Author: Dan Baker

Three Bankable Scriptural Truths that Guarantee the Church Will Be Raptured Before the Tribulation

You-Can-Take-It-to-the-Bank

1. 1 Thessalonians 1:10 – “…and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, that is Jesus, who delivers us from the wrath to come.”

Really, this verse is all I need to be confident that the Church will be raptured prior to the tribulation.  The word ‘delivers’ in this verse is ‘ruomai’ in Greek which means “to draw to oneself as if dragging or pulling to rescue from danger”.  The word ‘from’ in the Greek is ‘ek’ which means ‘out of’.  A better translation of this passage would then actually be “…Jesus, who will pull us to himself to rescue us out the way of the wrath that is coming”.

This passage gives a much different picture than the picture put forth by those who advocate for a mid or post-tribulation rapture.  Their belief is that God will give the grace necessary to face all of the horror and suffering that will take place during the 70th week of Daniel. 

I don’t know about you but that doesn’t sound like being dragged out of the way of the wrath.  And it certainly doesn’t give me much comfort or peace of mind.  It’s no wonder why there is such a profitable business out there keeping the fear going by many preachers in the various media.   Apocalypse survival books make money!

This verse indicates a much more drastic action than just giving grace or strength.  It is saying that Jesus is going to pull us up to Himself and out of the world before the wrath of God is poured out on creation during the tribulation. 

2. Paul said that the rapture will precede the ‘Day of the Lord’ and the revealing of the antichrist.

“Now we request you, brethren, with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and our gathering together to Him, that you may not be quickly shaken from your composure or be disturbed either by a spirit or a message or a  letter as if from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come.  Let no one in any way deceive you, for IT WILL NOT COME UNLESS THE DEPARTURE COMES FIRST, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction”.  2Thessalonians 2:1-3

I go into greater detail in my post “The Great Falling Away of the Church”, but this verse is not saying the ‘Day of the Lord’ will come after the ‘falling away from the faith’, which is how most interpret it.  Most translations say “apostasy’ where I have ‘departure’. 

The Greek word ‘apostasia’ means departure or leaving.  There is no quantifying noun.  That is to say the word faith or truth is not there.  By itself, ‘apostasia’ simply means departure, leaving, or moving away from. 

In this context Paul is saying that the rapture or departure will come before the ‘Day of the Lord’.  ‘Day of the Lord’ is a Hebrew idiom for the 7 year period of judgment or tribulation before the return of the King of Kings. 

The Thessalonians thought they had been left behind and the day of the Lord had come.  Paul is clearly talking about the rapture when he says “with regard to the coming of our Lord…and our gathering together to Him”, and he uses the word ‘apostasia’ as another way of describing it. 

Paul says the order of events is 1) the departure will happen and then 2) the man of lawlessness will be revealed before the ‘Day of the Lord’.  The antichrist will not be revealed until the Church departs.  Which brings us to the the 3rd truth that guarantees the Church will be raptured before the tribulation begins…

3.  The ‘Restrainer’ is the Holy Spirit, and when He is removed the antichrist will be revealed.

“For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only he who now restrains will do so until he is taken out of the way”.  2 Thessalonians 2:7

I won’t go into all of the detail here about why the Restrainer is the Holy Spirit.  You can read all about it in my posts “Michael the Restrainer?” and “Who or What is the Restrainer?”.

The Holy Spirit clearly is the Restrainer.  Paul is reiterating something he has undoubtedly gone over with them thoroughly in the past; namely, that the antichrist will not be revealed until the Holy Spirit removes Himself from the world.  Ergo, when the Holy Spirit is removed, the Church is removed because the Holy Spirit resides in the Body of Christ!  This is exactly what Paul said in 2Thess 2:3 – the departure comes first (Holy Spirit is removed) and then antichrist is revealed. 

Paul’s comforting message is NOT that the Church will be given grace to endure the tribulation, it is that the Church will not go through the tribulation!

The Thessalonians were obviously disturbed and shaken by the thought that the ‘Day of the Lord’ had come and that they were going to go through the tribulation.  If Paul had taught the Church would go through the tribulation, then why wasn’t Paul reminding them that God would give them strength and grace to endure the unprecedented sufferings, horrors, and tortures that will come during that time?  Instead, he reminds them of the sequence of events leading up to the tribulation. 

Think about that for a minute!

Christians are not supposed to prepare for the tribulation.

The bottom line is that we, the Body of Christ, should not be worried about the tribulation.  Not because somehow we will be able to endure it by faith, but because we’re not going to be here when the antichrist is revealed and the tribulation begins!

That really is the message in 1st and 2nd Thessalonians.  Paul was trying to get them to quit worrying about it and focus on the real mission.  Our mission is NOT to get ready to go through the tribulation.

One last thought.  Peter said that judgment begins now with the household of God (1Peter 4:17).  As Christians, if we are trying to live by faith in the flesh in this corrupt world, then we all will suffer in varying degrees, but suffer nonetheless. 

This life is OUR tribulation and judgment, our trial and testing – we will not be here for the world’s. 

Now that is real comfort! 

Dan Baker

 

Who are the Elect?

