The Seventieth — Jubilee!

On November 13, 2024January 4, 2025 By TimIn Jubilee, Leviticus 252 Comments

Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: When you come into the land that I give you, the land shall keep a sabbath to the Lord. For six years you shall sow your field, and six years you shall prune your vineyard and gather in its fruit, but in the seventh year there shall be a sabbath of complete rest for the land, a sabbath for the Lord. You shall neither sow your field nor prune your vineyard.
Leviticus 25:2–4

Most folks are already familiar with the Sabbath, which occurs weekly on Saturdays. When considering the entirety of the Torah, sabbath is more than an every Saturday occurrence. It is more than just a day, too. It is also more than just for humans. The passage above mandates a sabbath year of rest for the land. Just as God instructs Moses, he will pass on the information to the Israelis. They are to let the land rest every seven years.

With the seventh-year sabbath, God has further instructions for the Israelis that will be explored. These are instructions on counting years. As it is with the Word of God, some peculiarities deserve attention. These are encoded within these instructions.

Take the number six in this passage. Six days are given to humans to work the land. The seventh year is a sabbath for the land and for the Lord. It’s not that He needs rest, the land is to have rest, leading the people to the Lord to provide for them.

The numbers in the text are not there by mistake. The interplay of six and seven seems to be overt. The Bible tells us that six is the number of man in Revelation 13:18. Man was created on the sixth day. In the same manner, humans work the land for six years, giving the land rest on the seventh. Seven is the number of God. It almost sounds synergistic, because it is.

That which grows by itself from your harvest you shall not reap, nor gather the grapes of your unpruned vines, for it is a year of complete rest for the land. The sabbath produce of the land shall be food for you: for you, and for your male and female servants, and for your hired servant, and for your stranger who sojourns with you, and for your livestock, and for the wild animals in your land, shall all its increase be food.
Leviticus 25:5–7

The synergism between God and humans continues. While the land is cultivated by humans for six years giving them provision and sustenance, it rests for God on the seventh. Humans are instructed to not eat of their cultivation even the unpruned vines. What grows from the wild shall be sustenance for all. In other words, God will provide their needs.

Seven leads to God.

Seven Times Seven

You shall count seven sabbath weeks of years, seven times seven years, and the time of the seven sabbaths of years shall be to you forty-nine years. Then you shall sound the horn blasts on the tenth day of the seventh month. On the Day of Atonement you shall make the sound of the horn throughout all your land. You shall consecrate the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all the land to all the inhabitants. It shall be a Jubilee to you, and each of you shall return to his possession, and every person shall return to his family. That fiftieth year will be a Jubilee for you. You shall neither sow nor reap that which grows by itself, nor gather the grapes of your unpruned vines.
Leviticus 25:8–11

Six and seven are the prominent numbers in the previous text. The repertoire is now expanded to include ten, forty-nine, and fifty.

There is now a counting of years assigned to a different purpose. It marks the time of restoration for the people of Israel, which is called the Jubilee. There is much to learn about the Jubilee and restoration. Some of that will be explored, but it will not be comprehensive.

Jubilee is the time when sold land is returned to the owner, and it is the time when slaves are set free. Land was never really sold in ancient Israel. It was rented knowing it would be restored at the Jubilee. The indentured were also rented, knowing that release from their bondage came at the Jubilee.

Seven sets of seven years are counted. Seven is the number of God, and seven squared is forty-nine (7²=49.) Forty-nine years are counted. The fiftieth year follows and is then consecrated and proclaimed when it begins. In addition to freedom and restoration, it is a sabbath year of rest for the land. There is more here that will be examined a bit later.

The Jubilee was announced on the seventh month on the tenth day. This is 10 Tishri. Tishri is the seventh month. As noted before, the number seven is the number of God. It signifies perfection and completion. Those meanings are gleaned from the creation narrative among other places. The number ten means completeness of order. This is also gleaned from the creation narrative where the phrase “God said” is used ten times. Ten is also the number of commandments given to Moses.

Seventh Month, Tenth Day

10 Tishri is also one of the moedim (feast days) given to Israel. It is the Day of Atonement solemnized by the selection of two goats, one offered for the presence of God and the other carrying sins away. The rituals prescribed for that day also signify the idea of freedom from the bondage of sin and restoration. In addition to that celebration, every fiftieth year Jubilee is proclaimed by the blasting of the shofar.

This combination of the seventh month and the tenth day has another obscured message. The numbers seven, perfection, and ten, completeness of order… It follows that this day marks the perfection of complete order.

It must be noted that Israelis observe more than one calendar. The sacred one is the most familiar. It begins in the month of Nisan. This one was instituted by God after the flood of Noah. The original calendar from Genesis had the new year on 1 Tishri, which is one of the moedim celebrated as the Feast of Trumpets. As seen in the text, Tishri is the new year for counting years and on the original calendar Noah used before it was changed.

I don’t mean this to be an exhaustive study of biblical numerology or Israeli calendars. But as I study and write, fascinating things come to mind; thoughts scatter, and I try to render some coherence.

Nisan/Tishri

Counting the seventh month from Nisan brings one to Tishri. The seventh month from Tishri is Nisan. Both Nisan and Tishri begin the new year on differing calendars. The difference in calendars is only which month is first. The order of them stays the same. Even more unsettling, six full months are counted to get to the seventh. The interplay of this pattern is repeated if one pays attention.

Now, consider that Noah’s Ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat on 17 Nisan (seventh month, seventeenth day, Genesis 8:4.) Coincidentally, 17 Nisan is the month and day of the resurrection of Jesus. Resurrection Day is three days away from the sacrifice of Passover on 14 Nisan. The Passover lambs were selected on 10 Nisan and brought into the home. Which is the seventh month and tenth day of the original calendar. Again as coincidence would have, 10 Nisan is the same day and month Jesus rides into Jerusalem on a donkey.

Of course, I don’t believe in coincidences. I believe in the precision of the Bible. Every detail is there by design. There are multiple interplays of seven and ten that purposefully and overtly point to the Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit.

Lunar Calendar

The Hebrew calendar is lunar. It has a year with 360 days. There are twelve months in most years. But there are also a thirteenth and a fourteenth month to accommodate the differences between solar and lunar calendars. Why a thirteenth and fourteenth month, though?

Consider the listings of the twelve tribes of Israel in the Tanakh. Each one is never the same, even the order of the names can be different. The tribe of Dan becomes obscured to the point of non-existence. Sometimes Ephraim and Manasseh are included in the lists. Obviously, there is also a thirteenth and fourteenth tribe of Israel.

I understand the unsettling nature of this information.

A similar pattern is present in the listing of the inner circle of the twelve apostles of Jesus. Like Dan above, a time came when Judas was gone. The lot fell on Matthias as his replacement. Jesus fell on Paul in Light on the Damascus Road making Paul an apostle. It follows that there is also a thirteenth and fourteenth apostle.

How do I assimilate that?

I know this all seems to get rather blurry. I think it allows for a greater degree of precision and design. Many will read past these, but God conceals things for His glory. And for those who diligently seek for those hidden things. When one encounters a listing, the names and their order become significant, and even a clue as to a hidden deeper meaning. Even the omission of one or more has meaning to explore.

Seven and Ten, Seventeen and Seventy

As has been shown, seven and ten are meaningful on their own. Added together they become seventeen. Seventeen is the day the Ark rested at Ararat. It is the day Jesus rose from the dead. Seventeen is the number of new beginnings, God vanquishes the enemy. (The last enemy to be destroyed is death.) Seventeen is complete order in perfection.

Seven times ten is seventy. And like seventeen above, it has significance. Seventy connotes perfection in complete order. Seventy members of Jacob’s family come to Joseph in Egypt. There are seventy elders appointed to help Moses with the affairs of the people. There are seventy Gentile nations. Seventy weeks are given to Israel. The number seventy is a complete set, or as the Hebraism is all of them.

When Jesus teaches about forgiveness, he says to forgive seventy times seven, it is more than hyperbole. The inherent meaning of the numbers is to forgive all of the sins of another completely and perfectly.

Correcting the Common Misconceptions

The counting of the seven weeks of years gives a forty-nine-year period. It is when the fiftieth year is announced and liberty is proclaimed that the cycle is complete. The common misconception in counting the Jubilees is they occur every fifty years, which is taken to count fifty between them. It is not fifty, but forty-nine. When the Jubilee is proclaimed the cycle completes and resets. It becomes the first year of the next cycle. This is just as God prescribed it. That concept may prove difficult to grasp, nevertheless, it is the reality.

There is another misconception about counting that may be easily overlooked.

Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: When you come into the land that I give you, the land shall keep a sabbath to the Lord.
Leviticus 25:2

Examine the text closely for the clue. Through Moses, God told the Israelis that the first year was a sabbath year. It would also mean it is the first year in the count to the forty-ninth year for the Jubilee.

