1. Christians will be present in the earth during the tribulation, and

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1 First, you need to understand that there are 3 views of the "rapture". Second, the word rapture means "caught up", as in being caught up in the clouds to meet Jesus at His return. The first view of the rapture is called the pre-tribulation rapture. This view of the rapture is very popular amongst the aged Christian, and denominational churches, but it was not taught until about the 1800s, when it was first developed by two Jesuit priests. If you know the history of the Church Reformation period in Europe during the 13 th century until about the 17 th century, you will know that the Catholic Church set up the Jesuits as a counter-reformation measure, wherein the Jesuit priests would pose as Protestant Reformers in an effort to infiltrate the Protestant churches and ultimately corrupt the doctrine either to bring people back to Catholicism, or turn them into atheists, so that the Protestant Reformation would be halted. This is exactly what the present Pope is doing after having announced this past week that one need not believe in God in order to go to heaven, (I m sure the atheists all breathed a sigh of relief,) and he is the first Jesuit Pope in history, so you see my point. The pre-tribulation rapture occurs secretly, before God's wrath is poured out. This view of the rapture would have Christians disappearing en masse in an invisible event in a scenario where Jesus returns to earth to scoop up Christians in previously stated invisible event. Masses of people just suddenly disappear, and there is mayhem and chaos. Empty clothing all over the place as the bodies which used to occupy the clothing suddenly disappeared. This scenario sets up the mass disappearance of Christians all over the globe as a clear indication or sign that Jesus has "raptured" His church and at that point, there is a period of seven years before Christ's second return, where people can still get on board with salvation in Christ. The second view is that the rapture happens in the middle of the 7 year tribulation, and we can call this for lack of an official title, the mid-tribulation rapture. The "tribulation" is a time of trouble and testing, by the way. That s what

2 the word tribulation means. In this second view, we again see that there is an invisible rapture in the middle of said tribulation period, with millions of Christians suddenly disappearing, and Christ returning at the end of the 7 years for a second time, like in the pre-tribulation view. Two views, both very similar. Then finally, you have the post-tribulation rapture, which states that the time of trouble and testing occurs, then the rapture of the Church occurs after that, and salvation in Christ is brought to completion for the Christian, wherein he/she receives an immortal body, and the judgment of the damned begins. So, we need to understand that all 3 views are different, obviously. This means that only one of them can be correct. I believe that the Bible tells us very clearly, which of these views it actually teaches. All we must do is read with an open mind, and discard any prejudices which we may have. One thing I committed to do when I received God's Spirit back in 2003 and accepted Christ as my Master and Savior was to discard everything which I had formerly learned of the Bible and start over, assuming that I had never understood anything clearly, because that was actually the case. As I read the Bible and also studied it, I found that many, many things I had heard or been taught - simply were not true. So as you continue to read this, I want you to know that ultimately, you should not trust what I tell you. Rather, you should trust the text of the Bible. Anything which I have to say about it should merely be considered by you and compared to what is actually written in the Bible itself. Now, let's begin. The Bible tells us: "For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened." (Matthew 24:21-22) This bit of text follows an account wherein Christ s closest followers remarked to Him about the glorious beauty of the temple in Jerusalem and the adjoining buildings. He then flatly tells them that the temple and the buildings will

3 be destroyed, Jerusalem will be invaded, and that they should flee to the mountains of Judea, which is now the southern part of modern-day Israel. My opinion, is that the invading Roman army would not want to invest a lot of time to track them down over mountainous terrain. Jerusalem was invaded in 70 A.D. by the Roman general Titus, and subsequently, he went into the temple and sacrificed a pig on the altar, which made the temple unusable, or desolate from that point forward, as the pig was an unclean animal as described in the law of Moses. The pig in other words was an abomination which caused the temple to be made desolate. This is why Jesus warned his disciples that when they saw the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel the prophet stand in the holy place, that they should flee to the mountains. (Matthew 24:15) The holy place was an inner room in the temple where the Jewish priest would eat part of the sacrifice and drink some wine, which represents the body and blood of Christ. Anyway, in His response to His disciples, Jesus also talks about the end of the world itself, and He tells us some very interesting things. In the two verses above, Jesus makes it clear that the elect (who are always identified as Christians in scripture) will be present in the earth during the time of testing, or the tribulation as He states that God will cut short the tribulation for the elect s sake, so that they are not killed by it. Notice that Jesus DOES NOT say that the elect will be taken out of the earth as a means of cutting short their suffering during this time, but He states rather, that the days of tribulation will be cut short. If God were not to do that, then the tribulation would actually destroy the followers of Christ. So here, Jesus makes it clear that: 1. Christians will be present in the earth during the tribulation, and 2. God will save the Christians from the tribulation by ending it, not by invisibly removing them from the earth This already eliminates two of the three choices from the list of possible rapture scenarios. But examining one or two verses from an obscure passage of scripture does not really satisfy me on making a final decision, and I would wager that this is probably true of you, too. So, we continue, then.

