As we have seen, being "caught up" is not taking off in a jet, but being snatched up by God to be saved from disaster. Those in Judaea are told to flee to the mountains when they see the Abomination of Desolation, Matthew 24:15-20. Those in Judaea, not everbody in the whole world, are told to flee. That will be the time of Great Tribulation, verse 21. If all the elect are off in Heaven, the following verses are meaningless: such great deception will come so that unless they are careful, even the elect will be deceived, verses 22-24. Some of God's people will be persecuted and flee from city to city. This will be right up until the time of the Return, Matthew 10:16-23. Tribulation and Day of the Lord Time Sequence Rapturists, as we have seen, believe in "two phases" of Jesus' coming: first a "secret" rapture for the saints to take them to Heaven for 3 1/2 or 7 years, while Antichrist deceives the nations and tortures all who won't submit to him. This time they refer to as the "tribulation" and "Day of the Lord." Then they say the "second phase" of Christ's coming will occur. Jesus will come visibly, in power and glory, with the saints, to conquer Antichrist. The Bible time sequence of last day events doesn't allow for this interpretation. Matthew 24, Mark 13 and Luke 21 parallel the events described in Revelation 6 and 8: -
False prophets (religious deception), Matthew 24:3-5, Revelation 6:2 -
World wars, Matthew 24:6-7, Revelation 6:3-4 -
Famines, Matthew 24:7, Revelation 6:5-6 -
Pestilences (disease epidemics), Matthew 24:7, Revelation 6:7-8 -
Religious persecution (great tribulation), Matthew 24:9-13, 21-22, Revelation 6:9-11 -
Heavenly signs, Matthew 24:29, Revelation 6:12-17 -
Day of the Lord, Matthew 24:30-31, Revelation 6:17 and chapters 8, 9, 16, 19. It is very clear from the above that the "tribulation" and "Day of the Lord" represent two distinct periods of time, separated by the heavenly signs. Matthew 24:29 shows that the heavenly signs happen immediately after the tribulation, and Joel 2:31 says that the heavenly signs occur before the Day of the Lord. Could anything be more simple? The tribulation period is Satan's wrath. He is angry because he knows he has a short time left, and he wants to undo faithful believers who keep the Eternal's commandments, those who are not taken to a place of safety, Revelation 12:7-17, 3:10. The Day of the Lord is the LORD'S (Yahweh's) wrath, Revelation 6:17, during which seven trumpets of punishment are sounded, culminating in the seventh trumpet of seven last plagues, Revelation 8, 9, 15, 16, 19. Notice that the elect are NOT gathered before the tribulation, but during the Day of the Lord, Matthew 24:29-31. Specifically, the righteous dead are resurrected at the seventh, or last trumpet, Revelation 11:15-18, 1 Corinthians 15:50-52, 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17. Prophetic time sequence laid out in Scripture allows no such thing as a "pre-tribulation rapture". Even during the wrath of the Day of the Lord, true servants of the Almighty are not taken to Heaven. Revelation 7:1-10 describes 144,000 servants of God who are sealed in their foreheads, so they are protected during the wrath of God on the earth, sea, trees, etc. Now, if they were in Heaven, they would not have to be sealed for protection. See also Ezekiel 9. It is during the "day of the LORD" that the feet of the LORD--the Messiah--will stand on the Mount of Olives, Zechariah 14:1, 4. No time is allowed in Biblical prophecy for a rapture to Heaven. Lazarus and the Rich Man Like a man sinking in quicksand, those who believe in going to Heaven will grasp at any straw or twig in a vain attempt to support their hopeless doctrine. Such is the classic example of the account of Lazarus and the Rich Man, found in Luke 16:19-31. This account is used as a major argument to support the teaching that the "saved" go instantly, at death, to Heaven, while the "lost" are sent to hell fire to suffer indescribable agony for all eternity. This unbiblical teaching makes the Heavenly Father appear to be a cruel monster. Let's look at what this passage really means. Verse 22 says, "And it came to pass, that the beggar [Lazarus] died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man died and was buried." It does not say Lazarus was taken to Heaven. Nor does it say he was taken immediately after he died. We know from other scriptures that the dead "sleep" in an unconscious state until the resurrection. What is Abraham's bosom? Being in one's bosom is to have an intimate relationship with that individual. All true believers, Israelite or Gentile, upon conversion become "Abraham's seed, [children] and heirs