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Jude’s End-Time Apostates

12 Sunday Apr 2020

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20 But you, loved ones, continue building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Ruach ha-Kodesh. 21 Keep yourselves in the love of [YeHoVaH], eagerly waiting for the mercy of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah that leads to eternal life. 22 And have mercy on those who are wavering— 23 save them by snatching them out of the fire; but on others have mercy with fear—hating even the garment defiled by the flesh.  – Jude vv. 20-23, TLV (the bracketed word is my emphasis)

I used to be unable to understand how apostates could creep in anywhere unaware. That changed while I was evangelizing in South Korea.

Sadly, at the South Korean Christian school where I taught English, there were professed Christians who, as Jude describes, were “…bellyaching grumblers, following after their own desires. Their mouth speaks grandiose things, showing favoritism for the sake of gain” (Jude v. 16, TLV). They were believers in Yeshua who also possessed knowledge of Yeshua’s Gospel; however, they were way too much like the metaphorical seed that falls on rocky soil and springs up quickly only to wilt when the scorching sun of trouble shines on them or when they are under the roasting pressure of persecution.

For sure, it was their love for more money, larger schools, more curriculum knowledge, and/or better-paying jobs that had caused them to fall away from what they at one time must have believed. Put differently, they were not walking in obedience to Yeshua, as it was evident that, as backsliders, they were following the desires of their flesh.

They were behaving like the kind of apostates Jude says the apostle Paul had warned about – “…the ones who cause divisions—worldly-minded, not having the Ruach” (Jude v.19, TLV). Indeed, the people who worked at this school when I was there were definitely spiritually divided – that is to say, those who kept the faith were spiritually separated from those who had sincere doubt. It also didn’t help that the school’s Christian owners also physically separated certain staff members from each other. In other words, the backsliders or those who were wavering — those who had not become committed apostates – were isolated. These segregated backsliding apostates are the ones that Jude advises the overcomers to “…save…by snatching them out of the fire” (Jude v.23a).

At this school, there also was another kind of apostates – those who willfully rejected the Gospel of Yeshua. These were the apostates that not only distorted YeHoVaH’s Truths but also denied those spiritual Truths and biblical doctrines that defined the genuinely saved believers in Yeshua. In other words, these apostates were no longer backslidden believers but rather they had become the kind of unbelievers that the writer of Hebrews says cannot be brought back to repentance (see Hebrews 6:4-6).

There were the kind of apostates who had passed the point of no return – those whom Jude describes as the apostates that overcomers should “…have mercy with fear—hating even the garment defiled by the flesh” (Jude v.23b), as they are apostates whose damnation had already been secured (Jude v.4). Additionally, the apostle Peter describes these apostates as the proverbial dogs who return to their own vomit and pigs who return to wallowing in the mire (see 2 Peter 2:22 and Proverbs 26:11).

Now, the reasons why these apostates were able to creep into our churches, our schools, our business, etcetera is because so few of today’s believers in Yeshua are spiritually savvy enough to discern when believers have departed from the faith, or when wolves have joined flocks, or when a backslider’s conscience has been seared, or when so-called Christians have a form of godliness, and so forth. For sure, there are many believers in Yeshua today who are living and/or behaving as the apostates who are described above, BUT far too many professed Christians either are clueless or indifferent about these apostates who clearly neither are clinging to the Holy Spirit nor are controlled by (cooperating with) Him. In other words, these professed Christians have not crucified their own ‘self,’ and they have not been filled or controlled by the Holy Spirit. They, instead, are sensual, which means they live in accordance with their senses because they are too soulish. This truth is why they are walking after their own lusts instead of being in accordance with the Holy Spirit.

Lastly, Jude makes it clear that believers in Yeshua can have victory over apostasy but only as overcomers who stay filled with and controlled by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the only One who is able to keep believers in Yeshua from falling away from the faith. He also is the only One who is able to present believers in Yeshua as blameless before their Lord and Savior, but only if they allow Him to change them into overcomers.  

Becoming overcomers begins when believers in Yeshua realize their assured victory does not mean that they don’t have to fight to win. Every genuine believer has to contend for the faith – the kind of faith that will help them to become victorious over sin, the world, and their flesh. However, living a holy life will keep those believers who are progressively becoming overcomers on the battlefield. Put differently, there is no way that contending for the faith won’t be dangerous at times. That is why it is important to remember what Yeshua and His apostles taught, which is that those seeking to become overcomers will obediently do the following: 1. Build themselves up on their most holy faith; 2. Pray in the Holy Spirit; and 3.Keep themselves in the Love of YeHoVaH  (Jude vv. 20-21). This is how they not only survive apostasy but also how they become victorious over sin, the world, and their flesh. Additionally, this is how they will have the power to snatch backsliders out of the fire – apostates who have NOT passed the point of no return.

