By Walid Shoebat (Shoebat Exclusive)
It is what most Christians do NOT know about the Rapture that is so crucial to know. They all talk about “being caught up” to meet “the Lord in a twinkling of an eye,” but what is so rarely discussed are the many themes speaking of the “catching away” as the mechanism to prepare the Church for the most crucial battle in human history which will soon occur in Jerusalem. Rarely do Christians ask the right questions; What do Christians do in the “wedding feast” and “the marriage supper of the Lamb” and what is “his bride” (the Church) making herself ready for and why did Jesus enter through walls in John 20:26 and why are we magnetized to Christ in the air?
Many depict the “marriage supper” as feasting for seven years, as if it is lamb chops in heaven while the earth suffers tribulation and that the “Rapture” was ordained by God as some sort of a parachute to escape out of earth, as if the entire earth, they claim, turns completely into utter darkness, swirling out of control heading to utter destruction. And then suddenly God shows up to strictly bail us out from the wrath to come and we rise to heaven while the earth suffers all the afflictions that Antichrist unleashes on the earth and on Israel.
This is myth.
Fact is, indeed, Christ appears in order to snatch us up to meet Him in the air. This snatching away is not intended to spend time in heaven while the earth suffers even further destruction. Christ comes to rescue the Church that remains after it had endured much suffering, tribulation and martyrdom, but as soon as the number of the martyred is complete, Christ comes to snatch the living and the dead bodies of all His followers. This snatching away is done in order to transform them “in a twinkling of an eye” into incorruptible and un-defeatable bodies, and enlist them into His glorious army in order to finally avenge the blood of the martyred saints and to defend Jerusalem which is surrounded by an invading Muslim army which is about to annihilate the Jews. And it is during that event that Christ will finally redeem them. The snatching away is when Christ is finally sent by the Father to cleanse the earth by participating with the Saints as well as with the Angles from heaven in order to defend Jerusalem and defeat the Antichrist and his minions.
The rule of thumb when it comes to our relationship with Christ is that He so much desires to always partner with the Church. He partnered with men to write His Word as much as He partnered with David to kill Goliath. He partners with us in the process of salvation by our cooperation with Him. So He also partners with us in the final battle to redeem mankind from utter destruction.
But the quest to prove all this is not the task for the lazy; the true Bride, the virgins with their lamps filled with oil, is always on the lookout for her Bridegroom to come. She is up at night wondering and contemplating her true love and is not lacking knowledge by listening to the hireling who “isolates,” “allegorizes literals,” and “literalize allegories”. The times that we live in is no time to sleep or to read short snippets discussing few verses taken out of context. The lazy servant always interprets the “snatching away” fearing the sword of Antichrist unaware that “cowards” “will find themselves in the fiery lake of burning sulfur” (Revelation 21:8) and that what they fear most will suddenly come upon them: “You fear the sword, and the sword is what I will bring against you, declares the Sovereign LORD.” (Ezekiel 11:8)
Operating out of fear is the modus operandi of the coward.
To understand the “snatching away” one cannot ignore the battle of Joel 2 which is so crucial and has been entirely perverted and misconstrued. An in depth comparative study of Joel’s “The Day of the Lord” with Ezekiel, Isaiah, the Psalms, Daniel, Zechariah, Matthew and John in his Revelations will yield the type of truth which is the most exciting, intriguing and amazingly shocking and so few even look for it; they who discern hear ancestral voices prophesying WAR!
By proclaiming war, many scoffers will instantly accuse us of being warmongers. I say to these: indeed, we desire war when there is no peace and fight for peace to prevent all wars.
Soon the world conscience will be aroused by war, the type of which has never been seen. A war that is looming on the horizon, which we spoke of for two decades and within another decade, more or less, we will see the northern troops getting ready to come towards the city of Jerusalem. It is Jerusalem that is the center of the world, the apple of God’s eye. Yet, there is a wicked man of sin named Recep Tayyip Erdogan who says to the world:
“Jerusalem is the apple of the eye of each and every Muslim”.
He reflects the desire of the wicked one who wants to be worshiped there. Jerusalem is reserved for the King of Kings and the Son of God will finally battle the son of perdition and defeat him in Jerusalem. It is for Jerusalem’s sake that God have set watchmen who will not be silent day or night. (Isaiah 62:6)
Ask, how it is that those of the Lord’s Army never get “wounded” in Joel 2, having glorified bodies come to battle in which every true Christian participates in the final destruction of the invading northern Turkish Muslim army included with it all their alliance:
“I will drive the northern horde far from you, pushing it into a parched and barren land; its eastern ranks will drown in the Dead Sea and its western ranks in the Mediterranean Sea. And its stench will go up; its smell will rise.” Surely he has done great things! (Joel 2:20)
This “northern horde” is the Islamic alliance lead by the Turks after partnering with several Muslim nations coming against Jerusalem. Turkey will also war with Christian nations (to understand all this, see all 6 part study)
To unravel what happens during the process of this “snatching away,” lets start with the most mysterious book in the Bible, which is not the Book of Revelation but the book of Joel. Many regard the army of Joel 2 to be either an evil army or swarming locusts coming against the land of Israel. They perceive this because they link this army with Joel chapter 1 (which are literal locusts) and that the army in Joel 2 since it too greatly “consumes by fire” is evil, since “a fire devours before them, and behind them a flame burns” (Joel 2:3) must be a destructive act, therefore, this is an evil army.
