WHAT DOES THE BIBLE REALLY SAY?
About....
Resting on the Sabbath or Sunday?
Celebrating Christmas and Easter?
If we go to heaven when we die?
The pre-tribulation Rapture of the church?
See what the Bible actually says about these questions in the studies below.
What does the Bible really say about going to heaven, what day to rest and worship, celebrating Christmas and Easter, and the secret pre-tribulation rapture of the church? The short Studies below will show you what the Scriptures clearly and plainly say about these subjects.
If what you believe isn't true would you want to know it? Have you ever proved what you believe is true by looking at what the Bible really says about your beliefs? Most people believe what they believe because it is what they have always believed. They believe what they have been taught by their parents. They believe what they have been taught by their church. Most Christians assume their beliefs are the truth from the Bible. Few Christians ever really study the Bible to PROVE that what they believe is actually what the Bible says.
"WHAT DOS THE BIBLE REALlY SAY...." is a series of short studies that look at what the Bible really says about Heaven, the Day of Rest, Christmas and Easter and the Rapture. Just as importantly it is about what the Bible doesn't say concerning these subjects. Rather than believing what men say in any commentary or study the reader is encouraged to study the scriptures and to see for themselves what the Bible actually says.
"WHAT DOS THE BIBLE REALlY SAY...." is a series of short studies that look at what the Bible really says about Heaven, the Day of Rest, Christmas and Easter and the Rapture. Just as importantly it is about what the Bible doesn't say concerning these subjects. Rather than believing what men say in any commentary or study the reader is encouraged to study the scriptures and to see for themselves what the Bible actually says.
Matthew 13:13-15, "Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says: 'Hearing you will hear and shall not understand, And seeing you will see and not perceive;' For the hearts of this people have grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing, And their eyes they have closed;"
Why did only 120 people believe what Jesus said when He was on earth while the Jewish religious majority did not? Why don't most Christians believe what the Bible says today? Just like in Jesus' day people see what the Bible says but don't perceive it. They hear the truth from Scripture but don't understand it. Consider this question today with an open heart, open ears, and open mind as you read the following studies. Then ask yourself.....Do you believe what your church teaches or do you believe God?
Why did only 120 people believe what Jesus said when He was on earth while the Jewish religious majority did not? Why don't most Christians believe what the Bible says today? Just like in Jesus' day people see what the Bible says but don't perceive it. They hear the truth from Scripture but don't understand it. Consider this question today with an open heart, open ears, and open mind as you read the following studies. Then ask yourself.....Do you believe what your church teaches or do you believe God?
SABBATH OR SUNDAY?
What Does The Bible Say About The Sabbath Or Sunday Worship?
What Does The Bible Say About Which day of the week is the Sabbath rest for Christians?
Should you rest on Saturday or Sunday?
Does a Christian even need to keep the 4th commandment?
Does it make any difference which day of the week you observe?
Before you can answer this question you need to see what the Bible says in the New Testament about keeping any of the commandments. Should a Christian still keep the commandments after they are saved by grace? Is obedience to God's commandments an identifying sign that Christians know Jesus and His truth is in them? Does commandment keeping show a Christian's love for God? What does the Bible say?
(John 14:15) "If ye love me, keep my commandments."
(John 14:21) "He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him."
(1 John 2:3-4) "And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him."
Almost everyone knows that a Christian does not need to keep the commandments to earn salvation. Most Christians recognize that grace, not law keeping is the way to salvation.
(Eph 2:8) "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:"
(Gal 2:15) "Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified."
Even though a Christian is saved by grace the Bible is very clear about obedience to the commandments being the means of expressing love for God. Jesus was clearly speaking about the ten commandments in Matthew 5:19 because He said "these" commandments, and then he went on to magnify several of the ten commandments in the next few verses.
(Matt 5:19) "Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. "
Jesus called the ten commandments the "least" commandments, not because they were not important and you don't need to keep them, but in contrast to the two great commandments found in Matthew 22. They are all His commandments which Jesus said you are not to break.
(Matt 22:35-39) "Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets
The Bible says the ten commandments hang on the two great commandments. It does not say they are replaced by the two great commandments. They are separate commandments differentiated as two great commandments and ten least commandments. When you add John 13:34 as yet another new commandment from Jesus, you can plainly see the Bible says there are thirteen commandments that a Christian should keep.
(John 13:34) "A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another."
Anytime you find the word "commandments" in the New Testament the Bible is referring to all of them. Let no one deceive you into believing the New Testament references to commandments only means two or three of them. Two of the commandments that Jesus magnified in Matthew chapter five are part of the ten commandments. They are taught as being required both literally and in spirit. Now you not only can't break the sixth commandment literally by committing adultery, you also have to keep the principle of the commandment in spirit, not even lusting in your heart.
(Matt 5:27-28) "Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart."
The same is true for killing someone. Now you not only can't break the fifth commandment literally by committing murder, you also have to keep the commandment in principle, not even hating someone in your heart.
(Matt 5:21-22) "Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment: But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment".
Most Christians have no problem in recognizing the literal observance of these two of the ten commandments. They likewise don't have a problem understanding the spiritual principles of them either. The problem for most Christians is commandment number four.
So what does the Bible actually say about resting on the Sabbath?
What does the Bible say about worship on Sunday?
(Exodus 20:8-11). "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your manservant, nor your maidservant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it"
Rather than observe this commandment to rest on the seventh day with the same degree of literal obedience as"Thou shall not kill" or "Thou shall not commit adultery" , a different approach is usually taken. The fourth commandment is taught as a principle alone. No literal observance is taught as being required by a Christian.
There is no question that any Christian is free in Christ to worship on any day they choose. As a matter of tradition most Christians worship on Sunday, the first day of the week, in observance of the resurrection of Jesus. There is absolutely nothing wrong with this as long as it is clearly recognized as a tradition and not as a fourth commandment observance. The Bible is very adamant about not creating doctrines out of traditions. Churches cannot make a commandment observance out of a tradition.
(Matt 15:9) "But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men."
(Mark 7:7-9,13) "Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men, ..... And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition.....Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such like things do ye".
Throughout the New Testament the principles of commandment keeping are taught without negating or voiding the literal observance. The fourth commandment is a glaring exception. Almost every Christian church teaches the fourth commandment in principle only. They interpret it as the fourth "suggestion" rather than the fourth"commandment". The principle they teach in place of the commandment is the observance of worshiping "one day in seven". The fourth commandment is about "rest". A Christians is free to "worship" on Sunday but should they still "rest" on the Sabbath? If you ask most preachers or ministers they will tell you they are keeping the fourth commandment by worshiping one day in seven. Is this what the Bible says or is this their interpretation?
Jesus said, "the Scripture CANNOT be broken" (John 10:35). Man cannot break Scripture. No church has the authority to break Scripture by changing God's commandments. Scripture was inspired by God for your instruction. No one has the right to change what they don't like.
(2 Timothy 3:16-17). "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work".
The Scriptures teach about the true Sabbath day rest being on the 7th day beginning in Genesis.
(Genesis 2:2-3) "And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. Then God BLESSED the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made."
The Bible commands "THE" seventh day as "THE" day of rest, not "A" day of rest. It is "THE" Sabbath, not "A"Sabbath.
(Exodus 20:8-11). " Remember THE Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but THE seventh day is THE Sabbath of the Lord your God. .... For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested THE seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed THE Sabbath day and hallowed it"
Scripture never commands anyone to observe Sunday, the first day of the week as a weekly day of rest or worship! No other day of the week has been "sanctified" (Greek- "qadash" ...to consecrate, dedicate, be holy, be separate) and blessed by God. Only God can make something holy. The Sabbath was set apart, consecrated and dedicated by God. It points to creation when God himself rested.
So should we rest on the Sabbath or Sunday? Does it matter to God which day we rest or worship?
Many theologians claim that the Sabbath rest was changed to Sunday worship because Jesus was resurrected on the first day of the week. Where is their Biblical authority to make this claim? Just because Jesus rose on the first day of the week would not in any way authorize a change in God's great spiritual law. Most Christians believe Jesus died on Good Friday. Jesus' death freed Christians from the penalty of death in Hell and gave them eternal life. Why not keep the sixth day of the week as a day of rest to celebrate your salvation? Taking communion, or the Lord's Supper is a central part of Christian worship. Most Christians celebrate the Lord's supper on Holy Thursday, or Maundy Thursday. Why not keep the fifth day of the week as a day of rest to celebrate the Lord's Supper? As important as all of these events are, none of them authorize a change in the fourth commandment. Just because something important happened on a certain day of the week does not justify a change in God's law.
One argument that is often used is that the Sabbath was only for the Jews so Christians don't have to keep it. It is often called the "Jewish Sabbath" in many Christian circles implying that it is not the day of rest for Christians. What does the Bible say about this argument? First of all the Sabbath rest was in place long before the Jews even existed as is shown in Genesis 2:2-3 above. The Sabbath has been here since God created it the seventh day of creation.
In the New Testament Jesus did not say that the Sabbath was made just for the Jews. He didn't say the Gentiles had to toil and work seven days a week without the blessing of the day of rest. Jesus said the Sabbath is a blessing made for "man".
(Mark 2:27) "And he said unto them, The Sabbath was made for man......"
Is Sunday, the 1st day of the week really the "Lord's Day"? Or is the Sabbath, the 7th day of the week the Lord's Day?
A strong argument is regularly made that Sunday is the day of rest for Christians because it is the "Lord's Day". There is no verse anywhere in the Bible that connects Sunday with the expression "The Lord's Day". Some interpret Revelation 1:10 to support Sunday worship. This is simply an assumption without any Scriptural support. Without interpretation it simply says John was in the spirit on the Lord's Day. That's it! The Bible says literally nothing about this being Sunday or the first day of the week.
(Rev 1:10) "I was in the Spirit on the Lord's Day, and I heard behind me a loud voice, as of a trumpet."
This verse does not even refer to any specific day of the week. This is a prophecy of future, end-time events. The"Lord's Day" is synonymous with the "Day of the Lord" in Bible prophecy. It in no way indicates a specific day of the week, or mentions worship or rest. The first day of the week is never called "The Lord's Day" anywhere in Scripture. Revelation 1:10 is just a prophetic time reference and nothing more.
There is only one day that could be the "Lord's Day" based upon Jesus' own words. Jesus said the Sabbath (not Sunday) is the day He is "Lord of."
(Mark 2:28) "Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the Sabbath."
It looks pretty clear in Scripture. The Sabbath is the Lord's day when we should rest and worship.
Some people will point to John 20:19 and interpret this as a Sunday church service when in fact it says nothing about church or worship. That is an assumption and an interpretation. It could not be a worship service. The disciples could not have been celebrating Jesus' resurrection. The Bible says they did not even believe Christ was risen until they saw Him! (Mark 16:14; Luke 24:27-41). How could they have been celebrating the resurrection when they didn't even believe it had occurred? The context without any interpretation is very clear. They were not having a worship service. They were scared! They were hiding behind locked doors on the first day of the week out of FEAR. You should never assume what isn't written.
(John 20:19) "... the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst and said to them, 'Peace be with you.'"
Here is another verse that has long been misunderstood because of interpretation and assumptions about when it occurred and why.
(Acts 20:7-12) "Now on the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul, ready to depart the next day, spoke to them and continued his message until midnight"
Does anything here say this was a weekly worship service? They were just eating a meal. Without adding any interpretation to this verse it simply says Paul delivered his message to them during a meal on the first day of the week and then continued speaking until midnight. "Breaking bread" is a common expression used even to this day that simply refers to eating a meal together. Just because Jesus broke a piece of bread as a symbol of His Body at Passover does not mean that every time a piece of bread is broken by a group of Christians they are celebrating the Lord's Supper. The majority of the times that Christians break bread they are simply eating a meal together, not partaking of the Lord's Supper or communion. This is exactly what happened here. They were just breaking bread together. That's what the verse says! You must again make assumptions and use interpretation to make this verse say anything else.
This was not a Sunday worship service. It wasn't even a Sunday morning meeting. It actually occurred on a Saturday evening and went until midnight. The biblical reckoning of days is from sunset to sunset beginning in Genesis at creation. The first day of the week begins on Saturday evening as God counts time. The modern calendar is based upon a twenty four hour day that begins at midnight, in the middle of a dark night. Men have decided that a day begins and ends at midnight. What does the Bible say? God established when a day begins at creation.
