CHAPTER FOUR
THE YEAR OF THE RAPTURE
THE SABBATH YEAR: COUNTDOWN TO JUBILE
God established the law of the Sabbath Year followed by the ordination of the Jubile Year. I shall address the Sabbath year first. Our interest here is not in the Sabbath year as a separate entity but as a bridge to the Jubile year and their cumulative impact in determining the time of the Rapture.
You will notice in Leviticus that God first introduces the Sabbath year (Lev.25: 1-8). He then moves from the Sabbath year directly into the Jubile year (vs.9- 17). Later in the same chapter beginning at verse 18 he goes back to the Sabbath year with particular instructions. I believe God arranged the chapter the way that he did In order that we might fully grasp the connection between the Sabbath year and the Jubile year. The following passage addresses the Sabbath year.
"Six years thou shalt sow thy field, and six years thou shalt prune thy vineyard, and gather in the fruit thereof;
But the seventh year shall be a sabbath of rest unto
the land, a sabbath for the Lord: thou shalt neither sow thy field, nor prune thy vineyard.
That which groweth of its own accord of thy harvest
thou shalt not reap, neither gather the grapes of thy vine undressed: for it is a year of rest unto the land." Lev.25:3-5
They were to sow and reap for six years only. The seventh year was a year of rest for the land--no sowing, no reaping. Anything that grew on its own in that year was to
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be left in the field. Those instructions would cause Israel to worry about surviving in the seventh year. In order to alleviate that worry, God gave additional instructions:
"And if ye shall say, what shall we eat the seventh year? Behold, we shall not sow, nor gather in our increase:
Then I will command my blessing upon you in the sixth year, and it shall bring forth fruit for three years.
And ye shall sow the eighth year, and eat of old fruit until the ninth year: until her fruits come in ye shall eat of the old store. " Vs.20-22
They did not need to worry about surviving in the seventh year when they could not sow. In the sixth year God promised them enough fruit for three years. They would commence sowing again in the eighth year but would not eat of the harvest of the eighth year because they would still have fruit left from the sixth year's harvest. In the ninth year they would sow and reap as usual and eat the fruit of that year. See chart below.
YEAR SOWN YEAR REAPED YEAR EATEN
6th 6th,7th & 8th 6th
7th (no sowing) 7th (no reaping) 6th (storage)
8th 8th 6th (storage)
9th 9th 9th
Allow me to say a brief word here about tithing to God. Many believers do not tithe to God because they do not think they will survive. In reality, the reason people do not tithe is because they do not trust God to keep his word. God promised Israel that he would
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"command" his blessing on them in the sixth year. In essence, they would have more fruit and more surplus to eat by observing the Sabbath year than they would have if they sowed and reaped that year. When they ate the harvest of the ninth year, the eighth year's harvest was still available as surplus. We cannot receive God's blessings if we try to rationally determine if our personal circumstances will allow us to observe his word. God's blessings are given only when his word is obeyed in an active, trusting faith.
In 1948 Israel was officially declared a nation again. Since that date it has failed to observe the ordinance of the Sabbath in allowing the land to rest. Most of all it has forgotten that the land does not belong to the people but to the Lord.
"The land shall not be sold for ever: for the land is mine; for ye are strangers and sojourners with me. "
Lev. 25:23
Since 1948 Israel has conducted itself in its official status as a nation without God. Israel has a long history of excluding God from its national program while at the same time claiming to be the chosen people of God. When Israel asked God for its first king, it did so because all of the surrounding nations had a king. God was Israel's king but the nation wanted a king they could see. Israel includes God on its agenda only when it is convenient but for the most part, it continues to reject God's commandments.
Actually Israel can no longer observe the Sabbath year because God discontinued his relationship with Israel over 2,700 years ago. At that time, as an allegory, he ordered the prophet Hosea to marry a whore and have children by her. The whore represented the religious whoredom of Israel and her continual rejection of God in lieu of the gods and ways of the heathen nations.
