Rapture
Those who are hoping for the rapture often ask if it will be pre, mid, or post-tribulation?
The answer is found in the life of Jesus because he is our example (1 Peter 2v21), and “The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” — Revelation 19v10b.
Through studying the ‘lived testimony’ of Jesus we see that he actually had two raptures:
The first rapture appears in Revelation 12v5 when Jesus was a baby. It was a rapture that took him to Egypt — a ‘horizontal rapture’. This rapture was pre-tribulation, or before the slaughter of the innocent by King Herod.
The second rapture took Jesus into heaven. This rapture was post-tribulation as Jesus took up his cross, suffered and died. He was buried, and after that he rose, and then he ascended into glory.
1 John 5v6-12
“This is the one who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ. He did not come by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. 7 For there are three that testify: 8 the Spirit, the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement. 9 We accept human testimony, but God’s testimony is greater because it is the testimony of God, which he has given about his Son. 10 Whoever believes in the Son of God accepts this testimony. Whoever does not believe God has made him out to be a liar, because they have not believed the testimony God has given about his Son. 11 And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12 Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.”
The word ‘testify’ or ‘testimony’ appears eight times in 1 John 5v6-12 which is quoted below. As we follow Jesus we fulfill prophecy because “The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” — Revelation 19v10b. True prophets live out their prophecy, and the journey of salvation is always a ‘lived testimony’. We are prophets, priests and kings in Christ Jesus, and like Jesus, our Christian testimony begins with a rapture at the moment of birth.
Rapture at Birth
The rapture at birth relates spiritually, apocalyptically and also to Jesus. The word ‘rapture’, (Greek - ‘harpazo’) is often translated “caught up,” or “snatched up”. It appears in Revelation 12v5.
“And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she bore her child he might devour it. She gave birth to a male child, one who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron, but her child was caught up to God and to his throne” — Revelation 12v4b-5.
The Rapture of Jesus at Birth
This rapture in Revelation 12v5 relates to Jesus’ escape from King Herod when he was a baby. Herod was symbolically the dragon, or Satan, and Jesus escaped with Joseph and Mary to Egypt. To escape the enemy of sin is called repentance, and for Jesus it was an act of symbolic repentance.
As for the symbolic repentance of Jesus, the word ‘symbolic’ is key because Jesus was perfect and sinless. He had no need for repentance. But Jesus reveals the way of salvation to us even from birth, so the king Herod moment was God’s way of demonstrating the act of repentance that is required of us when we are ‘born again’.
The Spiritual Rapture at Birth:
We must follow Jesus in spirit and truth. This has importance for all eternity: we must be born again (John 3v7). It is a spiritual birth. Prior to this birth we are in sin, under the power of the dragon, and following the sinful desires of the flesh which take us away from obedience God. But our direction changes when we hear God’s call, and return to him.
To begin following Jesus requires repentance, and God helps us to escape the dragon of sin. Spiritually it is a rapture like that described in Revelation 12v5 because God gives us the power to escape the dragon at the time of spiritual new birth. It is a kind of resurrection as Paul describes in Ephesians:
“even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved — and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus” — Ephesians 6v5-6.
Baptism is the sign of spiritual resurrection and the water of baptism signifies the washing away of sin that comes through faith in Jesus. The act of baptism is symbolic. The dragon is symbolically pictured as ‘Leviathan’, a sea monster called ‘Rahab’, or Pharoah of Egypt who we escape as we pass through the waters. The reality is the miracle of faith that God freely gives when we receive Jesus into our hearts. He is our ‘passover lamb’ at the time of our spiritual exodus, or spiritual new birth.
The struggle of birth is repentance. We must transform our lives to become like Christ, putting off the ‘old man’ which is the sinful nature, and putting on the ‘new man’ which is obedience to God. Jesus waited in Egypt literally / symbolically for the ‘old man’ (King Herod) to die, and when Herod was dead, “Out of Egypt I called my son” - to begin serving God.
Apocalyptic Rapture at Birth:
Whether or not we are part of an apocalyptic (outwardly visible) or typological journey is not important as all such prophecy passes away (1 Cor 13v8). The purpose of apocalyptic prophecy is to reveal Jesus to the world, but these revelations are only temporal, and symbolic in nature. Being part of an apocalyptic journey which Israel were often during Old Testament times, does not guarantee salvation. Not all Israel were Israel. But they gave us outwardly visible examples of rapture at moments of birth.
The following diagram illustrates these occasions:
The purpose of this website and the Cross2Victory mission is to alert people to the end times birth. Spiritually it is always about repentance, but apocalyptically signs warn that we need to be ready for action. World War three is expected to climax in the latter part of 2024, or around that time, and it is expected to be a full scale nuclear war. By God’s grace and miraculous deeds many lives will be saved, and he will use believers to accomplish it.
To know for sure if this understanding is true please study the signs listed in the menu above and note that signs point to a moment of birth, not the end. Please also study the Daniel 11 Prophecy and watch events closely to see if Israel and Iran engage in battle, and if America invades the countries listed in Daniel 11v40-43. Verse 44 will be nuclear war. I call it the ‘King Herod moment’ at the birth of the final generation.
