All Doves:
Just as the Church was a mystery to the Old Testament prophets, so was the Rapture a mystery that Jesus did not reveal to the disciples, and thus left until Paul became the Apostle to the Gentles. I note this because there is a pattern in Paul's ministry from his conversion from Saul of Tarsus. After Paul was saved on the Road to Damascus, he went into Arabia where he spent three years having the Gospel of Grace revealed to him by the risen Christ Jesus. Galatians 1:12 states, "For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ."
Paul probably went to Mount Sinai, where Moses received the Ten Commandments. Mount Sinai is not really located in the Negev in Egypt, as most of the church has been taught for hundreds of years. It is located in Arabia. Read Galatians 4:25, "For this Agar is mount Sinai, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children". I have mentioned the discoveries of Dr. Lennert Moller from Sweden, author of 'The Exodus Case' has been revelatory for folks. I say "revelatory" because prior to 2000, the Christian world did not have a single piece of evidence that the Exodus event ever occurred outside of what the Bible describes. There is a fascinating sequel report to Dr. Lennert Moller's crowning work on the Exodus.
I don't recall previously sharing this with the Doves, but Bill and Penny Caldwell produced a video six years ago that is just as important in validating the Exodus event. The video is called "God of the Mountain", and it is two hours in length but when watching it seems just minutes in passing. Their web site is called: "splitrockresearch.org" if anyone would like more information or wish to order their DVD. I believe that it is viewable on the Internet at no cost as well. The Arabic name of the Mount Sinai is Jebel Maqla in Arabic today. I encourage everyone to search it out on the Internet at the "Light of the Southwest Christian TV network". The Caldwell's and their two children lived in Saudi Arabia for 12 years, Jim was employed by the largest oil refinery in Saudi Arabia. In their down time and vacations they did backpacking and exploring into the desert of Saudi Arabia. I can't tell you all of the fascinating details of what the video reveals but I can say that it is incredible. The video is the back side of the Israelite crossing the Red Sea and what took place once the arrived at the eastern side of the Red Sea and their forty-year wandering in the wilderness enroute to the Promised Land.
As I stated, Paul received Six Major Revelations while he spent three years in Saudi Arabia. Those six revelations given by God include:
1. The mystery of Israel's blindness -(Romans 11:25)
2. The mystery of the resurrection of the dead in Christ -(1st Corinthians 15:20-23)
3. The mystery of the catching away of the living saints -(1st Thessalonians 4:16-17; 1st Corinthians 15:51-52),
4. The mystery of the dispensations of time -(Ephesians 1:9-10).
5. The mystery of the Gentiles and the New Covenant -(Ephesians 3:5-9).
6. The mystery of Christ and the Church -(Ephesians 5:32).
Ever since Dr. Lennert Moller's book came out in 2000, mainline Christianity, for whatever reasons, have ignored his work. It behooves me as to why Christian pastors chose to ignore such incredible evidence to something the church has ineptly been unable to describe in the Bible. This goes double for the findings of the Caldwell's concerning the calling of God's people out of Egypt and delivering them to the Promised Land. The journey to the Promised Land should have taken no more than 2-3 weeks but ended up taking what would be a generation, some 40 years.
The Caldwell's made 15 exploration trips ito the area and recorded footage of one of the most significant Biblical events of the Old Testament. Their many trips and findings, coupled along with Dr. Lennert Moller's work clearly demonstrate that the Church got it all wrong, both about the location of Mount Sinai and the actual route of the Exodus. Satellite infrared pictures during the first Gulf War revealed the actual route of the Exodus, which corresponded to the Biblical encampments made by the Israelites. Archeologists and scientists investigated the infrared images following the end of the Gulf War. They found that the sand was ground so fine that it held the heat from the hot Sun during the day and was visible at night with infrared satellite.
Today, most of the church, Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Greek and Russian Orthodox, and nearly all of Mainline Protestant churches today have ignored the Six Revelations noted above, choosing to ignore, dismiss, or reject the message of the Apostle Paul. I have been at this long enough to know that it has been a consequence of Supersessionism, or known to lay folks as "Replacement Theology". I have said it more than once, but "Replacement Theology" has been a curse on the Gentile world because of how it misrepresents God's relationship with the Apple of His Eye! The folks that have been deceived into believing the Church has replaced Israel or mislead other folks to believe it, are in for a huge disappointment if I am correct. I don't say this casually without years of study and thought on it, frankly not wanting to believe it, but I have believed for some length of time that those that hold this view will be denied the benefits of the Pre-Tribulation Rapture. It should never be assumed that because Christ Jesus never mentioned the Rapture, that it is not a Bride/Church reality. These are "Promises" of God and cannot simply be ignored by the believer:
++We shall not all sleep - i.e. there will be some believers alive at the time of the Rapture.
