There are so many suggestions and sermons and messages on this subject and even more opinions, however what did He really mean??
Is there something we may have missed;
an idiom, an expression or a metaphor?
כְּגַנָּב בַּלַּיְלָה
Transliteration: ke•ga•nav ba•lay•la
Ga•nav is a thief
and
lay•la is night.
The prefix ke means: as or like,
and ba means: in the.
Maybe we could gain a better understanding of the term when viewed from a Hebrew perspective and not our Greek thinking? Hebrew thought and Greek mindset are very different as we are beginning to realize from our studies. We see so many times in the many parables, Messiah is referring to things commonly understood in His day and time. This is especially true in their culture and in reference to the Jewish/Hebrew/Israelites, whose religious lifestyle was based on the Torah instructions, laws and commandments.
The following may give further insight into the term
thief in the night –
ke•ga•nav ba•lay•la
that Messiah Jesus/Yeshua used…
let the reader decide.
Two of several passages which use the words
“athiefinthenight“:
Matthew 24:43, “Understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of nightthethief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into,”
and
1 Thessalonians 5:2, “You know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thiefinthenight.”
This now well known sentence…
Thief in the night,
is not really a new revelation of a so named ‘rapture-type’ event..
and many have the concept of a person breaking in to steal.
By looking at the origin of this Hebrew concept/ idiom/expression; which has been embellished by images of escaping out of all the bad end-of-the-age events; we may gain some interesting insights.
1Thess. 5:1-11 and especially verse 4 But you are not in the dark (we are children of light) we don’t belong to the night or the darkness so that the Day of The Lord should take you by surprise like a thief for we belong to the light who belong to the day.
We often make reference to this term
thief in the night –
ke•ga•nav ba•lay•la
from the scriptures, but how many really know
what the metaphor of the thief in the night is all about?
In order to understand this idiom/metaphor, we must know historically where this term came from.
We know the Levitical Priesthood had very specific and particular functions and roles.
When the 1st and 2nd Temple existed there was a procedure that Priests were assigned to their duties when they came to serve their two weeks of service.
The High Priest or
another person in charge of the temple,
e.g. the Captain of the guards;
would assign each priest to a particular task.
The High Priest/Kohen ha’Gadol
would make his rounds each night in the Temple,
to make sure that the other priests were doing their duty of
keeping the fire burning on the brazen altar.
The altar was the very heart of the Holy Temple, because all of the service to the Lord was centered around it: all of the daily and additional offerings, as well as the individual and congregational sacrifices.
Three Fires.
Three separate piles of wood burned on top of the altar. The largest of these arrangements was designated to receive all the sacrifices; the second provided the coals for the incense altar within the sanctuary, and the third was the perpetual fire which constantly burned on the altar, as Lev. 6:5 states:
And a fire shall burn there on the altar constantly;
it shall not be extinguished.”
A large pile of ashes formed in the center of the altar from the remnants of these fires. God commanded that the coals be removed from here, and brought to another location outside of the Holy Temple which was known as the place of ashes.
Theashes that amassed atop the altar were taken to the
Beit HaDeshen (theplaceoftheashes),
a pure place outside the Temple
Leviticus 6:4,
on the Mt. of Olives outside the city walls,
or to the large Beit HaDeshen in the north of Jerusalem.
The commandment in the Torah was to
never allow this fire on the altar to go out. Leviticus 6:13.
The priest who was assigned to keep the fire on the altar burning all night understood that the fire could not go out for any reason; this meant that He could not sleep the whole night. If he fell asleep, the fire would not stay stoked with wood, and it would go out, thereby bringing judgment on the entire nation of Israel/Yisra’el.
The priests were also commanded not to have wine or strong drink while serving in the temple (Leviticus 10:9). Alcohol in their blood stream would defile their worship and cause them to become drunk, lazy and sleepy.
The High Priest/Kohen ha’Gadol /or the Captain of the guards, would leave the temple but he would quietly return before daylight. He would first check the fire on the altar. If it was burning then all was well and as it should be; but if it was about to go out, then he would take a shovel of coals from the Altar and go and look for the priest who was assigned to keep the fire burning.
Because the
Kohen ha’Gadol/High Priest
came at an hour
when they were least expecting him to show up,
the priests began to refer to him as…
כְּגַנָּב בַּלַּיְלָה
ke•ga•nav ba•lay•la
If the priest on duty fell asleep and was not watching the fire on the brazen altar, the High Priest would find him sleeping on the job. So it became known as an idiom.
When he found him sleeping on the stone floor the High Priest would wake him up by taking some hot coals from the altar, and after scooping them up with a shovel he would put some on different parts of his Linen garments.
Linen is very flammable and the priest who had fallen asleep would be suddenly awakened by the smell of hot burning coals and his garment on fire. He would immediately strip off his clothes as fast as he could in order to prevent from being burned.
At the end of his turn, the other priests would see him naked, without his garment, and he would be ashamed; primarily because all the other priests would know that he had been caught falling asleep on watch.
According toHebrews 7:17-21
Messiah Yeshua/Jesus is our High Priest
after the order of Melchizedek and his true followers according to1Peter 2:9are His royal priesthood. We are cautioned not to be like those priests who fell asleep when they should have been alert, waiting and watching for the return of their High Priest.
The figure of speech or idiom:
was well known at the time of Messiah.
The High Priest was not a thief but
he came as a thief, meaning:
he came unexpectedly to those who were asleep!!
The priests who were awake doing their jobs
expected him to come before dawn.
This story about keeping the fire burning on the altar is a parable about those who will be doing the Father’s will when Messiah returns to take away His Bride.
Thethiefinthenight
כְּגַנָּב בַּלַּיְלָה
ke•ga•nav ba•lay•la
was the ancient Hebrew reference (idiom) for the time the bridegroom would come for his bride. Luke 12:35-36,
Yeshua (Jesus) associated the same Hebraic idiom in Matt. 25:13 – no man knows the day or the hour – which referred to Yom Teruah, the Day of Trumpets on the first of Tishrei.
And, in Matt. 25:6, ” and in the middle of the night a cry was made, Lo, the bridegroom doth come; go ye forth to meet him.” (YLT)
The thief in the night
was also the ancient Hebrew reference (idiom), for the time the bridegroom would come for his bride/ kallah – כַּלָּה.
For more click link below Hebrew bride, wedding and 10 virgins (natzarim):
Luke 12:35-36, “ 35 `Let your loins be girded, and the lamps burning, 36 and ye like to men waiting for their lord, when he shall return out of the wedding feasts, that he having come and knocked, immediately they may open to him.” (YLT)
The allusion is to persons waiting at a wedding in the night, with torches and oil lamps in their hands.
Lamps are kept burning at night, during the dark hours. The wedding feast was held when the bridegroom came for his bride during the night hours – as a thief in the night.
The Hebrews / Judeans knew the references of the wedding ceremony were also to Yom Teruah, the Day of Trumpets because of the association with the blast of the shofar / trumpet.
The parable comparing the kingdom to a wedding feast in Matt. 22:1-14 lays out the sequence of events for the marriage of the Lamb and the time of Christ’s second coming… at the destruction of Jerusalem.
Those who are not keeping His Commandments will suffer loss and will be judged and punished by fire. We must be about our Heavenly Fathers’ business.
Noah was like the watchful priest that was in charge of the fire on the altar. He kept the fire burning, meaning: he followed the commands, was a light to his generation and he received his reward. Salvation and deliverance out of judgement.
Lot was like the sleeping priest that was in charge of the fire on the altar. He did not keep the fire burning, meaning; he did not let his light shine before men and he suffered great loss.
We are given a command to watch, and keep our garments so that we will not be ashamed when our Messiah returns. Now we can better understand his warning to us in the book of Revelation: Chazown 16:15-19 Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watches, and keeps his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.
In his letter to the Renewed Covenant believers in Messiah, the Apostle Sha’uwl (Paul) wrote to them: “You have no need that I write to you concerning the times and the seasons” 1 Thessalonians 5:1-5
The Day of the Lord
5 But concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write to you. 2 For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. 3 For when they say, “Peace and safety!” then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman.
What did he mean by this statement?
In order to understand what Sha’ul/Paul was saying here, we must understand that the Hebrew word for
times and seasons is
moedim
pronounced – mow-eh-deem.
The word moedim is plural for the
Hebrew word moed.
Hebrew word mowed as seen in the Hebrew Concordance:
#4150 mow’ed mo-ade’ or moled {mo-ad’}; or (feminine) moweadah (2 Chronicles 8:13) {mo-aw-daw’}; from 3259; properly, an appointment, i.e. a fixed time or season; specifically, a festival; conventionally a year; by implication, an assembly (as convened for a definite purpose); technically the congregation; by extension, the place of meeting; also a signal (as appointed beforehand):–appointed (sign, time), (place of, solemn) assembly, congregation, (set, solemn) feast, (appointed, due) season, solemn(-ity), synogogue, (set) time (appointed).