Jewish elect

“And unless those days had been cut short, no life would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect those days shall be cut short.”  Matthew 24:22

“For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect.”  Matthew 24:24

“And He will send forth His angels with a great trumpet and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.”  Matthew 24:31

The answer is – it depends on the context. 

A client and friend of mine asked me to listen to a preacher by the name of Irvin Baxter.  She listens to him regularly and asked me to give her my thoughts about his doctrinal positions.  The video I watched told me everything I needed to know about how he interprets Scripture with regard to the Church and the departure (or rapture). 

Baxter said that the Church will go through the 70th week of Daniel, aka the tribulation.  He argues that the Church is raptured at the end of the tribulation (post-trib).  He says the basis for this belief is the 3 verses mentioned above and the elect in these passages is the Church.  Therefore, according to Baxter, the gathering of the elect in verse 31 is the rapture of the Church.

Baxter says Matthew 24:24 is a warning to the Church not to be deceived by false rumors of Christ’s return.  They would know He was returning because they, the Church, would see him coming in the sky.   Baxter said that ‘elect’ in Matthew and the other Gospels was the same ‘elect’ as Romans 8:33.  He said Paul was using the word with reference to members of the body of Christ – the Church, therefore Matthew was referring was also referring to the Church. 

Baxter’s explanation is another example of inserting the Church into passages where it doesn’t belong.  The context dictates who the ‘elect’ is.  In Matthew, the elect are the believing Jews in Jerusalem during the tribulation.  In Romans, the elect are believers who are the Body of Christ – the Church.  It’s that simple. 

The word ‘elect’ simply means ‘chosen ones’.  There is no basis to conclude that the ‘chosen ones’ referred to by Paul are the same ‘chosen ones’ in Matthew, Mark and Luke.  The context in Matthew, Mark and Luke are the same.  It is about the Jews who have fled Jerusalem into the wilderness after the antichrist defiles the Holy of Holies in the coming 3rd temple. 

It is Jews who are told not to come out of hiding in the wilderness when they hear the rumors that Messiah is around, not the Church.  That is the ‘elect’ in the context whom Jesus will save in vs. 22.  They – believing Jews – are the ones whom Satan will be trying to destroy by a flood in Rev. 12.  The context in Rev. 12 is the same as Mt. 24:15 – 31. 

Isaiah 11:11-12 says the Jews will be regathered a 2nd time. This passage in Isaiah prophesies that it is the DISPERSED OF JUDAH who will be regathered from the 4 corners of the earth. Isaiah and Matthew are talking about the children of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob who will be gathered, NOT THE CHURCH! The first regathering of the Jews has happened. The 2nd regathering is what is prophesied in Matthew 24 and Isaiah 11. These passages are not talking about the rapture. They are describing a gathering of all of the Jews into the promised land for the Millennial Kingdom.

The ‘elect’ in the Gospels are not the Church; they are Jews who have believed in Christ the Messiah during the tribulation.  The gathering in Matthew is the gathering of all the believing Jews to the promised land when Christ returns to earth.  The rapture or departure of the Church takes place prior to the tribulation. 

For supplemental support for this post see my posts “The Great Falling Away of the Church”,  “Revelation 12 Sign”,  “The Greatest Sign”, “Who or What is the Restrainer”, and “Michael the Restrainer?”.

Dan Baker

Did Jesus Go to Hell and Preach the Gospel?

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jesus preaching in hell

I came across an article about the growing belief in Universalism in the U.S.  This is a false gospel which essentially says that every person will eventually be saved, even if they are in hell or somewhere other than heaven.  I say somewhere other than heaven because evidently some who embrace this lie don’t believe there even is a hell.

This doctrine is fortified by the belief that God is a loving parent and will not allow any of His ‘children’ to be lost.  (Not all people are children of God.  See my post The Spark of Divinity)  The ‘loving parent’ concept, however, stands by itself in this false religion.  It stands by itself without the balancing truth that God is righteous and just.  It’s thankfully true that God is a loving and merciful God, but it’s also thankfully true that He is absolutely righteous and just.

One of the key passages, if not THE key passage of Universalism, is 1Peter 3:18-20.

“For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, in order that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit; in which also He went and made proclamation to the spirits now in prison, who once were disobedient, when the patience of God kept waiting in the days of Noah, during the construction of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through the water.”

To summarize, according to the Universalist belief, Jesus went down into hell and preached the gospel to souls in prison there to give them a second chance.  It also implies in the verse, in Universalist thinking, that the souls are no longer disobedient.  They have heard the gospel in hell and have believed in Christ, thereby achieving redemption.  This is what they take out of the passage.  This interpretation is a bastardization of the text.

In my experience, the American Christian church, in general, has avoided passages like this.  “It’s just too difficult, so just ignore it” – is kind of how I’ve gauged the church’s accommodation of the text and passages like them.

This Scripture is actually a window to the magnificent and terrible spiritual world that really exists.  First, let’s look at what this passage does say:

1. Jesus went to a prison.

2. Jesus made proclamation to some spirits.

3. The spirits were disobedient during the time Noah was constructing the ark.

Now, try to draw a logical line of thought from this passage to “Jesus went to hell and preached the gospel to dead people who didn’t believe that Jesus was the Messiah and Lord”.  It doesn’t say Jesus preached the gospel.  It doesn’t say who the spirits were but it does say that these particular spirits were disobedient during the days when Noah was constructing the ark.

