The Pre-Trib Rapture (Don't Believe It!)

The word ‘Rapture’ is not found anywhere in scripture, but the Coming of Christ is. This doctrine has led many professing Christians to believe that they will be taken off the earth before the great tribulation and unveiling of the anti-christ man (beast). But what does the word of God have to say about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ? Let’s take a look at the scriptures this doctrine is based on.

1st Thessalonians 4:13-18

“But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words.”

Paul is talking to the Thessalonian saints about the coming of Jesus Christ to the earth for the second time to receive His people to Himself. Nowhere in these scriptures do we read about a pre-trib rapture of the dead in Christ or of the saints who are alive when He comes. In truth what we read is Jesus descending from heaven to earth with a SHOUT, with the voice of an archangel and the trumpet of God. Nothing about the Lord and the saints ascending back up into heaven to await the end of the great tribulation. If that was the truth wouldn't the Holy Spirit have led Paul to write that?

Paul also tells the Corinthians the same thing.

1st Corinthians 15:20-23, 51-53

“But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. But each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ’s at His coming.

Again we don’t read anything about a pre-trib rapture, but of those who have fallen asleep (dead in Christ), and those who are Christ’s at His coming.

“Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep (dead in Christ), but we shall all be changed—in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we (those alive when He comes) shall be changed.”

Once again no pre-trib rapture of the dead in Christ or of the living saints. What we read is the last trumpet sounding during the Second Coming of Christ and the dead being raised with the living saints being changed.

Some believe that only those in Christ will hear the trumpet and see Jesus, but that belief is unfounded by the scriptures. In truth here is what Jesus Himself said about His coming.

Matthew 24:29-31

“Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.”

The words of Christ in Matthew make it clear to us that those in Christ WILL be on this earth during the great tribulation. In truth Jesus said in Matthew 24:9  “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake.” Jesus is coming AFTER the tribulation and when He comes every person will SEE Him coming on the clouds of heaven and then He will send His angels to gather the elect with the same sound of a trumpet that Paul told the saints would herald the Second Coming of Jesus.

Look at Luke 21:25-28

“And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring; men’s hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near.”

Jesus Himself is saying again in Luke that He will not be coming back before the great tribulation to redeem His saints, and He tells them when you see these things begin to happen, look up because your redemption is near. If the saints were taken off the earth before the distress of nations why would Jesus tell His own disciples this? Wouldnt God in the flesh tell His disciples the truth! Of course He would! And He did! The whole world will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory!

Mark 13:24-27

“But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars of heaven will fall, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. Then they will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and glory. And then He will send His angels, and gather together His elect from the four winds, from the farthest part of earth to the farthest part of heaven."

Jesus says once again in Mark, AFTER that tribulation the signs of His Second Coming will be seen by the whole world, and He will send His angels to gather His elect from all over the earth. We have a choice to believe the very words of Jesus and prepare ourselves for the coming tribulation, or believe the false teaching of a pre-tribulation rapture.

Revelation 1:7

“Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen.

Acts 1:9-11

“Now when He had spoken these things, while they watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, who also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.”

Even the angels of heaven told the apostles that Jesus would come back the same way they saw Him go up into heaven. There is nothing about a pre-trib rapture found anywhere in the scriptures.

Mark 14:62

Jesus said, “I am. And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.”

2nd Thessalonians 2:1-4

“Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you, not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come. Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.”

These scriptures directly refute the false teaching of a pre-trib rapture. Paul clearly tells the saints LET NO ONE DECEIVE YOU! The day WILL NOT COME until the falling away COMES FIRST! AND the man of sin IS REVEALED, the Antichrist, the beast, the son of perdition, who will stand in the soon to be built third temple in Jerusalem and claim to be God.

We must prepare ourselves for the coming spiritual and physical battle that will face those who confess the name of Jesus Christ. If Christians don’t wake up now to this truth they will be unprepared for the evil that every person on this earth will face. Jesus said the distress and tribulation will be so great that men’s heart’s will fail them for fear and expectation of what is coming upon this earth. I urge every professing Christian to seek the face of the Lord today with all your heart, soul, mind and strength so that you may be ready for the day of evil.

There will be many Christians martyred during the reign of the beast (anti-christ, or son of perdition).

Revelation 6:9-11

“When He opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held. And they cried with a loud voice, saying, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” Then a white robe was given to each of them; and it was said to them that they should rest a little while longer, until both the number of their fellow servants and their brethren, who would be killed as they were, was completed.”

Revelation 20:4

“And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.”

These scriptures prove that Christians will be on this earth during the tribulation period and they will be martyred for bearing witness to Jesus Christ and the word of God. These Christians will NOT worship the beast, his image, or take his mark on their foreheads or hands and they will be killed for their uncompromising faith in Jesus Christ. But they will have their reward in heaven and reign with Christ for a thousand years.