Gen 1:5, "And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day."
Gen 1:8, "And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day."
Gen 1:13, "And the evening and the morning were the third day."
Gen 1:19, "And the evening and the morning were the fourth day."
Gen 1:23, "And the evening and the morning were the fifth day."
Gen 1:31, "And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day."
God begins each day in "the evening". God begins and ends days at evening time, as the setting of the sun ends one day and a new day begins. The beginning of a day at sunset had been the standard practice for thousands of years and is still practiced by Jews today. .
Lev. 23:32...." from even unto even, shall ye celebrate your Sabbath."
Saturday evening at sunset is actually the beginning of our modern Sunday as God counts time. The beginning of "the first day" is actually on our Saturday evening. If this meal was on Sunday evening the Bible would have said "Now on the second day of the week". Paul actually departed on his long journey the next day, the daylight part of the first day of the week, our Sunday.
Now you can clearly see that the disciples had gathered together for dinner on a Saturday evening and Paul spoke with them for a few hours during and after the meal. In the first century the traditional Sunday morning worship service usually began right after sunrise. It's ludicrous to even suggest that this was a regular Sunday morning worship service that began about 6:00 AM and then dragged on for 18 hours, until midnight.
So they were really meeting on the Sabbath, not Sunday!
What about 1 Corinthians 16:2? This verse is assumed to be a collection taken up during a church service. Is that what it actually says or is this another interpretation?
(1 Corinthians 16:2) "On the first day of the week let each one of you lay something aside, storing up as he may prosper, that there be no collections when I come."
Without any interpretation this verse simply says they were to lay something aside on the first day of the week, storing up their contributions to give to Paul when He arrived. That's it! There is no mention of resting from their labors here. There is no mention about gathering for a weekly worship service to do this collection. This was not even a collection of money. It was food to assist the poor in Jerusalem.
When was this to occur? The expression translated "the first day of the week" comes from two Greek words, "mia"which is defined as "one", and "sabbaton" which is defined as "Sabbath Day". On "one Sabbath day" the disciples were to lay some food aside for the saints who were starving in Jerusalem. This isn't even a Sunday in the first place. This is an assumption based upon a mistranslation. It was the Sabbath. Each individual was asked to lay some food aside on one Sabbath day so it would be ready when Paul and the men arrived to receive it and carry it to Jerusalem.
Was the Sabbath "hung on the cross" and "done away with"?
Some theologians try to contrive arguments that the Sabbath was part of the Jewish ceremonial law that was done away when Jesus came. This is an assumption based upon false human reasoning. Nothing is mentioned anywhere in the Bible about the sacrifices or ceremonial duties of the law being connected with the ten commandments. The Sabbath as part of the ten commandments stands by itself as part of the great spiritual law of God.
The Jews today are required by God to keep the ten commandments! God gave them the commandments through Moses at Mount Sinai. Speaking of Moses in the book of Acts, Stephen said that God gave him the oracles, which are the laws of God.
(Acts 7:38) "This is he, that was in the church in the wilderness with the angel which spake to him in the mount Sinai, and with our fathers: who received the lively oracles to give unto us:"
The Jews have been committed with the responsibility to be the record keepers of God laws.
(Romans 3:2) "Much every way: chiefly, because that unto them were committed the oracles of God."
The Jews have faithfully guarded the oracles of God to this day. They have never lost sight of which day is the Sabbath because God will not allow it. They are the guardians of His written law. They have faithfully kept the seventh day rest as God commanded. Regardless of any changes in any calendars, or decrees from any Catholic Pope, or orders from Roman Emperor Constantine, God has made sure that the Jews He entrusted with his oracles never lost sight of which day is the fourth commandment Sabbath rest.
If God had changed the fourth commandment Sabbath rest from the seventh day of the week to the first day of the week after the resurrection He would have had to tell the Jews. If God's law changed He had to tell the people He charged with keeping the record of His laws or He would be causing them to sin! If the Sabbath was changed from the seventh day of the week to the first day of the week then millions of Jews are sinning and it's God's fault! There can be only one fourth commandment. There can't be one fourth commandment for the Jews and one fourth commandment for Christians. There is one law for all! Jesus said not even the smallest part of the law would change until heaven and earth have passed away.
(Matt 5:18) "For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled."
No interpretation can change what Jesus plainly said! Heaven and earth are still here! The law is still here. Not one letter of it has changed. The fourth commandment is still part of God's great spiritual law and it has not changed! God did not change his fourth commandment for Christians while keeping it the same for Jews. That is an assumption not supported by any Scripture. The Jews are not sinning because they are still resting on the day God commanded and set apart as holy time. The Jews, the keepers of the oracles of God, never lost the Sabbath.......Christians did! Christians sin by not obeying the fourth commandment to rest on the seventh day.
The fourth commandment cannot be separated from the other nine commandments and be given special dispensation from literal observance. It carries the same weight of God's great spiritual law as the other nine commandments. A Christian is free in Christ to worship on Sunday if they choose to do so, but they should still rest from their labors on the seventh day according to God's fourth commandment.
Christians belong to God! They show that love by obeying the commandments. God says if you claim to be a Christian who knows Jesus as your Savior, yet you don't keep the fourth commandment, you are a liar and the truth is not in you.
(1 John 2:3-4) "And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. "
Those are pretty strong words from God to all Christians! He doesn't say just keep His two great commandments. He doesn't say to just keep the principles of His commandments. He says to keep his commandments! Period! Jesus' commandments are the same as His Father's commandments. To those who claim that Jesus' commandments are different than God's commandments given to Moses the Bible says this.
(John 10:30) "I and my Father are one" .
There is no difference. There is no distinction. There isn't one set of commandments from Jesus and another set of commandments from His Father that apply to different people at different times. This assumption is utter nonsense! It is an affront to the Godhead to even suggest that God is divided in His teachings and His commandments.
Worship on Sunday, the first day of the week, according to your tradition if you choose, but remember to rest on the Sabbath, the seventh day of the week according to the Word of God!
(Exodus 20:8) "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God."
Without any interpretation this verse plainly says "the seventh day" is the Sabbath! Christians should rest on the Sabbath, the 7th day of the week, not Sunday!
(John 14:15) "If ye love me, keep my commandments."
(John 14:21) "He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him."
(1 John 2:3-4) "And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him."
Almost everyone knows that a Christian does not need to keep the commandments to earn salvation. Most Christians recognize that grace, not law keeping is the way to salvation.
(Eph 2:8) "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:"
(Gal 2:15) "Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified."
Even though a Christian is saved by grace the Bible is very clear about obedience to the commandments being the means of expressing love for God. Jesus was clearly speaking about the ten commandments in Matthew 5:19 because He said "these" commandments, and then he went on to magnify several of the ten commandments in the next few verses.
(Matt 5:19) "Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. "
Jesus called the ten commandments the "least" commandments, not because they were not important and you don't need to keep them, but in contrast to the two great commandments found in Matthew 22. They are all His commandments which Jesus said you are not to break.
(Matt 22:35-39) "Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets
The Bible says the ten commandments hang on the two great commandments. It does not say they are replaced by the two great commandments. They are separate commandments differentiated as two great commandments and ten least commandments. When you add John 13:34 as yet another new commandment from Jesus, you can plainly see the Bible says there are thirteen commandments that a Christian should keep.
(John 13:34) "A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another."
Anytime you find the word "commandments" in the New Testament the Bible is referring to all of them. Let no one deceive you into believing the New Testament references to commandments only means two or three of them. Two of the commandments that Jesus magnified in Matthew chapter five are part of the ten commandments. They are taught as being required both literally and in spirit. Now you not only can't break the sixth commandment literally by committing adultery, you also have to keep the principle of the commandment in spirit, not even lusting in your heart.
(Matt 5:27-28) "Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart."
The same is true for killing someone. Now you not only can't break the fifth commandment literally by committing murder, you also have to keep the commandment in principle, not even hating someone in your heart.
(Matt 5:21-22) "Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment: But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment".
Most Christians have no problem in recognizing the literal observance of these two of the ten commandments. They likewise don't have a problem understanding the spiritual principles of them either. The problem for most Christians is commandment number four.
So what does the Bible actually say about resting on the Sabbath?
What does the Bible say about worship on Sunday?
(Exodus 20:8-11). "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your manservant, nor your maidservant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it"
Rather than observe this commandment to rest on the seventh day with the same degree of literal obedience as"Thou shall not kill" or "Thou shall not commit adultery" , a different approach is usually taken. The fourth commandment is taught as a principle alone. No literal observance is taught as being required by a Christian.
There is no question that any Christian is free in Christ to worship on any day they choose. As a matter of tradition most Christians worship on Sunday, the first day of the week, in observance of the resurrection of Jesus. There is absolutely nothing wrong with this as long as it is clearly recognized as a tradition and not as a fourth commandment observance. The Bible is very adamant about not creating doctrines out of traditions. Churches cannot make a commandment observance out of a tradition.
(Matt 15:9) "But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men."
(Mark 7:7-9,13) "Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men, ..... And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition.....Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such like things do ye".
Throughout the New Testament the principles of commandment keeping are taught without negating or voiding the literal observance. The fourth commandment is a glaring exception. Almost every Christian church teaches the fourth commandment in principle only. They interpret it as the fourth "suggestion" rather than the fourth"commandment". The principle they teach in place of the commandment is the observance of worshiping "one day in seven". The fourth commandment is about "rest". A Christians is free to "worship" on Sunday but should they still "rest" on the Sabbath? If you ask most preachers or ministers they will tell you they are keeping the fourth commandment by worshiping one day in seven. Is this what the Bible says or is this their interpretation?
Jesus said, "the Scripture CANNOT be broken" (John 10:35). Man cannot break Scripture. No church has the authority to break Scripture by changing God's commandments. Scripture was inspired by God for your instruction. No one has the right to change what they don't like.
(2 Timothy 3:16-17). "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work".
The Scriptures teach about the true Sabbath day rest being on the 7th day beginning in Genesis.
(Genesis 2:2-3) "And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. Then God BLESSED the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made."
The Bible commands "THE" seventh day as "THE" day of rest, not "A" day of rest. It is "THE" Sabbath, not "A"Sabbath.
(Exodus 20:8-11). " Remember THE Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but THE seventh day is THE Sabbath of the Lord your God. .... For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested THE seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed THE Sabbath day and hallowed it"
Scripture never commands anyone to observe Sunday, the first day of the week as a weekly day of rest or worship! No other day of the week has been "sanctified" (Greek- "qadash" ...to consecrate, dedicate, be holy, be separate) and blessed by God. Only God can make something holy. The Sabbath was set apart, consecrated and dedicated by God. It points to creation when God himself rested.
So should we rest on the Sabbath or Sunday? Does it matter to God which day we rest or worship?
Many theologians claim that the Sabbath rest was changed to Sunday worship because Jesus was resurrected on the first day of the week. Where is their Biblical authority to make this claim? Just because Jesus rose on the first day of the week would not in any way authorize a change in God's great spiritual law. Most Christians believe Jesus died on Good Friday. Jesus' death freed Christians from the penalty of death in Hell and gave them eternal life. Why not keep the sixth day of the week as a day of rest to celebrate your salvation? Taking communion, or the Lord's Supper is a central part of Christian worship. Most Christians celebrate the Lord's supper on Holy Thursday, or Maundy Thursday. Why not keep the fifth day of the week as a day of rest to celebrate the Lord's Supper? As important as all of these events are, none of them authorize a change in the fourth commandment. Just because something important happened on a certain day of the week does not justify a change in God's law.
One argument that is often used is that the Sabbath was only for the Jews so Christians don't have to keep it. It is often called the "Jewish Sabbath" in many Christian circles implying that it is not the day of rest for Christians. What does the Bible say about this argument? First of all the Sabbath rest was in place long before the Jews even existed as is shown in Genesis 2:2-3 above. The Sabbath has been here since God created it the seventh day of creation.
In the New Testament Jesus did not say that the Sabbath was made just for the Jews. He didn't say the Gentiles had to toil and work seven days a week without the blessing of the day of rest. Jesus said the Sabbath is a blessing made for "man".
(Mark 2:27) "And he said unto them, The Sabbath was made for man......"
Is Sunday, the 1st day of the week really the "Lord's Day"? Or is the Sabbath, the 7th day of the week the Lord's Day?
