How many of us have heard the Rapture is a “signless” event?
This thread is about:
1. The Mystery of God/The Hope of Glory/The Rapture: The Torah and the Book of Revelation—and the agreement of Moses & John, the prophets, apostles, and Christ.
2. God must follow His own Law.
To set the stage for this thread, let me pose a few Bible questions:
1.What are the 2 incorrect assumptions extracted from 1 Thessalonians 5:1, 2, which yield this faulty conclusion: The Rapture is “signless” because Christ is coming as a “thief”?
2.Why did Peter quote Joel (2:28-32a) on Pentecost, and why did Peter stop at Joel 2:32a, and why does the blood red moon (again) “appear” at the Sixth Seal (Rev. 6:12)?
3.How is the Rapture connected to the mystery once hidden in “the feasts of the Lord” —Rosh Hashanah/The Feast of Trumpets—and in what letter did Christ reveal the first 5 holy days that apply to the glorious riches of the mystery: “Christ in you, the hope of glory”?
4.Christ said: “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets. I have not come to abolish, but to fulfill. For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one dot or one mark will pass from the law until all be fulfilled.” (Matt. 5:17, 18) ... Where in the Book of Revelation is Christ’s prophecy fulfilled completely?
These questions are here as a catalyst for thought, and will be addressed in this thread.
The “Rapture” (Latin: Rapiemur), (1 Thess. 4:17) is sound doctrine; it is the revelation of the mystery—our future “salvation”/“hope of glory”—and will come to pass exactly as Christ revealed to Peter, Paul, and John: at the commencement of the Day of the Lord.
“Signless” has no scriptural justification.
If you already know the answers to the above questions, jump in.
We—as Christ’s Church—deserve to know the heavenly and earthly signs that mark the next unmistakable threshold in time: the Day of the Lord & the Rapture.
Do you know someone still uncertain about the sound doctrine of the mystery/the Hope of Glory, the Rapture? Ask him/her to stop by.
Peace.
revvel
Hi Revvel,
After being exposed to Preterism and believing a good amount of it, I'm now uncertain about "the Rapture" a.k.a. "Gathering Together" as taught by TWI. It's not the actual event but more of the "mind picture" we all know and "timeline" that I question now. Actually I don't fully believe the preterist version either but it's got me wondering. In any case, your research is worth taking a look and thank you!
Thank you again Oldiesman. I appreciate your thoughtful & kind comments.
Stay tuned...
To understand “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (once hidden in the Law and revealed in the Book of Revelation) is to understand our present and future (the Rapture/gathered before His heavenly Throne). And it is to understand the content and order of end-time events, which has overlapping numeric chronologies: the Law & Revelation, and this pulls together the entire Bible.
Only a divine Creator could have crafted such a magnificent plan. Before posting on this, there are 3 more questions to complete the "stage."
I’m looking to turn your thoughts to the mystery of God via questions.
1 Cor. 15:51-55 & Revelation 7:9-17
1. Paul and John both quoted Isaiah 25:8 in their respective revelations, why?
Romans 16:25-27
Paul said:
“Now to Him who has power to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret for long ages past, but now is revealed by the prophetic Scriptures according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all the Gentiles for the obedience of faith, to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever. Amen.”
In Romans, Paul revealed “Christ in you, the hope of glory.” And he did so in 6 consecutive verses—quoting the same prophet and prophecy as Peter did on Pentecost.
2. Where did Paul reveal “Christ in you, the hope of glory” in Romans, and how does it relate to what Peter declared on Pentecost?
1 Cor. 2:7, 8
Paul said:
“We speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the ages for our glory. None of the rulers of this age knew it. For had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.”
3. What was the mystery that Christ revealed to Paul in 1 Corinthians, and how does it reveal “Christ in you, the hope of glory” once hidden in the Law?
We now have 7 Bible questions. If you don’t know the answers to the above questions, you deserve to know.
If you know the answers to the above questions, jump in.
How many of us have heard the following man-made terms: “pre-trib,” “mid-trib,” and “post-trib”?
Let me ask:
What’s the probability…
The Law and the Book of Revelation dismantle this man-made structure — “pre-trib,” “mid-trib,” and “post-trib” — and sweep the wreckage into the theological garbage can?