Once again, the ultimate solution to apostasy is believers’ proximity to Yeshua, which is achieved through the Holy Spirit. This Divine Truth is why believers in Yeshua must always stay close to Him, and they must always keep preaching His Gospel. By contending for the faith, with the aid of the Holy Spirit, and by staying close – via the Holy Spirit – to the only One who is able to keep believers in Yeshua from falling, Yeshua’s believers will be able not only to survive apostasy but also able to thrive as holy overcomers in spite of the fact that apostasy is everywhere in today’s world. Selah . . .   

Even If Many Professed Yeshua Believers Think It Is Hooey, There Will Be a Pre-Tribulation Rapture

06 Thursday Feb 2020

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But know this, that if the master of the house had known what time the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and not let his house be broken into. So you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” – Matthew 24:43-44, TLV

Not everyone who claims to love Yeshua, as well as not everyone who claims to be born again and saved, will be “caught up” on the clouds where he/she will meet Yeshua before the Tribulation Period begins. That’s right! Not everyone who defines him or herself as a follower of Yeshua will be in the pre-Tribulation Rapture. Let there be no doubt about it, regardless if a professed Yeshua believer no longer believes in a pre-Tribulation Rapture, or if he or she never believed in it, the pre-Tribulation Rapture will happen.

In the Holy Bible, more than once, YeHoVaH shows His Children that His Wrath or Judgment cannot come until His Righteous Children are secure/safe. For example, in the Old Testament, only Noah and his family were considered righteous enough to enter the Ark and be secure/safe. Put differently, Noah and his family didn’t have to feel YeHoVaH’s Wrath or Judgment that was poured out upon the entire earth (see Genesis 6:6-7, Genesis 6:13-22; Genesis 7:6-24; The Flood).  Similarly, in Genesis 19:22 and Genesis 19:24-25, Lot and his family safely escaped to Zoar before judgment was poured out on Sodom and Gomorrah (Fire and Brimstone). These Scriptures make it clear that only the folks YeHoVaH considered to be unrighteous felt His Wrath or Judgment.

Likewise, in the New Testament, YeHoVaH shows His Children that His Wrath or Judgment will only be poured out on the individuals who are considered to be unrighteous people. This Truth – YeHoVaH’s Wrath or Judgment is not meant for those who are considered to be His righteous Children – is why there will be a pre-Tribulation Rapture. Once again, more than once, YeHoVaH says in His holy Scriptures that His Wrath or Judgment cannot come until His Righteous Children are secure/safe.

The above-stated Truth about who feels YeHoVaH’s Wrath or Judgment is why there will be several types of unrighteous people who will miss the pre-Tribulation Rapture – YeHoVaH’s Ark in the end times. The following are the three groups of unrighteous people who will not enter the pre-Tribulation Rapture:

1. Unbelievers – the people who haven’t accepted Yeshua as Lord and Savior. Specifically, they are the ones who are described in Revelation 21:8; their final judgment, once the Tribulation period is over, will be the Lake of Fire.

2. Unbelieving believers – saved individuals who profess they know Yeshua, yet they don’t believe in what the Scriptures say about becoming overcomers, nor do they believe in what the Scriptures say about the power of YeHoVaH. Unbelieving believers, who are unrighteous because of their unbelief, can’t be raptured. Now, the precise kind of unrighteous unbelieving believers is described in Hebrews 2:1 as the individuals who didn’t pay close attention to what they heard and ended up becoming deceived apostates. These unrighteous unbelieving believers are also described in Hebrews 3:7-8 as the individuals who hardened their hearts to the Holy Spirit’s teachings and then fell away from the Truth; and in Hebrews 6:6, these fallen away from the Truth unrighteous unbelieving believers are devoted apostates who can’t be renewed again to repentance. 

3. Unbelieving believers – in their unbelief, they mock the Truth that they hear and claim it will not happen (e.g., those who mock the pre-Tribulation Rapture) [see 2 Peter 3:3-4].

The above-mentioned three groups of unrighteous unbelieving people will miss the pre-Tribulation Rapture; however, the unrighteous unbelieving Yeshua believers will also miss the pre-Tribulation Rapture because they failed to meet Yeshua’s five godly conditions that would allow them to be counted worthy/righteous enough to be raptured. Here are the five godly conditions that must be met in order for believers in Yeshua to be prepared for and worthy to be chosen in the pre-Tribulation Rapture. Believers in Yeshua must be and do the following:

1. Must be an overcomer – Revelation 21:7 (see also Revelation chapters 2 & 3 . . . the one who overcomes references); all Yeshua believers must overcome the world, or the desires of the world; must overcome the flesh; and must overcome the devil