according to the promise" Galatians 3:29. Through the Messiah they become "children of Abraham" Galatians 3:7. At the resurrection, they inherit the same reward the Almighty promised to Abraham, along with Abraham. The promise that the Almighty made to Abraham was eternal life on this earth, Hebrews 9:15, Romans 4:13. Only at the first resurrection will the saints inherit this promise, 1 Corinthians 15:50-53. To be in Abraham's bosom is to have his love and protection, to share his blessings and inheritance. See Isaiah 40:11, John 1:18, Numbers 11:12. Not only will the resurrected saints be in Abraham's bosom, but they will be in the bosom of the Almighty. Lazarus was "carried by angels" into Abraham's bosom. When? We know that angels will come down from Heaven to gather the saints at the last trumpet, Matthew 24:29-31. This is at the return of the Messiah at the resurrection, 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17. The rich man died and was buried, Luke 16:22. Verse 23 does not say he was taken immediately to hell fire. Actually the word for "hell" in verse 23 does not refer to hell fire (gehenna) at all. It is the Greek word hades, the equivalent of the Hebrew sheol. Both mean "the grave". Dante's imaginary hell is a fiction that has been accepted by Catholics and Protestants alike. The rich man was in the same kind of "hell" that the Messiah was (Acts 2:31)--the grave! When did the rich man "lift up his eyes"? It was at the second resurrection, after the Millennium, Daniel 12:2, John 5:28-29, Revelation 20:5, 11-13. Since the dead, righteous or unrighteous, are unconscious and know not anything (Ecclesiastes 9:5, Job 14:21, Isaiah 63:16, Psalms 146:4), the rich man, in his inadequate understanding, was unaware of the lapse of time since he had died. The "flame" that tormented (gave mental anguish to) the rich man was the approaching gehenna fire, the "lake of fire" which is the "second death" Revelation 20:14-15. The rich man sees Lazarus in Abraham's bosom, and the awful flame of fire which is about the destroy him forever. He is terrified and asks for a dip of water to cool his tongue. Not for a torrent of water to put out the advancing flame, which he knows cannot be put out. Abraham reminds the rich man that during his lifetime he received good things while Lazarus got bad things (with little help from the rich man). Now the situation was reversed. Besides this, a great gulf or chasm separates Abraham and Lazarus from the rich man. That gulf was immortality. Spirit beings are not subject to corruption and death. At this time, Abraham and Lazarus were immortal sons of God. The rich man was resurrected to physical life. He was about to be burned up. It was too late for repentance. The die was cast. In his last fleeting moments, when he knew he was doomed to die, the rich man remembered that he had five brothers that were as evil as he had been. Not knowing the time sequence, the rich man asks that Abraham send Lazarus to go and testify to them, lest they come to his place of torment. But Abraham knows better. If they wouldn't hear Moses and the prophets from the Bible, they wouldn't listen to one that had risen from the dead. So the account ends. We know that the wicked will be burned into ashes, Hebrews 10:27, Matthew 13:30, 3:12, Malachi 4:1-3, Psalms 37:20, Revelation 20:14, Romans 6:23. Far from teaching about going to Heaven or hell fire at death, the account of Lazarus and the Rich Man substantiates the resurrection, eternal life for the righteous, and complete destruction of the wicked. Miscellaneous Scriptures Often Misinterpreted The "going to Heaven" concept is so ingrained in modern churchianity that many scriptures are wrongly used in support of this pre-conceived notion. Here are a few, taken from The New Nave's Topical Bible, article "Heaven", under the subheading "The Future Dwelling Place of the Righteous", with our replies: -
Matthew 3:12, "the garner." This word means barn, repository, granary. There is nothing to indicate that the garner is in Heaven. -
Ephesians 5:5, "the Kingdom of Christ and of God." We know that the kingdom will be on this earth, not in Heaven. -
John 14:2, "My Father's house." We have previously covered this. The verse does not say we are taken to Heaven. -
Hebrews 11:16, an Heavenly country. The country the faithful fathers looked forward to was an Heavenly country, the New Jerusalem, the New Heavens and New Earth, verse 10. God has prepared for them a city, verse 16. This city will be brought down out of Heaven to the New Earth, Revelation 21:1-2. -
Hebrews 4:9, Revelation 14:13, a Rest. The Sabbath is still to be kept by God's people. It is a type of the Millennial rest, the Kingdom of God on the earth. -
