284 Do you believe the rapture | nazareneisrael2house

Do you believe that believers will be raptured when Messiah comes?

What will Messiah’s coming be like? Will He come silently, invisibly, as a “thief in the night”? Is He coming to secretly “rapture” away His congregation? Is Messiah coming in two phases – once “for” His saints to secretly take them to heaven – and then “with” them to set up His Kingdom? We read the answer from 1 Thessalonians 5: 2 & 3, as follows: ‘For you yourselves know full well that the day of YHVH will come just like a thief in the night. (3) While they are saying, “Peace and safety!” then destruction will come upon them suddenly like birth pangs upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.’Rav Shaul continues to remind believers in Messiah that since we know the ‘day of YHVH’ will be like a thief in the night, we have to remain vigilant so that we are not caught unawares in verses 4 – 6, saying:‘But you, brethren, are not in darkness, that the day should overtake you like a thief; (5) for you are all sons of light and sons of day. We are not of night nor of darkness; (6) so then let us not sleep as others do, but let us be alert and sober.’ We know that Messiah will come one day on Yom Teruah or the Feast of Trumpets and should therefore be awaiting His return on a coming Feast of Trumpets in the near future. Our Jewish Brothers have a custom on Yom Teruah (known as Rosh Hashanah to them) during which they remain awake during the night part of the first day of the seventh month on the Hebrew calendar, studying Torah. By doing so they know they will not be caught unawares and will be awake when Messiah comes. This is also why I urge returnees from the lost ten tribes to follow this example as we are definitely living at the end of this age.

We know that when a thief comes to break into a house, he does not come invisibly. However, he usually comes at night when the household is away or asleep. He catches them unaware, off their guard and those,whom he comes to rob, do not know when he comes, else they could call the police and be prepared for him. The big question you would want answered if you already knew a thief was planning to rob your home; would be when?So it is with the coming of Messiah! He will not come invisibly any more than a thief comes invisibly. But He will come UNEXPECTEDLY! No one will know exactly when He is going to come.Yahshua Himself explained in Matthew 24: 42 – 44(KJV), saying: “Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Master doth come. (43) But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up. (44) Therefore be ye also ready; for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.”Yahshua likened His coming to a “thief” in respect to the time of His coming and the element of SURPRISE! How plain! However, many Messianic/Nazarene/Israelite and Hebrew roots believers insistently adhere to a so-called rapture into heavento occur before Messiah comes to rule one day. Such people claim that the Greek word ‘Parousia’, translated as ‘coming’ in Matthew 24: 27, does not mean coming at all. They say it refers to His ‘secret nearness,’ so that when Yahshua’s disciples asked Him for the ‘sign’ of His coming, they were actually asking for a sign of the rapture. Nevertheless, the scriptures that we have already studied clearly show the manner and approximate time of Messiah’s return. But what about this word ‘Parousia’? Does it really indicate a preliminary secret coming after all?The Greek word ‘Parousia’ (number 3952 in ‘Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible’) is translated ‘coming’ in many different scriptures, 1 Thessalonians 3: 13 being one example. Does this verse say Messiah’s ‘Parousia’ is ‘with’ all His saints? Then could it possibly be referring to a secret coming for His saints three and a half or more years before He returns openly ‘with’ them? Do you not think that after Messiah had gone into detail answering His disciples’ questions in Matthew 24: 3, that He would not at least have mentioned the ‘rapture’ or His ‘invisible presence’ to them? But no such mention is found in this chapter of the Scriptures.