4 Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. Behold, I have told you before. Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not. (Matthew 24:23-26) Here, Jesus makes another reference to the elect. He states that if someone should say to us that Christ has returned and we need to come along with them and meet Him at a Motel 6 Parking lot or out in a cave in the desert where we will all eat peyote and sit in the lotus position while we contemplate reality, we should not go. He states additionally, that they will have either true spiritual powers, or some really high-technology, which enables them to do some really impressive things - in fact, so impressive that if it were possible for the Christian to be fooled - he/she would be. So Jesus makes it clear that when He returns, it won t be in secluded places, ( he is in the desert ) or in some New Age cult. ( he is in the secret chambers ) The very fact that He warns His disciples not to go looking for Him in these places makes it very clear that He expects them to be present in the earth during that time, whereby they could go looking in the first instance. For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together. (Matthew 24:27-28) Here, Jesus makes it a little more plain when He states that His return will be sudden and unexpected, but also highly visible, like a flash of lightning across the sky. So this will not happen in secret. Everyone will see it and be surprised by it, in other words. He further warns His disciples that wherever the dead body is, there will be eagles gathered together, feeding on it. (Yes, eagles do scavenge carcasses occasionally, just as vultures.) This is a figure of speech which references what He had stated earlier. Here, the eagles are the false teachers and the false Christs who prey upon the spiritually dead - which is what anyone who would follow them would be considered by God. Hence, the eagles gathered together with the carcass. IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE TRIBULATION OF THOSE DAYS shall the sun be

5 darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: (Matthew 24:29) Wow. This is where the rubber really meets the road, Beth. Now its getting pretty serious. Jesus states that the light from the heavenly bodies will be darkened, and stars will actually begin to impact the earth. Pretty scary stuff if you re not saved. Especially when coupled with this: You can take these videos for what they re worth, but an asteroid impact would certainly be qualified as the powers of the heavens being shaken. This happens after the tribulation of those days (end of the world, etc.) - whenever that happens to be. AND THEN shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: AND THEN shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, AND THEY SHALL SEE THE SON OF MAN COMING IN THE CLOUDS OF HEAVEN with power and great glory. AND He shall send His angels WITH A GREAT SOUND OF A TRUMPET, AND they shall gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. (Matthew 24:30-31) Let s analyze this, Beth. From the text above, we see that: 1. After the tribulation of those days, the earth is bombarded with meteors and what not, and 2. THEN all of the tribes of the earth do mourn and weep and gnash their teeth, because they rejected Jesus, and wouldn t you know it? Turns out, He s actually the Boss, and here comes the Boss in a supernatural way, which is visible to everyone, and shows them beyond the shadow of a doubt that He is God. Only God descends on the clouds of heaven with a bunch of angels in tow.

6 3. AND those angels gather together the Christians from all over the world and bring them up to meet Jesus as He is descending. 4. All of this happens AFTER the tribulation of those days, those days being the end of the world, in other words. 5. It happens with the sound of a trumpet from heaven. We re going to see that again, in just a moment. In order to do that, let us also see what happens to the Christians who are present in the earth at the time of Christ s visible return. I myself expect to be among these within my lifetime, providing I don t get killed in a horrible combine accident or choke to death on a piece of taffy, or get mauled to death by a pack of rabid, bloodthirsty puppies. I will also bring out a very critical point in this text: Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, AT THE LAST TRUMP: FOR THE TRUMPET SHALL SOUND, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. (1 st Corinthians 15:51-53) Here, the apostle Paul tells the church in 1 st century Corinth in his discussion to them about eternal life and the kingdom of God and Jesus return and so forth that a trumpet will be sounded when the rapture of the Church of Christ shall occur. The word rapture doesn t actually appear anywhere in the Bible, but the idea definitely does. Being caught up to Christ is a very definite concept in the Bible for the Christian at Christ s return. But the thing to note here is that this rapture event, the return of Christ for His Church occurs at the last sound of the trumpet of heaven. Let s see it one last time: But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that WE WHICH ARE ALIVE AND REMAIN UNTO THE COMING OF THE LORD

