Posted 8-4-01
Note: Compare these. Rev. 14:20 says, "the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs" (1 furlong = 582 feet). This takes place when the asteroids of Rev. 8:8,10 impact Earth on the Day of God's Wrath. Of the previous type, Exodus 7:20 says, "Moses...lifted up the rod, and smote the waters that were in the river, in the sight of Pharaoh, and in the sight of his servants; and all the waters that were in the river were turned to blood."
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=23899
TROUBLE IN THE HOLY LAND - Iraqi forces still in Jordan
Report says agent-commandos infiltrated Amman, stopped on way to West Bank
An estimated 800 Iraqi commandos, the bulk of the force that stole into Jordan two weeks ago, remain pinned down in Jordan’s eastern desert in two places – around Wadi Athner and near the town of Ruwayshid, report the intelligence sources of DEBKA-Net-Weekly.
As I have written before, with much of the world in destruction as pictured in the book of Revelation, the 2nd coming in power, will NOT BE AS A THIEF IN THE NIGHT. In fact , it may be possible to actually calculate the date, since the tribulation has a definite time period to it. Even the Seals of the Tribulation indicate much of the world in destruction,etc. Does that sound like the setting of the COMING OF THE DAY OF THE LORD AS A ....THIEF !!!?? I should say not ! !
We need to remember that the way the term "Day of the LORD" is used in the Old Testament verses the way it is used in the New Testament CAN BE DIFFERENT. Paul sometimes uses the term the "Day of Christ" in referring to the Rapture. John, in Revelation ch. 1 says he was in the spirit on the "LORD'S DAY" . This can be a description of the TIME OF THE RAPTURE AND SYNONOMOUS WITH THE TERM "DAY OF THE LORD."
We need to remember that the "day of the LORD" as used for the nation of Israel and the "day of the LORD" for the CHURCH can be TWO DIFFERENT TIME EVENTS.
If you read Paul's emphasis in I Thes. ch. 5 you will see that THE DAY OF THE LORD WOULD BEGIN AT THE TIME OF THE RAPTURE. Further, in II Thes. chapter 2 FALSE TEACHERS had come to the church (or sent letters) and told them they were ALREADY IN THE DAY OF THE LORD !!!!! (The Greek for "at hand" MEANS ALREADY PRESENT ! )This could not mean the 2nd coming. It could only upset their faith if they BELIEVED THAT THE DAY OF THE LORD (I.E. THE DAY OF CHRIST) WAS THE EXACT TIME OF THE RAPTURE ---AND THEY WERE NOT TO BE PART OF IT BECAUSE THE TRIBULATION IS SYNONOMOUS WITH THAT TIME.
As John F. Walvoord points out in his "PROPHECY,KNOWLEDGE HANDBOOK", 'For the Christian, his appointment is the Rapture; for the unsaved, his appointment is the Day of the LORD." I would only add that some "Christian's will be 'spewed OUT ' of Christ's mouth per Revelation ch. 3, and will go through the Tribulation.
To quote further from Dr. Walvoord, re I Thes. 5, "Coming immediately after the revelation concerning the Rapture of the church(see I Thes. ch. 4), it is natural to consider the question of WHEN THIS WILL OCCUR. Here the apostle appeals to a much larger doctrine of Scripture, the Day of the Lord, WHICH IS A TIME of special divine visitation mentioned often in the Old and New Testaments....As the Day of the Lord WILL COME LIKE A THIEF IN THE NIGHT, WITHOUT WARNING, SO ALSO THE RAPTURE."
Quoting further, " The placing of the doctrine of the Day of the Lord NEXT to the revelation of the Rapture is because of the similarity of BOTH events not having signs prior to their beginning. (My note, if the Day of the LORD comes only after the tribulation there would be ALL KINDS OF SIGNS ,THE ABOM. OF DES. AND THE ANTICHRIST, ETC. ETC. I challenge you to THINK about this !!)
"Like a thief in the night, who comes WITHOUT WARNING, the RAPURE WILL OCCUR and also the DAY OF THE LORD WILL BEGIN."
