Bible Truth Lion - Rapture

The Lion of the Tribe of Judah Has Prevailed

“Rapture” - Part 2

Escape Tribulation?

Luke 21: 36

36 Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.

The above verse is following Jesus’ description of the end of this world age. The Greek word there for “escape” is “ekphugein” and it means “to come out of”, as being something you are “in” or “enduring through”. The idea from this Greek word is: “to be in and come out of” or “pass through”, but it still means to “escape” also; yet only in the same context with the other Scriptures which relate to this tribulation, and that is: “to go through and come out of the tribulation intact spiritually, with your soul undefiled to be able to stand unashamedly before Christ”. That is what it means to escape, which is to say: endure and survive. Another witness to this is found in Revelation 7: 14.

Revelation 7: 13-16

13 And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they [note: where did they come from] ?

14 And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in The Blood of The Lamb.

15 Therefore are they before The Throne of GOD, and serve Him day and night in His Temple: and He that sitteth on The Throne shall dwell among them.

16 They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat.

The way verse 14 above reads in The Greek (Textus Receptus) is: “these are they which came out of (from within or passed through) the tribulation, the greatest [one]”. In verse 14 above, the word “out [of]” in the Greek is: “ek” and it is the prefix of “ekphugein” as mentioned in Luke 21: 36 above, and “ek” also means “to come out of something you are in” or “enduring through”. Additionally, in the KJV Bible, “ek” is translated as “in”, “after”, “through”, and “out from”. The Scriptures are quite clear that these saints “come through” (erxomenoi ek) the great tribulation.

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Examination of Revelation Chapter 12

It may appear as if we’re departing from examination of the “rapture” doctrine at this point, but we are actually heaping evidence against that erroneous school of thought. There are two ways which we as Christians must view Revelation chapter 12. Firstly of course, an overall outlook is essential, but more importantly we must form an outline expressing the natural divisions of time which practically displays a journal of the major religious landmarks; should we be so keen as to discern. Revelation chapter 12 is a very interesting snapshot of history - spanning eons of time and focusing on the two Covenant periods instituted by GOD through the Old and New Testaments (Covenants), of which, in effect are only one doctrine; with the New Testament being the progression and culmination of the Old Testament. This could be viewed somewhat like the schoolmaster gives the first principals by the Old Testament, while preparing the pupil for graduation in the New Testament. The following outline will initially cover pre-Christianity Israel and smoothly flow to the tribulation at the time of Christ’s birth, then take us from the final war in Heaven directly into the great tribulation upon all the earth in the very last days. We get a glimpse of the end of the latter great tribulation and the Christian Church in verses 7 through 17. This chapter is in effect an outline view of the war between Good and evil - past, present, and future. As usual, explanations will be displayed in squared brackets.

(A)

Pre-Christianity - 1st Century A.D. Beast Tribulation - The Birth of Christianity

Revelation 12: 1-6

1 And there appeared a great wonder in Heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars [note: This first vision is concerning The Lord GOD's wife - “Mother Israel” (Isaiah 54: 5 and Jeremiah 3:20), who brought forth Christ Jesus from within the twelve tribes of Israel (i.e., the crown with 12 stars - see Genesis 37: 9, but the sun and moon mentioned there denotes the masculine and feminine respectively and differs from this prophecy); both naturally through His earthly mother, the virgin Mary, and Supernaturally by The Holy Spirit. GOD clothed Israel with Truth as a garment of praise and Salvation, with a robe of Righteousness for a covering (see Isaiah 61: 3 and verses 10-11). This is represented by the prophetic “clothed with the sun” reference and of course this ultimately denotes Christ Jesus’ Righteousness (see Numbers 2: 3 ◦ Psalms 84: 11 ◦ Psalms 104: 1 ◦ Malachi 4:2). We know from the first chapter of Genesis that GOD created the moon as the lesser light to rule the night. That is a prophetic reference concerning the time(s) of spiritual darkness upon earth. The moon represents satan prophetically and the “moon under her feet” represents the heel of Christ bruising satan’s head, with Christ as the ultimate posterity of Israel’s son Judah]:

2 And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered [note: Now we switch in thought from “Mother Israel” to a daughter of Israel, the virgin Mary, who will bring forth the Blessed King of all Israel and of even the whole Heaven and earth].