For six years you shall sow your field, and six years you shall prune your vineyard and gather in its fruit,
Leviticus 25:3

There is a slightly different way of numbering for the sabbath. It is not a count. The Israelis were to work the land for six years, and the seventh is a sabbath. It is a different system. Because the year Israelis entered the Promised Land is a sabbath, the next year is year one of six years of working the land. The seventh would be the sabbath year.

Say that Israel entered the Promised Land in the year 1406 BC. 1405 BC would be the first year of working the land, with 1400 BC as the sixth. 1399 BC would be a sabbath year. Following the pattern of sabbath years, 1392 BC, 1385 BC, 1378 BC, 1371 BC, 1364 BC, and 1357 BC. 1357 would then be the first Jubilee. It would be the fiftieth year from 1406 BC. The forty-ninth year, counting seven sevens would be 1358 BC. The next year was the Jubilee. It would also be the first year in our next count of forty-nine to the second Jubilee in 1308 BC. Do the math, 1357–1308=49.

The number of years between Jubilees is forty-nine in the way God instituted the count. The fiftieth year is proclaimed, and the next count begins. Meaning it is year one of the next count to forty-nine. The way it works is the Jubilees will always be in a sabbath year.

The count may seem confusing, but God has already given the precedent for this count.

Shavuot (Pentecost)

You shall count seven full weeks from the next day after the Sabbath, from the day that you brought the sheaf bundle of the wave offering. You shall count fifty days to the day after the seventh Sabbath; then you shall offer a new grain offering to the Lord.
Leviticus 23:15–16

Counting seven full weeks after the Sabbath after Passover, each week beginning on Sunday and ending on Saturday. Seven full weeks brings us to Sunday… Not Saturday. Just as the Israelis were to count six years of working the land, these were full years, to arrive at the seventh. The forty-ninth day, Saturday, is part of the seven full weeks. The Holy Spirit provided error correction in the next way of counting. Counting 50 days from Sunday ensures the end day is always Sunday.

It is in this way that the count to Jubilee is related to the count to Shavuot. It also provides a foundation for understanding the meaning of the number fifty. It has already been shown that it signifies freedom and deliverance. It also leads directly to the Holy Spirit.

When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like a mighty rushing wind came from heaven, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. There appeared to them tongues as of fire, being distributed and resting on each of them, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues, as the Spirit enabled them to speak.
Acts 2:1–4

The number fifty connects with the giving of the promised Holy Spirit at the birth of the church in the first century. The correlation between Shavuot and Jubilee is not a coincidence. Both occur on a celebration of the fiftieth. One of the fiftieth day, the other on the fiftieth year. Adding importance, Pentecost occurred on the fiftieth day from the resurrection of Jesus.

These numbers are all interlaced in meaning and concept. Seven times ten makes seventy. That number has precise biblical significance, too. Seventy is a perfect complete set.

What if there is a complete set of Jubilees for Israel?

The Complete Set in Daniel

In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus of the lineage of the Medes, who was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans, in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, observed in the books the number of the years which were specified by the word of the Lord to Jeremiah the prophet for the accomplishment of the desolations of Jerusalem, that is, seventy years. I set my face toward the Lord God to seek by prayer and supplications with fasting and sackcloth and ashes.
Daniel 9:1–3

The significance of the numbers seven and ten provided much to ponder. When adding seven to ten, it makes seventeen. To review, the number seventeen has significance and points to new beginnings and resurrection. Noah’s Ark came to rest on 17 Nisan, the same day and month of the resurrection of Jesus.

Seventy conveys the idea of perfection of complete order. As stated before, I like to say all of them as in a full set that matches the Hebraism.

In the text above, Daniel was reading a passage from the book of Jeremiah on the desolations of Israel being complete in seventy years. This was to repay the seventy years of sabbaths that the land of Israel never had. Daniel realized the release from captivity was soon and sought to pray about that particular text to understand its meaning. His prayer is recorded in the following verses of Daniel 9, along with the answer to it.

While I was speaking and praying and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before the Lord my God for the holy mountain of my God, indeed, while I was speaking in prayer, the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, touched me about the time of the evening oblation. He informed me and talked with me, and said, “Daniel, I have now come to give you insight and understanding. At the beginning of your supplications the command went out, and I have come to tell you, for you are greatly beloved.
Daniel 9:20–23a

I don’t want to summarize this. I find the reading of it exciting and so compelling that it needs no other simplification or amplification. God’s messenger Gabriel gave Daniel the understanding he prayed to have.

Therefore understand the matter and consider the vision:
“Seventy weeks have been determined for your people and upon your holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make atonement for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy Place.
Daniel 9:23b–24

I would point out that seventy weeks are given to the people. And seventy weeks are given to the city of Jerusalem. Hidden within the precision of the text is a hint at dual application. A dual application with a common consummation.

“Know therefore and understand that from the going forth of the command to restore and to rebuild Jerusalem until the Prince Messiah shall be seven weeks, and sixty-two weeks. It shall be built again, with plaza and moat, even in times of trouble.
Daniel 9:25

It seems clear that the messenger is explaining the vision for the city. It will be rebuilt. There is also a precise calculation given, 69 weeks of years from the decree until the Anointed One comes. The order to rebuild the city, not just the temple, would be the impetus to start counting 483 years (69 weeks of years.) The command to rebuild Jerusalem was given by Artaxerxes Longimanus on 14 March 445 BC.

The math is precise. 483 years of 360 days corrected for leap years and there is no year zero takes us to 10 Nisan AD 32. That is the first Palm Sunday when Jesus rode into Jerusalem as King on the back of a donkey. (Seventh month, tenth day of the original calendar.)

Jesus was crucified on 14 Nisan, the day the Paschal lambs were slaughtered for observation of Passover. He was put in the grave that night. This tracks exactly what Gabriel said to Daniel.

After the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off and shall have nothing. And the troops of the prince who shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end of it shall come with a flood. And until the end of the war desolations are determined.
Daniel 9:26

Messiah was cut off from His people. That’s a euphemism for the sudden death that is due for sins. The focus here turns to the city of Jerusalem and the Temple. The text also explains that both would be destroyed.

There is much controversy here. Much of that controversy comes about by not taking the time to examine the precision of the Scriptures and how they interrelate. They do, surprisingly and intricately. Jerusalem and the Temple are destroyed quickly. That is the meaning behind flood, swiftness of the action. The destruction of the temple and Jerusalem did come about swiftly in AD 70.

The understanding Gabriel gave Daniel didn’t end there.

And he shall make a firm covenant with many for one week. But in the middle of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the offering to cease. And on the wing of abominations shall come one who makes desolate, until the decreed destruction is poured out on the desolator.”
Daniel 9:27

Implicit in the text is the assumption that there is a temple for sacrifice and offering to take place after it has been destroyed. The seemingly new temple is in place, it would have to be some time after the destruction previously foretold. This new temple would necessarily have to be in Jerusalem. These ideas have to be inferred to make sense of the text. Moving further along, those things are coupled with the language of destruction to the desolator, it is a consummation of the seventy weeks. It follows that the desolation is destroyed after there is a new temple. It all points to a time then yet future Daniel, and yet future to the destruction of the Temple then existing. That will be when the transgression is finished and the end of sins comes.

That’s the account of the seventy weeks for the city of Jerusalem. Is there one for the people?

Seventy Years of Jeremiah

It shall come to pass when seventy years are finished that I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation, says the Lord, for their iniquity, and the land of the Chaldeans, and will make it perpetual desolations.
Jeremiah 25:12

This is the text Daniel had concerns about. He knew the 70 years of captivity were nearing an end. The phrase perpetual desolations stands out as also connecting this to what Gabriel said. This also then hints at a long view yet future. This means Gabriel gave a longer view of the 70 years for the people (of the captivity.)

I will bring upon that land all My words which I have pronounced against it, even all that is written in this book, which Jeremiah has prophesied against all the nations. For many nations and great kings will make slaves of them, even them. And I will recompense them according to their deeds and according to the works of their hands.
Jeremiah 25:13–14

There is that promise of God, I will bring upon Babylon all My words which I have pronounced against it, even all that is written in Jeremiah’s book. God spoke many words to Babylon. Some of them were written many centuries after Jeremiah lived.

Standing far off for the fear of her torment, they will say:
‘Alas, alas for that great city,
that mighty city, Babylon!
In one hour your judgment has come.’
Revelation 18:10

If, as one reads in Jeremiah, all of the things pronounced against Babylon must take place, it must include those written in Revelation. Since there are things in Jeremiah which have not yet come to pass, and there are other things pronounced against Babylon that have not seen fruition… It follows that some of what is written in Revelation has not yet been fulfilled completely. God is promising that all of it will happen, and because it has not… These things point to events yet future.