The context of this passage comes straight out of the Book of Enoch.  The Book of  Enoch is a historical account of the antediluvian spiritual world.  While it may not be canon, it is referenced a few different times in the Bible giving it historical validity by God.  The ancient Hebrews acknowledged it as valid spiritual history noted by Peter’s reference to it in the aforementioned passage as well as 2Peter 2:4 and also Jude in verse 6.

All of these passages have this in common – they are talking about Genesis 6 and the abomination that was the fallen angelic beings who abandoned their spiritual domain and took women and had sex with them, spawning the demonic creatures known as Nephilim. 

Genesis 6:1-4 says, “Now it came about, when men began to multiply on the face of the land, and daughters were born to them, that the sons of God (elohim) saw that the daughters of men were beautiful; and they took wives for themselves, whomever they chose.  Then the Lord said, ‘My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, because he also is flesh; nevertheless his days shall be one hundred.’  The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men, and they bore children to them.  Those (the children of fallen angels and women) were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown.”

First, let’s look at 2 Peter 2:4 and Jude 6.  They are a summary of the extra-biblical tradition found in 1 Enoch.

“For if God did not spare the angels when they sinned, but cast them into Tartaros  and committed them to chains of deepest darkness to be kept until the judgment;”  2Pet. 2:4 New Revised Standard

If your Bible says hell instead of Tartaros it is a bad translation.  Most Bibles do say hell.  The Greek word is actually Tartaros (not Hell or Hades) which is regarded as the deepest nether regions of earth.  This is the prison Peter is referring to in 1 Peter.  The word for prison in 1 Peter 3:19 is ‘phulake’ which is the Greek word for a guarded prison.  That’s where these spirits were sent and where they are today.  They are in the deepest part of the earth under guard.  Amazing isn’t it?

Here is what Jude 6 says about this situation: “And the angels who did not keep their own position, but left their proper dwelling, he has kept in eternal chains in deepest darkness for the judgment of the great day”   New Revised Standard

It’s saying the same as Peter did.  They are kept in the deepest darkest regions in prison, under guard and in chains.  Now lets see what the Book of Enoch says. 

“Enoch, righteous scribe, go and say to the watchers of heaven—who forsook the highest heaven, the sanctuary of their eternal station, and defiled themselves with women. As the sons of earth do, so they did and took wives for themselves. And they worked great desolation on the earth— ‘You will have no peace or forgiveness.’ Then I went and spoke to all of them together.  And they were all afraid, and trembling and fear seized them.”

It is clear that 1 Peter 3 is not talking about Jesus going to preach the gospel to dead people.  But there is more to consider.  A case can be made that there is another mistranslation in 3:19. 

The awkward wording of verse 19, “in which also he went…”, is just one letter away from containing the name “Enoch” in Greek.  (Adding a xi to ΕΝΩΚΑΙ, “in which also”, produces ΕΝΩΧΚΑΙ, “and Enoch”.)  It has been suggested that the original text had Enoch visiting the spirits in prison, creating a string of segues linking Christ’s spiritual resurrection to Enoch’s spiritual underworld voyage, Noah’s flood, and finally baptism. Later, either accidentally or on purpose, the reference to Enoch was eliminated by a minor scribal edit. Although this possibility is rarely acknowledged by scholars today and considered unlikely, it has been adopted by at least two New Testament translations in the past — the AAT (An American Translation)  and the MNT (Moffatt New Testament).  This reading is also mentioned in the marginal notes of the Jerusalem Bible.

“In it Enoch went and preached even to those spirits that were in prison, who had once been disobedient, when in Noah’s time God in his patience waited for the ark to be made ready, in which a few people, eight in all, were brought safely through the water.”  1 Peter 3:19–20 — AAT, 1939

This squares much better with the Book of Enoch where Enoch is told to go and tell the spirits that there will be no forgiveness for them. 

If you argue that 1 Peter 3:19 is describing anything other than divine spirits (not dead humans) in prison that Jesus, or more likely Enoch, went and made proclamation to, then you are arguing against the context that a Jew would have understood.   Remember, Peter’s letter was written to Jews (1Peter 1:1; 2Peter 3:1) who had been scattered from Jerusalem.  They would have been informed by Enoch. 

Another very plausible way to read this is that Peter is saying that Jesus, as the pre-incarnate Christ, made the proclamation through Enoch.  In other words, the Spirit of Christ spoke through Enoch.  I can accept this because it would be true that Enoch, a prophet, was speaking for God.  The problem I have with it is the wording ‘in which He went’.  That seems a strong statement that Jesus was the one that ‘went’ as opposed to Enoch. 

I personally believe that the text should read that Enoch went and made proclamation.  To me it holds up the best under scrutiny.  The argument against this, and for Jesus speaking through Enoch, is that Jesus ended up in the verse as God willed.  But either way, Enoch was physically at the prison speaking.