"Mentioned frequently in the Old Testament, the Day of the LORD refers to ANY SPECIAL PERIOD where God intervenes supernaturally, bringing judgement on the world."
"The future PERIOD of God's intervention in the world will BEGIN AT THE RAPTURE and will INCLUDE THE PERIOD of trouble preceeding the 2nd coming of Christ and the establishment of God's (1000 year) kingdom in the earth.Thus the DAY OF THE LORD WILL ALSO INCLUDE THE MILLENNIAL KINGDOM."
"THE TEACHING THAT THE DAY OF THE LORD DOES NOT BEGIN UNTIL THE SECOND COMING IS REFUTED BY THE FACT THAT IT INCLUDES THE GREAT TRIBULATION. JOEL MADE IT CLEAR THAT THE DAY OF THE LORD INCLUDED THE GREAT TRIBULATION BEFORE THE 2ND COMING.(Joel 2:28--3:2). The time of restoration of Israel (Joel 3:16-21) following the Great Tribulation is related to the 2nd coming and will be fulfilled in the Millennium."
"The DAY OF THE LORD WILL BEGIN AS A TIME PERIOD AT THE RAPTURE.....BECAUSE THE DAY OF THE LORD WILL BEGIN AT THE RAPTURE, THE 2 EVENTS ARE LINKED AS .....
....BOTH BEGINNING WITHOUT WARNING AND WITHOUT A SPECIFIC SIGN."
You will be hopelessly confused if you do not understand the different ways that the scripture uses this term the "Day of the LORD" AND understand the PROGRESSIVE way the "doctrine" of the Day of the Lord is developed in the scripture. IN the Old Test. Malachi says Elijah the Prophet will come before the Day of the Lord. That is the "classical" way this term is used in the Old Test. However, the way Paul uses the term is expanded to include the "thief in the night" concept as shown above."THE DAY OF THE LORD WILL COME AS A THIEF IN THE NIGHT" according to the Apostle Paul in I Thes. 5:2. It could be that the Old Testament prophets spoke of this term from the point of view of the nation of Israel while in the New Test. it is VIEWED FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF THE CHURCH----WHICH WAS A MYSTERY TO MOST IN THE OLD TESTAMENT.
Remember John was in the SPIRIT ON THE LORD'S DAY----THE TIME OF THE RAPTURE IN REV. CH. 1.The SEALS of Revelation chs. 6 are UNSEALED AND RELEASED BY THE LORD(SINCE IT IS THE TIME OF THE DAY OF THE LORD!!!) BEFORE THE WRATH IS UNSEALED IN REVELATION CH. 8 VIA THE TRUMPETS.
The scriptures do not contradict themselves, but since the RAPTURE was a MYSTERY TO THE OLD TESTAMENT(Paul called it a mystery in I Cor. 15:51), it is not hard to understand that the STARTING OF THE DAY OF THE LORD had progressive revelation form the Old to the New Testament! Blessings, CAPS
OT - Joel 1:15 says, "Alas for the day! for the DAY OF THE LORD is at hand, and as a DESTRUCTION from the Almighty shall it COME."
OT - Isa. 13:6 says, "Howl ye; for the day of the LORD is at hand; it shall COME as a DESTRUCTION from the Almighty"
NT - II Peter 3:10 says, "But the DAY OF THE LORD will COME as a thief in the night (starts at 6 PM); in the which THE HEAVENS (atmospheric) SHALL PASS AWAY WITH A GREAT NOISE, AND THE ELEMENTS SHALL MELT WITH FERVENT HEAT, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up."
Zeph. 2:1-5 says, "Gather yourselves together, yea, gather together, O nation not desired; BEFORE the decree bring forth, BEFORE the day pass as the chaff, BEFORE the fierce anger of the LORD come upon you, BEFORE the day of the LORD's anger come upon you. Seek ye the LORD, all ye meek of the earth, which have wrought his judgment; seek righteousness, seek meekness: it may be ye shall be HID (raptured) in the DAY OF THE LORD'S ANGER (1st day of the millennial Day of the Lord). For Gaza shall be forsaken, and Ashkelon a desolation: they shall drive out Ashdod at the NOON DAY, and Ekron shall be rooted up. Woe unto the inhabitants of the sea coast."
