The Rapture Chapter
Revelation 11 is what I like to call the real Rapture Chapter. In 11:15 we see the end of life as we have known it and the beginning of a truly new world order: “Then the seventh angel sounded: And there were loud voices in heaven, saying, ‘The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!” (NKJV).
When the last trumpet sounds, a number of things will happen almost simultaneously. The apostle Paul wrote about it: “Behold, I tell 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 trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall all be changed” (1 Cor. 15:51-52 NKJV).
Paul was implying that there will be a group of Christians who are alive at the time of the Lord’s return; we won’t all “sleep,” which means we will not all have died. But whether we are alive at Christ’s coming, or whether we have already died, we will all be instantaneously changed. In a moment, in a twinkling of an eye, our earthly bodies will be transformed into bodies suitable for an eternity in heaven. I don’t know how fast a twinkling of an eye is, but I’m sure that when the seventh angel of Revelation sounds the last trumpet, it will be too fast for anyone to repent and get right with God. There will be no time for that. The trumpet sounds, and instantly, the next thing Christians will know, we will be caught up to meet Jesus.
Paul described that event for the Thessalonians, who were concerned about some of their number who had died. What good would a Second Coming be for them? The apostle answered their question (and many of ours too) with what has become a favorite passage concerning Christ’s return. Again, speaking of those who have died as having “fallen asleep,” Paul informed us:
But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words. (1 Thess. 4:13-18 NKJV)
Those who believe in a pretribulational rapture do not consider the last trumpet mentioned in 1 Corinthians 15:52 and the trumpet in 1 Thessalonians 4:16 to be the same as that mentioned in Revelation 11:15. But why not? Scripture certainly does not delineate between the trumpets described as the last. Had God wanted to show a clear difference between the trumpets – as He did with the seven trumpets of Revelation – He could have done so. It seems rather presumptuous to read something into the account where there is little room for conjecture. I believe that the last trumpet of 1 Corinthians 15:52, and the trumpet sound of 1 Thessalonians 4:16 are the same as the seventh trumpet sounded in Revelation 11:15 – the last trumpet mentioned in Revelation. Furthermore, I believe it is the trumpet to which Jesus refers in Matthew. Notice the order of events one more time.
Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken. Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they shall see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. (24:29-31 NKJV)
For a number of years I taught that Christians should be ready to meet Jesus at any moment – which I still teach today – but I also taught that the Rapture could occur at any moment. That I no longer teach, because I believe the world is on a crash course with the worst trouble ever known. And we Christians, along with nonbelievers, are going to experience some extremely perilous times, possibly as much as three and a half years’ worth, maybe more, before Jesus Christ returns.
After that time of tribulation, the wrath of God will be poured out. I do not believe God will subject His faithful children, who have remained steadfast and true through the Tribulation, to remain on earth for that awful time of His wrath. The Tribulation will be a time of testing; the pouring out of God’s wrath will be a time of condemnation and judgment. No, I do not believe that Christians will go through God’s wrath. Nevertheless, I do believe the Christian church should be preparing people now to go through some portion of the Tribulation, weaning believers away from the things of this world, and teaching Christians how they can endure the difficult times ahead.
(To Be Continued)
Will We Go Through the Tribulation? – Part 1
Will We Go Through the Tribulation? – Part 2
Will We Go Through the Tribulation? – Part 3
Will We Go Through the Tribulation? – Part 4
Will We Go Through the Tribulation? – Part 5
Will We Go Through the Tribulation? – Part 6
Will We Go Through the Tribulation? – Part 7
Will We Go Through the Tribulation? – Part 8
Will We Go Through the Tribulation? – Part 9
Will We Go Through the Tribulation? – Part 11
Excerpt from Prosperity and the Coming Apocalypse
Published in 1998
Well my thought is that nobody really knows when jesus christ is gonna come. It could be at the end of the tribulation or at the beginning. But my pastors believe that the rapture is going to happen at the end and that we are going to go through the tribulation. I’m confused?
