RAPTURE – PART XVII
PRE-TRIB RAPTURE SAFARI 3
We’re back in the jungle of Matthew 25, after taking a refreshing break at the cool clear River of Living Water. Still got your hunting gear on? Let’s forge ahead and see what Yahweh teaches us in Matthew 25, “1“Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 2Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish. 3Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them, 4but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. 5But while the bridegroom was delayed [about 2 days, or 2,000 years], they all slumbered and slept.
6“And at midnight a cry was heard: ‘Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!’ 7Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. 8And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ 9But the wise answered, saying, ‘No, lest there should not be enough for us and you; but go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.’ 10And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut.
11“Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open to us!’ 12But he answered and said, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.’
13“Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.”
Notice how Yeshua just continues to talk about His Second Coming, using that word then again to set the sequential timing of consecutive events. Verse 13 gives us the context for the parable of the ten virgins being a comparison to the Kingdom of Yahweh. Yeshua’s Second Coming is clearly the subject of the first 13 verses of Matthew 25. If there is a Rapture/Resurrection in the Olivet Discourse, this is about as close as you can get to it. But notice that the Rapture/Resurrection happens at the END of the Tribulation, not before it. And you will not understand the timing of Yeshua’s Second Coming and our going out to meet our Bridegroom, unless you have a little understanding of the Fall Feasts of Yahweh. Yeshua will return for His Bride during the 2 ½ day dark period of the New Moon on a future Feast of Trumpets, or Feast of Yom Teruah, Tishri 1-2 on the Hebrew calendar. We do not know the exact day or hour of Messiah’s return, but we do know the season, in the Fall, during the Feast of Trumpets! That Feast of Trumpets of course will be the seventh Feast of Trumpets at the END of the seven-year Tribulation. This is the day of the Rapture/Resurrection of the saints. I would like to believe this is a Pre-tribulation Rapture, but in the context of Matthew 25:1-13, you just CANNOT justify a pre-tribulation point of view. We will be caught up to meet Yeshua in the air for our own protection, while, for the next 10 days He finishes judging the earth, culminating on Tishri 10, Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, when Judgment is finalized and sealed forever. Five days later, on Tishri 15, we will marry Yeshua and enjoy the 7-day wedding celebration, known as the Feast of Tabernacles, when we tabernacle with our King and He with us! So, for the first 14 days of Tishri in that last year of the Tribulation, we’ll be protected from Yahweh’s wrath and we’ll be preparing for our wedding and wedding feast. I believe there will be a coronation ceremony before the wedding ceremony, probably right on Tishri 1, Feast of Trumpets. Then Yeshua and Yahweh will be busy for 10 days judging the earth. Then from Tishri 11 to the 15th, the entire Kingdom of Yahweh will be preparing for the marriage supper of the Lamb! You know, cleansing the Temple, mikvas (immersions) for everyone, handing out white linen robes of righteousness. You just can’t get away from the fact that these final events take place AFTER the Great Tribulation, at the very end of the end of time as we know it. Then, on Tishri 22, the eighth day of the Feast, known as the last Great Day, we enter into the Millennial reign of Yeshua on earth. A pleasant peaceful new beginning! On that new Torah cycle, Yeshua Himself will teach us, beginning at Genesis 1:1! Wow, it will be awesome and you don’t want to miss it. Get saved TODAY!
“14“For the kingdom of heaven is like a man traveling to a far country, who called his own servants and delivered his goods to them. 15And to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, to each according to his own ability; and immediately he went on a journey. 16Then he who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and made another five talents. 17And likewise he who had received two gained two more also. 18But he who had received one went and dug in the ground, and hid his lord’s money. 19After a long time the lord of those servants came and settled accounts with them.
20“So he who had received five talents came and brought five other talents, saying, ‘Lord, you delivered to me five talents; look, I have gained five more talents besides them.’ 21His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’ 22He also who had received two talents came and said, ‘Lord, you delivered to me two talents; look, I have gained two more talents besides them.’ 23His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’
24“Then he who had received the one talent came and said, ‘Lord, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you have not sown, and gathering where you have not scattered seed. 25And I was afraid, and went and hid your talent in the ground. Look, there you have what is yours.’
26“But his lord answered and said to him, ‘You wicked and lazy servant, you knew that I reap where I have not sown, and gather where I have not scattered seed. 27So you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming I would have received back my own with interest. 28So take the talent from him, and give it to him who has ten talents.
29‘For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away. 30And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’”
In verses 14-30, Yeshua tells another Kingdom parable, teaching us that we should be about His business of building His Church, making disciples for His Kingdom, UNTIL HE RETURNS TO EARTH!! You do not want to be classified as an unprofitable servant. There’s too much weeping and gnashing of teeth involved in being unprofitable, unfit for the Kingdom. We have no higher calling than to be consumed with the business of the Kingdom of Yahweh, until His Second Advent.
“31“When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. 32All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. 33And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. 34Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 35for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; 36I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’
37“Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? 38When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? 39Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ 40And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’
41“Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: 42for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; 43I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’
44“Then they also will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?’ 45Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ 46And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
In verses 31-46 we see Yeshua’s Second Coming again, followed by His bema seat judgment of all the ethnic groups of earth. Even though we’re saved by grace through faith in Yeshua, it sure looks like it is very important to Yeshua as to how we treat our fellow man. Righteous people perform righteous acts. Righteous acts do not make you righteous. The blood of Yeshua makes you righteous. Righteous acts get you a beautiful white linen wedding garment! Revelation 19:6-8, “And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude, as the sound of many waters and as the sound of mighty thunderings, saying, “Alleluia! For Sovereign Yahweh Omnipotent reigns! 7Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.” 8And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.”
Good times are coming for the saints! The bad news has to happen first, unfortunately. Well, we come to the end of the Olivet Discourse and our Rapture Safari, and we finally bagged a Rapture/Resurrection! At the end of all things, which will be the beginning of the restoration of all things, as it was in the beginning of all things. So what does the Book say after this Discourse? Matthew 26:1-2, “Now it came to pass, when Jesus had finished all these sayings, that He said to His disciples, 2“You know that after two days is the Passover, and the Son of Man will be delivered up to be crucified.”” Well, you know the rest of the His-Story. Prophecy is simply history spoken or written down beforehand. Yeshua is the Greatest Prophet Who will ever live. Are you ready to meet Him face to face? That’s what the Feast of Tabernacles is all about!! Get ready to Rapture Tribulate!
Let’s conclude with this comforting prophetic word from Daniel 12:12, “Blessed is he who waits, and comes to the one thousand three hundred and thirty-five days.” Our Jewish brethren, in preparation for the Fall Feasts of Yahweh, begin on the 1st day of the sixth month, Elul 1, with praying, fasting, and repenting for 40 days in preparation for the highest holy day of the year, the Day of Atonement, 40 days from Elul 1, on Tishri 10. Well, get your calculator out and consider: If Elul 1 is day 1290 on Yahweh’s countdown calendar for the Great Tribulation, 45 days later is the 1,335th day of Daniel 12:12, which just happens to be Tishri 15, the First Day of the Feast of Tabernacles, YOUR WEDDING DAY!! See, YOU are blessed!! So don’t just tribulate, celebrate Yeshua’s soon homecoming! And don’t worry about the Tribulation, your Heavenly Father has every last (pun intended) hair on your somewhat rounded head all numbered!! Saints, it’s His good pleasure to GIVE you the Kingdom!
Gene Benjamin II
October 13, 2012 CE
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