Yeah, He taught that in the same Scripture where He showed His coming to gather His saints is AFTER the tribulation, per Matthew 24, and Mark 13. That is where He first used the metaphor of His coming being 'as a thief'. And in Matthew 24, He specifically also taught that the goodman of the house would be watching so as to NOT allow the thief to break in.
There will certainly be a gathering after the tribulation, but He is coming in a day and hour that you think not.
Matthew 24
42 Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.
43 But know this,
that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up.
44 Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.
My Bible says IF the goodman had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched.
That does not say the goodman knows, it says
IF HE KNEW, he would have watched.
The Word is telling you that you will not know when he is coming, SO BE READY AND WATCH. You think that Jesus is coming AFTER the tribulation, AND HE IS. But he is coming when you think not. The scriptures clearly say that the Jews cannot see until the fulness of the Gentiles comes in. They also say that the 70th week of Daniel is about the people of Daniel. There will be a rapture of the Church before the 70th week of Daniel begins.
And in Revelation 3 to the Church of Sardis, Jesus told them that if they don't 'watch', He would come upon them 'as a thief', and they would not know in what hour He would come upon them. So what's that mean? Simple. It means we are to be WATCHING THE SIGNS OF THE END HE GAVE US, LEADING UP TO HIS FUTURE RETURN.
I agree. And yet you don't know what to watch for. You are watching for the tribulation which happens in the 70th week of Daniel. The Church is already gone before the seals are opened. You are watching for the man of sin to be revealed. These are the things to watch for when the gathering FROM HEAVEN AND EARTH happens and the DAY OF THE LORD BEGINS. These are NOT THE THINGS THAT THE CHURCH IS TOLD TO WATCH FOR. You should probably reread Luke 21
But what does the Pre-trib Rapture theory tell you to do? Just 'be ready'. They try... to use the 'watch' idea too, but THEY DO NOT TEACH WHAT TO WATCH, like Jesus' Signs of the end He gave us. Jesus showed that by 'watching' those Signs, we would know the SEASON of His coming, and thus His coming would NOT be to us 'as a thief' (i.e., a surprise), which His coming "as a thief" is to be for the wicked who aren't looking for Him.
Is the GOODMAN wicked???????????????????????????????? Is the GOODMAN wicked? Wouldn't the GOODMAN be GOOD?
IF the GOODMAN had known, HE WOULD HAVE WATCHED. First, the GOODMAN needs to know what to watch for. If he is watching for the man of sin and the tribulation IT WILL BE TOO LATE. The Goodman should probably read Luke 21 so he will really understand what to watch for.
We can actually know the time of His future coming within 3 and 1/2 days per the Signs He gave us in His Revelation; but we still do not know what hour, date, or year that will be.
Well actually they will know EXACTLY when He will come for the gathering BEFORE the DAY OF THE LORD.
1 Thes 5
2 For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.
3 For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.
4 But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.
The Church will already be in heaven when the 70th week of Daniel begins. It will be the seed of the woman, the 12 tribes across the earth that will know the day and hour of His coming.
In 1 Thessalonians 5, watching the Signs is what Apostle Paul called knowing "the times and the seasons".
Exactly. Are you reading the same thing that I am? I'm pretty sure it says TIMES AND SEASONS. If He is coming only once as you declare, wouldn't say TIME AND SEASON. If you knew the SEASON he was coming you could narrow it down. But since he is coming more than once you will need to know the
seasons.
The Thessalonian Church already knew them, as Paul said, so he had no need to teach them. And that is why Paul immediately pointed to the last day "sudden destruction" of the wicked on "the day of the Lord" which will come "as a thief in the night". And WOW! By that 1 Thessalonians 5:1-5 teaching, Apostle Paul nailed what Jesus had taught about His coming "as a thief", and even gave another Sign of when, because the "sudden destruction" will come when the wicked start saying, "Peace and safety".
It would probably be wise to read Matthew 24 and Luke21 so you can learn what you should be watching for. It certainly isn't the tribulation and the man of sin being revealed. These are the things that His Chose will be looking for. The Church will already be in heaven.
Let me direct, and let the chips fall where they may. You may not like it, but if you want to grow and learn from mistakes, it's very important to face reality...
Thus if a Scripture says a certain thing, and the Matthew 24:29-31 Scripture does specifically state Jesus comes AFTER the tribulation to gather His saints, then that is NOT open for debate. Either one agrees with what He said there, or they don't.
I totally agree that He is coming for the gathering from HEAVEN AND EARTH, just prior to the day of the Lord.
Mark 13
27 And then shall he send his angels, and shall gather together his elect from the four winds,
from the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost part of heaven.
So yes, there will be a rapture from the earth just before the Day of the Lord, but it will NOT be the Church. The Church will be gathered FROM HEAVEN, where they will be during the 70th week of Daniel. Just as the Noah was in the ark 7 days before the flood. After this gathering from heaven and earth, all will return to heaven for the marriage supper. This is the great multitude.
And BECAUSE that is plainly written so no one can turn it around to point to some other time, but they still try to push a tradition from men that does go against it, then they are FIBBING, actually telling a lie AGAINST The Scripture.
The fig tree has two harvests, look it up. The Jews were supposed to be the first harvest but they went after Baalpeor. The Gentiles will be the first harvest.
Hos 9
10 I found Israel like grapes in the wilderness;
I saw your fathers as the firstripe in the fig tree at her first time: but they went to Baalpeor, and separated themselves unto that shame; and their abominations were according as they loved.
Now there's some Bible Scripture that is hard to understand, like Peter said in 2 Peter 3 about some of Paul's Epistles concerning the subject of earth ages. But not what Jesus stated below about the timing of His future return and gathering of His saints...
Matt 24:29-31
29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:
30 And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
31 And He shall send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.KJV
This is the gathering from heaven and earth that occurs at the 6th seal. It is not the Church being gathered from the earth.
12 And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood;
13 And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind.
Our Heavenly Father will let you believe whatever you want, even deceive yourself if that's what you want. But by staying in God's Word as written, asking Him for understanding and studying HIS way, then you won't be deceived by any man, not even by the coming Antichrist.
Thank you brother. However, I think it would be better if you weren't looking for the Antichrist. You need to find out what you really need to be looking for because He is coming in an hour that you think not.[/QUOTE]