2. Must watch and pray for Yeshua’s thief in the night appearance – Mark 13:33

3. Must pray to be accounted worthy to escape the things that will happen in the end times – Luke 21:36

4. Must look for/anticipate Yeshua’s second appearance – Hebrews 9:28

5. Must cleanse themselves (get rid) of all filthiness so that they can achieve holiness – 2 Corinthians 7:1 (to get rid of every weight and entangling sin) – Hebrews 12:1

To be sure, there are things that only YeHoVaH via His Holy Spirit can cleanse in Yeshua believers. However, there are some things believers in Yeshua can do/can sacrifice to show YeHoVaH how much they hate sinning, how much they love Him, how much they want to be obedient and faithful, and how much they want to be like Yeshua.

Sadly, just as most believers in Yeshua won’t even try to purge themselves of every weight and entangling sin that is within their power to get rid of, there also are far too many professed Yeshua believers who refuse to believe/accept that Yeshua will come for His own like a thief in the night. The latter uses the fact that Yeshua is no sinner as their reason for their disbelief in the Scriptures that use the thief in the night simile. These Yeshua believers fail to understand that the thief in the night simile (image) is 100% figurative language, and, as figurative language, this simile means Yeshua isn’t a literal thief. However, the uncomfortably Truth they miss when they refuse to accept and believe the Scriptures that describe Yeshua as a THIEF is that, like a thief, Yeshua will indeed come secretly for His own.

This thief simile is found in the following biblical verses and found in one verse as a metaphor:

43 But know this, that if the master of the house had known what time the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and not let his house be broken into. – Matthew 24:43, TLV

2 For you yourselves know very well that the Day of the Lord comes like a thief in the night. – 1 Thessalonians 5:2, TLV

4 But you, brothers and sisters, are not in the dark, so that the Day might overtake you like a thief. – 1 Thessalonians 5:4, TLV

10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. On that day the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the elements will melt and disintegrate, and the earth and everything done on it shall be exposed. – 2 Peter 3:10, TLV

3 So remember what you have received and heard—keep it, and repent. If you will not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come upon you. – Revelation 3:3, TLV

15 “Behold, I am coming like a thief! How fortunate is the one who stays alert and keeps his clothes on, lest he walk around naked and they see his shamefulness.” – Revelation 16:15, TLV

It is in an Olivet Discourse’s mini-parable that Yeshua also compares His Overcomers to a collective Goodman who actually not only is prepared for the Thief but also watches for Him. Once again, Yeshua’s Overcomers are the righteous believers He is coming to get so that He can TAKE them with Him to a safe place before YeHoVaH pours out His Wrath and Judgment upon the entire earth for the very last time.

Now, right before the Goodman mini-parable (see Matthew 24:43-44), Yeshua describes the pre-Tribulation Rapture in two mini-parables. The Lord teaches about an individual who is working in the field and about a person who is grinding at the mill who are TAKEN by Him, while the second field worker and the second grain grinder are left behind (see Matthew 24:40-42). A similar pre-Tribulation Rapture description is also in Luke 17:34. In this mini-parable, Yeshua teaches about one of the two who are in bed is TAKEN, and the other is left behind. This mini-parable in Luke 17 is followed by the mini-parables about the two field workers and, in some translations, the two grain grinders.

In Matthew 24, the two pre-Tribulation Rapture mini-parables end with a warning to believers to be prepared and to stay alert so that they won’t miss the One who comes for them like a thief in the night (see Matthew 24:42). This warning is then restated as a parabolic statement in the Goodman mini-parable (Matthew 24:43-44). The Goodman (homeowner or master of the house) is robbed by a thief all because the Goodman was neither prepared nor on the lookout for the thief’s unannounced coming and, as a result, was not able to prevent the unfavorable outcomes – his house broken into, and his possessions stolen.  

Just like the Lord is using the TAKEN righteous field worker and grain grinder as metaphors for His righteous Vineyard Workers or Overcomers,  He also is comparing, by contrasting, the Goodman metaphor to His righteous Overcomers – His truly righteous believers. The bottom line is this: Yeshua’s parabolic statement in the Goodman mini-parable is that His Overcomers must stay prepared and stay alert because none of them knows the precise hour when Yeshua will return. In other words, Yeshua’s parabolic statement explains, by contrasting the Goodman in the mini-parable with the righteous Overcomes in the two preceding mini-parables, how serious Yeshua is about His righteous Overcomes being ready/prepared and staying alert so that they will not miss meeting Him in the air when He returns for them.     

