The Rapture Mystery

The Mystery of the Church

To be honest, I was struggling the other day trying to understand what it meant that those in Christ were a firstfruits offering and why we were still here! I asked the Lord for revelation and for Him to encourage me. Worshipful song went forth from my mouth to rid myself of the spirit of heaviness, and as I did so I felt He was leading me to study the word “mystery” in the Scriptures. What I saw did encourage me. Then later as I turned on Youtube, a Tim Henderson video popped up on my feed and one of the last things he said was, “We are a MYSTERY!”

Growing up in this Age of Grace we forget the amazing mystery that is the Ecclesia of Christ or True Church (see aggressivechristianity.net’s article The Correct Meaning of "Church" and "Ecclesia" if you are unsure who the True Church is.)

Before Christ’s death, the Church Age of Grace was unknown. Why? Because God wanted it to be a secret: 

But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, [even] the hidden [wisdom], which God ordained before the world unto our glory: Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known [it], they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. - 1 Corinthians 2:7-8 KJV

Amos 3:7 tells us that God does nothing without revealing His plan to His prophets, BUT HERE IS AN EXCEPTION! For had the mystery of Jew and Gentile becoming one in Christ been revealed (Ephesians 3:6), the Adversary would have known God’s entire plan of redemption for man and would not have killed our precious Jesus.

Each individual who makes Jesus their Lord receives Christ in them! Now the Devil has a bunch of Jesus-types running around on the earth messing with his plans:

[Even] the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints: To whom God would make known what [is] the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory: - Colossians 1:26-27 KJV

The reason the Spirit of Christ within us is ‘the hope of glory’ is because it is the earnest or guarantee that He will be coming back to redeem us:

In whom ye also [trusted], after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory. - Ephesians 1:13-14 KJV

The Mystery of the Rapture

A mystery is inclusionary. It is used many times in Scripture and it means that its understanding is available to anyone who takes the time to discover it. Whereby, a secret is exclusionary. It is one that is well-kept and remains hidden. God can know it but we cannot. 4windsusa.com

God revealed the mystery of the Rapture to Paul; however, I believe He did not give away the actual date for good reason. Here are two pictures of why the Rapture’s timing may remain a secret until it happens:

º  In a Hebrew wedding only the father knows the hour he will send his son to catch away his bride. I believe this may be the case with the Catching Away of the Bride of Christ as well.

º  In childbirth, which is another analogy of the Rapture of the Man Child (Revelation 12:5), no one knows the exact hour of the birth of a child delivered naturally.

We are not in the dark so when that day comes it will not totally surprise us (1 Thessalonians 5:4). HOWEVER, just as Father God strategically kept the Church a secret from Satan before Christ died, I think God wants the exact time of the Rapture to be a strategic secret.

God’s End Time Strategy

As most of you know, we are in a great spiritual war and strategy is key. In fact, part of the definition of ‘strategic’ is “relating to the gaining of overall or long-term military advantage”.

As I studied, I learned that the Resurrection/Rapture of the Church is a military action by God.

For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming. - 1 Corinthians 15:22-23 KJV

“But every man in his own order”

The word “order” is translated from the Greek word tagma meaning “that which has been arranged in order, a division, rank” and signifies a military division. There are two tagma or “ranks” of the resurrection host; the Captain and the rest of the army now sleeping, to rise at His trumpet’s sound (1 Corinthians 15:52, 1 Thessalonians 4:16).

1 Corinthians Chapter 15’s ‘last trump’ has a dual meaning.

In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. - 1 Corinthians 15:52 KJV

It became a tradition for the shofar to be sounded 100 times during The Feast of Trumpets:

A distinguishing feature of the celebration is the last, climactic blast, the Teki'at Shofar. This is not the usual series of short bursts, signalling alarm or bad news. Rather, it is a long blast, signalling victory or good news. It is this last blast that is referred to as the last trump. khouse.org

This is how the idiom "The Last Trump" became associated with Rosh Hashanah. It is a man-made idiom that is NOT based on Scripture. . .  