In the Jeremiah text above, God also declares He will repay all of the nations that went against Jerusalem according to their deeds and according to their works. The idea of all nations being judged is spread through the bandwidth of the Bible. This is the apocalyptic language that points to the end times.

“When you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then you know that its desolation has drawn near. Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, and let those who are in the city depart, and let not those who are in the country enter it. For these are the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled.
Luke 21:20–22

As Luke records the words of Jesus, it is clear that His words connect to the ideas presented so far by both Daniel and Jeremiah. It is my clear conviction that the preponderance of the evidence indicates that these events are yet future.

But is there something else that may have been overlooked?

Going back to Jeremiah 25:12, God said it shall be when seventy years are finished that He will do these things. Well, all the things pronounced against Babylon have not yet happened. It means that those seventy years are not yet complete.

When examining the word translated into English as years, we encounter the Hebrew word sana. It is almost always translated as years, but the meaning of the Hebrew word has a much broader context. The meaning of sana encompasses the passing of seasons or cycles. A year encompasses a cycle of seasons, as does every fiftieth year encompasses the Jubilee cycle.

The Full Set of Jubilees

There is not an overt count of one set of 70 Jubilees in the Scriptures. It is hidden away in the text of Jeremiah as seen. Especially considering the difference between the precise English 70 years, to the less precise Hebrew 70 sana.

If this set of complete Jubilees exists, then there is some very specific math that can be applied. But that math requires an objective starting point.

Back a bit, I chose the year 1406 BC as the year Israel entered the Promised Land. There is much controversy over the dating of the sojourn of Israel in Egypt. Many of the secular scholars have purposefully excluded biblical data. We know the day and month from the Scriptures.

Now the people came up from the Jordan on the tenth day of the first month, and they camped at Gilgal, on the eastern border of Jericho.
Joshua 4:19

Israel entered the Promised Land on 10 Nisan, but what year?

The evidence points to 1406 BC. The selection of Passover Lambs in Egypt 40 years before brackets the wilderness wandering with the entrance into the Promised Land on 10 Nisan 1446 BC.

Why choose these dates?

I favor 1446 BC as the year of the Exodus based on the work of two individuals. The first is the book “Origins of the Hebrews: New Evidence of Israelites in Egypt from Joseph to Exodus” by Douglas Petrovich. The book presents compelling evidence for not only the Israeli sojourn in Egypt but also provides a detailed timeline. One that includes an exit year of 1446 under Pharaoh Amenhotep II. Mr. Petrovich maintains an academia.edu page where he has published other materials.

The second reason why I favor 1446 BC as the year of exodus is based on some of the work of Heather R. She maintains an academia.edu page, too. Her books are published there for free. Of particular interest is the book “The Jubilee and Ezekiel’s Temple” where she provides a comprehensive timeline of the Jubilee cycle complete with data and methods.

The count for the full set of Jubilees begins in the year 1406 BC. This is by the instructions given to Moses in Leviticus 25. With that start date, the complete set of Jubilees can be determined. With the last being the seventieth Jubilee. It will occur in AD 2025.

Big deal, right?

It could very well be. What else is there to learn?

Jesus and the Jubilee

There is an incident recorded in the book of Luke. Jesus is reading from the prophet Isaiah in a synagogue in Nazareth.

He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day. And He stood up to read. The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. When He had unrolled the scroll, He found the place where it was written:
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me,
because He has anointed Me
to preach the gospel to the poor;
He has sent Me to heal the broken-hearted,
to preach deliverance to the captives
and recovery of sight to the blind,
to set at liberty those who are oppressed;
to preach the acceptable year of the Lord.”
Luke 4:16–19

Jesus read from chapter 61 in the book of Isaiah. This is what Jesus said about this:

Then He rolled up the scroll, and He gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of all those who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him. And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”
Luke 4:20–21

It’s brief. But what Jesus read has language that fits the idea of the Jubilee… Freedom from oppression and restoration. It would be awesome if this coincided with a Jubilee. It does not. And it’s not even close.

When examining what Jesus read, the last two lines are compelling, especially “to preach the acceptable year of the Lord.” The definitive article (the) is not in Greek but is assumed for translation clarity.

When the passage in Isaiah 61 is examined, something else is unveiled.

The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me
because the Lord has anointed me
to preach good news to the poor;
He has sent me to heal the broken-hearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives,
and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord
and the day of vengeance of our God;
to comfort all who mourn,
to preserve those who mourn in Zion,
to give to them beauty
for ashes,
the oil of joy
for mourning,
the garment of praise
for the spirit of heaviness,
that they might be called trees of righteousness,
the planting of the Lord,
that He might be glorified.
Isaiah 61:1–3

It is what Jesus didn’t read, and precisely where He stopped. It was halfway through the passage. This implies He’s not finished yet proclaiming the acceptable year of the Lord. The next step in the program is to proclaim the day of vengeance of our God. That is a specific period of time. I also note that the acceptable time is a year, exponentially greater than the day of vengeance.

What can be gleaned about that?

Isaiah uses the phrase day of vengeance multiple times. It is apocalyptic in nature. It speaks to a time period that is referred to as Jacob’s Trouble.

Jacob’s Trouble

The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying: Thus says the Lord God of Israel: Write all the words that I have spoken to you in a book. For surely the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will restore the fortunes of My people Israel and Judah. The Lord says, I also will cause them to return to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall possess it.
Jeremiah 30:1–3

There is a time of restoration for the Israeli people, all of them. Note that God includes Israel, the northern kingdom, and Judah, the southern kingdom. Colloquially, the northern kingdom is spoken of as the lost tribes. It is a nod to the fact that these tribes have never been regathered into the land. It is my contention that all of Israel is being gathered into the land and for a while, now. The purpose is for restoration, but there is also trouble for both Israel and Judah. There’s a reason why both are named twice, that is both have to have returned to Israel. And tribulation looms for both.

These are the words that the Lord spoke concerning Israel and Judah. For thus says the Lord:
I have heard a sound of trembling,
of fear, and not of peace.
Ask now, and see,
can a male labor with child?
Why do I see every man
with his hands on his loins, as a woman in labor,
and all faces turned pale?
Alas! for that day is great,
so that no one is like it;
it is even the time of Jacob’s trouble,
but he shall be saved out of it.
Jeremiah 30:4–7

All of Jeremiah 30 is worth a read. God is pointing to a consummation of events in the latter days. Like Jesus said in Matthew 24:21, there is nor will be no other day like it. Ones in which, Jacob will be saved out of it. And as Daniel says, knowledge will be increased.

Look, the whirlwind of the Lord
goes forth with fury,
a continuing whirlwind;
it will fall with pain upon the head of the wicked.
The fierce anger of the Lord shall not return
until He has done it
and until He has performed the intentions of His heart.
In the latter days
you will understand it.
Jeremiah 30:23–24

These are the latter days. These are the days to understand it. There is the day of vengeance, that day. It is a period called the Tribulation. It is the time of consummation from Daniel 9 above when all things will be finished. It will be with the return of Jesus to vanquish His enemies. It is described graphically.

The Return of Jesus

“Who is this who comes from Edom
with dyed garments from Bozrah?
This one who is glorious in His apparel,
traveling in the greatness of His strength?”
“It is I who speak in righteousness,
mighty to save.”
“Why is Your apparel red,
and Your garments like him who treads in the wine vat?”
“I have trodden the winepress alone;
and from the peoples there was no one with Me.
For I will tread them in My anger,
and trample them in My fury,
and their blood shall be sprinkled upon My garments,
and I will stain all My raiment.
For the day of vengeance is in My heart,
and My year of redemption has come.
I looked and there was no one to help,
and I was astonished, and there was no one to uphold;
therefore, My own arm brought salvation to Me;
and My fury upheld Me.
I will tread down the peoples in My anger
and make them drunk in My fury,
and I will pour out their lifeblood on the earth.”
Isaiah 63:1–6

This is the end of the tribulation when Jesus comes. There is an order to things, Jesus stopped at the reading of the scroll of Isaiah. There is a long length of what is acceptable time for people to be saved. Which is followed by a day of vengeance. After which is to preserve those who mourn in Zion.

Who is this Who treads the wine press?

I saw heaven opened. And there was a white horse. He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war. His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on His head are many crowns. He has a name written, that no one knows but He Himself. He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood. His name is called The Word of God. The armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses. Out of His mouth proceeds a sharp sword, with which He may strike the nations. “He shall rule them with an iron scepter.” He treads the winepress of the fury and wrath of God the Almighty. On His robe and on His thigh He has a name written:
KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.
Revelation 19:11–16

It truly is the Day of Lord!

Isn’t this still the acceptable year?

Lurking behind the English translation there is that Hebrew word sana again. It is most often rendered as year but has a broader meaning of a cycle of seasons. Perhaps that cycle is the complete set of Jubilees.