What’s the probability…
The precedents God gave us through Moses and Christ enable us to see the mystery from Acts to the Book of Revelation?
What’s the probability…
With God's precedents, we have biblical research tools that work 100% of the time, no exceptions, and thus, we have Christ and the Law on our side?
Next:
1. How did Christ use the symbol of a “thief”?
2. How is it identical to Paul’s use of a “thief”—which has nothing to do with “signless”?
3. What are the celestial and earthly signs that mark the onset of the Day of the Lord & the Rapture—and what does it have to do with the symbol of a “thief”?
And this:
4. Why does the Rapture line up with the fifth holy day, Rosh Hashanah/The Feast of Trumpets?
Christ: Coming as “a Thief”/Second Coming to Israel
“Look, I am coming as a thief. Blessed is he who watches and keeps his garments on, lest he walk naked and his shame be exposed.” They gathered them together to the place which in Hebrew is called Armageddon. (Rev. 16:15, 16)
Did Christ use the symbol of a “thief” to prophesy of a “signless” event?
Is the battle of Armageddon a “signless” event?
No, of course not.
If Christ didn’t use the symbol of a “thief” to mean “signless,” then what right does anyone in His kingdom have to claim the symbol of a “thief” means “signless”?
Zero.
Equating “thief” with “signless” is without scriptural justification.
Next, Part 2: Why did Christ use the symbol of a “thief”?
1.What is the symbol—the precedent—in the Gospels that gives the visual effect of Christ coming as a “thief” to Israel/Armageddon, and where did Christ reveal how the symbol of a “thief” is relevant to end times, and how does this all translate to the revelation of the mystery for the Church that Christ gave to Paul in 1 Thess. 5?
In other words, if we know what Christ has to say about the symbol of a “thief,” then we can understand Christ’s revelation to Paul.
2. What are the 2 incorrect assumptions extracted from 1 Thessalonians 5:1, 2, which yield this faulty conclusion: The Rapture is “signless” because Christ is coming as a “thief”?
If you don’t know the answers to the above questions, you deserve to know the answers.
1.What is the symbol—the precedent—in the Gospels that gives the visual effect of Christ coming as a “thief” to Israel/Armageddon, and where did Christ reveal how the symbol of a “thief” is relevant to end times, and how does this all translate to the revelation of the mystery for the Church that Christ gave to Paul in 1 Thess. 5?
2. What are the 2 incorrect assumptions extracted from 1 Thessalonians 5:1, 2, which yield this faulty conclusion: The Rapture is “signless” because Christ is coming as a “thief”?
If you still believe in a “signless” Rapture, you will be set free from this “signless” snare… And you will be free to believe the revelation of the mystery, our hope of glory, as Christ revealed to Peter, Paul, and John: the Rapture will occur at the onset of the Day of the Lord, accompanied by dramatic celestial and earthy signs—prior to the wrath.
What are the 2 incorrect assumptions extracted from 1 Thessalonians 5:1, 2, which yield this faulty conclusion: The Rapture is “signless” because Christ is coming as a “thief”?
The Day of the Lord: 1 Thessalonians 5:1, 2
“Now, brothers and sisters, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.”
First Incorrect Assumption: The Rapture is “signless” because Paul used the symbol ofa “thief in the night.”
Did Paul say,
Now, brothers and sisters, about signs we do not need to write to you, for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night?
No, of course not.
What exactly did Paul say?
“Now, brothers and sisters, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.”
The figure of speech— “a thief in the night” —refers right back to the immediate context: “times and dates”—not the lack of signs.
The first incorrect assumption is to equate “thief in the night” with a lack of signs. There is no scriptural justification in the immediate context to support this position—and this includes verse 3.
1 Thessalonians 5:3: “Sudden”
“When they say, ‘Peace and safety!’ then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor upon a woman with child, and they shall not escape.”
“Times and dates” and “sudden” refer to timing—not signs.
The Day of the Lord: 1 Thessalonians 5:1, 2
Second Incorrect Assumption: “Christ” is coming as a “thief” at the time of the Rapture.
This is simply a gross misreading/interpretation of the text.
Did Paul say,
Now, brothers and sisters, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, for you know very well that Christ will come like a thief in the night.