HOWEVER, "the last trump" also can refer to a military signal:

For one thing, it’s interesting that Paul refers to the last trump in1 Corinthians 15 and in the immediately preceding chapter,1 Corinthians 14, he refers to the blowing of a trumpet and there he’s referring to a military trumpet. In light of that, it would appear that he has military trumpets in mind when he’s writing 1 Corinthians 15. So it could very well be that when he refers to the last trump which will be blown at the Rapture, he has a military trumpet in mind. What’s the significance of that?

When you study the Roman army and some of the Greek armies and even the Jewish army back in Bible times, when they went into war, they had a “last trump” that would be blown that would tell the fighting men, “Your time of fighting is over. It is time for you to go home and rest.” A “last trump” ended their time in the warfare.

By analogy, the Scriptures teach that Christians today are involved in a spiritual war while they live out their lives in this present age in this present world. When the Rapture takes place and the trumpet is blown at that time, that will be a signal to them that their part in the warfare is over; their fighting in this present age is done in this spiritual war. It is time for them to go home to be with the Lord and rest together with Him in Heaven. jashow.org

[Excerpt from The Rapture--Can the Timing Be Known?]

 Does the Rapture Fulfill a Feast?

Because we have passed the 71^st Anniversary of Israel’s replanting and entered the time of its inspection, I too have been looking at all the connections the Feast of Pentecost has with the Rapture; but have you noticed that EVERY feast that requires assembling before the Lord has prophetic foreshadowing of the Rapture connected with it?

There are three times that God required His people to assemble before Him:

Three times thou shalt keep a feast unto me in the year.

Thou shalt keep the feast of unleavened bread: (thou shalt eat unleavened bread seven days, as I commanded thee, in the time appointed of the month Abib; for in it thou camest out from Egypt: and none shall appear before me empty:)

And the feast of harvest, the firstfruits of thy labours, which thou hast sown in the field: and the feast of ingathering, [which is] in the end of the year, when thou hast gathered in thy labours out of the field. - Exodus 23:14-16 KJV

Each of these three feasts also coincides with a harvest season that requires a firstfruits offering.

If I am understanding it correctly, the Expositor's Greek Testament explains that Christ’s resurrection was only the first of a two-part process; therefore, He was the first of the firstfruits of the BARLEY HARVEST and those who are “in Christ” are the second part.

Firstfruits of Barley or Wheat Harvest?

As I mentioned above, Christ was the first of the firstfruits of the BARLEY HARVEST and those who are “in Christ” are the second part. If the Rapture of the Church is to fulfill a feast, it seems it would be to complete the barley harvest which gives us a picture of the Rapture because in order to separate the grain from the chaff, the soft barley is winnowed, or tossed into the air.

Contrast that to the wheat crop which is trampled upon with a tribulum to separate the hard wheat grain from its chaff (tribulum = tribulation). 

A tribulum was a Roman tool used for threshing wheat and was probably pulled by oxen. It resembles a sled with the bottom studded with teeth of stone or iron. They are still in use in some remote rural areas of the world today.

Are we prophetically the second part of the Barley Firstfruits or are we the firstfruits of the final Pentecost Wheat Harvest?

The Rapture - A Mystery Revealed Through Paul PDF by crbible.com gives an excellent overview of Matthew 24 especially explaining verses 37-41 and how the Church cannot be the wheat that is gathered.

Five Doves was another source that summarized the firstfruits:

. . . There are firstfruits from each harvest; one firstfruits from the Church Age and one firstfruits from after the Church Age. (or after the Rapture)
The Barley firstfruits  is the bride-church.  The Wheat Firstfruits are 144,000 Jewish Male Virgins from the tribes, the remain after the Church is caught up. Both bride of Christ and 144,000 are firstfruits, but firstfruits from different harvests! Many Christians think they are part of the 144,000, but they cannot be, because they are a CHRISTIAN, they are part of the first of all firstfruits, they are part of the Barley Harvest! Jesus the head- the church the body!

. . . Again, there are 2 firstfruits, the bride is the barley firstfruits, the 144,000 are the wheat, and they will come on the scene at Pentecost!

