Who Will Be Raptured?

Certainly not to argue my brother! Like I had noted, I read quite a bit on this and was in a bit of disbelief. Still not 100% certain either but the 7 year period began at His baptism, the middle of the week His crucifixion, the end of the Pentecost.

Sorry, still not following that logic.....
granted the Baptism to crucifixion could potentially be 31/2 years .... But Pentecost is fifty days later, no way to fit 31/2 years in that space, plus the destruction of temple is like 40 years later.... Time wise it does not work out.

on top of all that, Palm Sunday was the only day Jesus allowed himself to be proclaimed as the Messiah.  Which is were the end of the earlier weeks were to have taken place.  I think Anderson was the one who completed that study.  If true the the start of the next seven should have been done then.

Since Jesus time, there has NOT been a period of 7 years .... That can match the last portion of the prophecy.
which means that last seven needs to be a future event.

It's a hotly debated topic that scares Christians more than non-Christians and causes great fear and confusion all around: who will be counted worthy to escape before the Tribulation (Rev. 3:10, Luke 21:36)?  Who will be raptured?  I've been scared myself by this question because I know that I'm not perfect.  I strive to be perfect, but I, like Paul, still battle against this body of sin and death (Romans 7:21-25).

If the level of worthiness that God requires for us to be raptured is our own perfection and sinlessness then neither you nor I have any hope of making it on the "Ark".  I will argue that rapture-readiness and salvation belong to the same undivided group of individuals, which is the Body of Christ, and that rapture-readiness and salvation are both predicated on the same thing: genuine belief in, and personal acceptance of, the Gospel.  Rapture-readiness is by grace through faith, just as salvation is by grace through faith.

First, I want to share with you the scary words of the supposed prophet David Wilkerson.  Wilkerson is one of the most famous "prophets" from this past century and his "prophecies" have been widely disseminated throughout the Christian community, greatly influencing such popular teachers as Michael Snyder and even revered by huge ministries like Christianity Today, Charisma News, and World Net Daily.  Already a popular evangelist in the New York City area, Wilkerson's "prophecies" rose to prominence as certain details from them were seemingly "fulfilled".  I won't get into the details of those, but here is what the Lord supposedly told Wilkerson in a dream in 1998 regarding the rapture:



Earlier in my walk, when I was more unsure of the confidence I now have in Christ, and before I understood the imputed righteousness of Christ (Phil. 3:9, Romans 3:22, 4:3, 4:5, 4:24, 2 Cor. 5:21), this very "prophecy" caused me ongoing angst and fear.  I felt as though I could never measure up to what Wilkerson described.  It wasn't a rapture predicated on faith in Christ, but one on works and actively watching for Christ's return.

Yet after Wilkerson died in a car crash in 2011, I eventually discovered that he was very likely a false prophet.  I hesitate to use that label unequivocally, but he made a number of specific "prophetic" statements that did not come to pass.  Christians continue to read and teach several of his generic "prophecies" that coincidentally came to pass, while ignoring the numerous ones that did not.  That is a big problem (see Deuteronomy 18:20-22).

False Prophecy #1: In David Wilkerson's newsletter "In the Solomon Church" from December 19, 1994 (in Polish here), he claims that by 1999 there would no longer be any gospel television networks:



This did NOT happen.  This was a FALSE prediction.  TBN, CBN, GOD TV, and other networks still remain on the air all the way into 2017.

False Prophecy #2: In David Wilkerson's newsletter "A Prophetic Warning to New York City" from October 8, 2001 he quoted from a prophecy he made in his September 7, 1992 newsletter, in which he claimed that by 1993 fires would engulf New York City and 100,000 rioters would fill the streets.  He even claimed the exact cause would be "Federal and State Welfare cutbacks":



This did NOT happen.  This was a FALSE prediction.  This definitely did not happen in 1993 or in any year since and though one day fires may indeed engulf New York City, it won't be from angry rioters in the streets wanting their welfare - it will be from the judgment of God.

Most disturbing is that Wilkerson continued to push the above prediction in a revised fashion even years after it didn't happen when he expected it to happen.

False Prophecy #3: David Wilkerson gave a "prophecy" from his cover letter on May 1, 2000 in which he claimed an irreversible financial crash was imminent:


Previously, on April 15, 2000, he had given another false prediction:


This did NOT happen.  This was a FALSE prediction.  In fact, this one was so obviously false that Wilkerson admitted he was wrong and openly admitted he might be a false prophet.  The short-lived market drop was completely reversed and on May 22, 2000, markets reached record highs and in fact didn't begin substantially dropping until after the next year's September 11th disaster.  That also was reversed before the 2008 crash, which in turn was reversed, as well.

Wilkerson states:


There were other false predictions made, including one about the immediate need for Christians to store up a 30-day supply of food in 2009 or 2010 for an imminent disaster in the United States.  In addition to false predictions, Wilkerson's teachings were filled with a number of exegetical and theological issues, yet he is still held in high esteem by big ministries and students of Bible prophecy.  His false prophecies/predictions have caused great (and false) fear in the Church and caused Believers (myself included) to question their salvation.