If such an assumption is correct then who is this who comes to also destroy in Psalm 50:
“A fire shall devour before Him, and it shall be very tempestuous all around Him.” (Psalm 50:3)
Is He also evil? God forbid.
This is commonly agreed by most scholars to be speaking of Christ. He comes to destroy the enemies of Israel by fire which is also in perfect harmony with Joel 2 and also agrees with Daniel 7:10:
“A fiery stream issued and came before Him. A thousand thousands ministered to Him.” (Daniel 7:10)
Why then would anyone not also conclude that Joel 2 is speaking about the coming of the Messiah? They argue that in Psalm 50:3 and Daniel 7, they are addressing a single person—Messiah, while Joel 2 is regarding a multitude of people. Then who are these “thousand thousands,” who are with Him in Daniel 7:10?
These are the multitudes of Christians as commonly agreed.
it is not sufficient evidence to conclude that the army of Joel 2 is an enemy just because it destroys and this is simply misplacing a correct piece of this prophetic puzzle which describes the same theme written in Psalm 50, Isaiah 13, Daniel 7, Zechariah 14 and Matthew 24:31. No one can comprehend this “snatching away” without piecing together the correct verses and the context of all such themes is the war right after this catching away (Rapture) and to deny it becomes absolutely impossible if we read Scripture with honesty and integrity.
The “snatching away” is in so many places in Scripture that the lazy avoids to search:
“Gather My saints together to Me, Those who have made a covenant with Me by sacrifice.” (Psalm 50:4)
Christ gathers the wheat to burn the chaff. This is a powerful verse that makes a powerful argument. The “gathering together unto Him” (2 Thessalonians 2:1) are His saints that have a covenant with Him by sacrifice. Only Christians and the Jews of the Old Covenant will qualify. Psalm 50:4 “Gather My saints together to Me” are indeed the saints, the ones who waited for the Messiah and sacrificed animals prior to His first coming, and the ones who accepted Him after the cross—the dead in Christ rise first, then the ones who are alive will follow.
The language in Psalm 50:4 “Gather My saints together to Me” is the same as in Matthew 24:31:
“And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.”
But gather together His elect for what? God is not the author of confusion. He has a purpose for doing things.
The “snatching away” has many purposes, yet the Bible sets forth as one of the clear reasons a very practical one—the gathered Christians are coming with Christ, not to participate in some supper in heaven but to participate alongside Him in the great battle for Jerusalem as described in Zechariah 14:5:
“Then you [Israel] shall flee through My mountain valley, For the mountain valley shall reach to Azal. Yes, you shall flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Thus the LORD my God will come, and all the saints [Christians] with You [Christ].” (Zechariah 14:5)
God will come and all the saints are with Him? This reconciles Psalm 50, Isaiah 13, and Zechariah 14 with Joel 2. They all fit together perfectly.
In Zechariah 14 the context is clear—the saints are with Him in this battle. In Zechariah 14:3 it states:
“The Lord will go forth and fight… His feet will stand in that day upon the Mount of Olives… and the Mount of Olives shall be split in two.”
Christ just as Moses did to the Red Sea, splits the Mount of Olives facing the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.
(Russian orthodox church with gold domes on the mount of olives)
The earthquake is the same earthquake that we read about in Joel 2: “the earth quakes before them.” (Joel 2:10) The Lord goes down to Jerusalem to pick a fight “the Lord will go forth and fight”.
This is to redeem and spare Israel from destruction and convert it to recognize their Messiah and King. The whole context of Zechariah 14 is the Battle over Jerusalem. This matches what is written in Joel 2.
The “calling up” “come up hither” (Revelation 11:12) and the “snatching away” to the sky to meet Christ is for battle and is defined as such by Isaiah the prophet:
“I have also called My mighty ones for My anger—those who rejoice in My exaltation.” (Isaiah 13:3)
Anger? Christ here is no Mr. nice, and within the same theme in Isaiah 12:6 it says:
“Cry out shout, O inhabitant of Zion, for great is the Holy One of Israel in your midst!”
In both prophecies—Gog in Ezekiel 38 and Armageddon in Revelation—Christ is present:
“And the heathen shall know that I am Jehovah, the Holy One in Israel,” (Ezekiel 39:7).