Why did Sha’ul/Paul have no need to write to them about these things?
1 Thessalonians 5:
1 But of the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I write unto you.
2 For yourselves know perfectly that the day of YHWH so comes as a thief in the night.
Because they were all keeping our Heavenly Fathers’ Sabbaths and Appointed Days!
Shaul/Paul, and the Thessalonians were well aware of this metaphor concerning the High Priest and the thief in the night. They practiced these things in the temple year after year and there was no need to explain it to them. If they continued to keep the Fathers’ appointed moedim as he had commanded them to do forever, they would not be taken by surprise.
1Thessalonians 5:3 For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction comes upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.
In ancient Jerusalem, there would be two witnesses who would stand on the walls of Jerusalem and watch for the first sliver (crescent) of the new moon.
When the Father in heaven decided to allow the new moon to appear in the sky, then these two witnesses would sound the shofar/trumpet and all the people in the city would immediately drop what they were doing, and they would run towards the temple for the celebration of
The Day of Blowing or in Hebrew,Yom Teruah.
The Temple doors were only open for a short period of time, and if they failed to make it to the temple before the doors were shut, those who were slow in running to the temple were left out.Once the doors were shut, nobody could get in. Because this feast was to begin at sundown, they had to make sure that their oil lamps were filled so that they could find their way in the dark towards the temple.
In those days, there were no street lights, so they had to carry their oil lamps to help them find their way once it got dark. In Matthew 25, our Messiah told the parable of the ten virgins. Only five of these virgins were wise and had their oil lamps filled when the bridegroom came, but the five foolish virgins had not prepared themselves by filling their lamps with oil.
When The Day That No Man Knows had arrived, the two witnesses sounded the trumpet/shofar, and the five wise virgins were ready to go into the marriage. Much to their peril, the foolish virgins, had no oil in their lamps, and consequently, they could not see their way around in the dark. The foolish virgins were admonished to go and buy oil for their lamps, which caused them to be too late for the feast. When the temple doors were shut, the five foolish virgins were left out.
Many of the inhabitants of Jerusalem would be
working in the fields or
grinding at the mill, Matthew 24:40-42,
and when they heard the sound of the shofar/trumpet
they knew that their work was finished.
Our Messiah was speaking in the language of
Feast of Trumpets typology
when He said that we must
Work while it is yet day, for the night comes when no man can work John 9:24.
Those who were working in the fields had to run towards the temple before the doors were shut. The person who was alert and listening for the trumpet would be taken by the alarm; this was his signal to run towards the temple.
However, those who were not alert and not watching, would not hear the sound of the trumpet, and they would be left in the field or grinding at the mill,
unaware that
the day had come.
Shaul/Paul, knew that these followers of Messiah were
not in darkness because they were keeping their
oil lamps filled and ready for the day when it arrived.
They would not be overtaken by
the day that no man knows
without oil in their lamps.
Their High Priest, Jesus/Yeshua, would come not as
A
for them, because they would not be in darkness!
1Thessalonians 5:
4 But you, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.
5 You are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness.
The Hebrew word for
day is yom – יוֹם
which means the following:
#3117 yowm: yome from an unused root meaning to be hot; a day (as the warm hours), whether literal (from sunrise to sunset), continually, everlasting, season.
The Hebrew word for light
in the Strong’s Hebrew Concordance as
#216 owr אוֹר
which means the following: light, light of day, light of heavenly luminaries (moon, sun, stars); day-break, dawn, morning light; light of lamp; light of life; light of prosperity; light of instruction.
The illustration below of the seven-branch menorah,
each light on the lamp represents
a feast day or
an appointed yom.
Paul was saying that because they and we are
children of the light and of the day,
we will be walking in our Master’s instructions,
and the light or revelation received when we understand and remember His appointed times!
As priests in the order of Melchizedek, we must not be like those priests who would be found
drinking alcohol while on watch and
getting drunk and falling asleep.
We are given clear warning here to
watch and be sober.
The Greek word here for
sober is nepho
which literally means: to abstain from wine.
1 Thessalonians 5:
6 Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.
7 For they that sleep, sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night.
8 But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for a helmet, the hope of salvation.
9 For Elohim has not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Master Jesus/Yeshua Mashiach/Messiah.
The breastplate being spoken of here is an allusion to the
Choshen –
the priest’s breastplate,
that he wore for the twelve tribes of Israel/Yisra’el.
Those of us who are ready will be made kings and priests in the New Millennial Kingdom of our Mashiyach/Messiah as we can read in Revelation 1:6, 5:10. For
the bride who is walking in the light and the truth of scripture,
must go through tribulation
as part of the purifying process
to be made ready without spot or wrinkle
Daniel 12:10, Revelation 3:8; 7:14.
The Hebrew word for
tribulation
in the Strong’s Concordance:
#6862 tsar tsar or tsar {tsawr}; from 6887; narrow; (as a noun) a tight place (usually figuratively, i.e. trouble); also a pebble (as in 6864); (transitive) an opponent (as crowding):–adversary, afflicted(-tion), anguish, close, distress, enemy, flint, foe, narrow, small, sorrow, strait, tribulation, trouble.
Messiah likened Himself to
The thief in the night
who would
come at
an hour that no man knows.
For these people who were not watching with their oil lamps filled, sudden destruction will come upon them as a woman in travail
and it would be too late for them to escape the wrath of The Father. 1Thessalonians 5:3
The priest’s duty was to trim the wicks and
keep the lamp lit at all times.
The menorah represented God, Who is light. Jesus/Yeshua said that He was the Light of the World in John 9:5. When Jesus/Yeshua returns, He will be the Light /the menorah in the Tabernacle as it is said in Revelation, The Lamb will be its light.
For us today we are to be the Light of the World.
As previously noted fire was always burningin the Temple, because the Lord commanded His priests saying,
A fire shall always be burning on the altar; it shall never go out. Leviticus 6:13.
Thefireon the altar was a reflection of God ‘s moving power and His continual ministry on behalf of His children.
Why was the fire in the altar to burn continuously as repeated in Leviticus?
…12The fire on the altar shall be kept burning; it must not be extinguished. Every morning the priest is to add wood to the fire, arrange the burnt offering on it, and burn the fat portions of the peace offerings on it. 13The fire shall be kept burning on the altar continually; it must not be extinguished.
God wanted a perpetual fire there. Recall that before the giving of the Torah/Law, God appeared to Moses“in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up” Exodus 3:2 .
The Fathers Holy presence/His divinity and fire are often connected in the scriptures: Deuteronomy 5:4; Psalms 50:3; Malachi 3:2, and this is because of His power, glory, and the cleansing effects of fire. Just as a fire separates the metal from the dross, so our Father by His work, refines the righteous and also by His judgments, separates the good from the evil.
In the Old Testament, the Lord appeared to Moses in the wilderness in the form of a burning bush Exodus 3:2. And after the Exodus, He walked among His people in the form of a pillar of fire Exodus 13:21–22. The fire represented the presence of the Almighty
1 Corinthians 10:1-4, 9.
The temple fire was originally kindled by God Himself:
and fire came out from before the Lord and consumed the burnt offering and the fat on the altar. When all the people saw it, they shouted and fell on their faces. Leviticus 9:24.
No other source of fire was acceptable to God.
When the sons of Aaron attempted to offer a foreign fire, they were killed. Numbers 3:4.
The Jewish historians affirm that this fire burned continuously through their sojourning years in the wilderness.
The fire of the Lord was again sent down during the dedication of the new temple by Solomon in 2 Chronicles 7:1 and it would seem that it continued until the Babylonian captivity.
Some Hebrew traditions even claim that it continued for more than 1,400 years, never being allowed to be put out until the final destruction of the temple at Jerusalem in 70 AD.
John the Baptist prophesied that the Messiah was to baptize people with the Spirit and with fire Matthew 3:11; Luke 3:16.
And after the Resurrection, His Holy Spirit at the Day of Pentecost came down and filled the people taking the form of
“tongues of fire” Acts 2:3.
Jesus/Yeshua said in John 16:1 I have told you these things so you wont be caught off guard or taken by surprise. And in verse 13-15 reminding us that Holy Spirit will announce to us the events of the future.
However in 1Thess. 5:1-3 we are told that only the Father knows the times and dates; Matthew 24:36, and believers have no need to know them. Acts 1:7 so all our date setting and calculations are to no avail because the
Day of the Lord will come
like a
כְּגַנָּב בַּלַּיְלָה
ke•ga•nav ba•lay•la
thief in the night.