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The whore’s third child was a son who was not Hosea’s child:
"Then said God, call his name Loammi: for ye are not my people, and I will not be your God." Hos.1: 9
Officially, Israel's relationship with God is, they are: “not his people.” The nation does not have a God-ordained priesthood at this present time and neither does it have a Temple in which to worship. So, even though Israel's present situation was self-inflicted, it is unable to keep the Sabbath year because officially Israel has no God:
“And she conceived again, and bare a daughter. And God said unto him, Call her name Loruhamah: for I will no more have mercy upon the house of Israel; but I will utterly take them away.” Hos. 1:6
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THE YEAR OF JUBILE:
THE SIGNAL TO RETURN HOME
"And thou shalt number seven sabbaths of years unto thee, seven times seven years; and the space of the seven sabbaths of years shall he unto thee forty and nine years.
Then shalt thou cause the trumpet of the jubile to sound on the tenth day of the seventh month, in the day of atonement shall ye make the trumpet sound throughout all your land." Lev.25:8 & 9
The above verses are instructions regarding the Jubile year and they are very specific. On this occasion God does the math himself and tells Israel to count 49 years. When does the counting begin?
"Speak unto the children of Israel and say unto them, When ye come into the land which I give you, then shall the land keep a sabbath unto the Lord." Vs.2.
They were to begin counting from the day they entered into the land. From that time, they were to count out a period of forty-nine years and on the tenth day of the seventh month the trumpet would sound announcing the year of the Jubile. This trumpet blast does not come from the mournful ram's horn that sounded on the Feast of
Trumpets but it comes from the silver trumpet that was used to announce days of gladness (Lev. 10:10).
Strong's concordance defines the word 'Jubile' as follows:
Yobel or yowbel; the blast of a horn (from its continuous sound); spec. the signal of the silver trumpets; hence, the instrument itself and the festival thus introduced.
The sounding of the trumpet on this day is none other than the "last trump" that Paul
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wrote about in 1 Corinthians. A last trump necessitates a first trump. In this case, there were a total of 49 trumpet blowings before the last trump. When were the first 49 soundings? Every year on the day of the feast of Trumpets for 49 consecutive years. One might argue that the trumpet blowing on the day of Trumpets and the trumpet blowing that announced the Jubile year have nothing in common, but they do. Reviewing the law of the feast of Trumpets, we were told that the memorial of trumpet blowing would be on the first day of the seventh month. Then we were told the following:
"Also on the tenth day of this seventh month there shall he a day of atonement." Lev.23:27
Notice that the Jubile year is trumpeted in on the same day as the Day of Atonement, on the tenth day of the seventh month. We already noted how the word "also" connected the feast of Trumpets with the Day of Atonement, now that same 'also' connects the blowing of the trumpets on the Feast of Trumpets with the blowing of
the trumpet on the 10th day of the same month in the 49th year to announce the Jubile year. That particular trumpet blowing, once every 49 years on the day of Atonement, qualifies it as the "last trump." In actuality, it is the 50th trumpet sounding during a 50-year cycle.
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GOD'S 50-YEAR CYCLE
Before continuing with some of the details of the Jubile year itself, let's examine these 50-year cycles of God. It is the key to determining not only the time of the
Rapture but the approximate time of all of the major events of the last seven years of this present age It also provides the information for understanding the exact dates
of some of the major historic events in Israel's history.
As we have already noted, Israel was told to count seven periods of seven years. Each seventh year was a Sabbath year. The seven periods of seven years totalled 49 years. After the 49 years expired, the 50th year would be a year of Jubile.
"A jubile shall that fiftieth year be unto you. "
Lev.25:11
After the fiftieth year, the seven year cycles would begin all over again. The counting of the fifty-year cycle begins at the same time the counting of the Sabbath years begin: when Israel first entered Canaan.
The underlying theme of the Jubile year is contained in the passage below.
"In the year of this jubile ye shall return every man unto his possession." (Lev.25:10,13)
As such, the Jubile year always marks a year of Israel's return to its land.
Canaan was promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and they all lived in that land. Jacob left Canaan because of the famine. God used the famine as the catalyst to
assemble the nation of Israel in Egypt, fulfilling his word to Abraham that his seed would be afflicted servants. Later, when the nation of Israel entered Canaan, their entry
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should not be regarded as entering Canaan but, more accurately, as a return to the land. Even though the Jubile year did not go into effect until 50 years after their entry, in reality, God brought them back to Canaan at the end of a 50-year cycle. From that point in time onward, every time Israel returned to their land after any captivity or vacancy, the return would be accomplished in the 50th year of the cycle.
