(Companion piece for the article "What and When is Rapture?")
There are only Two (2) Resurrections of the dead. Since Jesus returned to Heaven the scriptures only speaks of two resurrections to take place. The first resurrection corresponds with what has been termed "rapture" which will mark the beginning of the 1000 year reign, and the second resurrection is at the great white throne judgment when the rest of the dead shall be judged.
The First Resurrection is at the Last Trumpet!
1 Corinthians 15:51-53 (AKJV) “51 Behold, I show you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. 53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.”
Jesus will return at the First Resurrection when the dead in Christ shall rise first and we who are alive and remain from the Great Tribulation shall be caught up with them to meet the Lord in the air...thus we shall always be with the Lord!
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.” “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. Therefore encourage one another with these words.”
Church at Thessalonica all shook up! After receiving Apostle Paul's first epistle the Church at Thessalonica were all excited and some thought that Christ was returning immediately and could think and talk of little else. Like most of the early Church they were also under a great persecution from the enemies of the gospel and welcomed the news that the Lord's return was imminent. So Paul sent this second letter confirming Jesus will return and says when/whenever this happens it will be with the armies of heaven and Jesus will be returning in the Glory of the Father with the saints and armies of heaven under His command.
In the 1st chapter Paul confirms Jesus is Returning and will reward the Faithful but Punish Their Enemies:
2Thessalonians 1: 7 (Aramaic Bible in Plain English) "And you who are tormented He shall save with us by the revelation of Our Lord Yeshua The Messiah who is from Heaven, with the armies of his Angels, 8Whenever He executes vengeance in blazing fire on those who do not know God and on those who have not recognized The Good News of Our Lord Yeshua The Messiah, 9For they will be paid in judgment: eternal destruction from the face of Our Lord and from the glory of His power, 10Whenever He comes to be glorified in his Holy Ones, He will show his wonders in his believers, because you believed in our testimony that was for you in that day. 11Because of this we always pray for you that God would make you worthy of your calling, and all the pleasure of goodness and the works of faith in power would fill you entirely, 12That the name of Our Lord Yeshua The Messiah would be glorified in you and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and Our Lord Yeshua The Messiah."
Paul further tells them not to worry about the time of Messiah's return -there will be warning signs first:
2 Thessalonians 2:1 (KJV) Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, 2 That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. 3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; 4 Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.
So Paul confirms that Jesus will return and says when/whenever this happens it will not be until after the tribulation days at the last trumpet. Of course this is in complete alignment with what Jesus said in that He would return in the Glory of the Father in Matthew 16 & 25 (KJV):
Matthew 16:27 "For the Son of Man shall come in the glory of His Father with His angels; and then He shall reward every man according to his works."
Matthew 25:29 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:30 And 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. 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. [there it is the rapture - the First Resurrection - after the Tribulation days and again in Mark's Gospel (etc)]
Mark 13:24 (KJV) "But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, 25And the stars of heaven shall fall, and the powers that are in heaven shall be shaken. 26And then shall they see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and glory. 27And then shall He send his angels, and shall gather together His elect from the four winds, from the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost part of heaven."
Jude 1:14 "And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints,"
Even Moses prophesied of Jesus coming in all His glory with His saints
Deuteronomy 33:1 "And this is the blessing, wherewith Moses the man of God blessed the children of Israel before his death. 2And he said, The LORD came from Sinai, and rose up from Seir unto them; He shined forth from mount Paran, and He came with ten thousands of saints: from His right hand went a fiery law for them. 3Yea, He loved the people; all His saints are in Thy hand: and they sat down at Thy feet; every one shall receive of Thy words."
Warning Signs: Tribulation (is not to be confused with God's wrath & judgments)
According to reports 90,000 Christians were killed for their faith in 2016. Before Jesus return, there will be greater tribulation as it says in Daniel, Ezekiel, Joel, Isaiah, Zechariah, Matthew, Luke, Mark, Acts, Corinthians, Thessalonians, 1John, Jude, Revelation. So great that weak believers will fall away and embrace deception, but the elect shall remain faithful. As we read earlier (2Thess 2:3), the Man of Sin will also have been revealed and there shall be a great falling away of believers. And lastly Israel shall be surrounded by her enemies and besieged.
And 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 24:21 - "For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be."
Daniel 12:1 - "And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation [even] to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book."
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: 30 And 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."
Revelation 7:14 - "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."
Matthew 24:22 - "And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened."