Conclusion

If all of this is true, then 2025 is significant in meaning. It is a Jubilee year. As demonstrated, it is probably the closing of the acceptable time. What does that mean?

Jubilee is about freedom from bondage. It connects with the giving of the Holy Spirit by the number fifty. It is the restoration of inheritance. It is resurrection. All of which happen in the acceptable time before the day of vengeance.

God does not restore people to take vengeance on them. So, it makes sense that those being restored will necessarily need removal from that vengeance. What is that?

Now this I say, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does corruption inherit incorruption. Listen, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed. In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet, for the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible will put on incorruption, and this mortal will put on immortality. When this corruptible will have put on incorruption, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then the saying that is written shall come to pass: “Death is swallowed up in victory.”
“O death, where is your sting?
O grave, where is your victory?”
The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law.
But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!
Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.
1 Corinthians 15:50–58

Maranatha!

The Surprising Way That Resurrection Proves Futurism and the Rapture Before the Hour of Testing

On April 27, 2024April 27, 2024 By TimIn 1 Corinthians 15, Rapture, Resurrection3 Comments

But now is Christ risen from the dead and become the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came by man, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. But every man in his own order: Christ the first fruits; afterward, those who are Christ’s at His coming. Then comes the end when He will deliver up the kingdom to God the Father, when He puts an end to all rule and all authority and power. For He will reign until He has put all enemies under His feet. The last enemy that will be destroyed is death.
1 Corinthians 15:20–26

In these verses, there are two resurrection events plainly described. Hints at others are veiled. Resurrections are specific events defined in the Bible. Most are easily identified by the word resurrection being used.

Resurrection

Resurrection, in essence, is basically coming back to life from being dead. It is a demonstration of the power of God. It is He Who gives life and has the power over death.As will be seen, it is Jesus Who is given this authority to exercise.

The Bible mentions types of resurrections. One is a resurrection to life. Believers are resurrected into new bodies just as Jesus is. There is also a resurrection of judgment that occurs before the final judgment. There are also other resurrections back into these bodies like what happened to Lazarus. The primary focus here will be on the resurrection to life.

Do not Marvel

“Do not marvel at this. For the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come out—those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.
John 5:28–29

The thing that most don’t understand is that every human will be resurrected. They will all be resurrected by Jesus. It is clear as He says “all who are in the graves” will hear His voice and come out. Some will be resurrected to life, other to judgment. But all will hear His command. Remember these things as more is revealed.

Now is Christ Risen

In 1 Corinthians 15 Paul explains the importance of resurrection to Christianity. That brings us forward to the founding passage above where a brief outline of resurrection events is given. The first resurrection event mentioned is that of Jesus. This is not to be confused with what will later be encountered, what the Bible calls the first resurrection. Paul is using the resurrection of Jesus as a foundation for Christianity, calling it first fruits. He is the first to be raised in the new body. This is symbolic as the event came on very day of the Feast of First Fruits.

The second of the two resurrections is then mentioned and coincides with His coming. It is intimately tied with His coming. Also in the text of our passage, we can deduce when this coming is and what it is for. The timing of the second resurrection according to verse 24 above is before the end. As it says about that resurrection with His coming… Then comes the end.

This tells us that this particular resurrection event is yet future because it has not yet happened. Therefore the end has not yet come. This resurrection is before the time when He puts an end to all rule, authority, and power. It is at His coming back to Earth to establish His Kingdom of rule. This places the event at the end of a yet future period of time the Bible calls Jacob’s Trouble.

Alas! for that day is great, so that no one is like it; it is even the time of Jacob’s trouble, but he shall be saved out of it.
Jeremiah 30:7

It is a seven year period that is also called Daniel’s 70th Week. That week is given by God to and for Israel.

“Know therefore and understand that from the going forth of the command to restore and to rebuild Jerusalem until the Prince Messiah shall be seven weeks, and sixty-two weeks. It shall be built again, with plaza and moat, even in times of trouble. After the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off and shall have nothing. And the troops of the prince who shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end of it shall come with a flood. And until the end of the war desolations are determined. And he shall make a firm covenant with many for one week. But in the middle of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the offering to cease. And on the wing of abominations shall come one who makes desolate, until the decreed destruction is poured out on the desolator.”
Daniel 9:25–27

It may come as a shock and as will be shown, this is the resurrection promised to Israel and not the church.

This period of time at the end is all very much centered on Israel. Daniel’s 70th week is the end of the Israeli age of 490 years as wash shown to him. 69 weeks of years have already passed, and Messiah was cut off. The temple and the city were destroyed. But one week of years remains.

Jesus speaks of this time period in the Olivet Discourse. This happened because four of His disciples asked Him to expound on the end of the age and He did. This end of the age is these last seven Israel-centric years. I won’t include that here, but it can be found in Matthew 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21.

The End or the Last Day

This is the will of the Father who has sent Me, that of all whom He has given Me, I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day. This is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”
John 6:39–40

Most of us are familiar with these verses. There are some segments of Christianity that make a claim of exclusivity of this promise as applicable only to chosen believers. That is not true. These verses are Jesus demonstrating the power of God over death. He also says that all will be hear His voice and come out of the graves. Some will have eternal life, yes. That is only to those who see the Son. Which means to see Him as He is, God Who defeated death.

The importance of Jesus and His authority over life will be witnessed twice more in John 6.

Understand that when Jesus says last day, the Greek word for last is eschatē. It is from where we get the English word eschatology. Eschatology is the study of the end times. This witnesses of this to our text in 1 Corinthians speaks to something yet future. When Jesus is saying the last day to His intended audience, He is speaking of the end of the age. Watch how important the last day is the time of this resurrection.

No one can come to Me unless the Father who has sent Me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day
John 6:44

Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life. And I will raise him up on the last day
John 6:54

What is Jesus saying?

First, we know that He is going to call all humans to resurrection, some to life and others to judgment. This will be on the last day. Second, consider this:

Truly, truly I say to you, the hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has given to the Son to have life in Himself, and has given Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of Man.
John 5:25–27

The power of life and death belongs to God. Jesus claims that power as His own. Therefore, the passages in John 6 about resurrection are proclaiming that He is in fact God.

Jesus gives us timing for this raising up. It is the last day or the end. I am saying it time the end of the Israeli age. Is that true?

To help us understand, let’s consider the final two usages of the term last day by John. John records it twice more, once by Martha and another usage of it by Jesus.

Martha said to Him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.”
John 11:24

Martha affirms the idea that the resurrection of life comes for believes at the last day.

He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him. The word I have spoken will judge him on the last day.
John 12:48

We know the timing for the term the last day used in all of these passages is found back in John 5:28-29. It points to the hour of what we now see as two resurrection events, those to life and those to damnation. The hour and the last day are often used as collective terms for the entire end times.

The Sharp Edges Blur

“But every man in his own order.” There is an order to things. “Christ the first fruits.” He comes first. “Afterward, those who are Christ’s at His coming.”

Does that mean Jesus only comes once… Or is this a pattern?

And from which reference point do we measure once and is defined by context?

There is much controversy. Some say that a Jesus only has one second coming. That is there cannot be a coming for Israel and a coming for the church. It is my contention and understanding that every person will experience on more coming of Jesus. Here is what I mean.

Jesus promised to the believer to come to them and receive them to Himself. I believe He fulfills this to everyone. The saint that passes before the end of times won’t miss Jesus coming to them and receiving them to Himself. Likewise those alive at the end, He likewise returns to gather them.

From an individual perspective, Jesus comes to all once more. From a collective human experience Jesus comes again many countless times.

The text also seems to indicate that there are layers to last day. It would be incorrect to consider it constructively a singular expression coving just one moment in time. It is both and, it requires context for clarity.

It follows that there are layers to this second resurrection. We’ve encountered two… The resurrection of the Jewish saints and the end of the Jewish age after the completion of Daniel’s 70th week. The resurrection of life Jesus is speaking to in John 6 is a promise to Jewish believers. It occurs at the end of the age. This is the end of the Israeli age of 490 years.

There is also be another resurrection to judgment for those who reject Jesus. This occurs at the last day, by necessity the end of a different age.

It gets messy to nail down dogmatically.

Now, not intending to be controversial… But the Gospels are often misapplied. Many think because they are in the New Testament, they apply to the church. But that is not the case, the church had not yet come into existence. The words and actions of Jesus then were to and for Israel. Yes, we church saints can and do benefit from them. But they are primarily Jewish in nature and audience. Grasping that helps to understand many things.

That said, the last day points to the things at the end of the age. It is many layered.

The Resurrection Events in the Last Day

We know the those at His coming resurrection occurs at the coming of Jesus. This is His physical return to Earth when He protects Israel and vanquishes her enemies. This is the competed promise to the Jewish folks in John 5 and 6. It is also the fulfillment of the promise given to Daniel and others.

