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The Book of Revelation
Chapter 4
Until
we reach this chapter, most (there are always exceptions)
of the church of today is in agreement concerning the
opening 3 chapters of the book and the letters to the
churches.
When we
get to chapter 4, however, there is so much division and
different teachings that it is at times, sickening. I
have known organizations to split over these differences.
Let me give you my stance on this in a nutshell: I don’t
really care what you believe happens in Revelation 4:1-2:
whether you believe you’re going to heaven and coming back
again, pre-tribulation, mid-tribulation, post-tribulation,
no tribulation, whatever; it is irrelevant to salvation.
There are those who want to make this a salvation issue:
it is not and has nothing to do with salvation. What you
believe concerning whether there is such a thing as a
Rapture or not has no bearing at all upon faith, salvation
or any other aspect of your “Sainthood”, despite those who
wish to make it so. What matters most is this question:
When
Jesus comes, regardless of what you believe about the
timing of the event: Will you be ready? That’s ALL that
matters. With that behind me, let me continue to present
to you what the Bible actually has to say about a
“rapture” of Saints.
Revelation 4:1 “ After this I looked, and, behold, a
door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I
heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which
said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which
must be hereafter.”
After
reading this verse of scripture, what do you see happening
here? What is your understanding about what is happening
in the passage?
Many of
you will say “The Rapture”, or the “Rapture of the
church”.
Why
do you say that? Is it because you have studied this
for yourself and you have reached this conclusion, or is
it because this is what you’ve been taught all your life?
If you
say you’ve studied it, are you being honest when you
answer? If you say it’s because you studied it for
yourself, what scriptures have you used to make your
determination? I pray it is more than these 2 presented
in Revelation 4:1-2 and perhaps 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17.
There are many, many more scriptures concerning this
matter that must (please let me stress … must) be examined
and reconciled before making a decision about what is
happening in Revelation 4:1! It is inadequate and
unacceptable to base your conclusion on 2 small passages
of scripture.
Allow
me to challenge you. I assume (I hope correctly) that you
actually want the truth of the entire Word of God. I also
assume that you will accept the Word of God alone as your
final authority. Let’s study the facts from the Bible and
see what conclusion we will reach.
In
order to positively state this is a “Rapture” of the
church or of the saints of God from the Earth, you must
believe three things:
1. That John is representative of the church as a
whole.
2. That the terms tribulation and wrath mean the
same thing.
3. That there are not 1, but 2 separate comings
of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Before
I explain in great detail, let’s examine some words and
their definitions before we begin this study of Revelation
Chapter 4 verses 1 and 2. This will be quite lengthy so
keep in mind that we ARE still studying the Book of
Revelation.
Rapture:
This word is not found anywhere in the bible and the
concept as it is commonly taught today comes from a
blending of a handful of verses. Now, just because the
word is not found in the bible is NOT A REASON TO REJECT
it as some are inclined to do. That is a very shallow
argument for rejecting something. There are MANY words in
our language that are not found in the bible, yet they are
used to describe real things.
For
Example: You won’t find the words: Automobile, Dinosaur,
Airplane, Politician, Gangster, and a myriad of other
words used commonly today. You also won’t find the words
“oneness” or “trinity” either!
Let's
begin on the next page with some definitions.
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