++We shall all be changed - refers to the resurrection body.
++In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye - a reference to the time element. The Rapture is not going to be a long, drawn out process of evacuation. We will be with Christ Jesus instantly.
++The dead in Christ shall be raised incorruptible - the resurrection body does not include the decay and corruption of sin and death.
++We shall all be changed - another reference to the new physical body and new personal attributes associated with the resurrection body.
++This corruptible must put on incorruption - the most important feature of our resurrected body is that there will be no sin nature.
++This mortal must put on immortality - the believer will not die but will receive an immortal body.
++The dead in Christ (believers who have died previous to the Rapture) will be raised first. Then, those in Christ, who are still alive will be taken up. -(1st Thessalonians 4:16,17).
++The Rapture is a rendezvous for the living and the dead Christians. Confidence in the Rapture is based on the resurrection of Jesus Christ -(1st Thessalonians 4:18).
++In principle, the Lord Jesus Christ is the "first fruits" of the believer, as noted in 1st Corinthians 15:20-23. Read this passage first, then note the following comments:
++First fruits - pictures the resurrection of Christ Jesus which is a guarantee of our bodily resurrection.
++By man came death - through Adam came spiritual death with the end result of physical death for every human.
++By man came also the resurrection - by Jesus Christ, in His humility, came spiritual resurrection (salvation) followed by physical resurrection -(Philippians 3:21).
++The word "hope", translated from the Greek word ("elpis"), meaning "confidence", is a technical designation for the Rapture in at least three Bible passages, including:
-The living hope -(1st Peter 1:3)
-The blessed hope -(Titus 2:13)
-The purifying hope -(1st John 3:3)
++The Rapture takes the sting out of death -(1st Corinthians 15:54-56). Therefore, the Rapture removes the despair of bereavement -(1st Thessalonians 4:13-16). This confidence in the Rapture comes through the obtaining of wisdom, discernment, and knowledge of the Plan of God -(Job 19:25-27). The edified believer has real confidence. The result is blessing, peace, a relaxed mental attitude, and stability.
++The believer has a "reservation" in heaven -(1st Peter 1:4; Ephesians 2:6. The Rapture takes the believer to the mansions which Christ Jesus has prepared in advance -(John 14). Its like having checked in for your flight by computer and getting your boarding pass without standing in line at the airport terminal!
++The testing which the believer and the Church endure during the Church Age is terminated with the Rapture. The body of Christ is no longer a target of Satan in spiritual warfare. He can't tough you after "The Departure"!
++It is not known and cannot be predicted, when the Rapture will occur. Nevertheless, the Bible directs us to pursue certain activities while waiting for the Rapture. These include staying in fellowship (1st John 2:28; Keeping the faith-rest relationship (2nd Thessalonians 1:2); Having confidence -(Philippians 1:6); Have patience -(James 5:8; Isaiah 33:4; and 2nd Timothy 2:15).
The following are additional reasons that determine the Pre-Tribulation Rapture to be our trustworthy "Blessed Hope":
1. The Old Testament foretold a time of Tribulation for Israel.
2. Revelation says there are people of Israel who believe, but in the Church Age all people are Christians.
3. The Seventy Weeks of Daniel are best understood by a Rapture of the Church.
4. The Rapture shows God's justice to all mankind.
5. The Rapture is clearly not the Second Coming.
6. The Rapture was a secret but the Resurrections were not.
7. The Church in Thessalonica was upset that they might be in the Day of the Lord, but they would not be if that was what they were expecting.
Be assured God's promises have never failed and we have no reason to doubt that reality, Do not be anxious by those wanting to upset your faith! As I have repeatedly said, do not allow the turbulence of the world take your focus of "The Blessed Hope". Do not let the morons of Lucifer steal your joy, or kill you Hope, or rob you of your blessings!
Pastor Bob