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CHRISTIAN RAPTURE
CHRISTIANITY OASIS
HAS PROVIDED YOU WITH THIS CHRISTIAN
RAPTURE STUDY.
MOST HAVE HEARD OF THE CHRISTIAN
RAPTURE BUT WHAT IS THE CHRISTIAN RAPTURE AND WHEN WILL THE
CHRISTIAN RAPTURE OCCUR?
LET US SEEK AND FIND THE TRUTH OF THE CHRISTIAN RAPTURE TOGETHER, SHALL
WE?
Let's continue our journey
shall we? I hope you are reading along with the End Times study in the
Bible and checking the Scripture, so you will KNOW the TRUTH. As you
recall we have been studying the Seven Seals in the Book of Revelation
and how they compare to the Olivet Discourse which is an End Times
sermon that Jesus gave us. We know now that they match VERY well as
He is the Author of both.
We had just read
of the events that will occur up to and including the sixth Seal. We
will being now from that point.
Immediately after the 6th Seal, there is an event
that occurs which we will look into on this page. We will pick up where
we left off in the book of
Revelation, chapter 7,
we find 144,000 people being sealed with the seal of God.
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Revelation
7:4-8
And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four
corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that
the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any
tree. And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the
seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four
angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea,
Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till
we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads. And I
heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed
an hundred and forty and
four thousand of all the
tribes of the children of Israel. |
The Bible is clear that these
144,000 people are all virgin, Jewish, Christian males.
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Revelation
14:1-5
And I looked, and, lo, a
Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him
an hundred forty and four thousand,
having his Father's name
written in their foreheads.
And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and
as the voice of a great thunder: and I heard the voice of harpers
harping with their harps: And they sung as it were a new song
before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders: and
no man could learn that song
but the hundred and forty and four thousand,
which were redeemed from
the earth. These are
they which were not defiled
with women; for
they are virgins.
These are they which follow
the Lamb whithersoever he
goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the
firstfruits unto God
and to the Lamb. And in their mouth was found no guile: for they
are without fault before the throne of God. |
This seal will protect these Jewish Men from the events that
will be occurring on Earth. It sounds like the mark that God gave Cain
after Cain has slain Abel and had been punished.
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Genesis
4:13-15
And Cain said unto the
LORD, My punishment is greater than I can bear. Behold, thou hast
driven me out this day from the face of the earth; and from thy
face shall I be hid; and I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond in
the earth; and it shall come to pass, that every one that findeth
me shall slay me. And the LORD said unto him, Therefore whosoever
slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold.
And the LORD set a mark upon Cain,
lest any finding him should kill him. |
Sooooooo, we
have these Jewish men receive the seal of protection from God.
After this, a large number of people,
of ALL RACES, will suddenly show up in Heaven. When asked, an angel said that
these people are Christians which were taken out of the
Great
Tribulation
that was occurring on Earth.
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Revelation 7:9-17
After this
I beheld, and, lo, a great
multitude, which no man could number,
of all nations,
and kindreds, and people, and tongues,
stood before the throne, and before
the Lamb,
clothed with white robes,
and palms in their hands; And cried with a loud voice, saying,
Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the
Lamb. And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about
the elders and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on
their faces, and worshipped God, Saying, Amen: Blessing, and
glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and
might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen. And one of the
elders answered, saying unto me,
What are these which are arrayed in
white robes?
and whence (From where) came they?
And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me,
These are they which came out of
great tribulation, and have
washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and
night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell
among them. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more;
neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. For the Lamb
which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall
lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away
all tears from their eyes. |
Remember in the
Olivet Discourse study, it spoke of this Great Tribulation.
As we read along in the Bible in
Revelation ... Then it goes to the 7th Seal.
This tells us that
this group of Christians that are taken from the Earth (Raptured) are taken in
between the 6th and 7th Seal.
As you recall, the 6th Seal spoke of the
sun and moon getting dark and the stars falling, as it did in the Olivet
Discourse, so ... Let us return to the Olivet Discourse to see if there
is mention of a Christian Rapture or Christians being taken from Earth to Heaven.
