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FEEDBACK: WILL THE RAPTURE BE ON OCTOBER 21, 2011?

PART #5

3/25/10

 

We appreciate feedback on the studies posted on this website. It helps us to see if there is anything on this website that does not agree with the Bible.

 

Below IS A QUESTION about REVELATION 9 AND WHEN IS THE RAPTURE?

 

THE READER’S QUESTION IS IN ITALICS. OUR RESPONSE FOLLOWS.

 

 


You falsely stated in your previous email that the language of Matthew 24:29 and Mark 13:24 does not refer to the Day of Judgment. This has caused you to wrongly conclude that the Day of Judgment will not begin until October 21, 2011.

In Isaiah chapter 13 verses 9-11, we read that the Day of Judgment is the time in which God will execute his full wrath upon the unsaved. We read that the Day of Judgment cometh, "cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, "the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine. And I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity."

Note the description of the sun and moon in verse 10. It does not say that the sun was black as sackcloth and the moon was turned to blood as in Revelation 6:12. It uses the exact same language as Matthew 24:29 and Mark 13:24. And this text here in Isaiah 13:9-11 is without question referring to the Day of Judgment.

We do learn from Matthew 24:29 that the Day of Judgment begins immediately after the tribulation. This date we know from the Biblical Calendar is May 21, 2011. Since the elect are not to endure the wrath of God, we can be certain that it will be on this date that the rapture will take place.

If you ever come across anything in the Bible which would suggest that the first day of the Day of Judgment is any other day than May 21, 2011, please be kind enough to let me know.

Thanks.

 

 

 

You offered another passage for us to examine. Let’s consider Isaiah 13:9-11:

 

We read in Isaiah 13:9-11:

 

9  Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it.

10  For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine.

11  And I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible.

 

 

The statement in verse 10 that “the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine” means that there is no more Gospel of salvation.

 

The Lord Jesus is represented by the sun, the light of the world. The moon refers to the law of God which also points to or reflects the light of the Gospel.

 

If you think about it, this statement, “the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine”, refers to both May 21, 2011 and October 21, 2011. In fact, this statement is true forevermore for those that remain unsaved.

 

Both on May 21, 2011 and on October 21, 2011 and for all eternity, there will be no salvation, no light of the Gospel for those that remain unsaved. Starting May 21, 2011 through October 21, 2011 and into eternity, the statement “the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine” applies to the unsaved.

 

 

Therefore, the fact that we read that the sun is darkened in Isaiah 13:10 in the Day of Judgment does not mean that it was not actually darkened earlier than the Day of Judgment.

 

 

Isaiah 13:10 is not telling us that the Day of Judgment is the point in time when the sun is darkened. Rather, it is telling is that on the Day of Judgment, the sun is darkened. That is, there is no more salvation.

 

Therefore, the fact that “the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine” on the Day of Judgment does not mean that this statement is not also true earlier, before the Day of Judgment.

 

Isaiah 13:10 is not stating that the Day of Judgment and the Rapture is the first point in time that “the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine”. Rather, Isaiah 13:10 is telling us that in the Day of Judgment and the Rapture, there will be no more Salvation, no more light of the Gospel.

 

 

 

You said “Note the description of the sun and moon in verse 10. It does not say that the sun was black as sackcloth and the moon was turned to blood as in Revelation 6:12.”

 

You are pointing out differences between Isaiah 13:10 and Revelation 6:12. When we reach the Day of Judgment, when God will execute His full wrath upon the unsaved, both the statements of Isaiah 13:10 and Revelation 6:12, concerning the sun and the moon, will be true.  In Revelation 6:12 God just gives more information.

 

 

To determine when the Day of Judgment will come, the time when God will execute His full wrath upon the unsaved, we have to search the Bible to determine the day of the Rapture. The study “When is the Rapture?” gives strong Biblical arguments for that date being October 21, 2011. That day will be the Rapture and the Day of Judgment.

 

 

The Great Tribulation ends on May 21, 2011 at which point there will be no more salvation. The sun will be darkened.

 

When we get to October 21, 2011, 5 months later, it will still be true that “the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine”. The study “When is the Rapture?” shows that it is after the 5 months that the Rapture will occur. That is the Day of Judgment when God will execute His wrath upon the unsaved.

 

 

On May 21, 2011 and October 21, 2011 and forevermore, there will be no more Gospel for the unsaved. That truth goes on forevermore.

 

 

2 Peter 2:17 helps us understand Isaiah 13:10 and similar passages

 

 

This ties into what we read in 2 Peter 2:17 regarding the unsaved:

 

These are wells without water, clouds that are carried with a tempest; to whom the mist of darkness is reserved for ever.

 

 

The unsaved will be in “darkness” forevermore. This goes along with the statement that “the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine”. This goes on forevermore.

 

 

 

Let’s look at Isaiah 13:9-12 again:

 

9  Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it.