Even so, notice in 2 Thessalonians 2: 3 - 4 & 8 - 10another scripture where Messiah’s ‘coming’ (Parousia) is mentioned, when He will slay ‘the lawless one’, as follows: “Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction,(4) who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of Elohim, displaying himself as being Elohim. (8) And then that lawless one will be revealed whom YHVH will slay with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming; (9) that is, the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders, (10) and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved.” The question is, is there any indication of a future rapture in the Torah? Even though there is no direct indication about a rapture in Torah, Rav Shaul told those of us alive during these latter days that whatever happened to our ancient forefathers in the wilderness, should serve as a witness to us, what to do and not to do at this time in 1 Corinthians 10: 11, saying: ‘Now these things happened to them as an example, and they were written for our instruction, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.’But, which events in the Torah was Rav Shaul speaking about in verse 11? Starting in verses 1 & 2 of first Corinthians 10, we see that Rav Shaul mentioned the cloud that followed the Israelites by day, as well as the splitting of the Red Sea. In verses 3 & 4 he mentioned the bread (or manna) and water Elohim provided for them in the wilderness. From verse 5 to 10 Rav Shaul covered the events that befell the nation of Israel during their forty year journey in the wilderness. So here in 1 Corinthians 10, Rav Shaul informs us that the account of Israel’s exodus from Egypt and their journey to the Promised Land, were in a way prophetic shadows of a greater exodus and journey yet to occur in the latter days. The Pharaoh of Egypt in the days when Elohim instructed Moses to bring the ancient nation of Israel out of Egypt, is a first shadow of the anti-Messiah mentioned in Daniel 11: 36, but also in Revelation 13: 5 & 6 and 17: 3. Elohim used two witnesses, namely Moses and Aaron in the first 15 chapters of the book of Exodus to convince Pharaoh and the nation of Egypt to let His people go. Similarly as witnessed in the book of Revelation, He will use two witnesses who like Moses and Aaron will perform supernatural miracles to encourage people to repent from their sin or personal Egypt. By comparing the plagues in Exodus with those in Revelation, we see that there are many similarities between the two events, where YHVH saves His people from enslavement to wicked customs.

We see that plagues of hail are mentioned in both the books of Exodus and Revelation. In Exodus 9: 25 YHVH used hail, as follows: ‘And the hail struck all that was in the field through all the land of Egypt, both man and beast; the hail also struck every plant of the field and shattered every tree of the field.’ In Revelation 8: 6 & 7 YHVH will use hail in this way: ‘And the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound them. (7) And the first sounded, and there came hail and fire, mixed with blood, and they were thrown to the earth; and a third of the earth was burned up, and a third of the trees were burned up, and all the green grass was burned up.’The destructive effects of both hailstorms described in the books of Exodus and Revelation are also connected. Furthermore we see that according to Exodus 9: 22 and Revelation 16: 21 the hail also fell on people. We read about the plague of boils in Exodus 9: 10 and about loathsome and malignant sores on the people in Revelation 16: 2. Moses and his brother Aaron turned the water into blood in Exodus 7: 20 and in Revelation 16: 3 – 6 the waters of the sea and rivers will be turned into blood. We read about the account of darkness in Exodus 10: 21 – 23, and Revelation 16: 10 & 11 describes a darkness that belongs to the kingdom of the beast. In addition the smoke in the bottomless pit described in Revelation 9: 1 & 2 cause the sun to be darkened to the inhabitants of the earth. We read the account of the plague of locusts which destroyed the Egyptian crops in Exodus 10: 12 - 15, and in Revelation 9: 1 – 6 that the locusts which will have power to inflict pain on those who do not have the Master’s seal on their foreheads. We read about the plague of frogs in Exodus 8: 2 – 4, and in Revelation 16: 13 & 14about an end time account of frogs; the spirits of demons, performing signs to gather the kings of the earth together for the war of the great day of Elohim the Almighty.

