Welcome to the Kingdom Family Podcast where we
rediscover our identity as sons and daughters
of Yahweh and learn to live the life of the Kingdom.
Let's jump in to today's episode. Alright guys,
we are back on our Rethinking the End Time series.
This week we're going to be talking about one
of the big ones called the rapture. That's what
we're going to be talking about this week is
the topic of the rapture. I wanted to help you
understand what the rapture actually means. Understanding
some key scriptures that is used to teach it
that kind of thing and kind of help bring some
clarity to this topic. Again through this whole
process it's not important to me that you agree
with me. If at the end of this you still believe
in a rapture, that is completely fine My aim
here is to help you get get some critical thinking
As I said before what I like one of the comments
and statements I like from Damon Thompson. Don't
check your brain at the door Think things through
Ask questions. It's okay. Ask the Holy Spirit
questions Listen, I'm gonna say something really
probably, maybe it comes off controversial, maybe
it comes off offensive, whatever. But if you're
not allowed to ask questions where you're at,
if you're not allowed to question your pastor
or question belief systems or whatever, that's
a concern. You should be able to ask questions
and you should be able to arrive to your own
conclusions without fear of anything else. Holy
Spirit, God gave you a brain for a reason. I
do not think different beliefs is always a bad
thing. If we all believe the same thing and agree
it on every topic, life would be boring. My thing,
as long as we believe that Christ is the center,
it's because of Jesus, it's through Christ, it's
by his blood, this kind of thing, as long as
we can agree on these things, I think as far
as talking about the end times and referring
to the Holy Spirit as she even, I believe that
that's up for discussion. I think that's up for
debate. I think that's not that I want to sit
around and argue with a bunch of people, but
I like talking about and hearing people's perspective.
Regardless or not if I believe their perspective,
that's not important. I like to hear other people's
perspective and then I can understand how they
arrived. To the place that they have I hope that
makes sense So that's what this really this whole
thing is about is just rethinking the end times
given some different perspectives different clarity
to things And like I said in the day if you still
believe in the rapture that that's perfectly
fine. That's no no hard feelings whatsoever But
I'm hoping you can hear my point of view And
we'll just take it from there So I want you to
think about Really if you have a pause this pause
it, but I want you to think about when you hear
the word rapture What comes to your mind? What
emotions floods you a Lot of people are probably
going to say like people disappearing clothes
left behind chaos planes falling airplanes crashing
All kinds of accidents on the freeway The fear
of being left behind. If you grew up in my generation,
we had the left behind movies and different things
of that nature. So left being left behind was
sometimes a fear. If you're a kid and you come
home and there's no parent there, did I miss
the rapture? Like, did I miss something? And
again, this is not about attacking beliefs. It's
just about understanding scripture carefully.
That's it. So I want you to think about what
does the word rapture actually mean? So the English
word rapture comes from Latin, and it's rapturo,
and I may not be saying this right. It's R -A
-P -T -U -R -O. And it means to cease, it means
to carry away, and it means to gather. This Latin
word was used to translate a Greek word in Scripture.
And I'm gonna read to you 1st Thessalonians 4,
chapter 4, verses 15 through 17. This is one
of the main verses connected to the rapture doctrine.
And again, I'm using the passion translation.
It says this, this is the word of the Lord, we
who are alive in him and remain until the Lord
appears will by no means have an advantage over
those who have already died for both will rise
together. For the Lord himself will appear with
the declaration of victory the shout of an archangel
and the trumpet blast of God He will descend
from the heavenly realm and command those who
are dead in Christ to rise first Then we who
are alive will join them transported together
in clouds to have an encounter with the Lord
in the air and We will be joined We will be forever
joined with the Lord so That's that's the main
point the main scriptures that the rapture idea
comes from but I want to look at a couple things
based off of that and For example in verse 17
when it says then we who are alive will join
them transported together That is the Greek word
harpeso h a r p a z o and that means to seize,
to snatch, or to take suddenly and forcefully
which emphasizes a sudden action not a disappearance.
