090930: Rapture I

Rapture

- the word “Rapture” is not in the Bible (neither are the following: the Holy Trinity, Demon)

- Rapture = to be caught up, the catching away; the term originated from harpazo (Hebrew) and is derived from rapere (Latin translation); the idea, however, has been around since the very beginning

- John 14: I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.

- Acts 11: This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.

- mainstream Christianity: Rapture is often linked to “the end of times,” in terms of the end of this (gentile) era/age; i.e. Judgment happens

When and How will the Rapture occur?

- 1 Corinthians: Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed—in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet.

- Matthew 24: For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.

- the general idea: the trumpet will sound (a specific trumpet; we don’t know which one) à the dead is raised à the alive are caught up à all Christians are gathered together for the mark of Jubilee, a time of great peace, where all sins are forgiven

- Matthew 24:40-41: Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left. Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.

- Luke 17:26-35: Just as it was in the days of Noah, so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man. People were eating, drinking, marrying and being given in marriage up to the day Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed them all. It was the same in the days of Lot. People were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building. But the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all. It will be just like this on the day the Son of Man is revealed. On that day no one who is on the roof of his house, with his goods inside, should go down to get them. Likewise, no one in the field should go back for anything. Remember Lot’s wife! Whoever tries to keep his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it. I tell you, on that night two people will be in one bed; one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding grain together; one will be taken and the other left.

What happens after the Christians are Raptured?

- 1 Thessalonian 4:13-17: Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. According to the Lord’s own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.

Tribulation

- tribulation = trials

- Tribulation is 7 years; 3 ½ years of peace, 3 ½ years of war

- will occur AFTER the Rapture

090923: Luke 4-5

Luke 4

- Jesus Drives Out an Evil Spirit: why did Jesus prevent the demon from telling people who He was? Thought: Because it wasn’t time yet.

- Demon: evil spirit, angel casted down from Heaven who have chosen to fight with Satan against God’s rule

(Isaiah 14:12-17 http://www.cresourcei.org/lucifer.html)

- Demons in the Old Testament:

http://www.crivoice.org/demonsot.html

- Demonic possession: evil spirits over-taking the body, controlling the body, forcing it to do evil things with the body (dwelling with the dead, slander, convulse, evil thoughts and deeds, etc.)

Luke 5

- The Man with Leprosy: a “dirty disease” (Leviticus 13)

- Two major themes of the coming of Jesus: He will bring forth 1) forgiveness of sins, engraftment of the Gentiles into the kingdom of God, the proud being humbled; 2) rule, being the King of the world

- Jesus cured the paralytic by first forgiving his sins, suggesting diseases/disasters may be brought upon the self due to sins

- “Old wine is better than new wine”: People resist change, not willing to accept new ideas; people are the "old wineskins," Jesus is the "new wine"; in order to receive Jesus, the new wine, people have to change, have to become the "new wineskins," to give up their old way in order to receive the new way

090916: Luke 2-4

Luke 2

- “Jesus grew in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and men.” à Implies Jesus performed things that men did in order to gain God’s favor.

- “When he was twelve years old, they went up to the Feast, according to the custom.” à Boys start to prepare for the Bat Mitzvah at 12 and start to observe the Feast, etc. Once the child turns 13, he is expected to behave as an “adult,” essentially one who is expected to distinguish right from wrong.

Luke 3

- John is the introduction to Christ.

- Isaiah 40:1-5: prophecy about John preparing the way for Jesus

- James 2:17: In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.

- “[Jesus] will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.” Fire is not a good thing, as suggested by the rest of the passage and also Number 11 (Fire from the Lord)

- Luke lists Jesus’ genealogy via mother’s side (written for Gentiles—reason being God is the Father of Jesus, hence it would make more sense to follow the line via Mary and not Joseph), whereas Matthew lists the genealogy via father’s side (written for Jews, a patriarch society)

Luke 4

- 40: the number of trials and testing (e.g. 40 days and night; 40 years)

- The devil knows the scripture and knows how all the prophecies will be fulfilled.

- Jesus went to the desert to be tested and did not eat. Why? Numbers 6

- “No prophet is accepted in his own town.” à As shown by what happened to Elijah, it is probably b/c 1) no one was “cleansed,” i.e. no one was pure of heart; 2) they did not ask for his help.

090909: Luke 1-2

Luke 1
- Elijah: a major Godly figure who came after Moses; translated live into the Heaven with a Chariot of Fire; had the power to heal people
- Gabriel, the angel: the only other time he’s mentioned is in Daniel 8, where he was called on to explain Daniel’s vision
- Genealogy of John the Baptist
Aaron, a levite: Moses’s brother, hence making John being born into the lineage of priesthood
- Prophesy of Jesus coming through the lineage of David becomes realized. The prophesy is recorded in Jeremiah 23:5, “’The days are coming,’ declares the LORD, ‘when I will raise up to David a righteous Branch, a King who will reign wisely and do what is just and right in the land.’”
- Joseph was insulted that Mary, the virgin, was pregnant but not with his child, as recorded in Matthew 1:19, “Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.”
- Luke 1:41, “When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.” à Interesting that she was able to be filled with the Holy Spirit when it is often thought that people didn’t fill with spirit until the Pentecost.
- Abraham is also known as the Father of 3 Religions: Jewish, Christianity, Mulism

Luke 2
- Birth of Jesus
- The Shepherds and the Angels
- Jesus Presented in the Temple
- The Boy Jesus at the Temple