Why a #Pentecost #Rapture? #ccot

 

 

Why a Pentecost Rapture?

 

2Corinthians 3;2-8....."You are our letter, written in our hearts, known and read by all men; being manifested that you are a letter of Christ, cared for by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit ofthe living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.  Such confidence we have through Christ toward God. Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God, who also made us adequate as servants of a new covenant, not of the letter ( the law ) but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.  But if the ministry of death, in letters engraved on stones, came with glory, so that the sons of Israel could not look intently at the face of Moses because of the glory of his face, fading as it was, how will the ministry of the Spirit fail to be even more with glory?

 

At Mount Sinai God spoke to Israel in a direct and terrifying way as the Lord came down "personally" upon Mount Sinai. It was at that time that God betrothed Israel and gave to her the oral - written law of God on tablets of stone. which were written with the "finger of God."  That was the firstPentecost.

 

 

  In similar fashion you can see above in the text of 1Cor. 3:2- 8 that the Apostle Paul teaches that the "law of God" was written on the hearts of New Testament believers by the Holy Spirit.  The Church had its inception or beginning on the day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit descended to indwell the 120 in the upper room, and later those who would come to faith in the messiah as the church grew in numbers.

 

 

http://www.lgchurchofchrist.com/Is%20Christ%20wedding%20to%20the%20church%20past%20or%20future.htm

 

Quote:......"In the Old Testament, God is the bridegroom of Israel who is seen as the "Wife of Jehovah" (cf. Isa. Isa. 54:6; Isa. 62:5; Jer. Jer. 31:32; Eze. Eze. 16:7-14; Hos. Hos. 2:16, Hos. 2:19).

In the New Testament, Christ is the bridegroom of the church who is the "Bride of Christ" (cf. 2Cor.2Cor. 11:2; Eph. Eph. 5:25 ff.; Rev. Rev. 3:20+; Rev. 19:9+; Rev. 21:2+, Rev. 21:9+; Rev. 22:17+).

 In the gospels, Christ is the bridegroom a number of times (cf. Mtt. Mat. 9:15; Mark Mark 2:19-20; Luke Luke 5:34-35; John John 3:29) and parables about marriage occur in Mat. Mat. 22:2-14; Mat. 25:1-13; Luke Luke 14:15-24.3 ...........(  end quote ).

 

 Therefore the Church is only "betrothed " to Christ at this time, but the marriage has not been consummated as of yet.  The Holy Spirit whom Christ sent to indwell the believers on the day of Pentecost was the "down payment ( the dowry ) seal, or pledge" given which identifies the believer as belonging to Christ. And therefore it is the Holy Spirit keeps every believer secure until Christ comes for them ( 2Cor. 1:22,  5:5;   Eph. 1:13,14,   4:30 ).  The Holy Spirit is sort of like an "engagement ring" which the bridegroom gives to his bride to be.

  

 

 Now this engagement ring which the bridegroom gives to his bride signifies that this woman has been "taken" and that she is now engaged to her bridegroom and husband to be, and that she is being kept for marriage at a later date. The bride is now waiting for the consummation of her "union" with her bridegroom on her wedding day. 

  

  Let me give you an example here.   Lets say that I am in the market for purchasing anothervehicle.  So I go to a car dealership and I spend time looking and checking out everything on the car lot.  Once I have found what I am looking for, then I tell the sales man that I would like to put a "$200.00 down-payment" on this particular vehicle in order to hold and keep it until I can talk with my banker and then return and finalize the deal.  And so just like this $200.00 down-payment keeps this vehicle until the buyer returns to finalize the deal, so likewise the Holy Spirit is God's "seal" or "down-payment" ( the dowry ) which keeps the believer secure in Christ until He returns in order to get what He purchased with His own blood.

 

 

 The Church had her "engagement" which began on Pentecost. Therefore I believe that the Church will come "full circle" on a future Pentecost at which time the Church will finally be completed and the "wedding" take place in heaven. The Holy Spirit is the "down-payment" on our inheritance ( Eph. 1:11) which each believer is yet to receive in Christ when the Church is finally consummated and enters into eternal glory.

 

 

Here below is just a couple of parallels which can be seen between Israel at Mount Sinai and the Church on Pentecost.

 

 

1. God at Mount Sinai betrothed Israel which was the first Pentecost.  Israel becomes the "wife" of God.

 

2. On Pentecost ( Acts 2 ) the Holy Spirit descended to indwell the Church who was betrothed and "engaged" to Christ at that time.  The Church in the New Testament is seen as the bride of Christ. 

3. At Mount Sinai ( the first Pentecost ) Israel received the "law of God" written on tablets of stone by the finger of God.

 

4. The Church on Pentecost ( Acts 2 ) and onward until this present day has had the "law of God" written on "their hearts" by the Holy Spirit.

 

 

Here is something else to consider. 

 

 Israel rejected Christ as her messiah, and therefore Israel did NOT recognize "her day of visitation" ( Matt. 23:37;  Luke 19:44).  God was addressing the nation of Israel on the very day of Pentecostthrough the mouth of Peter ( Acts 2:14, vs. 22 to vs. 36;  Acts 3:12-26 ).  Yet still Israel and her religious leaders as a whole did NOT repent and receive Christ as their messiah that day. 3000 souls were saved, but the nation was still not saved a whole.  Therefore Israel and many of her religious leaders who were guilty of crucifying and murdering their own messiah once again rejected God's message which was spoken through the mouth of Peter on the day of Pentecost in Acts chapter 2 and 3.  