A strong argument is regularly made that Sunday is the day of rest for Christians because it is the "Lord's Day". There is no verse anywhere in the Bible that connects Sunday with the expression "The Lord's Day". Some interpret Revelation 1:10 to support Sunday worship. This is simply an assumption without any Scriptural support. Without interpretation it simply says John was in the spirit on the Lord's Day. That's it! The Bible says literally nothing about this being Sunday or the first day of the week.
(Rev 1:10) "I was in the Spirit on the Lord's Day, and I heard behind me a loud voice, as of a trumpet."
This verse does not even refer to any specific day of the week. This is a prophecy of future, end-time events. The"Lord's Day" is synonymous with the "Day of the Lord" in Bible prophecy. It in no way indicates a specific day of the week, or mentions worship or rest. The first day of the week is never called "The Lord's Day" anywhere in Scripture. Revelation 1:10 is just a prophetic time reference and nothing more.
There is only one day that could be the "Lord's Day" based upon Jesus' own words. Jesus said the Sabbath (not Sunday) is the day He is "Lord of."
(Mark 2:28) "Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the Sabbath."
It looks pretty clear in Scripture. The Sabbath is the Lord's day when we should rest and worship.
Some people will point to John 20:19 and interpret this as a Sunday church service when in fact it says nothing about church or worship. That is an assumption and an interpretation. It could not be a worship service. The disciples could not have been celebrating Jesus' resurrection. The Bible says they did not even believe Christ was risen until they saw Him! (Mark 16:14; Luke 24:27-41). How could they have been celebrating the resurrection when they didn't even believe it had occurred? The context without any interpretation is very clear. They were not having a worship service. They were scared! They were hiding behind locked doors on the first day of the week out of FEAR. You should never assume what isn't written.
(John 20:19) "... the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst and said to them, 'Peace be with you.'"
Here is another verse that has long been misunderstood because of interpretation and assumptions about when it occurred and why.
(Acts 20:7-12) "Now on the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul, ready to depart the next day, spoke to them and continued his message until midnight"
Does anything here say this was a weekly worship service? They were just eating a meal. Without adding any interpretation to this verse it simply says Paul delivered his message to them during a meal on the first day of the week and then continued speaking until midnight. "Breaking bread" is a common expression used even to this day that simply refers to eating a meal together. Just because Jesus broke a piece of bread as a symbol of His Body at Passover does not mean that every time a piece of bread is broken by a group of Christians they are celebrating the Lord's Supper. The majority of the times that Christians break bread they are simply eating a meal together, not partaking of the Lord's Supper or communion. This is exactly what happened here. They were just breaking bread together. That's what the verse says! You must again make assumptions and use interpretation to make this verse say anything else.
This was not a Sunday worship service. It wasn't even a Sunday morning meeting. It actually occurred on a Saturday evening and went until midnight. The biblical reckoning of days is from sunset to sunset beginning in Genesis at creation. The first day of the week begins on Saturday evening as God counts time. The modern calendar is based upon a twenty four hour day that begins at midnight, in the middle of a dark night. Men have decided that a day begins and ends at midnight. What does the Bible say? God established when a day begins at creation.
Gen 1:5, "And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day."
Gen 1:8, "And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day."
Gen 1:13, "And the evening and the morning were the third day."
Gen 1:19, "And the evening and the morning were the fourth day."
Gen 1:23, "And the evening and the morning were the fifth day."
Gen 1:31, "And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day."
God begins each day in "the evening". God begins and ends days at evening time, as the setting of the sun ends one day and a new day begins. The beginning of a day at sunset had been the standard practice for thousands of years and is still practiced by Jews today. .
Lev. 23:32...." from even unto even, shall ye celebrate your Sabbath."
Saturday evening at sunset is actually the beginning of our modern Sunday as God counts time. The beginning of "the first day" is actually on our Saturday evening. If this meal was on Sunday evening the Bible would have said "Now on the second day of the week". Paul actually departed on his long journey the next day, the daylight part of the first day of the week, our Sunday.
Now you can clearly see that the disciples had gathered together for dinner on a Saturday evening and Paul spoke with them for a few hours during and after the meal. In the first century the traditional Sunday morning worship service usually began right after sunrise. It's ludicrous to even suggest that this was a regular Sunday morning worship service that began about 6:00 AM and then dragged on for 18 hours, until midnight.
So they were really meeting on the Sabbath, not Sunday!
What about 1 Corinthians 16:2? This verse is assumed to be a collection taken up during a church service. Is that what it actually says or is this another interpretation?
(1 Corinthians 16:2) "On the first day of the week let each one of you lay something aside, storing up as he may prosper, that there be no collections when I come."
Without any interpretation this verse simply says they were to lay something aside on the first day of the week, storing up their contributions to give to Paul when He arrived. That's it! There is no mention of resting from their labors here. There is no mention about gathering for a weekly worship service to do this collection. This was not even a collection of money. It was food to assist the poor in Jerusalem.
When was this to occur? The expression translated "the first day of the week" comes from two Greek words, "mia"which is defined as "one", and "sabbaton" which is defined as "Sabbath Day". On "one Sabbath day" the disciples were to lay some food aside for the saints who were starving in Jerusalem. This isn't even a Sunday in the first place. This is an assumption based upon a mistranslation. It was the Sabbath. Each individual was asked to lay some food aside on one Sabbath day so it would be ready when Paul and the men arrived to receive it and carry it to Jerusalem.
Was the Sabbath "hung on the cross" and "done away with"?
Some theologians try to contrive arguments that the Sabbath was part of the Jewish ceremonial law that was done away when Jesus came. This is an assumption based upon false human reasoning. Nothing is mentioned anywhere in the Bible about the sacrifices or ceremonial duties of the law being connected with the ten commandments. The Sabbath as part of the ten commandments stands by itself as part of the great spiritual law of God.
The Jews today are required by God to keep the ten commandments! God gave them the commandments through Moses at Mount Sinai. Speaking of Moses in the book of Acts, Stephen said that God gave him the oracles, which are the laws of God.
(Acts 7:38) "This is he, that was in the church in the wilderness with the angel which spake to him in the mount Sinai, and with our fathers: who received the lively oracles to give unto us:"
The Jews have been committed with the responsibility to be the record keepers of God laws.
(Romans 3:2) "Much every way: chiefly, because that unto them were committed the oracles of God."
The Jews have faithfully guarded the oracles of God to this day. They have never lost sight of which day is the Sabbath because God will not allow it. They are the guardians of His written law. They have faithfully kept the seventh day rest as God commanded. Regardless of any changes in any calendars, or decrees from any Catholic Pope, or orders from Roman Emperor Constantine, God has made sure that the Jews He entrusted with his oracles never lost sight of which day is the fourth commandment Sabbath rest.
If God had changed the fourth commandment Sabbath rest from the seventh day of the week to the first day of the week after the resurrection He would have had to tell the Jews. If God's law changed He had to tell the people He charged with keeping the record of His laws or He would be causing them to sin! If the Sabbath was changed from the seventh day of the week to the first day of the week then millions of Jews are sinning and it's God's fault! There can be only one fourth commandment. There can't be one fourth commandment for the Jews and one fourth commandment for Christians. There is one law for all! Jesus said not even the smallest part of the law would change until heaven and earth have passed away.
(Matt 5:18) "For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled."
No interpretation can change what Jesus plainly said! Heaven and earth are still here! The law is still here. Not one letter of it has changed. The fourth commandment is still part of God's great spiritual law and it has not changed! God did not change his fourth commandment for Christians while keeping it the same for Jews. That is an assumption not supported by any Scripture. The Jews are not sinning because they are still resting on the day God commanded and set apart as holy time. The Jews, the keepers of the oracles of God, never lost the Sabbath.......Christians did! Christians sin by not obeying the fourth commandment to rest on the seventh day.
The fourth commandment cannot be separated from the other nine commandments and be given special dispensation from literal observance. It carries the same weight of God's great spiritual law as the other nine commandments. A Christian is free in Christ to worship on Sunday if they choose to do so, but they should still rest from their labors on the seventh day according to God's fourth commandment.
Christians belong to God! They show that love by obeying the commandments. God says if you claim to be a Christian who knows Jesus as your Savior, yet you don't keep the fourth commandment, you are a liar and the truth is not in you.
(1 John 2:3-4) "And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. "
Those are pretty strong words from God to all Christians! He doesn't say just keep His two great commandments. He doesn't say to just keep the principles of His commandments. He says to keep his commandments! Period! Jesus' commandments are the same as His Father's commandments. To those who claim that Jesus' commandments are different than God's commandments given to Moses the Bible says this.
(John 10:30) "I and my Father are one" .
There is no difference. There is no distinction. There isn't one set of commandments from Jesus and another set of commandments from His Father that apply to different people at different times. This assumption is utter nonsense! It is an affront to the Godhead to even suggest that God is divided in His teachings and His commandments.
Worship on Sunday, the first day of the week, according to your tradition if you choose, but remember to rest on the Sabbath, the seventh day of the week according to the Word of God!
(Exodus 20:8) "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God."
Without any interpretation this verse plainly says "the seventh day" is the Sabbath! Christians should rest on the Sabbath, the 7th day of the week, not Sunday!
This is what the Bible plainly says about the Sabbath!
Should Christians Celebrate Christmas And Easter?
They say a picture is worth a thousand words.
Look at these pictures and then ask yourself,
"Should a Christian celebrate Christmas?
"Should a Christian celebrate Easter?"
Is it a wrong to tell a little, culturally accepted white lie in the name of innocent fantasy? Is it really a sin to bear false witness to children? Absolutely! It is a transgression of God's commandment if we lie to our children about Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny. We raise our children to tell the truth and get upset when they lie to us, but what kind of example do we set when WE lie to THEM about Christmas and Easter? If we expect our children to be honest and always tell the truth we should set a right example ourselves. Some parents justify lying to their children because they view Christmas and Easter as innocent fantasy, but can a young child tell the difference between fantasy and reality when they are taught by the most trusted people in their life? Children trust their parents yet parents don't see the harm in breaking that trust by falsely teaching their childen about beings that don't exist at Christmas and Easter. This is a lie, plain and simple! Sin is sin! There are no exceptions in the commandment for lying to children for any reason.
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If our children find out Santa and the Easter Bunny don't really exist, is it possible they will logically question if God is real too? Children are usually intelligent enough to make the connection. They may begin to question everything about the real God when they learn the truth about the pseudo-god Santa Claus, who knows everything about them, whether they have been bad or good. When our kids find out we lied to them about Christmas and Easter and Santa and the Easter Bunny is it really a shock to find out they also question everything we told them about Jesus?
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Have Christian parents unintentionally made Santa more important than Jesus at Christmas time? Do they talk about Jesus as much as Santa? Be honest now. Do children get this excited about Jesus at Christmas?
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Do we care what God thinks about man-made religious celebrations like Christmas and Easter that He never commanded? There is no command, example, or instruction in the Bible concerning the celebration of the birth or resurrection of Jesus. In fact the Bible says God HATES our religious holidays and festivals that we use instead of the ones God ordained as His special Holy Days. What should a Christian do about putting Christmas trees in our home and in our churches in light of what God says about them being a false, heathen tradition? "Thou shalt not plant thee a grove of any trees near unto the altar of thy Lord thy God..."(Deut 16:21) Do we think the God who never changes doesn't care if we put evergreen trees in a church near the altar? What about when decorate eggs and fill baskets with candy at Easter? Does god care?
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Did the early Christian church use pagan customs and traditions to celebrate Jesus' birth or resurrection? Never! They didn't even celebrate Christmas at all. Do we know the sources of many Christmas and Easter traditions and customs that were added centuries later? Should we care where they came from? Their source matters to God based on what He says He will do to ALL people, no matter how well intentioned, who follow pagan customs and traditions. Shouldn't we see Christmas and Easter as God does and call them what they really are, PAGAN celebrations? Have you ever researched just how many Christmas and Easter customs and traditions were taken directly from the pagan religions? If you look you will find nearly all of them came from paganism. Do we know why the Catholic church started using all the pagan customs and traditions to celebrate Christmas and Easter? How did the Easter Bunny with the pagan fertility rites like colored eggs every get connected with the Christian Resurrection of Jesus? It's a matter of historical record. The truth is out there for anyone willing to look for it.
