If we don't accept the biblical doctrine of the “Snatching” of the saints, then we can relax, because HE CAN NOT COME TODAY! Note in Matthew 24 WHEN Yeshua is coming:(1) immediately after the tribulation; (2) [after] the sun is darkened; (3) [after] the moon is dimmed; (4) [after] the stars fall out of orbit; (5) [after] space-quakes (cosmological convulsions); THEN (6) the Son of Man appears and every eye of the tribes of earth will see and mourn. Since, none of these have happened today, Yeshua, IS NOT COMING TODAY! Well, can He?
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; and then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven; and then shall all the tribes of earth mourn, and they shall see the son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory 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 (Matthew 24:5-8).
Eschatology is important, isn’t it? Yeshua gives us more of His exact movements in His coming, not signs, but exact steps! In His revelation, the final book of His Word He gave Yochanon to pen, the Apocalypse and these are the visuals of His coming: (1) heaven is opened; (2) He is coming on a white horse to judge and make war; (3) His armies of heaven follow and on white horses; (4) He smites the nations; and (5) He treads the winepress (Revelation 11:19-16).
If one is blinded by satan (and many are) to the soon appearing of our Lord as a bride-groom for His bride, in the air, with the voice of the Archangel, snatching His bride from the earth to heaven for consummation of our marriage, then he will not be ‘seeing’ truth, and will interpret Yeshua’s return in error. Oy Vey! It is happening, beloved!
When is the last time you heard The Rapture preached? The last time I heard the pretribulation, premillennial appearing of Messiah to snatch His body from the earth before the great and terrible Day of the Lord (other than my message last Sunday at Riverside Baptist Church in Tiftonia, TN) was when CMI hosted Dr. Michael Rydelnik of the Moody Bible Institute at our Prophecy Conference in October 2017. Before that, other than Prophecy Conferences that Crystal and I attend, and my reference to the Rapture when I speak, I seldom hear it spoken. The Rapture is being attacked and/or removed from the pulpits.
Are there biblical proofs for the doctrine of the snatching of saints? (1) Yeshua referenced the Abomination of Desolation of Daniel to happen again, although after the snatching. Read it! (Matthew 24); (2) Shaul/Paul referenced the disappearing of holy ones as words of comfort (1 Thessalonians 4:17); (3) the early church believed in the imminent return of the Lord for His bride; (4) the Holy Scriptures prophesy of Israel’s resurrection and restoration; (5) the church is not appointed to judgment or wrath; (6) the Second Coming is a literal descent of Yeshua to earth, on the Mount of Olives, in Jerusalem, in wrath, to reign for one-thousand years. In contrast, the ‘snatching’ of the Church is Yeshua in the air, as a bride-groom for His bride, in love, to bring us back to heaven for rewards and consummation, and there is no reference to wrath –not for the Church!
The biblical Greek word harpazo means “snatched.” Fourteen times it appears in the New Testament and all fourteen times it means “snatched;” four of the fourteen appearances, it refers to the snatching of believers by God. Philip was snatched (Acts 8:39), Shaul/Paul was snatched to the 3rd heaven (2 Corinthians 2:2,3), the Church will be snatched prior to the Day of the Lord (1 Thessalonians 4:17), Yochanon was snatched up to heaven after his messages to the seven churches [and, church ages] (Revelation 4:1), and the male child, Yeshua was snatched up to heaven and His throne (Revelation 12:5).
The Holy Scriptures also mention other ‘snatchings’ of holy ones by God. Enoch walked with God and was no more for God ‘snatched’ Him (Genesis 5:24). Elijah was “snatched” by a whirlwind (2 Kings 2:1). Yeshua was snatched after His resurrection as the disciples beheld Him ascend (Acts 9-11). And, in the last days the two witnesses of the Lord (Moshe; Eliyah) will be murdered in Jerusalem, lay in the streets for three days, and then resurrect and be snatched up to heaven (Revelation 11:11,12).
Why preach or teach the snatching of the saints, the rapture? Why is it important? Foremost, eschatology always matters. It was those who knew [a little] eschatology who were able to recognize Yeshua at His first coming versus those who missed Him. One’s eschatological perspective also influences his and others interpretation of the Holy Scriptures (literal versus allegorical, symbolic, etc.), This is of paramount importance. Third, one’s interpretation, I believe, reveals one’s spiritual growth as a son of God since His Word is the Lord’s Word by which we are nourished and grow. Also, one’s eschatological beliefs qualify him (or, disqualify him) to warn believers and unbelievers of the last things that are here and soon to come.
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