Lastly, the other verse that Universalism connects with 1Peter 3 is 1Peter 4:6 – “For the gospel has for this purpose been preached even to those who are dead, that though they are judged in the flesh as men, they may live in the spirit according to the will of God.” 

This is an easy one.  All this passage is saying is that the gospel was preached to people who are now dead.  It’s not saying the gospel is preached to people while they are dead.  The gospel has been preached since the fall in Eden (Gen. 3:15)

Dan Baker

 

The Golan Heights Have Always Belonged to Israel

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As I am writing this, Israel is firing rockets into the Gaza Strip in retaliation to a rocket attack by Hamas.  This comes right on the heels of President Trump signing a formal declaration that the Golan Heights is now Israel land.

Actually, it has always been Israel land.  In fact, the land that God gave to Abraham and his descendants makes the current borders of Israel look like Vermont compared to Texas.   The land that God set aside for the children of Abraham extends from  the Nile up to Turkey, down through the middle of Iraq to Kuwait and across west back to Egypt and the Nile River. 

biblical-boundaries

“On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, ‘To your descendants I have given this land, from the river of Egypt as far as the great river, the river Euphrates; the Kenite and Kenizzite and the Kadmonite and the Hittite and Perizzite and the Rephaim and the Amorite and Cannanite and the Girgashite and the Jebusite.”  Gen. 15:8

In the illustration above, #3 is the Nile River (River of Egypt) and #4 is the Euphrates River.  All of the land between these two rivers was given to the children of Israel.  This is the space that Israel will occupy during the Millennial Kingdom.  The promise to Abraham will be entirely and completely fulfilled when Jesus returns and reigns from Mt. Zion.

“And you will know that I am the Lord, when I bring you into the land of Israel, into the land which I swore to give to your forefathers.”  Ezek. 20:42

The Biblical land mass granted to Abraham includes approximately two thirds of what is today’s  Syria.  The Golan Heights is a speck of land between Israel and Syria that Israel captured from Syria during the Six Day War in 1967.  In 1981 Israel unilaterally annexed this land.  Until today, Monday, March 25, no other nation has recognized the Golan Heights as belonging to Israel.

Of course, the anti-Israel, anti-Bible factions are condemning this act by the President as a threat to world order.  These condemnations simply give voice to the satanic forces that hate Israel as a symbol of the truth of the Bible and the reality that the God of the Bible is the one true sovereign Most High God.  This is the essence of the political war that is being waged by the nations and the military war that is building by the Islamic terrorist states against Israel.

What happened today is just another warning bell sounding an alarm of the imminent  second coming of Jesus Christ.  It is a simple reminder that Israel is a focal point of the spiritual war that is raging and that will climax at Armageddon when Jesus returns. (Zechariah 12:2, 14:2)  Also, see my previous posts “The Gog-Magog War IS Armageddon”, “Jerusalem”, and “The Greatest Sign”.

One last thing…notice that the boundaries form what looks like a mountain.  We know that God’s holy mountain is Mt. Zion, but Ezekiel 20:40 says this: “For on My holy mountain, on the high mountain of Israel”, declares the Lord God, “there the whole house of Israel, all of them will serve Me in the land; there I shall accept them, and there I shall seek your contributions and the choicest of your gifts, with all your holy things.”

I just find it interesting that God drew the boundary of Israel to look like a mountain., where the whole house of Israel will serve the Lord.  “And many peoples will come and say, ‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord’.”  Isaiah 2:3

Valley of Achor – the Door of Hope

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Achor

“Therefore, behold, I will allure her, bring her into the wilderness, and speak kindly to her.  Then I will give her her vineyards from there, and the Valley of Achor as a door of hope.  And she will sing there as in the days of her youth, as in the day when she came up from the land of Egypt.  And it will come about in that day, declares the Lord, that you will call Me ‘my husband’ and will no longer call me ‘my master’.”  Hosea 2:14-16

This is a gem of last days prophecy tucked in the Book of Hosea.  It is a prophecy of hope to the nation of Israel and the sons and daughters of Abraham.  It goes hand in hand with Matthew 24:15-18 and Revelation 12.  It is a promise to the remnant that will survive the Tribulation or 70th Week of Daniel.

Hosea was a contemporary of Isaiah and prophet to Israel.  While Hosea is primarily a book of prophecy to Israel (as opposed to Judah when the kingdom was divided),  I believe that the passage in question is really meant for all of the descendants of Abraham.  I will get to that explanation.

When the antichrist takes his seat in the holy place, as described in Matthew 24:15 and 2 Thessalonians 2:4, the Jews who believe in Jesus as Messiah at that time are warned to flee Jerusalem into the Judean wilderness. 

The Valley of Achor is that doorway or passage of escape.  If you follow this link, you can see the valley heading east out of Jerusalam.   You can zoom in and get a very good picture of the valley.  It lies in the center of the wilderness between Jerusalem and Jericho, just north of the Dead Sea.  

Revelation 12:6 and 12:14 describe the scenario of Matthew 24:15-18.  The ‘woman’ Israel will flee into the wilderness and be ‘nourished’, or taken care of for the last half of the 7 year tribulation.  The woman in Revelation 12 and ‘her’ in Hosea 2 are both Israel. 