With Love In Christ,
Tyrone

Expounding A Word I Received From The Lord

By: Cynthia R. Palmer

Last year(2009) on a Friday morning, I was going to work and I was praying in the spirit inside my car and I saw a red light and I heard in my conscious these words in Portuguese ( my native language ):

“NEM TODOS ENTRARAO” which means in English: “ NOT ALL WILL ENTER”

I meditated in these words and I was inspired to expound them through:

Matthew 7:13- Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.

These are many kinds of gates that we can find in this world , but for God there are just 2 gates: the strait gate and the wide gate. The strait gate is the one that we can choose to enter to have eternal life and live with Him forever IF we do what He says we must do to enter into it. And the wide gate is the gate which leads to hell, to destruction IF you practice evil works and unrighteousness. Those who choose to enter this gate will never ever have rest.

I will put here the explanation of the strait and the wide gates from the dictionary to help you understand what they are, even though I am talking about something spiritual, not a physical gate:

STRAIT GATE – 1archaic : STRICT , RIGOROUS2archaic a: NARROW b: limited in space or time c: closely fitting : CONSTRICTED , TIGHT3 a: causing distress : DIFFICULT b: limited as to means or resources

WIDE GATE - 1 a: having great extent : VAST b: extending over a vast area : EXTENSIVE c: extending throughout a specified area or scope —usually used in combination d: COMPREHENSIVE , INCLUSIVE 2 a: having a specified extension from side to side <3 feet wide> b: having much extent between the sides : BROAD (spacious, full, liberal, tolerant) c: fully opened d: LAX 43 a: extending or fluctuating considerably between limits.

So, what to do to enter the narrow gate? Here are some examples we find in Scriptures to follow:

DO GOD’S WILL - Matthew 7:21- Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father( Jesus’s Father = GOD) which is in heaven. What is the will of God? It is Sanctification and the mortification of the flesh and all human will in order to be free to do God’s will. (1 Thessalonians 4:3).

HEAR GOD’S SAYINGS AND PRACTICE THEM - Matthew 7: 24 - Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: 25And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.

LABOUR FAITHFULLY AND BELIEVE– Hebrews 4:11 - Let us labor therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.

OBEY GOD’S COMMANDMENTS – Revelation 4:22 - Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.

BE CONVERTED AND BECOME AS CHILDREN TO GOD – Matthew 18:3 - And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.

PASS THROUGH MUCH TRIBULATION IN CHRIST – Acts 14:22 - Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.

I hope and pray that this expounding can help anyone who is reading and still did not decide to do God’s will to run to HIM and obey His words and practice all works of righteousness and receive His Holy Spirit and the sanctification that comes with the gift of God. And to those who are walking with the Lord and obeying His commands, I hope these words can inspire you to keep faithful and persevere until the end to receive your crown of life.

God bless You so much!
Cynthia R. Palmer

Through The Fire

1st Peter 4:12-19

“Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you; but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy. If you are reproached for the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. On their part He is blasphemed, but on your part He is glorified. But let none of you suffer as a murderer, a thief, an evildoer, or as a busybody in other people’s matters. Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in this matter. For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God? Now “If the righteous one is scarcely saved, Where will the ungodly and the sinner appear?” Therefore let those who suffer according to the will of God commit their souls to Him in doing good, as to a faithful Creator.”

Question: Do we as professing Christians really know what it means to be tried by fire? To be purified? To be sanctified? And partake in the sufferings of Christ? Do we understand what it means to be judged by God?

Thought: When we are tried by fire the one thing we all need to realize is that fire burns, fire hurts, and the process of purifying the inner man is not always pleasant. But it is a necessary work of God through the Holy Spirit that He places within the vessel of His choice. Scripture tells us that Jesus is returning for a bride (church) that is spotless, without blemish or wrinkle. This means that every individual believer with the Holy Spirit indwelling them will undergo trials, tests of faith, scourging, chastening, cleansing, refining, and purification. If we are not experiencing any of these spiritual works within us we should examine ourselves to see if we are really in the faith.

Hebrews 12:3-11

“For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls. You have not yet resisted to bloodshed, striving against sin. And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons: “My son, do not despise the chastening of the LORD, Nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him; For whom the LORD loves He chastens, And scourges every son whom He receives.” If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten? But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons. Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live? For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness. Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.”

These scriptures in Hebrews tell us plainly that those whom the Lord loves He chastens, rebukes, and scourges. This is an ongoing process, because we do not receive an all new spirit, mind, soul, or heart when we are born again, but we do receive the Spirit of God who comes to live inside our bodies. What He finds inside of us is years of stains from sin and strongholds from our service to Satan and the gratification of the flesh. Our vessels are unclean and we all need to go through a purification process and it’s different for each saint of God. The scripture tells us that if we don’t go through this chastening and purifying process then we are not sons of God. Even the twelve disciples had to go through it, when Jesus called them they were not chastened, and cleansed, but through the discipleship training and the acceptance of the word of God their vessels were made clean.