The forty year journey of the Israelites through the wilderness was a period of testing for the nation of Israel. But, similarly will the two and a half years end time great tribulation and the year making-up the Day of YHVH be a time of testing for all the inhabitants of the world. In Exodus 1 & 2 Pharaoh tried to destroy the then yet future deliverer of Israel, namely Moses, by having all baby boys cast into the Nile River and in Revelation 12, Satan the devil tries to kill the male child at birth. In both cases Elohim supernaturally saved both male children from Pharaoh and Satan respectively. In Exodus there was an extraordinary display of power and Pharaoh’s magicians tried to copy the wonders that the Elohim of Israel did to save His people. In the book of Revelation wonders will also be performed by two witnesses, but also by the false prophet and the beast. Elohim made a distinction between the children of Israel and Egypt in Exodus and He will again make a distinction between those who will make it into His kingdom and those under Satan’s control. In Exodus the children of Israel marked the doorposts and lintels of their homes with the blood of their Passover lambs to protect the first-born children of Israel from death and in the book of Revelation He will have His angels seal the hundred and forty four thousand first-fruits from every tribe of the children of Israel, against the second death. We read further from Torah that the children of Israel made 42 stops during their journey in the wilderness before arriving in the Promised Land. The period of time during the great tribulation and the day of YHVH given in the book of Revelation, will last 42 months. With these numerous comparable incidents in the books of Exodus and Revelation, we should be able to understand the account of the exodus of the children of Israel from Egypt, ending in their arrival and settlement of the Promised Land, to be a foreshadow of Elohim’s chosen people from our exile in a pagan world into His glorious Kingdom one day soon. In reality the exodus of the people of Israel is a Torah foundation for understanding the book of Revelation. The book of Exodus will provide who, what, where, when, why and how the information of the book of Revelation should be interpreted. The Torah is a prophetic document with a prophetic message for the last generation, who will experience the great tribulation and witness the return of Messiah one day in the near future. The abundant undeniable correlations between the books of Exodus and Revelation and Rav Shaul’s connection between the events of the exodus to the last generation serve to demonstrate and strengthen that point. The account where Joshua led the children of Israel into the Promised Land is a shadow of how Yahshua will take those called out of the world into His coming kingdom at His return.

Equipped with these facts, let’s consider the pre-tribulation rapture doctrine. People who believe in the pre-tribulation rapture doctrine believe that they will be translated from this earth to heaven without experiencing the tribulation. This believe of going to heaven is based on the assumption that good people will go to heaven when they die and the wicked will go to an ever-burning hellfire to be tormented eternally when they die. The problem with this doctrine or assumption is that Satan has succeeded in selling his own desires as well as his final destination to his deceived audience (Christianity), as their most important teaching. Most of us are aware that Satan wanted to go to the third heaven to take over Elohim’s throne in rebellion. We read about this in Isaiah 14: 13 - 14 as follows:“But you said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of Elohim, and I will sit on the mount of assembly in the recesses of the north. (14) I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’”In fact most of the known religions of the world, includingChristianity, Moslems, Hindus and other religions believe that ‘good’ people go to heaven, beholding the face of their G-d for all eternity at the time of their death. However, this doctrine inspired by Satan, is nowhere to be found in The Scriptures. As mentioned before, Satan as a spiritual being is immortal and has deceived mankind to believe that man has an immortal soul. Most astute students of the Scriptures know that ultimately, before the great white throne judgment, Satan the devil will be thrown into the lake of fire as witnessed in Revelation 20: 10 as follows: “And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.” Most in Christianity and a few other religions likewise believe that the wicked will be tormented in an everlasting fire.

