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Today's Prophecy Update will be part three in a study of the pretribulation rapture, and why it must happen before the seven year tribulation. The "seven" reasons "why" the rapture of the church of Jesus Christ has to happen before the "seven" year tribulation begins are as follows:
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R EVELATION TO US
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A FFECT UPON US
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P URITY OF US
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T RUMPETS FOR US
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U NIFORMITY WITH US
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R ESPONSIBILITY ON US
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E NCOURAGEMENT FROM US
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Today we'll see the third reason in our seven letter acronym. The rapture must happen before the tribulation because of the purity of us.
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1 John 3:23 NIV Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. (3) Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure.
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2 Corinthians 11:23 NIV (2) I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy. I promised you to one husband, to Christ, so that I might present you as a pure virgin to him. (3) But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent's cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ.
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Ephesians 5:2527 NIV Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her (26) to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, (27) and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.
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I would submit to you that the relationship we have with Jesus Christ, is that of a bride to be, who is engaged to her Husband, Jesus the Christ. Since we, as the church, are betrothed to the Bridegroom, it should have a purifying affect on us, in that, we are presented to him as a virgin. A pretribulation rapture gives a motivation for sanctification as His radiant church, without stain, wrinkle or blemish. We're holy and blameless.
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I would like to share with you something that I first taught on, actually about 20 years ago now, back in the 90's, when I lived on the mainland. Let me hasten to say that I owe a debt of gratitude to those who've gone before me in their research and teaching of this amazing parallel. What's interesting is, that over the years, "knowledge has increased," related to the prophetic significance of the ancient Jewish Bridal customs.
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If you want to do a further study on this, I'll you to Lambert Dolphin's websites at; http://www.ldolphin.org/wedding.html http://www.ldolphin.org/risk/ult.shtml. Also, for those on Facebook, our Aloha Bible Prophecy, Aloha Bible Teaching, and Calvary Chapel Kaneohe pages have good posts on this. What I'll do now, though not as exhaustive or as extensive as what others have done, is paint a prophetic portrait of our wedding to the Lamb.
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The Jewish Wedding
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Our Wedding
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Scriptures
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The groom's father makes the match (Shiddukhin) and chooses the bride, and the groom approves the choice.
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The Father chooses us the bride, and Jesus approved the choice.
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John 10:28, 15:16
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A marriage covenant (Ketubah) is made in writing for the bride as a promise to the bride that it will be fulfilled.
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A new covenant is made in the written Word of God, for us the bride. The Old Covenant Promise is fulfilled.
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2 Corinthians 3:56
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They would then break bread and drink from the cup to seal the betrothal (Kiddushin) and new covenant.
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He breaks bread and drinks from the cup at the last supper sealing His New Covenant in His blood.
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Matthew 26:2729 Luke 22:1420
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The groom pays the price (Mohar) showing the bride his love for her.
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Jesus paid the price for us on the cross. This shows us the bride how there's no greater loves for us.
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1 Corinthians 6:20 John 15:23
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The groom makes a speech of promise to his bride that he would come for her soon.
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Jesus’ speech is recorded as a promise to us His bride, that He will come again for us soon.
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John 14:13
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The groom prepares a place for His bride and builds a room addition on his father’s house.
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Jesus says He goes to prepare a place for us in His Father’s house where there are many rooms.
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John 14:13
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The Father is the only one who knows the day or hour of the grooms return for his bride.
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Jesus said that no one but the Father knows the day or hour of His return for us, as His bride.
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Mark 13:3233
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The groom gives the bride love gifts (Mattan).
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Jesus our groom gives us His bride gifts of love, eternal life, peace, etc.
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John 10:2228 John 14:1314, 27
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The Father gives the bride gifts (Shiluhim) to equip her for her new life, as an inheritance.
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We are given the gifts of the Holy Spirit and our spiritual gifts are from the Father for us in our new life in Him, and with Him.
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John 14:1617 2 Corinthians 1:2122 Galatians 5:22
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The bride would then take a purifying bath or Mikveh which is the Hebrew word for baptism.
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We are baptized in the Holy Spirit Who cleanses and purifies us.
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Acts 1:4
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The bride’s unmarried friends (bridesmaids) attend to the bride and provide light for the groom Who will come as a thief in the night.
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We prepare the bride by letting our light shine so the bride is ready for the groom who will come as a thief in the night.
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Matthew 25:113
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The bridegroom comes, the grooms' men run ahead and shout that He is coming by blowing the Shofar.
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When our bridegroom comes, it will be with a shout of the trumpet that Jesus is coming.
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Rev. 4:1 / 1 Thes. 4:1617 / 1 Cor. 15:5152
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The groom snatches away and abducts his bride.
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Jesus, our groom will rapture us away as He abducts us as His bride.
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Luke 17:3436
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The groom takes his bride to the chamber: they consummate (Nissuin), and celebrate for a period of seven (Shavuah) days.
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Jesus will take us to His bridal chamber where we will consummate and celebrate for a period of seven (Shavuah) years.
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Joel 2:1516 Daniel 9:27
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The party waits outside until the groom tells the best man that it is consummated. Then the guests rejoice for a period of seven days.
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During our seven year celebration, the world goes through the seven year tribulation.
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Revelation 19:78
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There is a big feast, (the wedding feast), after the wedding celebration.
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We too, after the seven year celebration, have the Marriage Feast of The Lamb.
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Revelation 19:9
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There were three groups present at the wedding: the groom, the bride, and the invited guests.
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There will also be three groups of people involved in the marriage of the Lamb: The Groom –Jesus, The BrideChurch and the Gueststhose saved after the Rapture, at the end of the seven year tribulation.
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2 Corinthians. 11:2, Ephesians 5:2327 Revelation 21:910 Rev 7:1314
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The new home of the bride was Jerusalem and it was the bridegroom who came to the bride to dwell with her.
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It is from the new Jerusalem that the believers in the Messiah during the Messianic age, or Millennium, will reign with the Messiah.
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Rev. 21:14 Ezekiel 43:12,7 Isaiah 2:24 Micah 4:15
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If you place the rapture anywhere but before the seven year tribulation, then you postpone our wedding, and in so doing destroy the typology. This is why the rapture of the "Bride of Christ," must happen before the seven year tribulation. This is the "why" behind the "what" we believe. One final note, I think it's incumbent upon me to address the issue of the "partial rapture theory," where only those watching are caught up.
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Let me hasten to say that you need to be a Berean and search the scriptures for yourself because you will find that it is patently unBiblical. All who call on the name of the Lord will be saved. All who are born again of the Spirit of God, will go up in the rapture as the Bride of Christ. If this were not true, then we're no longer saved by grace, but by works, and would have to be judged "worthy" on that basis to be His bride.
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Dwight Pentecost said it best when he wrote that; "If the rapture includes only a portion of those redeemed, then the body, of which Christ is the head, will be a dismembered and disfigured body when it is taken to Him. The building, of which he is the chief cornerstone, will be incomplete. The priesthood, of which He is the High Priest, will be without a portion of its complement. The bride, in relation to whom He is the Bridegroom, will be disfigured. The new creation, of which He is the Head, will be incomplete. Such is impossible to imagine." J.Dwight Pentecost, Things to Come, pp. 160
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