The righteous Jews, who are in Israel and Jerusalem at the time of the abomination of desolation, will know about this way of escape (see my post Is Travel and Technology a Last-days Prophecy?), and will be prepared.  When the time comes, dozens, hundreds, or maybe thousands of Jews will pour out of Jerusalem into the Valley of Achor and to a place of hiding in the wilderness where God will supernaturally care for Israel just as He did when Israel came out of Egypt. 

Zechariah 14:5 also describes this exact same scenario.  “And you will flee by the valley of My mountains, for the valley of the mountains will reach to Azel; yes, you will flee just as you fled before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah.  Then the Lord, my God, will come, and all the holy ones with Him!” 

This passage is saying the same thing as Hosea and Revelation 12.  The Jews will escape through the valley into the wilderness and after 3 1/2 years, the Lord will come with all of the saints and He will set foot on the Mount of Olives to save the elect (Zech 14:4).  See my previous post “Every Eye Will See Him“.  

Not only is the text consistent with the texts in Hosea, Matthew and Revelation, but the strongest evidence suggests that Azel was very near to the Mount of Olives – only 1/2 mile southeast – which is on the east side of Jerusalem.  This would put it directly on the path of the escape route into the Valley of Achor.

It’s obvious that this is a last days prophecy because God says that when it is fulfilled the Jews will call Him ‘my husband’.  Currently, the Father and Israel are divorced.  That is the primary message of the book of Jeremiah.  It is a declaration of divorce (Jeremiah 3:8). 

Israel will remain divorced from God until Jesus returns to earth and establishes the Millennial Kingdom.   The remnant that will be saved will recognize Jesus as the Son of God and the heir to the throne of David forever.  All of the believing Jews who are alive at the time of Christ’s return will be brought to the promised land (Matthew 24:31) and dwell there for the 1000 years and on into the new earth state. 

The passage in Hosea 2 describes the Millennial Kingdom:  1) there will be peace between man and all of nature and it’s creatures and everyone will lie down in safety (2:18); 2) God will be betrothed to Israel forever in righteousness and faithfulness (2:19-20); 3) there will be no lack of anything good (2:21-22). 

At the time of the Book of Hosea, Israel and Judah were divided kingdoms.  But Jerusalem was the capital of Judah, while Samaria was the capital of Israel – the northern kingdom. 

The Valley of Achor is the escape route from Jerusalem not Samaria.  So, this prophecy is directed to a time where there will be one nation of Israel.  That time is now.  It is for this reason I said that the passage was a prophecy to all the sons and daughters of Abraham.

A Curse Turned into a Blessing

The Valley of Achor is the location where Joshua had Achan and his family stoned for taking forbidden booty from Jericho (Joshua 7).  Achan’s sin caused a curse on Israel and a defeat at the hands of the city of Ai after the victory at Jericho and Joshua named the valley Achor that day. 

Achor means trouble in Hebrew.  What was once a valley of trouble for Israel will become a door of hope during ‘Jacob’s Trouble’ or the Great Tribulation. 

God has prepared all of the instructions ahead of time for the believing Jews in the Tribulation.  Amazingly, Satan is also aware of these instructions but he will not be able to do anything about it.

The Great Falling Away of the Church

departure

“Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction.” 2 Thessalonians. 2:3

There is no world-wide ‘falling away from the faith’ by the church in the Bible.

The ‘it’ in the verse above is the Day of the Lord.  That is what Paul says in the preceding verse.  The Day of the Lord will not come unless the ‘apostasy’ comes first.  The Thessalonians thought they were in the ‘Day of the Lord’, or the judgment of the world, i.e. tribulation. 

Most Christians understand this passage to say that the apostasy is the Body of Christ, or the ‘Church universal’  in general, falling away from the faith.  It is understood to mean that there will be a mass rejection of Jesus before the tribulation period begins, otherwise known as the 70th Week of Daniel. 

The Day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, as Paul said in 1 Thess. 5:2, which indicates the rapture will take place before the tribulation.  Therefore, in this scenario, the ‘falling away’ of the Church will take place before the rapture.

If you hold to this view, then the ‘falling away’ would be a sign that would precede the rapture.  It must be if you read it that way. 

If the apostasy is the Church ‘falling away’ from the faith, then Paul is saying essentially that they will know when the Tribulation is about to start because of the worldwide rejection of Christ by the Body of Christ.  This is problematic because the rapture, by definition, has no signs precede it.  It is a hidden, secret event, which only the Father knows the timing. 

In this scenario, not only will the Thessalonians (and therefore all believers) be witness to the Church falling away, but they will also witness the ‘man of lawlessness’ being revealed. 

Paul links these 2 things together in the verse in question. 

To put it another way, Paul is saying that they would know that they were in the tribulation if the ‘apostasia’ had happened AND the antichrist was revealed. 

The latter obviously had not happened. 

They knew that the tribulation begins with the antichrist making the covenant with Israel (Dan 9:27).  This confirms that the ‘Day of the Lord’ is analogous with the 70th Week of Daniel.

