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Going on the Ultimate Ride...
In the realm of Christian debate the only subject more controversial than if there will be a "rapture" is when it will occur. And it is into this minefield that we will journey to determine what Yahuweh has to say about the subject of harvesting souls. To begin, "rapture" is an errant and meaningless misnomer. The English word comes from a transliteration of the Latin rapere or raptus - "to catch up and carry off." From a biblical perspective, rapere first appears in the Roman Catholic Church's fifth century Vulgate translation of the Greek word harpazo in the 1 Thessalonians 4:17. We will consider this passage in a moment. Jerome's use of the word would have been fine had Christian theologians not transliterated the Latin rapere into "rapture," turning a descriptive verb into a manmade name. By so doing, the meaning of harpazo, "to be caught up together" was lost, replaced by a new name based upon a word which according to Webster means: "a state of being carried away by overwhelming emotion, ecstasy, or a mystical experience." Yahuweh selected a name for the event described in Paul's letter to Thessalonica: Taruwah. In a moment we'll examine His rationale. We'll also explore why Yahushua used paralambano, "to be accepted and to associate with," in Matthew's eyewitness account to describe the how and why of this somewhat unique harvest. Most Messianic Jews will tell you that the "rapture" is a myth. American evangelicals, known as pre-Tribbers, have been led to believe that it will occur on the first day of the Tribulation. Some claim at the midpoint. Most Christians believe that this harvest is scheduled to occur at the end of the Tribulation at "Christ's Second Coming," while a few think its timing coincides with the end of the Millennial Sabbath which follows. And virtually all Christians and Jews will tell you that the exact day and time cannot be known. The last of these myths was dealt with at the end of the Genesis One evaluation in the "Chay - Life" chapter. We'll augment that research here but endeavor not to repeat it. Apart from the silly name, there are five basic reasons for the confusion. First, the advocates of each position quote verse snippets which support their position and ignore those which refute it. Second, very few theologians understand Scripture's transition from Yahudim to Gowym and then back to Yahudim again. Third, the prophetic letters Yahushua wrote to the seven "churches," explaining who will be kept out of the Tribulation mystify most folks, as does much of the Olivet Discourse. Fourth, the Miqra' foreshadowing completely eludes the grasp of most all Jews and Christians. And fifth, the confusion over the prophetic timeline is derived from the fact that, like all things important to Yahuweh, there are seven harvests, not one. While the fifth harvest must transpire prior to the Tribulation for the Revelation promises to be true, there is an indeterminate gap of time between these events. The harvest is only connected to Yahushua's ruling, or seventh advent (Yahuweh has already visited us in the form of a man six times) in that those who have been "caught up together with Him in the sky" previously will be "retrieved from the far extremes of heaven" to "serve as shepherds" upon His return. This eventuality is depicted in Matthew 24 and in Revelation 3. There will also be a late Tribulation harvest and a post Millennial one, so there is some truth to these positions. Briefly, the seven harvests are: One: Enoch - symbolizing the harvest of the primarily Gentile ekklesia depicted in Genesis 5:24 and Hebrews 11:5. Two: Lot from Sodom - symbolizing the removal of God's family prior to the towns' destruction in Genesis 18 and 19 and 2 Peter 2. Three: Elijah - symbolizing Yisra'el's return from Ba'al's Babylon, their restoration and harvest in 2 Kings 2. Four: Yahushua's resurrection day - fulfilling the Miqra' of FirstFruits in Matthew 27:52 and Leviticus 23. Five: The pre-tribulation harvest, or paralambano harpazo, of the ekklesia. This is the fulfillment of the Miqra' of Taruwah which we will cover in the paragraphs which follow. Six: The harvest of tribulation martyrs - depicting those who have come to faith during the trial and have been killed for their belief. This event coincides with the transition between the Tribulation and Millennial Sabbath in Revelation 20:4. And Seven: The harvest of millennial mortals - something which is required as New Jerusalem begins in Revelation 21 and 22. Like all of Yahuweh's "sevens," one harvest stands out from the other six. Only one represents the chronological and prophetic redemptive fulfillment of the fifth of seven Miqra'. Some day I will compose a chapter dedicated to Yahuweh's affinity for seven. But so that we are all thinking about these things the way God presents them, let's conduct a quick survey of Yahuweh's six plus one framework. It begins with six being the number of man and one being the number of God. In Genesis man was created on the sixth of seven days. In Revelation the number of man is given as 666. Our Creator says: "Hear O Yisra'el, your God is Yahuweh, your God is One." This God wrote His personal name, Yahuweh, comprised of four consonants and three vowels, into His Scripture exactly 7,000 times. He included His proper name as Savior, Yahushua, precisely 77 times. Seven is clearly Yahuweh's favorite number. Scripture's most