3 And there appeared another wonder in Heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads [note: This is regarding the “beast” from an earlier point in history].

4 And his tail drew the third part of the stars of Heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born [note: This verse jumps from a much earlier point in time to the later time of Messiah’s earthly birth. Not only was the woman’s child Christ Jesus, but also Christianity symbolically. satan unsuccessfully tried to destroy both].

5 And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto GOD, and to His Throne [note: This is Jesus from His first Advent to His ascension, when He goes to sit at the Right Hand of Father GOD to await the time of Judgment and afterward rule the nations with a rod of iron. There is much history packed into each of these verses].

6 And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of GOD, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred [and] threescore days [note: This verse indicates the time when Jesus was a babe and satan manipulated King Herod to destroy all of the children from two years old and under in Bethlehem (and the outlying areas), because Herod heard the King of the Jews was born and he did not want to be supplanted by another King. The Lord sent His angel to instruct Joseph to take the young Jesus and Mary into Egypt until Herod was dead; three and one-half years later - see Matthew chapter 2].

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(B)

The Christian Church In Tribulations and In The Final Great Tribulation

Revelation 12: 7-17

7 And there was war in Heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,

8 And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in Heaven.

9 And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the devil, and satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him [note: the ten horns (kings) of Revelation 17: 12 mentioned earlier are from among satan’s angels, i.e., those who follow after him, and this verse indicates they will be cast from heaven to earth with him. Those ten receive no power as kings until the end, at which time they will give their power to satan - also see Daniel 7: 7-8].

10 And I heard a loud voice saying in Heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and The Kingdom of our GOD, and The Power of His Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our GOD day and night [note: These saints in Heaven are rejoicing that satan is forever gone out from among them, because they too were persecuted and some slain by the serpent in the past two thousand years; yet they overcame him].

11 And they overcame him by The Blood of The Lamb [note: Salvation], and by the word of their testimony [Important note on these testimonies: see Matthew 10: 16-22 ◦ 24: 7-13 and Luke 21: 12-19]; and they loved not their lives unto the death [note: again, satan is death, and has the power of death as Paul verified in Hebrews 2: 14; the same death angel which David saw on what was called the threshing floor, and would later become part of Jerusalem. In the face of death (satan), these saints did not love their fleshly life above their spiritual life and neither will the end-time saints].

12 Therefore rejoice, [ye] Heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time [note: 5 months as mentioned earlier (see Revelation 9: 5, 10 and Genesis 7: 24). Five months is a short time. Three and one half years as commonly taught is a long time; a very long time with satan being present (see note at verse 14 below for explanation of the 5 months and after verse 17 for an explanation on the 3-½ years. For the elect’s sake, GOD has shortened the time of satan’s presence (Matthew 24: 22 and Mark 13: 20)].

13 And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man [child] [note: i.e. persecuting Mother Israel].

14 And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent [note: Here we see history repeating itself, just as GOD requires. The woman (Gunaika ◦ (Grk.) = wife / woman) is nourished while she and satan are on earth at the same time. GOD does not leave or forsake His betrothed one, but rather nurtures her for three and one half “occurrences of time” away from the serpent’s face; while satan is confirming his kingdom and making alliances in other countries (see Ezekiel chapter 38 and Daniel 11: 43). Mother Israel will still be nourished when actually in the presence of satan for the remaining time (see below), yet she will be tested. GOD says He hides His face from her but for a moment (Isaiah 54: 5-17). As for the lesson on “three and one half times” in vs. 14; to be true to the Greek texts we must not say three and one half years as is commonly taught, because in the Greek language the three different uses of “time(s)” in verse 14 above are as follows:

The Greek word for “time = kairon”; “times = kairous”; and “half a time = hemisu kairou”. These three various uses in the Greek for the word(s) “time(s)” reads as this: “season / short time”, “seasons / short times”, and “half of a season / half of a short time”, and season can be any set “completion” of time, such as months (see Daniel 7: 25).