In the Olivet Discourse
it speaks of the sun and moon
turning dark and the stars falling, so we will look at verse 29 and
start from there.
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Matthew 24:29
Immediately after the
tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon
shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven,
and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken. |
It says that there was a sign in
the Heavens and that mankind would mourn and see Jesus coming in the
clouds, which is very similar to the 6th Seal in the book of Revelation.
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Revelation 6:15-17
And the kings of the
earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief
captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free
man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains;
And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from
the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of
the Lamb: For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be
able to stand? |
Immediately after this,
we see in the Olivet Discourse that Jesus has His angels gather his elect (Christians) from the four corners of the Earth.
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Matthew
24:31
And he shall send his angels
with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together
his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the
other. |
It goes on to say that two will be in the field
and that one will be taken and the other left
behind.
This event is known as The Christian RAPTURE.
It is when God
gathers many of those that chose to believe in Jesus and takes them to
Heaven.
So
we now know the "Rapture"
... Takes place between the 6th and 7th Seal.
At the same time as the Great tribulation begins.
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Luke 21:25-28
And there shall be
signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars;
and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea
and the waves roaring;
Men's hearts failing them for fear,
and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth:
for the
powers of heaven shall be shaken.
And then
shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and
great glory (Rapture) ... And when these things begin to come to
pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption
draweth nigh. |
As God has always
done. Taking His chosen servants on the SAME DAY as the disaster.
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Luke 17:26-33
And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the
days of the Son of man. They did eat, they drank, they married
wives, they were given in marriage, until the day
that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed
them all. Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did
eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they
builded; But
the same day
that Lot went out of Sodom it
rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all.
Even thus shall it be in the day
when the Son of man is revealed.
In that day, he which shall be upon the housetop, and his stuff
in the house, let him not come down to take it away: and he that
is in the field, let him likewise not return back. Remember
Lot's wife. Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose
it; and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it. |
KEEP IN MIND
THAT THESE CHRISTIANS ARE FROM ALL NATIONS.
This means they
were GENTILES.
But are ALL Christians taken up in this Rapture?
I know that
most Christians are eager to get home and most probably will be Raptured.
HOWEVER ...
There is so much evidence that proves that there are still Christians on
Earth ...
AFTER the Rapture.
BUT WHY WOULD
GOD LEAVE HIS BELOVED ON EARTH TO SUFFER?
DID HE NOT
LEAVE HIS BELOVED SON TO ENDURE SUFFERING?
WAS THERE NOT A
VALID REASON NOW THAT WE HAVE 20/20 HINDSIGHT?
Let me ask you
a question ... Have you heard the story or seen the movie about the
luxury liner called the "Titanic" sinking? The ship hit an iceberg and
the ship began to slowly sink into the freezing cold ocean. There were
only enough lifeboats for about half of the passengers, so they
began to load up
women and children first.
There was chaos
all about as the ship
was sinking lower and lower into the depth of the sea. As you can imagine,
there were cowardly men who tried to sneak on the lifeboats with the
women and children. However, there were also men that stayed behind
making sure they saved as many as they could before the ship disappeared
into the dark, cold waters. These brave men sacrificed their lives to
save those souls KNOWING the might die and many did. They are HEROES in the minds and hearts of anyone who
ponders on this story.
Perhaps the
Rapture, is the same way. The earth is being destroyed and
Antichrist
will be killing Christians and anyone who does not CON-vert to believing
he is God. There will be much confusion in the minds and hearts of those
who did NOT accept Jesus up to this point.
The problem is ...
IF every Christian was Raptured, there would be nobody to share the
TRUTH.
GOD WANTS ALL
SOULS SAVED.
There will be those who WILL be Raptured
to be sure ... But there are those who are chosen and/or choose to stay and try and
reach and teach more souls during the last 3 and a half years that are
left before God brings in the
Millennium
...