There is so much teaching on this it is too lengthy to go into today, best to just view video series. . .

Lora Jeffries Shipley
www.loafofbarley.com 

fivedoves.com

What About Feast of Trumpets?

What is interesting to add to the mix is that there is NO FIRSTFRUITS offering associated with ROSH HA SHANAH/FEAST OF TRUMPETS!

My understanding leans toward The Feast of Trumpets being fulfilled in Israel where all previous festivals were completed and that it might be the day that the KING of Kings and LORD of Lords comes with His Great Army to the earth (Revelation 19:11; Zechariah 14:4).

Does this mean we will have to wait until the Spring Passover Season of 2020 before we are Raptured? Mmmmm….I don’t think so. Read on.

Indications We ARE Close

No matter which firstfruits offering the Church belongs to, no matter whether the Rapture does or does not fulfill any Feast of the Lord, there is much indicating we are so very close to the Catching Away of the Bride of Christ!

Ty Green has been following “The Ultimate Deal” Peace Plan posting two videos yesterday related to it. In the first 10 minutes of his Think They're Not Going to Divide Jerusalem, Think Again video, he presents Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s predicament of having to face another election.

On the same day Ty posted a 2-1/2 minute video that says it all: Not Going To Stop Us—sharing the recent meeting of Jared Kushner with Netanyahu. The following excerpt explains:

In a move that stunned Israelis, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu failed to form a government by a Wednesday night deadline, and instead of giving a rival the chance to do so, his party advanced a bill to dissolve the Knesset, Israel’s parliament. The move means Israel will hold new elections on Sept. 17, less than six months after its April 9 vote. 

Netanyahu addressed the political turmoil as he met with Kushner in Jerusalem. 

“And, you know, we had a little event last night,” the prime minister said. “That’s not going to stop us. We are going to continue working together.”

The White House is running short of time to release its plan for how to solve the decades-long conflict between Israel and the Palestinians before the 2020 U.S. election campaign kicks into full swing. Analysts say Netanyahu is unlikely to want to address thorny political issues or the prospect of any concessions with the Palestinians during an Israeli campaign.

. . . “I think the Trump peace plan is on ice indefinitely now,” said Dan Shapiro, a former U.S. ambassador to Israel under the Barack Obama administration. “They already understood that they couldn’t roll out a peace plan during an Israeli election or government formation, so now the same logic is going to apply. Anything in the plan that has the slightest hint of a concession or a hard ask to Israel will be political dynamite during a campaign.” 

That could push back the release of the political component of the plan until at least November, Shapiro said, when the makeup of the Israeli government should become clear. But Trump will then be deep into his own reelection effort. 

The White House is beginning the rollout of the plan by holding an economic workshop in Bahrain in late June, with the political component expected to follow.

“We are not anticipating any changes,” State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said of the economic summit. “We anticipate it’s still going on.” The Washington Post

Here are a couple of speculative scenarios. . . Maybe God will allow pride to rise up and President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu will push this Peace Plan through this year despite elections coming up.

OR

Perhaps the Ezekiel 38 war will commence before either the Israeli or United States elections are held leaving the Peace Plan unsigned and becoming the Daniel 9:27 covenant the Antichrist confirms:

And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make [it] desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate. - Daniel 9:27 KJV

In my opinion either scenario would equal RAPTURE TIME for the Overcoming Church!

More Heavenly Signs--Jupiter

Our Brother in Christ Paul Dawson (REVELATIONCHAPTER12dotCOM) pointed out that the planet Jupiter has been of special interest of late due to its disappearing Great Red Spot (GSR). As I thought on how Jupiter represents Christ with its many stripes and gaping ‘wound’ (now apparently ‘healing’), it came into my spirit that Jesus took that wound for His Bride. Just as the first Adam had his side opened for God to create Eve (Adam’s bride), Jesus’ side was also opened for His Bride. But any day now, He will be receiving His Bride. She will join Him and complete Him; therefore, the wound (and the door of the Ark) is closing!