RAPTURE – PART VII
Two Dudes in White Weigh In
First, I want to share a little Rapture nugget I just found in Paul’s letter to Timothy. 1 Timothy 6:14-15, “that you keep this commandment without spot, blameless until our Master Yeshua Messiah’s appearing, 15which He will manifest in His own times,”
Yeshua will return in one of two ways: according to His Sacred Calendar, which is what the Greek in 1 Timothy 6:15 reveals, for the word time in English is times in the Greek, a plural noun!!! Or, there are 3 advents of Messiah to earth!!If we are raptured at Shavuot, Pentecost, on the Church’s birthday, then even the 3 advents could be accomplished on His Sacred calendar, with the 3rd advent coming at Yom Teruah, Feast of Trumpets, announcing the King’s return to earth!! Quite interesting indeed!!
Second, I want you to see that the Scriptures reveal that there are only two advents of Messiah, according to Hebrews 9:28, “so Messiah was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time [literally, second optical appearance!!], apart from sin, for salvation.” This teaching is confirmed in Hebrews 10:12-13, “But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever [Passover, 30 CE], sat down at the right hand of Yahweh [40 days AFTER Feast of Firstfruits, 30 CE], 13from that time waiting till His enemies are made His footstool.” Do YOU see a rapture happening here, BEFORE Judgment Day?!? Do YOU see a rapture ANYWHERE from 40 days after Feast of Firstfruits in 30 CE, UNTIL or BEFORE Judgment Day in the 21st Century!?! Notice, sin was dealt with in 30 CE at Yeshua’s FIRST advent and SALVATION is accomplished at His SECOND advent. The sealing for salvation and redemption is the message of the Fall Feast of Yom Kippur!!! This truth is again confirmed in 2 Thessalonians 2. Ok, now, IF YOU WANT to separate Yeshua’s second advent from the rapture, take a look at this verse: 2 Thes. 2:1, “Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Master Yeshua Messiah and our gathering together to Him, we ask you.” NOTICE which event is mentioned FIRST, Yeshua’s second coming is mentioned BEFORE the rapture!! Why would Paul write this sentence that way if the rapture occurs BEFORE the second coming of Messiah? Just asking.
A pre-tribulation Rapture DEMANDS 3 advents of Messiah. The first advent occurred in the 1st Century when He walked among men, died for our sins, was buried, was resurrected the third day, and then ascended 40 days AFTER the Feast of First Fruits, Resurrection Day in 30 CE. Which brings me to our text for today, Acts 1, “The former account I made, O Theophilus, of all that Yeshua began both to do and teach, 2until the day in which He was taken up [analambano, to take up, 40 days AFTER the Feast of Firstfruits, 30 CE], after He through the Holy Spirit had given commandments to the apostles whom He had chosen, 3to whom He also presented Himself alive after His suffering by many infallible proofs, being seen by them during forty days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of Yahweh.
4And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, “which,” He said, “you have heard from Me; 5for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” [EXACTLY 10 days later on Pentecost, Feast of Shavuot] 6Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, “Master, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” 7And He said to them, “It is not for you to know times [solar clock times] or seasons [Yahweh’s mo’edim, or the Feasts of Yahweh, on the Sacred calendar] which the Father has put in His own authority. [And apparently, He doesn’t want us to know on which set of Feasts He’s coming back on!] 8But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
The word for the end is eschatou, a form of the adjective eschatos, is the same word used for the study of the end times, eschatology, so Yeshua could easily also mean that the disciples will witness UNTIL THE END OF TIME in every nook, cranny, and corner of the earth. And that begs the question, where is the rapture in that? Also, Yeshua spoke this in Hebrew or Aramaic, so He may have been speaking with a real play on words, so to speak, by saying eschatou. In one word, He states we will witness everywhere until the clock stops, in all earthly space for all earthly time! Pretty smart Guy. We’ll have to dig into the Hebrew/Aramaic to find a word that means both space and time together, to see which word He may have used. Isn’t language interesting? Einstein sounded a lot like Yeshua.
“9Now when He had spoken these things, while they watched, He was taken up [epairo, meaning to raise up, as in exalted, NOT the same word used as caught up in 1 Thes. 4:17, harpazo, pertaining to the rapture teaching.], and a cloud [of witnesses?] received Him out of their sight. 10And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up [poreuomai, traveled upward], behold, two men [Moses and Elijah incognito?] stood by them in white apparel, 11who also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Yeshua, who was taken up [analambano, to take up] from you into heaven, will so come in like manner [in the same mode or style] as you saw Him go into heaven.”
HOLD THE PRESSES!! What did those two dudes in white just say? Yeshua traveled upward from the DIRT BALL OF EARTH, straight into Heaven? What, no stopping in the atmosphere to SPEAK ANYMORE COMMANDMENTS OR DO ANYTHING ELSE? Those two guys in white mean to say that Yeshua WENT STRAIGHT FROM THE DIRT BALL OF EARTH TO THE THRONE ROOM IN HEAVEN? That’s exactly what they said. So, does that mean when Yeshua comes back, He goes straight FROM HEAVEN DOWN TO THE EARTH, NOT STOPPING EVEN FOR A TWINKLING OF AN EYE TO RAPTURE ANYONE, NOT ONE SAINT? That seems to be what they said. I didn’t say it, they did. THIS ONE VERSE COULD BLOW PRE-TRIB, MID-TRIB, AND POST-TRIB RAPTURE THEORIES RIGHT OUT OF THE WATER!! If it weren’t for Paul’s great rapture/resurrection teaching in 1 Corinthians 15, we would not know that it happens at all, but now we know for certain that it happens at the Second Coming of Messiah!! But I want to believe in the pre-trib Rapture. Can I still believe in it if I want to? Sure, I can believe anything I want to.