Is. 2:9; Amos 5:18-20; Zeph 1:7,14; 2:2-3; 3:8.
But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will be dissolved with fervent heat, and the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.
2Pet 3:10
No one knows when exactly Messiah will appear.
Matthew 24:27 When the Son of Man comes, it will be like lightning extremely fast, and everyone will see it, no one will miss it
Verse 30 Son of Man comes on the clouds.
1Thess 5:3 The destruction will come suddenly upon them. The picture of destruction coming suddenly in the midst of (apparent) peace, echoes throughout the Tenakh with the prophets like Isaiah 57:19-21 Jeremiah 6:14 and Ezek. 10:10. Here Paul refers to
Yom Adonai Day of the Lord and Messiahs return as:
the way labor pains come upon a pregnant woman.
The sages/rabbis have historically referred to these troubled times preceding the advent of the Messiah as
the chevlei Mashiach, the birth pains of Messiah.
The expression arises from the prophets who employed birthing imagery, often comparing times of distress and the trials of the day of the LORD to the travails suffered by a woman in labor.
Luke 17:26-30; Genesis 6:13 & Matt. 24:30. In the days of Noah they didn’t know what was happening until the flood came and swept them all away and as for the one taken and one left in Matt 13:24; Messiah clearly says the tares are gathered first verse 30 from among the wheat…so maybe the one taken is not the believer?
Rev. 16:15-19 Of a certainty the Messiah will come as a
and whether the reader holds to
a pre-tribulation, mid-tribulation, or post-tribulation
so named rapture type event;
as the word rapture is nowhere in scripture;
it remains for each of us to
be prepared and ready for
His certain and imminent return.
Because the
Solomon principle
of Ecc. 1:9 solemly declares:
the thing that has been is the thing that shall be
so
..as in the days of Noah and Lot……
Rest assured family, He is coming for His Bride
let’s make certain we are awake!
There is forgiveness of sins and
a future to be gained
for the truly repentant heart…
…don’t wait one more minute,
let the Blood of His Son,
Messiah Yeshua – Jesus Christ
wash you clean and make you wholly ready
for eternity in His presence.
Shalom, shalom mishpachah/family
and cheverim/friends!
It’s all about Life and Relationship,
NOT Religion.
You are greatly loved and precious in His sight.
NOT SURE?
YOU CAN BE..
SAY THE FOLLOWING FROM YOUR HEART RIGHT NOW…
Heavenly Father I come to you in the Name of Jesus/Yeshua asking for forgiveness of my sins for which I am truly sorry. I repent of them all and turn away from my past.
I believe with my heart and confess with my mouth that Jesus/Yeshua is your Son and that He died on the cross at calvary to pay the price for my sin, so that I might be forgiven and have eternal life in the kingdom of Heaven. Father I believe that Jesus/Yeshua rose from the dead and I ask you to come into my life right now and be my personal Savior and Lord and I will worship you all the days of my life. Because your word is truth I say that I am now forgiven and born again and by faith I am washed clean with the blood of Jesus/Yeshua. Thank you that you have accepted me into your family in Jesus’/Yeshua’s name. Amen.
In Bible times, the use of familiar everyday images to assist in describing a subject someone is attempting to convey, was commonplace. Today we do the same and use visual aids, pictures and photographs with modern technology.
The Eagle Stirreth Up Her Nest, fluttereth over her young, spreadeth abroad her wings, taketh them, beareth them on her wings. Deuteronomy 32:11.
As the Israelites would have been familiar with eagles, Moses used them as an aid in telling the people how our Heavenly Father deals with His children.
The mother eagle watches her baby eaglet carefully;
as they grow, she stirs them up a bit first by stopping bringing food, hunger is a great motivator!
Then she removes some of the soft lining of grass and feathers to expose the sticks and thorns; so they will not be as comfortable and contented to lie in the nest.
Hence we get our saying: getting ones’ nest stirred up!
The mother then flutters over them to make them want to copy her and to use their wings as she does; the next step is she pushes them out of the nest and flies down beneath them, carefully watching them so no harm will come to her children.
When her mother eye sees the little wings growing weary, she spreads out her great strong wings; catches them and bears them back to the nest for rest. This process is repeated 7 or 8 times and the baby eagle learns to fly!
The nest is always very high to keep them safe from predators but at the same time, a fall would mean certain death, but the mother eagle knows just when it is time to shake up and nudge out the young from the nest; and precisely when to fly down to bring them back.
That is not just a pretty analogy but is what our Father does for us, He bears us on eagle’s wings. He encourages us to step out in faith and to place our trust in the knowledge that the ever lasting arms are beneath us.
Deuteronomy 33:27. The eternal God is your dwelling place, and underneath are the everlasting arms.
He knows when we are ready and He will stir up our comfort zone too!
He will never leave us nor forsake us Hebrews 13:5; but knows us better than we know ourselves and never requires of us beyond that which we can endure. 1Cor.10:13
We will not however know just how faithful He is, if we are stubborn and refuse to spread our wings and fly with Him!
The song is so true He is indeed by His Spirit/ruach, the wind beneath our wings. Acts 2:1-4
Today if you will hear His voice do not harden your heart..
Hebrews 3:15…..
Make that step of faith ….
don’t delay one more day
and you will know
His mighty presence rise up to meet you
and bear you on His wings!!
Another analogy that we can believe for as we mature is…in
Psalm 103:5. Your Youth Renewed Like the Eagle’s.
We have no doubt read or heard some of this before but for those who have not…
Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed as the eagle’s. Psalm 103:5
This is given as a promise to the righteous and
in the life of the eagle this is actually true.
An eagle lives to a very great age the longest life span of its’ species living up to 70 years. As they grow older at around 40 years of age the talons become weaker and their beaks becomes very long they are unable to catch prey and of course this impairs their ability to eat; Their wings become heavy and stick to its chest making it difficult to fly.
When this happens, the eagle has 2 options; either they will simply die or they can choose to go through a painful transition process which lasts around 150 days.
If they choose the latter, they fly away by themselves finding a secluded place on the top of a cliff and once there they knock and peck continually on a rock until the beak falls off, doing the same with the talons; this initiates a new ones to begin grow in their place.
A little like our milk teeth being replaced as we mature, and new nails growing on fingers and toes..
While the eagle is without the use of the beak and due to the lack of food as this regrowth takes place, the eagle is in fact fasting; so because of this the bird also loses his feathers.
After the new beak grows and the eagle is able to eat again, new feathers start growing, so that it looks and appears like a young eagle.
Once this transformation is completed the eagle goes forth in a new covering with youthful strength and beauty and lives to soar for another 30 years.
Again the picture with the believer is like the eagle, to discard what is worthless and to allow the process of renewal to take place.
To reach that age the eagle has to make one of the hardest decisions in life and like us, many times in order to survive we have to begin a process of change.. We sometimes need to rid ourselves of old memories, old habits and past traditions that are rooted in the old man of flesh, the carnal nature; before we were born agin by the Holy Spirit of the Living God. It is only when we are freed from past burdens that we are still dragging around with us, that we can rise up in newness of life/chaim in Messiah.
Romans 6:4 This is why a change is needed.
Our youthful strength and beauty is renewed by His Spirit, removing all of the old man and his covering, that which we have made for ourselves; and to be clothed spiritually, in His robe of righteousness and garment of salvation.
Our covering is His Blood and as we rise up, having tasted of His Word/Yeshua/Jesus; our hunger is continually satisfied by His promises contained in His Word/Bread of Lifes/Chaim.
In
2 Samuel 6:14
we read
And David danced before the Lord with all his might:
and David was girded with a linen ephod.
At the head of a great procession there would frequently be seen a half naked buffoon dancing, going through gesticulations usual on such occasions.
Buffoon. buf-ōōn′, n. one who amuses by jests, grimaces,
&c.: a clown: a fool.— ns.
Buff′o, the comic actor in an opera;
Note as with other references in the Bible, the word:
naked
is not nude it meant:
with only a loincloth;
it was never understood to be completely without any clothes. The Jewish culture was and still is for the most part, that of modesty.
Another example was when the disciples were fishing/at work, they took off their outer garments.
Just after daybreak, Jesus stood on the beach; but the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to them, ‘Children, you have no fish, have you?’ They answered him, ‘No.’ He said to them, ‘cast the net to the right side of the boat, and you will find some.’ So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in because there were so many fish. That disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, ‘It is the Lord!’ When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on some clothes, for he was naked, and jumped into the lake. But the other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish, for they were not far from the land, only about a hundred yards off.”John 21:4-8.
It was all done in honor of the person to whom the procession was made, and was the place of a slave only.
