A. I believe both the Battle of Isaiah 17 and the rapture have to occur before the Battle of Ezekiel 38, but these events are not really connected.  The church will be raptured when its full number has been reached (Romans 11:25).  This could happen either before or after Isaiah 17.  After the Church is gone the Lord’s focus will be on Israel again (Acts 15:13-18) .  The event that begins the restoration of Israel to their covenant with God and compels them to build a temple is the Battle of Ezekiel 38, because that’s when the blinders Paul spoke of in Romans 11:25 will come off and they’ll recognize the Lord’s hand in their victory. (Ezek. 39:22).

But I believe Matt. 24:34 says these and all other end times events will happen within a Biblical lifespan of 1948 when Israel was reborn.  According to Psalm 90:10 an average lifespan is about 70 years.

Of course this isn’t a “thus saith the Lord” kind of pronouncement, but is just my opinion based on my interpretation of Scripture.  If it’s correct we don’t have anywhere near a decade left, so as you’ve said we truly live in exciting times.

A. We’ve saved because of what we believe, not because of how we behave.  (Ephes. 2:8-9) If your husband is born again he’ll go in the rapture. There’s nothing in the Bible that prohibits drinking beer.  And while drunkenness is certainly frowned upon, it won’t cancel a person’s salvation.  The only thing that Jesus requires of us is that we believe He came to Earth and died for our sins so that we could go to Heaven and live with Him. (John 3:16)

Doesn’t JESUS return for all HIS saints well before HE returns with all HIS saints? Im kind of a cement head  and I guess I need you to make this clear. Why are they still here at what sounds like the second comming? If they are already with HIM than its a bit late to establish your hearts. Shouldn’t you be about as established as you can get at that point?

A. In my opinion the NIV has a rendering of 1 Thes. 3:13 that’s consistent with the original, but easier to understand than the KJV. It says,

May he strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones.

The Greek word translated “before” in the KJV and “in the presence of” in the NIV denotes location. In effect Paul is praying that they will already be in the presence of the Lord when the time comes for Jesus to return to Earth at the 2nd Coming.  Since Paul’s letters were intended to be relevant through out the entire Church age, 1 Thes. 3:13 means already in Heaven as it pertains to the generations who would die before the 2nd Coming, or already have been taken in the Rapture, as it pertains to the one still alive as the time of His coming approaches.  It’s another promise of a Pre-Trib Rapture for believers.

A. Believers who die discard their physical bodies and assume a spiritual form.  At the rapture they will receive new physical bodies, called resurrection bodies, at the same time as living believers are instantaneously transformed into their resurrection bodies. (1 Cor. 15:51-52).

A. The watershed event that prompted the change in the accepted meaning of the Greek word apostasia in 2 Thes. 2:3 was the publication of the King James Bible in 1611 where it’s translated falling away.  Prior to that it was almost always translated departure. There is still disagreement among scholars as the to word’s proper meaning and even its etymology (origin).  Some, like E.W.Bullinger, say it’s a compound of apo and stasia and means a separation away from.  Others, like the Strong’s Concordance, say it’s the feminine form of apostasion, which means divorce, both of which are derived from aphistemi which is most often translated depart.  The question that to me remains unanswered is whether it refers to a physical departure, such as the rapture would be, or whether its an intellectual or spiritual departure, such as our understanding of apostasy would indicate.

But to me it’s all semantics. Whether you think the word points to the rapture or a falling away from the gospel doesn’t change the fact that 2 Thes. 2 teaches a pre-trib rapture.  In fact the stated purpose of the letter, which was to refute a forgery,  requires that Paul had previously taught the believers in Thessalonica that the rapture would precede the end time judgments.  You can read my study on 2 Thessalonians for more detail.

A. No, yours is not a silly question. There is disagreement in the Church as to who among us will qualify.  I believe all born again believers, children below the age of reason (including the pre-born), and those who are not mentally capable of understanding the consequences of sin will go in the rapture. I believe the Bible says that our inheritance was guaranteed at the moment we first believed (Ephes. 1:13-14) and that God took ownership of us at that moment and accepted responsibility for us (2 Cor. 1:21-22).  I also believe all children belong to God and have eternal life (Romans 7:9) and that He’ll treat the mentally handicapped as if they are children.  He doesn’t condemn anyone for not understanding something they’re incapable of understanding.

There is no specific age mentioned in the New Testament at which we’re held responsible for our faith.  It’s more a matter of intellectual development than physical maturity.

A. I don’t believe I’ve ever written about angels being assigned to protect children from danger or disease, although I’ve heard a number of credible accounts of that very thing happening.  In Matt. 18: 1-14 where the concept of guardian angels originates, the Lord wasn’t speaking of angels protecting children from harm.  He was warning adults that angels who are assigned to watch these children report directly to Him.  We shouldn’t regard them as less important than adults in God’s eyes, because He’ll hold us accountable for the way we treat them. Adults who lead them astray will be judged severely.  I have used this passage, along with Romans 7:9, in support of my belief that all children belong to God and will be taken in the rapture, regardless of their parents’ spiritual condition.

A. There were several differences between those judgments and the rapture.  For example, the judgments of the flood and Sodom were relatively quick, and the children were with their parents until the time of death then  immediately taken to paradise.  But in the End Times we’re talking about 7 years of suffering and deprivation which could result in  untold thousands of children being orphaned for an extended period of time, many dying slow and painful deaths through no fault of their own.

As for what the Bible says, in Romans 7:9 Paul said he had eternal life until he reached the age of accountability. That means children aren’t accountable for any of their sins.   Jesus said we have to become like little children to enter His kingdom, (Matt. 18:3) in other words not accountable for our sins.  We can avoid accountability for them if we accept His death as payment in full.  If through our belief in the Lord we can become like little children already are, how could a just God leave them behind when we go?

A. In 1 Thes. 1:10 Paul wrote that Jesus would rescue us from the coming wrath.  The Greek word for rescue in the verse means to deliver, or draw to oneself.   The word for from denotes a separation of time and distance.  So the Lord will draw us to Himself to distance us from the time and place of the wrath to come.  In 1 Thes. 5:9 he said the Church was not appointed to suffer wrath.  In Rev. 3:10 the Lord promised to keep us from the “hour of trial” that’s coming upon the whole world. A different Greek word for from us used there.  It means out of the place, time, or cause of the event being referenced. So here His promise is to keep us out of the time and place of His wrath, because we’re not the cause of it.  Put it all together and it says we won’t be here for any of it.

And you’re right about the woman in Rev. 12.  Being pregnant, she can’t be the virgin bride.  Additionally, the child she’s about to give birth to is the Messiah.  The Church did not give birth to the Messiah. The woman is Israel.

A. I’ve often thought that justice would be nicely served if everyone was raptured according to their beliefs.  If so, some would go pre-trib, some pre-wrath, some post-trib and some not at all. Unfortunately, there’s nothing in the Bible to support that view.  All born again believers will go at the same time regardless of their personal opinion as to when it should happen because there’s only one rapture and it includes the whole Church.   According to the strictest, most literal interpretation of the Bible it will happen before the End Times judgments begin.