However, since human beings are made from physical matter and without having received the Set-apart Spirit of YHVH at repentance and immersion, we do not have eternal life in us and are not immortal. When physical matter is thrown into a fire, it burns until it becomes ashes. This is exactly what will happen to the wicked, who will not accept Yahshua as their Savior, according to Malachi 4: 1 - 3 “For behold, the day is coming, burning like a furnace; and all the arrogant and every evildoer will be chaff; and the day that is coming will set them ablaze.” says YHVH of hosts, “so that it will leave them neither root nor branch.” (2) But for you who fear My name the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings: and you will go forth and skip about like calves from the stall. (3) And you will tread down the wicked, for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet on that day which I am preparing,” says YHVH of hosts.”A second witness to this can be found in Isaiah 26: 14 as follows:“The dead will not live, the departed spirits (the spirit in man – without the Spirit of YHVH given at immersion into Yahshua’s saving Name) will not rise; therefore Thou hast punished and destroyed them, and thou hast wiped out all remembrance of them.” This tells us that when the wicked are thrown into the fire after the second resurrection, they will not burn forever, but will be wiped out from remembrance, as also confirmed in Ecclesiastes 9: 5, in this way: ‘For the living know they will die; but the dead do not know anything, nor have they any longer a reward, for their memory is forgotten.’Many of these false religious doctrines are as a result of the fact that people including Christianity do not believe in the one they say they believe, namely Yahshua the Messiah, who told Nicodemus unambiguously in John 3: 13, saying: “And no one has ascended into heaven, but He who descended from heaven: the Son of Man.” The undeniable fact is that YHVH destined mankind to dwell on earth, as much as the heavens are His abode, as testified in Psalm 115: 16, in this way: ‘The heavens are the heavens of YHVH, but the earth He has given to the sons of men.’ This is also why Yahshua told the Jews of His day in John 8: 21 – 24, saying: “I go away, and you will seek Me, and shall die in your sins; where I am going, you cannot come.” (22) Therefore the Jews were saying, “Surely He will not kill Himself, will He, since He says, “Where I am going, you cannot come’?” (23) And He was saying to them, “You are from below, I am from above; you are of this world, I am not of this world. (24) I said therefore to you, that you shall die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am He, you shall die in your sins.” Putting this all together, we should understand that only YHVH can go to heaven and as YHVH in the flesh, only Yahshua could come to earth to redeem us, as YHVH tells us in the first part of Isaiah 41: 14, saying: “Do not fear, you worm Jacob, you men of Israel; I will help you,” declares YHVH, “and your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.” Unless YHVH personally opens our eyes and minds, we will not understand Scriptural truths. Yahshua explained clearly to Nicodemus in John 3, that in order to inherit the Kingdom of Elohim (which even though it is now in heaven, will come to earth one day soon, where He will ultimately establish the headquarters for His everlasting Kingdom), we have to be born-again as Spiritual children of Elohim.

That requires that YHVH begets us anew at immersion into Yahshua’s saving name (Acts 2: 38) and the laying on of hands by a teaching elder (as per acts 8: 12 – 17 and first Timothy 4: 14). As a result Rav Shaul confirmed in 1 Thessalonians 4: 13 – 15, saying: ‘But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope (yes, most in the religions of the world have no hope – since they are not absolutely certain what will happen when they die).(14) For if you believe that Yahshua died and rose again, even so Elohim will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Yahshua. (15) For this we say to you by the word of the Master, that we, who are alive and remain until the coming of the Master, shall not precede those who have fallen asleep.’ Since it is still a little unclear, as to what will happen exactly at Messiah’s return, we turn to first Corinthians 15: 21 – 24 and 50 – 52 where Rav Shaul wrote: ‘For since by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead. (22) For as in Adam all die, so also in Messiah all shall be made alive. (23) But each in his own order; Messiah the first fruits, after that those who are Messiah’s at His coming[1], (24) them comes the end (ones)[2], when He delivers up the kingdom to the Elohim and Father, when He has abolished all rule and all authority and power. (50) Now I say this, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of Elohim; nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. (51) Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, (52) in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. (53) For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality.’The hope of going to heaven is based on the false doctrine that heaven is our possession in the after-life. In reality, our immediate possession will be the millennial Kingdom on the earth, as sang by the twenty-four elders in Revelation 5: 10, as follows: “And Thou hast made them to be a kingdom and priests to our Elohim; and they will reign upon the earth.” Even though many believers in Churchianity have been incorrectly taught to hope for a home in heaven, the destination of those who actually qualify will finally be on earth. It is also for this reason that Messiah Himself said in Matthew 5: 5 “Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth.” A second witness comes from Proverbs 2: 21 & 22, in this way: ‘For the upright will live in the land, and the blameless will remain in it; (22) but the wicked will be cut off from the land, and the treacherous will be uprooted from it.’When the Children of Israel left Egypt they expected to go and worship Elohim in the wilderness and then travel further on to the Promised Land. The same promise originally made to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, our fathers in the faith. YHVH made a covenant with Abraham promising him the Promised Land for an everlasting possession, provided that he and his descendants after him circumcise every male child when he is 8 days old, as witnessed in Genesis 17: 7 – 11, in this way: “And I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be Elohim to you and your descendants after you. (8) And I will give to you and your descendants after you, the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their Elohim. (9) Elohim said further to Abraham, “Now as for you, you shall keep My covenant, you and your descendants after you throughout their generations. (10) This is My covenant, which you shall keep, between Me and you and your descendants after you: every male among you shall be circumcised. (11) And you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskin, and it shall be the sign of the covenant between Me and you.”