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Is the modern Christmas spirit something Jesus would endorse with all the selfish and greedy values that are taught to our children at Christmas? How can we put Christ back into a secular celebration He was never a part of in the first place? The early church didn't even celebrate Jesus' birth. Christmas and Easter as we know them are relatively modern observances. Our modern, secular, commercialized Christmas doesn't look anything at all like the birth of Jesus we see in the Bible. Have we been deceived by a non-Biblical lie? Absolutely Yes!
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Does God's Word teach observing man-made holidays like Christmas and Easter, or does it teach the truth about worship that God won't accept?
Will we stand with the truth of God, or will we continue to follow pagan inspired traditions that have no Biblical foundation?
Would we be surprised to know what this well respected,great Christian minister preached?
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The Bible tells us to "Prove All Things".
Have you proved the celebration of Christmas and Easter from the Bible?
Is it possible God really hates these holidays no matter how well intended?
Your eternal life depends on you knowing the truth!
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Is Going To Heaven The reward For The Saved?
Is just going to Heaven the reward for the saved, or has God promised something even better?
What do the Scriptures say about where Christians go to receive their promised eternal inheritance?
What is our eternal reward when we are saved?
What does the Bible actually say about people going to Heaven when they die?
According to recent figures almost 80% of Americans believe that going to Heaven is the reward for the saved. Almost every church teaches that saved Christians go to Heaven immediately after they die, and unsaved sinners go straight to Hell. Does the Bible actually say this? Does the Bible say anyone has ever gone to the angelic Third Heaven where God lives? Not according to Jesus!
John 3:13, "No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man ... "
Jesus is plainly saying that no person who has ever lived has been in Heaven, except Himself. This verse requires no interpretation. It's not symbolic language. No one needs to say "What He means is....". The Bible is plainly saying that no human being who has died has ascended to Heaven.
Just think, none of the men like Elijah, Elisha, Moses, Abraham, Job, King David, or any of the men of faith in the Old Testament went to heaven when they died. Each one is still dead, awaiting the promises.
Heb 11:13, "These all died in faith, not having received the promises...."
Heb 11:3, "And these all, having obtained a good report through faith,received not the promise."
What promises are these verses talking about? What is this inheritance that was promised to these righteous men? Was it going to Heaven?
Romans 4:13, "For the promise, that he should be the heir of the WORLD, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith."
Isaiah 60:21, (speaking of the time of Christ's reign on earth)...."Thy people also shall be all righteous: they shall inherit THE LAND forever."
Psalm 37:11, "... the meek shall inherit the EARTH;"
Have any of these righteous men ever eternally inherited the earth? None of these righteous men have received the promises. Since none of these men have received their inheritance, they, like other believers, remain as heirs to the same promise.
Gal 3:29, "And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise."
Romans 8:17, "And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ;"
The resurrection of these men and the fulfillment of these promises to inherit the world is yet to occur in the future. None of these men have received God's gift of eternal life upon the earth.
The Bible says that King David, a man after God's "own heart" (Acts 13:22), is "dead and buried" (Acts 2:29), not alive in heaven.
Acts 2:29, "Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulcher is with us unto this day."
The Bible is plainly saying that the person, King David, was still in the grave. It doesn't say just David's body is dead and buried. It says DAVID, the complete person who lived and thought and reasoned and loved was dead. David is included among those who died in faith in Hebrews 11:32. If anyone should be in heaven it would be him. The Bible says he isn't. He is still asleep in his grave, not alive in heaven.
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The Bible likens death to a state of sleep. The Bible says the dead are simply unconscious and have no knowledge of what is going on around them. Just look at all of these verses concerning what the Bible says about death.
Ecclesiastes 9:5, ".... the dead know not any thing...."
The Bible says the dead "sleep in the dust of the earth". (Psalm 13:3) and "sleep the sleep of death" (Deut 12:1-2) "and they shall not awake, nor be raised out of their sleep" (Job 14:12)..."unto the coming of the Lord" (1 Thess 4:13-15)
If they, or any spiritual part of them were alive in Heaven none of these Scriptures would make any sense. This is what the Bible says about death.
Concerning Moses:
Deut 31:16, "And the LORD said unto Moses, Behold, thou shalt sleep with thy fathers."
Concerning King David:
2 Sam 7:12, "And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers"
Psalm 13:3, "Consider and hear me, O Lord my God: lighten mine eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death"
Acts 13:36, "For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell on sleep, and was laid unto his fathers, and saw corruption."
Concerning Job:
Job 7:21, "And why dost thou not pardon my transgression, and take away mine iniquity? for now shall I sleep in the dust; and thou shalt seek me in the morning, but I shall not be."
Job 14:12, "So man lieth down, and riseth not: till the heavens be no more, they shall not awake, nor be raised out of their sleep. "
Concerning the Saints at the End Times:
Daniel 12:1-2, "And at that time .....many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake...."
1 Corinthians 15:51, "Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed."
2 Peter 3:4, "And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep , all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation."
Concerning Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead:
John 11:13,"These things said he: and after that he saith unto them, Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep. Then said his disciples, Lord, if he sleep, he shall do well. Howbeit Jesus spake of his death : but they thought that he had spoken of taking of rest in sleep."
Concerning Christians:
1 Corinthians 11:30, "For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep.
1 Corinthians 15:6, "After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep."
1 Corinthians 15:17-18, "And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished."
1 Thessalonians 4:13-15, "But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep,that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not precede them which are asleep"
Concerning Christ:
1 Corinthians 15:20-21,"But now is Christ risen from the dead , and become the firstfruits of them that slept. For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead."
Christians believe that the Bible teaches a resurrection from the dead, which is absolutely true. Yet most think that the believers soul rises from the grave at death and goes to Heaven ahead of the body. The Bible says that ALL are in the grave and ALL will hear His voice while in the grave, not in Heaven. It is only THEN that they shall come forth in the resurrection and receive their reward or judgement. Until that time all are simply asleep in the grave.
John 5:28-29, "Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation."
The Bible doesn't support this confusing belief that everyone goes to Heaven or Hell when they die! Do you know why this confusion exists? It's because scriptural support for the doctrine of you, or your "immortal soul" going to heaven when you die cannot be found in the Bible. The doctrine of an immortal soul apart from the body is not biblical.
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Many Christians believe they go to heaven because Jesus sometimes used the phrase "Kingdom of Heaven."Matthew is the only book in the New Testament that uses this term. All other writers used the term Kingdom of God. Both of these expressions mean the same thing. They simply define ownership. They tell us who the kingdom belongs to, (God) and where it originates from (Heaven), not where it will be located after Jesus returns. Other scriptures plainly tell us where the Kingdom will be located.
If you look carefully at Jesus' words you will see He didn't teach His followers that they would go to heaven. Jesus taught that the Kingdom belonging to God and originating in heaven, which is where he would go to prepare it, would come to this earth and be established here when He returned in glory.
Jesus spoke repeatedly of the Kingdom of God which would be established at His second coming. In the Lord's prayer believers are told by Jesus to pray for this.
Matthew 6:9 "Thy kingdom come"
Daniel 7:14, (speaking of the Messiah)"And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed."
Matthew 25:31-34, "When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory.....Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, you blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world."
Luke 21:27-31, "And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory... So likewise you, when ye see these things come to pass, know you that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand."
The Bible says Jesus will come again to earth and establish the Kingdom of God here, not up in Heaven.
Daniel 7:27, "And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him"
Notice the Kingdom is under heaven, not in it. It is an everlasting Kingdom that is given as a reward to the saints. God is giving believers HIS ETERNAL KINGDOM on earth as their reward. The Bible says this is their eternal reward, not going to heaven and sitting around on a cloud playing a harp and watching God. The Kingdom of God will come to the earth and should be what every Christian seeks, not going to Heaven. Jesus plainly tells Christians what they should be seeking.
Matthew 6:33, "But seek ye first the kingdom of God"
The righteous men and women of the Old Testament who are dead and buried will finally receive the promises when Jesus returns, and will be in the Kingdom of God.
Luke 13:28, "....ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God,..."
In the Gospel of Luke Jesus spoke of Himself in a parable.
Luke 19:12, "He said therefore, A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return." The "far country" is Heaven. Jesus will bring the Kingdom of God to earth from Heaven at His return.
Zechariah 14:4 and 9 speaks of the day when Jesus' Kingdom will be established on the earth. " And in that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which faces Jerusalem on the east ... And the LORD shall be King over all the earth"
In Matthew 5:5 the Bible says, "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth."
Why should the meek get stuck with the earth and everyone else gets to go to Heaven? It doesn't make sense to dump them here if Heaven is the real reward. The truth is the meek will be in a perfect earthly paradise with Jesus. It's the ultimate eternal reward. Jesus is plainly telling believers that their eternal reward shall be on the earth, a new earthly paradise. So, what will believers do on this earth when He gives them this Kingdom?
Revelation 1:5-6, "And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, And hath made US kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen."
Revelation 20:6 "Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years."
The Bible says believers shall reign with Christ as kings and priests in the Kingdom of God. And where will they reign with Christ? Up in Heaven?
In Revelation 5 speaking of the resurrected saints, the Bible says.....
Revelation 5:10, "You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the EARTH" (NIV).
Where will they reign? What will they be? What is the eternal reward for the saved? God has an incredible, active reward for believers as kings and priests reigning with Jesus right here on a recreated earthly paradise with a fresh new sky and enough land for all people throughout the world.
Revelation 21:1 , "And I saw a new heaven and a new EARTH: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, COMING DOWN from God OUT OF HEAVEN, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband."
John 14:2-3, "In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again , and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there you may be also. "
Jesus has gone to the Third Heaven (2 Corinthians 12:2-4) to prepare paradise for His Elect. He is preparing the new Jerusalem filled with many mansions. He brings it all down from Heaven with him to a new earth when he returns. He tells believers that where He is they will also be. Jesus will be on the earth. Paradise will be on the earth. God will be on the earth not up in heaven. The Bible says the reward for the saints is eternal life with Jesus and God the Father in the Kingdom of God right here on earth. The tabernacle of GOD will be on the EARTH!
Revelation 21:3, "And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them...."
Revelation 21:23, "And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof."
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The Bible repeatedly refers to Christians as heirs. They are to inherit the promise of eternal life in the Kingdom of God. They are inheritors right here on earth where they will reign with Christ. This is what the Bible says.
Romans 4:13, "For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith."
Psalm 37:11, "But the meek shall inherit the EARTH;"
Psalm 37:9, "For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the LORD, they shall inherit the EARTH."
Psalm 37:22, "For such as be blessed of him shall inherit the EARTH";
Revelation 5:10, "And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the EARTH."
Isaiah 60:21, (speaking of the time of Christ's reign on earth)....."Thy people also shall be all righteous: they shall inherit THE LAND forever."
Matthew 5:5,"Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the EARTH." .
How many times does the Bible have to say believers will inherit the earth before people accept it? Should Christians keep clinging to their traditional beliefs about going to Heaven? Will believers allow the Word of God to correct them?
Mark 7:9, "Full well do you reject the Word of God that you may keep your own tradition."
34 years ago a minister offered a $1,000 church donation to anyone who could show a verse in the KJV Bible that promised going to Heaven as the reward for the saved, or that Christians go to Heaven to actually receive their reward. The burden of proof is on all who believe the Bible says Christians go to Heaven as their reward. These are valid questions that need a Biblical answer. Where are the verses that say their inheritance is going to Heaven? Where does the Bible say that they go to Heaven as their reward? What Scripture says the Kingdom of God will be in Heaven for all eternity? Is there even just one verse of scripture that promises that going to Heaven is the promised reward for the saved? The $1,000 has never been claimed and never will be.
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What about the "yeah buts", the few scriptures that people think say that someone has gone to Heaven or that saved Christians go to Heaven as their reward. The Bible has already plainly spoken on this in so many verses that the truth is indisputable. Any verse that appears to contradict what the Bible plainly says needs to be looked at carefully for a correct understanding. A more in depth look at these scriptures is necessary to see how they are misunderstood.