Here is the Executive Summary of the balance of the article:
Tribulation will worsen but will vary in different parts of the earth even as it is now. Israel will be surrounded and under attack by its enemies. They will cry out for Messiah and Jesus will take away their veil and they will recognize Him as the one whom they pierced at Calvary. By the time of Jesus' coming many people will have been slain for rejecting the mark of the beast including the two witnesses and in Revelation 7 were already waiting under the altar for the first resurrection too...these are the ones under the Sea of glass in Revelation... His return will result in a great slaughter of the beasts armies and Babylon the Great and then begins the saints (dead in Christ and those still alive but also now immortal) 1000 year reign on the earth with Jesus ...with Satan bound....but the beast and false prophet were tossed into the Lake of Fire at the Lord's coming. At the end or near the end of the 1000 years Satan is released to deceive the 4 corners of the earth...Gog and Magog (mortal descendents of the heathen nations)...they surround the Holy City and fire comes down from heaven and destroys the rebels. Then is the 2nd and last resurrection of the dead...for the great white throne judgment. Whosoever is not found written in the Lamb's Book of Life is thrown into the Lake of Fire where the Beast and the False Prophet were tossed when Jesus came back at the first resurrection. Satan is also tossed in...and hell and death...and that is the last enemy defeated. The second death has no power over those who took part in the 1st resurrection. ..blessed and Holy are they. Then the Son shall deliver up the kingdom (CHURCH) to the Father and He shall be subject to the Father again so that God will be all in all. Then there will be a new heavens and a new earth and the Holy City New Jerusalem descends on the earth and the tabernacle of God shall be with men forever and God Himself shall be our God and we shall be His people. Amen.
Pre-Tribbers must be ready for whatever comes their way. Jesus said to watch and pray to be counted worthy. There are already many millions of Martyrs of Christ who have gone before us over the past 2000 years. Many continue to be slaughtered today in various parts of the world. There are only 2 resurrections of the dead and as explained above the First (rapture) is after the Great tribulation which is accompanied by the wrath of God on those who did not repent.
If you want to read the long version click here for the conclusion of this article:
The Coming Deliverance of Judah
Zechariah 12(NKJV) 1 The burden of the word of the Lord against Israel. Thus says the Lord, who stretches out the heavens, lays the foundation of the earth, and forms the spirit of man within him: 2 “Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of drunkenness to all the surrounding peoples, when they lay siege against Judah and Jerusalem. 3 And it shall happen in that day that I will make Jerusalem...
Go to part 2
There are only Two (2) Resurrections of the dead. Since Jesus returned to Heaven the scriptures only speaks of two resurrections to take place. The first resurrection corresponds with what has been termed "rapture" which will mark the beginning of the 1000 year reign, and the second resurrection is at the great white throne judgment when the rest of the dead shall be judged.
The First Resurrection is at the Last Trumpet!
1 Corinthians 15:51-53 (AKJV) “51 Behold, I show you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. 53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.”
Jesus will return at the First Resurrection when the dead in Christ shall rise first and we who are alive and remain from the Great Tribulation shall be caught up with them to meet the Lord in the air...thus we shall always be with the Lord!
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.” “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. Therefore encourage one another with these words.”
Church at Thessalonica all shook up! After receiving Apostle Paul's first epistle the Church at Thessalonica were all excited and some thought that Christ was returning immediately and could think and talk of little else. Like most of the early Church they were also under a great persecution from the enemies of the gospel and welcomed the news that the Lord's return was imminent. So Paul sent this second letter confirming Jesus will return and says when/whenever this happens it will be with the armies of heaven and Jesus will be returning in the Glory of the Father with the saints and armies of heaven under His command.
In the 1st chapter Paul confirms Jesus is Returning and will reward the Faithful but Punish Their Enemies:
2Thessalonians 1: 7 (Aramaic Bible in Plain English) "And you who are tormented He shall save with us by the revelation of Our Lord Yeshua The Messiah who is from Heaven, with the armies of his Angels, 8Whenever He executes vengeance in blazing fire on those who do not know God and on those who have not recognized The Good News of Our Lord Yeshua The Messiah, 9For they will be paid in judgment: eternal destruction from the face of Our Lord and from the glory of His power, 10Whenever He comes to be glorified in his Holy Ones, He will show his wonders in his believers, because you believed in our testimony that was for you in that day. 11Because of this we always pray for you that God would make you worthy of your calling, and all the pleasure of goodness and the works of faith in power would fill you entirely, 12That the name of Our Lord Yeshua The Messiah would be glorified in you and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and Our Lord Yeshua The Messiah."
Paul further tells them not to worry about the time of Messiah's return -there will be warning signs first:
2 Thessalonians 2:1 (KJV) Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, 2 That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. 3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; 4 Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.
So Paul confirms that Jesus will return and says when/whenever this happens it will not be until after the tribulation days at the last trumpet. Of course this is in complete alignment with what Jesus said in that He would return in the Glory of the Father in Matthew 16 & 25 (KJV):
Matthew 16:27 "For the Son of Man shall come in the glory of His Father with His angels; and then He shall reward every man according to his works."