Similarly, the Israelites did not go directly to the Promised Land after receiving the Torah at Mount Sinai. It took another forty years to get to the Promised Land, during which time YHVH tested the endurance of those who finally crossed the Jordan into the Promised Land. In a similar way was Abraham tested for an extended period as we read from Hebrews 11: 8 – 10, as follows: ‘By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed by going out to a place which he was to receive for an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing where he was going. (9) By faith he lived as an alien in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, dwelling in tents (temporary dwellings) with Isaac and Jacob, fellow heirs of the same promise; (10) for he was looking for the city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is Elohim.‘ We read further from verses 39 & 40 of Hebrews 11, ‘And all these, having gained approval through their faith, did not receive what was promised, (40) because Elohim had provided something better for us, so that apart from us they would not be made perfect[3].’ But, what similarity can we make between those who live during the end time and the last generation who made it into the Promised Land? Similar to the way that the children of Israel were promised a kingdom in the Promised Land, all true believers have been promised a kingdom during Messiah’s millennial rule. The Children of Israel made an exodus from Egypt and the final generation of Elohim’s people will make an exodus from this society (spiritual Egypt). The children of Israel wanted to go directly to the Promised Land after receiving the Torah at Mount Sinai, but had to wander in the wilderness for forty years, after which they had to fight for the land. Believers at this end time all want to go directly into Elohim’s eternal Kingdom which is coming to earth, but we too have to experience the wilderness and will have to fight to enter the Kingdom of Elohim. Nothing has changed, between us and our ancestors. When it is time for the first-fruit believers in Messiah to make its exodus from this society into the millennial Kingdom of Elohim, most expect to go there without a period of (wilderness) testing. Most believers want to inherit the Kingdom of Elohim, without any struggle. Most do not want to fight the battles that Joshua fought in Jericho and elsewhere. However, without going through the wilderness of testing and serious warfare, we cannot make it into Elohim’s eternal Kingdom.

If the children of Israel obeyed YHVH our Elohim, they would certainly have gone to the Promised Land immediately after receiving the Torah at Mount Sinai. But, they tempted YHVH many times and abandoned the covenant they made with YHVH soon afterwards, when they worshipped the golden calf. Rav Shaul warned accordingly in Hebrews 3: 12 – 4: 1, saying: ‘Take care, brethren, lest there should be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart, that in falling away from the living Elohim. (13) But encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called “Today,” lest any one of you will be hardened by deceitfulness of sin. (14) For we have become partakers of Messiah, if we hold fast the beginning of our assurance firm until the end;(15) while it is said, “TODAY IF YOU HEAR HIS VOICE, DO NOT HARDEN YOUR HEARTS, AS WHEN THEY PROVOKED ME.” (16) For who provoked Him when they had heard? Indeed, did not all those who came out of Egypt led by Moses? (17) And with whom was He angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness? (18) And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who were disobedient? (19) And so we see that they were not able to enter because of unbelief. (4: 1) Therefore, let us fear lest, while a promise remains of entering His rest, any one of you should seem to have come short of it.’ The wilderness consumed all the rebels and eventually only their children were allowed to enter. We read similarly Elohim’s warning through Ezekiel in Ezekiel 20: 34 – 38, as follows: “And I shall bring you out from the peoples and gather you from the lands where you are scattered, with a mighty hand and with an outstretched arm and with wrath poured out; (35) and I shall bring you into the wilderness of the peoples, and there I shall enter into judgment with you face to face. (36) As I entered into judgment with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so I will enter into judgment with you,” declares YHVH Elohim. (37) “And I shall make you pass under the rod, and I shall bring you into the bond of the covenant; (YHVH is telling us that He will make sure that we adhere fully to the covenant that He made with our fathers at mount Sinai) (38) and I shall purge from you the rebels and those who transgress against Me; I shall bring them out of the land where they sojourn, but they will not enter the land of Israel. Thus you will know that I am YHVH.” YHVH is very serious about who will enter His eternal Kingdom - so let’s stop playing church and start following Him fully!

