THE SEVEN RAPTURES?

THE SEVEN RAPTURES?

Please don’t think I am being mean or belittling in any of my comments here. I was asked to look into this “7 raptures” idea so I did. I will address the first 4 examples given and for the sake of time leave it there. If I dispel the first 4 then the last 3 should need no further explanation. There have always been sensationalists in one form or another. And the Bible has given them a breeding ground. Reading every 6^th word in the Old Testament in Hebrew will not give you a secret encoded message from God. He did not hide anything anywhere. God’s message is clear and is to be proclaimed from the rooftops, “God loves us, Jesus died for us and the Holy Spirit will claim and indwell all who come to God by faith in Christ.” No secrets. Just open arms to all who come.

 There is nothing new under the sun. People simply want to be admired, or looked up to and are willing to use God’s Word for their own glory. Some may actually believe they found what nobody else has ever seen. Trust me, they haven’t. Please stay with the simple Gospel of Jesus Christ spelled out by Paul in 1Cor. 15:3-4 “For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; (v.4) and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures….” We don’t need a new message to save a lost world, this one has worked for over 2000 years and will continue to work until our Lord’s return. Build a personal relationship with Christ and share his salvation message with others. Then, whenever He returns, you will be ready.

1. Enoch was “translated” to heaven. He was taken in some special way. Was it a rapture? No. He was taken up by some special act of God and in a way similar to the rapture mentioned in I Thes. 4:13-18. And I might add we have long viewed this as a ‘type’ of the rapture. That simply means it was an event which so closely parallels the rapture that we can use it as an example of what the rapture may be like. However, are we to assume that Enoch was the only righteous person living? And was God about to destroy the world immediately after his ‘rapture’ from earth? No. There is no cataclysmic event to judge man following Enoch's departure. The Rapture is a precursor to judgment. And, Enoch leaves by himself. He went to heaven alone with no other believers even though many would have been nearby. I am sorry, but this is no rapture. 

2. Moses was dead and buried. Deut. 34:5-6 “So Moses the servant of the LORD died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the LORD. (v.6) And he buried him in a valley in the land of Moab, over against Bethpeor: but no man knoweth of his sepulchre unto this day.” There are viable reasons for why his body is never found. (If you want a few of the more reasonable explanations let me know by messaging me here.) But the important fact here is that God did take him. Although again, it was no rapture. Look again at 1Thes. 4:16-17 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: (v.17) then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Verse 16 shows some of those leaving this earth are the dead. For them this will be a resurrection. That is all. A resurrection. Notice it is in verse 17 that you see the words “caught up” and this is the only place you see it. It is this idea of being ‘caught up’ that we call a rapture. It is only applied to those who are living and suddenly caught away prior to a great judgment. Moses was dead and his body was resurrected, not caught up. And again, was he alone or did millions of believers go with him? And how much of God's judgment was unleashed?

3. Elijah was swept up by an angelic chariot…awesome. However, standing right beside him was Elisha…a prophet of God. Refer to explanation number one for details. They are identical. God did not rapture one prophet and leave the other.

4. Jesus was not raptured, he was resurrected. The passages used to make it appear that he was raptured are basically these (my info is from one site only, some may cite other references): “But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept. For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming. Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. (1 Cor. 15:20-24). Again, even with distorting this passage as they do, it is still clear that the resurrection is not a rapture. The rapture takes those who are “alive and remain” to heaven in a sudden catching away. If Jesus were raptured he would have gone straight to heaven. Instead, Jesus was dead and buried for three days so that he could accomplish several things on our behalf. One of which was dying in our place, Hebrews 2:9 “But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.”

I will not belabor the point. There is one rapture and one only. Those currently teaching otherwise, IN MY OPINION, are doing so for personal gain, recognition or popularity.

There is one rapture and it is for the Church. God is preventing us from going through the worst judgment this world has ever known because we have already been judged in Christ. Jesus is coming back. Please, take the gospel message to a lost world every day and you will be ready for the rapture no matter when it comes. Leave the sensationalism for others. Everyone loves to hear a great story but it does not enhance one’s ability to win the lost. In fact, to a lost world, this type of sensationalism often makes us look even nuttier than many of us already are. Focus on the basics, build a strong relationship with God and look to the Eastern sky for your redeemer draweth nigh.