So we're going to look at a few different scriptures
of where that word particular is used just to
help give some clarity and understanding. So
it's used in one part is Acts chapter 8 verses
39 through 40 and it says when they came up out
of the water Philip was suddenly snatched up
by the spirit of the Lord and instantly carried
away to the city of Ashtad where he appeared
preaching the gospel in that city. I want you
to understand that Philip was not excuse me Philip
was taken from one place and moved elsewhere
not taken to heaven prematurely and he was not
removed from the earth. It says when they came
up out of the water Philip was suddenly snatched
up by the spirit of the Lord and instantly carried
away to the city of Ashtad where he reappeared
preaching the gospel in that city. Another word
this place has used is John chapter 10 verses
12 through 13. It says, but the worker who serves
only for wages is not a real shepherd, but because
he has no heart for the sheep, he will run away
and abandon them when he sees the wolf coming.
And then the wolf mauls the sheep, drags them
off, that's the word harpeso, and scatters them.
This word here means to violently grab or seize
And we have one more reference here in 2nd Corinthians
chapter 12 verse 2 and it says someone I'm acquainted
with who was in union with Christ was swept away
14 years ago in an ecstatic experience He was
taken or a harpezzo into the third heaven, but
I'm not sure if he was in his body or out of
his body only God knows. This moment here speaks
to sudden divine transport or seizure, but the
key is in those three verses that we just read,
Acts chapter 8, John chapter 10, and 2nd Corinthians
chapter 12, none of this looks like some sort
of secret or invisible or a permanent removal
of any type from the earth. The belief of the
rapture depends on how this word is understood.
If the word means sudden seizure or gathering,
then the real question becomes, what are people
being gathered to? Why are they being gathered?
And what cultural imagery did Paul's audience
recognize? Again, when you're reading these scriptures
and trying to understand things, you have to
think about that audience. What did it mean to
them? Paul says that the believers will be caught
up. Not secretly removed not vanished unnoticed
but gathered to Christ I've got been tickled
recently just with all the UFO things I've heard
people talk about that that's going to be the
way the rapture happens people people will say
that The church was abducted by aliens that to
me big stretch big stretch But that's the thought
processes that I have heard from people Even
regarding the end times and you know again I
go back to I just heard a minister say this maybe
it was today. I was listening to a video That
was talking about all the stuff going on about
how it's so close to the end We're in the final
moments and what they're using to base that off
of is how dark it is And I'm here to tell you
if it's dark around just because the light inside
of you has not been flipped on You're the answer
from the darkness around you. Jesus is not coming
back for a defeated church. And right now, I'm
sorry to say, even if this rapture idea was true,
the church is so divided, there's not a chance
I believe he's coming back anytime soon. Because
the church, the church is divided on every issue
it seems like. We will eat our own in a heartbeat.
It seems like the world has more unity and more
love than the church does these are some real
concerns for the body of Christ and some things
that we as Christians as Christ like individuals
need to seriously think about repent Metanoia
and really take a second glance at some things
Excuse me That's it. You know this path this
past weekend. We they did some kind of rededication
for America Because we do turn 250 years old
as a nation, which is wonderful I love my country
From what I've heard I've never been outside
of America, but from what I've heard This is
probably one of the greatest nations on earth
Not saying we don't have our flaws Because we
do but it's one of the greatest nations on on
planet earth and I'm thankful to be an American
But the big time I kept hearing was that we're
a Christian nation and my question is Maybe we're
a Christian nation, but are we very Christ like
do we have a Christ like nature? These are questions
guys. We got to ask we have to be willing to
Ask the hard questions ask the tough questions
and really think about some of this as we're
moving on in life and trying to represent Christ,
represent the kingdom. So, rabbit hole for that,
but anyhow. Again, we're just asking some real
questions. If it means sudden seizure or gathering,
then there has to be some other questions being
asked with that. Like, what are we being gathered
to? Why are we being gathered? And what cultural
imagery did Paul's audience recognize when he
was writing? Because again Paul says that the
believers will be caught up not secretly removed
Going back to 1st Thessalonians 4 17 Then we
who are alive will join them transported together
in clouds to have an encounter with the Lord
in the air Okay, so it's important to note that
in the Roman world when a king visited a city
Citizens would citizens would go out to meet
him and escort him back into the city. It had
nothing to do with leaving permanently. That
cultural background becomes important when reading
this because, again, the Greek word harpesdo
doesn't mean disappearing to heaven. It means
to seize or to snatch suddenly. It's used for
wolves grabbing sheep. Philip being suddenly
moved and Paul being caught up in a vision So
before we build theology around the word we have
to understand what the word actually means and
then what it also does not mean so Looking at
my notes here, I'm sorry making sure I'm on the
right Okay So Paul Paul wrote this letter to
believers worried about dead Christians It was
not about missing a rapture because the rapture
idea is very new we're going to get to that a
little bit But the rapture idea is very new.
