A friend of mine shared this last night and I thought it was powerfully thought provoking and that I should share it here on my blog. I did change the verses to ESV from KJV for easier understanding of those not familiar with The King James Version or who are new Christians but, you can go to the link and select what version you would rather read it under. This is pretty much what I had imagined myself for the time. I never thought the rapture would be a cartoonish silly event with clothing falling from the sky or shoes left behind. I think it will be a very powerful event. The amount of energy that will be used by God will shake the foundations of the earth I would imagine. I think the power behind it would disintegrate any clothing on a person. I’m thankful for this group freely sharing their combined thoughts so that I may be able to share it with you too. And, as my friend said when she shared it: “VERY, VERY COMPELLING DISCUSSION AND POSSIBILITIES. What EXACTLY can happen at the Rapture of the Church?”
EARTHQUAKES THE RESURRECTION AND THE RAPTURE
by the admins of The Raptured. this article came about as a result of a conversation turned worship experience among the admins, so the following article is a compilation of all of their input.
“But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore encourage one another with these words.” ~ 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
“Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need to have anything written to you. For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, “There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. But you are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief. For you are all children of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness.” ~ 1 Thessalonians 5:1-5
“And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit. And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split. The tombs also were opened. And many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many. When the centurion and those who were with him, keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were filled with awe and said, “Truly this was the Son of God!” ~ Matthew 27:50-54
“But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ.” ~ 1 Corinthians 15:20-23
“Now I watched when the Lamb opened one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures say with a voice like thunder, “Come!” ~ Revelation 6:1
Events in the Middle East are going off like popcorn in a microwave. The rising tensions between Israel and Syria, Israel and the Gazans are thick enough to be cut with a knife. In addition, the big 3 of Ezekiel 38-39 – Russia, Iran, and Turkey, have already formed and are now solidifying their unholy coalition. One of the reasons that the Ezekiel coalition will have to act soon is because of the HUGE egos of the Ezekiel big 3. Something will have to happen soon because egos this big will sooner or later turn on each other.
Now follow along with us here; think about when the Bible in 1 Thessalonians 5 speaks of the SUDDEN DESTRUCTION that comes upon THEM, who are the “them”? And who are the “we”? Well that’s not hard to figure out. The THEM are the lost world. The WE are the believing Remnant Church. The TIMING of this event is (will be) the moment of the rapture. That’s pretty much self evident. However, there is another event that PRECEDES the rapture by a nanosecond, and one that we often overlook or pay little attention to. That is the RESURRECTION of ALL of the “dead in Christ” from the time of Jesus’ resurrection nearly 2000 years ago up to the second the rapture occurs. ALL of those “dead in Christ” will PRECEDED our change from mortal to Immortal by a nanosecond or what the Bible calls “a twinkling of an eye “; an amount of time too small to be measured or quantified. Here is where things get…interesting.
Now, let me stop our forward progress just for a moment and state that what we will be discussing from this point on is SPECULATION on our part. We cannot be dogmatic on this. It is speculation, but it’s not speculation without Biblical merit. The following ideas are those that we discussed among ourselves. We are sharing them here with you. These possibilities are the results of our looking at ALL of the scriptures together and placing the puzzle pieces of events that have happened into alignment with what we know via scripture is going to happen as prophecy unfolds.
The question that arose among us was this: MIGHT there be a correlation between events that happened at Jesus’ resurrection that MIGHT occur AGAIN at the resurrection/rapture that is yet to come? For example, look carefully at the above verses particularly at the passage in Matthew that records what happened in the physical realm when Jesus Christ was resurrected. What did happen in the physical realm at the instant Christ resurrected? There was an EARTHQUAKE.
The interesting SPECULATION and correlation that we want to ponder is this: IF there was an earthquake that occurred when Jesus resurrected, and the “other saints” who are mentioned as “coming out of their graves” after Him, might that not be a PRECEDENT for what COULD occur when Jesus steps into the atmosphere above earth and calls for the dead in Christ to rise first and then calls we who are living to “Come up hither”? Might not the SAME natural event of an earthquake also happen on a worldwide scale the moment the dead and living believers are called up to meet our Lord in the air? In other words, might the resurrection/rapture be accompanied by a global or near global earthquake event? And IF that were to be the case, how might that affect the world at the instant it occurs? Is it possible that an enormous earthquake could accompany the rapture? That is the question. There’s certainly precedence in scripture for such a thing, so let’s examine how an earthquake resurrection/rapture might affect both the physical world and the lives of those left behind.
From scripture, we see the rapture POSSIBLY occurring simultaneously with the beginning of either Isaiah 17 or Ezekiel 38. This belief is bolstered by the verses in 1 Thessalonians 5 when Paul speaks of the “sudden destruction” that occurs to THEM (the lost) while WE (the saved Church) are NOT counted among those being suddenly destroyed. This sudden destruction could be the result of war, but it could also just as likely come from a natural disaster or a series of natural disasters including earthquakes, volcanic eruptions (as is happening now in Hawaii & Japan), floods, and tsunamis. From these verses it really does seem like that might indeed be the way it happens; that the “sudden destruction “ occurs either simultaneously with or in very close proximity to the rapture.
Should this be the case, it will cause a LOT more confusion in the world. The rapture itself and the aftermath of a war would be bad enough, but IF there were to be a huge earthquake that were to happen simultaneously with the resurrection/rapture, perhaps one of the biggest earthquakes in history, how much more chaos would there be? And while the smoke is clearing, the left behind ones would also be trying to figure out who, how, and where all these people and almost all children will have vanished.
Do you begin to see how easy it will be to blame the rapture on numerous things?