Historians disagree on the exact year Israel entered Canaan. The only sure way to determine the exact year is to rely on God's track record based on his word regarding the law of return. Because the 50th year is the year return , when God reestablished Israel in their land again in 1948 you can be sure that it, too, was a Jubile year, the fiftieth year of a 50-year cycle. That fact gives us the necessary information to determine the exact year Israel first entered Canaan as well as determining all Jubile year thereafter.
Counting backwardS in 50-year increments from 1948 brings us to the year 1452 B.C. That is the exact year they entered Canaan. Israel's first Jubile year was fifty years later in 1402 B.C. From that time onward any B.C. year ending in '52 or '02 would be a Jubile year.
Counting the years from 1452 B.C. until 1998 A.D. totals 3,450 years. Dividing 3,450 by 50 gives exactly 69 Jubile years. Even though the year 1452 was not an official Jubile year, that year still marked the end of a 50-year cycle. Daniel prophesied that Messiah would be "cut off” at the end of the 69th week. Theoretically, since the death of Christ, we have been in between the 69th week and the 70th week. The Rapture of the Church will officially close out the 69th week and the year 1999 will begin Daniel's 70th week of prophecy. It is amazing that the year 1998 will also mark the 69th jubile year measuring the time from
Israel's first return to Canaan in 1452 B.C.*
*(Although the Rapture was delayed and did not occur in 1997, ushering in the 69th Jubile year, the count of years from 1452 BC remains accurate. This information is explained and updated in “The Last Trump: God’s Secret”)
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Understanding the 50-year cycle and the seven sets of seven years leading up to it, Daniel's prophecy of the 70 weeks shines with a brighter light. Let's look at Daniel's prophecy.
"Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times.
And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary..."
Dan. 9:25-26
Daniel's prophecy is broken up into three distinct periods: seven weeks, sixty-two weeks, and one week. From the announcement to return to Jerusalem and restore the city would cover a period of seven weeks or 49 years. It is important that we "know and understand" exactly when the commandment "to restore and build Jerusalem" began.
Israel's captivity in Babylon covered the years from 606 B.C. until 536 B.C. Cyrus II,
king of Persia, was the first king to give the edict allowing Israel to return to their land as prophesied by Isaiah (Isa.45) about 175 years before Cyrus' birth. Historians date the beginning of Cyrus' reign anywhere from 539 to 536 B.C. If we accept the latter year of 536 B.C. as the end of Israel's captivity in Babylon and then subtract 483 years from that date (69 of Daniel's 70 weeks or 7 x 69) it would show Christ dying in the year 53 B.C., 84 years earlier than he actually died. Logic then dictates that the count of Daniel's 70 weeks could not have begun with Cyrus' decree. (Ezra 1:1-4)
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God's commitment to his word in establishing the 50th year as a year of return would necessitate that Israel 's return to their land occur in a Jubile year but none of the years within that range, 539 through 536 B.C., are Jubile years. What happened back then is the same thing that occurred when Israel became a nation again in 1948. Before the national rebirth of Israel in 1948, the Jews began trickling back into the land again as early as the mid 1800's but the years of the greatest return were from 1938 through 1947. Israel's return was officially acknowledged in May, 1948.
Under Cyrus II there was a gradual return of Jews back to Israel but the return would not be made official until the arrival of a Jubile year designated by God . The slow return of Jews back to Jerusalem began with Cyrus' decree sometime between 539 and 536 B.C. Repairs were started on the Temple but the work was not finished (Ezra 5:24).
During the second year of Darius the Mede (521 - 486 B.C.), another decree was issued to return and rebuild Jerusalem around 520 B.C. and work was resumed once again on the city (Ezra 5:24). In the sixth year of his reign the Temple was rebuilt (Ezra 6:15). Daniel's prophecy makes no mention at all of the building of the Temple so therefore the 70 weeks could not have commenced with the edict issued by king Darius.