Hi Don,Thanks again for your insider informations. I think this is not related to Mr. Camping anymore because this is the Word of God. But anyway if you can help me how you explain and understand these biblical questions and we will know your understanding of the scripture and if we are in one spirit.
great posts, Mike W and John Benjamin
Pastor Jim, Subsequent to viewing your broadcast with the founder of “Sight and Sound” today the Spirit moved me to let you know please continue preaching and follow God’s will for your life and ministry. You have touched so many that were deceived and they are many more out there. My heart yearns as yours does. My prayers have you, Lori, your family, partners, and ministry in them. This one is for you…”God really loves you, He truly does!”
Many people are in the avoidance behaviour mode I cannot believe Yeshua will allow us to suffer that is for the sinners, look do not listen to Jim or any other person thinks the same way as Jim study with an open mine. As you study and ask the Lord to show you with an open mine he will clearly confirm in Jim’s teachings believe this man is correct, this is not a fairy tale catching up planes crashing people disappearing is wrong .
Jim has been mocked for his teachings I admonish this man for standing up for these views for truly the Lord is with him he has been called for the end times Jim please do not hesitate on what the Lord has given you to share there are few things that have been given to you from the Lord and have hesitate to share they need to be.
I have been feeling strong in my spirit that something is about to break that is going to cause a shaking around the world I can say this Israel is the main factor in this the president will be meeting with (BB) the problem will escalate. When this happens watch out there shall be sudden destruction like no man has seen before in part Jim you had mentioned about the govt buying out this food part of this about to take fold on what the gov is about to do in the coming days Jim I ask you to blog this am sure you shall bare witness to this.
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Hi Jim, I just wanted to share a neat Scripture passage that PROVES Post-Trib rapture is true. Revelation 20:4-6 speaks of the Christians that are beheaded for refusing to receive the mark of the beast. Obviously they would have to be here during the anti-Christ’s reign for this to occur. Then it goes on to say that they are resurrected, or raised from the dead, AND THAT IT IS THE “FIRST” RESURRECTION. If the FIRST RESURRECTION comes AFTER the anti-Christ’s reign here in this passage, then what resurrection is it referring to back in 1st Thessalonians 4:16-18 (the darling of the pre-trib view, which they say plainly is the rapture of the Church) where it says that “THE DEAD IN CHRIST SHALL RISE FIRST, (the resurrection) and then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up with them to meet the Lord in the air? Are they using “new math” here? Is this the “negative-one” resurrection followed by the “positive-one” resurrection 3 1/2 years later? HA! It is very plain that if the FIRST resurrection comes AFTER the anti-Christ’s reign in Revelation 20, then it must also come AFTER his persecution and reign in 1st Thessalonians 4 also! They HAVE to be speaking of the same resurrection. There cannot be TWO “FIRST” RESURRECTIONS! -John Benjamin, author of the book “EARTHSHAKER.” (Hope you received my Audio CD of that book. In it I mention many of the same things you speak of. My wife and I were shocked to hear you preaching so many same things. God bless you for standing up for the unpopular truth!)
In Daniel 9:24, God clearly states that He is dealing directly with the Jewish people and the city of Jerusalem for seventy weeks or 490 years. 483 years have already been fulfilled (followed by the current “church age” which Daniel didn’t know about), while the last seven years begin when the anti-christ confirms the peace treaty with Israel and the international community (Daniel 9:27; Isaiah 28:15). This is the peace treaty that kicks off the seven-year Tribulation. The “lawless one” or anti-christ cannot be revealed until the Restrainer (i.e. the Holy Spirit living in the hearts of all born-again believers) is taken out of the way (2 Thessalonians 2:7-8). The Restrainer is taken out of the way during 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 and 1 Corinthians 15:51-55. Thus, the “elect” in Matthew 24:31 are the elect Jews, not the elect church (Titus 1:1 and 1 Peter 1:1-2). Remember, God is dealing with the Jewish people during this period, which is why they build the third temple and offer animal sacrifices. The bride is in heaven, waiting to return with King Jesus (Revelation 19:14-15 and Zechariah 14:4-5). The seven Jewish feasts also point to a pre-tribulation Rapture: 1.) The Passover: fulfilled during the crucifiction 2.) Feast of Unleavened Bread: fulfilled when Jesus was buried in a tomb 3.) Feast of Firstfruits: fulfilled when Jesus was raised from the dead 4.) Feast of Pentecost: fulfilled when the Holy Spirit was poured out. [There is currently a long “summer” period between the feast of Pentecost and the feast of trumpets. This is the harvest time, when the work of winning souls is to be done.] 5.) Feast of Trumpets: NOT YET fulfilled. Occurs at time of the Rapture 6.) Atonement 7.) Tabernacles.