No, of course not.
What exactly did Paul say?
“Now, brothers and sisters, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.”
Is the “Day of the Lord” “signless”?
No, of course not. It’s the complete opposite.
Peter: The Day of the Lord: Acts 2:19, 20/Mystery: Joel 2:30, 31
“And I will show wonders in heaven above and signs on the earth below: blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and glorious day of the Lord comes.”
*Paul—in Romans 10—quoted Joel, as did Peter in Acts 2, why? Answer this, and you will eliminate any lingering thoughts that Paul prophesied of a “signless” event.
John: The Day of the Lord/Wrath: Revelation 6:12-17
“I watched as he opened the sixth seal. There was a great earthquake. The sun turned black like sackcloth made of goat hair, the whole moon turned blood red, and the stars in the sky fell to earth, as figs drop from a fig tree when shaken by a strong wind. The heavens receded like a scroll being rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place. Then the kings of the earth and the great men and the rich men and the commanding officers and the strong and everyone, slave and free, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains. They called to the mountains and the rocks, 'Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! For the great day of their wrath has come, and who can withstand it?'”
"Signless"?
Zephaniah 1:14, 15: “The great day of the Lord” = the “day of wrath.”
Thief in the Night: There is no scriptural justification in the immediate context to support equating “the day of the Lord” and “thief” with “signless.” And there is no scriptural justification in the remote context: Christ’s precedent and use of a “thief.”
“Signless” is worthless. Deception.
Next:
Christ: The Precedent: the symbol of a “thief” and its visual representation.
If we want to understand Christ’s revelation to Paul about the symbol of a “thief” ...
We don’t have to be in subjection to incorrect assumptions, but rather, look to the precedents: Christ… and the OT prophets He drew upon.
1.What is the symbol—the precedent—that Christ handed us in the Gospels that gives the visual effect of His coming as a “thief” to Israel?
2.Who were prophets that Christ drew upon when He prophesied of His second coming to Israel, and how do their prophecies set the stage for Christ’s use of a “thief”?
Today is Yom (Day) Kippur (Atonement)
Christ revealed the mystery once hidden in this holy day to Paul (Rom. 11:25-27). Yom Kippur foreshadows what will come to pass at the second coming of Christ to Israel: salvation for Israel & atonement for the house of Jacob. (See the other thread: The Parable of the 10 Virgins.)
And in the Book of Revelation, Christ Himself issued a prophecy of His second coming to Israel:
Revelation 16:15, 16
“Look, I am coming as a thief. Blessed is he who watches and keeps his garments on, lest he walk naked and his shame be exposed.” They gathered them together to the place which in Hebrew is called Armageddon.
Looking at this prophecy, and looking back at the Gospels… What is the symbol—the precedent—that gives the visual effect of Christ coming as a “thief”?
“Lightning.”
In Matthew,Christ issued a prophecy of His second coming to Israel (which draws upon Old Testament prophecies):
Matthew 24:27-31
“For as the lightningcomes from the east and flashes to the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. Wherever the carcass is, there the eagles will be gathered together.
“Immediately after the tribulation of those days, ‘the sun will be darkened, the moon will not give its light;[Joel 3:15, 16: “Zion”/“Jerusalem”/“children of Israel”] 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[Isaiah 27:12, 13/“sons of Israel”], and they shall gather His elect from thefour winds[Ezekiel 37:9-14/“whole house of Israel”] from one end of the heavens to the other.”
Precedent: Symbol of a thief: “Lightning”
Christ, as a “thief,” as “lightning,” suddenly appears with celestial signs as He descends to the Mount of Olives (Zech. 14:4).
The root/base word of “lightning” means “to flash as lightning.”
What is “signless” about Christ’s revelation/precedent of a “thief”?
Nothing.
Additional Old Testament Precedents
Malachi 3:1-4: Second Coming to Israel: “Suddenly”
“And the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple, even the messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight. He is coming, says the Lord of Hosts. But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap. He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify the sons of Levi, and refine them like gold and silver, and they will present to the Lord offerings in righteousness.Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasant to the Lord as in the days of old and as in former years.”