2 Corinthians 12:2,4, "paradise." Paul recounts a vision of the third Heaven (verse 1). This passage does not say anyone will go to Heaven. The apostle John went in vision to Heaven as he frequently reported in Revelation. 2 Corinthians 12 relates a vision, as does much of Revelation. Other verses used to support the false idea of going to Heaven are: - 2 Corinthians 5:1-2,
"For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven." At death, our soul (physical body) returns to the dust, but our spirit (the non-physical substance which allows us to think, plan and reason) returns to God in Heaven, Ecclesiastes 3:21, 12:7, 1 Corinthians 2:11. There is a "spirit in man," Job 32:8. But this spirit is not immortal. It cannot function apart from the body, Psalms 146:4. At the resurrection, the righteous dead will be raised and given a "house" or glorious eternal spiritual body with their spirit. They will be "clothed" with this "house" from Heaven. Notice! Their "house" is reserved in Heaven and comes from Heaven when the righteous are "born again" at the first resurrection. This verse does not support the "going to Heaven" concept. -
1 Peter 1:4-5, "To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you . . . . ready to be revealed [given] in the last time." The glorious spiritual body of ours is reserved (kept safe, Matthew 6:19-21) in Heaven. This is part of what the Savior is preparing for us. We have to wait, some of us will wait in our graves, until He comes back with our glorious eternal inheritance, Colossians 3:4, 2 Thessalonians 1:7, 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17. - Colossians 1:5,1 2,
"For the hope which is laid up for you in heaven...the inheritance of the saints in light." This verse is similar to the above passages. This mortal shall put on immortality (from Heaven) at the resurrection. Our spirit bodies are reserved--kept safe--in Heaven. - Mark 10:21 and Matthew 6:19-20.
"Thou shalt have treasure in heaven,", also "lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven," See also Luke 12:33, 18:22. What is this "treasure" that true believers can lay up for themselves in Heaven? It is having one's name written in the book of life in Heaven (Luke 10:20, Revelation 20:12, 15). This means that one's eternal body is secure, reserved in Heaven. - Matthew 5:12 and Luke 6:22-23
"Great is your reward in heaven," . Those who suffer persecution for the Son of Man's sake have a great reward in Heaven. The Messiah is bringing back that reward--eternal life--at His return. - Philippians 3:20-21,
"For our conversation [citizenship] is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto His glorious body." As with all the other above scriptures, this verse doesn't say we go to Heaven to join our eternal body. The truth is, the Savior will return at the resurrection with our glorious citizenship (reward, treasure, building of God, inheritance). We should look forward to that day! - Hebrews 10:34,
"knowing in yourselves that ye have in heaven a better and an enduring substance." Do I have to go to Heaven to claim this? No! Verse 37, "For yet a little while, and He that shall come will come, and will not tarry." The Messiah will return from Heaven with our reward, if we are faithful and endure to the end. -
Hebrews 12:22-24, "But ye are come unto Mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, and to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant." How is it that true believers can come to the heavenly Jerusalem before the throne of the Almighty? We can come boldly via prayer through the Messiah, our High Priest, unto the throne of grace, unto the Heavenly Father, Hebrews 4:14-16, Ephesians 2:18, Hebrews 10:19-20, Ephesians 3:11-15. That is why I generally close my eyes when I pray, to concentrate on the Eternal in Heaven instead of this world, to envision the brilliant Creator, Revelation 1:13-16. Those who have the Holy Spirit have their names written in Heaven. Those righteous men of old are dead, unconscious in their graves. They are not in Heaven. But their spirit (the spirit of man) is in Heaven, gone back to the Creator who gave it, Ecclesiastes 12:7. The righteous dead are not in Heaven, but their kingdom is sure--it cannot be moved or taken away, Hebrews 12:28 -
Revelation 5:3, "and no man in heaven, nor in earth, neither under the earth, was able to open the book, neither to look thereon." The word translated "man" means "no one." It is properly rendered "no one" in the Revised Standard Version, Modern Language, and New International Version. -