7 shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, AND WITH THE TRUMP OF GOD: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words. (1 st Thessalonians, 4:13-18) Here, Paul was addressing a concern which some in the church at Thessalonica had as for those who had died with faith in Christ, or fallen asleep (because they will rise again at the resurrection,) in Christ Jesus. Paul taught them in this, his first letter to that church in Thessalonica that the Christians who are alive in the earth at the time of Christ s return would not prevent or that is, precede or go before those who had already died having faith in Christ, in terms of receiving the immortal body. In other words, those who are alive at the time of Christ s return will not receive their glorified, immortal bodies before those who had already died in faith, but rather, Jesus will bring those Christians who are in heaven right now with Him at His return, and they will receive their glorified bodies first, then will we also experience the same - in that order. But within that framework of addressing this concern which they had, Paul tells them that Christians aren t going to be secretly removed from the earth, but will be present in it until the end of the world and the appearing of the Lord. He goes on to tell them that it occurs with the sound of a trumpet - just as he told the church in Corinth, and just as Jesus indicated would happen in Matthew 24:31. So the verses which I have supplied here are all different glimpses of the same event - the rapture. Let us look at the event again in Peter s epistle/letter to the churches: But the day of THE DAY OF THE LORD WILL COME AS A THIEF IN THE NIGHT; in the which the heavens 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. Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat? (2 nd Peter 10-12)

8 Here, Peter tells us just as Jesus did, that Jesus return will be sudden and without warning, and when He returns, the atoms in every bit of matter in the universe will come apart, and there will be a universe-wide atomic explosion, wherein everything will be destroyed by the splitting of the atoms. Try to imagine that. I mean, that s a difficult concept to get your mind around. It s something even a Hollywood film would have a difficult time putting to the screen in a way which could be understood. Anyway, this is the reason that the Christian must become immortal, because a flesh and blood person cannot survive an atomic explosion of that magnitude. There will be no place to hide because everything will be dissolved, as the Book of Revelation puts it. That s God s version of the Big Bang, by the way. And I saw a great white throne, and Him that sat on it, from Whose face THE EARTH AND THE HEAVEN FLED AWAY; and there was found no place for them. (Revelation 20:11) So, everything gets destroyed at Christ s return, precipitating the need for the Christian to become invincible with an immortal body. For the Christian, the understanding of the rapture should be clear. It must be as Jesus said when He prayed to His Father in the garden of Gethsemane before He went to the cross: I pray NOT THAT THOU SHOULDEST TAKE THEM OUT OF THE WORLD, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil. (John 17:15) Jesus made it clear that He did not want to remove us from the world, for if He were to do that, how then should the message of the gospel be spread about? How then would the gospel be preached to those who need to hear it? This is the duty of the Christian, and should honestly be his/her deepest concern in this life. It is the purpose that we are here - that perchance others would listen to our testimony of what God has done in our own lives, and that they would desire to know Him, too. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world FOR A WITNESS UNTO ALL NATIONS; AND THEN shall the end come. (Matthew 24:13-14)

9 Jesus tells us that those who endure the persecution, the mockings, the hatred, the seclusion and loneliness, (which I know all too well - everyone has deserted me for my faith in Christ and my refusal to compromise the standard of morality clearly taught in the Bible,) the sneers and extended middle fingers from the rest of the world - that we will inherit eternal life for our unfailing faith and sticking with Him through the good times and the bad. If I were to ever meet a godly woman who were interested in me, I would want to date her for some time - to test her - to find out whether she could really be faithful to me under pressure and stand with me through the hard times, as well as the good. The vows of marriage go along those lines, too - but I think quite often, people do not honor those marriage vows, because they rushed into marriage for all of the wrong reasons which you or I might come up with for doing so. This testing, or tribulation in considering someone for future marriage is what Jesus does with His followers. It weeds out those who make a false profession of faith, and those who actually do have real faith. In other words, it is one thing to say that you are a follower of Jesus, but it is another thing entirely to live for Him and to stand toe to toe with the world when the world will mock you and curse you without a cause. This is ultimately the reason that Jesus states that whoever endures unto the end - the same shall be saved - because that person s faith was real, and it is precisely why they never gave up on Jesus and never stopped following Him. This is why that person will be saved because they remained faithful to the Lord in the good times AND in the bad. I hope that the time I have invested into this response reaches its goal, and that you are encouraged and that you are built up in our mutual faith. I hope all is well with you, your son, and your gentleman.