John 15:1-3

“I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you.”

Revelation 3:19

“As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent.”

The trials and tests of our faith that we all must go through are for our profit that will make us able to partake of the Lord’s Holiness. Our bodies are the temple of God in which He lives by the Holy Spirit, and it must be cleansed so that the Spirit will be able to fill the whole temple. Have we ever gone inside of a physical temple and saw garbage on the floor, dirt, and stains on the wall? I haven’t! The physical temples are swept clean and beautiful on the inside, and it should be the same for our temple (body).

1st Peter 1:3-7

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ,”

James 1:2-3,12

“My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.”

“Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.”

The Lord told Daniel the prophet that in the last days many would go through the fire to be purified and made white.

Daniel 12:10

“Many shall be purified, made white, and refined, but the wicked shall do wickedly; and none of the wicked shall understand, but the wise shall understand.”

1st Corinthians 6:9-11

“Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.”

Ephesians 5:25-27

“Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish”

To God be the glory,
Tyrone, a servant and apostle of Jesus

Prophetic Warning

The Word of the Lord came to me this morning and He said, "Fear not, for I have overcome the world."

John 16:33

"These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”

Then the Lord said to me, "Prophesy and say: Disaster and destruction are coming"

These Words of God confirm the scriptures concerning the signs of the end of the world and the tribulation that is to come.

Matthew 24:6-10

"And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of sorrows. “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another."

The true prophets of the Lord have been sounding the alarm for years, but many are not listening. I pray that those who have ears to hear will take heed to the Words of the Lord before His prophecies of disaster are fulfilled in this country (USA). If you wait until it happens to believe what He is saying you will be unprepared for it.

Romans 13:11-14

"And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts."

May God Bless and Keep You,
Tyrone D Palmer, apostle of Jesus Christ

The Great Falling Away

2nd Thessalonians 2:1-4
“Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you, not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come. Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.”

The day of the Lord will NOT come unless the falling away comes FIRST! Jesus will not be returning to this earth without a falling away of those who profess His name.

According to current statistics there are approximately 2.1 billion professing Christians in the world. (Adherents.com)

In 2006, A Baylor University study said, about 34 percent of us -- fully 100 million Americans are Evangelical. That's an umbrella term covering dozens of denominations, as well as hundreds of independent churches. (CNN.com)

This is what Jesus said would happen during the beginning of sorrows:

Matthew 24:7-12
“For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of sorrows. “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.”

Understand that Jesus is talking to His disciples about what would happen to those like them in the future, He said “Then they will deliver YOU up to tribulation and KILL YOU, and YOU will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake (JESUS). Now these are the very words of God saying that there will be NO secret ‘rapture’ of Christians. And not only will those who profess the name of Jesus be delivered up to tribulation, killed, and hated, but they will be offended, they will betray one another, and WILL hate one another.

Now ask yourself this question: What would make any of the 2.1 Billion Jesus confessing, Spirit filled, God loving, Jesus following, bible reading, gospel sharing Christians fall away? Be offended? Betray one another? Hate one another? And cause their love to grow cold?

I have been meditating on these scriptures and the Spirit of God has been pointing me towards a few scenarios that I believe are possible during these last days that we are living in.

1) When Jesus says there will be famines, pestilences, and great earth quakes in various places is He excluding America? Not according to prophecy. Many prophecies have already been received about a great earth quake coming to California and the devastation that will follow, testing those prophecies by scripture leads me to believe that when these things come upon this country the millions of professing Christians in America who believe in the false teaching of the rapture will realize that they are NOT going to be raptured up but will be on this earth during times of distress, persecution, and tribulation, having believed a lie they will be dismayed and stunned. They will revolt against those who told them the lie, and they will most likely revolt against God, blaming Him for all that is happening to them. This could cause a great falling away.

2) Because millions of Christians believe in the false teaching of praying Jesus into your heart, these professing Christians will NOT receive the Spirit of God and will have no power to overcome sin, the world, themselves, or Satan, and will quickly fall away when tribulation and persecution comes for the name of Jesus.

3) The one world religion that will be established could cause a great falling away as well. When many Christians and denominations align themselves with all the world’s religions making a claim that all roads lead to God. Possibly lead by the anti-christ and the false prophet.

These are a few scenarios that are very possible in the coming months and years. One thing is for sure, the word of the Lord will be fulfilled; His word is true and never fails.

With Sincere Love In Christ,
Tyrone D Palmer, servant, and apostle of Christ