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From our studies we know satan will only be physically present on earth for 5 months (150 days) (Revelation 9: 5 and verses 10-11), so the woman could be nourished in the wilderness from the serpent’s face for three and one half months of that time (105 days), which will leave 45 days of open persecution by satan (identical to the lesson in Daniel 12: 11-12). This 3-½ months will be a time when satan will be preoccupied with getting his kingdom in order. Revelation 2: 10 tells us satan will cast some Christians of the church “type” of Smyrna into prison and they shall have tribulation for 10 days, so it appears this time-frame works out better as three and one half months rather than three and one half years. It is written in Revelation 11: 2 that the Gentiles (heathen, i.e., the wicked Gentiles) will tread the streets of Jerusalem for three and one half years (42 months as written), and in the same chapter, the following verse of Revelation 11: 3, the two witnesses of GOD will prophesy and work miracles for three and one half years during the same time (1,260 days as written). But those prophecies are given specifically in months (men ◦ Grk.) for the first, and days (hemera ◦ Grk.) for the second. Interestingly, the prophecy of the Gentiles is by the moon / months or “night”, but the prophecy of the two witnesses of GOD is given by days, because they are children of the “light”; an important detail of deciphering prophecies. Then we see next in Revelation 11: 7 that satan will come from the bottomless pit to kill the two witnesses in Jerusalem at the end of their “ministry”. They resurrect after three and one half days (hemera ◦ Grk. = days) up into Heaven in a cloud. Then the great earthquake occurs and The Lord soon comes. We know by understanding 1 Thessalonians 4: 13-14, these two witnesses will return again from Heaven with Christ and all other saints of GOD soon thereafter].

15 And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood [note: again, see Genesis 7: 24 and read the days mentioned there, and then look at how Isaiah 54 (especially verse 9), ties in beautifully with all of this. But Noah’s flood waters are only metaphorically used as an example in Isaiah 54: 9. It will not be a literal flood of water, because GOD said He would never allow that to happen again (e.g. Isaiah 54: 9). Equally, In Isaiah 54: 8, GOD promises He will allow His “wife” (we can include the end-time Church also as Christ’s betrothed) to go through a great tribulation only one time and the metaphoric flood water of Noah is used as an example (see Isaiah 24: 18 for another symbolic reference to Noah’s flood). As for the flood from the serpent’s mouth, we can imagine what kind of flood would come from the mouth of a lying blasphemer such as satan and the first thought would probably be L I E S].

16 And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth [note: GOD may use earthly nature to swallow up the “flood” of satan’s lies (miracles and such) so as to prove him a liar and deceiver in the Church’s sight. We definitely know by some of Daniel’s prophecies, in chapter 11 for example, that GOD Almighty will be giving satan much grief during the tribulation (see Daniel 11: 30). We can see how GOD uses the symbolic flood waters as a means to allow this “end of the world” flood prophecy to be fulfilled again, only on a spiritual level the next time, but has already given us comfort since after Noah’s day that the end will only be symbolically as a flood (see how Daniel 9: 26 and 11: 22 fits so wonderfully with this). The idea of a flood stems from the thought of “overflowing” and this is how satan’s end-time reign of deception is characterized in related prophecies (see Ezekiel 13: 13). This idea gives us an exceptional view of how GOD uses a play of words and thoughts in order to bring the reoccurrences of many prophecies - enough so whereby the hypocrites which are out of tune with GOD’s Word will completely miss the analogy. Through that insight, we see the first flood was a literal physical flood and the second flood will be a metaphoric spiritual flood of evil; yet still a flood of unequaled proportions (Matthew 24: 21)].