10  For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine.

11  And I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible.

12  I will make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir.

 

Verse 9 talks about the cruel wrath of God that is coming.

 

Verse 10 gives some introduction. Verse 10 is basically telling us that the light of the Gospel, the possibility of salvation, is gone.

 

Verse 11 tells us that God will punish the unsaved.

 

Then, verse 12 is talking about the man, the Lord Jesus. In the Day of Judgment, people will want salvation which the man, the Lord Jesus, can provide. Verse 12 is giving a similar message as verses 10.

 

Verse 10 does not say that the sun could not have been darkened earlier. Verse 10 simply indicates that the sun is darkened in Judgment Day. It does not say that it was not darkened earlier.

 

 

When we examine other passages in the Bible, we find that the sun will be darkened, the possibility of salvation will be ended, before we get to the Day of Judgment in which God will execute His full wrath upon the unsaved.

 

 

We see this in Acts 2:16-21:

 

16  But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel;

17  And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams:

18  And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy:

19  And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke:

20  The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come:

21  And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.

 

 

This is a quotation taken from Joel 2.

 

We read in Acts 2:20 that the “sun shall be turned into darkness”. This ties into Isaiah 13:10 and the other passages that we have been examining.

 

But, notice what else we read in verse 20, “before that great and notable day of the Lord come”

 

The “great and notable day of the Lord” is the Day of Judgment when God will execute his full wrath upon the unsaved.

 

In Acts 2:20 God gives more information. Specifically, that the sun is darkened “before” the great and notably day of the Lord, which is the Day of Judgment in which God executes His full wrath upon the saved.

 

 

We read the same message in Joel 2:31:

 

The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come.

 

Notice the word “before” in Joel 2:31. This is giving the same message as Acts 2:20.

 

 

When we read a passage like Isaiah 13:9-12 we can assume that all of the events discussed in those verses begin at the same time. However, when we compare Scripture with Scripture, we can find that there can be a sequence of events.

 

 

In this case, there is strong Biblical support for the end of salvation on May 21, 2011 with the sun being darkened. However, the Day of Judgment, “great and notable day of the Lord”, comes with the Rapture 5 months later on October 21, 2011.

 

That is why we see the word “before” in Acts 2:20 and Joel 2:31.

 

 

Here is the scenario that fits fine with Isaiah 13:10 and the other passages:

 

May 21, 2011 – sun darkened – no more salvation

 

October 21, 2011 – sun darkened (still) – Rapture – Day of Judgment, full wrath experienced by the unsaved.

 

 

 

Let’s examine some of the other statements you made.

 

You said “You falsely stated in your previous email that the language of Matthew 24:29 and Mark 13:24 does not refer to the Day of Judgment.” and “We do learn from Matthew 24:29 that the Day of Judgment begins immediately after the tribulation.”

 

We read in Matthew 24:29:

 

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:

 

Matthew 24:29 tell us about the “sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light”. This refers to the end of the salvation program.

 

The Day of Judgment in which God will execute His full wrath upon the unsaved, comes on the day of the Rapture.

 

 

Matthew 24:29 does not talk about the Rapture or the Day of Judgment.

 

 

People identify verse 31 with the Rapture. However verses 30 and 31 are separated from verse 29 by that Greek word “then” which we examined in the last email. That word allows sometime to pass. So, following the rules of proper Bible study, we can only conclude that the word “immediately” applies to verse 29. Verses 30 & 31 can be sometime later.

 

 

So, Matthew 24:29-31 is not teaching that the Day of Judgment and the Rapture occur “immediately” after the tribulation.

 

 

Mark 13:24 is like Matthew 24:29. The language “the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light” refers to no light of the Gospel being available. That is not talking about the Rapture or the Day of Judgment when God will execute His full wrath upon the unsaved.

 

People identify Mark 13:26-27 with the Rapture. However, those two verses are separated from verse 24 by that significant Greek word “then” which we examined in the previous email.

 

 

It is fine to add new verses, like Isaiah 13:9-11, into the discussion. However, to have a balanced discussion, please respond to the arguments and verses given in the “When is the Rapture?” study at the link below. This study gives strong Biblical support that the Rapture, which is the Day of Judgment in which God execute His full wrath upon the unsaved, will occur on October 21, 2011.

 

http://www.isannihilationtrue.com/rapture1.htm

 

 

The search for truth is hindered if you only present new verses that you believe teach the Day of Judgment and the Rapture on May 21, 2011, but will not respond to verses given that teach that those events will be on October 21, 2011.

 

 

You said “If you ever come across anything in the Bible which would suggest that the first day of the Day of Judgment is any other day than May 21, 2011, please be kind enough to let me know.”

 

Yes, we have come across a good amount of Bible information that shows that the Day of Judgment and the Rapture will occur on October 21, 2011. That information is found in the study “When is the Rapture?”. Please examine that study and show how the verses have been misinterpreted.

 

Thank you.

 

 

 

 

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