As we prepare to escape the destruction caused by nuclear war we will demonstrate a symbolic act of repentance in the form of a rapture — symbolically, but literally, to get out of the cities. “Out of Egypt I called my son.” Watch and pray. Be ready for action. PREPARE for the end times birth.
Rapture at Death / The End
The rapture at the end of life is always ‘post-tribulation’, but for God’s people it will be ‘pre-wrath’. The wrath referred to here is that of God’s final judgement. Thanks to Jesus and the sacrifice made for us at the cross he paid for our sins and took the punishment that we deserved to save us from God’s wrath. But we do still face the tribulation of death.
“And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.” — Hebrews 9v27-28 (ESV)
While we must all die, or face the final tribulation when it comes, we have the assurance as Christians that we will not face God’s final wrath because, “God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ” — 1 Thessalonians 5v9.
As for tribulation, we do still face the persecution of men while we live in this world. This is normal (John 15v18, 2 Tim 3v12). It is part of our sanctification as we are being made more like Christ. When the final Antichrist comes there will be a world wide persecution of all who remain faithful to Jesus. It will be a time of great distress, and is referred to as “the abomination that causes desolation.” Matthew 24v15-22.
Jewish Tribulation
Many Christians are taught that only Jews will suffer the great tribulation at the end of time, but I respectfully disagree. However their moment of apocalyptic tribulation will come first, and very soon I believe, with the birth of the final generation. In the same way the gospel comes first to the Jew, and also the Greek (Rom 1v16).
A war is about to destroy the modern nation of Israel — very likely this year (2023) or early in 2024, but it will be just a war and not the end of the world (Mat 24v6-8, Dan 11v36-44). It will resemble a great tribulation for the modern nation of Israel, but the journey of the final generation will just about to begin. Lets pray for Israel. My hope and prayer is especially for Jewish believers, that they will be able to escape the destruction of this coming war.
World war three, a global nuclear war will follow months later — the end times birth. We must all pray for God’s help, that we may find shelter and then enjoy the blessings of birth. I believe many surviving Jewish people will have their hearts opened to receive Jesus.
World war three will bring a world wide revival, like a Pentecost moment for the survivors. The dividing wall of hostility between Jew and gentile will be broken down once again as believing Jews receive Jesus. Jewish and gentile believers will become one people united in Christ. There will be no distinction between us during the journey of the coming final generation.
There will be a powerful ministry as we work together to complete the great commission, and then the final tribulation will come, not as a military war but as a persecution. Jewish and gentile believers will both suffer the final great tribulation, and we will wait for the coming of our Lord and saviour, Jesus Christ.
For more information on the Modern nation of Israel please see the page on Modern Israel.
Also, the Daniel 11 Prophecy is of key importance.
Final Tribulation
On the personal level the final tribulation is simply death. There is no avoiding death and judgement, not for us, nor for the final generation. Some believers will still be alive when Jesus returns, but they will be suffering greatly and in a state of death.
The final tribulation is not expected for a while yet as signs are currently pointing to the birth of the final generation. There will be an unknown time period of several decades for the final generation. When the final tribulation eventually comes it will intensify very suddenly for the last three and a half years as described in Daniel 9v27. For those who remain faithful this will be the end. The severity of persecution will resemble death itself. Judgement begins with the household of God (1 Peter 4v17).
“Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. — Mat 24v29-30.
When Jesus comes he will harvest the earth of all who are still living at the time, and he will raise the dead (Daniel 12v1-3). If we are in Christ we will go to be with him in glory, and we will be with him as he judges the nations.
Apocalyptic moments symbolic for death
The examples in the right hand column of the diagram above illustrate moments of symbolic death. Scattering and gathering is a common theme relating to death and resurrection. The scattering from the Tower of Babel is an example.
As the patriarchs died (real deaths) it often says, “he was ‘gathered’ to his people.”
When Jesus died the disciples were ‘scattered’ momentarily from the garden of Gethsemane. The scattering of 70 AD was a moment of death for the ancient nation of Israel.
When Jesus returns he will harvest the earth and ‘gather’ the elect from the four winds of heaven.
The temple destroyed is similar, and closely related to the ‘abomination that causes desolation’. When we die our bodies are destroyed, and we are temples of the holy spirit.
Physical death is apocalyptic, or ‘outwardly visible’. Death is the real thing, and not just a symbolic moment, but to present the journey of salvation God demonstrated moments of death and resurrection symbolically in ancient times, especially in the nation of Israel. Perhaps the greatest of these was the Exodus from Egypt when the Israelites passed through the sea towards the promised land.
Jesus’ death and resurrection is the source of salvation as his blood cleanses us of all sin, and opens the way for us to follow him. When he returns he will raise us up on the last day. That will be the ultimate rapture and then we will be with him in glory.
The diagram below is discussed on the Modern Israel page.