So Paul was not writing this to about a rapture
He was writing to this writing this to believers
who were worried about dead Christians and their
fear was Did those who died miss Christ return?
so Paul is bring in a message of comfort if you
will and he's saying the dead will rise first
no one misses out and no one is forgotten notice
the language here talks about the trumpet of
god the voice of the archangel shout none of
that sounds secretive or like just a sudden vanishing
it sounds loud it sounds public and it sounds
visible nothing about these passages that i've
read sounds quiet or hidden So meeting the Lord
in the air. Let's let's break that down a little
bit Meeting a king outside a city and escorting
him back in this was known as a cultural practice
The citizens would literally go out they would
meet the king and return with him not leave forever
and nothing and They would escort him home So
the meeting is not about escaping earth. It's
about welcoming the king. It's very important
to think about You say well Chris you don't believe
in the rapture so you don't believe that Christ
is coming back and that's not true I Do believe
that Christ will return I do not believe we're
anywhere close to that Just because I don't believe
in a rapture does not mean I don't believe that
Christ is going to return But I believe that
to me and this is what I have Felt Holy Spirit
speak to me said I can only speak on what I have
What I believe has been revealed to me I do believe
Christ comes back and I believe that looks like
when we are lighting it up so well that he has
no choice but to show back up because we're doing
our job we're advancing the kingdom of heaven
we're advancing the gospel the good news we are
we are lighting it up and pushing away darkness
setting it up for our king our father to come
back all right so let's um Oh, I'm sorry. Let
me backtrack just a little bit, because I wanted
to break down one of his words. The word for
an encounter is the word ampetesis. A -P -A -N
-T -E -S -I -S. And it's a meaning specifically
going out to meet someone and escorting them
back, not just a casual meeting. That's that
word I was referring to. So when it says an encounter,
that's that word. It's literally caught up for
meeting with the Lord, not a rapture. It's not
a rapture idea. All right, so let's look at another
scripture. This is gonna be Matthew chapter 24.
This is another one that's commonly used to support
rapture ideas. And it says, concerning that day
and exact hour, no one knows when it will arrive.
Not even the angels of heaven, only the Father
knows. For it will be like it was in the days
of Noah when the Son of Man appears. Before the
flood, people lived their lives eating, drinking,
marrying, and having children. They didn't realize
the end was near until Noah entered the ark and
then suddenly the flood came and took them all
away in judgment. It will happen the same way
when the Son of Man appears. At that time, two
men will be working on the farm. One will be
taken in judgment and the other left. Two women
will be grinding grain. One will be taken away
in judgment and the other left. So again, context
is going to matter here, but I want you to think
about something. If you remember the story of
Noah There's a part where Jesus or excuse me.
There's a part where God promises not to flood
the earth again not to destroy The earth with
water But the way I have been taught that how
the end comes is basically the world has just
set on fire and set ablaze Here is my concern
with that and again before Old me would have
just took that in and be like, yep, that sounds
right. But the more I am a dad and the more I
allow Holy Spirit to adjust my lens and see things
differently, I have a problem with that. And
here's my problem. It's almost as like God is
crossing his fingers when he's telling Noah,
you know, I'll never destroy the world again
with water. And he's probably thinking to himself,
one of these days I will destroy it again with
fire. Does that not sound like a problem to you?
