Do you beleive in the Rapture as described in Revelations??

Question

If you do, do you beleive that you will be one of the 144,000 that will be saved??


What confuses me about the Rapture is that, according to Revelations, the 144,000 will consist of members of the 12 tribes of Israel. Members of those Tribes are JEWS. So how does a Christian get saved during the Rapture seeing as none of you are members of the 12 tribes??

Answer 1

Firstly, The Rapture is a realatively modern interpretation of the book of Revelation, which has not been accepted by most of the Orthodox Churches in the World. It is an idea known as Dispensational Premillenialism. Most Orthodox Churches do not believe in this idea. They believe rather in Amillenialism. This means that there will not be a rapture, and rather takes the whole book of Revelation more holistically. This idea believes that there is an end, and it is really the end, not a rapture. There will be no period of tribulation or any of that baloney. Just an end.

Secondly you need to understand biblical numerology. THe book of revelation is a "apocalyptic" book, which is a style of literature that existed in the ancient times. Apacalyptic literature used numbers to symbolize things. (other good examples in the bible would be the last nine chapters of ezekiel or the book of daniel). the Number 144,000 is simply put 12 (the number of the tribes of the Old Testament, or the OT believers) times 12 (the number of the apostles, or NT believers) times 10 times 10 times 10 (one of the "complete" numbers). one multiplies by ten three times do symbolize the Holy Trinity, where in all the believers in the Old and New Testaments will be saved.

Yes it refers to them as the "twelve tribes of Israel" but what is meant (as we are in apocalyptic literature as stated before) is the Church, not the literal twelve tribes.

The only people who really take the number 144,000 literally are the Jehovah's Witnesses, who are not even really Christians, but instead Arians, but that is a different question.

Answer 2

The rapture is mentioned in 1 Corinthians 15:51-52. See also 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17. The 144,000 have nothing to do with the rapture. There will be salvation during the tribulation---a great many. The 144,000 will be Jews that have converted to Christianity and we be led most likely by the resurrected Moses against the forces of the Antichrist. The rapture will only be for a moment, followed by the Great Tribulation, which shall last for 7 years.

Answer 3

I believe in the rapture , 1st Thessalonians 4:15, 16. The 144,000 as you said are the tribes of Israel that will go about teaching and preaching about Jesus , the Messiah during the tribulation.

Answer 4

The 12,000 from each of the 12 tribes of Israel (Judah) are not the only people who get saved - in fact, if you believe in a pre-tribulation rapture, they won't even be raptured. They are converts from Judaism to Christianity after the Antichrist defiles the Temple by declaring himself 'god'. They turn into super preachers - reaching millions. They are marked by God.

If you believe in the pre-tribulation rapture, the people currently living on the Earth when Jesus returns in the clouds will immediately be transformed and be with Him. If you believe in a mid-trib rapture, the believers will be taken when the Antichrist sets himself up as 'god'. If you believe in a post-trib rapture, the believers will be taken as Jesus returns during the battle of Meggido (Armageddon). In any case, all believers will rise to be with Christ at the rapture, not just the 144,000 of the tribes of Judah.

Answer 5

The 144,000 you speak of are Jews that will be left behind to minister to the "left behind" population after the Church has been raptured out. They will carry out this ministry under pains of death, for the Antichrist will be hunting them mercilessly trying to eradicate the last vestiges of Christ's message to mankind. Those that come to God through their ministry will suffer pains of death as well. These 144,000 are chosen because God intended the Jews to be the carriers of His ministry into the world and promised he would "turn My face back to My people (Jews)". It doesn't mean Christians are excluded or have squandered their chances, for if it did, there would have been some sort of exclusion clause written into the gospels about the time of Christ's death that said so.

Answer 6

just about 25% of the Bible has to do with prophecy. Revelation isn't the in straight forward words e book of prophecy. those who believe in the Rapture draw their helping scriptures from the hot testomony. some believe it is going to ensue earlier the Tribulation said in Revelation between different places. Others imagine it will be midway into the tribulation, etc. yet when prophecy is your interest in interpreting the Bible you won't be able to get an total image from anybody e book in the Bible. some human beings spend their total lives looking the scriptures, getting to well known Latin, Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek and interpreting volumes of Bible commentaries to attempt to understand prophecy. there are a selection of conflicting critiques relying on the perspective of the interpreter and the cases he's residing in. the finest idea is to envision each and every of the scripture for your self and make up your own thoughts with the help of the Holy Spirit and prayer. it isn't unreasonable to imagine that God might want to look after His human beings from the Tribulation. He secure the Israelites in Egypt from the plagues He set upon Egypt. He secure Lot and his relations from destruction at the same time as He zapped Sodom. He secure Noah and his relations in the course of the flood. in my opinion, I truly wish the Rapture interpretation of scripture is genuine. it is going to be hell on earth for 3 a million/2 years in the course of the Tribulation.

Answer 7

Each of the 12 tribes of Israel will have 12,000 appointed by God as messengers to spread the Gospel throughout the earth; to the people who never had a chance to hear it before. As far as the Christians are concerned, they will not be here at that time, they will already have been taken up by the Lord (1 Thes. 4) . During the tribulation period, you must refuse the mark of the beast, and will more than likely have to die for your belief. The Bible also says if you have previously heard the Gospel and REJECTED it, that you will be given over to strong delusion that you might believe a lie and be damned, because you believed NOT the love of the truth, that you might be saved.

Answer 8

The rapture will happen before the Great Tribulation starts.
The 144,000 Jews will become believers of Jesus during the tribulation.

Answer 9

The 144,000 is not those who shall be saved, but rather those who will be left behind to witness for God during the tribulation.

And yes I believe in the rapture, and is coming any time now. soon and very soon.

Answer 10

There is no rapture. What started out as a 19th century invention based on reading verses out of context and an inability to link the right verses in Thessalonians and Jesus's own sayings in Matthew is clearly false. What is truly frightening is what happens to those who believe in it when they see that they are not raptured before the antiChrist is revealed. Will they lose their faith ? This could be part of the general apostasy before the return of Christ. It is based on the weakness of those who would like to leave before antiChrist shows himself. It is not clear why those who are hardly saintly (compared to real saints) would have this benefit from Christ and include Christ making U-turn after meeting the believers and returning again a third time, which is clearly ridiculous as well as patently false.