Some will point to the parable of Lazarus and the rich man in Luke 16:19-31 as proof that the dead go to Heaven and the wicked sinners to burning Hell fire. This parable is not an affirmation about what happens to the dead. Jesus already plainly said in John 3:13 "No one has ascended to heaven", which means no bodies with fingers, bosoms and tongues were in heaven. Heaven and Hell are not the context of this chapter. Heaven isn't even mentioned in this story. Those who try to say this is a literal account that shows what happens to the dead can only do so by taking it out of context. It's an allegory and nothing more. If you believe what the Bible plainly says in John 3:13 you cannot take this illustrative story as literal, factual Biblical proof of the afterlife. It is clear that this is only an allegory and when compared to other scriptures that plainly state that "the dead know nothing"(Ecclesiastes 9:5) and that even King David, who "is both dead and buried," (Acts 2:29), has not ascended to heaven. If David, a man after God's own heart, isn't in Heaven neither is Abraham nor Lazarus!
"I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart" (Acts 13:22)
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What about the thief on the cross?
Luke 23:42-43, "And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in paradise."
The problem here concerns the translation done by men. Specifically where men placed the comma before "today". There is no punctuation in the original New Testament Greek manuscripts . The original Greek text without punctuation is the inspired Word of God. It was hundreds of years before the addition of punctuation and it was done with theological preconceptions and bias. It is important to understand that punctuation was determined by biased men. It's not part of the God inspired text! The translators, influenced by 900 years of Greek teachings and beliefs about death, placed the comma before the word "today" because it agreed with their own perceptions of man's eternal reward. This does not agree with the rest of the Bible. Consider what the Companion Bible says in it's appendix concerning this.
Appendix 173. "TO-DAY" (Luke 23:43).
"The interpretation of this verse depends entirely on punctuation, which rests wholly on human authority, the Greek manuscripts having no punctuation of any kind till the ninth century."
Appendix 94 adds to this.
"Punctuation also, as we have it to-day, is entirely absent. None of our modern marks of punctuation are found until the ninth century, and then only in Latin versions and some cursives. From this it will be seen that the punctuation of all modern editions of the Greek text, and of all versions made from it, rests entirely on human authority, and has no weight whatever in determining or even influencing the interpretation of a single passage.
Brother Curtis Dickinson made this observation concerning Luke 23:43.
"The Greek adverb here rendered 'today' appears in the Septuagint and the New Testament 221 times. In 170 of these places the adverb follows the verb it modifies. For example: 'I declare to you this day, that ye shall surely perish' (Deut. 30:18). Therefore, it would be natural to punctuate Luke 23:43 as follows: 'Truly I say to you today, you will be with me in Paradise.' Paul uses a similar turn of phrase in Acts 20:26 -- 'I testify to you this day, that I am innocent of the blood of all men.'"
Someday the thief will be in the Kingdom of Heaven with Jesus just as He so clearly promised. It just wasn't the day he died.
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What about Elijah? Wasn't he taken up to heaven by a whirlwind?
Absolutely! The Bible says he was.
2 Kings 2:11, "And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven."
No, this is not a contradiction. This is not an interpretation issue but a clarification question. The Bible mentions three different places called heaven. The question is simply which heaven did he go into?
The first heaven is the lower atmosphere, the sky, where we find birds, clouds and whirlwinds.
Psalm 104:12,"By them shall the fowls of the heaven have their habitation, which sing among the branches."
The second heaven is what we call "space". It's where we find the sun, moon, planets, and stars.
Psalm 8:3, "When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have ordained...."
The Third Heaven is the highest Heaven and is the most important one. This is where we find God's throne. This is God's domain where Jesus said no human has ever ascended.
John 3:13, "And no man has ascended up to heaven,"
Psalm 115:16, "The highest heavens belong to the Lord,"
2 Corinthians 12:2-4, " I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago,....such an one caught up to the third heaven ... How that he was caught up into paradise"
What actually happened to Elijah? Into which heaven did he go?
The Hebrew word "shamayim" used in this verse and translated "heaven" means "the sky". Many scholars mistakenly ASSUME that Elijah was changed to spirit and went to the angelic Third Heaven to be with God. The sons of the prophets obviously didn't assume this. They knew otherwise. They understood the whirlwind, which occurs in the lower atmosphere, had simply taken Elijah up into the sky (shamayim) and that he was moved to another place. They believed that he had been taken away to some mountain or valley and were very concerned about where Elijah had come down. They were worried about his safety right here on earth as we see in 2 Kings.
2 Kings 2:16, "Look now, there are fifty strong men with your servants. Please let them go and search for your master, lest perhaps the "Spirit (Hebrew, "ruwach"- wind) of the Lord" has taken him up and cast him upon some mountain or into some valley"
The son of the prophets did not believe Elijah went to Heaven. They saw a whirlwind in the sky carry him off somewhere and were concerned, so they sent out a search party. (2 Kings 2:17). God did not want Elijah to be found so they returned without knowing where he was. God had effectively retired Elijah. His prophetic office had been transferred to Elisha. Elijah's work was finished except for one final letter.
How can you know conclusively that Elijah did not go to the Third Heaven? The Bible says that Elijah wrote a letter to King Jehoram of Judah. Several years after the whirlwind trip through the sky Elijah wrote to the king warning him about his sins. This letter is found in 2 Chronicles.
2 Chronicles 21:12-15, "And there came a writing to him from Elijah the prophet, saying, Thus saith the Lord God of David thy father, Because thou hast not walked in the ways of Jehoshaphat thy father, nor in the ways of Asa king of Judah, But hast walked in the way of the kings of Israel, and hast made Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to go a whoring, like to the whoredoms of the house of Ahab, and also hast slain thy brethren of thy father's house, which were better than thyself: Behold, with a great plague will the Lord smite thy people, and thy children, and thy wives, and all thy goods: And thou shalt have great sickness by disease of thy bowels, until thy bowels fall out by reason of the sickness day by day."
This prophecy came true shortly thereafter. This letter is even more proof that Elijah was still very much alive on this earth years after he was taken away by the whirlwind. He continued to live somewhere else for several more years as this letter clearly indicates and then he died like all men.
Hebrews 9:27 "it is appointed for men to die once."
Heb 11:32, "And what shall I more say? For the time would fail me to tell of ... the prophets:" ......Verse 39, "And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise."
Elijah the prophet died in faith, not having received the promise. Elijah still has not received the promise. He is still dead!
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What about Enoch who was "translated" so he didn't see death?
Genesis 5:24, says "And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him."
Hebrews 11:5 says "By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him:"
The Greek word for "translated" is "metatithemi" and it means "to transfer, (literally) transport, carry over, change, remove, translate." It primarily means to transfer, or transport. The same Greek word is used in Acts 7:16 as "carried over". In Galatians 1:6 it is "removed". Enoch was actually removed and transferred by God to another location where he eventually died. The Bible doesn't say why Enoch was removed. It doesn't say where God took him. We don't want to make assumptions about him going to Heaven when the Bible simply doesn't say where he went.
Again, men just ASSUME that Enoch never died but went straight to Heaven. Does this verse mean Enoch never died ,or does it simply mean that he didn't get killed AT THAT TIME? Was he changed to spirit and taken directly to Heaven, or was he removed just like Elijah to another place on earth for his protection? Did Jesus lie when He said no man has ascended to heaven?
Hebrews 11:13, in referring to Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, etc. says that "these all died in faith, not having received the promises." The Bible says they all died including Enoch! They are still awaiting the promise, their reward, at their resurrection when Christ returns. Enoch may have been transferred that day so he didn't see death but the Bible says he eventually died.
Did God take Enoch to Heaven? Absolutely not! Jesus Himself plainly said that "no one has ascended to heaven ..." Enoch neither ascended to heaven nor received the promised eternal reward. (Heb 11:13) The Bible makes it clear that Enoch ultimately died.
Genesis 5:23, "So all the days of Enoch were three hundred and sixty-five years."
Enoch lived 365 years and then he died. He isn't alive today. He isn't in heaven. He has not received the promises. Enoch was no exception. He didn't see death that day because God took him away.
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The next time you hear a preacher say from the pulpit, "The Bible says, 'when we all get to heaven'.....(fill in the bank)", ask him where it says that in Scripture? Ask him where the phrase, "When we all get to heaven", is written in the Bible? Ask him to find even one verse anywhere in an authorized version of the Bible that promises that going TO heaven is the reward for the saved. He won't be able to do it! It's simply not there! This belief is not from Jesus. It's not taught in the Bible. It's origins are from Greek, Egyptian and Babylonian religious beliefs.
It should be clear by now that the Bible does NOT say going to Heaven is the reward for the saved. Is it important for Christians to know the reward for the saved is the Kingdom of God! Does it really matter if you know this? The truth is more wonderful, more exciting, and more incredible than anything you could have previously imagined. Consider your choices. Men say you will go to heaven and sit around watching God forever. God wants you to know that you will be crowned as a King and Priest, and rule with Jesus in His Kingdom, an incredible, perfect, paradise for all eternity. You can either plan on sitting around on a cloud doing nothing, or you can look forward in joyful anticipation to what the Bible says. You can experience an eternal lifetime in the Kingdom of God, reigning and living with Jesus forever.
This is what the Bible says!
John 3:13, "No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man ... "
Jesus is plainly saying that no person who has ever lived has been in Heaven, except Himself. This verse requires no interpretation. It's not symbolic language. No one needs to say "What He means is....". The Bible is plainly saying that no human being who has died has ascended to Heaven.
Just think, none of the men like Elijah, Elisha, Moses, Abraham, Job, King David, or any of the men of faith in the Old Testament went to heaven when they died. Each one is still dead, awaiting the promises.
Heb 11:13, "These all died in faith, not having received the promises...."
Heb 11:3, "And these all, having obtained a good report through faith,received not the promise."
What promises are these verses talking about? What is this inheritance that was promised to these righteous men? Was it going to Heaven?
Romans 4:13, "For the promise, that he should be the heir of the WORLD, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith."
Isaiah 60:21, (speaking of the time of Christ's reign on earth)...."Thy people also shall be all righteous: they shall inherit THE LAND forever."
Psalm 37:11, "... the meek shall inherit the EARTH;"
Have any of these righteous men ever eternally inherited the earth? None of these righteous men have received the promises. Since none of these men have received their inheritance, they, like other believers, remain as heirs to the same promise.
Gal 3:29, "And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise."
Romans 8:17, "And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ;"
The resurrection of these men and the fulfillment of these promises to inherit the world is yet to occur in the future. None of these men have received God's gift of eternal life upon the earth.
The Bible says that King David, a man after God's "own heart" (Acts 13:22), is "dead and buried" (Acts 2:29), not alive in heaven.
Acts 2:29, "Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulcher is with us unto this day."
The Bible is plainly saying that the person, King David, was still in the grave. It doesn't say just David's body is dead and buried. It says DAVID, the complete person who lived and thought and reasoned and loved was dead. David is included among those who died in faith in Hebrews 11:32. If anyone should be in heaven it would be him. The Bible says he isn't. He is still asleep in his grave, not alive in heaven.
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The Bible likens death to a state of sleep. The Bible says the dead are simply unconscious and have no knowledge of what is going on around them. Just look at all of these verses concerning what the Bible says about death.
Ecclesiastes 9:5, ".... the dead know not any thing...."
The Bible says the dead "sleep in the dust of the earth". (Psalm 13:3) and "sleep the sleep of death" (Deut 12:1-2) "and they shall not awake, nor be raised out of their sleep" (Job 14:12)..."unto the coming of the Lord" (1 Thess 4:13-15)
If they, or any spiritual part of them were alive in Heaven none of these Scriptures would make any sense. This is what the Bible says about death.
Concerning Moses:
Deut 31:16, "And the LORD said unto Moses, Behold, thou shalt sleep with thy fathers."
Concerning King David:
2 Sam 7:12, "And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers"
Psalm 13:3, "Consider and hear me, O Lord my God: lighten mine eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death"
Acts 13:36, "For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell on sleep, and was laid unto his fathers, and saw corruption."
Concerning Job:
Job 7:21, "And why dost thou not pardon my transgression, and take away mine iniquity? for now shall I sleep in the dust; and thou shalt seek me in the morning, but I shall not be."
Job 14:12, "So man lieth down, and riseth not: till the heavens be no more, they shall not awake, nor be raised out of their sleep. "
Concerning the Saints at the End Times:
Daniel 12:1-2, "And at that time .....many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake...."
1 Corinthians 15:51, "Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed."
2 Peter 3:4, "And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep , all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation."
