Expert: Cooper P. Abrams III - 6/30/2008

Question
QUESTION: Will there be a secret rapture? And if you have time read this and see what
you think.  Thanks
Not Left Behind
    Another common misconception contained in the secret rapture theory is
that people will continue to live here on earth for several years after Christ's
return. However, the Bible clearly teaches that when Jesus comes next, there
will be no one left alive on this planet.
    For example, in his prophecy about the end of the age, Jeremiah wrote:"I
beheld the earth, and, lo, it was without form, and void; and the heavens,
and they had no light. I beheld the mountains, and, lo, they trembled, and all
the hills moved lightly. I beheld, and lo, there was no man, and all the birds
of the heavens were fled. I beheld, and lo, the fruitful place was a wilderness,
and all the cities thereof were broken down at the presence of the Lord, and
by his fierce anger: (Jeremiah 4:23-26, emphasis added).
    In another place he declared,"And the slain of the Lord shall be at that day
from one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth: They shall not
be lamented, neither gathered, nor buried; they shall be dung upon the
ground: (Jeremiah 25:33)
    The prophet Isaiah describes the same dismal conditions in his prophecy
of the state of the earth following the second coming. "Behold, the Lord
maketh the earth empty, and maketh it waste, and turneth it upside down,
and scattereth aboad the inhabitants thereof." "The land shall be utterly
emptied, and utterly spoiled:for the Lord hath spoken this word: (Isaiah
24:1,3, emphasis added).
    Last but not least, consider the following passage of Scripture:"And as it
was in the days of Noe [Greek for 'Noah'], so shall it be also in the days of the
Son of man. They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in
marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came,
and destroyed them all. Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did
eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; But the
same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from
heaven, and destroyed them all. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son
of man is revealed:" (Luke 17:26-30, emphasis added).
    Notice that the wicked were detroyed on the same day that the Flood came
to Noah and on the same day that the fire came to Sodom. Jesus emphasizes
at both the beginning and the end of this passage that these earlier
judgments, which destroyed all of the wicked, were examples of what would
happen at His second coming. The Bible is crystal clear that life on earth does
not continue for either man or beast after Jesus comes.
Through the Tribulation With Christ
    The idea that the righteous will all be raptured out of the world just before
the time of trouble and that only the wicked will be left behind to endure
seven years of tribulation can be very appealing. Perhaps that is why this
doctrine has gained such widestred acceptance. But the Bible clearly teaches
otherwise.
    The phrase "seven years of tribulation" does not appear anywhere in
Scripture. However, Jesus did say that a terrible time of trouble would come
upon the world just before His return and that it would be more intense than
any other in the history of this world. In His great prophetic discourse on the
Mount of Olives, Jesus made the following statement: "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).
    If the elect were not in the world during the great tribulation, they would
not need the days to be shortened!
    All throughout Scripture we see examples of the Lord saving His people
though tribulation, not from it.
•   Noah was not saved from the Flood, but through it.
•   Daniel was not saved from the lions' den, but through it.
•   Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were not were not saved from the
fiery furnace, but through it. In fact, Jesus went through it with them, and He
will go through the great tribulation with us, as well!
•   The children of Israel were not saved from Egypt before the plagues fell,
but afterward. God demonstrated His love and power by preserving them in
Egypt through the 10 plagues. In the same way, the righteous will be in the
world when the seven last plagues fall (revelation chapter 16), but God will
preserve them.
    God never promises that our lives will always be easy. Christ prayed to His
Father for His disciples, "I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the
world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil [one]" (John 17:15).
Likewise, in 2 Timothy 3:12 Paul states, "All that will live godly in Christ Jesus
shall suffer persecution." Paul also told a group of disciples that "We must
through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God" (Acts 14:22).
    In His parable of the two home builders, Jesus taught that the storm comes
to the wise man who builds on the rock just as surely as it comes to the fool
who builds upon the sand (Matthew 7:24-27). The storm will come to all.
    The good news is that God's children will survive the coming tribulation.
They will endure by practicing some of the same survival skills used by the
Great Basin bristlecone pine. Believed to be one of the oldest living trees on
the planet, it can live more than 4,000 years. Found on lonely mountaintops,
some of these ancient evergreens have weathered thousands of years of
intense freezing wind, pounding rain, scorching sun, and violent electrical
storms.
    How do they manage to survive such harsh, adverse conditions They send
their roots deep, wrap them tenaciously around a solid rock, and hang on.
    In the same way, the saints will have to sink their roots of faith deep into
the Word of God and cling tenaciously to the mighty Rock of Ages.
    Remember that even though God does not always provide an escape from
tribulation, He does promise to give us the power and strength to get through
it. "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me" (Philippians
4:13)



ANSWER: Ryan,
  The article you sent is a concoction of a number of Scriptures put together to disprove the rapture and the Millennial reign of Jesus Christ.  Problem is they are taken out of their context, misapplied and do not address the question of rapture.  
  1 Thess. 4:13-18 and 1 Cor. 15:51-57 reveal that there will be a "catching up" (rapture) of believers in this dispensation.