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17 And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of GOD, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ [note: see Daniel 11: 28-30 and 31-37. This is during the last 45 days of the tribulation as mentioned above. The remnant of this woman’s seed which keep the commandments of GOD and have the testimony of Jesus Christ, is most definitely reference to the Christian Church. GOD is married to His people (all of them who obey Him). There is much similarity between the Old and New Testaments. The New is the perfection of the Old. Many chapters in Isaiah and other prophets report of how GOD will send His Son to change things relating to GOD’s Covenants. Not doing away with those things, but perfecting them in the process of time through Jesus Christ. So, we really can’t separate this “woman / wife” mentioned here, into two separate religions, or two separate congregations, such as Hebraism (or even Judaism) and Christianity, because they are one and the same as this chapter reveals to us. “They” are GOD’s wife. They are GOD’s children and His people. They are GOD’s creation, living and moving in His plan, if not, they have no part in Him ultimately. Christianity is full of Hebraism and Hebraism is full of Christianity. The latter is the natural progression of the former as it was meant to be long before the foundation of the earth was laid and her adornments set in place. We are GOD’s wife, children, people, and creation. Just as the Psalmist said: “We are God's”. We belong to Him and His Christ. But we are given a free will choice to decide if we want to be any of those things, yet there is a hefty price that goes with the foolish rejection of those things; for either the Hebrew or Christian, and even the Moslem, Buddhist, or whatever type which rejects GOD’s ways in Christ. We must do it GOD’s way all of the way, through Jesus Christ The Almighty Redeemer of mankind who is The Son of our Almighty Creator, while forsaking all of the things of our national customary practices of tradition if it doesn’t align completely with GOD’s Word. Christ also happens to be the very Word of GOD. Take it or leave it - Like it or not. Do we expect someone better? That’s just not going to happen. Let’s pull our head out of the sand to accept the fact that Christ Jesus has changed the world. There is not enough time on earth for any other entity to come along and undo what Christ has done while setting a new unheard of path for all of mankind. As far as Christ’s unparalleled doctrine in both Testaments are concerned, Christians cannot put away the Old Testament and Hebrews cannot put away the New, because they are the exact same with Christ Immanuel as the focal point of all. The New refers to the Old and the Old refers to the New. They are in reality one book and one Covenant. Anyone who has spent any time in both of the original languages can tell you that. It is the most remarkable thing I've ever seen (it has changed and enriched my life); the way two different languages and cultures separated by hundreds of years, agree word for word, line for line, precept for precept, and ideal for ideal. The same doctrines and ideas given in a distinctly recognizable way, with Christ fulfilling various aspects of Mosaic laws, statutes and ordinances. The Bible and The Living Word of GOD (Christ), is the first , second, third, etc., etc., “wonder of the world”. Even the wonder of all the universe. Praise GOD for it! What a treasure to have indeed. But, there is enmity between Christianity and Judaism. That is in line with the Scriptures which state there is enmity between Israel (the northern 10 tribes) and Judah. The two are the same division of the whole house of Jacob being as two sticks which shall become only one stick in the latter end (see Ezekiel 37: 16-22). One group is referred to as “Beauty” (Judah) and the other as “Bands” (the 10 northern tribes of Israel - see Zechariah 11: 7-14). In this modern day and this late stage in history, many of the “Bands” of Israel make up the Christian Church of today. That cannot be changed. Do your genealogy homework into the world population of nations and see what you can recognize. The Bible spells it all out for us if we disregard our own feelings in the research process].

Well, it seems I have brought us a long way from the subject of Revelation chapter 12, but not really, because all of this fits together. If you recall what we studied there, it sounds absolutely nothing like a “rapture” escape, and for good reason. We see the Christians in verse 17 above who came from mother Israel via “the bride of Christ” - the Christian Church. That verse jumps right out at you, whether one wants to go through the tribulation or not. Revelation 15: 2 also tells us of those Christians who go through the great tribulation and get victory over satan’s kingdom.

It appears GOD is trying to tell us something. If only we could listen.

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I need to clarify something here. Although satan and his angels will be physically present upon earth for only 5 months (Revelation 9: 5 and 10), the unified world government (beast) of the tribulation time will be in existence for 42 months (three and one half years - Revelation 13: 4-5). satan will be “pulling the strings” spiritually from his prison pit, but will come to take full control as anti-christ only for the final 5 months. GOD’s two witnesses (Revelation chapter 11) will be troubling the end-time world “beast” government for 1260 days (three and one half years). Then later, when satan is released from the bottomless pit (Revelation 9: 5, 10-11), he kills them at a time during the last 5 months of the tribulation. Remember, for the “elect’s” sake, GOD shortened satan’s tribulation so they could endure (Matthew 24: 22). When we see that the world government has given possession of Jerusalem to the Gentiles, that will be the start of the end-time; 42 months (Revelation 11: 2). GOD has purposely made all of this so easy to understand when we trust in only His Words, but we get into trouble discerning times, subjects, objects, and articles of sentences when we adhere to the common teachings of the world. When relying completely on man’s interpretations, there will be so many places where understanding of Scriptures will be hidden to us. On the other hand, if we allow the Hebrew and Greek Scriptures to interpret themselves without forcefully altering the meanings of words, the Bible will open up to us and we will see the Mind and Love of GOD The Father and His Christ, through The Holy Spirit.