Concerning Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead:
John 11:13,"These things said he: and after that he saith unto them, Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep. Then said his disciples, Lord, if he sleep, he shall do well. Howbeit Jesus spake of his death : but they thought that he had spoken of taking of rest in sleep."
Concerning Christians:
1 Corinthians 11:30, "For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep.
1 Corinthians 15:6, "After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep."
1 Corinthians 15:17-18, "And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished."
1 Thessalonians 4:13-15, "But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep,that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not precede them which are asleep"
Concerning Christ:
1 Corinthians 15:20-21,"But now is Christ risen from the dead , and become the firstfruits of them that slept. For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead."
Christians believe that the Bible teaches a resurrection from the dead, which is absolutely true. Yet most think that the believers soul rises from the grave at death and goes to Heaven ahead of the body. The Bible says that ALL are in the grave and ALL will hear His voice while in the grave, not in Heaven. It is only THEN that they shall come forth in the resurrection and receive their reward or judgement. Until that time all are simply asleep in the grave.
John 5:28-29, "Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation."
The Bible doesn't support this confusing belief that everyone goes to Heaven or Hell when they die! Do you know why this confusion exists? It's because scriptural support for the doctrine of you, or your "immortal soul" going to heaven when you die cannot be found in the Bible. The doctrine of an immortal soul apart from the body is not biblical.
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Many Christians believe they go to heaven because Jesus sometimes used the phrase "Kingdom of Heaven."Matthew is the only book in the New Testament that uses this term. All other writers used the term Kingdom of God. Both of these expressions mean the same thing. They simply define ownership. They tell us who the kingdom belongs to, (God) and where it originates from (Heaven), not where it will be located after Jesus returns. Other scriptures plainly tell us where the Kingdom will be located.
If you look carefully at Jesus' words you will see He didn't teach His followers that they would go to heaven. Jesus taught that the Kingdom belonging to God and originating in heaven, which is where he would go to prepare it, would come to this earth and be established here when He returned in glory.
Jesus spoke repeatedly of the Kingdom of God which would be established at His second coming. In the Lord's prayer believers are told by Jesus to pray for this.
Matthew 6:9 "Thy kingdom come"
Daniel 7:14, (speaking of the Messiah)"And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed."
Matthew 25:31-34, "When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory.....Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, you blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world."
Luke 21:27-31, "And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory... So likewise you, when ye see these things come to pass, know you that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand."
The Bible says Jesus will come again to earth and establish the Kingdom of God here, not up in Heaven.
Daniel 7:27, "And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him"
Notice the Kingdom is under heaven, not in it. It is an everlasting Kingdom that is given as a reward to the saints. God is giving believers HIS ETERNAL KINGDOM on earth as their reward. The Bible says this is their eternal reward, not going to heaven and sitting around on a cloud playing a harp and watching God. The Kingdom of God will come to the earth and should be what every Christian seeks, not going to Heaven. Jesus plainly tells Christians what they should be seeking.
Matthew 6:33, "But seek ye first the kingdom of God"
The righteous men and women of the Old Testament who are dead and buried will finally receive the promises when Jesus returns, and will be in the Kingdom of God.
Luke 13:28, "....ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God,..."
In the Gospel of Luke Jesus spoke of Himself in a parable.
Luke 19:12, "He said therefore, A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return." The "far country" is Heaven. Jesus will bring the Kingdom of God to earth from Heaven at His return.
Zechariah 14:4 and 9 speaks of the day when Jesus' Kingdom will be established on the earth. " And in that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which faces Jerusalem on the east ... And the LORD shall be King over all the earth"
In Matthew 5:5 the Bible says, "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth."
Why should the meek get stuck with the earth and everyone else gets to go to Heaven? It doesn't make sense to dump them here if Heaven is the real reward. The truth is the meek will be in a perfect earthly paradise with Jesus. It's the ultimate eternal reward. Jesus is plainly telling believers that their eternal reward shall be on the earth, a new earthly paradise. So, what will believers do on this earth when He gives them this Kingdom?
Revelation 1:5-6, "And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, And hath made US kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen."
Revelation 20:6 "Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years."
The Bible says believers shall reign with Christ as kings and priests in the Kingdom of God. And where will they reign with Christ? Up in Heaven?
In Revelation 5 speaking of the resurrected saints, the Bible says.....
Revelation 5:10, "You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the EARTH" (NIV).
Where will they reign? What will they be? What is the eternal reward for the saved? God has an incredible, active reward for believers as kings and priests reigning with Jesus right here on a recreated earthly paradise with a fresh new sky and enough land for all people throughout the world.
Revelation 21:1 , "And I saw a new heaven and a new EARTH: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, COMING DOWN from God OUT OF HEAVEN, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband."
John 14:2-3, "In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again , and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there you may be also. "
Jesus has gone to the Third Heaven (2 Corinthians 12:2-4) to prepare paradise for His Elect. He is preparing the new Jerusalem filled with many mansions. He brings it all down from Heaven with him to a new earth when he returns. He tells believers that where He is they will also be. Jesus will be on the earth. Paradise will be on the earth. God will be on the earth not up in heaven. The Bible says the reward for the saints is eternal life with Jesus and God the Father in the Kingdom of God right here on earth. The tabernacle of GOD will be on the EARTH!
Revelation 21:3, "And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them...."
Revelation 21:23, "And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof."
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The Bible repeatedly refers to Christians as heirs. They are to inherit the promise of eternal life in the Kingdom of God. They are inheritors right here on earth where they will reign with Christ. This is what the Bible says.
Romans 4:13, "For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith."
Psalm 37:11, "But the meek shall inherit the EARTH;"
Psalm 37:9, "For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the LORD, they shall inherit the EARTH."
Psalm 37:22, "For such as be blessed of him shall inherit the EARTH";
Revelation 5:10, "And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the EARTH."
Isaiah 60:21, (speaking of the time of Christ's reign on earth)....."Thy people also shall be all righteous: they shall inherit THE LAND forever."
Matthew 5:5,"Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the EARTH." .
How many times does the Bible have to say believers will inherit the earth before people accept it? Should Christians keep clinging to their traditional beliefs about going to Heaven? Will believers allow the Word of God to correct them?
Mark 7:9, "Full well do you reject the Word of God that you may keep your own tradition."
34 years ago a minister offered a $1,000 church donation to anyone who could show a verse in the KJV Bible that promised going to Heaven as the reward for the saved, or that Christians go to Heaven to actually receive their reward. The burden of proof is on all who believe the Bible says Christians go to Heaven as their reward. These are valid questions that need a Biblical answer. Where are the verses that say their inheritance is going to Heaven? Where does the Bible say that they go to Heaven as their reward? What Scripture says the Kingdom of God will be in Heaven for all eternity? Is there even just one verse of scripture that promises that going to Heaven is the promised reward for the saved? The $1,000 has never been claimed and never will be.
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What about the "yeah buts", the few scriptures that people think say that someone has gone to Heaven or that saved Christians go to Heaven as their reward. The Bible has already plainly spoken on this in so many verses that the truth is indisputable. Any verse that appears to contradict what the Bible plainly says needs to be looked at carefully for a correct understanding. A more in depth look at these scriptures is necessary to see how they are misunderstood.
Some will point to the parable of Lazarus and the rich man in Luke 16:19-31 as proof that the dead go to Heaven and the wicked sinners to burning Hell fire. This parable is not an affirmation about what happens to the dead. Jesus already plainly said in John 3:13 "No one has ascended to heaven", which means no bodies with fingers, bosoms and tongues were in heaven. Heaven and Hell are not the context of this chapter. Heaven isn't even mentioned in this story. Those who try to say this is a literal account that shows what happens to the dead can only do so by taking it out of context. It's an allegory and nothing more. If you believe what the Bible plainly says in John 3:13 you cannot take this illustrative story as literal, factual Biblical proof of the afterlife. It is clear that this is only an allegory and when compared to other scriptures that plainly state that "the dead know nothing"(Ecclesiastes 9:5) and that even King David, who "is both dead and buried," (Acts 2:29), has not ascended to heaven. If David, a man after God's own heart, isn't in Heaven neither is Abraham nor Lazarus!
"I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart" (Acts 13:22)
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What about the thief on the cross?
Luke 23:42-43, "And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in paradise."
The problem here concerns the translation done by men. Specifically where men placed the comma before "today". There is no punctuation in the original New Testament Greek manuscripts . The original Greek text without punctuation is the inspired Word of God. It was hundreds of years before the addition of punctuation and it was done with theological preconceptions and bias. It is important to understand that punctuation was determined by biased men. It's not part of the God inspired text! The translators, influenced by 900 years of Greek teachings and beliefs about death, placed the comma before the word "today" because it agreed with their own perceptions of man's eternal reward. This does not agree with the rest of the Bible. Consider what the Companion Bible says in it's appendix concerning this.
Appendix 173. "TO-DAY" (Luke 23:43).
"The interpretation of this verse depends entirely on punctuation, which rests wholly on human authority, the Greek manuscripts having no punctuation of any kind till the ninth century."
Appendix 94 adds to this.
"Punctuation also, as we have it to-day, is entirely absent. None of our modern marks of punctuation are found until the ninth century, and then only in Latin versions and some cursives. From this it will be seen that the punctuation of all modern editions of the Greek text, and of all versions made from it, rests entirely on human authority, and has no weight whatever in determining or even influencing the interpretation of a single passage.
Brother Curtis Dickinson made this observation concerning Luke 23:43.
"The Greek adverb here rendered 'today' appears in the Septuagint and the New Testament 221 times. In 170 of these places the adverb follows the verb it modifies. For example: 'I declare to you this day, that ye shall surely perish' (Deut. 30:18). Therefore, it would be natural to punctuate Luke 23:43 as follows: 'Truly I say to you today, you will be with me in Paradise.' Paul uses a similar turn of phrase in Acts 20:26 -- 'I testify to you this day, that I am innocent of the blood of all men.'"
Someday the thief will be in the Kingdom of Heaven with Jesus just as He so clearly promised. It just wasn't the day he died.
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What about Elijah? Wasn't he taken up to heaven by a whirlwind?
Absolutely! The Bible says he was.
2 Kings 2:11, "And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven."
No, this is not a contradiction. This is not an interpretation issue but a clarification question. The Bible mentions three different places called heaven. The question is simply which heaven did he go into?
The first heaven is the lower atmosphere, the sky, where we find birds, clouds and whirlwinds.
Psalm 104:12,"By them shall the fowls of the heaven have their habitation, which sing among the branches."
The second heaven is what we call "space". It's where we find the sun, moon, planets, and stars.
Psalm 8:3, "When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have ordained...."
The Third Heaven is the highest Heaven and is the most important one. This is where we find God's throne. This is God's domain where Jesus said no human has ever ascended.
John 3:13, "And no man has ascended up to heaven,"
Psalm 115:16, "The highest heavens belong to the Lord,"
2 Corinthians 12:2-4, " I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago,....such an one caught up to the third heaven ... How that he was caught up into paradise"
What actually happened to Elijah? Into which heaven did he go?
The Hebrew word "shamayim" used in this verse and translated "heaven" means "the sky". Many scholars mistakenly ASSUME that Elijah was changed to spirit and went to the angelic Third Heaven to be with God. The sons of the prophets obviously didn't assume this. They knew otherwise. They understood the whirlwind, which occurs in the lower atmosphere, had simply taken Elijah up into the sky (shamayim) and that he was moved to another place. They believed that he had been taken away to some mountain or valley and were very concerned about where Elijah had come down. They were worried about his safety right here on earth as we see in 2 Kings.
2 Kings 2:16, "Look now, there are fifty strong men with your servants. Please let them go and search for your master, lest perhaps the "Spirit (Hebrew, "ruwach"- wind) of the Lord" has taken him up and cast him upon some mountain or into some valley"
The son of the prophets did not believe Elijah went to Heaven. They saw a whirlwind in the sky carry him off somewhere and were concerned, so they sent out a search party. (2 Kings 2:17). God did not want Elijah to be found so they returned without knowing where he was. God had effectively retired Elijah. His prophetic office had been transferred to Elisha. Elijah's work was finished except for one final letter.
