TURNING POINT MINISTRIES

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                        CHRIST SECOND COMING: WILL THERE BE A SECRET RAPTURE?

 

By Blossom Valleray

 

"Let not your heart be troubled:   ye believe in God, believe also in Me.  In my Father's house are many mansions:  if it were not so, I would have told you.   I go to prepare a place for you.  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that were I am, there ye may be also."   John 14:1-3.  Jesus here promises to come back in person , for His people

About two hundred years ago, a new theory was proposed that God will take true Christians out of the world and transport them to heaven prior to the tribulation.   It is said that the rapture will be secret, that is, that no one will know when it occurs, and those who are left behind on earth, will only know it when they realize that many people have suddenly disappeared for no apparent reason.   Those left behind will pass through seven years of tribulation during which millions of Jews will be converted to Christianity.  The second coming of Christ will take place at the end of the tribulation.   The rapture theory teaches that Jesus' coming will be divided into two parts, with seven years apart.  The Bible speaks of Jesus coming back once and it will not be a secret!

"Then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven:  and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory."  Matthew 24:30.

"Behold, He cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see Him , and they also which pierced Him, and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of Him.  Even so, Amen."  Revelation 1:7.

The apostle Paul makes it very clear in 1 Thessalonians 4:16 that the coming of the Lord will be noisy.  The Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with A SHOUT with the sound of A TRUMPET that will even awake the righteous dead!   In Matthew 13, speaking in parables Jesus speaks of one harvest which takes place at the end of the world .  However, the rapture theory suggests two harvests.  Jesus said 'let the wheat and the tears grow together until The harvest.' 

"So shall it be at the end of the worldthe angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked FROM AMONG the just, and shall cast them into the furnace of fire…"  Matthew 13:49-50.

There are many Bible verses which admonish Christians to watch and wait for the coming of the Lord.  "Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord..."   James 5:7.  Why do we need to be patient until the coming of the Lord if we are going to be raptured seven years before He comes?   The Rapture theory is dangerous in that it encourages us to put off making the necessary preparation to meet the Lord in peace.   This theory suggests that if you miss the rapture, you still have a chance at SalvationThe Bible guaranties no second chance if you miss Jesus' coming in the clouds.   Those who put off getting right with God will find themselves among those whom Jesus says will mourn at His coming.  When the wicked see Christ coming in the clouds, they cry out to the rocks and mountains, " 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?"  Revelation 6:16-17.

In an attempt to uphold the Rapture theory, Matthew 24:37-39 is often misunderstood:

"But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.   For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and knew not until the flood came, and took them all away..."  Those who did not enter the ark were the ones " TAKEN" and destroyed by the flood.   Jesus concludes verse 39 by saying "So shall also the coming of the Son of man be."  

"Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left." Matthew 24:40-41.  Many believe that the ones taken mean gone to heaven in a secret rapture.  Is this what Jesus is saying?   He clarifies what "Taken" means in Luke 17:36-37    "Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.  And they answered and said unto Him.   Where Lord?  And He said unto them, Wheresoever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered together ."

If two men are in a field, and one is taken, the disciples would know that the one left is still in the field.  So the question "Where Lord?" could only refer to the one taken.

Jesus answered there question by saying that eagles gather were bodies are; and it could only be dead bodies that the eagles want to eat.   The ones taken are the wicked who are killed by the brightness of the coming of the Lord:  "And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of His mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of His coming ."  2 Thessalonians 2:8.  "The apostle Paul confirms that the ones that are "Left" are the ones that go up to heaven with Christ,  in 1 Thessalonians 4:17  "Then we which are ALIVE  and REMAIN shall be caught up together with them (the resurrected righteous) in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air :  and so shall we ever be with the Lord."

The Rapturists hang onto the texts which liken the Lord's coming to "a thief in the night".   They assume that this must be a quiet, secret coming.  But does it really mean that? 

2 Peter 3:10 :  "But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat…"   Obviously the "as a thief in the night" part has nothing to do with secrecy, because the heavens will pass away with a great noise.   And if coming "as a thief" is the secret rapture, how can "the heavens and earth pass away" seven years before Jesus comes in the clouds?  This text does not support the Rapture Theory.

So what does this really mean?  The thief comes unexpectedly when the owners of the house are not looking for the thief.  In the same way Jesus' coming will take many people by surprise, they will not be looking for it, nor expecting it, nor be ready for it.

The BIBLE is very clear concerning the Second Coming of Jesus:   it will not be in two parts or in secret:

Matthew 24:27 "For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be."

Psalms 50:3 "Our God shall come, and shall not keep silence.. ."

Revelation 1:7 "Every eye shall see Him."

Matthew 24:31 "And He shall send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet , and they shall gather together His elects from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other."

This is clearly the one time when Christ comes to gather the saints.   Let us all prepare to meet Him in peace.

 For a FREE copy of the book "The Great Controversy Ended" please call (242) 356-6157.

 

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Contact Information, For Blossom Valleray.

   P.O.BOX N10228

   NASSAU, BAHAMAS

   PH. 242-356-6157

   E-MAIL:- BLOSSOM VALLERAY, AT:- gabrielvalleray@gmail.com

   Please Call; For A FREE Copy Of The Book "The Great Controversy Ended"

 

 

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Last modified: 10/23/06