Around the world, Christians wait in expectation of an event referred to as "the Rapture". 2000 years ago or so, Jews in Israel awaited an event referred to as the "coming of the Messiah". The Messiah did come as foretold, but as foretold by the prophets before him, not as expected by the people of the day. The priests and rabbis expected a great and powerful ruler who would sit with them and by force return Israel to it's former glory. This did not happen. Jesus came into the world through a very humble beginning; He was born in a stable to a carpenter, grew up in Nazareth, an un-remarkable town that was actually despised by some, and fought the evil in the world with his tongue, not a sword. He despised the religious rulers of the day, calling them "hypocrits" and "vipers". Yet, if one studies the scriptures of the prophets that foretold his coming, all prophesies were exactly fulfilled. The problem was not with the prophesies or with Jesus, but rather with the interpretation of the prophesies and the beliefs that had sprang from religious teaches.

So too, today, a wise man will not base his beliefs on religious or social teachings. The only way to be sure of the actual relevance of events is to constantly and faithfully return to the Bible for interpretation. Even these pages are not guaranteed to be accurate; My best attempts to interpret the teachings of the Bible are not binding on God. No, history will unfold exactly as God intended, not in the way we want or expect it to.

One interesting point is that the actual word "rapture" is never found in the King James Version of the Bible. The only concrete reference to it is found in 1 Thessolonians 4:17. Here, Paul is teaching to the Church at Thessalonia, and delivers this bit of prophesy to comfort them. One must keep in mind that the early Christians were persecuted to a degree that today would be unthinkable. Thus, they required comfort from the one man who was perhaps the strongest Christian since Jesus Himself.

According to Paul, when Jesus returns, the dead in Christ shal rise first, then those who are alive will be caught up to him in the clouds (sky). This will be our last experience without Christ Himself being with us in the flesh, for he says "and so we shall ever be with the Lord". For those of us who are truly Christians, that will be a glorious day indeed. But when will it be? And how does it tie in with the prophesies of the end times?

Jesus' return is mentioned in three separate accounts in Revelation. First is at the end of the sixth seal in Revelation 7:9-17, where John sees the great multitude arrayed in white. These are the loyal followers of Jesus of whom Paul spoke of. The second occurence is in Revelation 14:1 just after the description of the mark of the beast, and just before the seven angels with seven deadly plagues. Thirdly, it is mentioned in Revelation 19:11. This is where the title of this page comes into play (I know you were waiting on an explanation), so let's read farther.

While all three episodes mention an army of Jesus, the 144,000 virgins, this episode goes into greater detail of the actual wars between heaven and earth. Here we find that the beast and the false prophet are cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. Now, brimstone is an old term for sulphur, which burns at an enormously hot temperature. So here, Hell is introduced as a place of extreme eternal torment. Note that only the beast and false prophet are cast into the lake of fire - no one else.

Next the dragon, Satan, is chained and placed into a bottomless pit for 1000 years. This is the "1000 years of Christ's reign" that you may have heard of. During this time, Satan is exiled from the earth, so Christ reigns unchallenged and all is peace. The only inhabitants of the earth during this time are Christ Jesus, those which remained alive through the tribulations, and the "dead in Christ", or those who remained faithful to Christ throughout their lives. Revelation 20:5 sums it up nicely - "But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection."

So we have a few myths dispelled here. People who die do not become angels. Angels are spiritual workers serving God. They were angels the day they were made, and they will always be angels. We are man, we were created as man, and we will always be man. Next, our dead do not go to heaven to be with god when they die. They sleep "in Christ" if they died a Christian, but they do not go directly to heaven. They will rise again, when Jesus returns, in the first resurrection. Conversely, the dead that are not "in Christ" do not go to hell, at least not the lake of fire, upon death. The word "hell" in the Bible is translated from a number of words meaning "death" or "the grave". The lake of fire is not termed "hell", but is simply described. There is no hell - yet. It is not a fairy tale, however, for it will emerge later as the final resting place for those who refuse to follow Christ.

I have to apologize to some folks who read the title of this page and wondered what was going on. It seemed the best way to get your attention. I hope that everyone who reads these pages will someday come to know Jesus, so it is my goal to have these pages read by as many people as possible. To find out more about Him, just check out Trinity Broadcasting, Kenneth Copeland Ministries, or World Harvest Church. They, as well as any of the other links I have here, will be more than happy to introduce you to each other.


The Warnings of Jesus
The Four Horsemen
The Mark of the Beast
Who Is the Anti-Christ?
Hell Does Not Exist
The End of the World
Nostradamus
Minor Prophets

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