Moving onward, there is another place (among many) in Isaiah 57: 1 which teaches directly against “rapture” or an escape from evil, and it is reference of the righteous who will die in the flesh before the great tribulation, which many saints have done and shall do before then. But many of GOD’s “elect” shall go through that time as The Bible declares; that is their purpose and some are spiritually preparing to endure it. This is their whole reason for being on earth as GOD’s “elect” at the end of this age.

Isaiah 57: 1

1 The righteous perish, and no man layeth [it] to heart: and merciful men [are] taken away, none considering that the righteous is taken away from the evil [to come].

Please don’t think the above verse is two different events, because it is not. The subject of the above verse is “the death of the righteous”. It seems this would have been an excellent opportunity for GOD to have made the statement that “the righteous are raptured or removed secretly from the evil [to come]”, but instead He has used the space on that page to verify that some of the righteous perish before the evil time, and none consider why they are taken away by death (only their flesh of course). This doesn’t mean that all of the righteous will perish before the great tribulation, because many, many Scriptures confirm that GOD’s “elect” will go through it; some of the same passages of Scriptures which we’ve already studied, and they leave no question as to this. What the verse above is saying, is this: “No one even considers the reason many decent people die is because they are not appointed to endure that upcoming evil, but they will instead die in the flesh before such time”. That is essentially the proper interpretation thereof and I’m confident that most of you understand that, especially if you’ve diligently and faithfully studied thus far. If it would have depicted a “rapture”, then that would mean GOD has wasted His and our time in giving us all of the information that we have studied up to now. But we know GOD did not give us bad information in all of the other Scriptures we’ve viewed to this point. He knows what He’s talking about and knows how to teach it, so we should trust in that fact.

GOD expects us to strengthen one another spiritually, not weaken others by causing them to hope in false dreams of escape from tribulations, or even escape from our own problems. The following chapter of Ezekiel 13 also points us away from an escape out of tribulation. This whole chapter is especially important. Basically, this is against the false prophets who saw visions of peace for Israel, but GOD insisted they strengthen Israel emotionally and spiritually so they would be able to bravely stand in the day of battle, on The Lord’s Day. This is certainly prophecy concerning the end-time and is especially intended for us, because The Lord’s Day points to no other time in earth’s history other than the period encompassing Christ’s second Advent. As we have learned how GOD teaches prophecy from the previous lessons and especially by the “flood” references in Revelation 12 above, please don’t be side tracked by the mention of Israel and Jerusalem, because these references are the exemplary patterns which GOD will use as He brings all of the world on their way unto the Day of The Lord Jesus Christ’s return and these sentiments of peace and escape are ever present in the human mind, not only the folks depicted in that chapter. Besides that, Jerusalem and even the Middle East region will be satan’s main focal point in the last days (e.g., Daniel 11: 21-45), as he seeks to supplant, pollute, and destroy that which GOD holds dear. Pollution or corruption is always the first line of offence in the devil’s plans. False doctrines fostered by his evil spirit are the initial onslaught against Truth, Good, and decency. Look around you and notice it in this present age of man. The list of offensive ways and ideals is very long.

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Ezekiel 13: 1-23

1 And the Word of The LORD came unto me, saying,

2 Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel that prophesy, and say thou unto them that prophesy out of their own hearts, Hear ye the Word of The LORD;

3 Thus saith The Lord GOD; Woe unto the foolish prophets, that follow their own spirit, and have seen nothing!

4 O Israel, thy prophets are like the foxes in the deserts.

5 Ye have not gone up into the gaps, neither made up the hedge for the house of Israel to stand in the battle in the day of The LORD [note: We know the day of The Lord, and before that day, will be a spiritual battle - see Ephesians 6: 10-18. Again, this verse ultimately points to no time other than end-time prophecy].

