesus describes the Rapture of the Elect "from earth to heaven on one of the days after great tribulation." Mark 13:24,27; Rev.10:7.

Few people realize how sponsors of a Pre-Endtime rapture shifted back and forth between a 7-Year Day and Two Days of the Lord (one for the Rapture and one for Christ's Revelation). Even today a writer postures a "broad Day" so the Church may be raptured and a "narrow Day" so Elijah may come "before the Day of the Lord." Mal.4:5,6. This belabors the Two- Day plan while it denies a single 12-Hour Lastday of the Lord to Rapture the Elect to heaven.

Agreement among the SAINTS on the length of the Day of the Lord is crucial for Believers' Unity at the Time of the End. Some modify the length of that Day from seven years to 3½ years. Some opt for an 18-month Day of the Lord. Some even assume the Plagues follow Christ's return. These expansions of the Day of the Lord, beyond a single day, divide the Church. They deny that He raises up every Believer on one last day ... at His Presence. His word states: "If we believe He died and rose ... we will be caught up at His Presence." I Thess.4:14,17. This promise cannot be deleted from the Bible during the Endtime!

Luke mentions Lastday events but does not mention the gathering of the Elect in chapter 21. Why? He cares for those who are "taken or left." He had already shown in chapter 17 that the Elect are not among the unbelievers at the Hour Christ is revealed: "One is taken and one left" after He appears! Luke 17:30-35.  He shows the ones "Taken or Left" have a final chance to preserve their lives!  Their choice occurs after Christ appears. The one who is left, Jesus says in answer to the Disciples' question, will be "fed to the vultures wherever there is a corpse." Luke 17:37.  For, "whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it." 

But: "Whoever is willing to lose his life will preserve it." Luke 17:33.  Believers will have already made their choice.  One of each Twosome will be "kept alive." See Acts 7:19 for a parallel instance of being preserved when baby Moses was "kept alive" in a basket. 

"REMEMBER LOT'S WIFE."

Jesus is talking here about preserving one's physical life. Else He would not have introduced the warning to "Remember Lot's Wife." She turned back after escaping destruction with the wicked who had no choice at all! Those Left will have seen all the Saints caught up to heaven.

Therefore, once again, Luke shows Jesus' concern for the unbelievers who are "Taken or Left" with a choice of being willing to die to preserve their lives. This is made very clear when the Disciples ask: "Where, Lord?" Jesus answered: "Where the body is, there the eagles will be gathered together above." Luke 17:37. The eagles look for those who choose not to heed what happened to Lot's wife.

Luke's account caused a significant doctrinal change in the seventies. For the previous six decades, "the one taken" was the basis for teaching "the Believer will be taken to safety at a Pre-Trib Rapture." If the "unknown day" of Christ's coming means He comes at "Any Moment," the Believer was the "one taken to safety" on that unknown Day.  But Jesus states that Day, in Luke 17:30, is the Day He is revealed; not a secret coming seven years earlier!  Pre-Trib preachers changed their teaching so that Believers will be "left behind" to populate the kingdom!

The One Taken refers to the Day Christ comes in glory. So it cannot refer to a Pre-Trib rapture. It took fifty years for Pre-Tribs to admit this. But then, instead of continuing to say Believers will be "taken to safety" on the Day Christ is revealed, they changed it so Unbelievers are "taken in judgment." This sidesteps the problem of why they had referred the one Taken to the Rapture of Believers until the decade of the seventies ... and why they now claim it refers to Believers who must all be "Left Behind!" That's the opposite to what they had taught during the first 50 years of my life.

Who should Remember Lot's Wife? Certainly not the wicked. They are all destroyed after angels gather the Elect to meet Jesus. Lot escaped Sodom on the same day it was destroyed. Noah was saved before the flood took away all the wicked. Matt.24:31,38; Luke 17:27,29. Those Twosomes who are left when the angels gather the Elect above must "remember Lot's wife" or their last chance to be saved will be forfeited forever.

Present-day Believers have not been informed of this doctrinal change in the Pre-Trib Rapture that now claims "Unbelievers will be taken in judgment and Believers left behind." This subtle twist of truth has spread like a malignancy in the Church for over a quarter century.  Believers will dwell in doctrinal unity when they realize they will all be "taken to safety on the Day Christ is revealed." Vultures will be circling above ... looking for those who, like Lot's wife, choose death and Hell rather than make a choice for Christ.  Jesus said: "Remember Lot's Wife ... don't turn back." Then He gave the reason: "Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose his life." Only unbelievers face that choice. Believers rise up from earth to meet Christ so that we "all appear with Him in glory."

