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MATTHEW 24:29-31 (Jesus)
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.
1 CORINTHIANS 15:51-53 (Paul)
51 Behold, I show you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,
52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall
be changed.
53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.
1 THESSALONIANS 4:15-18 (Paul)
15 For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain to the coming of the Lord shall not go before those who are asleep.
16 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.
17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: so shall we ever be with the Lord.
Note: The seventh seal in Revelation contains the seven trumpet Judgements:
(Revelation 8:1-2) "And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour.
And I saw the seven angels which stood before God; and to them were given
seven trumpets."
The last of these seven trumpet judgements is "the last trump:" (1 Corinthians 15:52), when "the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed." This is obviously referring to "the first resurrection" of the righteous dead, which takes place at the rapture, and shows that the rapture occurs at the end of the trumpet judgements. As these trumpet judgements occur just before Jesus returns, it shows that the rapture occurs at Jesus' only coming, which is after the tribulation (Matthew 24:29-31). Other evidence confirms this timing:
(Revelation 10:7) "But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he has declared to his servants the prophets."
What "mystery" of God will be finished at the sound of the seventh trumpet? It must at least include the one Paul talked about when he said:
(1 Corinthians 15:51-52) "Behold, I show you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall be changed,
In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump:
for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we
shall be changed."
This is the rapture, and confirms that it happens at the seventh trumpet judgement. Here is more evidence:
(Revelation 11:15) "And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever."
When do the kingdoms of this world become the kingdoms of Christ? After the seventh trumpet, at the start of the millennium, showing that the rapture takes place just before the start of the millennium, on "the last day" (#3.1), at Jesus' second coming (#3.2), after the tribulation (Matthew 24:29-31).
MATTHEW 24:29-31 (Jesus)
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.
MARK 13:24-27 (Jesus)
24 But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light,
25 And the stars of heaven shall fall, and the powers that are in heaven shall be shaken.
26 Then shall they see the Son of man coming in the clouds with great power and glory.
27 And then shall he send his angels, and shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from the uttermost part of the earth to the
uttermost part of heaven.
1 THESSALONIANS 4:15-17 (Paul)
15 For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain to the coming of the Lord shall not go before those who are asleep.
16 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.
17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: so shall we ever be with
the Lord.
Note: Other scriptures also indicate that Jesus will come in the clouds with great power and glory at his second coming (Daniel 7:13; Matthew 26:64; Mark 14:62; Luke 21:27; Revelation 1:7). In both accounts it happens after the tribulation (Matthew 24:29; Mark 13:24), and so refutes both the errors of a pre-tribulation rapture, and a mid-tribulation rapture.
MATTHEW 24:29-31 (Jesus)
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.
MARK 13:24-27 (Jesus)
24 But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light,
25 And the stars of heaven shall fall, and the powers that are in heaven shall be shaken.
26 Then shall they see the Son of man coming in the clouds with great power and glory.
27 And then shall he send his angels, and shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost
part of heaven.
1 THESSALONIANS 4:15-17 (Paul)
15 For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain to the coming of the Lord shall not go before those who are asleep.
16 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.
17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: so shall we ever be with the Lord.
Note: All these scriptures indicate that Jesus comes back with angels, not people, and this is fully explained later (See #5.1). Again in both accounts it occurs after the tribulation (Matthew 24:29; Mark 13:24), and so refutes both the errors of a pre-tribulation rapture, and a mid-tribulation rapture.
JOEL 2:30-31
30 And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.
31 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of the LORD come.
MATTHEW 24:29-31 (Jesus)
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.
MARK 13:24-27 (Jesus)
24 But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light,
25 And the stars of heaven shall fall, and the powers that are in heaven shall be shaken.
26 Then shall they see the Son of man coming in the clouds with great power and glory.
27 And then shall he send his angels, and shall gather together his elect from the
four winds, from the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost part of heaven.
LUKE 21:25-27 (Jesus)
25 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;
26 Men's 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.
27 And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.
ACTS 2:19-20 (Peter)
19 And I will show wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke:
20 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come:
REVELATION 6:12 (John)
12 And 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;
Note: In order to explain the meaning of this section, we will have to look at some
more typology. The physical sun is the source of all light to the physical world, and during the night, when the sun cannot be seen, its light is
reflected onto the world by the physical moon. In a spiritual sense Jesus is the light of the world (John 8:12; 9:5), the people of the earth are the world
(John 3:16), and the moon is symbolic of the church. While Jesus was upon the earth it was a time of spiritual day (John 9:4), but when he died, and the
world could see him no more, we entered into a time of spiritual night. The only light that the world can now see is that reflected by the spiritual moon,
the church. Thus Jesus told his disciples, "You are the light of the world." (Matthew 5:14), just as we consider the moon to be the light of the physical world
during the night. The spiritual and the physical often run parallel to one another, so when the spiritual light of the world was extinguished on the
cross, the physical sun also was darkened (Matthew 27:45; Mark 15:33; Luke 23:44). Bearing all this in mind, let us now examine the scriptures concerning the sun
and the moon during the tribulation period.
