The Rapture 

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Before you read this article you must first keep in mind that, as per the promise given to us for Eternal Salvation through CHRIST, by His Heavenly Father THE MOST HIGH GOD, you need only be faithful to confess your sins in prayer to ALMIGHTY GOD, in Jesus' most Holy Name, and try to live a better, less sinful life, by striving harder to do what HE has put in your heart to make you know what is not only right for you to be doing, but beneficial to you as a child of THE MOST HIGH GOD, and without question you will be faithfully forgiven, and will be granted Eternal Life.

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Which, in these last days, for the reasons provided herein below, means Raptured.
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Mention the Rapture even to Christians and you will get this blank stare.  If you dare to pursue it you will hear obviously unsure murmurs that seem to sound like anything from "That's just folklore",  OR,"Well I believe it, but I can't prove it",  OR, "There is no such thing, but I cannot explain why there isn't.... There just isn't !!!"
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This, because Christians confuse the "Army of Christ" and the "First Resurrection" mentioned in Revelation 20:4-6, with those who will be Raptured;  when in fact these are two entirely different groups of people.  Whereas the Army of Christ consists of anyone who had been, or will be MURDERED, .by other PEOPLE, .over their stand for, faith in, and acceptance of, Christ as their Savior; and/or, for their stand for, and belief in, Almighty God; and,  who had NOT accepted the god of materialism into their lives, which is a direct violation of God's very First Commandment (the worship of strange gods before Him), and is therefore an unforgivable sin.
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The following verses can be difficult to keep track of, but they do in fact explain the difference between the Rapture and the First Resurrection.
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THE FIRST RESURRECTION:
As documented by the following verses, these people, who make up the First Resurrection, were MURDERED  by other people, for taking a stand.  To wit:
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"And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them:  and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the Word of God,  and which had not worshipped the beast (materialism), neither its image, neither had received its mark upon their foreheads or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.  (This is the first resurrection)  (Revelation 20:4)
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(6) Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection:  over such the second death (eternal death) hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.  (Revelation 20:6)
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Now, read verse five:  "But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished."  (which means these people will remain in their graves until the Great White Throne Judgment by Christ, which does not take place until  AFTER  his thousand year Reign.)  (Revelation 20:5)

1.  The phrase "For the witness of Jesus" includes  EVERY PERSON who either was, or will be,  murdered, by other people,  for their belief in Christ.
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2.  The phrase "for the word of God" includes all Jews, as well as EVERY PERSON who was  murdered, by other people,  for their belief in ALMIGHTY GOD, to include all Old Testament people, et al.
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3.  The phrase "and which had not worshipped the beast, neither its image, neither had received its mark upon their foreheads or in their hands",  refers to NOT buying into the god of materialism.  It applies to both the above mentioned groups of people.  Meaning that in addition to taking a stand either for God or for Jesus, they must also not  have "bought into" the abomination called materialism.
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Therefore, only those who were, or will be  murdered, by other people,  for their stand for Christ,  and/or their stand for ALMIGHTY GOD,  to include all Old Testament people, et al. who refused to participate in materialism, will be part of the First Resurrection.
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Verse five makes it clear that everyone else will remain in their graves for at least a thousand years, until the Great White Throne Judgment.  This verse alone makes it clear that those in the First resurrection had been DEAD, and were obviously not alive, or they would not have had to be RESURRECTED !
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Where, as we will now demonstrate with Scripture, those in the rapture were NOT dead when they were RAPTURED,  and THAT is the difference.

NOTE:  The above requires a very brief explanation:
Those who will be Raptured will be alive at the time,  but will in fact forfeit their earthly lives at the time of,  and in the process of, being Raptured.

But inasmuch as they will be transformed into their Eternal Heavenly bodies in the twinkling of an eye, it is not possible for this author to describe them as being physically dead,  because, as clearly stated by Him in Zechariah 13:8-9,  THE LORD HIMSELF has promised to "Bring them through the fire".   To wit:

"And it shall come to pass, that in all the land, saith the LORD, two parts therein shall be cut off and die; but the third shall be left therein.  (13) And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The LORD is my God."  (Zechariah 13:8-9)

(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.   (Revelation 20:6)

This phrase "second death" makes it perfectly clear that  ALL of the above referred to people were once dead, or they could not be subject to the "second" death, which is the death of their Eternal Soul.  But that, only those resurrected by Christ will reign with him for this thousand year period.
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The use of the term "beheaded" makes it clear these people were murdered by other people,  and did not die from natural causes.

THIS THEN, is the first resurrection.  NOT TO BE CONFUSED with the Rapture!
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Just to make absolutely  CERTAIN  that the above doesn't get convoluted.  The people mentioned did NOT die because Almighty God set their nation on fire causing them to be SLAIN by God.

Instead, they died because someone cut off their heads or in some other way murdered them.  During the middle ages there were tens of thousands of such martyrs !!
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No, still not good enough:  So I will go back and cite the very first sentence of verse five, which declares:  (5) But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished.  Yes, I know, this upsets what a lot of people are being taught, but I can't help it.  I have cited nothing but Scripture, and told you where to find it.
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The last few paragraphs are only for those willing to take the Holy Word of God over their PASTOR'S absurd teaching that when you die you "go to be with The Lord".  Which is a bold faced blatant lie.
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NOW, LET'S  DISCUSS THE RAPTURE.
In order to understand the Rapture one must first compare that which was prophesied by Daniel, and that which was Declared by Jesus:  THEN, compare the two, to that which was Declared by ALMIGHTY GOD:

Then take note that none of the people mentioned in THESE verses of Scripture who were RAPTURED, were murdered by other people, NOR were any of the Raptured people ever buried in the earth.