  Whoever wrote the article know very little about the Bible and nothing about the end times.  He said there is no reference to the seven year Tribulation.

   Daniel 9:24-27 refutes the author's error. Daniel 9:25 says, "The time unto the Messiah, the Prince, shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks; the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times."

         Gabriel says that sixty-nine weeks would lead to the coming of the Messiah the Prince. Verse 27 indicates that the seventieth week is separated from the other sixty nine so only 483 years of the total 490 involved in Daniel's prophecy span the time between the command concerning Jerusalem and the coming of the Messiah. The prophecy of the 483 years has been fulfilled as Christ came and was "cut off", but He has not returned in His Second Coming. This means that God's prophetic clock stopped at the end of the 483 years and is presently on hold in this gap in the time frame of the prophecy. Currently we are end the dispensation of the Church Age when God is not working directly with Israel prophetically, but is gathering to Himself souls from among the Gentiles. God's prophetic clock will begin again when the 484th year begins with the rapture and the beginning of Daniel's 70th week which is the Tribulation.

         Daniel is told that the Messiah's first coming would be in 434 years ( Sixty two weeks) [verse 26] and His second coming and setting up of His kingdom would be in 490 years completing the prophecy.

         Gabriel in Daniel 9:25 states that starting day of this 490 years would be the issuance of a decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem. However, the Medo-Persians rulers issued several such decree and therefore to determine the starting point it must be established which decree was the one Gabriel was referring.

         Isaiah prophesied that a ruler named Cyrus would issue a decree to allow the walls of Jerusalem and the foundations of the temple to be rebuilt. Isaiah prophesied to the Northern kingdom of Israel (10 tribes) and at that time Jerusalem and the temple stood. Thus the prophet named the name of this king 160 years before the event. Cyrus is called God's shepherd and also His anointed because of his benevolence to Israel.


"That saith of Cyrus, He is my shepherd, and shall perform all my pleasure: even saying to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be built; and to the temple, Thy foundation shall be laid." (Isaiah 44:28)
"Thus saith the LORD to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have holden, to subdue nations before him; and I will loose the loins of kings, to open before him the two leaved gates; and the gates shall not be shut; I will go before thee, and make the crooked places straight: I will break in pieces the gates of brass, and cut in sunder the bars of iron: And I will give thee the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places, that thou mayest know that I, the LORD, which call thee by thy name, am the God of Israel. For Jacob my servant's sake, and Israel mine elect, I have even called thee by thy name: I have surnamed thee, though thou hast not known me." (Isaiah 45:1-4 )
         Cyrus issued the first decree in 538 or 537 BC. The second decree was given by Darius in 519 BC and the third by Artaxerxes in 458 BC and the last by Artaxerxes in 445 BC. The question is which decree is the starting point of the 490 years.

         Daniel 9:25 mentions that the street and the walls were to be rebuilt. The street refers to the inward part of the city and walls the outward protection and both would be necessary to complete the rebuilding of the city. The Hebrew word that is translated "walls" literally means a trench and seems to refer to not only the walls but a moat which was always dug in front of the walls for added protection.

         The first to return to Israel and attempt to rebuild the walls of the city was Ezra and he records the fulfillment of Jeremiah's prophecy, but it does not fit Gabriel's proclamation.

         "Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also in writing, saying, Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, The LORD God of heaven hath given me all the kingdoms of the earth; and he hath charged me to build him an house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Who is there among you of all his people? his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and build the house of the LORD God of Israel, (he is the God,) which is in Jerusalem. And whosoever remaineth in any place where he sojourneth, let the men of his place help him with silver, and with gold, and with goods, and with beasts, beside the freewill offering for the house of God that is in Jerusalem." (Ezra 1:1-4 )

         Although Ezra returned to Israel and attempted to rebuild the city because the local residents, who were the enemies of Israel, sent word to Artaxerxes saying if the Jews completed their work they would rebel against him.(Ezra 4:8-16) Artaxerxes stopped the work. Later Artaxerxes issues a decree to Nehemiah in 445 BC which allowed him to rebuild the city and the walls. The three earlier decrees by Cyrus, Darius and Artaxerxes' first decree did not authorized the rebuilding of the walls. Under Babylonian law a king could not reverse a decree once it was made official. Apparently Artaxerxes' first decree or the earlier decrees of Cyrus and Darius did not include rebuilding the walls, because this would amount to the king reversing a decree. This means that the fourth decree of Artaxerxes in March of 445 BC is the starting point of the 490 years.(See Nehemiah 2:1-8)