Does this not sound concerning to you? Is that
how you would do your children? No, I'll never
destroy with water again. But with fire, I never
said anything about fire, so I will destroy it
again, just not with water. We're gonna do it
with fire next time, because the water just didn't
seem to be good enough. Just observation, something
to question. So... And here's some things in
the story is Jesus compares this to the days
of Noah. So I want you to ask yourself who was
taken away in Noah's day? Think about it. Who
was removed in Noah's day? It was the wicked
taken by the flood. Who was it that remained?
It was Noah and his family the righteous. Noah
is the one who stayed. In Noah's story, being
taken away was judgment, not rescue. And you
can see that in other, Matthew chapter 24 verse
40. At the time, two men working in the farm,
one will be taken away in judgment, the other
left. Which one is left, my friend? Two women
will be grinding grain, one will be taken away
in judgment, and the other left. Again, ask yourself,
who was leaving? Who is saying? I don't have
time. I got some different viewpoints when it
talks about two men, two women. I got some different
viewpoints on that that I'm not getting into
here right now. But it's just important for you
to notate what scripture is clearly saying. This
is Jesus speaking. Who is the one being left
behind? And who is the one in judgment? Just
again, don't check your brain at the door. Think
about this. So now we have context matters a
lot here because Matthew 24 is largely about
the fall of Jerusalem, the collapse of the temple
system, the end of a covenantial age, and judgment
on corrupt leaderships and violent structures.
That's really important for you to understand.
Jesus had just said in verse 38, and now it is
too late since your city will be left in ruins.
So what was swept away? Not humanity itself,
but a corrupt religious system, violent leadership,
and structures that resisted life. So again,
it's important to ask these questions. So is
judgment against people or against what destroys
people? Across scripture, divine judgment consistently
targets things like injustice, violence, oppression,
corruption, false structures, destructive identities.
The goal with judgment in the eyes of Abba is
always restoration. It's never annihilation.
It is constantly restoration. Hebrews 12 29.
It says, for our God is a holy devouring fire.
The Aramaic can be translated into consuming
light. And remember, while fire does consume,
it also purifies. So yes, he's a consuming fire,
but his fire is that to purify and to be restorative,
not to destroy. Not to destroy you anyhow. There
are things that he's destroying in the fire But
in my opinion what is being destroyed in the
fire is those things that are still attached
to you from that old Adamic mindset that he has
crucified effectively on the cross All right
So now let's go back to Matthew chapter 24 verse
39 They didn't realize then was near until Noah
entered the ark and then suddenly the flood came
and took off took them all away in judgment it
will appear the same way when the son of man
appears okay so um appear or coming is the word
parousia and i'm going to again i'll spell that
p a r o u s i a and its basic meaning is presence
arrival official visitation at its core it means
being present with or arrival into presence not
just appearing, but arrival in order to be present.
All right, so I want you to think about that
word that I just spelled out for you, and I want
you to understand what that meant in the ancient
world, okay? This word was used for a visit of
a king or emperor, so when a ruler came, it was
called periusia. Citizens prepared the city,
Roads were cleaned. Decorations were made. Officials
went out to greet the king. The king never destroyed
the city. He came to visit it. So that's... I'm
going to talk about Jesus appearing. It's the
same word there of what I just read to you. That's
what happens. So this matters because Jesus's
audience would have known this usage. They would
have understood this term. And there's much more
you can get into with studying this word that
I'm not taking time to dive into that. Again,
I'm not here to be your answer and source for
all of it. I want you to go and study this if
you would like to learn more about it. All right,
so let's talk about where did the modern rapture
idea come from. So the modern rapture timeline
became popular in the 1800s. Now, there are some
that you can find reference to the word rapture.
