Confusion on the Rapture! Part 1
Confusion on the Rapture! Part 1
The main reason for all the confusion on the rapture and its timing is the fact that the bride and the church are separate. The bride comes out of the church and therefore she is separated from the church. This has nothing to do with salvation. Salvation is not earned however the position of the bride is an act of separation, she, (the bride) makes herself ready. She prepares herself for this “one thing”, to be the bride of Christ. For instance, Israel as a whole (the 12 tribes) was saved by God from Egypt (the world) but Levi was “separated for the Lord”. At Mount Sinai they chose to side with God and separated themselves of gross immorality and followed the Lord. As a result Levi was brought close to the Lord.
The fact that many have convincing arguments both theologically and doctrinally in regards to the rapture whether pre-tribulation or post-tribulation testify to the fact that one factor is never considered, the bride! All have assumed that the church is the bride! She is not the bride; the bride comes out of the Church. The bride is whole heartedly in love with the bridegroom and sees God as such. She is not committing spiritual adultery with the world as many in the church continue to do. Many in the church still need to be refined by fire. Understanding this truth will help define the timing of the rapture and who it is who will be raptured.
The Scriptures are full of this teaching. In Revelation each church is commended and some reproved. Only two churches in revelation need no rebuke the church at Smyrna and the church at Philadelphia. One has the call to be the bride the other has the call to be martyred. The church in Smyrna accepts the call of martyrdom, for 10 days she is to suffer persecution as a witness for God. The 10 days are synonymous of the time period of the “days of awe” which falls between the Feast of Trumpets and the Day of Atonement. During this period there is a call for repentance to the people and a cry to be reconciled to God. If the doctrine of the Trumpets rapture is applied here along with the Scripture that testifies that Christ will return on the Day of Atonement, known as the “Day of the Lord”, then will we understand that the 10 days of awe takes place between the two feasts, hence, it is synonymous with the 7 year tribulation period.
One particular move who view themselves not as the “Bride” but as the friend of the Bridegroom and have prepared many for the tribulation is Mike Bickle. He and his organization teach that they will go through the tribulation. Can I suggest something; there is a church that God is raising up to be a witness along with Israel in the last days. In Revelation we note that God calls 12,000 from each tribe to be His witness for Israel. Close observation will reveal that Ephraim is not listed! Why do you suppose this? She is the bride and has been taken to the wedding chambers called the chedar; she is the church at Philadelphia. Looking back at Genesis and the account of Jacob and Joseph, Israel calls Joseph and says to him concerning his two sons, who by the why are borne of Pharaoh’s daughter a Gentile, “Now then, your two sons born to you in Egypt before I came to you here will be reckoned as mine; Ephraim and Manasseh will be mine, just as Reuben and Simeon are mine” Gen 48:5 NIV. He adopts them as his own, this is what God did at the cross, adopted us as sons. Crossing his hands to bless Ephraim and Manasseh a symbol of the two peoples of the cross, Joseph objects but Israel says this in regards to them, “Joseph said to his father, “Not so, my father, for this one is the firstborn. Place your right hand on his head. “But his father refused and said, “I know, my son, I know; he also will become a people and he also will be great. However, his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his descendants shall become a multitude of nations” Gen 48:18-20 NASU. The multitude of nations “gowy or goy” means “Gentiles”. Ephraim and Manasseh have mixed there blood with the nations of Gentiles for they themselves are of Gentile descent. To make the long story short because my focus is not them but to make my point, Ephraim was also known as the Northern Kingdom who was dispersed among the nations but of Judah the Southern Kingdom they kept their identity and was captured by Assyria. Ephraim means “double fruitfulness” and Manasseh means “causing to forget”. Manasseh is listed in Revelation along with the 12 tribes and represents the church left behind that becomes one in the hands of God to fulfill prophesy of the two Kingdoms becoming one, “Son of man, take a stick of wood and write on it, ‘Belonging to Judah and the Israelites associated with him.’ Then take another stick of wood, and write on it, ‘Ephraim’s stick, belonging to Joseph and all the house of Israel associated with him. Join them together into one stick so that they will become one in your hand. When your countrymen ask you, ‘Won’t you tell us what you mean by this?’ say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I am going to take the stick of Joseph — which is in Ephraim’s hand — and of the Israelite tribes associated with him, and join it to Judah’s stick, making them a single stick of wood, and they will become one in my hand.’ Hold before their eyes the sticks you have written on and say to them, this is what the Sovereign LORD says: I will take the Israelites out of the nations where they have gone. I will gather them from all around and bring them back into their own land. I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel” Ezek 37:16-22 NIV. The house of Israel associated with Ephraim is Manasseh and Manasseh is listed in Revelation instead of Ephraim, Rev. 7:4-8.
In the New Testament we see those called to martyrdom and some who are not. In the gospel’s particularly John, Jesus calls Peter to His side and says, “Feed my sheep. I tell you the truth, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go. Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God” John 21:19 NIV. There is a call to death that glorifies God. Many don’t want to admit it perhaps because of their fear of suffering and death. But Jesus spoke this concerning Paul, “Go, for he, Paul, is a chosen instrument of Mine, to bear My name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel; for I will show him how much he must suffer for My name’s sake” Acts 9:15-16. There is a church called Smyrna who goes thru the tribulation. It is a call to those who can’t see themselves as the bride but are faithful to God and who have no fear of suffering to testify of the power of His cross…… www.unveilingthebride.com