      It took the Jews forty nine years to rebuild Jerusalem and its walls because of the opposition of Israel's enemies. Gabriel states that the rebuilding of Jerusalem would be in "troublous times." History records that the prophecy of Daniel 9:24-25 was accurately fulfilled until the four hundred and eighty third year. What has not been fulfilled is the last week which would end the four hundred and sixty year prophecy.
(above from my commentary on Daniel - http://bible-truth.org/Daniel9.html )
      It is really hard to respond in a short email to such a confusing article in which the author is mixed up.  I would suggest you read biblically sound articles that support the Bible teaching on the coming rapture, Tribulation, Second Coming, Millennium and New Heavens and Earth.  I have several article at http://bible-truth.org/apologeticspage.html#002 which address the end times that can be of help to you.
      If you have further specific questions please write.  I will try help you with this.
Cooper Abrams
http://bible-truth.org
Romans 12:1-2
      


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thanks for your response. And i havent had the chance to read everything
yet. But why in the bible does it say that no one will know when he comes
and that every eye will see him and not even the heavens in heaven will know
when his second coming is but if people are raptured up 7 years before his
second coming then the angels in heaven will know when his second coming
is? I believe we will be caught up "rapture" but i dont think it will be 7 years
before. Because this Darby guy came up with the rapture in 1830 ish and
before that no one believed it.    so....

Answer
Ryan,
  Darby did not come up with the rapture nor its timing at the before the Tribulation.  There are recorded statements dating back to 374-627 which mention the pre-Tribulation rapture.  In the medieval period eschatology was not something on the minds of people. However, in 1744 Morgan Edwards wrote about the Pre-Trib. rapture.   Before 1948 there was not much written about the Pre-Trib.   Most before that held to a Amillennial or Post Millennial position.  However, after God restored Israel to Palestine in 1948...it shocked the world and Bible student began in earnest to study the issue.
   I had several articles that will help you with this.
   http://bible-truth.org/myst-3.htm  THE MYSTERY OF THE RAPTURE OF THE BODY OF CHRIST AT THE END OF THE CHURCH AGE

   http://bible-truth.org/Pre-Wrath.html  Fatal Flaws in the Modern Pre-Wrath Rapture Position

   http://bible-truth.org/mid-trib.html  Is the Mid-Tribulation
or Pre-Wrath Rapture the Biblical View?

   Please note what Jesus actually said, "But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only." (Matthew 24:36) Two things are important to understand.  Christ return is always presented in the New Testament as imminent.  It could  happened at any moment....so we do not know.   In the Tribulation again no one will know the specific day or hour...  It does not say the angels or anyone would not know the year of His second coming.   Matthew 24:36-44 plainly states that...and Matthew 24 is dealing with the coming Tribulation and Christ Second coming.

  Sir, I do not like to be critical, but who ever you are reading does not even read the words and consider what they actually mean and say....how could such a person be knowledgeable and be teaching other people...   The make up a meaning and then ignore what the words say. That person needs to be taught themselves.

      I hope as you study my articles that you do so with an open Bible looking up and researching each passage and verse.

      The truth is that Jesus Christ is coming just before the Tribulation and removing from the earth all believers in this dispensation of the Church Age....both living and those who have died.  He will catch them up...(rapture) and Christians will meet the Lord in the air.  Please note...in the air.  At the end of the Tribulation Christ returns to earth with His angel, and believers and He will end the Tribulation when He destroys the armies of the world and the "raptures" the unsaved and removes them from the earth.  Then He set up His earthly kingdom and will rule the earth for a 1000 years.  Satan during this time will be imprisoned in the "bottomless pit" as Rev. 20:1-3 says.  At the end of the Kingdom (Millennium) Satan will be loosed and the final judgment of God will occur and Satan and his angels will be cast eternally into the Lake of Fire.  As Rev. 20:15-18 says...they lost who are presently in Hades (KJV hell) will be brought before Him and judged and they too will be cast into the Lake of Fire.  
      I really hope this helps you understand the end times.  It is tragic that so many false teachers are out there teaching false things and confusing people.  But Sir, that is the Devil's desire...to confusion Christians and rob them of God's truth.
Cooper Abrams
Romans 12:1-2