As soon as Christ is given his kingdom (Dan. 7:14), he will gather his saints to the general assembly in Heaven (Heb. 12:23). Isa. 13:9 says, "the day of the LORD COMETH, cruel both with WRATH AND FIERCE ANGER, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it." Isa. 34:8 says, "it is THE DAY (ONE DAY) OF THE LORD'S VENGEANCE, and the year (5768) of recompences for the controversy of Zion. And the streams thereof shall be turned into pitch, and the dust thereof into brimstone, and the land thereof shall become burning pitch." Zech. 14:1-3 says, "THE DAY OF THE LORD COMETH, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee. For I will gather all nations (Gog's army) against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city. THEN SHALL THE LORD GO FORTH, AND FIGHT against those nations."
The first day of the millennial Day of the Lord is the Day of God's Wrath, the day of destruction and thick darkness, the day of the Pre-Wrath Rapture, the day Christ is crowned, the day of the Marriage of the Lamb, and the day of the Judgment Seat of Christ. In Heaven, all the saints, "small and great," caught up in the 2 Raptures, will receive their rewards as the unbelievers on Earth receive their just rewards for their unbelief. Rev. 11:17,18 says, "We give thee thanks, O LORD God Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come; because thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and hast reigned. And the nations were angry, and THY WRATH IS COME, and the time of the dead, that they should be JUDGED, and that thou shouldest give REWARD unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; AND SHOULDEST DESTROY THEM WHICH DESTROY THE EARTH."
Jer. 46:10 says, "this is THE DAY OF THE LORD GOD OF HOSTS, A DAY (one literal day) OF VENGEANCE, that he may avenge him of his adversaries: and THE SWORD (asteroid) SHALL DEVOUR, and it shall be satiate and made drunk with their blood: for the Lord GOD of hosts hath a sacrifice in the north country by the river Euphrates."
This is one day like no other--ever. Dan. 12:1,2 says, "at that time (when the False Prophet is deposed, "come to his end," 11:45) shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be A TIME OF TROUBLE, SUCH AS NEVER WAS SINCE THERE WAS A NATION EVEN TO THAT SAME TIME: AND AT THAT TIME THY PEOPLE SHALL BE DELIVERED, every one that shall be found written in the book. And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt." The time of Jacob's trouble is one literal day, the same day as the Pre-Wrath Rapture, and the first day of the millennial Day of the Lord.
The Raptures are each called the Day of the Son of Man. Luke 17:22-24 says, "The days (plural) will come, when ye shall desire to see ONE OF THE DAYS OF THE SON OF MAN (i.e., 1 of the 2 Raptures), and ye shall not see it (left behind at the 1st Rapture). And they shall say to you, See here; or, see there (in the desert, Mt. 24:26): go not after them, nor follow them. For as the lightning, that lighteneth out of the one part under heaven, shineth unto the other part under heaven; so shall also the Son of man be in his day.
The millennial Day of the Lord can't come until after Elijah comes. Mal. 4:5,6 says, " Behold, I WILL SEND YOU ELIJAH THE PROPHET BEFORE THE COMING (FIRST DAY) OF THE GREAT AND DREADFUL DAY OF THE LORD (THE MILLENNIUM): And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse." The curse is the asteroid, the flying rolling thing, "the curse that goeth forth (orbits) over the face of the whole earth" (Zech. 5:3).
> > in I Thes. 5, which is a CONTINUATION of the discussion of the RAPTURE, just mentioned immediately before in ch. 4, Paul continues with the same subject. The "Day of the LORD" he says, will COME "AS A THIEF IN THE NIGHT." We know that the Rapture and the destruction that occurs the same day (as in the SAME DAY that Noah entered the Ark) will come as a THIEF IN THE NIGHT TO THE WORLD. Paul is definitely speaking of the RAPTURE HERE AND NOT THE 2ND COMING IN POWER.