Revelation 7:9-17, the "great multitude." Here is described a vast multitude from all nations before the throne and the Lamb. They came out of great tribulation and have "white robes," demonstrating that they have repented of their sins and washed their garments clean in the blood of the Lamb. Are these saints in Heaven where God's throne is? When does this happen? Lest we jump to false conclusions, we should observe the whole of Revelation. It is easy to see that Revelation is not a continuous chronology of events. There are insets that carry the history of the church, the beast, etc. Revelation 7 is an inset as well. Verses 1-8 describe the seal of protection put upon 144,000 Israelites, so they would not be hurt by the trumpet plagues of the Eternal described in Revelation 8 and after. The 144,000 are certainly not in Heaven, or they would not have to be protected from anything! Notice verse 9, "after this." It doesn't say how long after this. But verses 15-17 give an important clue. Compare these verses with Revelation 21, especially 21:2-4, 6-7, 22-24 and Revelation 22:1-5. We can see that Revelation 7:9-17 is not talking about saints being in Heaven. It is describing the glorious period of the New Heaven and New Earth, when the throne of God will be in the New Jerusalem which is coming down out of Heaven to the remade earth. -
Revelation 14:1-5, the 144,000 The 144,000 are described as being on Mount Sion, singing a new song before the throne. This is undoubtedly another inset, reminding us of the future good fate of those who do not take the mark of the beast described in chapter 13. Verses 9-11 of Revelation 14 describe the fate of those who receive the mark of the beast. -
Revelation 6:9-11, These verses describe those who died in the past martyrdom of the saints. Their souls cried out for vengeance. They were given white robes (symbols of righteousness). But they had to rest until their brethren would likewise be killed in the future great martyrdom. It is simple to demonstrate what kind of "souls" this is talking about. The Messiah poured out His soul (blood) unto death, Isaiah 53:12, i.e., He bled to death. Under the Old Testament sacrifices, the blood of the bullock was poured at the bottom of the altar, Leviticus 4:7. Like the blood of the righteous martyr Abel, the blood of the saints is said to cry out for vengeance, Genesis 4:10. The martyred saints are not in Heaven crying out to be avenged. They must continue to "rest" in their graves until after the future martyrdom. Then the Eternal will put an end to those responsible for the martyrdom of the saints and usher in His Kingdom on earth. A Desolate Earth? Seventh Day Adventists erroneously use Isaiah 24:6 to "prove" that the earth will be desolate during the Millennium, while the saints are in Heaven. This is another classic example of reading a preconceived notion into a passage of the Living Word. This is a dangerous thing to do. Isaiah 26:21 nowhere says that every last soul on earth will be slain. The context before and after disproves any such idea. Isaiah 11:1-12 and many other passages show that there will be a peaceful world after the restoration at the return of the Messiah. Acts 3:19-21 clearly shows that the restoration of all things will begin when our Savior returns from Heaven. He will destroy them which destroy the earth, Revelation 11:17-18. He will not destroy this earth for 1,000 years! Jeremiah 4:23-27 does not say the whole earth will be desolate. In verse 23, the word "earth" is eretz, which often refers to the land of Israel. Verse 27 says "the whole land [eretz] shall be desolate; yet I will not make a full end." Again, we must look at all of the Bible and not tear portions out of context. Jeremiah 25:29-33 does not say the Eternal will kill all human beings. It says there will be slain of the Eternal from one end of the earth to the other end. The wicked shall be slain, 2 Thessalonians 1:7-9, 2:8. But not those who have not known Him; not those who are not yet called. Again, false concepts often get in the way of God's Truth. God will plead with all nations, and many will repent, Jeremiah 16:14-21, 23:3-6, Isaiah 25:7-9, 29:18-24. As the days of Noah were, so shall it be at the coming of the Son of Man. Most of mankind will be warned. Many will repent. Much more than just eight souls will be left to restore the earth. Read the Eternal's promise in Genesis 8:20-22. Be assured that as He says, He will never again smite every living thing. Ellen G. White, founder of the Seventh Day Adventist church, states in her book, The Great Controversy that "as the scapegoat was sent away into a land uninhabited, so Satan will be banished to the desolate earth, an uninhabited and dreary wilderness. The revelator