I believe it's in the late 1600s. But from what
I have read and studied, that is not the same
definition of how we define rapture. How we define
rapture does not show up until the 1800s. And
it comes through John Nelson Darby, a Bible teacher
who developed dispensational theology. In case
you don't know what that is, that is that this
is a way some Christians read the Bible. where
they believe history is divided into different
time periods, and God deals with people differently
in each one. So it's spread through, and some
of you may know this term, it's the Scofield
Reference Bible, which influenced many, many
churches. That's where this thing began to come
out and pick up traction. So this particular
part, was enough for me when I first looked at
this to make me start asking some real questions
uh because I did understand or discovered that
the rapture was very new it's only like 200 years
old and if it's in the 1800s we're in 2026 do
the math that's only about 200 years old that's
a very very very new concept of our understanding
of rapture the early church fathers would not
have believed this um so it's just interesting
As far as that's concerned Here's just some ideas
to think about if you ever seen the end time
movies where people suddenly disappear and planes
crash because the pilot vanished that whole idea
came from the dispensational theology That's
just what that is that God has Different time
periods Future Rapture then Jesus rules on earth
for a thousand years. That's where a lot of this
stuff came out. But again, this way of understanding
the Bible is not ancient. This is not what early
church fathers believed. So dispensational theology
isn't the only way to read scripture. Understand
that. Go study some of this stuff out for yourself.
It's definitely, it sure is one. system that
people use to understand prophecy, in my personal
opinion, it is not the correct way to do that.
But again, that's just me. You do you. You go
figure out what makes sense to you. And again,
if you want to believe in a rapture, that's certainly
fine. But before the 1800s, Christians believed
in Christ's returning. They believed in resurrection,
judgment, renewal, but just not... secret disappearance
events, not us being raptured out and clothes
being left behind, that kind of thing. Before
the 1800s, Christians did not believe in a rapture
like you see in the movies today and like you
hear about in churches today. They did believe
Jesus would return, but they did not teach that
believers would disappear first or escape the
world. Trying to see if I want to address any
other notes that I have here. Christians have
also believed Jesus would return, but they didn't
believe it would be secret or hidden. They believed
it would be obvious in public. Acts 1 -11 is
an example of that. This same Jesus will come
in the same way you saw him go. They expected
a visible return, not people suddenly vanishing.
Next week we're going to dive into the tribulation
stuff. We're going to dive into that some so
I'm not going to touch on that at the moment.
Just understand that for over 1700 years the
church did not teach a rapture idea. This is
very new. I'm hoping some of this language kind
of helps you understand that there's more to
this than a rapture because it's getting dark
and we need to get out of here so the world can
go to hell in a handbasket. That's kind of how
I have felt when it comes to how people look
at the rapture coming to heaven with me and to
hell with the rest of y 'all because if we really
believed in in this rapture idea we would be
out ministering and loving people just quit our
jobs because it's about time to get out of here
so i don't buy into it if i'm wrong i'm still
going because i know what the prerequisites are
so that's not a concern for me but My concern
is if people are so ready to get out of here,
then they're not going to be prepared to stay
here. And we need some sons and daughters to
be ready to stay here and release the kingdom
upon the earth, to get involved with politics,
to get involved with the school systems, to get
involved with just our world in general and go
find your place in it wherever God is calling
you to be and you go jump into that avenue and
release hope release life speak life declare
declare life over situations be the light of
the world that is within you let that light out
let that hope out let that glory out um yeah
that's kind of where we're at So again, I'm hoping
I was just giving this on my notes to make sure
I was done. I hope this helps you. I hope this
helps you understand that the rapture is a very
new concept. Early Church Fathers would not have
believed in it. There is meanings for these words
that Paul was using, especially in First Thessalonians
and then some other places that we read. These
words have context and it's important. Context
matters. Don't check your brain at the door.
Go and... dig into some research, go study it
for yourself. That's my challenge to you. That's
my encouragement for you is to go and study yourself.
I hope this helps you, my friend. Next week we'll
jump into the tribulation. Until then, be blessed.
Thanks for spending some time with me today on
the Kingdom Family Podcast. If this episode spoke
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