Now, while the Greek language has different meanings for the verbs to “take” and to “receive,” and these different meanings have different Greek verbs, the Greek verb paralambano is the same to TAKE verb that is used in John 14:3 (“If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and take you to Myself, so that where I am you may also be”), in Matthew 24:40 (“Then two men will be in the field, one taken and one left”), in Matthew 24:41 (“Two women will be grinding at the mill, one taken and one left”), and in Luke 17:34 (“I tell you, on that night there will be two in one bed. One will be taken along and the other left”). In all four of these verses, paralambano means that the individuals who are TAKEN (snatched away/caught up) are Yeshua’s Overcomers who are saved from YeHoVaH’s Wrath or Judgment. Additionally, in all four of these verses, the folks who are left behind are the ones who receive YeHoVaH’s Judgment – His Wrath. In this case, YeHoVaH’s Judgment or Wrath is the seven-year Tribulation Period.

What is important to mention here is that the righteous Overcomers who are TAKEN in Matthew 24:40-41 (also see Luke 17:35-36) are TAKEN during a daylight moment while they are doing daytime jobs. In contrast, the one TAKEN from the bed​ who is sleeping ​(Luke 17:34) is TAKEN during a nighttime moment. It should be evident that these referenced Scriptures show how Yeshua has dealt with the issue of different time zones on this earth – some are rapture during the day (daylight time) and some are rapture in the night.

NOTE:

In Luke 17, some manuscripts add the following verse: “There will be two in the field. One will be taken along, and the other left.” – Luke 17:36

Finally, believers in Yeshua can only receive from YeHoVaH that which they believe He will do for them. Put differently, if believers in Yeshua don’t believe it is possible for something to happen; for example, if they have unbelief about what is presented in certain Scriptures about a pre-Tribulation Rapture, then they will not be in the pre-Tribulation Rapture. They can’t receive that part of salvation because they refuse to believe in it.

So, once again, the reasons why so many who say they are saved, born-again believers of Yeshua will miss the pre-Tribulation Rapture are because they will not take to heart the Scriptures that warn them about their need to get prepared, stay ready, and stay alert – keep looking out for Yeshua’s Return – and because they don’t believe in a pre-Tribulation Rapture.  Matthew 13:58 says “And He did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief.”  Romans 11:20 says “True enough. They were broken off because of unbelief, and you stand by faith….” First Timothy 1:13 says, “even though I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and a violent man. Yet I was shown mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief,” but then Paul says in Hebrews 4:6, “So then it remains for some to enter into it; yet those who formerly had Good News proclaimed to them did not enter because of disobedience.” Lastly, Paul in Hebrews 4:11 says “Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one may fall through the same pattern of disobedience.” The point here is crucial. If Yeshua believers do not believe in the pre-Tribulation Rapture, their unbelief not only prevents them from being raptured before the Tribulation Period begins but also because their unbelief is a form of disobedience they cannot enter into the Shabbat rest.

It should be clear from the above-cited verses that apostle Paul also describes Yeshua believers’ unbelief as disobedience (see also Hebrews 3:18-19). This unbelief and a lack of trust/faith prevent unrighteous unbelieving believers from entering into eternal rest. Their kind of unbelief is the same as the unbelief that caused many Israelites to perish in the wilderness – to never see the Promised Land. In comparison, just like the unrighteous unbelieving Israelites couldn’t enter the Promised Land of Israel, Yeshua believers with unbelief won’t be able to enter into the Shabbat rest with Yeshua in Heaven (the Promised Land for believers in Yeshua) – see Hebrews 4:9, and see Hebrews 4:1-2).  All believers in Yeshua must be Overcomers in order to receive Overcomers’ promises, but they will never be Overcomers if they have any bit of unbelief.

To be sure, not believing that a pre-Tribulation Rapture will happen is indeed unbelief. This unbelief is also the same kind of unbelief that prevented Yeshua from doing any miracles in His hometown synagogue. It is also the kind of unbelief that will prevent Yeshua from TAKING the unrighteous unbelieving believers during the pre-Tribulation Rapture – the only rapture event that no one will know or be able to figure out the day or the hour of Yeshua’s Return.

Any raptures that happen during the Tribulation won’t be hard to figure out, as the Scriptures mention Raptures happening at a particular time during and after the seven-year Tribulation. Therefore, neither the mid-Tribulation nor the post-Tribulation Rapture will happen secretly, so Yeshua will not be returning like a thief in the night for those raptures.

If Yeshua believers think that a pre-Tribulation Rapture is hooey, then they will not be TAKEN (caught-up) in it. Furthermore, their unbelief in a pre-Tribulation Rapture is a form of disobedience, so they also may not enter into Yeshua’s Shabbat rest. It will depend on whether they are able to renew their minds to righteous thinking during the Tribulation Period.

A word to the wise should be sufficient!

Be a Visible Light

01 Monday Feb 2016

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Be A Visible Light

 

Corrupt minds need to see the Savior’s Light. In order for believers in Christ to be able to lead sin-sick souls to His Light, their lights cannot be hidden.

