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For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. Titus 2:11-14
In previous parts of this article we have seen that God has a plan for man and that His plan includes three phases. First in verse 11 we see that he wants to save us, all of us, through His grace. Second in verse 12 He wants to separate us. There are things we should do, things we should not do and an underlying reason for both of those. That underlying reason is seen in the highlighted portion of our text above. The previous parts of this article we have seen that God has a plan for man and that His plan includes three phases. First in verse 11 we see that he wants to save us, all of us, through His grace. Second in verse 12 He wants to separate us. There are things we should do, things we should not do and an underlying reason for both of those. That underlining reason is seen in the highlighted portion of our text above. The third phase of God’s plan for man is this, He wants to:
This portion of the text is an exhortation to look for the rapture. The word rapture literally means to snatch away. The Apostle Paul referred to this event in several other passages as well:
· I Corinthians 15:51,52 “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.”
· I Thessalonians 4:13-18 “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 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.”
Jesus, after He resurrected, promised to return for us in John 14. The rapture will be the fulfillment of that promise. We hold to this position regarding the rapture:
1) An Eminent Rapture-that is, it could happen at any moment. I believe that the apostles were looking for Christ’s return in their time. Note Paul’s use of personal pronouns in the above passages. “We shall not all sleep” in I Corinthians (We, not they) and “Then we which are alive and remain” in I Thessalonians (again, we and not they). Here nearly 2000 years later we are still waiting watching and praying for Christ’s return. When will He come? At a time of His choosing, but there is nothing that must occur before he does so.
2) An Every Man Rapture-There are some positions out there that not all believers who are alive at the rapture will be raptured. A partial rapture is being taught by several Independent Baptists that I know of. But I believe that this position is contrary to Scripture. The above passages bear this out quite clearly.
3) An Early Rapture-That is to say, a pre-tribulation rapture. Time and space will not permit a full explanation of why I hold to this position, but I believe that the pre-tribulation position is the only one that is supported by the Scriptures. Let me mention just a couple of quick reasons why I believe that:
a) A pre-tribulation rapture is the only one that is eminent. If you hold to a mid-tribulation position you will know that once the antichrist confirms a peace treaty with Israel for 7 years, the tribulation has begun, all you need to do is take your calendar and count forward 1260 days (3 ½ 360 day years) and circle the date and there is the rapture, so much for “in such an hour as you think not, the Son of Man cometh.” (Matthew 24:44)
b) The Book of revelation is laid out in pre-tribulation fashion. There is a picture of the rapture in 4:1 and then the tribulation unfolds in great detail from chapters 4-19, it is interesting that the last use of the word church in the Bible is in Revelation 3.
c) Titus 2:13 makes no sense if the Rapture is not pre-tribulation. Paul told Titus not to look for antichrist, or judgment, or tribulation he told him to look for the blessed hope. Why? Because that was then, and is now, the next big event on God’s calendar.
God always has and always will have a plan for man. God wants to save us, separate us and Snatch us out. I trust you know the Lord as Saviour, and you know God’s plan for your life and are working towards fulfilling it.
I know where next month will take us in our travels but I am not sure where it will take us article wise. Whatever it is I will look forward to posting Septembers article and seeing where we are headed then.
Because of Calvary,
David Iseminger
Romans 10:13-15