In 1 Thess. 4 , the subject is the Rapture--one thing that happens on a single day. In 5:1f, the subject is "the times and the seasons", not one single day.
In Rev. 3:3, Jesus warns the church, "hold fast, and repent. IF THEREFORE THOU SHALT NOT WATCH, I WILL COME ON THEE AS A THIEF, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee." If we do watch, he will not come on us as a thief. The first Rapture is for those that have repented and are watching. If they do not repent, they could be left behind the first time, go through the Tribulation and be caught up at the "last trump," the Pre-Wrath Rapture. Those "shall be HID (cathar, be absent, i.e., be raptured) in THE DAY OF THE LORD'S ANGER" (Zeph. 2:3, the first day of the millennial Day of the Lord.
The 1st Rapture is as the days of Noah--water (symbol of the Holy Spirit) fell that same day. The 2nd Rapture is as the days of Lot--fire fell that same day (Luke 17:26-29).
I Thess. 5:1-9 is not talking about the Second Advent. It is talking about the Day of God's Wrath 7 Jewish months before the Second Advent. The day of wrath is the 1st day of the Millennium. No believer will be on Earth past noon on the first day of the millennial Day of the Lord. The asteroids of Rev. 8:8,10 will impact Earth at noon that day (Zeph. 2:1-5).
> > . Even the Seals of the Tribulation indicate much of the world in destruction,etc. Does that sound like the setting of the COMING OF THE DAY OF THE LORD AS A ....THIEF !!!?? I should say not ! !
It has to come after Elijah prophesys and turns the heart of the father to the children, etc. Mal. 4:1-6 says, "THE DAY cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch. But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall. And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this, saith the LORD of hosts. Remember ye the law of Moses my servant, which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel, with the statutes and judgments. Behold, I WILL SEND YOU ELIJAH THE PROPHET BEFORE THE COMING OF THE GREAT AND DREADFUL DAY OF THE LORD: And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse" (the asteroid, Zech. 5:3).
When Jesus comes as a thief, it is near Armageddon, not the first Rapture. Rev. 16:13,16 says, "I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to THE BATTLE OF THAT GREAT DAY OF GOD ALMIGHTY. Behold, I COME AS A THIEF. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame. And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue ARMAGEDDON."
> > John, in Revelation ch. 1 says he was in the spirit on the "LORD'S DAY" . This can be a description of the TIME OF THE RAPTURE AND SYNONOMOUS WITH THE TERM "DAY OF THE LORD."
Day of the Lord is used 6 times in the New Testament. None of them use the same term as Rev. 1:10, which says, "I was (lit., became, JFB) in the Spirit on the Lord's (kuriakos, belonging to the Lord) day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet." In I Thess. 5's the Day of the Lord, the word for Lord is kurios. Rev. 1:10 is not referring to the millennial Day of the Lord.
Concerning Rev. 1:10, Origen said, "The day of the Lord" is different in the Greek from "the Lord's (an adjective) day," which latter in the ancient Church always designates our Sunday." (Against Celsus, 8. 22).
A possibility is that "the Lord's day" of Rev. 1:10 means the Saturday Sabbath. The Rapture could be on the Sabbath. This year, Cheshvan 17, when Noah entered the Ark, will be on Saturday, Nov. 3, 2001. Gen. 7:11 says, "In the six hundredth year (representing the 6000th year) of Noah's (meaning rest, as at the Rapture) life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month (Cheshvan 17), the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up (rep. resurrection of the dead in Christ), and THE WINDOWS (rep. open door of Rev. 3:8) OF HEAVEN WERE OPENED."
The Lord's day in Rev. 1:10 seems to be the first Day of the Son of Man in Luke 17:26. It says, "as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man." The plural "days" ties both Raptures in to the days of Noah. At the first Rapture, the Lord will say to the righteous of this generation, "COME UP HITHER" (Rev. 4:1). In Gen. 7:1, "the LORD said unto Noah, COME THOU AND ALL THY HOUSE into the ark; FOR THEE HAVE I SEEN RIGHTEOUS BEFORE ME IN THIS GENERATION." Noah went in on Cheshvan 17.