Isaiah 66:14-16: Second Coming to Israel: “With Fire/like a Whirlwind”
“Then you shall see this, and your heart shall rejoice, and your bones shall flourish like an herb; and the hand of the Lord shall be known toward His servants, and His indignation toward His enemies. For the Lord shall come with fire and with His chariots like a whirlwind, to render His anger with fury and His rebuke with flames of fire. For by fire and by His sword on all flesh, the Lord shall execute judgment; and the slain of the Lord shall be many.”
"Signless" is in direct contradiction to the witness of the prophets, Christ, and the apostles.
Next:
1. How did Christ connect the symbol of a “thief” with end times?
2.How does this symbol of a “thief” apply to the revelation Christ gave to Paul about the Rapture in 1 Thess. 5 when the day of the Lord breaks upon the planet?
“Now, brothers and sisters, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.”
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oldiesman
Hi Revvel,
After being exposed to Preterism and believing a good amount of it, I'm now uncertain about "the Rapture" a.k.a. "Gathering Together" as taught by TWI. It's not the actual event but more of the "mind picture" we all know and "timeline" that I question now. Actually I don't fully believe the preterist version either but it's got me wondering. In any case, your research is worth taking a look and thank you!
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revvel
Thank you again Oldiesman. I appreciate your thoughtful & kind comments.
Stay tuned...
To understand “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (once hidden in the Law and revealed in the Book of Revelation) is to understand our present and future (the Rapture/gathered before His heavenly Throne). And it is to understand the content and order of end-time events, which has overlapping numeric chronologies: the Law & Revelation, and this pulls together the entire Bible.
Only a divine Creator could have crafted such a magnificent plan. Before posting on this, there are 3 more questions to complete the "stage."
I’m looking to turn your thoughts to the mystery of God via questions.
1 Cor. 15:51-55 & Revelation 7:9-17
1. Paul and John both quoted Isaiah 25:8 in their respective revelations, why?
Romans 16:25-27
Paul said:
“Now to Him who has power to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret for long ages past, but now is revealed by the prophetic Scriptures according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all the Gentiles for the obedience of faith, to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever. Amen.”
In Romans, Paul revealed “Christ in you, the hope of glory.” And he did so in 6 consecutive verses—quoting the same prophet and prophecy as Peter did on Pentecost.
2. Where did Paul reveal “Christ in you, the hope of glory” in Romans, and how does it relate to what Peter declared on Pentecost?
1 Cor. 2:7, 8
Paul said:
“We speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the ages for our glory. None of the rulers of this age knew it. For had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.”
3. What was the mystery that Christ revealed to Paul in 1 Corinthians, and how does it reveal “Christ in you, the hope of glory” once hidden in the Law?
We now have 7 Bible questions. If you don’t know the answers to the above questions, you deserve to know.
If you know the answers to the above questions, jump in.
Peace.
revvel
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revvel
How many of us have heard the following man-made terms: “pre-trib,” “mid-trib,” and “post-trib”?
Let me ask:
What’s the probability…
The Law and the Book of Revelation dismantle this man-made structure — “pre-trib,” “mid-trib,” and “post-trib” — and sweep the wreckage into the theological garbage can?
What’s the probability…
The precedents God gave us through Moses and Christ enable us to see the mystery from Acts to the Book of Revelation?
What’s the probability…
With God's precedents, we have biblical research tools that work 100% of the time, no exceptions, and thus, we have Christ and the Law on our side?
Next:
1. How did Christ use the symbol of a “thief”?
2. How is it identical to Paul’s use of a “thief”—which has nothing to do with “signless”?
3. What are the celestial and earthly signs that mark the onset of the Day of the Lord & the Rapture—and what does it have to do with the symbol of a “thief”?
And this:
4. Why does the Rapture line up with the fifth holy day, Rosh Hashanah/The Feast of Trumpets?
Why? It’s the Law.
Peace.
revvel
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revvel
1. How did Christ use the symbol of a “thief”?
Part 1
Christ: Coming as “a Thief”/Second Coming to Israel
“Look, I am coming as a thief. Blessed is he who watches and keeps his garments on, lest he walk naked and his shame be exposed.” They gathered them together to the place which in Hebrew is called Armageddon. (Rev. 16:15, 16)
Did Christ use the symbol of a “thief” to prophesy of a “signless” event?