It is most unfortunate that believers think that they will inherit the Kingdom of Elohim without a fight or any physical effort on their part. Similar to the way the children of Israel inherited the Promised Land, we will inherit Elohim’s eternal Kingdom when Yahshua returns to earth – in the near future! But also similar to the way the children of Israel had to fight numerous enemies to inherit the Promised Land, there are numerous battles and enemies ahead for all of us, the congregation of believers called out of the religions of the world, before we will inherit Elohim’s Kingdom. Most Messianic/Nazarene believers in Messiah know that in Genesis 3: 15 YHVH is talking about Messiah’s struggle with Satan, saying: ‘And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, and you shall bruise him on the heel.” Even though most will say that this is talking only about Messiah and His battle with Satan during His life on earth. However, because of the duality principle that runs throughout the Scriptures, there is also a second interpretation to this verse. Now let’s see how this verse also refers to the warfare to be waged by believers against Satan and his agents at the end of this age. We read from Romans 16: 20, ‘And the Elohim of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Master Yahshua be with you.’ What did Rav Shaul think about when he used the phrase ‘under your feet’? Obviously he was thinking about Elohim’s statement in Genesis 3: 15. In this case he interpreted Genesis 3: 15, as the believers in Messiah’s battle against Satan instead of that of Yahshua’s with Satan. The reason being that we as believers in Messiah are also referred to as the body of Messiah and since we are all part of Messiah’s body, we will all be persecuted individually and collectively, prior to Messiah’s return one day, as witnessed from Revelation 12: 17, as follows: ‘And the dragon was enraged with the woman (a symbol of the congregation of Elohim), and went off to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of Elohim and hold to the testimony of Yahshua.’ So here we see the rest of the seed of the woman – those who were immersed into the saving name of the one seed of the woman, namely Yahshua, will be persecuted.

We read further from Ephesians 1: 22 & 23: ‘And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the congregation, (23) which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.’ The question is how can we be triumphant if we are whisked away from earth before the final battle? The point is that we as Messiah’s body will crush Satan’s head and in turn he will bruise Messiah’s heel, meaning Jacob during the soon coming great tribulation. But, we see from Ephesians 1, that we will ultimately be victorious through Messiah, the head of us, His body. Those who believe that we will walk into the Promised Land without lifting a finger are missing the point. How will we defeat Satan and his agents, if we are simply raptured away into heaven? The battles for the Promised Land were prophetic shadows of our final battle between the body of Messiah and Satan over the earth. It was because of fear that our forebears who made the covenant with YHVH at Mount Sinai were not allowed to enter the Promised Land. If we truly understand the prophetic nature of the Tanach, we will also understand that the events of the past is a detailed plan for us in the future. If we truly walk in the way in which Messiah interpreted Torah, we need to forget the rapture theory that came from Churchianity. Because most of us do not understand the prophetic nature of the Tanach, we do not fully understand Elohim’s plan for us. Many true believers will be martyred during the soon coming great tribulation, but we will also see numerous supernatural deliveries for many others, similar to during the original exodus. Messiah foretold that as He was persecuted, we as believers in Him will also be persecuted. We read finally from Revelation 12: 11, ‘And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even to death.’ In spite of the martyrdom of many believers, the tribulation battle will be the greatest deliverance of the body of Messiah. The fear of warfare against the inhabitants of the Land of Israel caused the Israelites to wander in the wilderness for forty years. The Rapture option that many look for is much like the way the children of Israel longed to return to Egypt. They did not get to the Promised Land because of disobedience of Elohim’s detailed instructions.