Gen. 8:13 seems to apply to the second Rapture. It "came to pass in the six hundredth and first year, in the first month, the first day of the month (Tishri 1), the waters were dried up from off the earth." I think that is the date of the Pre-Wrath Rapture.
On Tishri 1, the Feast of Trumpets, "Noah removed the COVERING of the ark" (Gen. 7:13). The Ark stands for Christ our Saviour. The veil seems to be removed on Tishri 1, 5768, when people look up and see the Sign of the Son of Man (Mt. 24:30; Rev. 6: 14f). Isa. 25:7 says, "he will destroy in this mountain the face of the COVERING cast over all people, and the VAIL that is spread over all nations."
Since Tishri 1 seems to apply to the Pre-Wrath Rapture, maybe Saturday, Cheshvan 17, 5762 applies to the Pre-Trib Rapture.
> > Quoting further, " The placing of the doctrine of the Day of the Lord NEXT to the revelation of the Rapture is because of the similarity of BOTH events not having signs prior to their beginning. (My note, if the Day of the LORD comes only after the tribulation there would be ALL KINDS OF SIGNS ,THE ABOM. OF DES. AND THE ANTICHRIST, ETC. ETC. I challenge you to THINK about this !!)
This is a good example of why we shouldn't build a doctrine on what man says. Actually both the Rapture and millennial Day of the Lord are preceded by signs. Concerning the Rapture, Luke 21:25,28 says, "THERE SHALL BE SIGNS (SEMEION) IN THE SUN, AND IN THE MOON, AND IN THE STARS (lit., constellations); and upon the earth distress of nations (including Israel), with perplexity; the sea (nations, Rev. 17:15) and the waves roaring...And WHEN THESE THINGS BEGIN TO COME TO PASS, THEN LOOK UP, AND LIFT UP YOUR HEADS; FOR YOUR REDEMPTION (THE PRE-TRIB RAPTURE) DRAWETH NIGH."
The millennial Day of the Lord is preceded by the reign of the False Prophet. Rev. 13:13-15 says, "he doeth great WONDERS (SEMEION, SIGNS), so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men, And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those MIRACLES (SEMEION, SIGNS) which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live. And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed."
> > "The future PERIOD of God's intervention in the world will BEGIN AT THE RAPTURE and will INCLUDE THE PERIOD of trouble preceeding the 2nd coming of Christ and the establishment of God's (1000 year) kingdom in the earth.Thus the DAY OF THE LORD WILL ALSO INCLUDE THE MILLENNIAL KINGDOM."
The Millennium is 1000 years. If you add to it the time from the Pre-Trib Rapture to the beginning of the Millennium, you will get roughly 1006 years. That is not a millennium.
> > "THE TEACHING THAT THE DAY OF THE LORD DOES NOT BEGIN UNTIL THE SECOND COMING
I think there are 7 months between the first day of the millennial Day of the Lord and the Second Coming (Eze. 39:12,13).
> > the STARTING OF THE DAY OF THE LORD had progressive revelation form the Old to the New Testament!
The Bible is consistent. The Day of the Lord is the 7th millennium throughout both the Old and New Testaments. The first day of the Millennium is the Day of God's Wrath. Agape
I Thess. 2:3,6-9 (WEB, World English Bible) says, "Let no one deceive you in any way. For it (the millennial Day of the Lord) will not be, unless THE DEPARTURE COMES FIRST (the departure of the Holy Spirit filled believers at the Rapture), and the man of sin is revealed (second), the son of destruction....Now you know what is restraining him, to the end that he may be revealed in his own season (the Tribulation). For the mystery of lawlessness already works. Only there is one (the Holy Spirit, now residing in the salt of the Earth) who restrains now, until he is taken (ginomai, arises) out of the way (mesos, midst, i.e., at the Pre-Trib Rapture). Then (tote, at the same time) the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will kill with the breath of his mouth, and bring to nothing by the brightness of his coming; even he whose coming is according to the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders." Agape
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Updated 8-4-01