Is the battle of Armageddon a “signless” event?
No, of course not.
If Christ didn’t use the symbol of a “thief” to mean “signless,” then what right does anyone in His kingdom have to claim the symbol of a “thief” means “signless”?
Zero.
Equating “thief” with “signless” is without scriptural justification.
Next, Part 2: Why did Christ use the symbol of a “thief”?
1. What is the symbol—the precedent—in the Gospels that gives the visual effect of Christ coming as a “thief” to Israel/Armageddon, and where did Christ reveal how the symbol of a “thief” is relevant to end times, and how does this all translate to the revelation of the mystery for the Church that Christ gave to Paul in 1 Thess. 5?
In other words, if we know what Christ has to say about the symbol of a “thief,” then we can understand Christ’s revelation to Paul.
2. What are the 2 incorrect assumptions extracted from 1 Thessalonians 5:1, 2, which yield this faulty conclusion: The Rapture is “signless” because Christ is coming as a “thief”?
If you don’t know the answers to the above questions, you deserve to know the answers.
If you already know the answers, jump in.
Peace.
revvel
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revvel
Before addressing the 2 questions...
1. What is the symbol—the precedent—in the Gospels that gives the visual effect of Christ coming as a “thief” to Israel/Armageddon, and where did Christ reveal how the symbol of a “thief” is relevant to end times, and how does this all translate to the revelation of the mystery for the Church that Christ gave to Paul in 1 Thess. 5?
2. What are the 2 incorrect assumptions extracted from 1 Thessalonians 5:1, 2, which yield this faulty conclusion: The Rapture is “signless” because Christ is coming as a “thief”?
If you still believe in a “signless” Rapture, you will be set free from this “signless” snare… And you will be free to believe the revelation of the mystery, our hope of glory, as Christ revealed to Peter, Paul, and John: the Rapture will occur at the onset of the Day of the Lord, accompanied by dramatic celestial and earthy signs—prior to the wrath.
Peace.
revvel
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revvel
What are the 2 incorrect assumptions extracted from 1 Thessalonians 5:1, 2, which yield this faulty conclusion: The Rapture is “signless” because Christ is coming as a “thief”?
The Day of the Lord: 1 Thessalonians 5:1, 2
“Now, brothers and sisters, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.”
First Incorrect Assumption: The Rapture is “signless” because Paul used the symbol of a “thief in the night.”
Did Paul say,
Now, brothers and sisters, about signs we do not need to write to you, for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night?
No, of course not.
What exactly did Paul say?
“Now, brothers and sisters, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.”
The figure of speech— “a thief in the night” —refers right back to the immediate context: “times and dates”—not the lack of signs.
The first incorrect assumption is to equate “thief in the night” with a lack of signs. There is no scriptural justification in the immediate context to support this position—and this includes verse 3.
1 Thessalonians 5:3: “Sudden”
“When they say, ‘Peace and safety!’ then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor upon a woman with child, and they shall not escape.”
“Times and dates” and “sudden” refer to timing—not signs.
The Day of the Lord: 1 Thessalonians 5:1, 2
Second Incorrect Assumption: “Christ” is coming as a “thief” at the time of the Rapture.
This is simply a gross misreading/interpretation of the text.
Did Paul say,
Now, brothers and sisters, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, for you know very well that Christ will come like a thief in the night.
No, of course not.
What exactly did Paul say?
“Now, brothers and sisters, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.”
Is the “Day of the Lord” “signless”?
No, of course not. It’s the complete opposite.
Peter: The Day of the Lord: Acts 2:19, 20/Mystery: Joel 2:30, 31
“And I will show wonders in heaven above and signs on the earth below: blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and glorious day of the Lord comes.”
*Paul—in Romans 10—quoted Joel, as did Peter in Acts 2, why? Answer this, and you will eliminate any lingering thoughts that Paul prophesied of a “signless” event.
John: The Day of the Lord/Wrath: Revelation 6:12-17
“I watched as he opened the sixth seal. There was a great earthquake. The sun turned black like sackcloth made of goat hair, the whole moon turned blood red, and the stars in the sky fell to earth, as figs drop from a fig tree when shaken by a strong wind. The heavens receded like a scroll being rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place. Then the kings of the earth and the great men and the rich men and the commanding officers and the strong and everyone, slave and free, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains. They called to the mountains and the rocks, 'Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! For the great day of their wrath has come, and who can withstand it?'”