6 They have seen vanity and lying divination, saying, The LORD saith: and The LORD hath not sent them: and they have made [others] to hope that they would confirm the word [note: These false prophets are making others to expect that they would confirm the words of peace and safety, or if those fail, to escape it all. These “prophets” have the congregation’s hopes built up into a hedge of protection which they have come to rely on and expect. Some denominations today expect you to confirm these very same words; if not, well - you have one angry congregation on your hands. Likewise, in those same denominations, if you try to strengthen them to stand spiritually strong on The Lord’s day, you will get the exact same results, because they are relying on departing before the great tribulation and do not want to hear otherwise. It’s the same old rebellious story].

7 Have ye not seen a vain vision, and have ye not spoken a lying divination, whereas ye say, The LORD saith [it]; albeit I have not spoken?

8 Therefore thus saith The Lord GOD; Because ye have spoken vanity, and seen lies, therefore, behold, I [am] against you, saith The Lord GOD.

9 And Mine Hand shall be upon the prophets that see vanity, and that divine lies: they shall not be in the assembly of my people, neither shall they be written in the writing of the house of Israel, neither shall they enter into the land of Israel; and ye shall know that I [Am] The Lord GOD [note: Those are some hard words aren’t they? Not really, when you consider the damage that can be done against peoples’ soul by telling the lies of escaping tribulation, because those who believe in the lies will be blotted out of the writings in GOD’s books too. The Lord doesn’t want that at all, but He will not accept falsehoods stacked on top of The Gospel. The Good News is about the power of Christ Jesus, not escape. The “peaceful escape” story is from a completely different religion altogether - an elder apostate religion in direct opposition to The Gospel of reality and Truth].

10 Because, even because they have seduced my people, saying, Peace; and [there was] no peace; and one built up a wall, and, lo, others daubed it with untempered [morter] [note: Untempered mortar = lies - false prophecies of peace, safety, and escape from tribulation. Lies will not hold a doctrine of Truth together, just as untempered mortar will not hold a wall in place. This seduction of peace is from satan’s handbook (see Daniel 8: 23-25 ◦ 11: 21-24 and verse 32). satan shall make a sweet deal of peace to these apostates, who crave peace at any complacent cost and they would probably even sell their soul to the death angel for only an illusion of peace and safety (see Daniel 8: 25). In effect, that is precisely what they will do.]:

11 Say unto them which daub [it] with untempered [morter], that it shall fall: there shall be an overflowing shower [note: see Revelation 12: 15 above]; and ye, O great hailstones, shall fall; and a stormy wind shall rend [it].

12 Lo, when the wall is fallen, shall it not be said unto you, Where [is] the daubing wherewith ye have daubed [it]?

13 Therefore thus saith The Lord GOD; I will even rend [it] with a stormy wind in My fury; and there shall be an overflowing shower in Mine anger, and great hailstones in [My] fury to consume [it].

14 So will I break down the wall that ye have daubed with untempered [morter], and bring it down to the ground, so that the foundation thereof shall be discovered, and it shall fall, and ye shall be consumed in the midst thereof: and ye shall know that I [Am] The LORD.

15 Thus will I accomplish My wrath upon the wall, and upon them that have daubed it with untempered [morter], and will say unto you, The wall [is] no [more], neither they that daubed it;

16 [To wit], the prophets of Israel which prophesy concerning Jerusalem, and which see visions of peace for her, and [there is] no peace, saith The Lord GOD.

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[Note: The preceding verses were regarding false visions of peace and safety. The following verses denote false visions of escape from tribulation. See the reference to "fly", which corresponds to today’s "rapture" doctrine. It means to "prosper through departure".]

17 Likewise, thou son of man, set thy face against the daughters of thy people [note: This word “daughters” depicts cities or towns, and the original Hebrew word used is “bath” or “beth”, which means “house”. The word “beth” is feminine. This is not an indication of female persons necessarily. A city was always given a feminine attribute and we see this in prophecies concerning Judea and Samaria, for example. The italicized word “women” in the following verse was added by the King James translators, apparently to match the feminine word “beth / daughters” above.], which prophesy out of their own heart; and prophesy thou against them,