Hi Daniel, Daniel chapter 9 has baffled theological scholars, bible students, and believers for centuries. We can read in 9:24, “Seventy ‘sevens’ are decreed for your people and your holy city to finish transgression, to put an end to sin, to atone for wickedness, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up prophecy and to anoint the most holy.”
What does “finish transgression” mean? We can read about this in Hebrews chapters 9 and 10; 2 Corinthians 3:7-4:18.
To put an end to sin, to atonement for wickedness, and to bring in everlasting righteousness was accomplished by Jesus Christ for He is our righteousness because He never committed a sin, the shedding of His blood is the acceptable sacrice, and is confirmed by His resurrection.
The Apostle John writes in Rev 19:10, “For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” Luke writes in his gospel 16:6, “The Law and the prophets were proclaimed until John.”
We know Jesus is annointed as our High Priest.
The key to understanding the last ‘seven’ is in verse 27, “He will confirm a covenant with many for one ‘seven’. In the middle of the ‘seven’ he will put an end to sacrifice and offering.” With no doubt we know by reading Hebrews 10 Jesus Christ’s crucifixion was the final sacrifice, confirmed by His resurrection, and then He sat down at the right hand of God.
Concerning Matthew 24:31 we must consider the subject which is the coming of the Lord and the signs preceding it. You believe the elect in this verse are the Jews and not the church which I can whole-heartedly understand. But we must remember what the Apostle Paul wrote concerning the Jews in Romans 9-11 (especially chapter 10 verses 1-4).
Additionally, Paul writes much more concerning the Law, the Spirit, and faith in Romans chapters 2-4.
There are many teachings in the body of Christ today concerning “Life After Death” and “Death After Life”. Before reading the following bible study please approach it with an open mind. Cast away all pre-conceived notions and teachings. Allow scripture to interpret scripture. Do not believe what I, a man, am writing without researching the scriptures yourself. This is said in the spirit of Acts 17:11, “Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.”
I encourage every person who reads this study to do the same. For this study I’ll be utilizing the New International Version (NIV) of the bible. Those who prefer the KJV can be assured the context has not been changed.
The reason why this study is so important is many denominations and other religions have a different teaching of what happens to the body after the flesh death and at the return of Jesus Christ at the end of this “ the second earth age” (refer to 2 Peter 3: 5-13).
The Apostle Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 15: 51, “Listen I tell you a mystery; We will not all sleep but we all will be changed in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable and we will be changed.” The word sleep is “koimao” and the word dead is “nekros” in the Greek.
Luke writes in the book of Acts concerning the stoning of Stephen in chapter 7 verses 55-60 and 8:1, “While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, ‘Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.’ Then he fell on his knees and cried out, ‘Lord, do not hold this against them.’ When he had said this he fell asleep.” The two words “fell asleep” are one word in the Greek…”koimao”.
Then 8:1 says, “And Saul was there giving approval to his death.” The word death is not “nekros”. The Greek word is “anairesis”. It is used only one time in the New Testament. It actually consists of the two Greek words “ana” and “haireomai”. The word “ana” means in turn, among, each. The word “haireomai” means to choose.
The Greek word “nekros” is translated “death” only three (3) times in the NIV translation of the New Testament and can be found in the following verses:
Roman 6:13, “Do not offer parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness.”
Hebrews 6:1, “Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death….”
Hebrews 9:14, “How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God.”
There is no doubt according to the three (3) verses the acts that lead to “death” (nekros) has to be sin. To substantiate this let us take a look at the absolutely profound verses in Ephesians 2: 1-2, “As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you use to live, when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.” The word dead translated in this verse is “nekros” in the Greek. We must now agree the unsaved are the spiritually dead (nekros) in God’s eyes.