During the reign of Artaxerxes II, the third and final command to rebuild Jerusalem was issued in 452 B.C. The counting of the seventy weeks officially began in 452 B.C. which was a Jubile year. From the time Israel entered Canaan until the beginning of Daniel 's 70 weeks marks a period of exactly 1,000 years.
The years 452 until 403 B.C. encompass the fulfillment of the first phase of Daniel's 70 weeks which is seven weeks or 49 years. The wall and the street were built and completed in 403 B.C. The Jubile year was announced on the tenth day of the seventh month in 403 B.C.
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The Jubile year itself was celebrated in 402 B.C. Except for the 49 year period marking the seven sabbath years recorded in Leviticus, Daniel's passage is the only other place in the scriptures where a 49 year period of time is mentioned. It would only be logical that that period would be sandwiched between two Jubile years.
Daniel prophesied that Christ would be "cut off'' at the end of the 69th week. If we subtract 483 years (7 x 69 years) from 452 B.C. we come to the year 31 A.D. That's the year Christ died, not 33 A.D. as is commonly accepted. Naturally, if we add 33 years (the number of years Christ lived on the earth) to 31 A.D. we can know for certain that Christ was born in
2 B.C., the last Jubile year on the B.C. calendar.
John wrote concerning Jesus:
"He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came unto his own, and his own received him not." Jn.1:10 & 11
It is only fitting that the one who created the land of Canaan should also return to that land in a Jubile year.
Counting 50 years from 2 BC, the first A.D. Jubile year was 48 AD. Naturally the next one would occur 50 years later in 98 AD. Consequently, any year on the A.D. calendar year ending with '48 or '98 is a Jubile year.
When Israel became a nation again in 1948 it was not a random year. God timed their national rebirth to take place in a Jubile year. The next Jubile year will occur in 1998.
Recognition of the year 1948 is essential in understanding the year of the Rapture because it gives us a reference point or a positive benchmark for measuring the times of the last days. Before 1948, Israel had not occupied its land for over 1,800 years. The 1948 rebirth of
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Israel was God's pronouncement of the beginning of the end.
If we consider the year 1948 in conjunction with all of the other signs relative to the Tribulation, and add the signs that shall be presented in the later chapter on signs in the heavens along with the state of the planet itself in the final chapter of the book, we must come to the conclusion that we are now in the final 50-year cycle. The possibility of Israel leaving the land again and returning at a later date is remote at best. Should that happen, the 1948 return is meaningless. But there are too many prophecies that have been and are being fulfilled which clearly indicate that this present period meets the bible's criteria for the closing years of the last days. The establishment of the Kingdom of God on earth is about to become a reality.
Now let's play devil's advocate and assume that all of the foregoing information presented in this book right up to this present point has been wrong. If we had
absolutely no knowledge of the 50-year cycles, if we did not know the year the commandment was given that began the 70 week countdown, the commandment in Leviticus 25:2 to begin counting the fifty year cycles should have commenced again beginning in 1948. Adding 50 years to 1948 brings us to 1998.
It is because Israel is currently known by God as "not his people" and because God has designated himself as "not their God" that Israel has not been allowed to keep a Sabbath year according to the scriptures for over 2,000 years and it will not observe the Jubile year in 1998. Yet in spite of that relationship, God himself has not lost track of the years since the year Israel first entered Canaan and neither has he forgotten about the 70th week of Daniel that must be fulfilled.
After 1948, the first Sabbath year was 1955. (Remember, the Jubile year itself is not counted as one of the seven Sabbath years, the count began in 1949.) The 1955 Sabbath
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year was not observed by Israel and neither were the next five Sabbath years that followed. Those years were 1962, 1969, 1976, 1983, and 1990.* It is safe to assume that Israel will not keep the Sabbath year of 1997 either. The Jubile trump or "last trump" will be blown by God on the tenth day of the seventh month in 1997 according to God's calendar which is also Israel's calendar. That is the day God will take his Church out of the earth!**
It is certain that the Rapture of the Church will fulfill the Jubile announcement date because it is impossible for present day Israel to observe the year of Jubile. During the Jubile year, any land that had been sold was returned back to its original owner. Today, there are no original owners on this earth.