 

 

 I believe therefore that God is going to once again speak to the nation of Israel and address His people who are in "national unbelief", and that it will be on a future Pentecost just like He did in Acts chapter 2 and 3.  And I believe that "the event" which God is going to use in order to initiate and begin "Israel's national redemption" process will be none other than the "Rapture of the Church" at the END of the 49th Barley omer / 50th day Pentecost. I am convinced that this is when theRapture will happen, and when Israel's spiritual blindness and "spiritual scales" are going to drop from their eyes, at which time they will finally see that Jesus is their messiah. 

 

 The Church has been growing and being added to every since the Church was born unto this present day.  The Church has not been completed yet, but it will be shortly!   And the "effects" ofPentecost have been ongoing every since Acts chapter 2. There is no better day for the Rapture to take place on, nor for Israel's blindness to be lifted than on the very day of Pentecost.  Just think of all those Messianic Jewish believers ( recent estimate around 20,000 + ) who are going to be missing in Israel when the Rapture happens. 

 

The times of Israel / Quote:...."Resnik estimates there are some 20,000 Jews affiliated with Messianic congregations, but he estimates the number of Jewish believers in Jesus could be much higher... http://www.timesofisrael.com/has-the-time-come-to-accept-messianic-jews/ ( end quote ).

 

 

 These professing "Jewish believers" who come up missing in Israel ( and around the world ) at the time of the Rapture, and who will have been witnessing to their Jewish friends, family, and other acquaintences for years will have suddenly vanished along with all the "Gentile believers" who make up the Church, the body of christ.  Just think of the HUGE psychological and spiritual impact this is going to have upon the religious and non-religious Jewish community in Israel who were left behind, especially the religious orthodox Jews who are presently looking for their messiah.  And so I can think of no better time for the Rapture of the Church to take place, and for the national redemption process of Israel to begin than on the very day of Pentecost future.

 

 

 God is consistent and precise in every calculated move that He makes. And it is just like God to "remove" the Holy Spirit and His "restraining power" on the very day in which He descended in Acts chapter 2.  I am convinced that God will END the Church and her "journey" here below on the very day of Shavuot.  There is going to be a "reversal" of Pentecost on the very day of Pentecost future when the Rapture event is fulfilled.

 

 

I found the following below online.

 

http://acts242study.com/they-many-parallels-of-sinai-and-pentecost/

 

The Many Parallels of Sinai and Pentecost

Both events occurred on a mountain (Mt. Sinai and Mt. Zion) known as the mountain of God – Exodus 24:13 & Isaiah 2:3Both events happened to a newly redeemed people. The Exodus marked the birth of the Israelite nation while the Pentecost events recorded in Acts 2 marked the birth of Christianity.Both events involved God’s people receiving a gift-Torah and Spirit.In both events the gift was given by God settling on a mountain with the fire of His SpiritBoth events took place at the same time on the same monthThe Israelites left Egypt on Passover and 40 days later arrived at Sinai. Then Moses went up on a mountain to see God (Mt. Sinai). Ten days later Moses came down with the Torah and the Israelites broke the covenant and 3000 people died as a result.  Jesus died on Passover and 40 days later went up on a mountain to see God (Mt. Of Olives).  Ten days after Jesus ascended, the Holy Spirit came down and 3000 people were saved!Fifty days after sacrificing Passover Lamb, the Israelites received a covenant from God50 days after sacrificing Jesus, Our Passover Lamb, believers received a new covenant from God.Both events had similar sounds and symbols-wind, fire, smoke, voices-the Hebrew word translated thunder in Exodus is “kolot” (Strong’s H6963), which means voices or languages. Think about this in light of the Acts 2 events.The fire at Sinai was one fire visible by all; the fire at Pentecost was individual fires on every person. In the event at Mt. Sinai, the people were kept away from the fire, but in Acts, the fire came to the people.Both events had theophanies, that is God showed up (Exodus 19:18-20 & Acts 2:4)In both events God gave His Torah (Law) to His People and in both cases He sealed the covenant that He had made with them. At Sinai He gave the Law written by His finger on tablets of stone. At Pentecost, He gave the Law written on Tablets of the Heart.In both events a mixed multitude of people were represented (Exodus 12:38 & Acts 2:5)13) The Torah attempted to change people from the outside (without). The Holy Spirit changes from within. The word “Torah” means teaching and in John 14:26 the Holy Spirit is called the teacher.

Think about these parallels! Wouldn’t they have been powerful to the Jewish people that would have been there to celebrate this time long ago when God showed up in fire, wind, smoke and voices?  Suddenly, it looks like God is showing up again in the same way that He came before!  They see fire and smoke and hear voices and the place is shaking violently! God is back! What is He telling us? Looking at the history of Shavuot ( Pentecost ) and what God did there makes the story of Acts so much deeper and increases our faith in the God of the Bible. His plans for us were made since the beginning of time and they are exact down to the last detail..........( end quote ).

 

In Christ, Tom Gaston
rapturetj@comcast.net

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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