"Signless"?
Zephaniah 1:14, 15: “The great day of the Lord” = the “day of wrath.”
Thief in the Night: There is no scriptural justification in the immediate context to support equating “the day of the Lord” and “thief” with “signless.” And there is no scriptural justification in the remote context: Christ’s precedent and use of a “thief.”
“Signless” is worthless. Deception.
Next:
Christ: The Precedent: the symbol of a “thief” and its visual representation.
Peace.
revvel
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revvel
The Symbol: “Thief”
If we want to understand Christ’s revelation to Paul about the symbol of a “thief” ...
We don’t have to be in subjection to incorrect assumptions, but rather, look to the precedents: Christ… and the OT prophets He drew upon.
1. What is the symbol—the precedent—that Christ handed us in the Gospels that gives the visual effect of His coming as a “thief” to Israel?
2. Who were prophets that Christ drew upon when He prophesied of His second coming to Israel, and how do their prophecies set the stage for Christ’s use of a “thief”?
Today is Yom (Day) Kippur (Atonement)
Christ revealed the mystery once hidden in this holy day to Paul (Rom. 11:25-27). Yom Kippur foreshadows what will come to pass at the second coming of Christ to Israel: salvation for Israel & atonement for the house of Jacob. (See the other thread: The Parable of the 10 Virgins.)
And in the Book of Revelation, Christ Himself issued a prophecy of His second coming to Israel:
Revelation 16:15, 16
“Look, I am coming as a thief. Blessed is he who watches and keeps his garments on, lest he walk naked and his shame be exposed.” They gathered them together to the place which in Hebrew is called Armageddon.
Looking at this prophecy, and looking back at the Gospels… What is the symbol—the precedent—that gives the visual effect of Christ coming as a “thief”?
“Lightning.”
In Matthew, Christ issued a prophecy of His second coming to Israel (which draws upon Old Testament prophecies):
Matthew 24:27-31
“For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. Wherever the carcass is, there the eagles will be gathered together.
“Immediately after the tribulation of those days, ‘the sun will be darkened, the moon will not give its light; [Joel 3:15, 16: “Zion”/“Jerusalem”/“children of Israel”] 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 [Isaiah 27:12, 13/“sons of Israel”], and they shall gather His elect from the four winds [Ezekiel 37:9-14/“whole house of Israel”] from one end of the heavens to the other.”
Precedent: Symbol of a thief: “Lightning”
Christ, as a “thief,” as “lightning,” suddenly appears with celestial signs as He descends to the Mount of Olives (Zech. 14:4).
The root/base word of “lightning” means “to flash as lightning.”
What is “signless” about Christ’s revelation/precedent of a “thief”?
Nothing.
Additional Old Testament Precedents
Malachi 3:1-4: Second Coming to Israel: “Suddenly”
“And the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple, even the messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight. He is coming, says the Lord of Hosts. But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap. He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify the sons of Levi, and refine them like gold and silver, and they will present to the Lord offerings in righteousness. Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasant to the Lord as in the days of old and as in former years.”
Isaiah 66:14-16: Second Coming to Israel: “With Fire/like a Whirlwind”
“Then you shall see this, and your heart shall rejoice, and your bones shall flourish like an herb; and the hand of the Lord shall be known toward His servants, and His indignation toward His enemies. For the Lord shall come with fire and with His chariots like a whirlwind, to render His anger with fury and His rebuke with flames of fire. For by fire and by His sword on all flesh, the Lord shall execute judgment; and the slain of the Lord shall be many.”
“Signless”? Valid Precedent? Nope. Confused Nonsense.
"Signless" is in direct contradiction to the witness of the prophets, Christ, and the apostles.
Next:
1. How did Christ connect the symbol of a “thief” with end times?
2. How does this symbol of a “thief” apply to the revelation Christ gave to Paul about the Rapture in 1 Thess. 5 when the day of the Lord breaks upon the planet?
“Now, brothers and sisters, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.”
Peace.
revvel
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