“And at that time Michael shall stand up, the great prince who stands guard over the sons of your people. And there shall be a time of trouble such as never was since there was a nation even to that time. And at that time your people shall be delivered, everyone who shall be found written in the book. Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, but others to shame and everlasting contempt.
Daniel 12:1–2

Clearly, we also see that the resurrection events described in the last day match what Daniel received. They are also patterned here:

Come, let us return to the Lord, for He has torn, and He will heal us. He has struck, and He will bind us up. After two days He will revive us. On the third day He will raise us up, that we may live before Him. Let us know, let us press on to know the Lord. His appearance is as sure as the dawn. He will come to us like the rain;
like the spring rains He will water the earth.
Hosea 6:1–3

These were the promise of resurrection given by the prophets. It would come in the last days.

Daniel aligns with how Jesus speaks of resurrection in the last day. He shows the two-fold nature which hints at the layered aspect of it.

The Third Day

I find the mention of two days rather intriguing. If we consider elsewhere that God says to Him a thousand years is like a day. It’s been about 2,000 years since Israel as a nation was abandoned and forgotten. Hosea instructed the Israelis to return to the Lord, and it follows that the resurrection of these Israeli saints would come on the third day. That is the 1,000 year Millennial Kingdom.

Is it coincidence that resurrection comes on the third day?

As I mellow in age, I see that Scripture is often a pattern. One to match to reality. Jesus rose on the third day. These Jewish believers will be raised up by God on the third day. I can see the pattern.

Do with that what you wish. I don’t think it is insignificant. I’ve learned that no detail in the Bible is insignificant. If it appears strange, it’s important to look deeper into it.

What we know is that His second coming, it will be Jewish saints raised as the Jewish nation receives the Messiah they abandoned.

All of this comes at the end of a period of time unprecedented in disaster. This period of time has another name in the New Testament.

The Hour of Temptation

Because you have kept My word of patience, I also will keep you from the hour of temptation which shall come upon the entire world, to test those who dwell on the earth.
Revelation 3:10

We have already referenced John’s Revelation. When one approaches the book of Revelation, one important note to understand is given at the outset. John was instructed to write about things you have seen, the things which are, and the things which will take place. Chapters 2 and 3 are the things which are part. Chapter 4 begins the things which will take place.

With that understanding, the hour of temptation points to that which will take place. The promise Jesus gives to the church of Philadelphia is to keep them from the hour, not to keep them through it. That’s an important distinction to understand.

Daniel’s 70th week is not for the church.

This is shown clearly in Daniel 12 and Hosea 6 as previously cited. One can also clearly see it in Jeremiah 30. I hope you read these and more on your own. Daniel’s 70th week is not a time where God randomly judges folks arbitrarily or throws wrath at them. This period of time has a very specific purpose. It is a test that the church of Philadelphia has already passed simply deducing they are kept from it.

What is the test?

I know your works. Look! I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it. For you have a little strength, and have kept My word, and have not denied My name.
Revelation 3:8

This is a good report of those who have not denied His name. It indicates the nature of the testing. Would you deny Jesus?

There are only two viable answers, people either will be for Jesus or they will deny Him. That is not a test for the church nor any believer alive today.

The Martyrs

The test has two major outcomes. Those that do not believe will be destroyed by God. There is no escaping that. Those that believe will most likely be martyred. There will be some that remain alive when Jesus comes and will enter the Millennial Kingdom.

The martyrs are resurrected.

I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and the authority to judge was given to them. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness of Jesus and for the word of God. They had not worshipped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.
Revelation 20:4

This part of John’s revelation points to the establishment of the Millennial Kingdom. The text tells us that there is a resurrection commensurate with that. It is fitting that this would also be a fulfillment of the resurrection promised by the prophets to the Israelis. Why?

The martyrs died in the time of Jacob’s Trouble which is Daniel’s 70th Week. Those names relate solely to Israel. They would be primarily Jewish believers. These folks will also reign with Jesus along with the previous resurrected saints.

The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he who takes part in the first resurrection. Over these the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ and shall reign with Him a thousand years.
Revelation 20:5–6

First resurrection is a resurrection to life. It is the first one mentioned in the Revelation of John. It is not the first resurrection meaning none others come before.

Again, I am not trying to be controversial. This is where the text leads. Jacob… Another name for Israel will be saved out of Jacob’s Trouble. It is not the church.

I think there is another pattern established on this. Here is why. We know that there will be elect folks who survived Jacob’s Trouble who are ushered into the Millennium. These will be joined by resurrected saints who will reign with Jesus. Keep this in mind.

The Resurrection at the End of the Millenium

Then I saw a great white throne and Him who was seated on it. From His face the earth and the heavens fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God. Books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. The dead were judged according to their works as recorded in the books. The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one by his works. Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. Anyone whose name was not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.
Revelation 20:11–15

I think the language in this passage tells us that there is something different about this resurrection. It’s not really called that outright. But what is clear is that those that did not participate in the prior resurrections will be brought to life. This bringing to life ends in condemnation. That is, to those who rejected Jesus and will experience the second death.

This is the last day. The next thing that comes after all of this is the new heaven and new earth. It also is the conclusion of resurrections discussed in 1 Corinthians 15 there are no more.

The Rapture

The first task in using this word is to do some disgronification. That means I want to clear up the backward notion many have over the word. They say it is not in the Bible as if that somehow negates the entire idea.

I use the word rapture deliberately. It immediately reveals those who scoff, mock, and scorn. It is said that doctrine divides. And this one certainly does. Much noise and misinformation exists surrounding the word.

The word rapture is a proper description of the event described in the Bible. The word in English means a violent taking and carrying away. Violent in this manner conveys the sense of surprise and quickness.

The English word rapture comes from a Latin word rapio. Which means to seize or snatch from one place to another. It comes into English via the Latin Vulgate translation of the Greek word harpazo. Harpazo is what is usually translated into English as snatched or carried away in 1 Thessalonians 4:17.

To those who mock, scoff, and/or scorn at the word… You are responsible for your own triggers. We see you.

A Mystery

Listen, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed. In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet, for the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible will put on incorruption, and this mortal will put on immortality.
1 Corinthians 15:51–53

In all the talk of resurrection in 1 Corinthians 15, Paul discusses our need for a new body. I have touched on that idea recently in this post. Paul goes into great detail as to why a change to a new body is needed. The conclusion is that these corruptible bodies must put on the incorruptible.

Paul then unveils a mystery. The Biblical meaning of mystery is not like the English definition. When the New Testament calls something a mystery, it is saying what is revealed was once hidden… But not anymore. What Paul is describing is no longer mysterious.

Since the birth of the church, it is a unified body. The church is a chaste virgin bride of Jesus Christ. She is not Israel, the promiscuous divorced wife of God. In the church, there is no distinction between Israelis and Gentiles. All are equal and equally welcome. The church is one body.

Unlike Jesus addressing Jewish folk, Paul is addressing the church, and by extension church age believers. He is telling these believers that not all of them are going to die. When Jesus comes, there will be an immediate change in the body. It will happen so fast as to be imperceptible Corruptible bodies will be made incorruptible. Before our instant change, the dead will be resurrected in like incorruptibility.

This rapture is not a resurrection event like the rest we have seen. But like other resurrection events, it comes at the end of something. This would be the end of the church age. It also fits the pattern of believes at the end of Jacob’s trouble being ushered into the millennium with resurrected saints.

The rapture of the church includes a resurrection but is foundationally a relocation event. If this is so… How do we know?

Before we move on, I think it is worth noting that the word mystery connects many things together in and for the church-age believers. Church itself was a mystery now revealed. The things for the church are necessarily going to be patterned in Israel.

The Trumpet of Assembly

Change happens in the twinkling of an eye… Instantaneously… At the last trumpet that sounds. People are whisked away to a new location.

That last trumpet presents a stone of stumbling to some. (I was there in that. I know.) The mention of this trumpet is not to be confused with the last trumpet blown on Yom Tehurah (the Feast of Trumpets. It is not connected at all to any Jewish feasts, though it may fit a pattern.) It is certainly is not connected with the any of the trumpet judgments in Revelation.

I speak of patterns. There is one in Exodus that fits clearly. When we consider a biblical explanation for a thing, it’s sometimes important to look at first mention of a word. This idea was reinforced when I began to look at the meeting of Israel with God outlined in the exodus. It was quite a surprise to discover that the word trumpet is first mentioned there in the Old Testament.

In Exodus 19 it is clearly demonstrated that the trumpet is a call to assembly. Paul would have known this. It is the reference for his writing. Like that call to assembly was for the people of Israel, this trumpet call of Hod is to assembly for the people of the church. In fact by definition, it’s the last call to assembly for the church.

Let’s look at the first usage of the word trumpet in the Bible in Exodus 19.