Israel was once one nation under one king. The kingdom was divided under Solomon. Around 721 BC the 10 northern tribes, known in the scriptures as either the House of Israel or Ephraim, were taken into captivity by the Assyrians. Those ten tribes never returned to their land and became lost in biblical history. Naturally, the land owned by those tribes and their families was forever lost also, therefore, they could never again keep a Jubile year. God, however, never lost track of them and they continue to exist as nations today but without any of the characteristics that would associate them as Israelites, including their languages.
In 606 B.C. the southern kingdom, known scripturally as the House of Judah, went into captivity under Babylon. Because only a remnant (42,360) of them returned from the Babylonian captivity 70 years later, much of their original property was lost also. Centuries later in AD 70 Titus invaded Jerusalem. Again, ownership records were lost forever. Since that time the Jews have suffered much loss of both land and family.
Today there are no original owners and because God has declared himself as
*and we now know, looking back, they did not celebrate those years as Sabbath or Shemitah years as prophesied by this prophet.
** the delay is explained in the “The Last Trump: God’s Secret”
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"not their God" they cannot possibly observe the laws surrounding the Jubile year. The Jubile year can only be fulfilled when the Lord returns for his possession, the Church.
The word return is found seven times in the 25th chapter of Leviticus. As already noted, seven denotes completion. In that sense, the return spoken of in Leviticus 25 is not restricted to the Jews but includes the Church also. It is the year the Church returns to heaven.
To speak of the church returning to heaven might sound odd because the Church has never been to heaven. But its return to heaven should be viewed in the same sense as Israel's return to Canaan when the congregation first entered the land. Israel returned to Canaan as the seed of Abraham. The Church returns to heaven as the Sons of
God and the body of Christ.
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A RESTORATION OF POSSESSIONS
"In the year of this jubile ye shall return every man unto his possession." Lev.25:13
It was established earlier that the grand theme of the Jubile year is the return of every man to his possession. When Israel first inherited the land, it was divided among them by tribe and family. Once distributed, the land was to remain in that tribe and in that family forever. Because it was God's land and because they were mere strangers and sojourners with him, the land could not be sold to Gentiles.
If at any time during the 50-year cycle the owner of the land should become poor, he could sell his allotted property to his Hebrew brothers. The law allowed the seller to repurchase the property if he was able and if not, one of his relatives could buy back the land for him (Lev.25:25). But if neither happened, on the tenth day of the seventh month of the 49th year when the Jubile trumpet sounded, the land automatically reverted back to
the original owner (Lev.25:28).
The reason behind these various rules of selling, repurchasing, and the returning of the land is found in the following verse.
"The land shall not be sold for ever: for the land is mine; for ye are strangers and sojourners with me. "
Lev.25:23
God owned all of that land and he continually emphasized that fact by bringing the land back to the original owner at the end of each 49 year period. As the holder of the title deed of the land, it was God's exclusive right to allow Israel to enter and inhabit the land or he could evict them from the land when it became necessary.
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When Adam sinned, he lost the title deed to the earth and Satan became the undisputed god of this world. When Satan offered the kingdoms of this world to Jesus during the temptation in the wilderness, the kingdoms were Satan's to give and Jesus did not argue their ownership with Satan. But there is one piece of real estate that God kept for himself-- the land of Canaan. For that reason it has been, is, and will continue to be the most coveted
property on the earth because Satan does not own that parcel of the earth and he wants it. It is the only land area on the earth where Satan has no rights or voice regarding the occupants of that land. Any tenants who have occupied that land, such as the Canaanite, the giants, and other ungodly people, were permitted to dwell there until God commanded Israel to evict them.
God's association with Israel as "strangers and sojourners with me" seems strange considering the fact that the land belongs to the Lord. But the stranger and sojourner status is due to the fact that neither God nor Israel can be comfortable in that land until the King of the land actually occupies it. That is why Israel's occupation of the land has always been contested by other nations. Many nations of this world have viewed Israel as strangers and aliens and as having no legal right to be there. Israel's occupation of Palestine appears to be tenuous at best. But at the end of the Tribulation, Jesus will then occupy that land and rule all of the nations of the earth from Jerusalem. Then both God's and Israel's days as strangers and sojourners will come to an end. Further, that is why Jesus told his disciples to pray "thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven."