foretells the banishment of Satan and the condition of chaos and desolation to which the earth is to be reduced, and he declares that this condition will exist for a thousand years." Leviticus 16:20-22 describes the "scapegoat" portion of the Old Testament Day of Atonement ceremonies. Notice that Israel didn't go off to Heaven. The scapegoat was removed to an uninhabited place. Israel stayed where they were. Revelation 20:1-3 describes the spiritual fulfillment of the Day of Atonement: the binding of Satan for a thousand years in the bottomless pit. This abyss is not the whole earth, but in the depths of the earth. Scores of scriptures describe the netherworld, where Satan shall be bound. Notice Revelation 20:3, which shows that unless Satan were bound, he would be able to deceive the physical nations. Praise the Almighty! Our adversary will be restrained! If there were no people on the earth, Satan would not have to be chained! Consequences of "Going to Heaven" Doctrine The false "going to Heaven" concept is firmly rooted in many related false doctrines, such as the trinity, immortal soulism, the rapture, Millennium in Heaven, and last day prophecies which distort the true meaning of the times in which we live, as well as a false notion of the reward of the saved. Rather than a "harmless error," the seriousness of the false "going to Heaven" doctrine struck home to me recently. I read a Seventh Day Adventist study on "Revelation's Glorious Rapture." The statement was made, "Suppose that a glorious being suddenly appeared in Jerusalem who claimed to be Christ and who fitted the description of Jesus in Revelation 1:13-17. Suppose that he preached warm beautiful Bible truths with power, called fire down from Heaven, healed the sick, helped stop wars, read minds, blessed children, etc. What would be your reaction?" The suggested answer was, "We should know at once that he was an imposter . . . . because Jesus at His coming makes a SKY APPEARANCE and not an EARTH APPEARANCE. He remains in the AIR while imposters appear on EARTH." Seventh Day Adventists ignore or misinterpret the dozens of scriptures cited in this article. If their idea is true, then Matthew 24:24 would be meaningless. The faith of the elect is going to be severely tested. Yes, that means yours and mine! The deception of many has already happened. They are looking for the wrong "Christ" in the wrong place. A proper understanding of the reward of the saved is vital to our very salvation. An erroneous conception may result in some losing salvation itself. Truly, a little leaven leavens the whole lump, Galatians 5:9. Any false doctrine is dangerous, and we must, with the Eternal's help, eliminate all falsehood and error in our understanding of Him. The consequences of the "going to Heaven" doctrine could be that some who hold this belief miss recognizing the returning Messiah and fight against Him.This false belief tunes one into Satan's wavelength. If one believes the real Christ to be the Antichrist, then he will be fully brainwashed, because of Satan's great deception, to attempt to resist the conquering King of the Universe, as He arrives to establish His Kingdom on this earth. Satan wanted to aspire to God's throne in Heaven, Isaiah 14:12- 15, Ezekiel 28:12-19. He has been leading mankind these nearly 6,000 years to aspire to the same thing--to go to God's Heaven. Man was made to have dominion over all the creation of God, under God and His Son Jesus, of course, Psalms 8:6. But this rulership must be attained through the building of character, which takes time, in "this present evil world", Galatians 1:4. When this is accomplished, we can look forward to the "world to come," Hebrews 2:5, i.e., the 1000-year reign of Christ and His saints upon this physical earth. After that, the resurrected saints, made into immortal spirit beings, shall inherit the New Heaven and New Earth, Revelation 21:7. The fate of those who will not follow God and partake of the water of life is told in Revelation 21:8. This destiny is not an eternity in hell-fire, but the second death, which is oblivion for all eternity, ashes under the feet of the righteous, Malachi 4:1-3. Isn't it strange that there is not one plain scripture stating "when we get to heaven", or "I'll see you in heaven", or any such thing? There are no such scriptures because this is not the Truth. Far from playing a harp in Heaven, we will be doing productive, creative and useful work for all eternity. We will dwell in the house of Yahweh forever, Psalms 23:6, if and only if we overcome. The choice is ours--this very day and every day from now on. Choose life, Deuteronomy 30:19, that both you and your seed may live! |