Lets rejoice together because now Matthew 22:31-32 makes a lot more sense. It says, “But about the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what God said to you, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not the God of the dead but of the living.” Both times the word “dead” in this verse is “nekros” in the Greek.
Lets study together the words asleep, fell asleep, and fallen asleep when translated from the Greek word “koimao” in the Greek. Please remember we already discovered “koimao” is translated as sleep in 1 Corinthians 15:51 and as fell asleep in Acts 7:60.
The Greek word “koimao” is used 18 times in the New Testament. The concordances for both the NIV and KJV translations agree to this statement. The root word in the Greek for “koimao” is “keimai” which means to lay, lie, be laid out; be destined, appointed. In the NIV the English words for “koimao” and number of times used are: fallen asleep (7); asleep (2); died (2); fell asleep (2); dies (1); fall asleep (1); sleep (1); sleeping (1); and sleeps (1).
“Fallen asleep” can be found in John 11:11; 1 Corinthians 11:30 and 15:6, 18, and 20; 1 Thessalonians 4:14 and 15. “Died” can be found in Matthew 27:52 and 2 Peter 2:4. “Dies” can be found in 1 Corinthians 7:39.
Matthew 27:51-53 says, “At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook and the rocks split. The tombs broke open and the bodies of the many holy people who had died were raised to life” This happened directly after Jesus gave up his spirit on the cross (verse 50). The word died is “koimao” in the Greek.
1 Corinthians 15:6 says, “After that he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living though some have fallen asleep.” Brothers are Christians and fallen asleep in the Greek is “koimao”
Concerning the Lord’s Supper or communion the Apostle Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 11:17-34, That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep.” Paul is writing to Christians and fallen asleep in the Greek is as you guessed “koimao”.
Something astonishing is in Acts chapter 12. As a result of an investigation accomplished by Luke he writes in verse 6 Peter was “sleeping” which is again “koimao”. By reading the remainder of Peter’s miraculous escape from prison in depth comes much more alive. The angel and Peter walked out of the prison past the guards while Peter was “koimao”. Even Peter says he did not totally understand what happened to him when escorted by the angel.
Paul writes in 2nd Corinthians 5:6, “Therefore, we are always confident and know that as long as we at home in the body we are away from the Lord.” We can reword this by saying, Therefore, we are always confident that as long as we are away from the home in the body we are with the Lord.
Plus, Paul writes in Philippians 1:21-24, “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body”.
Now 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17 should make much more sense to you, “Brothers we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep (koimao), or grieve like the rest of men who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died (apothnesko) and rose again. So we believe that God will bring with Jesus thoise who have fallen asleep (koimao) in him. According to the Lord’s own word we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep (koimao). For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead (nekros-unsaved) will rise first. After that, we who are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.”
1) The chronological order of the rising is the ones who have a flesh death prior to Jesus’ return have fallen asleep (koimao) precede the dead (nekros), then the dead (nekros-unsaved) rise prior to those still walking the earth.
2) Now we can better understand the chasm between Lazarus and rich man.
3) Christians are not lying in some whole in the ground until Jesus comes back.
God Bless! Mike
Jim,
Thank you for your teachings during the show. I would like to ask you to not hold back. Don’t worry about who gets upset or who does not agree with you. If it is GODS word ,and GODS visions that speak to you thru the HOLY SPIRIT then the concern should be to spread the message to HIS believers not to worry about the panic that may arise or the backlash from any non believers. GOD has given his word to us and tried to warn us for thousands of years of the things to come, I think that is enough warning to prevent panic if we believe HIS word.thank you for preaching the word. Your teaching has woken my spirit and let me start preparing my wife and five children for the days to come very shortly. God bless you.