This action would never have been considered acceptable behavior by any one other than the individual designated.
King David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the Lord with shouting and with trumpets; and David danced before the Lord,
he took the place of a slave at the head of the procession
to do honor to the Lord.
However this was not what Michal, King David’s wife saw, and not understanding her husband’s motive, she thought he had lowered himself before the people, literally behaving as a buffoon and she reproached him bitterly, and the scriptures tell us she despised him in her heart..
It’s a lesson to us not to rush to judge too quickly or too harshly until we know the full facts of a situation.
In fact we are all slaves to the Lord, servants of the most High and Yeshua/Jesus Himself said: But it must not be so among you. No, whoever among you wants to be great must become the servant of you all, and if he wants to be first among you he must be your slave
Matthew 20:26
the greatest among you is to become the servant/slave of all. But the greatest among you shall be your servant.
Matthew 23:11
I came not to be served but to serve For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many. Matthew 20:28
Because it is written so many times in the Psalms,
it is thought to direct the singer:
to pause or be silent
while the instruments played interlude.
Or in other words:
be silent and quietly listen to the music..
Or
pause and calmly think on that..
It is a great word to use when we become flustered or stressed …
we should
selah
pause and calmly think on that …
that which our Father has promised us.
He said I will never leave you nor forsake you
put your trust in Me
and lean not to your own understanding……
Proverbs 3:5-8 KJV Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; And lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, And he shall direct thy paths.
Shalom shalom
‘Mishpachah’
‘Family/Tribe’
משפחה
Mish-pa-KHa,
friends, visitors and every reader…
Please don’t leave this page before making certain you are His
and are truly born from above.
Know of a certainty that Jesus/Yeshua is
your Redeemer, Savior, Lord
and soon returning King
and that you have a personal relationship with Him.
You are greatly loved and precious in His sight.
It’s all about Life and Relationship, not Religion.
NOT SURE? YOU CAN BE..
SAY THE FOLLOWING FROM YOUR HEART RIGHT NOW…
Heavenly Father I come to you in the Name of Jesus asking for forgiveness of my sins for which I am truly sorry.
I repent of them all and turn away from my past.
I believe with my heart and confess with my mouth that Jesus is your Son and that He died on the cross at calvary to pay the price for my sin, so that I might be forgiven and have eternal life in the kingdom of Heaven. Father I believe that Jesus rose from the dead and I ask you to come into my life right now and be my personal Savior and Lord and I will worship you all the days of my life. Because your word is truth I say that I am now forgiven and born again and by faith I am washed clean with the blood of Jesus. Thank you that you have accepted me into your family in Jesus’ name. Amen.
What is the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?
The disciples asked the very same questions 2000+ years ago that we also ask today. His answers are the same today as they were to those disciples; and given an option, it’s probably not what we would choose to hear either. According to Yeshua/Jesus own words, it is not going to be a pleasant time, as this is the time of Gods’ judgment on the rebellious world system.
These following verses which give Matthew and Luke’s account of the same event would seem to indicate that the words parousia and apokalupsis do refer to the SAME ONE COMING OF CHRIST.
In Matthew 24:37 it says …“But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming [parousia] of the Son of man be.” … And the same account in Luke 17:26, 30 says … “As it was in the days of Noah … Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed [apokalupsis].” This is how we are to find out the TRUTH. We need to compare scripture with scripture.
So why are the two Greek words used?
Parousia means presence, a VISIBLE return. And Apokalupsis means to reveal, a REVEALING OF THE TRUTH.
So to turn these two words into two separate comings would appear to make no sense.
They both describe the ONE event, the physical, visible, loud, fiery second coming of Christ, in which the truth will be REVEALED!!
26 “So if anyone tells you, ‘There he is, out in the desert,’ do not go out; or, ‘Here he is, in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it.
27 For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 28 Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather.
29 “Immediately after the distress of those day the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.’
30 “At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory.
31 And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.
Yeshua said,
“…when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is at hand. Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let those who are in the midst of her depart. Let those who are in the country not enter therein.
For these are days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled. Woe to those who are pregnant and to those who nurse infants in those days! For there will be great distress in the land, and wrath to this people. They will fall by the edge of the sword, and will be led captive into all the nations. Jerusalem will be trampled down by the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.
There will be signs in the sun, moon, and stars; and on the earth anxiety of nations, in perplexity for the roaring of the sea and the waves; men fainting for fear, and for expectation of the things which are coming on the world: for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.
Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.
But when these things begin to happen, look up, and lift up your heads, because your redemption is near.”
Luke 21:20-28
Here are 2 separate events,
the sign of your coming and of the end of the age,
that we may have not really read but have just believed what someone told us without taking the time to check it out for ourselves. People tell you the truth as they know it, especially when they have believed what they were told. We have no reason to doubt someone’s sincerity, however they can be sincerely wrong and what we choose to believe will never change truth.
Loving Caveat:
This post may challenge long held beliefs, as it has for mmm, however living in ignorance and deception due to exposure to false teaching/doctrines in the past does not serve us well for the future. Knowing TRUTH is the only WAY that leads to LIFE and makes us FREE in HIM.
This is not about proving or disproving doctrine, or being right or wrong, as always its about TRUTH and the fact remains, that the ‘rapture’ in and of itself, is not as important as the TRUTH that, Messiah IS coming back for His Bride.
The attempt to condense this post failed miserably!!! To divide again would cause loss of focus in the content….so grab some coffee, or whatever is your yen, get comfortable, an apocalypse is coming, so enjoy the ride! This is most assuredly a Megamannamoment! Much Shalom from 1gratefulheart!
Most important and critical to all studies and conclusions is…What does the scripture say?
What does Yeshua/Jesus say?
1 The sign of your coming
2 The end of the age
The end of the age has the signs of the days of Noe/Noah and Lot. This look into the days of Noah has its own apocalypse, revealing facts that have been obfuscated and lost in time..
The sign of His coming. vs. 27-31
Days of Noah,days of flesh– Natural pursuits of the consumer flesh body.
Verse 28, days of Lot
Eating
(Consuming resources, all of these things are fleshly desires and indulging the flesh)
Drinking
Buying
Selling
Planting
Building
Until the day Lot came out of Sodom and it rained down fire and brimstone/meteors and killed them all!
Days of Noah, verse 26.
Eating
Drinking
Marrying
Being given in marriage, (much perverse unrestrained
behavior and lasciviousness).
Sinned against the animals and plants.
This one above on closer examination, could include genetic modification and interbreeding because they ‘sinned against the animals and plants’. No different to todays scientific trends.
Often overlooked for one reason or another, giants, the offspring of intermingling/interbreeding between humans and fallen angels! (Yes apparently it did happen! Og, Goliath, his brothers and the ones the spies encountered, (The Fallen Ones, Rephaim, etc.) were very real. Gives new meaning to ‘we were as grasshoppers in their sight’ and would explain the oversize/genetically modified grapes?!
They came from somewhere and there were more than just one or two. It’s simply that no one talks about it much as it’s become too controversial! The past gets buried, (literally,) or secreted away in vaults which are generally inaccessible to the public and over centuries, the various cultures collective memories fade as generations pass away. What was once common knowledge becomes the stuff of legend and no 21st century person is going to believe such ‘nonsense’! This may be quite a shock to the senses, however it is no joke and yes, that is 36ft or 10.97 meters! Too many bones have been documented to dismiss this simply as a hoax.
As always we encourage personal research. The mere fact that Genesis 6 mentions them and in connection with the Days of Noah, the correlation to End Times is enough to spark our curiosity. (If that’s you, type Gensix Giants in your browser for a site with information and one that also believes in Jesus.)
Here are several pictures of artifacts that appear to be genuine however, we know not everything on the internet is to be believed. First one was from 1895 before photographs could be manipulated.
Further information can be found at http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/6658-giants
Indulging the flesh.
Opposite of abstinence, until the day Noah entered the box/ark and the floods came and killed everybody.
His days were noted by increased fallen angel activity.
Production of Nephilim offspring.
Transhumanism, i.e. creation of hybrids/clones.
Advanced technology.
Rebellion and hostility toward God.
Corruption of Gods creation, human and animal and plant GMO foods and animals.
Inter-dimentional Portals, breaching the barriers between natural and spiritual realms.
Satanic temple sparks uproar by unveiling statue of goat-headed, winged creature called Baphomet in Arkansas state capitol of Little Rock. U.S.A.
The days of Noah included the building of the ark and of course the flood itself.
Noah was pure/righteous in his generations meaning his DNA was undefiled. His bloodline was directly from Adam. 100% human DNA.
Some of the signs are not immediately obvious and many of the writings mentioned in the scriptures that shed much light on the end times; were not included in the canon of the Bible. (As determined by a small group of men at the council of Nicea.)