The Lord said to Moses, “Go to the people and sanctify them today and tomorrow, and have them wash their clothes, and be ready for the third day, for on the third day the Lord will come down in the sight of all the people on Mount Sinai. You shall set boundaries for the people all around, saying, ‘Take heed to yourselves so that you not go up onto the mountain or touch its border. Whoever touches the mountain will surely be put to death. No hand will touch him, but he shall surely be stoned or shot through, whether it be beast or man. He shall not live.’ When the trumpet sounds a long blast, they shall come up to the mountain.”
Exodus 19:10–13

Not that it pertains to the subject at hand, it is interesting that the Israelis were given two days to be sanctified. On the third day they were called to assemble. Think of what it says in one of Peter’s epistles, 1,000 years is like a day to the Lord. Is it a pattern given to us that like Israel was given two days to be sanctified with washing and then called to assemble on the third day?

Does it have application to a mystery body hidden at the time which would have two days (2,000 years) to be sanctified, then being called to assembly by God on the third day?

Not that it fits exactly… Without atomic clocks, how does one definitively know the exact moment a day starts?

Using Bible references… Is it at the exact moment the sun disappears on the horizon, is it the start of twilight, or when twilight fades to black?

It is another reference to the third day connected with resurrection. I don’t believe in coincidences. Nor do I believe prophecy is for the church. But there is definitely a pattern demonstrated here. And it caught me quite off guard when studying for this. (That is not a bad thing.)

The Assembly

So Moses went down from the mountain to the people and sanctified the people, and they washed their clothes. He said to the people, “Be ready for the third day. Do not go near your wives.” So on the third day, in the morning, there was thunder and lightning, and a thick cloud on the mountain, and the sound of an exceedingly loud trumpet. All the people who were in the camp trembled. Then Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. Now Mount Sinai was completely covered in smoke because the Lord had descended upon it in fire, and the smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain shook violently. When the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him with a voice.
Exodus 19:14–19

As already attested to, so much here makes my mind explode. There are patterns that seem to apply to our age apart from Israel. God came down in a cloud (of smoke.) The sanctification involved washing. The people were brought out of the camp at the sound of the trumpet to meet with God.

That long trumpet blast is God’s call to assembly. Moses was given instruction by God to give to the people. And when they heard the blast they were to assemble. The trumpet call here resulted in a relocation event from the campy to the mountain.

Is this prophecy being patterned?

The trumpet call of God is to assemble the people. As this is patterned once by Israel, it seems to hint at something more. If it is that, it is not a pattern that points to the second coming of Jesus Christ. How can we tell?

This is for the mixed-multitude people of God. it is not God coming down to judge them. It is a good thing, not a time to mourn.

Our Hope

For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Will it not even be you in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at His coming?
1 Thessalonians 2:19

To this end may He establish your hearts to be blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all His saints.
1 Thessalonians 3:13

The crowning jewel for the believer is to be with Him at His coming. For church age believers, this can only happen by prior intervention. We don’t meet Him at His coming. We are already in his presence when it happens. That is because we come with Him.

On that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which is to the east of Jerusalem. And from east to west the Mount of Olives will be split in two halves by a very great valley so that one half moves to the north and the other to the south. And you will flee to my mountain valley, for the mountain valley will reach to Azal. You will flee just like you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the Lord my God will come and all His holy ones with you.
Zechariah 14:4–5

Jesus comes with His holy ones. This is not just angels, nor is it just humans. It is all inclusive to the hosts of heaven. And I am going to tell you, if you are believer now… You are part of the host of heaven. Jesus comes with all of the inhabitants of heaven… All His holy ones.

(For background on that read this: The Divine Council in the Tanakh. Then this: Sons of God in the New Testament.)

It’s Relocation

The call of assembly is not a resurrection. It is a relocation event that by necessity includes a resurrection. Just as the definition of the word rapture entails, it is a quick relocation. People are instantly moved from Earth to heaven to be where Jesus is.

The corruptible bodies will have to be changed in an instant for those alive. And those who have passed before are likewise raised incorruptible.

The word harpazo is not the same as resurrection. It is better understood as a sudden relocation. In Acts 8:39, Phillip was suddenly relocated by the Spirit of the Lord. In the same way, when the word rapture is used, think suddenly relocation.

This is the facilitative relocating of believers to heaven so that they may return with Him at His coming. and remove a restraining pressure on evil.

Putting it All Together

But I would not have you ignorant, brothers, concerning those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and arose again, so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus.
1 Thessalonians 4:13–14

Paul is going to give a framework of how things are going to happen. Pay close attention. Read it all together. Note the apparent concern of dead saints not having the same experience. Paul is assuring the Thessalonians that God will also bring those with Him.

I think when reading the epistles to the Thessalonians, it wasn’t necessarily the rapture they were focused on. It is the Second Coming of Jesus. It is their hope, joy, and crown of rejoicing. That is the goal, the victory… To be counted a part of all His holy ones that come with Him when He vanquishes His enemies.

For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will not precede those who are asleep.
1 Thessalonians 4:15

Think back to what Paul wrote of the mystery of the sudden change to all believers who will be relocated. That is what he is referencing here. Specifically that those who have passed on already will be included.

For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.
1 Thessalonians 4:16

Jesus comes with a shout. Remember His promise that those in the graves would hear His voice and come out?

He will have the voice of the archangel signifying ultimate authority. And there will be the trumpet call of God.

This is the call to the people to assemble before God. Those in the graves are called first, and the people assemble before the presence of God in the clouds. It was patterned at Sinai when God descended in the cloud of smoke with a trumpet blast and all Israel came to Him. In like fashion, this church body will be called to assembly in whole and in order.

Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we shall be forever with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words.
1 Thessalonians 4:17–18

The body of Christ is relocated to His presence forever.

Concerning the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need that I write to you. For you know perfectly that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. When they say, “Peace and safety!” then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor upon a woman with child, and they shall not escape.
1 Thessalonians 5:1–3

Since the body of Christ has been relocated, there is no need for a chronology of events that lead to a specific time, the day of the Lord. The rapture does not start Daniel’s 70th week, though it is necessary for the body of saints to be relocated. This is a framework for what is going to happen.

The coming as a thief in the night is not about the rapture. It is a reference to those during Jacob’s Trouble who deny Jesus. At His return will come as a total surprise. They will not know until it happens.

When they say… Destruction will come upon them… They shall not escape. There are the three witnesses that this is not for the body of Christ. The body will not be there.

But you, brothers, are not in darkness so that this Day should overtake you as a thief. You are all the sons of light and the sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness.
1 Thessalonians 5:4–5

We are not darkened in mind like unbelievers. We will not be overtaken by this day.

Concluding Thoughts

As long as this is, it is not definitive. My goal is to help provide a framework for thinking. First, that there are yet future events in store for the nation of Israel and the world as a whole.

There are also future events for the church saints.

Paul also provides definitive proof that the church and Israel are not the same. They do not have overlapping programs. God was never finished with Israel, but set them aside for a time. He will again come to them when they call to His Anointed One. They cannot do that if the Holy Spirit working in the church is in the way.

Now you know what restrains him that he might be revealed in his time. For the mystery of lawlessness is already working. Only He who is now restraining him will do so until He is taken out of the way. Then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth, and destroy with the brightness of His presence, even him, whose coming is in accordance with the working of Satan with all power and signs and false wonders, and with all deception of unrighteousness among those who perish, because they did not receive the love for the truth that they might be saved.
2 Thessalonians 2:6–10

I also hope that your mind has been expanded to look at the patterns given in Scriptures. There are many patterns encountered that demonstrate how some seeming unrelated Scriptures interweave these patterns and enlighten understanding.

Resurrection ends one thing. After the end of on thing another begins. Resurrection is connected to the third day.

Jesus is risen and He is coming again!

The Day of the Lord, The Day of Christ, and the Great Day of the Wrath of the Lamb

On August 31, 2023September 7, 2023 By TimIn Last Days, Revelation 06Leave a comment

I watched as He opened the sixth seal. And suddenly there was a great earthquake. The sun became black, like sackcloth made from goat hair, and the moon became like blood. And the stars of heaven fell to the earth, as a fig tree drops its unripe figs when it is shaken by a strong wind. Then the heavens receded like a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place.
Then the kings of the earth and the great men and the rich men and the commanding officers and the strong and everyone, slave and free, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains. They said to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us, and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, for the great day of His wrath has come. Who is able to withstand it?”
Revelation 6:12–17

The Bible is clear and precise. As the seals on the scroll are removed… We come to the sixth seal. As it opens, unmistakable apocalyptic events come to earth. Many of these events seem to line up with what the world is preparing for now. Something happens to the sun and moon that impels the rich and powerful into underground bunkers. They implore those bunkers to fall on them… Why?

They tell us. It’s is the great day of the wrath of the Lamb.

