Why the Shout by Jesus Upon His Return in the Clouds Is Not the Rapture
To understand what the shout by Jesus will be when He returns in the clouds, we need to consider six sets of verses from both the Old and New Testaments. These verses are Daniel 9:24-27, Luke 4:16-21, Isaiah 61:2, 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, 1 Thessalonians 5:1-6 and 1 Corinthians 15:15-25.
In Daniel 9:24-27, God explains the 70 weeks of Daniel. This period represents 70 weeks of seven years each for a total of 490 years: designed to put an end to sin, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the holy city, Jerusalem. This period is all about the Jews. We are told that 69 of the 70 weeks were completed when the Messiah was cut off; when did this occur? At the cross. For clarity, the timeline by Ptolemy is incorrect. One week remains; the seven-year tribulation also known as the 70th week of Daniel. Understanding that the tribulation is about the Jews clarifies how we are to look at the end times.
In Luke 4:16-21, Jesus in the synagogue reads from Isaiah 61. When we look at Isaiah 61:2, God appoints someone (not Isaiah) to make all three announcements listed; this person is Jesus. On this day, Jesus only made the first of the three announcements. He told those in the synagogue that on this day this first announcement had been fulfilled in their hearing.
The next time we will hear from the Lord is when He arrives in the clouds with a “shout” with the “voice” of the archangel, per 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18. The shout by Jesus will be the second of His three announcements, per Isaiah 61:2; it is not the rapture! Jesus, in His shout, will announce the arrival of “the day of vengeance of our Lord,” the tribulation! The archangel, by voice, then “catches up” the bride of Christ to safety right before the tribulation begins. For more on this, please listen to episode No. 60.
Many think the “thief in the night” is the rapture; however, in 1 Thessalonians 5:1-6, we see the thief-in-the-night event is Jesus stealing a false peace that is in the world when He arrives. The rapture is not coming in secret! We can know this because in 1 Corinthians 15:51-52, we are told the twinkling of an eye is not the rapture; it is all of us in the sky at the rapture being changed in a moment into our eternal bodies, the seventh final event in the visual rapture as explained in episode No. 17.
You can find my podcast, 24 END TIME PROPHECIES, on the Charisma Podcast Network.
I offer two books on God’s 24 end-time prophecies if you might like to know more on this subject. Please visit us at rtm24.org. I offer my textbook, Stunned, and my historical novel, The Pastor of the Last Days. The novel is a short, exciting read; the last chapter will give you goosebumps! {eoa}