important seven sevens are: One: In Genesis One there are six days of creation plus a day of rest. This is symbolic of the six thousand years of man after the fall followed a Millennial Sabbath. The six plus one accounting provides the framework for all redemptive prophecy. Two: The Fourth Commandment says there are six days for work and one for rest. It is symbolic of the fact we cannot work for our salvation. Three: The Torah reveals that there are seven Miqra'. Six are Feasts and one (the Day of Atonement) is a Fast. Represented by the seven light menorah lamp, the seven Miqra' provide a chronological and descriptive prophetic essay on the seven most important events related to man's reunification with Yahuweh. Four: The Seven Spirits of Yahuweh/Yahushua depicted in Isaiah and Revelation. Each is represented by one of Yahuweh's seven metaphors. This subject is reasonably complex so I'll defer its discussion to the future chapter on sevens. Five: The seven advents of Yahushua, 'Yshaya'el/God existing as man. I'll list these in a moment. Six: the seven harvests of cleansed and set-apart souls. And Seven: The seven ekklesia depicting the prevailing nature of the seven eras of past, present, and future "church" history. The seven advents of Yahushua, of God existing as man, include: One: "God walked in the Garden with 'Adam - the first man with a nasamah/conscience. (Genesis 3:8) Two: "Yahuweh appeared to Abraham" in the form of a "'ysh/man natsab/standing upright" God talked, walked, and ate with Abram as the beriyth/covenant relationship was initiated. (Genesis 17 and 18) Three: In a meeting that included a wrestling match with Satan, Yahushua blessed Ya'acob making the trustworthy patriarch Yishra'el/one who strives with God. (Genesis 32) Four: God met with Moses during the forty day revelation of His Torah/Prescriptions. (Exodus 24) Five: God revealed Himself, speaking to Samuel near the Ark of the Covenant in Shiloh five times. The passage reveals: "Yahuweh came, stood, and spoke to Samuel...appearing so as to be seen, revealing and disclosing Himself as the Word of Yahuweh." (1 Samuel 3) Six: A "child was born unto us, a son was given," when God came as a man to redeem us. The sixth advent of 'Yshayah'el/God Existing as Man began with His incarnation in Bethlehem on the Miqra' of Tabernacles in 2 BCE and ended with His ascension from the Mount of Olives in 33 CE. (Deuteronomy, Isaiah, Daniel, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) And Seven: Yahushua will return fulfilling the remaining Messianic prophecies on the Day of Atonement in 2033. (Genesis 1, Leviticus 23-25, Daniel 9, Hosea 6, Zechariah, Matthew 24, and Revelation) Now that we have our footing, let's journey into what Scripture has to say about the harvest of souls. In the Olivet discourse Yahushua says that when He comes for His people, most folks will be taken by surprise. God claims that they won't notice because they don't think. He even calls those who don't know the season of His harvest "duplicitous hypocrites." So that we don't err similarly, we're going to be thorough in our investigation, considering most everything Yahuweh has to say about spiritual harvests. The story begins with the Miqra' of Taruwah, better known as the Feast of Trumpets, and errantly celebrated as Rosh Hashanah. Of this day, Yahuweh says: "Speak to (dabar - promise and warn) the sons of Israel (Yisra'el - those who persist with and are empowered by God), saying and avowing, on the first day of the seventh month there exists a Sabbath observance (shabbathown - a day when man puts an end to his work), a memorial sign and mental reminder of an inheritance right (zikrown) of sounding an alarm and shouting for joy (taruw'ah - the use of a ram's horn trumpet to signal celebratory shouts of good news or to blast warnings of an impending conflict), a cleansing and set-apart (qodesh) calling together (miqra' - assembly of the called-out)." (Leviticus 23:24-25) The principle reason for the harvest is to bring the people who are "cleansed, set-apart, and called-out together" with God. Further, as a result of this spiritual harvest, the "work" of the men and women included therein "comes to an end." And at that time they will receive their "inheritance right" as members of Yahuweh's family. This harvest serves as a "memorial sign and as a mental reminder" of Yahuweh's redemptive and familial plan. It is a "signal of celebratory joy" for those included. And it will serve as an ominous "warning of impending conflict" for those left behind. The Great Tribulation is about to begin (it could be anywhere from several weeks to several years away). In the "Histemi - Stand Upright" chapter we dispelled the myth that the Renewed Covenant abolished the Festival Feasts of Yahuweh. In so doing we discovered their future prophetic viability as "foreshadows of things to come." Since the first four Miqra' have been precisely fulfilled, in the exact order they were listed, and on their prescribed day, one has to be ignorant of Scripture to think that the final three Miqra' will be ignored. Also, with the purpose and chronological timing of the sixth and seventh Miqra's, the Day of Atonement and Festival of Tabernacles, established as Yahuweh's return and the beginning of His Millennial Sabbath, we are compelled to see Taruwah as a pre-return harvest. And of that, God leaves little doubt. Most every reference to this harvest is set in the midst of Taruwah symbolism. Paul