Matt 24:29Immediately 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: 30And 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.31And 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.
Here we will prove what this is not ^^^. This is not the rapture of the Church. I do not have to prove what it is, I only have to prove what it is not to completely neutralize its use in the arguments of the "other tribbers."
Proof:
This is the rapture of the church according to 1 Thess 4:
1 Thess 4:13But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. 14For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. 15For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. 16For 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: 17Then 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. 18Wherefore comfort one another with these words.
Since the "other tribbers" agree that the scripture above IS the rapture of the church, we can use it to debunk one of their favorite "proofs."
Rapture checklist, according to 1 Thess 4 this is what happens during the rapture :
1. Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout
2. with the voice of the archangel
3. trump of God
4. dead in Christ shall rise
5. We which are alive and remain caught up in the clouds
6. We meet the Lord in the air
Now lets look at what the "other tribbers" tell us the rapture is:
29Immediately 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: 30And 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.31And 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.
Here's the "rapture" checklist according to the "other tribbers:"
sun darkened
moon shall not give her light
stars fall from heaven
sign of the Son of man in heaven
Son of man coming in the clouds of heven with power and great glory
He shall send His angels with sound of trumpet
angels gather elect from four winds of heaven
Now lets do a comparison shall we? We'll take the true rapture and compare it point by point with what the other tribbers call the rapture:
During the true rapture, evidence point 1 tells us:
Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout. Can we find this in the other tribbers rapture proof?
sun darkened...(Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout? NO)
moon shall not give her light...(Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout? NO)
stars fall from heaven...(Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout? NO)
sign of the Son of man in heaven...(Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout? NO. I hope that nobody has to spell this out for you..when the Lord Himself descends from heaven it is exponentially above and beyond a "sign" of himself in the heavens...)
Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory...(Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout? NO. There are two words that are common here: Lord and heaven. The descriptors around "Lord" and "heaven" are completely different)
He shall send His angels with sound of trumpet...(Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout? NO)
angels gather elect from four winds of heaven...(Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout? NO)
During the true rapture, evidence point 2 tells us:
2. with the voice of the archangel. Can we find this in the other tribbers rapture proof?
sun darkened...(with the voice of the archangel? NO)
moon shall not give her light...(with the voice of the archangel? NO)
stars fall from heaven...(with the voice of the archangel? NO)
sign of the Son of man in heaven....(with the voice of the archangel? NO)
Son of man coming in the clouds of heven with power and great glory...(with the voice of the archangel? NO)
He shall send His angels with sound of trumpet...(with the voice of the archangel? NO)
angels gather elect from four winds of heaven....(with the voice of the archangel? NO)
During the true rapture, evidence point 3 tells us the rapture occurs with:
3. trump of God. Can we find this in the other tribbers rapture proof?
sun darkened...(3. trump of God? NO)
moon shall not give her light...(3. trump of God? NO)
stars fall from heaven...(3. trump of God? NO)
sign of the Son of man in heaven...(3. trump of God? NO)
Son of man coming in the clouds of heven with power and great glory...(3. trump of God? NO)
He shall send His angels with sound of trumpet...(3. trump of God? NO. There is a "trumpet" during this gathering done by angels but the rapture proof text specifically states that the rapture will happen with the TRUMP OF GOD not just any "trumpet" Please, let the bible define itself and stop trying to make square pegs fit into round holes. Every Word of God has meaning, there are no trivial Words in the Bible, there are no "fillers"....)
angels gather elect from four winds of heaven...(3. trump of God? NO)
During the true rapture, evidence point 4 tells us:
4. dead in Christ shall rise. Can we find this in the other tribbers rapture proof?
sun darkened...(4. dead in Christ shall rise. NO)
moon shall not give her light...(4. dead in Christ shall rise. NO)
stars fall from heaven...(4. dead in Christ shall rise. NO)
sign of the Son of man in heaven...(4. dead in Christ shall rise. NO)
Son of man coming in the clouds of heven with power and great glory...(4. dead in Christ shall rise. NO)
He shall send His angels with sound of trumpet...(4. dead in Christ shall rise. NO)
angels gather elect from four winds of heaven...(4. dead in Christ shall rise. NO)
During the true rapture, evidence point 5 tells us:
5. We which are alive and remain caught up in the clouds. Can we find this in the other tribbers rapture proof?
sun darkened...(5. We which are alive and remain caught up in the clouds? NO)
moon shall not give her light...(5. We which are alive and remain caught up in the clouds? NO)
stars fall from heaven...(5. We which are alive and remain caught up in the clouds? NO)
sign of the Son of man in heaven...(5. We which are alive and remain caught up in the clouds? NO)
Son of man coming in the clouds of heven with power and great glory...(5. We which are alive and remain caught up in the clouds? NO)
He shall send His angels with sound of trumpet...(5. We which are alive and remain caught up in the clouds? NO)
angels gather elect from four winds of heaven...(5. We which are alive and remain caught up in the clouds? NO. Again I hope there is no need to spell this out. "Gathered" and "caught up in the clouds" are radically different words and usages of those words. To say that the scripture would have to have violence done to it to make these two lines fit is an understatement. "Gathered" also has no vertical component to it does it? We will be "caught up" from the earth to the clouds, that is vertical movement. The elect will be gathered from the four winds of heaven implying they were already there in the heavens. Radically different concepts here...)
During the true rapture, evidence point 6 tells us:
6. We meet the Lord in the air. Can we find this in the other tribbers rapture proof?
sun darkened...(6. We meet the Lord in the air? NO)
moon shall not give her light...(6. We meet the Lord in the air? NO)
stars fall from heaven...(6. We meet the Lord in the air? NO)
sign of the Son of man in heaven...(6. We meet the Lord in the air? NO)
Son of man coming in the clouds of heven with power and great glory...(6. We meet the Lord in the air? NO)
He shall send His angels with sound of trumpet...(6. We meet the Lord in the air? NO)
angels gather elect from four winds of heaven...(6. We meet the Lord in the air? NO)
Conclusion:
This is absolutely irrefutable proof that the rapture we all agree on 1 Thess 4 is not the same event that takes place "after the tribulation of those days" in Matt 24:29-31. The other tribbers rapture "proof" has hereby been attacked in detail and found wanting on every single point. Not one single point of detail matches, not one. Whatever is happening in Matt 24:29-31 it is not the rapture and that fact has been established here through point by point comparison with the rapture text we all agree is the rapture of the church.
How much more proof do people need to open up their eyes? Every lie that has been fabricated to discredit the pre-tribulation rapture of the church has been found wanting. The bible defines the bible right? If we all agree that the rapture occurs in 1 Thess 4 and not one detail matches what happens in Matt 24:29-31 then how can anyone argue with a straight face that the rapture occurs in Matt 24:29-31?
grace and peace