We are meant to be lighthouses aligning the shores of the sea of life—shining our lights in such a way that we become beacon lights that guide the world’s unsaved masses to the true Light. We are meant to contribute to the way in which these drifters are drawn nearer to that true Light. In a nutshell, our shining lights are their hope—often their only hope or their last hope. Be that as it may; our shining lights confirm the importance of the Light’s saving Power—confirms that any lost wayfarer can be rescued.

Just like our physical light (sun) is necessary for physical life, our spiritual light (our portion of the Son’s Light) is necessary for spiritual life. This truth is why believers are called to be visible lights that point spiritually unenlightened souls to the true Light of the world—Jesus Christ. In addition to leading others to the Lord, believers’ visible spiritual lights are to shine so that their lights help to restrain the moral corruption that is in this sinful world.

Let us be the visible spiritual lights God intends for us to be. Neither our inner lights nor the Gospel’s Light will benefit others, if we cover up or hide our lights and the Gospel’s Light. Let us let the good works we do for Christ and for mankind be the lights that shine in this world for the Glory of God. Let us also share the Gospel’s Light with as many people as we can, whenever the opportunity presents itself.

How brightly is your light shining in this world? Does your light glorify God by the way your good works influence lost and wayward souls to seek Christ—the true Light? Shalom.

“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” ~ Mt 5:14-16

Keep it real…Live it out…Watch it work!

 

 

~ a devotion from Keeping It Real: Daily Renewing the Mind, p. 48

 

Misunderstandings about ‘Thief in the Night’

19 Friday Jul 2013

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Thief in the Night

But you do know this: had the owner of the house known when the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and not allowed his house to be broken into. ~ Matthew 24:43, CJB

because you yourselves well know that the Day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. ~ 1 Thessalonians 5:2, CJB

However, the Day of the Lord will come “like a thief.” On that Day the heavens will disappear with a roar, the elements will melt and disintegrate, and the earth and everything in it will be burned up. ~ 2 Peter 3:10, CJB

So remember what you received and heard, and obey it, and turn from your sin! For if you don’t wake up, I will come like a thief; and you don’t know at what moment I will come upon you. ~ Revelation 3:3, CJB

Look! I am coming like a thief! How blessed are those who stay alert and keep their clothes clean, so that they won’t be walking naked and be publicly put to shame! ~ Revelation 16:15, CJB

 

There is a common understanding that believers have about the Rapture, when Christ Jesus as the doting Bridegroom comes for His Bride, and about the Day of the Lord, when Christ Jesus as the angry King of kings also comes to destroy all of Israel’s enemies. The most common understanding is that the Rapture and the Day of the Lord both will happen at a time when EVERYONE is not expecting them to happen, just like a thief in the night who would come when no one expects him.

Some believers also see the Rapture as an event that could happen at any moment, because the Rapture supposedly sneaks up on EVERYONE, just like a thief in the night. Likewise, some believers also interpret the Day of the Lord as an event that could happen at any moment, because it too supposedly sneaks up on EVERYONE, just like a thief in the night.

Well, guess what? The Bible neither suggests/states that the Rapture will be unexpected for EVERYONE nor does the Bible suggest/state that the Day of the Lord will be unexpected for EVERYONE. On the contrary, Christ Jesus clearly implies that the Rapture ONLY will come as a thief in the night to the unprepared and unwatchful believers. Likewise, the apostle Paul clearly states that the Day of the Lord ONLY will come as a thief in the night to those individuals who are in “darkness”—to those very surprised ungodly and immoral unbelievers!

Concerning the time of the Rapture, Christ Jesus provides the following prophecy:

But when that day and hour will come, no one knows — not the angels in heaven, not the Son, only the Father. For the Son of Man’s coming will be just as it was in the days of Noach. Back then, before the Flood, people went on eating and drinking, taking wives and becoming wives, right up till the day Noach entered the ark; and they didn’t know what was happening until the Flood came and swept them all away. It will be just like that when the Son of Man comes. Then there will be two men in a field — one will be taken and the other left behind. There will be two women grinding flour at the mill — one will be taken and the other left behind. So stay alert, because you don’t know on what day your Lord will come. But you do know this: had the owner of the house known when the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and not allowed his house to be broken into.Therefore you too must always be ready, for the Son of Man will come when you are not expecting him. ~ Matthew 24:36-44, CJB

It is important to note here that when Christ Jesus says that “…the Son of Man’s coming will be just as it was in the days of Noach” (Matthew 24:37, CJB), He is not talking about His bodily return or Second Coming, when His feet split the Mount of Olives (see Zechariah 14:3-4, ESV). For sure, there is nowhere in Genesis that God speaks of His Son being physically on the Earth neither before, nor during, or after the time of the Flood, yet many people believe that Christ Jesus is speaking about His bodily return or Second Coming in the above Matthew 24:37 verse.

