Timeline: RAPTURE, Mid Tribulation

FEBRUARY 2, 2018 ~ RETHINKING SCRIPTURE

Personal Comments:

Once more I begin with some personal thoughts.

I have studied all these theories over thirty years and still I am somewhat confused.  I have come to only one conclusion, that is, it is not important the time the rapture will take place, but, rather we are ready with are robes spotless washed in the blood of the lamb.

Theologians and many others have placed too much emphasis on the debate if the rapture happens before, mid, or post tribulation.  None of that matters if we are not washed in the blood of the lamb with our sins forgiven.

I am not sure I agree with the basis that those who hold to the view of a mid-trib rapture and the scripture text they use as an anchor.

So I will present it now:

Revelation 12:1-6 MSG
1  A great Sign appeared in Heaven: a Woman dressed all in sunlight, standing on the moon, and crowned with Twelve Stars.
2  She was giving birth to a Child and cried out in the pain of childbirth.
3  And then another Sign alongside the first: a huge and fiery Dragon! It had seven heads and ten horns, a crown on each of the seven heads.
4  With one flick of its tail it knocked a third of the Stars from the sky and dumped them on earth. The Dragon crouched before the Woman in childbirth, poised to eat up the Child when it came.
5  The Woman gave birth to a Son who will shepherd all nations with an iron rod. Her Son was seized and placed safely before God on his Throne.
6  The Woman herself escaped to the desert to a place of safety prepared by God, all comforts provided her for one thousand two hundred and sixty days.

I have already mentioned on how I interpret certain things about End-Times Prophecy.

• a.  The Woman is Israel
• b.  The Church is the Bride of Christ

Now based on those two things the above Scripture cannot be speaking about the Church and the rapture.

They also argue that the child mentioned in the above Scripture is the Son of God.  To be honest, I am not totally sure who the child represents.

Now there are other who use a totally different portion of Scripture in the Book of Revelation found in the previous chapter, chapter eleven.

Revelation 11:1-14 MSG
1  I was given a stick for a measuring rod and told, “Get up and measure God’s Temple and Altar and everyone worshiping in it.
2  Exclude the outside court; don’t measure it. It’s been handed over to non-Jewish outsiders. They’ll desecrate the Holy City for forty-two months.
3  “Meanwhile, I’ll provide my two Witnesses. Dressed in sackcloth, they’ll prophesy for one thousand two hundred sixty days.
4  These are the two Olive Trees, the two Lampstands, standing at attention before God on earth.
5  If anyone tries to hurt them, a blast of fire from their mouths will incinerate them—burn them to a crisp just like that.
6  They’ll have power to seal the sky so that it doesn’t rain for the time of their prophesying, power to turn rivers and springs to blood, power to hit earth with any and every disaster as often as they want.
7  “When they’ve completed their witness, the Beast from the Abyss will emerge and fight them, conquer and kill them,
8  leaving their corpses exposed on the street of the Great City spiritually called Sodom and Egypt, the same City where their Master was crucified.
9  For three and a half days they’ll be there—exposed, prevented from getting a decent burial, stared at by the curious from all over the world.
10  Those people will cheer at the spectacle, shouting ‘Good riddance!’ and calling for a celebration, for these two prophets pricked the conscience of all the people on earth, made it impossible for them to enjoy their sins.
11  “Then, after three and a half days, the Living Spirit of God will enter them—they’re on their feet!—and all those gloating spectators will be scared to death.”
12  I heard a strong voice out of Heaven calling, “Come up here!” and up they went to Heaven, wrapped in a cloud, their enemies watching it all.
13  At that moment there was a gigantic earthquake—a tenth of the city fell to ruin, seven thousand perished in the earthquake, the rest frightened to the core of their being, frightened into giving honor to the God of Heaven.
14  The second doom is past, the third doom coming right on its heels.

Please note verses eleven and twelve speaking about the two witnesses.  There is a much heated debate about who these witnesses are.  I am not going to debate who they are here in this article.

My main objective is only to point out the three main arguments about the timeline of the rapture.

The third argument needs not much explanation, the post-trib rapture theory.

As I stated in the beginning is for everyone to study the Scriptures soundly interpreting Scripture with Scripture from Genesis to Revelation.  Understanding all in context, not pretext.  Remember, when we take something out of context it then becomes pretext.

In my next article, Timeline: THE RAPTURE, Conclusion I will discuss my journey from my roots to where I feel I stand today in the light of how I understand Scripture today.

Also, how that certain points in history have come together to shed understanding of End-Time Prophecy, some events even in this very decade are fulfilling prophecies in the Holy Scriptures.