The apostle Paul inspired by the Holy Spirit is adamantly stating that the believers will know the truth of the issue, and they will not be caught by surprise. But the rapture teacher would have you believe the theif is quiet as a whisper, and even though He shows up suddenly, no one will see Him or hear Him, and that is why we have a rapture. But that is not what Peter says. Peter writes, But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. 2 Peter 3:10
The day of the Lord will come as a THIEF IN THE NIGHT, but notice what happens. The heavens shall pass away with a great noise and the elements shall melt with fervent heat. Now how is that a secret coming followed by seven years of tribulation. So we can see that 2 Peter can hardly be called a rapture text. We can see from the scriptures studied so far, that the THIEF IN THE NIGHT relates to SUDDEN DESTRUCTION.
Now both Peter and Paul describe the arrival of the thief with tremendous destruction. Ye brethren are not in darkness that that day should overtake you as a thief. The day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night in which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise. Jesus Christ refers to Himself as a thief twice in the book of Revelation. Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame. Rev. 16:15 The apostle Paul reiterates the same message. "Let us not sleep, as do others; but let us WATCH and be sober."
Now recognize the context of this particular pasage in Revelation 16:15. Anyone who has read Revelation knows there are twenty-one judgements. There are seven seals, seven trumpets, and seven vial or bowl judgements. This passage occurs towards the end. For verse 12 states that the sixth angel poured our his vial upon the great river Euphrates. In verse 15 Jesus is saying, I come as a thief. it is stated in the future tense, He still has not come yet. Not only that but look at the very next verse. And He gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon. And the seventh angel poured our his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, 'It is done.' And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake. Rev 16:16-17
Verse 15 Jesus says, Behold, I come as a thief. Verse 16 is Armageddon. So what does this mean? It means that we have been grossly mislead concerning the subject of the rapture doctrine. The apostles did not teach a secret rapture, the pre-trib rapture doctrine was invented 160 years ago. The bible, the Word of God is what counts, its not what tradition has taught. Who cares what some pastor taught in the 5th century, or the 8th century. What does Jesus Christ teach in the bible, the Holy Word of God. People are teaching that you will be removed, you will be preserved, you will be safe, you will not have any hardships, you will be raptured, you will be secretly evacuated. It is a fraud, it is a lie, and its the greatest danger the christian church faces in the 20th century, because they are throughly unprepared.
We have identified that the day of the Lord is synchronized with the thief according to both Paul and Peter. Therefore, if we can study the scriptures concerning the day of the Lord than perhaps we can find when this episode occurs. There is no doubt that the thief and the day of the Lord are one and the same event, for both Peter and Paul have tied the two together. The day of the Lord always speaks of the Second Coming of Christ at the end of the tribulation period. The day of the Lord occurs 23 times in the Bible, and every single reference refers to the destructive, post-tribulational return of Christ.
Howl ye; for the day of
the Lord is at hand; it shall come as a
destruction from the Almighty. Isaiah
13:6
Behold the day of the Lord cometh, cruel with
both wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land
desolate: and He shall destroy the sinners
thereof out of it. Isaiah 13:9
For this is the day of the Lord God of hosts,
a day of vengeance, that He may avenge Him of
His adversaries: and the sword shall devour,
and it shall be satiate and made drunk with
their blood: for the Lord God of hosts hath a
sacrifice in the north country by the river
Euphrates. Jeremiah 46:10
Isn't it interesting that the day of the Lord in this passage included a sacrifice by the river Euphrates. It is precisely what is spoken of in Rev. 16:12 And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared. The river was dried up so this big army could continue to the battle of Armageddon. And what happens at the battle of Armageddon? And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God; that ye may eat the flesh of kings... and I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against Him that sat on the horse, and against His army... and all the fowls were filled with their flesh. Rev. 19:17,21
Lets go to the prophet Zephaniah 1:7,8 Hold thy peace at the presence of the Lord God: for the day of the Lord is at hand; for the Lord hath prepared a sacrifice, He hath bid His guests. And it shall come to pass in the day of the Lord's sacrifice, that I will punish the princes, and the kings children. Sounds familiar doesn't it. Once again the day of the Lord is compared to a great sacrifice that the Lord Himself has prepared. That sacrifice is Armageddon. And it is then that Jesus Christ returns.
The day of the Lord is
near, it is near, and hasteth greatly, even
the voice of the day of the Lord: the mighty
men shall cry there bitterly. That day is a
day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress,
a day of wasteness and desolation, a day of
darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and
thick darkness. Zephaniah 1:14,15
For the day is near, even the day of the Lord
is near, a cloudy day, it shall be the time
of the heathen. Ezekial 30:3
The day of the Lord comes as a thief in the night. The thief in the night is synmonous with the day of the Lord. It is a day of wrath and fierce anger, it is a cruel day of vengeance, it is a day of trouble and desolation, it is a day of darkness and gloominess. It is a day of great destruction. The heavens shall pass away with a great noise and the elements shall melt with fervent heat.
Alas for the day! For the day of the Lord is at hand, and as a destruction from the Almighty shall it come... A day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and of thick darkness... The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of the Lord come. Joel 1:15, 2:2,31
The sun shall be turned into darkness and the moon into blood... that should sound very familiar to you. And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood... For the great day of His wrath is come, and who shall be able to stand? Rev. 6:12,17
This is exaclty what Jesus says in Matthew, Mark and Luke... so now we have come full cirle.
Immediatley 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: 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. Matthew 24:29-31
But in those days, after the
tribulation, the sun shall be darkened, and
the moon will not give her light, and the
stars of heaven shall fall, and the powers
that are in heaven shall be shaken. And then
shall they see the Son of man coming in the
clouds with great power and glory. And then
shall He send His angels, and shall gather
together
His elect (chosen ones) from the four winds,
from the uttermost part of the earth to the
uttermost part of heaven Mark 13:24-27
And there shall be signs in the sun, and in
the moon, and in the stars; and upon the
earth distress of nations, with perplexity;
the sea and the waves roaring, mens hearts
failing them for fear, and for looking after
those things which are coming on the earth:
for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.
And then shall they see the Son of man
coming in a cloud with power and great glory.
And when these things begin to come to pass,
then look up, and lift up your heads; for
your redemption draweth nigh. Luke
21:25-28
Jesus says that AFTER the tribulation shall the sun be darkened and the moon shall not give her light, and THEN He comes in the clouds. Joels says the sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood BEFORE the great and terrible day of the Lord. So we must conclude that the day of the Lord occurs at the end of the tribulation. Jesus Himself said that He would come After the tribulation of those days. He will come with His angels, there will be the sound of a trumpet, and then He shall gather together His elect from the four winds. Clearly the day of the Lord, the thief in the night, the rapture, the Second Coming of Jesus Christ... occurs after the tribulation
End of Part I
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The Rapture - Part II
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