There is no mention anywhere in Genesis of Christ Jesus appearing in physical form to Adam, Enoch, Methuselah, Lamech, or Noah. Nevertheless, there still are obvious similarities between Enoch, who was snatched off of this Earth way before God’s Flood Judgment came, and Christ Jesus’ Bride, who will be snatched off of this Earth way before God’s Fire Judgment begins.

Be that as it may; what also is very telling in the above quoted Book of Matthew verses is that Christ Jesus is describing the Rapture, especially when He speaks of one man in the field being taken, while the other man is left behind; and when He speaks of one woman grinding flour at the mill being taken, while the other woman is left behind. More important, after creating these “taken” and left behind images, the Lord says to His disciples:

So stay alert, because you don’t know on what day your Lord will come. But you do know this: had the owner of the house known when the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and not allowed his house to be broken into. ~ Matthew 24:42-43, CJB

Christ Jesus is making it clear in these above verses that as long as His followers stayed prepared and watchful they would be ready for the Rapture, even though they won’t know for certain on which day the Rapture will happen. For this reason, He compares His alert and prepared followers to a homeowner who knows ahead of time when a thief was going to break into his home. Since the homeowner knows the day the thief plans to burglarize his home, it would be foolish of the homeowner to let the thief break in unexpected. That’s why the Lord says “…he would have stayed awake and not allowed his house to be broken into” (Matthew 24:43b, CJB). Now, since a thief usually likes to break into homes at night, because this is the time of day that most people are not awake and/or not watching over their possessions and family members, the coming like a thief in the night analogy should be easily understood.

For sure, in the “stay alert” verses, Christ Jesus is saying that the minute someone isn’t expecting the Rapture to happen that is when it will take place. This Divine Truth is why His genuinely faithful and obedient Bride will be those individuals who, because they are expecting the Lord to come and rapture them at any moment, will get prepared and stay prepared, as well as be watchful and stay watchful. On the other hand, those individuals who are not watching the signs of the times and who are not spiritually prepared won’t be expecting the Lord. As a result, they will be left behind, because it is to them that the Bridegroom will come as a thief in the night and leave them behind, primarily because they had no oil in their vessels. The five foolish virgins come to mind here.

Consider too what Christ Jesus says to the Messianic Community in Sardis. Apostle John writes:

…I know what you are doing — you have a reputation for being alive, but in fact you are dead! Wake up, and strengthen what remains, before it dies too! For I have found what you are doing incomplete in the sight of my God. So remember what you received and heard, and obey it, and turn from your sin! For if you don’t wake up, I will come like a thief; and you don’t know at what moment I will come upon you. Nevertheless, you do have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes; and they will walk with me, clothed in white, because they are worthy. ~ Revelation 3:1b-4, CJB

In the above verses, Christ Jesus is telling His believers in the Messianic Community in Sardis that, if they don’t wake up, keep watch, remember (stick firmly to) and obey what they have received and heard, as well as repent, then to them He will come like a thief in the night. The implication here is that when Christ Jesus comes for His Bride, the members in the Messianic Community in Sardis who are producing “dead works” will miss the Rapture. In other words, these “dead-works” members will experience the Tribulation, as left behinders. The five foolish virgins come to mind here, too.

The point here is that the Rapture will not come as a thief in the night to prepared and watchful believers. The only people that the Rapture will sneak up on who will be those individuals who are not expecting the Rapture to happen before the Tribulation Period begins. These humans will be those people who spiritually are unprepared and unwatchful—not looking for Christ Jesus to be coming in the air on the clouds and/or not paying attention to the signs of end times that are happening in front of their eyes.

If they are unprepared on the day of the Rapture, it will be too late for them to get ready, which is the main reason why the five foolish virgins are left behind. The same reason also must be true for the man in the field and the woman grinding flour at the mill who are left behind (are not “taken”; are not received close or near to the Lord). Once again, the main reason why these left-behinders are not ready and are not watching for the Lord is because they did not work out their own salvation so that they would be prepared to wear their white linen robes of righteousness in Heaven (see Revelation 19:7-8, ESV). As a result, they will NOT walk with Him, clothed in white, because they will be unworthy (cf. Revelation 3:4).