Now notice where Yeshua launched into Heaven from: “12Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey.” Here’s how Yahweh summarized this scene for me while meditating on these verses: “From boots on the ground on the Mount of Olives to boots on the throne, and then on His return, from boots on the throne down to boots on the ground on the Mount of Olives, dressed for battle!!” Get that picture in your head!! But Yahweh, where’s the rapture in that? You know, in marketing, it’s all about timing and location. And notice that the Scripture in Acts 1 corroborates Hebrew 10:12-13, “But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of Yahweh, 13from that time waiting till His enemies are made His footstool.” NO RAPTURE TAUGHT HERE!
Now notice where Yeshua returns to, according to the Scriptures: Zecharia 14, “Behold, the day of Yahweh is coming [Judgment Day],
And your spoil will be divided in your midst.
2 For I will gather all the nations to battle against Jerusalem;
The city shall be taken [sorry my Israeli brethren],
The houses rifled,
And the women ravished.
Half of the city shall go into captivity [sorry my Israeli brethren],
But the remnant of the people shall not be cut off from the city.
3 Then Yahweh will go forth
And fight against those nations,
As He fights in the day of battle.
4 And in that day [Judgment Day] His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives,
Which faces Jerusalem on the east.
And the Mount of Olives shall be split in two,
From east to west,
Making a very large valley;
Half of the mountain shall move toward the north
And half of it toward the south.”
Again, notice the progression of the Second Coming. From boots on the throne in Heaven to boots on the ground on top of the Mount of Olives! Yeshua’s landing is so powerful that it splits the Mount in two!! Gotta love it when Yahweh shows off!! BUT WHERE’S THE RAPTURE IN THIS SCENARIO? Study all of Zechariah 14, it’s good stuff!! Now, do you find it comforting or discomforting that the two dudes in white confirmed and corroborated the Scriptural evidence for the Second Coming of Yeshua back to the Mount of Olives? I find the precision and consistency of the Holy Scriptures very comforting. But for pre-trib rapture theory folks, this should shake them to re-examine their beliefs!! And remember, according to the Fall Feasts, Sukkot, the picture of the wedding, marriage supper of the Lamb, and the 7 day wedding celebration, comes 5 days AFTER Yom Kippur, Judgment Day. The Feasts help you get your eschatological timeline in the proper ORDER.
Now go back and re-study John 14:1-3 and let Scripture interpret Scripture.
The two dudes in white could very well be Moses and Elijah, who were also present at the transfiguration in Matthew 17:1-4. Could it be that Yahweh was preparing Moses and Elijah, by eyewitnessing events in Yeshua’s life, death, burial, resurrection, and ascension, to be His two witnesses during the Great Tribulation?? A solid possibility. Is it possible that Moses and Elijah FORGOT to mention the rapture when they told the disciples the manner in which Yeshua would return to earth? Sure, it’s possible. Or it’s possible that Yahweh did not want too much information released about the rapture, to confuse Satan. That’s military strategy and that is a possibility also.
There are several Scriptures that show we will be protected from the wrath of Yahweh, we will escape the wrath to come, we are not appointed to the wrath of Yahweh, but WE DON’T HAVE TO BE RAPTURED TO BE PROTECTED BY THE GLORY OF YAHWEH! Just think back to Noah and the Flood, or Moses at the Red Sea!
What I’m finding in my Rapture studies is that it is going to happen, but the Scriptures indicate it is going to happen when Yeshua is ON HIS WAY BACK DOWN TO EARTH, and it has to happen in the lower atmosphere, where we have breathable air, according to the Greek word used, so it has to be during the LAST 20,000 feet or so of His descent back to the planet Earth!! Is it possible that Yeshua will hover in our lower atmosphere for 7 or 3 ½ years, or only 10 days, prior to touching down? Sure, it’s possible and very probable. The Scriptures say every eye will see Him. Revelation 1:1-8, “The Revelation of Yeshua HaMashiach, which Yahweh gave Him [Yeshua] to show His servants—things which must shortly take place. And He sent and signified it by His angel to His servant John, 2who bore witness to the word of Yahweh, and to the testimony of Yeshua Messiah, to all things that he saw. 3Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near.
4John, to the seven churches which are in Asia:
Grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is to come [Yahweh, the Father], and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne [Holy Spirit], 5and from Yeshua Messiah [Son, Yeshua], the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth.
To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, 6and has made us kings and priests to His Mighty One and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
7Behold, He is coming with clouds [of witnesses?], and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. [includes Jews and Romans] And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen.
8“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,” says Yahweh, “who is and who was and who is to come [Yahweh is COMING to earth.], the Almighty.””
Yahweh likes to show off for His people. He doesn’t have to sneak around for anyone. The rapture will very likely be one giant open, audio visual LOUD HIGH DEFINITION witness for all the world to see!! I can’t wait.
Enjoy the Holy Days,
Gene Benjamin II
October 1, 2012 CE