Maybe God has
chosen these men and women to do so.
Sound Strange?
Then I bet this
does too ...
Did you notice what else Jesus said when describing His return?
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Luke 17:30-33
Even thus shall it be in the day
when the Son of man is revealed.
In that day, he which shall be upon the housetop, and his stuff
in the house, let him not come down to take it away: and he that
is in the field, let him likewise not return back. Remember
Lot's wife. Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose
it; and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it. |
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Mark 8:35
For whosoever will save his life shall lose
it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the
gospel's, the same shall save it. |
Now keep in mind there IS a Rapture
and there ARE Christians Raptured so if you are a Christian you very
well may be going up in the Rapture.
However ... It may be that God has chosen
some to stay and save more souls. Wouldn't it be best to be
willing to do so if it is DESTINY? As compared to appearing as the men
trying to sneak on the lifeboats with the weaker vessels that were
called Home at that time?
PONDER ON THIS TRUTH ...
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Matthew
20:15-16
Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? Is thine eye
evil, because I am good? So the last shall be first, and the first last:
for many be called, but few chosen. |
IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO GET FURTHER
CONFIRMATION ON THIS BEFORE YOU PROCEED CHECK OUT THESE TWO STUDIES THEN
RETURN TO THIS STUDY.
If you
believe the TRUTH that has been shared ...
Let's continue our search for TRUTH.
As we continue our journey, let us return to the Book of
Revelation, chapter 8
7th SEAL
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Revelation
8:1 It
says that there will be silence in Heaven for about half
an hour. An
angel offers incense with the prayers of the saints, that
ascends up before God. The angel then takes a censer and
fills it with fire and casts it to the Earth and there
were
thundering,
lightning and an earthquake. |
This ends the Seven Seals and prepares for the
... Seven Trumpets.
LET US KEEP IN
MIND THAT THE AUTHOR OF THE BOOK OF REVELATION IS USING SYMBOLS FROM HIS
TIME PERIOD TO DESCRIBE WHAT HE SEES IN THE VISION HE HAD OF THINGS FROM
OUR TIME PERIOD ... SO BE IMAGINING WHAT HE MAY BE REFERRING TO IN SOME
OF THE DESCRIPTIONS HE GIVES AHEAD.
SEVEN TRUMPETS
1st Trumpet
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Revelation 8:7
The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with
blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees
was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up. |
Hail, fire
and blood are cast to Earth and 1/3 of trees and grass on Earth are
burned.
2nd Trumpet
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Revelation
8:8-9
And the second
angel sounded, and as it were a
great mountain
burning with fire
was cast into the sea: and the
third part of the
sea became blood;
And the third part of the creatures which were in the sea, and had
life, died; and the third part of the ships were destroyed. |
Great mountain of fire cast into ocean and 1/3 of oceans on earth
becomes as blood and everything in or on the oceans in that 1/3 of the
earths oceans ... Die.
3rd Trumpet
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Revelation 8:10-11
And the third angel sounded, and
there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp,
and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the
fountains of waters; And the name of the star is called Wormwood:
and the third part of the waters became wormwood; and many men
died of the waters, because they were made bitter. |
A great star falls
upon 1/3 of the rivers and fountains of waters and the waters become
poison and many will die when they drink the waters.
4th Trumpet
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Revelation
8:12-13
And the fourth angel sounded,
and the third part of the
sun was smitten, and the
third part of the moon,
and the third part of the
stars; so as
the third part of them was darkened,
and the day shone not for a third part of it, and the night
likewise. And I beheld, and heard an angel flying through the
midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, Woe, woe, woe, to the
inhabiters of the earth by reason of the other voices of the
trumpet of the three angels, which are yet to sound! |
1/3 of the sun, moon and stars are smitten so that they do not shine for
1/3 part of the day.
NOTE: Since 1/3 of the oceans, rivers, trees,
grass, sun, moon and stars are affected ...
It
seems that during these 4 Trumpets ... 1/3 of the world is destroyed by
objects that come from the sky.