The Church's present situation on the earth mirrors Israel's. It too is a stranger and sojourner. A sojourner is actually an alien. This world is not the Church's home. Jesus told his disciples:
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"I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. "
Jn.14:2-3
Just as the blowing of the trumpet announcing the Jubile year signaled the return of every Israelite to his own possession, it will also signal the Church's return to both its possession, heaven, and its possessor, Christ Jesus.
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WE SHALL ALL BE CHANGED
"Behold I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed.
In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound,
and the dead in Christ shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed."
1 Cor. 15:51 & 52
Among the apostles, Paul has no equal in understanding the New Testament fulfillment of Old Testament ordinances. As Moses was to Israel, so is Paul to the New Testament Church. God gave Paul the great truths and doctrines of the Church. When he mentioned the sounding of the "last trump" we now know that Paul was referring to an Old Testament event, not a new invention of God. If this last trump was something entirely new, Paul would have explained it in his presentation of the mystery revealed here.
A mystery is any truth that God has previously kept hidden. The word literally means "to shut the mouth; a secret." Throughout the 15th chapter of 1 Corinthians Paul's focus is on the resurrection of the dead; how it happens and what kind of bodies the resurrected ones will have. The overall impression given by Paul was that everyone must die before the Lord comes. That is why the Holy Ghost presented the mystery to Paul that some believers will be alive at the time of the Rapture. "We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed "
The Church should learn a lesson from Paul regarding revealed truth. God did not reveal the message of the Rapture to the other apostles, he gave it to Paul. You can believe that Paul faced a lot- of opposition from the professing Church and probably from some of the other apostles also when he wrote about the Rapture to the Corinthian church. Paul's writings left the door open
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for receiving additional revelations from God but today' s Church has lost its ear to hear the Spirit's voice.
Paul told us exactly when both the resurrection and transformation will take place: at the last trump. The phrase the last trump is part of the mystery but only in a limited sense. It is a mystery because this is the first time God announced when the Church would be taken out of the earth. It is not a mystery in the sense of being secret, only in the sense that no one knew that the Rapture would occur on that day. What was not revealed to Paul was the exact year the trumpet would sound. At the time Paul lived he could not determine when the Rapture trumpet would sound because he had no reference point from which to measure the time.
The trumpet blast is the wake-up call for all of those who are "asleep" or dead in the earth. At the sound of the trumpet they will rise from their graves "incorruptible," then those of us who are alive will be changed from mortal to immortality and together we shall be caught up to meet the Lord in the air. There is far too much riding on the blowing of this last trump for the Church to be in the dark about what it is and when it will sound.*
Those who were saved in Jerusalem when the Church first came into existence were expecting Jesus to return at any moment. Jesus told them to "occupy until I come." He knew that his return would be in the distant future. The early disciples were to continue living down here on the earth as if they had a future here but they , were also to live in constant expectation of his return.
The early Church members were so full of the love of the Holy Ghost and so eager for Christ's return that this earth and its possessions completely lost their attraction
for them. Because of that fact, they sold their houses, land and possessions and shared the necessities of life with each other. They also went broke because they did not plan for
*The Holy Ghost has updated this revelation since this was written and gives deeper details regarding the “rapture trump” and the raising of the dead in “The Last Trump: God’s Secret”
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the long haul. They weren't being foolish in their planning; that is not a Jewish trait. The reason they had not made long-range plans was because they had no way of knowing how long the time would be and they expected Christ's return during their lifetime. Now that a date has been given to the Church from God, we too should relinquish our attachment to worldly goods in anticipation of the arrival of Jesus.
When the apostle John was in exile on the isle of Patmos, the last words he received from Jesus regarding his coming were "behold, I come quickly." That was over 1,900 years ago. But God does not regard time the same way that we do.
"But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day." II Pet.3:8
Viewed from God's eternal perspective, Jesus told John that he would be back in a couple of days; that certainly meets the definition of quickly.
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