PROPHETIC PARALLELS

PROPHETIC PARALLELS

                There are reasons why I refuse to be dogmatic about the rapture, for on one hand I find a picture of the pre-trib rapture in types and shadows and on the other hand, as I look at the book of Revelation I see three groups in heaven as seen in Revelation 7, 15 and 20. All of these have come out of great tribulation and the group in Rev. 20 has even been beheaded for their faith. In fact there e is only one group found in the book of Revelation that is not said to have come out of the tribulation and that is the 144,000 in Rev. 14.

                I also see the sickle harvest in Rev. 14 which occurs right before the wrath of God is poured out, and almost nobody wants to talk about that one.

                So most pre-trib rapture people attribute the rapture to Revelation 4 where an open door is seen in heaven and God says to John, “Come up here and I will show you what must take place after these things.” After what things?   After the messages to the seven churches.  So, does the end of the church age correspond to what Romans 11 calls the times of the Gentiles? Maybe.

                So if there is to be a pre-trib rapture it must come here in Rev. 4 and in fact there is a prophetic parallel given here. Jesus gives a parable of 10 virgins. Five of them have set before them an open door into the marriage supper of the Lamb, while the other five must go and buy from those who sell.

                In a prophetic parallel to this I see set before the church of Philadelphia an open door that no one can shut   and this could indeed correspond with the open door in heaven found in Revelation 4. However, the church of Laodicea, like the foolish virgins is counselled to buy gold tried in the fire which could easily mean testing by tribulation. As for the Laodiceans, the door is shut and Jesus is on the outside knocking. Oooo… that can’t be good.

                If these prophetic parallels indeed correspond to each other this tells us something very significant. It tells us that only the overcomers (Those that overcome from each of the seven churches) will find an open door in heaven when the rapture happens. Only those who have prepared as a bride adorned for her husband, a bride without spot or wrinkle, will be caught up in the pre-trib rapture while Laodicean or foolish Christians will have to be refined by the fires of persecution.

                Perhaps those who don’t make it into the rapture will be found among those groups in heaven that have come out of the great tribulation. Something to think about.

                I don’t want to belabor this observation, and we would certainly prefer that all Christians would be raptured at once, but if that is so, then why is so much said about coming out of the world, about washing our robes and making them white in the blood of the Lamb, about overcoming by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of our testimony, about being conformed to the image of Christ until we all come to the measure of the fullness of the stature of Christ?

                And if everyone who calls himself a Christian is raptured at once, then who are the foolish virgins and who are the Laodiceans that are neither hot nor cold, that Jesus councils to buy gold tried in the fire?

                Can you see how our traditions and doctrines can cause us to not ask questions like this? What if we are wrong about something as important as this? Should we not spend time in the Word asking the Holy Spirit to teach us and to prepare us?

                I offer these things to think about, but more than that to motivate us to come fully into Christ and to be separate from the world and to grow in our relationship with Him until we have eyes only for Him and a heart that beats only for Him. We are the Bride of Christ and we are driven by a passion that the world can never understand.

                Until that day we live by the Spirit and Truth and we will love not our own lives even to the death if need be. This is a love relationship pure and simple and love will take us to places that a casual acquaintance would never take us. After all, our eyes are on eternity and the glory of His presence that far outshines any dark promises that this world could ever offer.

                We are a family and we understand both the price of total surrender and the value of the rewards that await those who love His appearing.