Saving Gentiles After The Rapture

Q

I agree with you that after the cross God divided humanity into 3 parts: 1) Jews, God’s chosen, “earthly” people 2) The Church, Bride of Christ, “heavenly” people and 3) Gentiles, unbelievers, the ungodly. Prior to Pentecost all Gentiles were without Christ, aliens and strangers, afar off and without God in this world (Eph 2:11,12,17). Then the “pause” for the Church. After the Church is raptured, God will then turn his attention back to the Jews. There will be Gentiles at that time, but won’t they again be without Christ, aliens and strangers, afar off and without God in this world?

You state in your entry posted April 13, 2009 No Salvation After The Rapture? that Acts 15:13-18 confirms that Gentiles will be saved throughout the Great Tribulation. When I read verse 15 I understand it to be Jesus returning at the 2nd Coming and building the tabernacle of David for He states that “I” will build again the ruins thereof, and “I” will set it up. This has to be the Millennium and not the Tribulation.

A

Acts 15:13-18 says that after Jesus takes the church He’ll rebuild David’s fallen tabernacle. This is a reference to the Temple being built during Daniel’s 70th Week. Don’t be confused by the fact that the Lord says He will build it. He often speaks this way of things He moves men to accomplish. The remnant of the men who seek the Lord spoken of in verse 17 refers to all, both Jew and Gentile, who remain on Earth after the Rapture. This can’t refer to the Millennium because when the Lord comes back He’ll remove every unbeliever from Earth, leaving only believers to enter the Kingdom.

If you think of the situation Gentiles were in before the cross, you’ll have a good idea of their plight after the Rapture. They came to the Lord through Judaism. There were congregations of Jews and Gentile converts all around the Middle East. Thousands of them came to Jerusalem to celebrate the Feasts. In fact, the court of the Gentiles was the largest open area on the Temple Mount. One of the things that so angered the Lord when He cleansed the Temple is that they had turned this court into a marketplace, depriving the Gentiles of their only place of worship. Read Isaiah 56:1-8 for confirmation of this. Jesus quoted from this passage when cleansing the Temple.