Many
Bible scholars think it is nuclear missiles. Some think it is a comet, meteor or asteroid, etc.
Remember ...
The one who had this vision, wrote of what he saw in 90 A.D. where he
was not familiar with missiles or other weapons of modern technology and
could only use terms that he was familiar with to describe his vision
for us.
So he used ... "hail - great mountain of fire -
great falling stars."
Despite what it is that falls from the sky ... It
destroys 1/3 of the Earth.
That is a LARGE portion of the Earth ...
But
which 1/3 part of Earth?
You may find it strange that MANY nations
are mentioned in End Times prophecy, from Israel to Ethiopia to Iraq to
Iran to China ...
But United States, Canada and Mexico are
not and that is about 1/3 of the earth.
Unless United States was the Antichrist
empire which many believe it is as we use peace as a means of spreading
democracy which some deem as conquering.
But Scripture clues about Antichrist
empire suggest his empire will be from Europe to Iraq and that kinda
puts the United States out.
WE WILL DISCUSS THIS A LIL LATER IN MORE
DETAIL ...
The next thing we read is ...
Woe ... Woe ... Woe
...
To those on Earth, due to the next 3 trumpets.
5th Trumpet
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Revelation
9:1-11
And the fifth angel sounded, and
I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given
the key of the bottomless pit. And he opened the bottomless pit;
and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great
furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the
smoke of the pit. And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the
earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the
earth have power. And it was commanded them that they should not
hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any
tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their
foreheads. And to them it was given that they should not kill
them, but that they should be tormented five months: and their
torment was as the torment of a scorpion, when he striketh a man.
And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and
shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them. And the
shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle;
and on their heads were as it were crowns like gold, and their
faces were as the faces of men. And they had hair as the hair of
women, and their teeth were as the teeth of lions. And they had
breastplates, as it were breastplates of iron; and the sound of
their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses running to
battle. And they had tails like unto scorpions, and there were
stings in their tails: and their power was to hurt men five
months. And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the
bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in
the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon. |
A star (which is sometimes used as a symbol for angels, in the
book of Revelation) falls from Heaven, and HE is given the key
to the bottomless pit which HE opens and out come
locusts which are given power to hurt those without
the Mark of God on their foreheads.
Remember, the first group of Christians were
taken to Heaven between the 6th and 7th Seal, BUT, those 144,000 Jewish
males that were given the mark of God on their foreheads are still on
earth DURING the great tribulation as well as other Christians that were
chosen and/or chose to stay.
These
locusts are instructed to torment men for 5 months and
men will wish they could die, but will not be allowed to,
as they must suffer. These locusts have the shape of a
horse, prepared for war, with crowns of gold, faces of
men, hair of women, teeth of a lion, iron breastplates,
loud wings and scorpion-like tails. (Many believe these entities are
evil spirits that were in Hell)
WOW ...
These sound like some creepy entities.
They have a king
which is the angel of the bottomless pit whose name is Abaddon and Apollyon,
which means "destroyer" (Anti-christ)
One Woe is past and there are two more Woes
(Trumpets) to come.
6th Trumpet
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Revelation
9:13-21
And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of
the golden altar which is before God, Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates.
And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men. And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand: and I heard the number of them. And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them, having breastplates of fire, and of jacinth, and brimstone: and the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions; and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone.
By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the
smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths. For their power is in their mouth, and in their tails: for their tails were like unto serpents, and had heads, and with them they do hurt. |
The description we have been given in symbols of
John's time sounds like weapons of war. Or maybe cloning
armies? Are we not researching the cloning of humans now? There is talk
of creating cloned entities to fight wars. They may get a lil
creative and create these type of soldiers.
And the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues
yet
repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood: which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk:
Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of
their fornication, nor of their thefts" ...
Let us find out what happens next, in our sojourning into the
End Times
If you have any questions, comments or just want
to share thoughts, just E-mail us at:
EndTimes@ChristianityOasis.com
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