If we consider what happened to faithful believers like Noah in the Tanach, we will see that those who remained faithful remained alive, even though they were saved miraculously from death, the rest being sinners were taken away (or raptured), as also witnessed in Matthew 24: 37 – 39, in this way: ‘For the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah. (38) For as in those days which were before the flood they were eating and drinking, they were marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, (39) and they did not understand until the flood came and took them all away; so shall the coming of the Son of Man be.’ A second witness to sinners being taken away comes from Ezekiel 33: 1 - 4, as follows: ‘And the word of YHVH came to me saying, (2) “Son of man, speak to the sons of your people, and say to them, ‘If I bring a sword upon a land, and the people of the land take one man from among them and make him their watchman; (3) and he sees the sword coming upon the land, and he blows on the trumpet and warns the people, (4) then he who hears the sound of the trumpet and does not take warning, and a sword comes and takes him away, his blood will be on his own head.”’ Finally we read from Isaiah 64: 6, ‘For all of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment; and all of us wither like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.’ But, I still hear some doubters asking: ‘How then will the elect of Elohim be gathered when Messiah returns, as recorded in Matthew 24: 31?’, in this way: “And He will send forth His angels with a GREAT TRUMPET and THEY WILL GATHER TOGETHER His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.“ The answer is simply that the elect will in the wink of an eye, disappear from the place where they reside at Messiah’s return and be delivered at the Mount of Olives to meet Messiah in a cloud covering the mountain, in a similar way to which Philip disappeared after immersing the eunuch in Acts 8: 38 – 40, as follows: ‘And he ordered the chariot to stop; and they both went down into the water, Philip as well as the eunuch; and he immersed him. (39) And when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of YHVH snatched Philip away; and the eunuch saw him no more, but went on his way rejoicing. (40) But Philip found himself at Azotus; and as he passed through he kept preaching the gospel to all the cities, until he came to Caesarea.’ In addition, those in the first resurrection who have been changed from flesh and blood human beings to spirit beings, will be able to move from place to place at will, without having to physically travel there.

Even so, we see from Revelation 12: 6 that the woman (meaning Elohim’s true congregation) will be nourished (or fed spiritual food) in a place in the wilderness (on earth), specially prepared for her for the duration of the tribulation and the Day of YHVH, for a period of 1260 days. Yes, Elohim’s true congregation will still receive teachings during the tribulation and day of YHVH, but will remain in the wilderness during that time. Considering these facts, ask yourself: Do you still want to be raptured away, or do you want to inherit the Kingdom of Elohim on earth for all eternally. Think carefully about it!

Note: All Scriptures quoted from the New American Standard Bible (1977), unless otherwise indicated.

[1]Those at Messiah’s return will be part of the first resurrection, as described in Revelation 20: 6, in this way: ‘Blessed and holy is the one who has a part in the first resurrection; over these the second death has no power, but they will be priests of Elohim and of Messiah and will reign with Him for a thousand years.’

[2] Those in the second resurrection after Messiah’s millennial rule are the ones spoken about in the first part of Revelation 20: 5, as follows: ‘The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were completed.’

[3]The land of Canaan is on earth and Abraham was promised this piece of land as an everlasting possession; if we are heirs of Abraham through our faith in Messiah, we too will inherit the Promised Land, from where the Kingdom of Elohim will be administered by Yahshua and His saints.