One of these is the book of Enoch.
Enoch was a important person, he is mentioned in Genesis 5:24. Enoch was the 7th from Adam, the son of Jared (Gen. 5:18) and the father of Methuselah (5:21; Luke 3:37). ‘He walked with God and was not for God took him’. So he had a very close relationship with God.
A little information about Enochs’ book:
We first learn of Enoch in Genesis 5 but it leaves us with questions. Hebrews 11 has the answers and Jude quotes Enoch! How did Jude come to know the words of Enoch? They are not in the Bible. The answer is The Book of Enoch. A book which is actually quoted not only by Jude, but also James the natural brother of Yeshua/Jesus. The Book of Enoch chapter 68:1 “And after that my grandfather Enoch gave me all the secrets in the book…
The Book of Enoch; (also 1 Enoch; Ge’ez: መጽሐፈ ሄኖክ mets’iḥāfe hēnoki), is an ancient Jewish religious work, ascribed by tradition to Enoch, the great-grandfather of Noah. The older sections, (mainly in the Book of the Watchers,) of the text are estimated to date from about 300 BC, and the latest part (Book of Parables) probably to the first century BC.
The Book of Enoch is not accepted as part of the Canon of Scripture as used by Jews, apart from the Beta Israel canon; nor by any Christian group, apart from the Ethiopian Orthodox Church and Eritrean Orthodox Church canon.
It is mentioned in Jude 1: 12-15. quoting Enoch 1:9
The quote is as follows: “In the seventh (generation) from Adam Enoch also prophesied these things, saying: ‘Behold, the Lord came with his holy myriads, to execute judgment on all, and to convict all the ungodly of all their ungodly deeds which they have committed in such an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners spoke against him’.”
James 4:5 Jesus quoted it and so did the apostles
Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. (Mat 5:5) The elect shall possess light, joy and peace, and they shall inherit the earth. (Enoch 5:7 {6:9})
the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the son (John 5:22). the principal part of the judgment was assigned to him, the Son of man. (Enoch 69:27 {68:39})
shall inherit everlasting life (Mat. 19:29) those who will inherit eternal life (Enoch 40:9 {40:9})
“Wo unto you that are rich! for ye have received your consolation. (Luke 6:24) Woe to you who are rich, for in your riches have you trusted; but from your riches you shall be removed. (Enoch 94:8 {93:7}).
Ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. (Mat. 19:28) I will place each of them on a throne of glory (Enoch 108:12 {105:26})
Woe unto that man through whom the Son of man is betrayed! It had been good for that man if he had not been born. (Mat. 26:24) Where will the habitation of sinners be . . . who have rejected the Lord of spirits. It would have been better for them, had they never been born. (Enoch38:2 {38:2})
between us and you there is a great gulf fixed. (Luke 16:26) by a chasm . . . [are] their souls are separated (Enoch 22: 9,11{22:10,12})
In my Father’s house are many mansions (John 14:2) In that day shall the Elect One sit upon a throne of glory, and shall choose their conditions and countless habitations. (Enoch 45:3 {45:3})
that ye may be called the children of light (John 12:36) the good from the generation of light (Enoch 108:11 {105: 25})
the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. (John 4:14) all the thirsty drank, and were filled with wisdom, having their habitation with the righteous, the elect, and the holy. (Enoch 48:1 {48:1})
Sep 14, 2016 – In several of the Dead Sea Scrolls there is a complicated network of parallel … papyri showing portions of the Book of Enoch in Greek (P.Mich.inv. … Fragments of these books, Enoch and Jubilees, were also found at Qumran Cave 4: I Enoch in Aramaic,Sep 14, 2016 – In several of the Dead Sea Scrolls there is a complicated network of parallel … papyri showing portions of the Book of Enoch in Greek (P.Mich.inv. …
Doesn’t it seems strange that his book was not included? Reading his descriptions of the things God revealed to him may shed some light on why he was dismissed! Controvertial is a word often associated with Enoch. Makes one want to know why! What did they not want us to read?
For the curious a Free copy can be downloaded as a pdf at this link
Luke 17:30 it will be according to these things on the day the Son of Man is revealed. 27 For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.
Lightning from east to west, clouds, power and great glory, (doxa or shekinah), angels with loud trumpet calls gathering the elect who apparently are still on earth.
It’s Not going to be hard to miss!
There is another option to Daniels 70 weeks suggesting that 69 have already passed and with 1 week left. The thought is that the last week which is indicative of a 7 year period began when Yeshua Messiah was born and further that the half of that ‘week’ was fulfilled by His 3 1/2 years of ministry. The conclusion being that the final 3 1/2 years is the time of Jacobs trouble/tribulation in the last days just prior to His return? An interesting interpretation!
On researching this subject there was no specific reference found in the scriptures pertaining to a literal period called the 7 year tribulation! Like most having been taught and believed in a rapture, it is somewhat disturbing to find the Word of God doesn’t seem to support that belief!
Remember when you believed in things like Easter Bunny/Tooth Fairy/Father Christmas.
We are ensnared by half truths and fables, (lies) and make believe, since we were little children. We were told stories that were pure fiction and when we find out they are not true we inevitably go through a process.
Shock – someone we trusted told us something that’s not true
Disbelief – don’t want to acknowledge the 1st and still want the ‘lie’ to be truth, so we may choose to continue to believe it until one day there is undeniable proof.
Anger – why did they do that and now I have to get over the issues
Reality – people don’t know everything and sometimes they lie! so can you trust what people say?
Sense of loss/sadnessour bubble has been burst, our sense of reality has changed. Innocence is being diminished a little more.
Disappointment and disillusionmentthat we believed something that seemed wonderful only to have the illusion taken away.
There are similar feelings that accompany learning and realizing other ‘truths’. Especially spiritual ones!
Some are much more serious than a bunny and old men in red costumes.
However there is nothing worse than finding out something after the fact that is contrary to our strongly held opinions and doctrines and worse someone knew and could have told you.. Wouldn’t we rather know the truth however unpalatable and inconvenient at the time and have to deal with it now, and not when it’s too late? How many millions are going to cry out, ‘Why didn’t you tell me about salvation through Jesus/Yeshua’? Why didn’t you make me listen?
The Truth will make you free and it is the Way that leads to Life.
How can we be prepared if we don’t know what to be prepared for?
Charts showing various sequences of end time events
There is no debate of whether or not a type of rapture (as in Messiah/Jesus is coming for the saints) will occur; the Bible is clear on that question. There are 2 Comings He came the 1st time and He will return which is the second coming.
The catching away does not scripturally fit with a separate rapture, that is, apart from at the second coming!
What if there is not such a thing as the rapture as has been taught?
The Rapture is the belief that faithful Christians will be bodily caught up from the earth, suddenly taken out of the world, avoiding all the bad end time tribulation, to be united with the Lord in the air.
However, not only did Yeshua/Jesus not mention a rapture, but the word “rapture” as such, does not occur in the Bible.
What if we are looking for the wrong event?!
It’s all in the timing.
Reading the scriptures carefully gave pause for thought and after confirming some facts, the findings are presented here.
Yes, Messiah Yeshua/Jesus is coming
for the believers who are ready
and looking for His coming.
However, it clearly says in Thessalonians that those who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with Him in the clouds
BUT..it also says..
that our being taken up to be with the Lord will not precede the resurrection of the dead in Christ!
So when is the resurrection of the dead? Whenever that occurs….we are next!
“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. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep.
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.
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” (1 Thess. 4:13–18,
The Greek term meaning “caught up” is harpazo, which means to seize suddenly or snatch. In Latin the word is rapio, which means to seize and carry away; it is from this Latin word that the term “rapture” comes.
The word ‘rapture’ is in the Bible if you have the Latin Vulgate!
Seems like we should be looking for the resurrection of the saints instead!
1 Corinthians 15:50-52 tells us that we shall be changed at the last trump. The LAST, that means there is not another trump after that one!
While it is true, that the word rapture is found no place in our English Bibles, it comes from the Latin word rapturo, (Latin)which means the very same thing as the Greek word harpazo (Greek) in 1Thessalonians 4:17.
1 Thessalonians 4:14 For if we believe that Yeshua died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Yeshua will Elohiym bring with Him. 15 For this we say unto you by the word of the Father/YHWH, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Father/YHWH shall not prevent them which are asleep. 16 For the Father/YHWH himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of Elohiym: and the dead in Messiah shall rise first: 17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up [harpazo, rapturo] together with them in the clouds, to meet the Father/YHWH in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Father/YHWH.
This Greek word harpazoin 1 Thessalonians 4:17 means the following: to seize, to catch away, to pluck, pull, take (by force), and it has the very same meaning as the Latin word rapturo.