Their Twist of Truth sees Jesus' words fulfilled twice; but in opposite ways: "One is taken to safety" at the Pre-Trib Rapture. At the second coming, "One is taken in judgment." That divorces the Rapture from the Day of Revelation.  It denies that Jesus describes the Rapture in Mark 13:27 and Matt.24:31.  Pre-Tribs are unable to maintain one phase to "Take" Believers to safety and a second phase to re-gather Jews and destroy the wicked while Trib-Saints are "left behind." There is no glory for Christ if He abandons Saints on that Day.

Believers are "Left" in the Pre-Trib view instead of "Taken" at Christ's coming. The action, subjects and destiny were switched ... judgment in place of safety; Unbelievers in place of Believers; abandonment in place of union with Christ.  It's one thing to divorce the Rapture from Christ's Revelation. To maintain that separation,  it's another thing to reverse our destinies.  It denies the lost a final choice and would force Trib-Saints to doubt God's promises.

Let us illustrate the confusion. Two people play a "Last Trump" Card Game. Imagine a deck of cards with the truth about the Rapture on each card..............

CARD 1: To be caught up, you must believe Jesus died and rose. CARD 2: By the word of the Lord, it will occur at His Presence. CARD 3: The Dead are changed from corruption to incorruption. CARD 4: The Living are changed from mortality to immortality. CARD 5: The Subjects to be changed include all who are in Christ. CARD 6: The change occurs at the Last Trump.  Reason: Card #7. CARD 7: Flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God. CARD 8: Angels gather the Saints above in an instant of time. CARD 9: TRUMP CARD: "One is Taken above to Jesus." CARD 10: "One will be Left."

Instructions:  Mr. Up and Ms. Down play "Trump-Time for the Rapture. Jesus may come at Any-Moment."  Mr. Up draws the Trump Card. The "Last Trump" sounds.  Mr. Up is Taken Above. Mrs. Down is Left and lives on for seven years. Ms. Down becomes a Believer. She will be here for the "Great Trump" on the Lastday. Matt.24:31...

THE GREAT TRUMP ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~

Ms. Down survives. The Two Prophets, God's Supermen, have just been killed. Vast armies have invaded Israel. Christ must come "quickly." The Sign of the Lastday comes next. She remembers the old Trump Card: "Believers Taken Above." She must not be left behind twice.

But Mr. Up had told her Matt.24:31 and I Thess.4:13-17 "would not apply to Believers after he was Raptured. The promises of Jesus remain.  But if they are only fulfilled once, Jesus will not bring the souls of Trib-Martyrs with Him as He brought Pre-Trib souls with Him at the Rapture. Would she meet Mr. Up? Will she be Taken to safety at the Great Trump where angels gather the Elect out of the four winds?' Or, with the new teaching, will she be "Left" because only unbelievers are "Taken?"

Books of late on the subject say Believers will be "Left" and unbelievers "taken in judgment." Why couldn't Jesus mean that "all Believers must be changed to inherit the kingdom?" How can she inherit the Kingdom if her body remains mortal? "Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom." Is there really no hope to be Taken above at the second coming? Or is such denial of hope a "twisted truth?" 

Jesus places the Resurrection of all Believers on the last day. John 6:39,40,44,54. He links His coming and the gathering of the Elect to the Day He appears---immediately after the Great Tribulation; after The Sign of the Day He is revealed. "At the Last Trump, the Great Trump, Jesus raises the Elect from earth to heaven and sends the angels to gather them from all of heavens' extremities to Himself." Mark 13:27; Matt.24:31; 2 Thess.2:1.

The Endtime covers Antichrist's 42 month rule. The Two Prophets exhibit Christ's Authority. What is "about to happen" on the Day of the Lord employs 100 verses out of 250 from Rev.6:1 to Rev.20:6. Another 106 verses describe Endtime events and 44 cover Pre-Endtime events. The Sign launches the Lastday. The Lord God takes His Two Lampstands back to heaven for the Temple Drama. Then comes the sign of His Presence with all the Saints and with the Ark of the Covenant.  

© Copyright by Mel Miller,  1999 - 2008. All rights reserved.
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