18 And say, Thus saith The Lord GOD; Woe to the [women] that sew pillows to all armholes [note: “armholes” is a poor translation for the Hebrew words “ 'atstsiyl yad ”, which means “great power”. The word “yad” was also translated as “ministry” in 2 Chronicles 7: 6 and Hosea 12: 10], and make kerchiefs upon the head of every stature to hunt souls! [note: The word “kerchief”, better translated as “veil” or “covering”, is used to describe how these people were covering over the Truth of GOD’s Word given by the power of the ministries of GOD’s prophets, because the Hebrew words for “upon the head of every stature” is actually two words: “qowmah ro’sh”, and it means - “high priest” or “principal height”, which certainly describes GOD’s Word which these people were trying to cover over with their lies.] Will ye hunt the souls of my people, and will ye save the souls alive [that come] unto you? [note: Ah, now the Truth is coming out. We are witnessing false prophet soul hunters in this verse - offering hope in exchange for compensation. We see that certain “entities / towns” were softening the power of GOD’s Word with their “pillows”. Today we would call this “sugarcoating” - or a soft, fluffy, comfortable, and easy doctrine to sooth the people who were alarmed at the prospects of spiritual warfare. We would also call these “prophets”; “soothsayers”, “smooth-sayers”, or even “slicks” today. Well, the people who want GOD’s Word all smoothed out so it’s not so rough to the ears wouldn’t call them that. They would call them wise men of GOD - or “prophets”.]

19 And will ye pollute Me among My people for handfuls of barley and for pieces of bread, to slay the souls that should not die, and to save the souls alive that should not live, by your lying to My people that hear [your] lies? [note: We see that certain false prophets in these cities were getting paid to prophesy these lies of peace and escape. The people were taking care of them, therefore expecting words of comfort. There is nothing new under the sun. GOD informs us of all things. The reference to barley should cause you to remember Revelation 6: 6. Barley is poor man’s bread and will give more “bang for the buck” in the final tribulation; that is, three measures of barley compared to one measure of wheat for the same money.]

20 Wherefore thus saith The Lord GOD; Behold, I [Am] against your pillows, wherewith ye there hunt the souls to make [them] fly, and I will tear them from your arms, and will let the souls go, [even] the souls that ye hunt to make [them] fly [note: Here we are witnessing the old time fluffy pillow “rapture escape” doctrine].

21 Your kerchiefs also will I tear, and deliver my people out of your hand, and they shall be no more in your hand to be hunted; and ye shall know that I [Am] The LORD.

22 Because with lies ye have made the heart of the righteous sad, whom I have not made sad; and strengthened the hands of the wicked, that he should not return from his wicked way, by promising him life: [note: Who are the Righteous mentioned here? We know firstly that it means GOD; i.e., The Lord our Righteousness, and secondly, those who know the Truth of GOD’s Words. Who are the wicked who are promised life through escaping / flying? Ultimately, those who don’t want to believe in GOD’s Words or the warnings therein, while trying to cover important prophecies over with their own easy doctrines. Tribulation is a tool to cause people to repent, change their ways, and seek GOD with all of their hearts. Some would rather die I guess.]

23 Therefore ye shall see no more vanity, nor divine divinations: for I will deliver My people out of your hand: and ye shall know that I [Am] The LORD [note: What Love The Father has for His people. Praise GOD! Many of us in our lifetimes have had our souls hunted by the false prophets of our day].

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The above chapter contains pure and simple facts brought forth to show us just how very alive and topically current The Bible is for all generations. Not only is there no “rapture” present in what we just read, we see GOD’s anger concerning false reports of peace, safety, and escape (flying away). Those sentiments weaken people at a time when they are instructed to be spiritually strong, emotionally stable, and comfortable with GOD’s Word as it is so plainly presented.

The following verses of Isaiah 60: 8-9 is yet another place where GOD denounces the escape doctrine, but it is more than escaping He is stigmatizing. He is questioning those who seek to “fly away”. He wonders if they will wait for His Light to destroy the darkness (satan) which will cover the earth or if they will prematurely accept something much less instead. In that 60th chapter of Isaiah, GOD is blessing Jerusalem; the place of His footstool. He certainly recognizes and informs us in Scriptures, that people have wanted to escape tribulation practically as long as flesh man has walked the earth. In these two following verses, we notice some people are portrayed as having a form of The Holy Spirit by mention of the “dove” (see Luke 3: 22), but they deny the Power of The Lord’s Spirit to preserve them as they look to “fly away” prematurely (2 Timothy 3: 5).