It is also the same word in Hebrew for takenin2 Kings 2:11 which islaqachwhen Elijah was taken in a chariot of fire:
#3947 laqach law-kakh’ a primitive root; to take (in the widest variety of application): —accept, bring, buy, carry away, drawn, fetch, get, infold, many, mingle, place, receive(-ing), reserve, seize, send for, take (away, up), use, win.
It is important to point all of this out because there are some that would try to argue that there is no such thing as a rapture/catch awaybut this is not the case. The issue is timing and that it has a different name.
As already stated this word does not appear in our English Bibles, the word rapturo (Latin) or harpazo (Greek) or laqach (Hebrew),all mean the very same thing, as when the bridegroom comes and seizes his bride and carries her away into the marriage.
The five wise virgins will be taken into the marriage, while the five foolish virgins will be left out of the marriage, and then the door will be shut.
Interestingly, the Hebrew & Greek meaning for takenmeans to take into marriage while the Hebrew & Greek meaning for the word leftmeans to divorce or forsake.
Some teach and believe, the ones who are taken is the bride of Messiah into a set-apart place, and then she returns with Him on white horses after a seven-day wedding.
The ones who are left behind are the ones who are going to be eaten by the birds of prey down here on earth on the Day of Wrath! (Revelation 19:21).
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.
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 is no debate among Bible scholars as to whether there will be a catching away/rapture, but much discussion has occurred over when the catching away/rapture will occur.
We must guard against the ‘itchy ears’ and ‘superficially interested’ in doctrine, or the desire for knowledge; just because we are satisfying our curiosity and want to be ‘in the know’! For we are to be doers of the Word and put into practice what we learn or it is not worth anything.
There have been five main theories put forward as to the timing of the rapture and they all surround what is known in prophetic biblical teaching as the “tribulation” period, which is mentioned by Jesus/Yeshua in Matthew 24 and described in great detail in Revelation 4—19.
The five hypotheses are:
First: Post-tribulation – believers are raptured at the end of the tribulation period, when Messiah returns in judgment (Revelation 19). Second: Pre-wrath – believers are caught up somewhere between the sixth and seventh seals described in Revelation. Third: Mid-tribulation – living believers are taken in the middle of the tribulation period. Fourth: A Partial rapture – only faithful believers are taken to be with Messiah at the beginning of the tribulation, with unfaithful Christians being left to endure it. Fifth: (and most favored) A Pre-tribulation – believers are caught up to be with Messiah before the tribulation begins.
Here are a few brief historical facts
Research reveals that the origin is in fact from an interpretation by John Nelson Darby, considered by many to be the father of dispensationalism, he first proposed and popularized the pre-Tribulation Rapture in 1827-31 and it was further used by Darby and Schofield and then enhanced by the intricate detailed charts by Larkin.
Preached and taught so may times, it became a doctrine and was adopted by various denominations and even inspired movies and books like the left behind series.
This view was accepted among many other Plymouth Brethren movements in England. Darby and other prominent Brethren were part of the Brethren Movement which impacted American Christianity, especially with movements and teachings associated with eschatology and fundamentalism, primarily through their writings.
Influences included the Bible Conference Movement, starting in 1878 with the Niagara Bible Conference. These conferences, which were initially inclusive of historicist and futurist premillennialism, led to an increasing acceptance of futurist premillennial views and the pre-Tribulation Rapture especially among Presbyterian, Baptist and Congregational members.
[32] Popular books also contributed to acceptance of the pre-Tribulation Rapture, including William Eugene Blackstone’s book Jesus is Coming published in 1878[33] and which sold more than 1.3 million copies, and the Scofield Reference Bible, published in 1909 and 1919 and revised in 1967.
The main scripture used is Thessalonians 4: 16-17 where The word rapture is a transliteration of the greek word used and translated as caught up.
The term “caught up” in the verse is where we get the term “rapture.” This is because the Latin Vulgate translated the Greek word “harpazo” into the Latin word “rapiemur.” Both of these words have the idea of a violent snatching away, or capture.
Source(s): Latin Vulgate
If the rapture theory is a true Biblical teaching. Why was it not well known and popularized until the early 20th century?
Amillennialists and premillennialists use First Thessalonians 4:17 to teach that, in the future, Jesus will materially appear in the sky in such a way as to be visible and physically “rapture” the saved from the planet to meet Him in the air, and then to be materially changed and taken to Heaven.
First Thessalonians 4:17: Then [after the dead in Christ rise, v. 16] we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.
The phrase caught up comes from the Greek harpazo which means to seize (Strong’s, Thayer’s, Bauer’s, et. al.; cf. Septuagint of Lev. 6:4 & Jug. 21:21 & 23), and Vine’s and Bauer’s specifically says that a suddenness is involved in the term. (A twinkling of an eye [1 Cor. 15:52] kind of suddenness you think.) An examination of harpazo reveals some interesting information:
It’s derived from the Greek term from which we get our word “heresy“—the term hairesis, which Vine’s says refers to ‘a … choice’ (from [the verb] haireomai [meaning] to choose’). Strong’s says that haireomai means “to take for oneself, i.e. to prefer—choose” (cf. Bauer, Mat. 11:12); i.e., so it’s a choice based on one’s preference.
The Greek term harpazo also carries with it the idea of “oneness,” i.e. making those things or … people … which a person prefers and chooses one with himself, implying of course that they are or become one with each other in the process. An illustration of a biblical example from the Septuagint (the Greek version of the OT):
In Job 24:19 harpazo is used of assimilation of water and sinners: As drought and heat consume the snow water, so the grave consumes those who have sinned.
Two of the scriptures focused on are Matt:24:41: Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Again consider that it’s the wicked one that is removed and the believer left, as in days of Noah and Lot!
and
1Thessalonians 5:4: You [the Thessalonians], brethren, are NOT in darkness so that this day should overtake you [the Thessalonian brethren] as a thief.
Who didn’t have an excuse of being overtaken by the day of the Lord? The Thessalonian Christians. Why? Because they not only knew the signs of Matthew 24, they believed in the Lord who spoke them, meaning that they had no reason to let anything bother them.
This is meaning that believers will NOT be in darkness NOR will it come like a thief for us, however it will come as a thief in the night for those unsaved and not ready. If we are in the light and ready we will see Him coming. We will hear the trumpet.
The sequence through the year being an annual rehearsal of the actual events that will all take place fulfilling what each of the 7 festivals/feasts/appointed days represent. The spring feasts have been fulfilled the fall/autumn ones are said to be also when Messiah returns.
They give detail about the first coming including the date on which He would arrive, the manner of His death, on the birth of the ecclesia the called out ones /church/ecclesia.
The rituals/ feasts speak of a natzal (or rapture) and also of a terrible time called the Yamin Noraim. Days of Acharit ha-yamin, the latter days, is the time of the promise of restoration of Israel.
Only when they are in tribulation, b’tzar lekha, as declared in Deut. 4:30-31. This agrees with Yeshua’s words in Matt. 24:21, foretelling of Israel’s coming troubles in the latter days.
Only after they cry out calling for Him to come saying,
blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord.
Baruch haba be’shem Adonai.
Maybe that’s what we as believers need to be calling out?
Maranatha come Messiah Yeshua/Jesus in reference to Yeshua. Then they will they be delivered during the 70 birthpangs of the Messiah, otherwise called,
Chevlei Mashiach חֶבְלֵי מָשִׁיחַ
(חֶבְלֵי הַמָּשִׁיחַ) the “birth pangs of the Messiah” (Sanhedrin 98a; Ketubot, Bereshit Rabbah 42:4)
or the Time of Jacobs Trouble.
This is the time immediately before the coming of the Mashiach. The world will undergo various forms of tribulation and is called Ikvot Meshichecha the Footsteps of the Messiah. A phrase that comes from Psalm 89:51.
It is this great test of faith during the Chevlei Mashiach that frightened Rabbi Yochanan to the point that he said, Let the Messiah come, but may I not see it!?
The years which are viewed as the birth pangs of Mashiach, are said to last for seven years, during which Israel will be refined spiritually in preparation of His arrival.
The 7 years is a combination of 2 periods of time of 1,260 days each.
(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.
We need to read that scripture again!
(We gloss over it and do not fully understand the ramifications it implies, especially if we have believed we are to be ‘raptured out’ of here before any of that happens!)
Now we can see that the word time in the phrase times, time and a half timescan actually mean several things. If we take the word, time, (mowed/moed), to mean a literal year, then the phrase means the following:
time = mowed in Hebrew = 1 year
times = two years
half times = six months
hence, times, times, half times = 3.5 years
We see that during this time the two witnesses will have a ministry of 1,260 days (3.5 years)
It makes it hard to continue to believe that we will be taken up to meet Messiah in the air before the Great Tribulation, when Matthew 24:29 makes it abundantly clear that Messiah will gather His elect, (we the believers), immediately AFTER the tribulation?