Also think about this as a possibility: the huge earthquake at Jesus’ resurrection could have been a “preview of coming attractions.” Remember when Jesus resurrected there was an earthquake (see above passage in Matthew), what IF when the resurrection/rapture occurs, that that also sets off huge earthquakes in addition to the wars of Ezekiel 38? What if the rapture/resurrection is the event that actually TRIGGERS the big earthquakes to begin?
What wonderful observations we find within scripture! This is not only possible, but there is a compelling argument in favor of this. It is all of those who were raised from the dead when Jesus was resurrected. In a way, they are a representation of the resurrection of ALL the saints.
See how everything with God is so ordered, purposed and detailed? We know just as those raised witnesses in Jerusalem were, the empty graves of the saints and the missing ones among the living Church will be a witness to the world.
The event of the resurrection/rapture is going to turn this world upside down and out of the chaos of this world shaking event, the Antichrist will stride onto the scene offering peace and safety. It’s like fitting the last pieces of the puzzle in place. He brings a false “peace” that destroys, and there’s the 7 year covenant and thereby the Tribulation countdown begins. The Antichrist will come bringing a false peace; a false peace that comes out of chaos.
An earthquake resurrection/rapture! Think about it from a purely physics point of view (not that I know diddly squat about physics), but think about all of the mechanics – the PHYSICS of such an event. Think about the MASSIVE amounts of energy that will be released when MILLIONS and MILLIONS – BILLIONS even of bodies and remains of dead believers being resurrected and a nanosecond later the physical bodies of billions of living bodies changed in a nanosecond. Will there be sonic booms, EARTHQUAKES, even possible volcanic eruptions loosed when the absence of our bodies move from terrestrial to extraterrestrial? We say the possibility is YES! There was a tremendous earthquake when Jesus resurrected and the “wave sheaf” of those saints who also came out of their graves after Him. So multiply that massive force and release of transformative energy by the BILLIONS when Christ calls forth both the dead and the living changing we the Church (from the time of Calvary) to the rapture when all those bodies both living and “dead in Christ) are changed from mortal to Immortal.
When thought of in terms of the physical laws of nature which God has set and by which He rules all creation, this becomes an amazing observation of what might possibly happen. After all, we are told in Colossians 1:17 that “ And He (Jesus) is before all things, and by Him all things consist” that is (exist and hold together). Because you see, it’s not just graves. It’s every single dead child and saint whose bodies are ANYWHERE and EVERYWHERE!
The earthquake is like a duality, God said EVERYONE WILL KNOW HE IS GOD. (Ezekiel). imagine how many dead there are who will be raised for the past 2,000 years! They are EVERYWHERE. It will also be those who died at sea with the sea giving up her dead
Also, think of the hundreds of millions of aborted babies alone. The number of aborted babies is a staggering number. How can the whole earth NOT shake when His voice calls us Home. The dead saints and babies/children are everywhere. BILLIONS will be raised at the instant of the rapture. BILLIONS.
Also, all those babies lost to abortion, disease, starvation, wars, along with all of the sick debauchery that we do not dare to even talk about. Those alone will be in the BILLIONS. Add to these the almost two BILLION children under the age of 14 that are on this planet today not counting those in the womb and we begin to see the level of devastation the event of the rapture will unleash.
A quiet rapture? Hardly! Although the lost world will not hear the shout or sound of that celestial trumpet, the entire cosmos will shake with the aftereffects of that call to “Come up hither!” Again, the lost world will NOT hear Jesus’ shout, but they will FEEL and see the effects of it! No wonder they will believe that “aliens” will have invaded or that CERN will have opened a rip in space/time, or whatever lies the lying enemy puts forth.
Just think of it: all the bodies of those dead in Christ in 2,000 years, all the children, both alive and dead, all of those mentally handicapped from before the age of accountability…….. and the Church worldwide. All those bodies transformed “in a moment on the twinkling of an eye.” Don’t think that all of that will not SHAKE the foundations of the physical earth!
This at least to us, makes so much sense. The very foundations of this earth will be shaken. Jesus said the ROCKS will cry out if the people do not. Even rocks obey Him.
Everything obeys Him except for pride filled, futile man. Mankind will try to fight Him. Such a vile heart a person must have to hate God! We are all vile, but to be vile towards God is astounding beyond understanding.
It’s because PRIDE lies at the very core of man’s heart.
Have you ever seen those enormous flocks of starlings that move in the air in such perfectly choreographed synchronicity; or those huge shoals of fish; krill I think they are, that do the same perfectly synchronized moves in the sea? Do you know about Monarch butterflies who migrate to Mexico every single year and die there after laying their eggs? Yet 3 generations later the great grandchildren of those dead Monarchs make the exact journey back to a place none of them has ever known. Who directs these astounding ballets of nature?
Who tells the butterflies where to go, or who has taught the birds and fish how to dance such intricately choreographed ballets? All of creation literally screams the reality of an infinite holy God, yet only man who is made in His image, has the unmitigated gall to spit in His face in defiance and rebellion.
Oh don’t you see? The whole world will be affected by what is about to occur!
Christians REJOICE because the redemption of our bodies “draweth nigh”! All you who are lost or who believe in the false gospel that says that you are either saved or kept saved by your own efforts of do’s or don’ts, PLEASE understand that time is QUICKLY running out. Salvation is ALWAYS and ONLY by grace, through faith in the FINISHED work of Christ ALONE. Here is what you must do to be saved according to the scriptures:
“because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.” ~ Romans 10:9-10
“Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures…” ~ 1 Corinthians 15:1-4
Are YOU ready for the resurrection/rapture? If not, you NEED to get saved. Time is rapidly running out.
On a side note, here is a search link with various posts about Pentecost and possible timing of the Rapture.
Pentecost Search