Hi there Brother,Greetings In Jesus Name. It’s good to see someone teaching the Truth about the ONE (1)catching away Immediately AFTER the tribulation the Jesus clearly spoke about in Matt 24:.. I’m 60+ years and was always taught that there was a “rapture” (a secret one) for the “Bride” but never could really believe that and since about 1978 i’ve have believed strongly as you now teach..there is ONE RAPTURE..and it won’t be a secret…EVERY eye will see the Sign of the Son of Man..as the Heavens are opened…at the last trump, after the opening of the 6th seal…since the sun will be dark, surely the world will be able to see the “heavens opening like a scroll”..anyway..God bless you Brother and sister..have courage..and be strengthened and be careful to follow the vision He has for you as it unfolds..and preach it…even thought there may be pitfalls and snares in your path as you move forward…
God Bless you as you are faithful:
JS
Pastor Jim said at the end of his blog, “Nevertheless, I do believe the Christian church should be preparing people now to go through some portion of the Tribulation, weaning believers away from the things of this world, and teaching Christians how they can endure the difficult times ahead.”
My mother and I have been associated with Pastor Jim since the PTL and early Heritage USA days (early 1980’s). In fact we have been to to what was then Heritage which is in South Carolina a couple of times.
Until about 10-15 years ago I too was a pre-trib believer. The more I prayed for God to reveal his truth to me, studied, and prayed some more there was no doubt in my mind Jesus returns at the 7th trumpet.
I am awed and astonished by God’s faithfulness and power of how God changed Pastor Jim’s and my theological beliefs almost at the same time. Subsequent to this I read Pastor Jim’s two books “I Was Wrong” and “Prosperity and the Coming Apocalypse”.
About 2 years ago I was asked by our pastor to teach the book of Revelation to the adult bible study class and give a two sermons on the 2nd coming of Jesus Christ. The Sierra-Pacfic region administrator attended one of the sermons.
After the sermon the administrator walked out and said, “I do not agree with what was taught about the post-trib coming of the Lord” to one of the congregation instead of me. I was mocked and ridiculed by some of the members.
Last summer I loaned the “When All Plans Fail” book and workbook to our Pastor to read. He more or less just sluffed it off.
Since then I started sending news releases, just like the ones Pastor Jim shows on his broadcast, to our Pastor including applicable scripture (such as the four horsemen in Rev 6 and verses in Matt 24).
About 3 weeks ago the Pastor contacted me and asked me to present a “preparedness class” to the congregation. I copied numerous forms in the “When All Plans Fail” workbook written by Dr. Paul Williams which is available in the “Love Gifts” in this website. Last week I presented some of the news reports and statistics and held basic preparation/survival class at the church. God is faithful! Never give up!God Bless! Mike
I was a pre tribber until I began having dreams of calamities
people running on the intercoastal as dark clouds began to roll in.
A volcano rising up behind a church, once more people running and
screaming. One of 5 black tornadoes coming on the intercoastal.
God speaking in the dream saying, don’t be afraid of what you
see coming on the intercoastal, it’s coming in 5 times stronger,
5 times faster. I knew the first tornado was the economy, the
second an oil crisis, the third something to do with water,
however I did not have understanding of the last 2 tornadoes.
These dreams began to change my way of thinking. Then one day I
tuned in to your station. It was fun, everyone was laughing and
there was singing. However when you got into prophecy I was amazed.
After studying prophecy for years, my antennas were up. I loved your
teaching and thought Lori precious. Now I love those beautiful young
people you are using on the telecast. They are doing an excellent job.
I was researching Silver Sol to see what type of things it helps with
and I found out something I would like to share. I had purchased a
55 gallon drum and did not know how to keep the water purified. Well
32 oz. of silver sol will purify a 55 gallon drum for YEARS. Amazing
what a little research turns up. Not mos. but years. Then if you have
the pump too you are all set. Just had to share in case there was
anyone out there like me who was wondering how to keep water storage
pure.
Jim I agree with you fully let them mock you for the true teaching Yeshua, the teachings are fairy tales and yet if it were possible the very elect shall be deceived. The church is afraid to lose their people especially the rich donors at what a mockery so much deciet it is deplorable people need to study their bible and be informed so they will not be deceived . I come up with these issues all the time I also do not like using rapture it is not in the bible.
Billy Graham is also in the hospital I felt when you mention church leaders will die Bill came to my attention mau Yeshua give you more information do not be afraid to tell the people if not put it on the blog Shalom