The Christian Exodus Into The Clouds

on Sunday, October 28, 2012 by Bill Salus

You are invited to watch a YouTube teaching video about the Rapture of the Church with Frank Dimora and Bill Salus. This topic is discussed inside the commentary section of Revelation Road, Hope Beyond the Horizon. The primary verses concerning the Rapture are in 1 Thessalonians 4 and 1 Corinthians 15.

WATCH THE DIMORA / SALUS RAPTURE DISCUSSION HERE

“For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we [believers] who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those [deceased believers] who are asleep. For the Lord [Jesus Christ] 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.” (1 Thessalonians 4:15-18, NKJV; emphasis added).

“Behold, I tell 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 trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.” (1 Corinthians 15:51-52, NKJV; emphasis added).

Below are some quotes from Revelation Road, concerning the Rapture of the Church.

“Rapture is an English word derived from the Latin word raeptius, taken from the Latin Vulgate translation, which in turn is a translation of the Greek word harpazo. Harpazo is found 13 times in the New Testament. Harpazo means to seize, catch away, caught up or taken away by force. The clearest passage describing the Rapture is found in 1 Thessalonians 4. In this chapter the Apostle Paul describes the “catching away” of the believers to meet the Lord in the air.”(i)

Christians Escape the Wrath of God

There are several scriptures that teach believers are not to experience the wrath of God coming upon sinful humanity. Some of them are listed below.

“But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.” (Romans 5:8-9, NKJV; emphasis added).

“And to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.” (1 Thessalonians 1:10, NKJV; emphasis added).

“For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk are drunk at night. But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation. For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him.” (1 Thessalonians 5:7-10, NKJV; emphasis added).

Revelation calls it an hour of trial that comes upon the entire world, which believers are kept from.

“Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth. Behold, I am coming [Rapture] quickly! [In the twinkling of an eye] Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown.” (Revelation 3:10-11, NKJV; emphasis added).

These passages above teach believers are saved, delivered, and kept from the wrath of God, but how and when? The Rapture is the logical explanation for how. 1 Thessalonians 1:10 specifies that Jesus personally “delivers us from the wrath to come.” 1 Thessalonians 5:10 instructs that “whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him.”

The Jewish Wedding Model is another good argument for a Pre-Tribulation Rapture and can be read about at this link.

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(i) Quote from author / researcher Jim Tetlow of http://eternal-productions.org/