Alas! for that day is great, so that no one is like it; it is even the time of Jacob’s trouble, but he shall be saved out of it.
Jeremiah 30:7

But is that great day the same as the Day of the Lord?

‘In the last days it shall be,’ says God, ‘that I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams.
Even on My menservants and maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days; and they shall prophesy.
And I will show wonders in heaven above and signs on the earth below: blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke.
The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and glorious day of the Lord comes.
And whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.’
Acts 2:17–21

That is Peter referencing the same thing… Sun into darkness and the moon turns to blood. This is the harbinger of the Day of the Lord.

Already we derive some facts…

The Day of the Lord is when the wrath of the Lamb is poured out.
The Day of the Lord is the time when Jesus comes.
It is not limited to a single 24-hour day.
Even unbelievers recognize it for what it is.

In those days and at that time, when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem,
I will gather all the nations, and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat. I will enter into judgment with them there regarding My people and My heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations; they have also divided up My land.
They have cast lots for My people, and have traded a boy for a prostitute; they have sold a girl for wine, that they might drink.
Joel 3:1–3

It is a day distinctly Jewish in nature. It is the restoration of Israel. It is also a terrible time of judgment for unbelievers. Note that even the Holy Spirit drops a hint to the trafficking of children as part of the injustices.

Reading a bit further in Joel brings us to something unmistakable.

Multitudes, multitudes, in the valley of decision! For the day of the LORD is near in the valley of the decision.
The sun and moon darken, and the stars withdraw their radiance.
The LORD roars from Zion, and sounds His voice from Jerusalem, and heaven and earth quake. But the LORD is a refuge for His people, and a stronghold for the children of Israel.
Joel 3:14–16

The Day of the Lord is the Day of wrath and the coming of the Lamb. That is unmistakable.

Concerning the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need that I write to you. For you know perfectly that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. When they say, “Peace and safety!” then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor upon a woman with child, and they shall not escape.
But you, brothers, are not in darkness so that this Day should overtake you as a thief. You are all the sons of light and the sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep as others do. But let us be alert and sober.
For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, are drunk at night. But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet, the hope of salvation. For God has not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep, we should live together with Him. So comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, just as you are doing.
1 Thessalonians 5:1–11

Paul describes the Day of the Lord to the Thessalonians. It comes like a thief in the night. They say, peace and safety… These are not believers who are going to be surprised.

Paul then uses the idea of some escape from that day that these cannot do. The believers he is addressing are not in such peril. Why?

Because believers are not appointed to this time of wrath. That is, believers are removed as previously testified immediately before.

But I would not have you ignorant, brothers, concerning those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and arose again, so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will not precede those who are asleep.
For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we shall be forever with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words.
1 Thessalonians 4:13–18

This means the above happens as a way of escape BEFORE the day of the Lord. Now, examining the second epistle we can clearly understand what is said.

Now, brothers, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and concerning our gathering together unto Him, we ask you not to let your mind be quickly shaken or be troubled, neither in spirit nor by word, nor by letter coming as though from us, as if the day of Christ is already here.
2 Thessalonians 2:1–2

Paul uses the term “Day of Christ.” He is assuring his readers that it is not here. The “Day of Christ” is not the moment we are snatched away. That is spoken of as happening before the Day of Christ. Modern-day saints are snatched away before the wrath comes.

As we can see… The Day of the Lord, the Day of Christ, and the Day of the wrath of the Lamb… These are all the same period of time with different names.

If that is not enough to point to Who is taking vengeance… Let’s rewind back to Revelation 6.

When He opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the testimony they had held. They cried out with a loud voice, “How long, O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” Then a white robe was given to each of them, and they were told to rest a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and brothers should be completed, who would be killed as they were.
Revelation 6:9–11

The ones who are asking for vengeance are the folks who have died for their testimony in the tribulation. They ask for their blood to be avenged.

Remember back in Numbers, where Moses instructed the Israelites to make sanctuary cities to protect from the avenger of blood?

The LORD spoke to Moses, saying: Speak to the children of Israel and say to them: When you are crossing over the Jordan into the land of Canaan, then you shall designate cities as your cities of refuge, so that a manslayer who unintentionally kills a person may flee there. The cities will be for you a refuge from the avenger, so that the manslayer does not die until he stands trial before the assembly. The cities which you designate shall be your six cities of refuge. You will give three cities across the Jordan, and three cities you will give in the land of Canaan, which will be cities of refuge. For the children of Israel, and for the stranger, and for the foreign sojourner among them will be six cities. These will be for a refuge. Everyone that unintentionally kills any person may flee there.
Numbers 35:9–15

The Hebrew word for avenger is goel. It is the same word used in the book of Ruth for the redeemer… The Kinsman Redeemer. That’s Jesus.

Jesus is the Avenger of Blood and the Kinsman Redeemer.

The Rapture (Part 3) – What it is Not

On April 7, 2022April 7, 2022 By TimIn 1 Thessalonians 04, Rapture2 Comments

The previous post attempted to explain what the rapture is. We know the rapture is a catching away of church saints. It helps to have an understanding of what the rapture is not, and the other things people say about the rapture.

Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we shall be forever with the Lord.
1 Thessalonians 4:17 — Modern English Version (Thinline Edition.; Lake Mary, FL: Passio, 2014)

The Word Rapture is Not in the Bible

This is often one of the most widely used ideas used to deny the rapture. It is true, that the English word rapture is not in the Bible. But the Greek word for the rapture is. That word is harpazo. Here is a definition from a reliable lexicon.

ἁρπάζω harpazō, – ‘snatch, seize’, i.e. take suddenly and vehemently, or take away in the sense of
1. to make off w. someone’s property by attacking or seizing, steal, carry off, drag away
2. to grab or seize suddenly so as to remove or gain control, snatch/take away
Definition provided by William Arndt et al., A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000), 134.

The word rapture enters the English language from Middle French rapture, which is derived from the medieval Latin raptura. Raptura is defined as seizure and/or kidnapping. The medieval Latin word has as its root the Latin raptus, which conveys the idea of a carrying off.

For the word nerds like I tend to be, here is a technical explanation (not that I do prefer technical illustrations.) In the text above from 1 Thessalonians, the Koine Greek verb form ἁρπαγησόμεθα (harpagēsometha) is used. It means we shall be caught up or taken away. The Koine word is correctly translated into the Latin Vulgate as rapiemur, meaning we are caught up or we are taken away. The Latin word has a root in the Latin verb rapio, meaning to catch up or take away.

Clearly, the word idea meant by rapture is in the Bible. To help alleviate any confusion let’s use an older, yet still reliable lexicon.

RAP’TURE, noun [Latin raptus, rapio.]
1. A seizing by violence. [Little Used.]
2. Transport; ecstasy; violence of a pleasing passion; extreme joy or pleasure.
Music when thus applied, raises in the mind of the hearer great conceptions; it strengthens devotion and advances praise into rapture
3. Rapidity with violence; a hurrying along with velocity; as rolling with torrent rapture
4. Enthusiasm; uncommon heat of imagination.
You grow correct, that once with rapture writ.
Noah Webster, American Dictionary of the English Language, 1828 (https://webstersdictionary1828.com/)

Using the word rapture or the term catching up to translate harpazo doesn’t change the way we understand the doctrine. Jesus comes and catches church saints up and away. We know now that the word rapture is not ‘not in the Bible.’

The Rapture is Not the Second Coming

“Immediately after the tribulation of those days, ‘the sun will be darkened, the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.’
“Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather His elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.
Matthew 24:29–31 — Modern English Version (Thinline Edition.; Lake Mary, FL: Passio, 2014)

This is the second coming of Jesus. It is markedly different than the rapture. As we’ve learned from previous posts, the rapture is for church saints. The second coming is for Israel, which is easily discerned by the usage of the term elect. It is almost always a term used for Israel as the chosen to make God known to the world. We also know this by the immediate context and audience. Jesus is speaking to a small group of Jewish disciples about as they asked Him what the sign of His coming would be and that of the end of the age (Matthew 24: 3.)

Yes, there are similarities to the rapture of church saints. There is the coming in the clouds, but with great power and glory. There is the great sound of the trumpet, military language for sure. But there is no shout, no voice of the archangel. The elect are gathered, yet the text is silent on where they are gathered.

Let’s examine the other two gospel accounts of the same event.

“But in those days, after that distress, ‘the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give her light; the stars of heaven will fall, and the powers that are in heaven will be shaken.’
“Then they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. Then He will send His angels and gather His elect from the four winds, from the farthest part of the earth to the farthest part of heaven.
Mark 13:24–27 — Modern English Version (Thinline Edition.; Lake Mary, FL: Passio, 2014)

“There will be signs in the sun and the moon and the stars; and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring; men fainting from fear and expectation of what is coming on the inhabited earth. For the powers of heaven will be shaken.
Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. When these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, for your redemption is drawing near.”
Luke 21:25–28 — Modern English Version (Thinline Edition.; Lake Mary, FL: Passio, 2014)

Each of these accounts describes the same event. There are intriguing details in all three and some that are unique to each.