Now, concerning the Day of the Lord coming like a thief in the night, the prophet Zephaniah describes the Day of the Lord the following ways: 

That Day is a Day of fury,

a Day of trouble and distress,

a Day of waste and desolation,

a Day of darkness and gloom,

a Day of clouds and thick fog, ~ Zephaniah 1:15, CJB

In the above verse, the Day of the Lord is referred to as that Day and a Day. However, depending on the English translations of other passages, the Day of the Lord also is called the Day, the Day of God, the Day of the Lord, the Day of the Lord Jesus, and the Day of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

In the New Testament, when the apostle Paul speaks about the Day of the Lord, at times he not only says that the Day of the Lord is NOT happening at any moment (is not imminent) but also he says that, on the Day of the Lord for some people, Christ Jesus is coming for them like a thief in the night (1 Thessalonians 5:2, ESV; 2 Thessalonians 2:1-4, ESV). In other words, the Day of the Lord will be a time of great calamity for many people—primarily a time when the godless will be destroyed.

More important, at least as far as this blog entry is concerned, it should be apparent that the apostle in 2 Thessalonians 2:1-4 is speaking about two different events. Indeed, in 2 Thessalonians 2:1-4 the apostle speaks about the coming of their Lord, meaning His Second Coming, which Scriptures prove happens on the Day of the Lord, AND he speaks about them being gathered together, meaning when they meet the Lord in the air, which Scriptures prove is the Rapture. If these events were the same, he either would have said the coming of their Lord when they are gathered together, or he would have said the coming of their Lord OR them being gathered together. He did not say either one, because the Rapture and the Day of the Lord are not the same.

Concerning the Day of the Lord, it is clear that the apostle Paul agrees with the prophet Zephaniah’s description of that Day. However, the apostle is teaching the Thessalonians that the Day of the Lord is a time that ONLY means calamity for unbelievers, and this truth is why he assures the Thessalonians that the persecution they presently are experiencing doesn’t mean they missed the Rapture and, thus, are in the Tribulation. The apostle Paul tells them that “…God has not intended that we [believers in Christ Jesus] should experience his fury, but that we should gain deliverance through our Lord Yeshua the Messiah” (1 Thessalonians 5:9, CJB; the inserted bracketed words are this blogger’s emphasis). In other words, Paul emphatically is declaring that the Day of the Lord is not for the Bride of Christ, and he definitely is declaring to the Thessalonians that before the Day of the Lord could happen there would be the Great Apostasy and the revealed Antichrist.

Without a doubt, the reason why the apostle is saying to the Thessalonians that the Day of the Lord will not happen before the Great Apostasy and the revealed Antichrist happen is because he is making an important point, which is they would be long gone (raptured) before any of these events take place. The reason they will be raptured before these known Tribulation events happen is because God did not plan for His sons and daughters to suffer any of His prophesied wrath. Therefore, apostle Paul, especially in the Book of Thessalonians, obviously speaks about the Rapture and the Day of the Lord as two separate events that happen at different times.

Be that as it may. When it comes to understanding the Rapture of the Bride of Christ, unfortunately, only pre-Trib believers then and now see this event as being imminent—happening at any moment. Indeed, there can be no doubt that, because Christ Jesus knows that the Rapture should be understood as an imminent event, this is why He says to His disciples, “…you too must always be ready, for the Son of Man will come when you are not expecting him” (Matthew 24:44, CJB).

The point here is that for the Rapture to happen at a time when people won’t be expecting it to happen, these people would have to be unprepared and not watching for Him. Put differently, if the Rapture’s imminence isn’t what caused the disciples and first-century believers to get ready for it, then there would not have been any reason for the Lord to tell His first-century disciples, and by extension all believers, to stay prepared for it, as well as to be and to stay alert.

Clearly the Day of the Lord is not the day of the Rapture, because the apostle Paul does not instruct the Thessalonians to get prepared for the Day of the Lord, and he does not urge them to stay prepared for this event. He also does not urge them to stay alert; that is, he does not tell them to watch for the Day of the Lord. Now, while the apostle Paul no doubt knew that the Old Testament Scriptures suggest a near and far fulfillment of the Day of the Lord, he definitely is teaching the Thessalonians that the Day of the Lord happens at a specific point in the end times. For this last reason, the Rapture and the day of the Lord obviously cannot be the same event.

Concerning the identifiable future time of the Day of the Lord, once again, the apostle Paul says: “…For the Day will not come until after the Apostasy has come and the man who separates himself from Torah has been revealed, the one destined for doom” (2 Thessalonians 2:3, CJB). As God would have it, the apostle Paul’s specific time for the Day of the Lord is confirmed in the writings of the apostle John.

According to apostle John, the Antichrist (the man who separates himself from the Torah) won’t be revealed until he proclaims to be God, which happens at the midpoint (3½ years) of the Tribulation Period’s seven years (at the midpoint of Daniel’s 70th week). So then, what should be evident here is that the apostles are saying that the people who are aware of what the Scriptures say about the end times easily can count from the midpoint of the Tribulation Period the number of days that are left, until Christ Jesus’ bodily return or His Second Coming. Put differently, if people can count how many days are left before the Day of the Lord happens, then that would mean that the Day of the Lord not only wouldn’t be imminent but also wouldn’t be “unknown.” People would know the exact day when the Tribulation is scheduled to end, and thus would know when Christ Jesus’ bodily return would happen.