How can you know conclusively that Elijah did not go to the Third Heaven? The Bible says that Elijah wrote a letter to King Jehoram of Judah. Several years after the whirlwind trip through the sky Elijah wrote to the king warning him about his sins. This letter is found in 2 Chronicles.
2 Chronicles 21:12-15, "And there came a writing to him from Elijah the prophet, saying, Thus saith the Lord God of David thy father, Because thou hast not walked in the ways of Jehoshaphat thy father, nor in the ways of Asa king of Judah, But hast walked in the way of the kings of Israel, and hast made Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to go a whoring, like to the whoredoms of the house of Ahab, and also hast slain thy brethren of thy father's house, which were better than thyself: Behold, with a great plague will the Lord smite thy people, and thy children, and thy wives, and all thy goods: And thou shalt have great sickness by disease of thy bowels, until thy bowels fall out by reason of the sickness day by day."
This prophecy came true shortly thereafter. This letter is even more proof that Elijah was still very much alive on this earth years after he was taken away by the whirlwind. He continued to live somewhere else for several more years as this letter clearly indicates and then he died like all men.
Hebrews 9:27 "it is appointed for men to die once."
Heb 11:32, "And what shall I more say? For the time would fail me to tell of ... the prophets:" ......Verse 39, "And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise."
Elijah the prophet died in faith, not having received the promise. Elijah still has not received the promise. He is still dead!
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What about Enoch who was "translated" so he didn't see death?
Genesis 5:24, says "And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him."
Hebrews 11:5 says "By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him:"
The Greek word for "translated" is "metatithemi" and it means "to transfer, (literally) transport, carry over, change, remove, translate." It primarily means to transfer, or transport. The same Greek word is used in Acts 7:16 as "carried over". In Galatians 1:6 it is "removed". Enoch was actually removed and transferred by God to another location where he eventually died. The Bible doesn't say why Enoch was removed. It doesn't say where God took him. We don't want to make assumptions about him going to Heaven when the Bible simply doesn't say where he went.
Again, men just ASSUME that Enoch never died but went straight to Heaven. Does this verse mean Enoch never died ,or does it simply mean that he didn't get killed AT THAT TIME? Was he changed to spirit and taken directly to Heaven, or was he removed just like Elijah to another place on earth for his protection? Did Jesus lie when He said no man has ascended to heaven?
Hebrews 11:13, in referring to Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, etc. says that "these all died in faith, not having received the promises." The Bible says they all died including Enoch! They are still awaiting the promise, their reward, at their resurrection when Christ returns. Enoch may have been transferred that day so he didn't see death but the Bible says he eventually died.
Did God take Enoch to Heaven? Absolutely not! Jesus Himself plainly said that "no one has ascended to heaven ..." Enoch neither ascended to heaven nor received the promised eternal reward. (Heb 11:13) The Bible makes it clear that Enoch ultimately died.
Genesis 5:23, "So all the days of Enoch were three hundred and sixty-five years."
Enoch lived 365 years and then he died. He isn't alive today. He isn't in heaven. He has not received the promises. Enoch was no exception. He didn't see death that day because God took him away.
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The next time you hear a preacher say from the pulpit, "The Bible says, 'when we all get to heaven'.....(fill in the bank)", ask him where it says that in Scripture? Ask him where the phrase, "When we all get to heaven", is written in the Bible? Ask him to find even one verse anywhere in an authorized version of the Bible that promises that going TO heaven is the reward for the saved. He won't be able to do it! It's simply not there! This belief is not from Jesus. It's not taught in the Bible. It's origins are from Greek, Egyptian and Babylonian religious beliefs.
It should be clear by now that the Bible does NOT say going to Heaven is the reward for the saved. Is it important for Christians to know the reward for the saved is the Kingdom of God! Does it really matter if you know this? The truth is more wonderful, more exciting, and more incredible than anything you could have previously imagined. Consider your choices. Men say you will go to heaven and sit around watching God forever. God wants you to know that you will be crowned as a King and Priest, and rule with Jesus in His Kingdom, an incredible, perfect, paradise for all eternity. You can either plan on sitting around on a cloud doing nothing, or you can look forward in joyful anticipation to what the Bible says. You can experience an eternal lifetime in the Kingdom of God, reigning and living with Jesus forever.
This is what the Bible says!
What Does The Bible Really Say About A Pre-tribulation Rapture?
Does the Bible say Jesus will take all authentic Christians to Heaven for seven years?
Will Jesus secretly return to rapture His church to Heaven to save them from the Great Tribulation?
Do the Scriptures teach that Jesus returns twice?
When do Christians rise to meet Jesus and where do they go with Him?
Many preachers were teaching that the Rapture of the church to Heaven would occur on September 23, 2017, right after the Feast Of Trumpets. They said the Great Tribulation would start the next day. They expected to be protected in Heaven for 7 years while all Hell breaks loose on the sinners on earth. None of this happened! Why? Is this what the Bible says? You need to know the plain truth from Scripture so you won't be upset or disappointed and question God or your salvation if you are still here during the Great Tribulation and no Rapture occurred. It's time we know the truth as actually written in the Bible and not some assumptions or someone's interpretation of events. What is plainly written in Scripture?
Does the Bible say Jesus will return to earth twice,once secretly and then again 7 years later in power and glory?
Does the Bible say Jesus will come secretly to rapture all authentic Christians to Heaven before the Great Tribulation?
Does the Bible say believers will be here on earth during the Great Tribulation?
Let's see what the Bible plainly says.
In the 19th Century a young Scottish girl named Margaret McDonald prophesied about a great "catching away" of the church. She believed God was going to secretly "rapture" the church to Heaven at any moment. Some churches at the time began to assimilate her belief of this great catching away doctrine. It should be noted that this is a relatively new doctrine and was not taught by Jesus, the Apostles, or the early church. The rapture is not spoken of in the Bible as a separate, specific event. The verses people use to support the Rapture belief are private interpretations of prophetic Scriptures concerning the second coming of Jesus and the resurrection of the saints.
2 Peter 1:20 "Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. "
The Biblical teaching concerning the resurrection of the dead believers and of living Christians is not to be interpreted privately. Margaret McDonald did not obey God. The Bible, our only authority, speaks very clearly on this subject for those willing to listen.
Let's look at a few scriptures that people claim support the Rapture doctrine.
1 Corinthians 15:51-53, "Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality."
1 Thessalonians 4:13-17, "But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up (Greek word "harpazo" meaning to seize) together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord."
Matthew 24:31 "And He will send forth His angels with A GREAT TRUMPET and THEY WILL GATHER TOGETHER His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other."
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The key to the entire question of when dead believers are "raised imperishable", or living Christians "will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air", is all a matter of timing. When does this resurrection occur? When do believers rise from their graves? When do those living Christians, changed from living flesh and blood to spirit beings, ascend into the clouds to meet Jesus? When does the Bible say Jesus will .... "send forth His angels withA GREAT TRUMPET and THEY WILL GATHER TOGETHER His elect from the four winds" ?
When will believers "all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye" ?
When will "the dead be raised imperishable, and we will be changed" ?
When will "we who are alive and remain will be caught up....together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air" ?
When "shall we always be with the Lord" ?
The Bible tells us in Matthew 24:29, "Immediately after the tribulation....."
Matthew 24:29-30, "Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: And THEN shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and THEN shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory."
This does NOT occur before the tribulation, not before the last trumpet, not before the beast and the antichrist bring destruction upon the whole earth, and not before the persecution of the church by the devil.
"We will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye" ...... after the tribulation at the blast of a great trumpet.
1 Corinthians 15:21-24 "For since death is through man, also through a Man is a resurrection of the dead; for as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ, the firstfruit; afterward those of Christ AT HIS COMING. Then is the end, when He delivers the kingdom to God, even the Father, when He makes to cease all rule and all authority and power."
When does this happen? "Those of Christ" are resurrected, if dead, or rise up to meet Him if they are living, "at His coming" , not seven years earlier. They meet Him as He is returning to establish His Kingdom on earth. When are all "made alive?" "At His coming" , When "the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout," believers will all be changed in the twinkling of an eye. There is nothing secret or quiet about this! This is at His one and only second coming! Where is ANY verse that says He returns quietly to Rapture His church? No shouting. No Trumpet. No fanfare. Where is the Rapture mentioned as a separate event in the Bible?
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Do the scriptures say Jesus is coming back in two stages? Do the scriptures say he is returning secretly? Do they say Jesus will quietly return part of the way, stop short in the clouds, and then return to heaven? Do the scriptures say believers will return to Heaven for seven years with Jesus? No. The Bible says none of this. These are all private interpretations of the scriptures.
Rather than simply allowing these scriptures to say what they say, referring to the one and only return of Jesus, they have been privately and erroneously interpreted by some to be about a pre-tribulation rapture. What does the Bible say about the one and only return of Jesus?
Acts 1:9, "And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight."
How did Jesus go to heaven? He was seen publicly by a multitude of men of Galilee as he ascended.
Acts 1:11, "Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven."
The Bible plainly tells us Jesus will be seen coming down from Heaven through the clouds. It will be difficult for anyone not to see Him.
Matthew 24:27, "For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be."
1Thessalonians 4:16, "For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout ...."
Matthew 24:30, "And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. "
We don't have to wonder about some secret return of Jesus. We don't need to interpret these verses to mean something else. The Bible says Jesus will return to earth the same way he went to heaven, openly and in plain sight for all to see. He won't return secretly or quietly but with much fanfare.
Matthew 24:30, "And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory."
The Bible says Jesus will be bright and shining like lightning, for all the world to see. It will be a worldwide event witnessed by " all the tribes of the earth". It will occur with trumpet blasts and loud shouts. This clearly eliminates the argument of 1 Thessalonians chapter 4 supporting a secret return of Jesus and a pre-tribulation Rapture of the saints.
1 Thessalonians 4:13, "....even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord."
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Don't believe what men tell you. Don't believe the relatively recent dream of a young Scottish girl. Believe what the Bible has plainly said for two thousand years, without requiring any private interpretation or explanation.
Does the Bible say in Matthew 24:30 that we will see Jesus return "in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven"?
Jesus went up into the clouds in glory at His ascension and He will return the same way. ALL the earth will see Jesus coming openly and in power and glory in the clouds. There is nothing secret about this at all.
What occurs after Jesus' return? The Bible says this is NOW when, "we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye". It says this is NOW when, "the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed" and "this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality".
The Bible says this all occurs after the tribulation when the world sees Jesus return in power and glory. This is when the dead believers rise from their graves and the living Christians rise up to meet Jesus in the clouds. All the verses people claim are a separate Rapture event are really about the one and only return of Jesus to set up His Kingdom on earth with His resurrected saints.
Matthew 24:31, "And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other."
When do we find this great harvest of the believers occurring? It occurs after the seventh and last trumpet sounds and announces the return of Jesus is imminent! There can be only ONE last trumpet.
Revelation 11:15-16, "And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever. And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle. And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in thy sickle, and reap: for the time is come for thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe. And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped."
This great harvest of believers occurs when Jesus returns in the clouds crowned with glory. This is His second coming when the kingdoms of the world become our Lord's.
Revelation 19:11, "And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war."
Revelation 19:14, "And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean."
Revelation 19:15, "And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God."
This is the returning of Jesus Christ with all His armies of angels, after the seventh and last trumpet, after the tribulation, and after the resurrection of the believers. Jesus is coming to the earth in power and glory to establish His kingdom and judge the nations.
When Jesus comes in the clouds in power and glory, and believers rise up to meet Him in the clouds what happens to them? Do they go to Heaven for seven years? The Bible says "we shall always be with the Lord" .
1 Thessalonians 4:17, "Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord. "
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Where does Jesus go with the resurrected believers after meeting them in the clouds? Where will they always be with Him? Zechariah tells us something about this in his prophecy concerning the second coming of Jesus.
Zechariah 14:4, "And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, ..."
The Bible plainly says Jesus, and therefore the believers who rose to meet Him on His way back to earth, and who "shall always be with the Lord" , will stand on the Mount of Olives on that very day. (Not 7 years later.)
1 Corinthians 15:51-52, "we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed."
"God will bring with Him (to the Mount of Olives) those who have fallen asleep in Jesus." (1 Thessalonians 4:14)
Jesus meets the believers in the clouds who have been resurrected and changed, AFTER the great tribulation is over. He brings them with Him and His armies of angels when he returns to the Mount of Olives. The believers all return to the earth with Jesus the very day they rise from their graves and are changed.