wrote about the fulfillment of the Feast of Trumpets in his letter to the Thessalonians: "For Yahushua Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God [all symbols of the Miqra' of Taruwah]. And the dead in the Messiah will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together (harpazo) with them in the clouds to meet Yahushua in the air. And thus we shall always be with Yahuweh." (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17) This is harvest known to Christians by the misnomer: "rapture." It is a unique harvest of souls, including those who are living and asleep. Some misconstrue this passage, so as to place it within the context of the Messiah's return. But that's not possible. Living mortals are not raised at His final advent because they are left on Earth to populate the Millennial Sabbath. Those who come to know Yahweh during the Tribulation and who survive its seven year term, won't be rising up to meet Yahushua in the air; He will be coming down to greet them in Jerusalem. Speaking to the Corinthians, the Hebrew scholar and evangelist once again confirmed that some people will not experience physical death, although all will be changed: "We shall not all sleep [die], but we shall all be changed - in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed." (Corinthians 15:51-52) The "trumpet" references are to the Miqra' of Taruwah, suggesting once again that this remarkable harvest will commence on the Feast of Trumpets. It did not, however, tell us which year. Matthew recorded Yahushua saying that the harvest would occur sometime within the lifespan of the generation witnessing the seven signs that serve as birth pangs for the last days. These begin with mankind's only World War, its Holocaust, and the subsequent return of Jews to the Land. In other words, the countdown starts in the 1930's and 40's. Yahushua goes on to list famines, great acts of terrorism, increased earthquakes and hurricanes, pandemics, social upheaval, and "signs in the sky" as the final "birth pangs." We have witnessed all but the last of these. Since the maximum extent of a generation is about a hundred years, we are running out of time. Furthermore, in Revelation's letter to the sixth ekklesia/out-calling, Yahushua tells John that a harvest will transpire before the Tribulation, so as to keep the Philadelphians out of it. That narrows down the possibilities considerably, leaving us only 20 remaining Taruwah celebrations, here in 2006, before the prophetic clock strikes zero. Speaking of the aforementioned Philadelphian Assembly of Scriptural literalists, God reveals: "Because you have carefully attended to, thoughtfully observed and consistently kept My Word to cheerfully endure, indeed, I also will watch over you and carefully attend to you (tereo - protecting you from injury or loss), keeping you out of (ek - withholding you from) the hour of tribulation which shall come upon the whole of the inhabitants of the world to test those who reside on the earth." (Revelation 3:10) There is only one way to keep these souls out of the global Tribulation and that is through the pre-Tribulation harvest. It puzzles me that so many people are perplexed about this. I can only assume their consternation is derived from not appreciating the notion that there are seven harvests depicted in Scripture, not just one. Or that for others, they don't like the fact that Yahushua's Revelation letters, like the rest of the book, are prophetic. And that's because if they are, the "church," its clerics and congregations are mostly "dead, satanic whores, and vomit." Yahushua vividly described the nature of the most important of the seven harvests: "At that time two will be in the field. The one will be taken to be brought alongside, acknowledged and accepted, welcomed and removed, claimed, procured, and received (paralambano) and one will be sent to the place of separation, yielded up to expire, neglected and abandoned (aphiemi)." (Matthew 24:40) There are few words as endearing or telling as paralambano. We examined it at the close of the "Chay - Life" chapter when we reviewed this passage within the context of Yahshua's entire discussion of the Last Days. In an earlier letter we find Peter equating the harvest of souls to the rescue of Lot from Sodom. He also confirms that this spiritual harvest will keep some souls out of the Tribulation. "Pertaining to the family of the Supreme One to whom we belong, those who have a proper attitude toward God (eusebes - those who are respectful and reverent in their relationship) are kept out of (ek) the Tribulation, the time of trial and testing (peirasmos). They are attended to (tereo - guarded and protected), drawn out of and away from, rescued and delivered from (rhuomai) the unjust and lawless as we move toward the day of pruning and separation (krisis - a legal verdict which condemns and divides, judgment leading to estrangement)." (2 Peter 2:9) The "Pareisago - Clandestine Conspiracy" chapter focuses on the first half of Peter's second letter. The apostle predicts the advent of a conniving conspiracy of secular humanists who will aspire to control the world through deception. Since we are living in the days he foretold, our generation will witness God's rescue of the eusebes/reverent from their lawlessness.
The remainder of the "Paralambano - Accepted" chapter is undergoing editing. It will be added at a later date.
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