In order to ascribe to a pre-tribulation catching away of the bride, we would have to believe in two raptures for the righteous, but the Bible says in Revelation 20 that there are only two resurrections for two groups of people:
1.) One for the righteous and this is called the first resurrection.
2.) One for the wicked after the 1,000 years are finished.
In 1Thessalonians 4:16-17 the Apostle Paul/Sha’uwl says: ‘the dead in Messiah shall rise first, then we which remain shall meet them in the air.’
So as soon as we see the Abomination of Desolation, then shall be great tribulation (Matthew 24:15-21). The 2 witnesses will prophesy 1,260 days (3.5 years) and the false Messiah will speak blasphemies for 42 months (3.5 years).
The last half of Daniel’s 70th Week (3.5 years), picks up with the Anti-Messiah setting up ‘The Abomination of Desolation’, in the 3rd Jewish Temple, and this it appears is when the Tribulation period actually begins. (Matthew 24:15-21).
Concurrently, the two witnesses in Revelation 11 will also have a ministry that lasts for 1,260 days (3.5 years).
Jacobs’s Time of Troubleis for a time, times and a half, according to Daniel 12 & Revelation 12. As previously noted, the word time in Hebrew and Greek means one year and so time = 1 year; times = 2 years; half times = 6 months, hence 3.5 years. There is no place in scripture that specifically says that the Tribulation is ‘7’ consecutive years; although 1,260 days x 2 = 3.5 years x 2 = 2,520 days = 7 years!
The word tribulation both in Greek & Hebrew literally means persecution.
When they build the 3rd Jewish Temple, the man of sin, will sit in the temple and demand to be worshiped as God (2Thess. 2:4). Then he will probably become possessed, supposedly by the Messiah Jesus, but it will actually be Satan.
(There is already a strange rumor that they have cloned Jesus from the DNA found in the Shroud of Turin. Which it was thought was the burial cloth of Messiah and has recently been disproven).
Messiah Yeshua is said to make his appearance during the eighth ‘year’.
On the eight day, at the beginning of the eight day [also meaning “year”] the baby is to have its foreskin removed – i.e. the concept of a foreskin which acts as a barrier between man and God. We read in Zachariah(13:2) that God will destroy the spirit of impurity form the earth. This is believed that it will occur during the eighth year.
Some scholars say Yom Kippur isalso the same day when Jesus/Yeshua Mashiyach, was circumcised as a baby boy, eight days after Hs birth; and some say it may have been on (our calendar) September 11th in 3 B.C.; which happened to fall on the Feast of Trumpets that year or Yom Teruw’ah.
Why would the Messiah be circumcised on Yom Kippur? His Blood was sprinkled as an infant because His Blood would later on be the Blood of the Lamb that would be sprinkled on the Mercy Seat for Israel/Yisra’el. Hence, the blood released when His foreskin was removed is like the veil to our hearts that is removed when our hearts are circumcised. (Deuteronomy 10:16, Jeremiah 4:4, Romans 2:28). Interestingly in these aspects, it could be said that He fulfilled all three of the Fall Feasts at His birth, for He was born on Yom Teruw’ah (Feast of Trumpets), circumcised on Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) and He also dwelled in a sukkah (manger) with His parents during Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles)!
(Ps. 19:5, Joel 2:16) the children of wrath who are caught off guard by,the thief in the night, are having bowls of wrath being poured out upon them and they still won’t repent. (Dan. 12:10, 1Thess. 5:2, Rev.16:15).
And then after 1000 years, we will go into the 8th day or the 8th millennium, which parallels to the last day of The Feast of Tabernacles. At the end of the Millennium, this present earth that we know of will pass away. This temporary earth, or shelter, that we dwell on, will be replaced by a New Heaven & a New Earth (Rev. 21:1).
At the end of the Millennium on the Last Great Day will be the white throne judgment seat of Messiah. (Rev. 20:11-15)
In a Hebrew Wedding custom, the bride is given a three-day notice that the groom is on the way. She hears the shouts from a three day’s journey in the distance and she knows that sometime within those three days, he will be there to catch her away. It is said that this could very well be the same period of 3 ½ days where the Two Witnesses will have their dead bodies lying in the streets and then at the sound of the 7th angel (7th trumpet), they are resurrected. (Rev. 11:11-15).
Here is why this feast is prophetically called, The day that no man knows. Not only does the bride not know the precise timing of when the bridegroom will arrive; (although she knows the approximate timing), but the enemy is not made privy to this timing, so that he cannot come and kidnap the bride away!
Another reason why Yom Teruw’ah is called, The day that no man knows, is because it cannot be determined by a fixed time on the calendar. It can only be determined by the first sighting of the new moon by the Two Witnesses.
Also, in a Hebrew Wedding custom, the bridegroom (not wanting to make known the exact timing of his arrival to the enemy), tells the nosey people who inquire about the wedding date, no man knows the day nor the hour – only my father knows!(Matthew 24:36). This is a Hebrew Idiom for the Feast of Trumpets.
Only the wise will understand that all these trials and pains of the Chevlei Mashiach are part of a consecutive series of events orchestrated by God in which each new birth pang unfolds a notable occurence and is absolutely crucial and brings us that much closer to our desired goal of future redemption. But many will not understand and will not pass the test.
Zion will be comforted when Messiah Yeshua is received by Israel as the rightful king and He will set up His Kingdom for 1000 year reign of true Shalom. For those non Yeshua believing Israelites, it is the first coming of their Messiah.
We need to get the timeline in correct order. The 7 (messianic) festivals, are the biblical appointed times, God commanded the ancient Israelites to observe.
This is the reason why He commands His covenant people to celebrate and observe His seven annual feast days; ‘as a statute forever in all your dwellings throughout your generations.’ (Lev. 23:21). He wants His bride to be ready when He returns, therefore, He has given her these seven feasts as “holy convocations” (Lev. 23:8). The Hebrew word for convocation, literally means a rehearsal. What is the bride rehearsing for?
The Marriage Supper of the Lamb, as described in Revelation 19:7. Without these seven feasts, the bride will not be ready to meet the bridegroom! This is the reason why the traditional Christian Church does not fully understand prophecy. It is because some are keeping the counterfeit holidays of the Anti-Messiah, such as Christmas, New Years Day in January, Good Friday, Ash Wednesday, Easter Sunday, etc. These counterfeit holidays are patterned after the false Messiahs of the Roman Empire with their Julian & Gregorian calendars and are designed to keep us off course and in the dark concerning the times and seasons of Messiah.
This is why Rev. 18:4 commands followers of Messiah to ‘Come out of her, my people, that you be not partakers of her sins, and that you receive not of her plagues.’
The true bride will not mistake the timing of her bridegroom’s return, because she knows The Times & Seasons (1Thes. 5:1), which are The Appointed Times, Moedim/Mowediym, the seven annual feast days or rehearsals. There are those in the Christian Church who believe that our Messiah’s return is imminent, meaning that it can happen at any time. The justification for believing in His imminent return is a mis-understanding/mis-interpretation of
1Thess. 5:
2 For yourselves know perfectly that the day of YHWH so comes as a thief in the night. 3 For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction comes upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. 4 But you, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. 5 You are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. 6 Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.
From Paul’s warning, it says that only those who are in darkness are expecting His return to be like a thief in the night, but the children of light know when to expect His return, because they are already rehearsing His seven annual feast days! The idea that the ‘Church’ will be taken by surprise without warning into what is commonly called The Pre-Tribulation Rapture. Once we realize that the bride is given clear instructions to observe the seven annual feasts from year-to-year it really has no scriptural foundation. These are the times and the seasons spoken of by Paul in 1Thess. 5:1 which are to help the bride to make herself ready, and to light her path into the marriage supper.
Rev.20:6 …’Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.’
There is no mistaking that there is a time period that is going to be a 1000 years, but when does it start? The popular mainstream teaching is that after the church is raptured, the saints spend 7 years in heaven with Messiah Jesus, while the great tribulation happens on earth. Then after the 7 years, they believe the church comes back to earth with Jesus where He will reign from Israel for a 1000 years.
From the following verse it indicates that the first resurrection may startsthe thousand year millennium.
Matt. 24:30-31 …’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. 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.’
1 Thess. 4:16-17 …’For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.’
So we have the second coming of Messiah in the above scripture, where He sends out His angels to gather the saved. The ‘dead in Christ’ rise first and then those who are Messiah’s and still alive at His coming, they are caught up with those who have been resurrected and they meet Messiah in the air.
