The Rapture Part 2. Is the Rapture Biblical, was Paul wrong?

The rapture part two: Taking a closer look

In the video below, ‘The Rapture part two’ teacher Ken Johnson goes further to support his view of the Rapture. And specifically, his belief that the rapture event will occur before the start of the seven-year tribulation. The Apostle Paul assures the believers that the Day of the Lord had not yet occurred. He tells them to take comfort in that fact and to share that good news with others. There are many teachers who suggest that the Rapture is an invention of modern heretics. But Paul wasn’t a heretic nor is he a modern teacher. He taught the church about an event in which the believers would be caught up to be with the Lord. That catching up would occur in conjunction with the resurrection of the dead. But exactly when the catching up occurs is the debate that continues.

Is it before the tribulation, sometime in the middle, or at the end?

If you listen carefully to the teaching in the video, it’s clear that the strongest point Ken makes is that the Day of The Lord is the seven years of tribulation. He says that since the Church is looking for that Day then she will be removed before that day begins. But Paul doesn’t say that. At one point in the video, he says the Day of the Lord is obviously the seven-year period. I understand why Ken takes that position. But I don’t believe there is good biblical support for the view that the day of the Lord is seven years long. There’s actually much stronger support for the Day of the Lord as a three-and-a-half-year period of time.

So, as in the prior article, I’ll leave most of the work for you to do. Watch the video and see if you agree with Ken’s interpretation. If you do that’s fine, but it is now my firm conviction that the Church will see the falling away or the apostasy. And then, the Church will also see the man of sin enter the rebuilt temple and put a stop to the daily sacrifices. That obviously will require more prophetic events to occur before the rapture event can happen.

As a believer, I would much rather fly out of here before the seriously bad events begin. But, I think we’ve made a grave error by teaching that the Church won’t see any part of the final days.

Note: This article is part of a three-part series that takes a look at Ken Johnson’s teaching on the timing of the rapture. I strongly support his ministry but take a different position than him on the timing of the rapture.

 

Key articles to consider:

What about a future temple?

Why must sacrifices begin again?

 

 

Those Who Died in Christ will meet the Church in the rapture

 

1 Thessalonians 4:13

But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope.

Don’t be uninformed, study this subject.

 

1 Thessalonians 4:14

For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep.

God will bring the dead in Christ with him.

 

1 Thessalonians 4:15

For this, we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep.

Those alive at the time of the rapture will not arrive in heaven before the dead in Christ. We will all go together.

 

1 Thessalonians 4:16

For the Lord, himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.

The Lord will descend from heaven. A cry from an archangel and a loud trumpet will precede the rapture. Then the dead will arise.

 

1 Thessalonians 4:17

Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.

After the dead rise, the living Christians will be caught up to meet the Lord.

 

1 Thessalonians 4:18

Therefore encourage one another with these words.

Tell everyone this encouraging news.

 

 

 

The Day of the Lord; is it after the rapture?

 

2 Thessalonians 5:1

Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need to have anything written to you.

God has a future time, it’s already scheduled, in which these events will occur. It’s not based, as is erroneously taught, on when the last Gentile believes in Christ.

 

2 Thessalonians 5:2

For you, yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.

The Day of the Lord will surprise most people. It will occur when most are sleeping. That refers to spiritual sleep, not actual sleep.

 

2 Thessalonians 5:3

While people are saying, “There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.

A time of peace and safety will have come upon the world. When that occurs, it will be time to stay on high alert.

 

2 Thessalonians 5:4

But you are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief.

The brethren, or the Church, will not be surprised by the onslaught of the last days. They will be expecting it because they are not asleep.

 

2 Thessalonians 5:5

For you are all children of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness.

As Noah was aware, the Church will know that dark days are coming.

 

2 Thessalonians 5:6

So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober.

Don’t make the mistake that so many others make. Stay awake and alert.

 

2 Thessalonians 5:7

For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, are drunk at night.

Drinking, carousing, and carelessness are attributes of those who don’t stay focused on the Lord’s timing for these events.

 

2 Thessalonians 5:8

But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation.

The Church belongs to the day as in the time when people should be awake. The sleepers are unaware of the times and seasons.

 

2 Thessalonians 5:9

For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.

This is true, the Church is not destined for wrath. But that doesn’t mean the Church will not see persecution. Quite the contrary, the Church was continually warned by the early writers to expect persecution. God’s wrath is reserved for the ungodly, but the Church is promised persecution. Not a happy thought, of course, but it’s scriptural.

 

2 Thessalonians 5:10

who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him.

The rapture will occur right after the resurrection of the dead in Christ. So, whether we live or die, we will meet the Lord in the air. That’s the rapture.

 

2 Thessalonians 5:11

Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.

Again, the Apostle tells the Church to encourage one another with this message.

Now I have heard many times that this is proof that the rapture must happen before the seven years. How’s that?

The early Apostles warned that the Church would suffer severe persecution. That wasn’t God’s wrath but it was part of the difficult journey. In the final days, the truth is the same. Whether in the early years of the Church or in the final days before Christ’s return, persecution is part of the journey. But that’s never God’s wrath on the believers, but it is part of the purification of the believers.

Paul strongly encouraged the Church to understand these lessons. We should dig deep into the Word to find the understanding he directed us to have.

 

 

 

Ken Johnson’s ministry link here

 

 

The Claywriter

 

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