Going back to his rapture dream, I can now see several severe theological errors.  First, his description of grace is very clearly defined as holy living rather than biblical unmerited favor/mercy/imputed righteousness/forgiveness.  Second, he defines being rapture-ready as actively watching for the Lord's return rather than, or in addition to, faith in Christ.  Third, he clearly says he doesn't know if the rapture occurs before, during, or after the tribulation, yet he unequivocally associates it with a post-tribulation Scripture (Matthew 24:31).  And fourth, though he describes the rapture as a relatively quick process, people are described as aware of the event as it happens and waving their hands around so that the "conveyance" doesn't leave them behind.  To the contrary, the Bible says that the rapture will take place in a single moment, "in the twinkling of an eye" (1 Cor. 15:52).

I won't rehash the faith vs works argument here, suffice to say that grace is what makes Christianity unique.  God stepped in and saved us when we couldn't (and still can't) save ourselves.  He paid the price completely for us (see here, here, here, here, here, and here).  I don't much appreciate when supposed Believers try to mix grace and works (Romans 11:6).  The Bible clearly says that if you think your entrance into Heaven is based on your holy living and perfection then you had better understand that God gets to define what holy living and perfection actually are: if you break a single law even one time, you are guilty of breaking the entire law and your works-righteousness will be exposed for the hypocrisy it is (James 2:10, 3:2, Galatians 5:3, Jude 1:24).  Don't just pay lip service to Jesus' death for your sins and resurrection while what you really think is that you're getting in the door based on all your confessing, amending, good works, and asceticism.  I fear that you will be stopped at the door and found to be without the God-bestowed wedding garments (Matthew 22:12-13).

The Lord Jesus Christ died a brutal and gory death because of your filth, so you best run to Him, acknowledging your desperate and dire need for Him.  Only His merits are sufficient to get you in the door.  Consider Romans 10:3-10:


Now regarding the rapture, there are also those who proclaim a belief in salvation through faith alone, yet believe in a partial-rapture - that is a rapture of more ready/more worthy/more readily watching Christians.  The rest of the Believers will be saved, but only through martyrdom during the Tribulation.  Dr. John Walvoord and Dr. Tony Garland completely dismantle this minority opinion.  The Body of Christ will not be divided.

Some of the partial-rapture proponents argue that only those who are spiritually "awake" and watching for Jesus' coming will be taken, however a strong exegetical case can be presented against this view from 1 Thessalonians 5:4-11:



In this passage the Apostle Paul compares being asleep to being unaware of the Lord's soon return.  Believers should be awake, yet he clearly says that Jesus died for us and so whether we are aware of His imminent return or not, we will be gathered to Him.  Elsewhere in Scripture, such as 1 Thessalonians 4:13, sleep is used to describe Believers who have died, but that is not what 1 Thessalonians 5:10 is referring to.  The Greek word here is katheudó (Strong's 2518), which means real sleep.  Paul is using it as a symbol.  In 1 Thessalonians 4:13 the word is koimaó (Strong's 2837), which can mean real sleep or the sleep of death.  1 Thessalonians 5:10 is not talking about Believers who have already died who will later be resurrected and joined by living Believers - the passage is talking about all Believers being gathered together with Christ, whether watching or not.

So who will be raptured?  

I believe, based on my study of Scripture, that it will be every person who genuinely believes that Jesus died for their sins and rose again - those who look to Christ alone for salvation.  For this reason, according to Romans 10:5-7, only two persons can know whether you are ready or not: you and God:


And


I also believe a strong case could be made that many or even most young children will also be raptured, but the Bible is relatively silent on this topic, so we simply need to defer to God's perfect love and goodness.

So who will be left behind?

- Those who have consciously rejected the Gospel.

- Those who are ignorant of the Gospel (but perhaps not young children).

- Those who claim to be Christian yet believe that there are other "paths" to God (in other words, Christianity works for me, but Judaism, Buddhism, or Islam are fine for you) - this view denies your inherent need for Christ.

- Those who claim to be Christian and those who perhaps even believe that Jesus is the only way, yet believe the way to God in Christianity is through works - this view denies the Gospel itself.

- Those who claim to be Christian yet it is just a claim of association, usually because their parents or relatives were.  They live in perpetual sin, unaware of their desperate need for God's forgiveness through Christ.

In short, there will be many left behind inside and outside of Christianity, but it will be based on whether or not a person has genuine belief in, and exclusive loyalty to, Christ.  There are a great, great many who call themselves "Christian", but have never actually accepted the Gospel.  They believe in "soft universalism" or just being a good person and going to church or they find some sort of satisfaction in affiliation with the Christian religion, yet don't understand the message at the very heart of Christianity, which is the Gospel (1 Cor. 15:1-4).

In the letters to the churches in Revelation, the Apostle John repeatedly writes of the Believer's need to overcome (Rev. 2:7, 11, 17, 26, 3:5, 12, 21).  The legalist instantly associates overcoming with their own works and efforts, yet the very author of Revelation records in his gospel and first epistle what it really means to overcome:


And in John's First Epistle:


And most importantly:

So be ye ready - through faith in Christ.  If you trust in Christ alone for your salvation then be greatly encouraged.  Your faith has saved you.  If you do not believe in Him, then be terrified and run to Him now.  He loves you and will save you if you call upon His name.  The door to the ark is closing very, very soon, but you can still get on for free if you get on now.