A vital point to remember about the second coming of Christ, is that He does not touch the ground when He returns, we meet Him in the air. So this is the first resurrection above, and is it the starting point of the 1000 year millennium?
In Rev. 20:5 it says that ‘the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished’. The rest of the dead are those who are lost (the wicked), that were either killed at the second coming, or were already dead at Christ’s coming. To support with scripture that the lost living at the second coming, ARE killed, look at the following verses:
Lk. 17:26-30 …’And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all … Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.’
When Messiah returns, the lost will be destroyed. Just like in the flood and the fire judgment of Sodom, ALL the lost were destroyed and only the righteous were left alive. And when does Revelation say the lost are resurrected? AFTER the 1000yrs.
The following verses describing what the earth will be like after the second coming of Christ …
Isa. 13:13 …’Therefore I will shake the heavens, and the earth shall remove out of her place, in the wrath of the LORD of hosts, and in the day of his fierce anger.’
Isa. 24:1 …‘Behold, the LORD maketh the earth empty, and maketh it waste,
and turneth it upside down,
and scattereth abroad the inhabitants thereof.’
To put it back to where it once was
Jeremiah 4:23-26 …’I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was without form, and void; and the heavens, and they had no light. I beheld the mountains, and, lo, they trembled, and all the hills moved lightly. I beheld, and, lo, there was no man, and all the birds of the heavens were fled. I beheld, and, lo, the fruitful place was a wilderness, and all the cities thereof were broken down at the presence of the LORD, and by his fierce anger.’
Verse 27 of Jeremiah 4 says that the whole land is desolate, but God will not make a complete end. This matches with the truth that the earth will be ‘made new’, and we will inhabit this ‘earth made new’ after the 1000 years. So God is not going to totally destroy this world. He is going to ‘burn up’ all things in it (2 Peter 3:10) and then renew it (2 Peter 3:13).
Jer. 25:33 …’And the slain of the LORD shall be at that day from one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth: they shall not be lamented, neither gathered, nor buried; they shall be dung upon the ground.‘
The wicked are destroyed at Messiah’s second coming. The saints go to heaven with Him.
One interpretation gained from the scripture above, is that the earth will lay desolate for the 1000 years! Is it telling us this is what the earth will be like during the thousand year millennium? If so, it won’t be a happy, peaceful place where Messiah reigns over the nations, it will be desolate, laid waste and empty! Could it imply that to Satan it will be as a “bottomless pit” to which he is bound for the thousand years? Time will show us if that scenario is accurate or not.
However by all accounts it seems l that we should be looking for the resurrection of the saints!
Jesus/Yeshua, was the first fruit resurrection from the dead. Then many people came out of their graves and walked into the city! Was this also a resurrection? If we are still alive at His coming, we will not be ‘resurrected’ but changed/transformed in the twinkling of an eye, at the speed of light!
Paul teaches that Christ will come at some future point in time for those who belong to Him. Those who are the “dead in Christ” will experience their resurrection first and be gifted with glorified bodies when He comes. Those believers in Christ who are alive at that time will then be instantly transformed from their earthly state to their eternal state, and will not experience death. Instead, they will be caught up, to be with all those who have previously gone on, to be with the Lord and be transferred to heaven. Paul speaks about this generation of believers who will not taste death when he says, “Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, (die) but we shall all be changed” (1 Cor. 15:51).
This is a resurrection, a transforming. We will have to have new bodies because Corruptible cannot go into the presence of a Holy God and must put on immortality/incorruption.
The idea of just living our lives with a, ‘someday being raptured away before anything gets bad,’ may not be the reality, for the years of tribulation include all the events which are listed in Revelation.
Are we spiritually and physically prepared to endure to the end, however long that may be? Partway into the last years? Halfway in? or longer? There is nothing that tells us an absolute, except the resurrection of those who have died in Him. However it does point to His second coming at the end of the tribulation period.
Mathew 24:13 But he that has endured to the end is the one that will be saved.
To endure means “to remain firm in a commitment to be true to the commandments of God despite temptation, opposition, and adversity.”
It would be easy on the flesh and soul to believe we get ‘scooped up’, before any of the events described actually begin. Many 1000’s of our brothers and sisters are however going through horrendous persecution for their testimony of salvation in Yeshua all around the world. Being wrong about the ‘Rapture’, would be fine in this instance, however better to believe the worst and hope for the best and be spiritually prepared for whatever unfolds as time moves forward.
However The Day and Hour is Unknown
36 No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.
As to when the so called rapture will take place, no one knows the exact timing of the event. Messiah confirms this in Luke when He says, “You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect” (Luke 12:40).
Again being prepared and not needing it, is preferable to the shock that we were not ready and be one of those who hearts fail them for fear of what is coming!
That sounds pretty serious!
Failure to prepare is preparing to fail.
Fill those lamps with oil!
We must guard against the ichy ears and being superficially interested in doctrine or the desire for knowledge just because we are satisfying our curiosity and want to ‘be in the know’! For we are to be doers of the Word and put into practice what we learn, or it is not worth anything.
If our doctrine and beliefs are sound and on the firm foundation of the Rock of His Word and we maintain a deep relationship with Him, they will stand the storm of scrutiny.
This is simply to determine if we have some hard times ahead and what to expect and to give us an opportumity to be more prepared than we are today.
Just remember for believers, its NOT the end, it’s a transition into the next part of Fathers plan.
John 14:1-3 …’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 where I am, there ye may be also.’
Jesus said “I will come again and receive you unto Myself, that where I AM there ye may be”.
Whatever is used to try and deceive prior to Messiah’s return, whether its pseudo aliens who supposedly created us, (which are in reality demons, evil spirits and fallen angels,) we know the devil is behind it.
Looking at the above verses, there will be no mistaking it when He does appear.
So for all believers, the apocalypse the revealing is NOT a one time incident, or some event to fear, but something to look at, as a way of being shown things we did not know before. Information that we can better understand concerning what The Ruach of the Father is trying to tell us. When we receive knowledge, then we are accountable for what we have been told.
It’s often a way of waking up a sleepy group of people and encouraging them to go forward, to grow and mature; and we can in fact live in the intimacy and safety of His Shalom presence, even while we remain here. Just as His chosen ones in the days of Noah and Lot, if we are in Him, we will be taken through the things to come.
We need to be about our father’s business, busy doing His commands and not focused on being scooped out of here avoiding any hard times. Let’s look to the author and finisher of our faith and trust His plan. Nothing is going to take Him by surprise and with Him nothing is impossible.
In a nutshell what we are being told is that,
If you seek to keep your life you will lose it, if you lose it you will preserve it alive.
Loving not our lives unto death but focused on Him just as Stephen did.
Flesh always wants the soft option and inevitably chooses the easy road. We are not of those who shrink back but are those who are to be very courageous.
The righteous are bold as lions (of Judah)
There are multiplied 1000’s of our brothers and sisters around the world who are tortured suffering and dying for their faith every day. If we cannot physically change their situation we can pray for them and in turn God will raise up intercessors for our needs.
Chazown (Revelation) 22:17
“And the Ruwach ha’Qodesh (Holy Spirit) and the bride say, Come. Andlet him that hears say, Come…”
Be encouraged family we are awaiting the return of our King and He will NOT disappoint us. You are greatly loved!
May His Shalom surround, guard and keep you in Name of Yeshua, the author and finisher of our faith.
PLEASE Don’t leave this page before you make certain Jesus/Yeshua is your Redeemer, Savior, Lord and soon returning King and that you have a personal relationship with Him because…
the sands of your TIME on earth are running out!
You are greatly loved and precious in His sight.
Its all about Life and Relationship, not Religion.
NOT SURE? YOU CAN BE..
SAY THE FOLLOWING FROM YOUR HEART RIGHT NOW…
Heavenly Father I come to you in the Name of Jesus/Yeshua asking for forgiveness of my sins for which I am truly sorry. I repent of them all and turn away from my past.
I believe with my heart and confess with my mouth that Jesus/Yeshua is your Son and that He died on the cross at calvary to pay the price for my sin, so that I might be forgiven and have eternal life in the kingdom of Heaven. Father I believe that Jesus/Yeshua rose from the dead and I ask you to come into my life right now and be my personal Savior and Lord and I will worship you all the days of my life. Because your word is truth I say that I am now forgiven and born again and by faith I am washed clean with the blood of Jesus/Yeshua. Thank you that you have accepted me into your family in Jesus’/Yeshua’s name. Amen.
There are so many suggestions and sermons and messages on this subject and even more opinions, however what did He really mean?? 
Eagle 
as they grow, she stirs them up a bit first by stopping bringing food, hunger is a great motivator!
The 
The five hypotheses are:
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