That is why, where the Rapture is concerned, believers must keep in mind that Christ Jesus says a couple of times that no one, except for Father God, would know the exact day or hour (see Matthew 24:36, ESV; Mark 13:32, ESV). It should be obvious that Christ Jesus isn’t speaking about the Day of the Lord or Judgment Day in these verses, but rather He is speaking about the Rapture of His Bride. The fact that Christ Jesus never explicitly says when the Rapture would take place no doubt is why He strongly suggests that His disciples must stay prepared and alert, expecting the Rapture to happen at any moment, just like the homeowner who expects the thief to be breaking into his home at any moment is prepared for the thief, and looking for him (cf. Matthew 24:36-44, ESV).

Now, if the Day of the Lord is the same as the Rapture, then the apostle Paul should have been urging the Thessalonians to stay prepared and alert, expecting the Day of the Lord to happen at any minute. Instead, he specifically tells the Thessalonians, and by extension all believers, that the Day (the Day of the Lord) won’t happened until after the Antichrist is revealed. Once again, it should be obvious that for the apostle Paul the Rapture and the day of the Lord are two separate events.

One of the ways the apostle shows the distinct difference between the Rapture and the Day of the Lord or the Day is when he says “…you, brothers, are not in the dark, so that the Day should take you by surprise like a thief” (1 Thessalonians 5:4, CJB). The apostle is saying here that ONLY those individuals who are in “darkness” instead of in the Light—only those ungodly and immoral individuals who never knew the Lord and/or are unaware of what the Scriptures say about the end of the Tribulation—will be those people who would not be expecting the Day of the Lord. As a result, the Day of the Lord will take these living in “darkness” people by surprise, just like a thief in the night usually would take people by surprise. Once again, the apostle is making it clear here that it is NOT true that EVERYBODY in the Tribulation will not be expecting the Day of the Lord on a specific day—it is not true that the Day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night for EVERYONE.

The bottom line is that the Day of the Lord is not only going to be a Day of Judgment (a day of wrath; a day of vengeance), but also the Day of the Lord is going to be a Day of Deliverance—the time when God will save a remnant of Israel and thereby fulfill His promise that Israel would be saved (cf. Romans 11:26a, ESV). In other words, while the Day of the Lord is more of a time of judgment, the salvation dimension is still present. Indeed, the Day of the Lord also brings salvation to Israel, as a whole nation. However, this salvation comes after God’s enemies utterly are destroyed.

Once again, the severe wrathful part of the Day of the Lord happens at the end of the Tribulation Period, when Christ Jesus returns to Earth with His wondrous power to punish evil. After that, He then begins fulfilling all of God’s other end-times promises, minus the Rapture of the Bride of Christ, because this event already happened before the Tribulation Period (seven years) began! For this last reason, the apostle Paul urges the Thessalonians, and by extension all believers, to be encouraged, because they will not go through the Tribulation Period. This Divine Truth is why they will not be on the Earth when the Day of the Lord finally comes. The apostle writes:

Now, brothers, we want you to know the truth about those who have died; otherwise, you might become sad the way other people do who have nothing to hope for. For since we believe that Yeshua died and rose again, we also believe that in the same way God, through Yeshua, will take with him those who have died. When we say this, we base it on the Lord’s own word: we who remain alive when the Lord comes will certainly not take precedence over those who have died. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a rousing cry, with a call from one of the ruling angels, and with God’s shofar; those who died united with the Messiah will be the first to rise; then we who are left still alive will be caught up with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air; and thus we will always be with the Lord. So encourage each other with these words. ~ 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, CJB

The Rapture surely is the hope believers in Christ Jesus must cling to, and they should use this HOPE to encourage one another.

Lastly, it should be clear by now that the common understanding of the Rapture and the Day of the Lord being the same event is instead a misunderstanding. Likewise, it should be clear by now that the common understanding of the Rapture and the Day of the Lord coming like a thief in the night for EVERYONE also is a misunderstanding. Christ Jesus makes it clear that the Rapture only will come like a thief in the night to those believers who are unprepared and who are unwatchful, and the apostle Paul makes it clear that the Day of the Lord only will come like a thief in the night to those people who live in “darkness.”

A word to the wise should be sufficient. Amen

For additional information about being prepared and alert, and about working out one’s own salvation, please read the following blog entries: Working God’s Perfect Will Out of Us; Being Changed from the Inside Out; and Separating Christ’s Saints from the Ain’ts.