Matthew 25:29 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:30 And 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. 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. [there it is the rapture - the First Resurrection - after the Tribulation days and again in Mark's Gospel (etc)]
Mark 13:24 (KJV) "But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, 25And the stars of heaven shall fall, and the powers that are in heaven shall be shaken. 26And then shall they see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and glory. 27And then shall He send his angels, and shall gather together His elect from the four winds, from the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost part of heaven."
Jude 1:14 "And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints,"
Even Moses prophesied of Jesus coming in all His glory with His saints
Deuteronomy 33:1 "And this is the blessing, wherewith Moses the man of God blessed the children of Israel before his death. 2And he said, The LORD came from Sinai, and rose up from Seir unto them; He shined forth from mount Paran, and He came with ten thousands of saints: from His right hand went a fiery law for them. 3Yea, He loved the people; all His saints are in Thy hand: and they sat down at Thy feet; every one shall receive of Thy words."
Warning Signs: Tribulation (is not to be confused with God's wrath & judgments)
According to reports 90,000 Christians were killed for their faith in 2016. Before Jesus return, there will be greater tribulation as it says in Daniel, Ezekiel, Joel, Isaiah, Zechariah, Matthew, Luke, Mark, Acts, Corinthians, Thessalonians, 1John, Jude, Revelation. So great that weak believers will fall away and embrace deception, but the elect shall remain faithful. As we read earlier (2Thess 2:3), the Man of Sin will also have been revealed and there shall be a great falling away of believers. And lastly Israel shall be surrounded by her enemies and besieged.
And 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 24:21 - "For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be."
Daniel 12:1 - "And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation [even] to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book."
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: 30 And 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."
Revelation 7:14 - "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."
Matthew 24:22 - "And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened."
Here is the Executive Summary of the balance of the article:
Tribulation will worsen but will vary in different parts of the earth even as it is now. Israel will be surrounded and under attack by its enemies. They will cry out for Messiah and Jesus will take away their veil and they will recognize Him as the one whom they pierced at Calvary. By the time of Jesus' coming many people will have been slain for rejecting the mark of the beast including the two witnesses and in Revelation 7 were already waiting under the altar for the first resurrection too...these are the ones under the Sea of glass in Revelation... His return will result in a great slaughter of the beasts armies and Babylon the Great and then begins the saints (dead in Christ and those still alive but also now immortal) 1000 year reign on the earth with Jesus ...with Satan bound....but the beast and false prophet were tossed into the Lake of Fire at the Lord's coming. At the end or near the end of the 1000 years Satan is released to deceive the 4 corners of the earth...Gog and Magog (mortal descendents of the heathen nations)...they surround the Holy City and fire comes down from heaven and destroys the rebels. Then is the 2nd and last resurrection of the dead...for the great white throne judgment. Whosoever is not found written in the Lamb's Book of Life is thrown into the Lake of Fire where the Beast and the False Prophet were tossed when Jesus came back at the first resurrection. Satan is also tossed in...and hell and death...and that is the last enemy defeated. The second death has no power over those who took part in the 1st resurrection. ..blessed and Holy are they. Then the Son shall deliver up the kingdom (CHURCH) to the Father and He shall be subject to the Father again so that God will be all in all. Then there will be a new heavens and a new earth and the Holy City New Jerusalem descends on the earth and the tabernacle of God shall be with men forever and God Himself shall be our God and we shall be His people. Amen.
Pre-Tribbers must be ready for whatever comes their way. Jesus said to watch and pray to be counted worthy. There are already many millions of Martyrs of Christ who have gone before us over the past 2000 years. Many continue to be slaughtered today in various parts of the world. There are only 2 resurrections of the dead and as explained above the First (rapture) is after the Great tribulation which is accompanied by the wrath of God on those who did not repent.
If you want to read the long version click here for the conclusion of this article:
The Coming Deliverance of Judah
Zechariah 12(NKJV) 1 The burden of the word of the Lord against Israel. Thus says the Lord, who stretches out the heavens, lays the foundation of the earth, and forms the spirit of man within him: 2 “Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of drunkenness to all the surrounding peoples, when they lay siege against Judah and Jerusalem. 3 And it shall happen in that day that I will make Jerusalem...
Go to part 2
Welcome to our Ministry pages! Presenting answers to important matters of faith using God's Holy Scriptures.
May God Himself bless you on your journey through Faith...in JESUS name!
May God Himself bless you on your journey through Faith...in JESUS name!
BeBornAgain.Live
Proverbs 9:10 “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding." (NKJV)
2Timothy 2:15 "Study to show yourself approved to God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." (ERKJV)
John 6:63 "It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are Spirit, and they are life." (NKJV)
2Timothy 2:15 "Study to show yourself approved to God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." (ERKJV)
John 6:63 "It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are Spirit, and they are life." (NKJV)