Firstly, we have the tribulation on the church: persecution under the fifth seal (Revelation 6:9-11). This does not completely destroy it because others are to
be killed later (Revelation 6:11), and so the persecution continues under the sixth seal judgement, when
"the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the
moon became as blood;" (Revelation 6:12). This is a time of great spiritual darkness, when the word will be under strong delusion (2 Thessalonians 2:11), and
"the
moon became as blood;" we might interpret as symbolic of the continued persecution on the church. The time of all this is during the sixth seal
judgement, and there may, or may not be also physical signs with it.
Secondly, we have the tribulation on the Jews: persecution by "the beast", and from other sources (See #4.3), after which the sun and moon are darkened
(Matthew 24:29; Mark 13:24). This may be a literal astronomical phenomenon, but the point to note is that it occurs after the tribulation, and before Jesus returns.
Therefore this section also refutes the false idea of both a pre-tribulation and a mid-tribulation rapture.
MATTHEW 24:29-31 (Jesus)
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.
LUKE 21:25-27 (Jesus)
25 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;
26 Men's 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.
27 And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.
REVELATION 6:12-14 (John)
12 And 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;
13 And the stars of heaven fell to the earth, even as a fig tree casts her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind.
14 And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.
REVELATION 12:7-9 (John)
7 And there was war in heaven: and Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels.
8 And did not prevail; neither was there place found any more in heaven.
9 And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceived the whole world: he
was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
Note: Stars are symbolic of angels (Revelation 1:16,20; 6:13; 12:4; 9:1), and we may consider that in a spiritual sense this happens under the sixth seal (Revelation 6:12-13), when "the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of heaven shall be shaken;" (Matthew 24:29; Luke 21:26), and the devil and his angels are cast out of heaven (Revelation 12:7-9). This may also happen in a physical sense at some point, but the thing to note is that in both accounts (Matthew 24:29-31; Luke 21:25-27), it happens after the tribulation, and before Jesus comes. Therefore this section also refutes both of the false teachings about a pre-tribulation and a mid-tribulation rapture.
JOB 14:12
12 So man lies down, and does not rise: until the heavens are no more, they shall not awake, nor be raised out of their sleep.
1 THESSALONIANS 4:15-17 (Paul)
15 For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain to the coming of the Lord shall not go before those who are asleep.
16 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.
17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: so shall we ever be with the Lord.
2 PETER 3:7-12
7 But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved for fire against the day of judgement and perdition of ungodly
men.
8 But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.
9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to usward, not willing that any should perish, but that all
should come to repentance.
10 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.
11 Seeing that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons aught you to be in all holy conversation and godliness,
12 Looking for and hasting to the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent
heat?
Note: Paul made it clear that the resurrection of the dead in Christ, which is known as "the first resurrection." (Revelation 20:5-6), takes place at the same time as the rapture (1 Thessalonians 4:15-17). Job said that this would not be, "until the heavens are no more." (Job 14:12), and the apostle Peter confirmed this by indicating that "the heavens shall pass away" on "the day of the Lord" (2 Peter 3:10), which is the same day that Jesus comes for his church.
1 CORINTHIANS 15:51-52 (Paul)
51 Behold, I show you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,
52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be
changed.
REVELATION 10:5-7
5 And the angel which I saw stand upon the sea and upon the earth lifted up his hand to heaven,
6 And swore by him who lives for ever and ever, who created heaven, and the things that therein are, and the earth, and the things that therein are, and the sea,
and the things which are therein, that there should be time no longer:
7 But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he has declared
to his servants the prophets.
REVELATION 11:15,18
15 And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become
the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.
18 And the nations were angry, and your wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that you should give reward to
your servants the prophets, and to the saints, and those who fear your name, small and great; and should destroy those who destroy the earth.
Note: The seventh seal in Revelation contains the seven trumpet Judgements:
(Revelation 8:1-2) "And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour.
And I saw the seven angels which stood before God; and to them were given
seven trumpets."
The last of these seven trumpet judgements is "the last trump:" (1 Corinthians 15:52), when "the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed." John calls it, "the time of the dead that they should be judged," (Revelation 11:18), but this cannot refer to the "great white throne" judgement of the unrighteous (Revelation 20:11-13) because this does not take place until a thousand years after Jesus comes (Revelation 20:5). This is obviously referring to "the first resurrection" of the righteous dead, which takes place at the rapture:
(Revelation 11:18) "that you should give reward to your servants the prophets, and to the saints, and those who fear your name, small and great;"
When does Jesus give these rewards? When he comes:
(Revelation 22:12) "And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be."
It all proves that the rapture occurs at the end of the trumpet judgements. As these trumpet judgements occur just before Jesus returns, it shows that the rapture occurs at Jesus' only coming, which is after the tribulation (Matthew 24:29-31). Other evidence confirms this timing:
(Revelation 10:7) "But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he has declared to his servants the prophets."
What "mystery" of God will be finished at the sound of the seventh trumpet? It must at least include the one Paul talked about when he said:
(1 Corinthians 15:51-52) "Behold, I show you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall be changed,
In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump:
for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we
shall be changed."
This is the rapture, and confirms that it happens at the seventh trumpet judgement. Here is more evidence:
(Revelation 11:15) "And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever."
When do the kingdoms of this world become the kingdoms of Christ? After the seventh trumpet, at the start of the millennium, showing that the rapture takes place just before the start of the millennium, on "the last day" (See #3.1), at Jesus' second coming (See #3.2), after the tribulation (Matthew 24:29-31).
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