Also problematic is that the definition of the word ‘apostasy’ (Greek – apostasia) does not mean falling away from the faith.  It simply means to depart from, separate from, move away from or leave.  It is a verb with no object noun.  In other words, faith, or belief in Jesus, is inappropriately inserted into the passage as an object to quantify or explain the ‘falling away’. 

Apostasia is a derivative of the word ‘aphestemi’, which means to flee from, desert or go away.   Faith was nowhere to be found in the passage.  It is assumed.  Without the word ‘faith’ the passage is simply saying that the departure must come first.

It’s significant to note also that many of the early bibles used ‘departing’ in the passage for the translation of apostasia.

Vulgate (405) – discessio (Latin): withdrawal, dispersion

Tyndale Bible (1525) – departing

Coverdale Bible (1535) – departing

Geneva Bible (1587) – departing

Finally, notwithstanding the definition of the word apostasia, ‘departing’ or rapture makes perfect sense in the context.  ‘Falling away from the faith’ is in-congruent.  It does not make sense.  Contextually it is a piece of coal in a basket of apples. 

The ‘falling away from the faith’ translation comes out of nowhere and there is no other passage in Scripture that indicates there will be a mass rejection of the faith by the Church.  Some point to Matt. 24:12, but you must really strain reason to get that out of the verse.  Also, Matthew 24 is prophesying about conditions that will exist DURING the tribulation for the Jews.

Paul was attempting to calm the believers in Thessalonica.  They were panicked that they were in the midst of the Day of the Lord, or tribulation.  This is the context. 

Paul starts the segment in vs. 2:1 by setting the context – “with regard to the coming of our lord Jesus Christ, and our gathering together to Him,”.  This is the concern of the Church.  They thought they had missed the DEPARTURE!  Paul is saying in vs. 3 that the Day of the Lord (tribulation) will not come unless the DEPARTURE comes first!

There is no great falling away by the Body of Christ that is prophesied in the Bible.  

Is Travel and Technology a Last-days Bible Prophecy?

travel technology

“But as for you, Daniel, conceal these words and seal up the book until the end of time; many will go back and forth, and knowledge will increase.” – Daniel 12:4

You hear about this one all the time – in the last days people will be traveling all over the world because of jet airliners.  Also, because of technology (meaning internet), knowledge is going to increase exponentially.   This is how many in the mainstream interpret this passage.

In other words, going back and forth means increased travel capabilities, and knowledge increasing refers to having instant access to information.  This is a perfect example of putting something into a passage that has no business being there.  The verse is saying no such things.

The last 4 chapters of Daniel are visions pertaining to Daniel’s people (Dan. 9:24).  Who are Daniel’s people?  They are the Jewish people.  Daniel was Jewish, taken into captivity by the Babylonians.

In chapter 9, Daniel discovers, in the book of Isaiah, Israel’s judgment prophecy that resulted in the captivity in Babylon.  Then Daniel makes a deep and impassioned prayer for God’s mercy on Israel.  As a result of Daniel’s supplication, Gabriel comes to Daniel and lays out the future of Israel with respect to the coming kingdoms of Persia, Greece and Rome.  These visions span chapters 9-11. 

After revealing these visions, Daniel is told to conceal these words and seal them up until the end of time. 

So how does one extrapolate the idea that the verse is talking about airplanes and technology (internet)?  One does this by going off the rails and making wild speculations rather than staying in context.  Verse 12:4 has the answer right in it.

Going back and forth simply means searching the Scriptures and other reference material for understanding of the visions that Daniel was told to conceal.  In fact, some may even stumble on this article, after the rapture and before the antichrist shuts down the internet, and consider it in context with Scripture. 

And the ‘knowledge’ that will increase is that understanding of the prophecy.  It is all about Daniel’s people, the Jews, coming to an understanding of the Messiah and all of the events that are occurring during the 70th week of Daniel, or the tribulation period. 

In fact, the previous verse explains just this very thing.  In 12:3, it says that many of Daniel’s people (Jews) will lead other Jews to righteousness.  Leading to righteousness means leading them to the true Messiah and salvation.  They will lead other Jews to righteousness because they have searched the Scriptures, gained understanding, and shared this ‘knowledge’ with many other Jews.  Ergo, knowledge will increase.

This will happen during the last part of the vision of the Roman empire, the empire that will be revived under the antichrist.  Daniel 12 is specifically and exclusively a prophecy about the 70th week of Daniel, otherwise known as the 7 year tribulation. 

Daniel 12:4 is not about planes, trains and the internet.  It is about seeking, finding and proclaiming knowledge of the truth. 

Dan Baker

The Days of Noah

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“For the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah.” Matthew 24:37

Before reading this, please read my previous post “Times and Epochs”. It will be very helpful in understanding this article.

There are many ideas on what the ‘Days of Noah’ actually means.  I think everyone agrees that it is referring to the period of time which immediately precedes the return of Christ.  The question becomes whether or not it is the period of time before the rapture, or Jesus’ actual return to earth. 

As always, I believe the context will reveal the correct meaning. So, let’s first start with understanding who Jesus is speaking to in this chapter and what the subject matter is.  Follow along in Matthew 24.  It is one of the most incredible, jam-packed end times passages in all of Scripture. 

