RAPTURE – PART 21
PAUL’S PHILIPPIAN RAPTURE
Philippians 3, “Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Master. For me to write the same things to you is not tedious, but for you it is safe.
2Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the mutilation! 3For we are the circumcision, who worship Yahweh in the Spirit, rejoice in Messiah Yeshua, and have no confidence in the flesh, 4though I also might have confidence in the flesh. If anyone else thinks he may have confidence in the flesh, I more so: 5circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews; concerning the law, a Pharisee; 6concerning zeal, persecuting the church; concerning the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.
7But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Messiah. 8Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Messiah Yeshua my Master, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Messiah 9and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Messiah, the righteousness which is from Yahweh by faith; 10that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, 11if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.
12Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Messiah Yeshua has also laid hold of me. 13Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, 14I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of Yahweh in Messiah Yeshua.
15Therefore let us, as many as are mature, have this mind; and if in anything you think otherwise, Yahweh will reveal even this to you. 16Nevertheless, to the degree that we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us be of the same mind.
17Brethren, join in following my example, and note those who so walk, as you have us for a pattern. 18For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Messiah: 19whose end is destruction, whose god is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame—who set their mind on earthly things. 20For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior [JESUS 2.0 ADVENT] , the Lord Jesus Christ, 21who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself.”
You just have to love the Apostle Paul, a real Hebrew of the Hebrews. Paul knew he was wrapped in a body of flesh until death, but he still followed Torah as best he could in that flesh. Notice that in verse 6 and 9 Paul teaches that there is righteousness in the Torah, but that righteousness is by your own works, thereby becoming your own righteousness, meaning it is not an eternal righteousness. Paul understood the difference between righteousness under the Torah and Yahweh’s righteousness once he met Yeshua. Now he knows through his faith in Messiah that Yahweh has given him righteousness from Himself, it’s no longer by Paul’s works under the Torah, as seen also in verse 9. People like to call Messianic Christians legalistic, but we understand that our righteousness is not of ourselves, because we are no longer under the tutor of the Law. Our righteousness is now bestowed upon us by our Heavenly Father, just like Paul, through our faith in Messiah, just like Paul. We follow Torah to the best of our ability, just like Paul, to honor Yahweh and His whole Word, to please Him, not to gain righteousness under the Law. We walk by faith in the blood of Messiah, just like Paul, looking for our resurrection day, just like Paul. So evangelicals, fundamentals, and replacement theologians get over it, we’re not legalistic, we’re just trying to be lawful.
Look at Paul’s plea in verse 17, follow his Messianic example and use his Messianic life as the pattern for your own Messianic Christian walk!! Folks, it’s not just ok to follow Torah to the best of your ability until death, Paul encourages us to do so! Just don’t get sucked into pagan religious Judaism that follows man’s traditions, not Yah’s way.
In verse 11, Paul tells us he is looking forward to arriving at Resurrection Day. Do you realize that this Greek word for resurrection is ONLY used this one time in the Second Covenant? It means a rising up or a rising again, just like Yeshua resurrected! We know from Paul’s other teachings that the Resurrection and Rapture are the same event on the same day, in the same twinkling of an eye. So in Philippians 3 Paul is discussing the Rapture.
In verse 14, I wish we could see what Paul actually wrote in the original Hebrew. It looks like he may have been making a Hebrew play on words, indicating that the upward call of Yahweh is the Rapture! And notice the Rapture, being called upward by Yahweh, is Paul’s GOAL!
Verses 20-21 are explicitly Rapture/Resurrection verses! The Rapture of the living/Resurrection of the dead is Scriptural truth and future fact. In these verses we do not see a PRE-tribulation rapture, but we do see that it occurs at Yeshua’s Second Coming! Paul himself held this imminent expectancy that Yeshua would return in his lifetime. All the apostles and early church believed that Yeshua would return in their day. We look forward to Yeshua’s return in our day, because we know our generation is the last generation before His return. Paul clearly teaches here that Yeshua will transform our physical bodies into an eternal immortal body that CAN NEVER DIE at the Rapture/Resurrection Day. This is the Christian’s blessed hope. Notice Paul’s reference to Yeshua subduing all things to Himself. That is a clear reference to the END of the END of the Tribulation period. There is NO indication of a PRE-tribulation rapture in this chapter.
Our confidence is in Yeshua,
Gene Benjamin II
October 20, 2012 CE