Common details include coming in the clouds with great power and glory. There are a lot of natural disasters that precedes the event. There is also a sense of doom and foreboding. Two accounts mention the elect being gathered. I will leave the rest for you to examine, and see what other commonalities you can uncover.

The unique details are the things that ought to draw our attention. In the Luke account, a subtle exhortation gives us a hint to the rapture. “When these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, for your redemption is drawing near.” Jesus is encouraging His disciples to look up for redemption when these things begin to happen, not after. That is an important, yet subtle detail. Especially when we examine the Matthew passage, “immediately after the tribulation of those days.” Redemption for saints is when these begin to happen, the second coming is after the tribulation.

Remember the previous post from Acts 1.

When He had spoken these things, while they looked, He was taken up. And a cloud received Him from their sight.
While they looked intently toward heaven as He ascended, suddenly two men stood by them in white garments. They said, “Men of Galilee, why stand looking toward heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you to heaven, will come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.”
Acts 1:9–11 — Modern English Version (Thinline Edition.; Lake Mary, FL: Passio, 2014)

The rapture occurs in like manner to Jesus’ assumption. It is a private event for those (future) church saints present. There is no fear. There is no perplexity. There is no mourning.

Paul, in another epistle referencing the rapture, calls it the blessed hope.

For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly desires, we should live soberly, righteously, and in godliness in this present world, as we await the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from all lawlessness and purify for Himself a special people, zealous of good works.
Titus 2:11–14 — Modern English Version (Thinline Edition.; Lake Mary, FL: Passio, 2014)

Contrast that with the passage in Matthew that says “all the tribes of the earth will mourn.” These are not the same events.

Now to really ruffle feathers.

The Rapture is Not Middle-Tribulation Nor Post-Tribulation

I understand that statement may be hard to take. But the passages cited above provide us with all we need to know that the rapture occurs before the tribulation. There are other ways to know this.

Alas! for that day is great, so that no one is like it; it is even the time of Jacob’s trouble, but he shall be saved out of it.
Jeremiah 30:7 — Modern English Version (Thinline Edition.; Lake Mary, FL: Passio, 2014)

I encourage everyone to keep in mind when reading the Bible and encounter the phrase ‘that day.’ Most often it is a reference to the end times or last days. Jeremiah calls those days Jacob’s Trouble. In other places, it is described as a time of unprecedented trouble. It is even called great tribulation to explain its unprecedented severity.

“And at that time Michael shall stand up, the great prince who stands guard over the sons of your people. And there shall be a time of trouble such as never was since there was a nation even to that time. And at that time your people shall be delivered, everyone who shall be found written in the book.
Daniel 12:1 — Modern English Version (Thinline Edition.; Lake Mary, FL: Passio, 2014)

For then will be great tribulation, such as has not happened since the beginning of the world until now, no, nor ever shall be.
Matthew 24:21 — Modern English Version (Thinline Edition.; Lake Mary, FL: Passio, 2014)

These citations are not meant to be all-inclusive, but they serve as sufficient witnesses to this period of time being unprecedented. God even foretold this to Moses as he was dying.

The LORD said to Moses, “You are about to lie down with your fathers, and this people will rise up and begin to prostitute themselves after the gods of the foreigners of the land, where they are going to be among them, and will forsake Me and break My covenant which I have made with them. Then My anger will burn against them on that day, and I will forsake them, and I will hide My face from them, and they will be devoured, and many disasters and troubles will befall them, so that they will say in that day, ‘Have not these disasters come upon us because our God is not among us?’ And I will surely hide My face in that day for all the evil things which they shall have done, in that they turned to other gods.
Deuteronomy 31:16–18 — Modern English Version (Thinline Edition.; Lake Mary, FL: Passio, 2014)

When these things begin to happen look up for redemption. We are looking to a blessed hope. As previously discussed, the rapture serves as the end of the ministry of the church saints on earth.

The tribulation is judgment for Israel, not the Spirit-baptized church saints. The church escapes that judgment.

The Rapture is Not Already Passed

Because we understand that the rapture comes just as the days of tribulation being, it could not have happened in the first century. This is a view called preterism, which claims all things in the Bible have already happened. Let us look again at Daniel 12.

“And at that time Michael shall stand up, the great prince who stands guard over the sons of your people. And there shall be a time of trouble such as never was since there was a nation even to that time. And at that time your people shall be delivered, everyone who shall be found written in the book.
Daniel 12:1 — Modern English Version (Thinline Edition.; Lake Mary, FL: Passio, 2014)

Preterism will tell you that the Day of the Lord happened when the temple was destroyed in Jerusalem in 70 AD. That just cannot be true given the verse in Daniel. What happened in Jerusalem then, happened in a little backwater of the great Roman Empire. Sure it was devastating to Israel and her people, but relatively non-concerning to the rest of the empire.

Looking at the 120 million or so people that perished in and around the 20th century is surely a great sign of terrible trouble for a greater number of people. Yet according to what we read, even that won’t match what comes.

Given modern knowledge, preterism cannot be true.

The Rapture is Not This

I tell you, on that night two men will be in one bed; the one will be taken and the other will be left. Two women will be grinding grain together; the one will be taken and the other will be left. Two men will be in the field; the one will be taken and the other will be left.”
Luke 17:34–36 — Modern English Version (Thinline Edition.; Lake Mary, FL: Passio, 2014)

This text is often used as a rapture text. Examining the context and evidence that surrounds it provides a different conclusion. One that is very different. Let’s see the whole passage and what we can learn.

For as the lightning flashes and lights up the heavens from one side to the other, so will the Son of Man be in His day. But first He must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation.
“Just as it was in the days of Noah, so will it be in the days of the Son of Man. They were eating, drinking, marrying, and were given in marriage until the day when Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed them all.
“Likewise as it was in the days of Lot: They ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built. But on the day that Lot departed from Sodom, fire and brimstone rained from heaven and destroyed them all.
“So will it be on the day when the Son of Man is revealed. On that day let him who is on the housetop, with his goods in the house, not come down to take them away. And likewise let him who is in the field not return to the things behind. Remember Lot’s wife. Whoever seeks to save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it. I tell you, on that night two men will be in one bed; the one will be taken and the other will be left. Two women will be grinding grain together; the one will be taken and the other will be left. Two men will be in the field; the one will be taken and the other will be left.”
They asked, “Where, Lord?” He replied, “Where the body is, there the eagles will be gathered together.”
Luke 17:24–37 — Modern English Version (Thinline Edition.; Lake Mary, FL: Passio, 2014)

Like the previous citations from the Gospels, this text is not describing a blessed hope. Jesus sets the tone in the discussion as judgment and begins that discussion with the days before the judgment carried out by the flood. The unbelievers died in the waters. Was it because they couldn’t discern the signs?

To continue pressing His point, the destruction of Sodom is remembered. This is to demonstrate the sudden revealing of the Son of Man. It won’t be expected, at least not with joy for redemption. It comes with a heavy sense of foreboding. People are suddenly taken away.

Those present ask an intriguing question… Where?

They wanted to know where these taken would be. Jesus answers “Where the body is, there the eagles will be gathered together.” That is a reference to scavenging birds feasting on a dead corpse. It is explained here.

In Conclusion

We know the rapture is not not in the Bible. It is not the second coming. It does not happen during or after the tribulation. It has not already happened. And it is not the gathering of the elect, nor is it the gathering of unbelievers for a bird feast. As always, my intentions are not to be exhaustive, but to provide enough of a starting point for your own excursion into the depths of God’s Word.

Seven Times Seven

Seventh Month, Tenth Day

Nisan/Tishri

Lunar Calendar

Seven and Ten, Seventeen and Seventy

Correcting the Common Misconceptions

Shavuot (Pentecost)

The Complete Set in Daniel

Seventy Years of Jeremiah

The Full Set of Jubilees

Jesus and the Jubilee

Jacob’s Trouble

The Return of Jesus

Conclusion

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Resurrection

Do not Marvel

Now is Christ Risen

The End or the Last Day

The Sharp Edges Blur

The Resurrection Events in the Last Day

The Third Day

The Hour of Temptation

The Martyrs

The Resurrection at the End of the Millenium

The Rapture

A Mystery

The Trumpet of Assembly

The Assembly

Our Hope

It’s Relocation

Putting it All Together

Concluding Thoughts

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The Word Rapture is Not in the Bible

The Rapture is Not the Second Coming

The Rapture is Not Middle-Tribulation Nor Post-Tribulation

The Rapture is Not Already Passed

The Rapture is Not This

In Conclusion

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