Jesus is speaking to his Jewish disciples. Remember, Jesus said that His focus is the children of Abraham. These people are whom Jesus made a priority to preach to and disciple. “But he answered and said, ‘I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.'”  Matt. 15:24

He trained others to reach the rest of the world. His focus was Israel.  It is critical that Christians resist inserting the Church into passages where it doesn’t belong. Matthew 24 is one of those passages.

The subject matter is the ‘70th Week of Daniel’, otherwise known as the 7 years of tribulation.  This period occurs after the rapture.  I’m not going to go into a pre-tribulation rapture defense in this article.  I believe Scripture is perfectly clear that the Church will be evacuated prior to the beginning of the tribulation.  Read my previous posts, “Michael the Restrainer?”, and “Who or What is the Restrainer?”.  The Restrainer is key to understanding the rapture.

In Matt. 24:3 the disciples ask Jesus to tell them (1) when the Temple will be destroyed, and (2) what will be the sign of His coming and end of the age.  There are 2 questions.  Matthew only records Jesus’ answer to the 2nd question.  Luke records answers to both questions in Luke 21. 

In vs. 4, Jesus begins describing the ‘signs’ that will lead to His return to earth on Mt. Zion.   Vss. 4-8 is the description of the birth pangs described in Revelation 6-8, otherwise known as the 7 seals.  It’s important to realize that Jesus is prophesying in this context.  He is speaking past the immediate audience to a future generation of Jewish believers in the tribulation.  Why do I say that?  Because his disciples will not be on the earth during the 7-year tribulation period.  This prophesy is for a generation that turns to the Lord during the 70th Week of Daniel.

In vs. 13, Jesus tells this future generation that if they survive the 7 years they will be saved or rescued.  They will go on to live forever beginning with the 1000 year Millennial Kingdom.  This verse has nothing to do with the salvation of their soul.  See my post “The One Who Endures to the End”. 

Continuing on in vs. 15, Jesus tells this future generation that when they see the Abomination of Desolation standing in the holy place, they are to flee Jerusalem immediately.  The Abomination of Desolation is the antichrist standing in the Holy of Holies in the Temple that has yet to be re-built (Daniel 9:27, 2 Thess. 2:3-4).  This will occur in the middle of the 7 year tribulation.

Jesus tells this future generation that they are not to come out of hiding in the wilderness if they hear that Jesus has come to earth (vss. 23-26).  He tells them that there will be no doubt when He comes because they will see the Shekinah Glory in the sky when Jesus comes on the clouds!  (vss. 27-30) 

Upon His return and the destruction of the armies of Satan (Rev. 19), He will gather all the righteous Jews on earth and bring them to the Promised Land to dwell during the Millennial Kingdom (vs. 31).  He then promises that the generation that sees all of these events take place, from the opening of the seals to His coming in the clouds, will not pass away before everything takes place.   That is what He is saying in vs. 34. 

“Now learn the parable from the fig tree: when its branch has already become tender, and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near;  even so you to, when you see all these things, recognize that He is near, right at the door.  Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place.”  Matt. 24:32-34

Jesus’ reference to the parable of the fig tree pertains to Messiah returning to earth and ruling from Jerusalem.  It is another Jewish idiom, it is not for the Church.  In other words, it is not about Jesus’ coming for the Church, it is about Jesus coming to rule from Zion and fulfilling all of the prophecies regarding Messiah and Israel going back to Abraham. 

Jesus is saying that when the believing Jews see all of the ‘signs’ of His return to earth – from the seal judgments, to the gospel of the kingdom preached to every corner of earth, the abomination of desolation to the false reports of Messiah when they are in the wilderness – they are to know and believe that they will NOT pass away before He sets foot on Mt. Zion.  That is the importance of the “Truly I say to you”.   He is saying that a remnant will survive.  You must stay in context! 

Then, in vs. 36, Jesus pivots and now speaks directly to His present company.  The next part of the chapter is specifically directed at the disciples.  Consequently, this part of the message is also for the Church.  (Mark 13:37) Why?  Because it is information relevant to all believers prior to the tribulation. 

“But of the day and hour, no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.” 24:36

What day and hour?  Here Jesus is referring to the “Day of the Lord” (1Thess. 5:2; 2Thess. 2:2; 2Peter 3:10).  The expression ‘Day of the Lord’ is an idiom or theme which references the period of the judgment of the world and the return of the Messiah to earth.  It is characterized as coming like a thief in the night.  The rapture is that singular event that there is NO sign for, and that cannot be predicted. 

The mistake that many in the Church make is trying to ascribe all the apocalyptic events in Matt. 24:6-8 as signs leading up to the rapture.  They are not.  They are signs that verify the tribulation is in full swing. 

So, Jesus tells them that the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah.  What Jesus is referring to here in vs. 37 is the circumstances that will immediately precede and follow the rapture. 

What He tells His disciples (and in turn, us) is that life will actually be very mundane compared to the tribulation.  In the days of Noah, people were living their lives as if there was no judgment coming, all the while as Noah is building the Ark over a period of 120 years.  When Noah went into the Ark, Jesus said they didn’t understand. 