No one goes to heaven for seven years. The reign of Jesus and the resurrected saints begins the very day of His return in glory. The believers return with Jesus to the Mount of Olives and the Kingdom of God is established upon the earth.
There are no references to the return of Christ anywhere in the Bible alluding to or stating that Jesus will come back to earth more than once. Believing that He is only returning in the air to "catch away" the saints to go to Heaven is a misinterpretation of Scripture. It is a private interpretation of the scriptures based upon the dream of a young woman and her human reasoning. It is not what the Bible actually says. At His return, the anger of God will be upon His enemies. Every reference in the Bible indicates the one and only return of Jesus is a final judgment on the wicked. There isn't one scripture that states the Church will be caught up to Heaven before the wrath of God comes upon the earth.
The pre-tribulation Rapture is a belief that is not based upon what the Bible actually says. When we listen to what the Bible says, it is clear that Jesus only returns once to this earth. He does this in the sight of all in His great power and glory with the resurrected saints, AFTER the tribulation.
The Bible tells us in the Book of Revelation in symbolic language that the church ("woman" , is a symbol for the church in prophecy) will be protected from the wrath of Satan right here on earth. God doesn't need to take Christians to heaven to protect them if He so chooses. He is fully capable of protecting His children right here on earth. He doesn't need to rapture them to heaven for seven years.
Revelation 12:14-16, "And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent. And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood. And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth."
The fact is that God will use many Christians to teach the truth during the Great Tribulation. These brethren will be afflicted, hated, and persecuted unto death during the Great Tribulation. How is this possible if we have all been raptured off to Heaven?
Revelation 12:17 then states dogmatically ......"And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ."
These are CHRISTIANS! No other people on earth has "the testimony of Jesus"!
"for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night. 11And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death. " (Rev 12:10-11)
"Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake." (Matt 24:9)
"And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened." (Matt 24:22)
For the sake of true Christians who are not martyred for giving their testimony, God will shorten those days and protect us from death!
If you choose to believe a girl's dream rather than what the Bible says you will be totally disillusioned when you see the Great Tribulation begin and you are a believer still on earth. Don't be confused and lose faith in God when you are not raptured to Heaven during that time. God can protect you right here on the earth!
Don't believe a dream.
Believe what THE BIBLE SAYS!
Does the Bible say Jesus will return to earth twice,once secretly and then again 7 years later in power and glory?
Does the Bible say Jesus will come secretly to rapture all authentic Christians to Heaven before the Great Tribulation?
Does the Bible say believers will be here on earth during the Great Tribulation?
Let's see what the Bible plainly says.
In the 19th Century a young Scottish girl named Margaret McDonald prophesied about a great "catching away" of the church. She believed God was going to secretly "rapture" the church to Heaven at any moment. Some churches at the time began to assimilate her belief of this great catching away doctrine. It should be noted that this is a relatively new doctrine and was not taught by Jesus, the Apostles, or the early church. The rapture is not spoken of in the Bible as a separate, specific event. The verses people use to support the Rapture belief are private interpretations of prophetic Scriptures concerning the second coming of Jesus and the resurrection of the saints.
2 Peter 1:20 "Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. "
The Biblical teaching concerning the resurrection of the dead believers and of living Christians is not to be interpreted privately. Margaret McDonald did not obey God. The Bible, our only authority, speaks very clearly on this subject for those willing to listen.
Let's look at a few scriptures that people claim support the Rapture doctrine.
1 Corinthians 15:51-53, "Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality."
1 Thessalonians 4:13-17, "But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up (Greek word "harpazo" meaning to seize) together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord."
Matthew 24:31 "And He will send forth His angels with A GREAT TRUMPET and THEY WILL GATHER TOGETHER His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other."
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The key to the entire question of when dead believers are "raised imperishable", or living Christians "will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air", is all a matter of timing. When does this resurrection occur? When do believers rise from their graves? When do those living Christians, changed from living flesh and blood to spirit beings, ascend into the clouds to meet Jesus? When does the Bible say Jesus will .... "send forth His angels withA GREAT TRUMPET and THEY WILL GATHER TOGETHER His elect from the four winds" ?
When will believers "all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye" ?
When will "the dead be raised imperishable, and we will be changed" ?
When will "we who are alive and remain will be caught up....together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air" ?
When "shall we always be with the Lord" ?
The Bible tells us in Matthew 24:29, "Immediately after the tribulation....."
Matthew 24:29-30, "Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: And THEN shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and THEN shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory."
This does NOT occur before the tribulation, not before the last trumpet, not before the beast and the antichrist bring destruction upon the whole earth, and not before the persecution of the church by the devil.
"We will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye" ...... after the tribulation at the blast of a great trumpet.
1 Corinthians 15:21-24 "For since death is through man, also through a Man is a resurrection of the dead; for as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ, the firstfruit; afterward those of Christ AT HIS COMING. Then is the end, when He delivers the kingdom to God, even the Father, when He makes to cease all rule and all authority and power."
When does this happen? "Those of Christ" are resurrected, if dead, or rise up to meet Him if they are living, "at His coming" , not seven years earlier. They meet Him as He is returning to establish His Kingdom on earth. When are all "made alive?" "At His coming" , When "the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout," believers will all be changed in the twinkling of an eye. There is nothing secret or quiet about this! This is at His one and only second coming! Where is ANY verse that says He returns quietly to Rapture His church? No shouting. No Trumpet. No fanfare. Where is the Rapture mentioned as a separate event in the Bible?
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Do the scriptures say Jesus is coming back in two stages? Do the scriptures say he is returning secretly? Do they say Jesus will quietly return part of the way, stop short in the clouds, and then return to heaven? Do the scriptures say believers will return to Heaven for seven years with Jesus? No. The Bible says none of this. These are all private interpretations of the scriptures.
Rather than simply allowing these scriptures to say what they say, referring to the one and only return of Jesus, they have been privately and erroneously interpreted by some to be about a pre-tribulation rapture. What does the Bible say about the one and only return of Jesus?
Acts 1:9, "And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight."
How did Jesus go to heaven? He was seen publicly by a multitude of men of Galilee as he ascended.
Acts 1:11, "Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven."
The Bible plainly tells us Jesus will be seen coming down from Heaven through the clouds. It will be difficult for anyone not to see Him.
Matthew 24:27, "For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be."
1Thessalonians 4:16, "For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout ...."
Matthew 24:30, "And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. "
We don't have to wonder about some secret return of Jesus. We don't need to interpret these verses to mean something else. The Bible says Jesus will return to earth the same way he went to heaven, openly and in plain sight for all to see. He won't return secretly or quietly but with much fanfare.
Matthew 24:30, "And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory."
The Bible says Jesus will be bright and shining like lightning, for all the world to see. It will be a worldwide event witnessed by " all the tribes of the earth". It will occur with trumpet blasts and loud shouts. This clearly eliminates the argument of 1 Thessalonians chapter 4 supporting a secret return of Jesus and a pre-tribulation Rapture of the saints.
1 Thessalonians 4:13, "....even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord."
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Don't believe what men tell you. Don't believe the relatively recent dream of a young Scottish girl. Believe what the Bible has plainly said for two thousand years, without requiring any private interpretation or explanation.
Does the Bible say in Matthew 24:30 that we will see Jesus return "in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven"?
Jesus went up into the clouds in glory at His ascension and He will return the same way. ALL the earth will see Jesus coming openly and in power and glory in the clouds. There is nothing secret about this at all.
What occurs after Jesus' return? The Bible says this is NOW when, "we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye". It says this is NOW when, "the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed" and "this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality".
The Bible says this all occurs after the tribulation when the world sees Jesus return in power and glory. This is when the dead believers rise from their graves and the living Christians rise up to meet Jesus in the clouds. All the verses people claim are a separate Rapture event are really about the one and only return of Jesus to set up His Kingdom on earth with His resurrected saints.
Matthew 24:31, "And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other."
When do we find this great harvest of the believers occurring? It occurs after the seventh and last trumpet sounds and announces the return of Jesus is imminent! There can be only ONE last trumpet.
Revelation 11:15-16, "And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever. And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle. And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in thy sickle, and reap: for the time is come for thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe. And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped."
This great harvest of believers occurs when Jesus returns in the clouds crowned with glory. This is His second coming when the kingdoms of the world become our Lord's.
Revelation 19:11, "And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war."
Revelation 19:14, "And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean."
Revelation 19:15, "And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God."
This is the returning of Jesus Christ with all His armies of angels, after the seventh and last trumpet, after the tribulation, and after the resurrection of the believers. Jesus is coming to the earth in power and glory to establish His kingdom and judge the nations.
When Jesus comes in the clouds in power and glory, and believers rise up to meet Him in the clouds what happens to them? Do they go to Heaven for seven years? The Bible says "we shall always be with the Lord" .
1 Thessalonians 4:17, "Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord. "
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Where does Jesus go with the resurrected believers after meeting them in the clouds? Where will they always be with Him? Zechariah tells us something about this in his prophecy concerning the second coming of Jesus.
Zechariah 14:4, "And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, ..."
The Bible plainly says Jesus, and therefore the believers who rose to meet Him on His way back to earth, and who "shall always be with the Lord" , will stand on the Mount of Olives on that very day. (Not 7 years later.)
1 Corinthians 15:51-52, "we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed."
"God will bring with Him (to the Mount of Olives) those who have fallen asleep in Jesus." (1 Thessalonians 4:14)
Jesus meets the believers in the clouds who have been resurrected and changed, AFTER the great tribulation is over. He brings them with Him and His armies of angels when he returns to the Mount of Olives. The believers all return to the earth with Jesus the very day they rise from their graves and are changed.
No one goes to heaven for seven years. The reign of Jesus and the resurrected saints begins the very day of His return in glory. The believers return with Jesus to the Mount of Olives and the Kingdom of God is established upon the earth.
There are no references to the return of Christ anywhere in the Bible alluding to or stating that Jesus will come back to earth more than once. Believing that He is only returning in the air to "catch away" the saints to go to Heaven is a misinterpretation of Scripture. It is a private interpretation of the scriptures based upon the dream of a young woman and her human reasoning. It is not what the Bible actually says. At His return, the anger of God will be upon His enemies. Every reference in the Bible indicates the one and only return of Jesus is a final judgment on the wicked. There isn't one scripture that states the Church will be caught up to Heaven before the wrath of God comes upon the earth.
The pre-tribulation Rapture is a belief that is not based upon what the Bible actually says. When we listen to what the Bible says, it is clear that Jesus only returns once to this earth. He does this in the sight of all in His great power and glory with the resurrected saints, AFTER the tribulation.
The Bible tells us in the Book of Revelation in symbolic language that the church ("woman" , is a symbol for the church in prophecy) will be protected from the wrath of Satan right here on earth. God doesn't need to take Christians to heaven to protect them if He so chooses. He is fully capable of protecting His children right here on earth. He doesn't need to rapture them to heaven for seven years.
Revelation 12:14-16, "And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent. And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood. And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth."
The fact is that God will use many Christians to teach the truth during the Great Tribulation. These brethren will be afflicted, hated, and persecuted unto death during the Great Tribulation. How is this possible if we have all been raptured off to Heaven?
Revelation 12:17 then states dogmatically ......"And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ."
These are CHRISTIANS! No other people on earth has "the testimony of Jesus"!
"for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night. 11And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death. " (Rev 12:10-11)
"Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake." (Matt 24:9)
"And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened." (Matt 24:22)
For the sake of true Christians who are not martyred for giving their testimony, God will shorten those days and protect us from death!
If you choose to believe a girl's dream rather than what the Bible says you will be totally disillusioned when you see the Great Tribulation begin and you are a believer still on earth. Don't be confused and lose faith in God when you are not raptured to Heaven during that time. God can protect you right here on the earth!
Don't believe a dream.
Believe what THE BIBLE SAYS!
Now you know the truth plainly from the Bible about resting on the Sabbath, the 7th day of the week, and not Sunday, not celebrating Christmas or Easter, not going to Heaven when you die, and the pre-tribulation rapture lie. What you do with this knowledge is between you and God! You can ignore it and continue believing and doing what God does not want, OR you can repent and change and do what God says. The choice is yours for all eternity!
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