First let's establish that none of the people being discussed who will NOT be Raptured, will ever be buried.  As is also true of those who will be Raptured.

The difference being, that one group will be burned up with the great fire, while those being Raptured will be "brought through" the fire, then taken straight to Heaven, warehoused under The Lord's Alter,  BE REFINED BY GOD HIMSELF as stated in Zechariah 13:8-12, to await the Great White Throne Judgment.

PLEASE NOTE,  that no one may enter the Gates of Heaven except that he first be Judged by our Lord Jesus, The Risen Christ.  Which leaves The Most High God with the problem of where to put these people who have been Raptured from the earth's fourth empire.

And the only soution, is to "warehouse" them under His Alter with those who had in fact been martyred, until the Day of the Great White Throne Judgment.

To wit:
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The end of the fourth empire is supported by Jeremiah 7:14 and 20:
"Therefore will I do unto this house (church), which is called by my name, wherein ye trust, and unto the place (nation) which I gave to you and to your fathers, as I have done to Shiloh (the nation housing His very firsh church - which He destroyed in such a way that to this day, no two stones are permitted to touch each other).  (20) Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, mine anger and my fury shall be poured out upon this place (nation), upon man, and upon beast (government), and upon the trees of the field, and upon the fruit of the ground;  and it shall burn,  and the fire shall not be quenched."  (Jeremiah 7:20)
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The fact that none of these people will even be buried is supported by Jeremiah 8:2:
"And they shall spread them before the sun, and the moon, and all the host of heaven, whom they have loved, and whom they have served, and after whom they have walked, and whom they have sought, and whom they have worshipped (all false gods):  they shall not be gathered, nor be buried;  they shall be as dung upon the face of the earth."   (Jeremiah 8:2)
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This fact is as well supported by Jeremiah 9:22
"Thus saith the LORD, Even the carcasses of men shall fall as dung upon the open field (which depicts an explosion), and as the handful after the harvestman, and none shall gather them.  (23) Thus saith the LORD, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches."  (Jeremiah 9:22-23)
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Now, note from Daniel 11:44-45 that God will put an end to the fourth empire:
"But tidings out of the east and out of the north shall trouble him:  therefore he (the fourth empire) shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many (to kill many).  (45)  And it shall plant the tabernacles of its palace (military strength) between the seas in the glorious holy mountain (Israel); yet it shall come to its end  (utter destruction), and no one shall help it."  (Daniel 11:44-45)
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Now, consider what Daniel prophesied regarding the Rapture:
"And at that time (the destruction of the fourh empire) shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people:  and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time:  and at that time thy people shall be delivered (Raptured), every one that shall be found written in the book.  (Daniel 12:1)

The above obviously refers to Jesus
"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,"

LATER, IN MATTHEW,  JESUS DESCRIBES THE SAME EVENT THIS WAY:
"For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.  (22) And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved:.but for the elect's sake those days SHALL be shortened...

Jesus continued:
...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:  (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 (Jesus) coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory."   (Matthew 24:30)
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Having established what Daniel prophesied, and what Jesus declared, let's now compare those with that which ALMIGHTY GOD declared in Zechariah Thirteen.
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"And it shall come to pass, that in all the land, saith the LORD,  two thirds therein shall be cut off and die;  but a third shall be left therein.  (9) And I will bring the third part through the fire  (Rapture them),  and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried:  they shall call on my name, and I will hear them:  I will say, It is my people:  and they shall say, The LORD is my God."   (Zechariah 13 8-9)
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You might THINK the Rapture ends there,  but it does not.  In a way God The Almighty is stuck with us.  He can't simply put us back on the earth because our nation is on fire; yet, because no man can enter Heaven until he/she has been judged by Christ at the White Throne Judgment, which won't be for a thousand years, He can't really take us into Heaven.  So, to solve this dilemma God does as is described by the Fifth Seal.  That is, He warehouses us under His Alter until we can be Judged by JESUS based on our works.

"And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held:  10) And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?   (Revelation 6:9-10)

Please take note by the fact that it is NOT said that they had been murdered or beheaded, that the people mentioned in Revelation 6:9-10 were NOT murdered by other men.

And that they were in fact  SLAIN  by God, by His act to burn their nation off the map.

Nor were they ever buried,  therefore, these people cannot be part of the First Ressurection.  Just as will be the case with those who are on earth when He will destroy the rest of it with fire.

"And white robes were given to every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellow servants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled."  (Revelation 6:9-10)
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Having been His Father's Sacrificial Lamb to pay for the sins of mankind; God, The Father, Appointed - ALL - Judgement over mankind to Jesus, His Only Begotten Son.
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"For the Father judgeth no man,  but hath committed all judgment unto the Son."   (John 5:22)
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As for being judged by Christ at the Great White Throne Judgment according to our works:
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"And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God;  and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works."  (Revelation 20:12)
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"And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them:  and they were judged every man according to their works."  (Revelation 20:13)
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WHAT  ARE  YOUR  WORKS  ???

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