In other words, they undoubtedly looked upon Noah as a fool.  It was not until the floodwaters were raging that they realized what was going on.  So it will be when the Church is rescued and disappears.  They – the unsaved earth dwellers – will be perplexed for a time, and will probably even forget about the disappearance of a billion people from the earth, until the seals are opened (1Thess. 5:3; 2Thess. 2:8-12).  Then they will realize that destruction is upon them and it will be too late.

In vss. 40-41, Jesus describes that day and hour of the rapture – 2 men in the field and one will be taken, 2 women at the mill and one will be taken. 

The point that Jesus is making is that the ‘Days of Noah’ is a reference to people being hard-hearted and surprised when the Day of the Lord finally does come.  It is not about apocalyptic events leading up to His return.  It is about people not believing that Jesus is coming and living watchfully and alert.  This is what Jesus tells his disciples and it is the exact same thing that Paul told the Thessalonians – “But you brethren, are not in darkness, that the day should overtake you like a thief; for you are all sons of light and sons of day.  We are not of night nor of darkness; so then let us not sleep as others do, but let us be alert and sober”  1Thess. 5:4-6.

“And what I say to you I say to all, ‘Be on the alert!'”  Mark 13:37 

We are not to be overtaken.  

Dan Baker

 

The Spark of Divinity

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Last week the Democrats, led by the incoherent leader of the House Minority, Nancy Pelosi, denounced President Trump’s assessment of the MS-13 gang members as ‘animals’.   Pelosi said that it was wrong for Trump to characterize these vicious thugs as animals because they had the “spark of divinity”.   You can see her statements here.  I want to respond to this idiotic and demagogic theological doodly squat.

First, I have no qualms with the President’s use of the word ‘animals’ to describe MS-13 gang members.  Obviously he was not being literal.  But these people are the most vicious criminals you can imagine.  They are responsible for hacking and bludgeoning young boys and girls to death with machetes and bats.  Here in the U.S. the most celebrated case is that of Nisa Mickens and Kayla Cuevas in 2016.  The girls were bludgeoned and hacked to the point of being unrecognizable.  They were only 15 and 16 respectively.  Police said that the killings showed a level of brutality that was “close to unmatched”.

Again, I have no problem with Trump’s strong language to describe them.  But my purpose here is to challenge Pelosi’s assertion that the gang thugs should be treated with a certain level of decency and respect because they have the ‘spark of divinity’.  I am assuming that she is trying to infer that we are all brothers and sisters and children of God because I heard other Democrats framing it this way.  As a Christian, I reject that assertion.  It is not Biblical.  They are not my brothers.  They are not children of God.

“And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience.  Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.”  Ephesians 2:1-3

I am always a little amused and largely insulted when liberal Democrats try to use the Bible to make political points.  Their hypocrisy knows no bounds.  This is the party (what the Democrat platform supports) of sodomites and unborn baby killers, of God haters and family destruction.  In the passage above, Paul makes clear that if you are not a Christian, you are a child of the flesh and of Satan, and destined for the wrath of God.  You are not a child of God and have no divinity whatsoever.  Not even a spark. 

No one is a child of God unless they come to know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.

“But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name.”  John 1:12

John says that unless and until you receive Jesus as your Lord and Savior, you are but a child of man, not a child of God.  You have no divinity in you until you receive the Holy Spirit, which is given when you repent and believe in Jesus.

“Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.  For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, in order that by them you might become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.”  2Peter 1:2-4

Until you receive Jesus Christ you are not in the family of God.  You are lost.  When you accept Jesus Christ and receive the Holy Spirit, THEN you are able to partake of the DIVINE NATURE.  This is what Peter explains.

MS-13 gang members clearly demonstrate that they are not in the family of God and they have no spark of divinity. 

Dan Baker

We Will Judge Angels

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“Do you not know that we shall judge angels?”  1Corinthians 6:3

Have you ever thought about why God has given us (Christians) the right to judge angels?

God is personally going to judge the unsaved while He sits on the ‘Great White Throne’ (Rev. 20:11).  We do not have the right or authority to judge the unbeliever.  But we do/will have the right and authority to judge the fallen and rebellious angels.  Why?

There can only be one reason.  The rebellious angels were in the presence of God Himself.  They had personal and physical experience with The Almighty, The Ancient of Days.  But they rejected Him and followed Lucifer. They rejected their relationship with God, despite having seen Him and experienced Him in person. 

On the other hand, we who were born into darkness have believed in the Father and His Son by faith alone, not by sight.  “Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed.” John 20:29   That is what gives us the right.  But we don’t pat ourselves on the back.  It was Christ who called us and drew us to Him.  And yet we can exult knowing that we have responded to God’s calling and chosen the free gift that was offered – absolute and total forgiveness and acceptance into God’s family through Jesus.  

God drew you, but it was your choice!  It was your free will decision.  Had it not been a free will choice then we could not have the right to judge the angels and there would be no faith to reckon as righteous – Romans 4:3.

God thinks that’s a big deal.  He is blessed by our faith.  This alone is what justifies us – believers – as RIGHTEOUS!  Romans 5:1