Isaiah 60: 8-9

8 Who [are] these [that] fly as a cloud, and as the doves to their windows? [note: These windows are of their very own making and choosing. GOD did not provide any windows of escape from earth or for entry into Heaven. The Lord tells everyone they must enter through the door, and Christ is that door of entry to Father GOD (John 10: 7-9). He who climbs [or flies] up some other way is accounted as a thieve and robber (John 10: 1). More importantly, for our discernment, satan is included as the thief within those descriptions of John 10: 1, 8, and 10.]

9 Surely the isles shall wait for Me, and the ships of Tarshish first, to bring thy sons from far, their silver and their gold with them, unto The Name of The LORD thy GOD, and to The Holy One of Israel, because He hath glorified thee. [note: The Lord is saying: “surely all of the earth will wait for Me”. The “isles” are all of the continents, and with two-thirds of the earth’s surface being water, the continents are really only islands in GOD’s eyes. 2 Thessalonians 2: 8-9 teaches us The True Jesus only comes after the anti-christ (who is an imitation jesus; and that being satan - see 2 Thessalonians 2: 3-4 and Isaiah 14: 12-15). We must wait on our LORD to come and not be slack in what or whom we accept as GOD. If they say to you The Lord is in the desert or hidden in a secret place (Matthew 24: 26), do not follow after them, because if you are still in a flesh body, The True Lord did not come yet. Your body will change into a spirit body immediately upon The Lord’s arrival; that is one sure way to know. Another absolutely sure way to know if The Lord has already come is, every eye shall see Him. If you didn’t see Him, He hasn’t come yet (Matthew 24:27 and Revelation 1: 7). Even the blind will see The Lord when He comes. What a Glorious sight to behold, but most of the earth will mourn because they want to continue playing in the dirt (Amos 2: 7-8 and Matthew 24: 30).]

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There is no way for anyone to deny the following verses, because they are taken directly from a prayer which Jesus made to GOD His Father concerning the Disciples. That prayer even includes those in future generations who would read and believe in Christ through The Bible. This is as solid as the evidence against “rapture” gets. Jesus being GOD’s Living Word certainly knows what He’s talking about. I suggest that you read that whole beautiful prayer chapter of John 17 on your own, but this below is the highlight I wanted you to see for now.

Jesus Praying:

John 17: 14-17 and verse 20

14 I have given them Thy Word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.

15 I pray not that Thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that Thou shouldest keep them from the evil [note: WOW ! and VOILA !].

16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.

17 Sanctify them through Thy Truth: Thy Word is Truth.

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20 Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on Me through their Word; [note: WOW again. We know The Bible which we read is GOD’s Word, but it was written at the hand of the Apostles and their scribes, which makes it in essence their word also. They are not the author; The Holy Spirit is, but they were the scribes and we can’t take that part away from them and neither will Scriptures allow us to.]

I fully came to believe on Christ through The Words (The Gospels and Epistles) which the Apostles wrote down, as verse 20 above indicates, and if you are a true believer in Christ so did you. Jesus prayed for those who followed Him in the first century A.D. tribulation, and us in later generations. In verse 15 we witness Jesus praying that none of us be taken out of the world, but that GOD would keep us through and protect us from (ek ◦ Grk.) the effect of evil; whatever age we happen to be living in. We cannot get around that beautiful prayer of Jesus in order to escape tribulation. He did not pray for The Father to take Christians out of the world before the end-time tribulation or at any particular point in history as verse 20 verifies. In the world you shall have tribulation, but fear not (John 16: 33), Jesus overcame the world and has given the same Holy Spirit of GOD to us who believe on Him. Praise GOD! The Greek word for “from” in verse 15 above is “ek” and we learned this also means "in", "from within" and "through". We must understand the difficulty of translating the Greek manuscripts into another language. Jesus wasn’t Praying for GOD “to keep us in (ek) the evil”, but rather “to keep us in (ek), and through times of evil”; to keep us from being ill affected by evil and keep us as His own. Thank GOD for the guidance of His Comforting Word!