This verse alone “The Holy One is “in” Israel” dispels another major myth that is promoted by the Rapture Ready crowd.
These argue that the “Battle of Gog and Magog” (Turkey with its Muslim allies) must happen prior to the Battle of Armageddon.
Why they say this is because if the Battle of Gog and Magog is the final war of Armageddon, it will prove that there is no European invasion headed by the Vatican; a myth these claim in order to slander the Vatican and the Russian Orthodox as well as anyone who does not follow their prophetic persuasion.
So they take their “concocted harlot” and in addition, Europe (their concocted Antichrist) since they have to finagle the battle of Armageddon to be Europe instead of an Islamic invasion of Jerusalem.
So the Islamic invasions according to these must be completed prior to Antichrist’s entry into Jerusalem.
If such a theory is correct, why does every other part of Scripture use the phrase “the Holy One of Israel,” except in the theme of Ezekiel 38-39, in which Ezekiel uses “the Holy one in Israel”:
“So will I make my holy name known in the midst of my people Israel; and I will not let them pollute my holy name any more: and the heathen shall know that I am the LORD, the Holy One in Israel.” (Ezekiel 39:7)
The Messiah is actually present on the Earth in the Land of Israel. This “in” is crucial and covering it up is done intentionally.
Since Christ can only be present in His second coming only when Antichrist is on earth (2 Thessalonians 2:3) makes Ezekiel 38/39 such a crucial battle and “Gog” therefore is the Antichrist and is why this “Gog” also appears after the 1000 years are over.
We also have “the earth shall shake at my presence” (Ezekiel38: 20) which is God’s presence as Him standing on the Mount of Olives.
We also have verse 18, which states, “My fury shall come up in my face.” (Ezekiel 38: 18), His face is literal not allegoric as they claim and He is seen angry (He is not the nice Jesus). If one argues that His face is an allegory, than His feet standing on the Mount of Olives in Zechariah must also be an allegory and this will destroy Christian theology altogether since all true Christians believe that Jesus will stand on the Mount of Olives.
Isn’t it amazing that the scoffer would always allegorize literals to serve an evil agenda and feed people hatred, while he accuses us who exposes his evil deeds as “filled with hate,” while at the same time, he proclaims himself a possessor of “all love for Christ and His church”?
It is no wonder why Christ allows righteous anger. Even Christ’s “mighty ones” are called for “His anger” and to fight with him in battle (Isaiah 13:4).
So why is He calling them “mighty ones”?
Its because they have glorified bodies, which He calls “My army” as in Joel 2:11: “The Lord gives voice before His army.” (Joel 2:11)
All of these passages fit together perfectly, especially since Joel 2 covers both the “snatching away” and the War as well.
Indeed, the snatching away is all about WAR!
Both Isaiah 13:3-4 and Joel 2:11 are speaking about The Lord’s army. How could this army be bad? This army of the Lord in Joel 2 is the army that has just been snatched away in the most popular theme when the Bridegroom (Christ) comes for His Bride (The Church):
“Let the bridegroom go out from His chamber. And the bride from her dressing room.” (Joel 2:16)
Isn’t this what John said in Revelations:
“Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready” (Revelation 19:7, also see Matthew 25:6, Revelation 21:2, John 3:29, 2 Corinthians 11:2, Matthew 25:6)
It is crucial then that we understand that the “marriage supper of the lamb” is a war:
“For the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready. But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.” (Revelation 21:8)
Anytime the bridegroom goes out to meet the bride, it is none other than the “snatching away”. But all this is regarding a battle:
“And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” (v9)
This is so clearly described, its impossible to refute:
“Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords. Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and with a loud voice he called to all the birds that fly directly overhead, “Come, gather for the great supper of God, to eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all men, both free and slave,[e] both small and great.” And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth with their armies gathered to make war against him who was sitting on the horse and against his army. And the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who in its presence had done the signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped its image. These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur. And the rest were slain by the sword that came from the mouth of him who was sitting on the horse, and all the birds were gorged with their flesh.” (Revelation 19:11-21)
It is crucial to also study our latest expose on the “Mark of the Beast” and the “Mark of God” in order to see how this connects to our war with Islam. Its impossible to escape, this war is between Christ and His army confronting Antichrist and his Muslim army.
In Joel 2 and in 1 Corinthians 15 both passages are speaking about the incorruptible body, but Joel 2 contextualizes this by placing the timing of this glorification of the Christians’ bodies at the Great War for Jerusalem. The bride is His church and is involved in this battle with glorified bodies that do not die:
“Though they lunge between the weapons, they are not cut down” (Joel 2:8).
“They are not cut down”?
These people in Joel 2 can lunge between the weapons and do not die. When do these people become impervious to weapons? How do they become indestructible? It is only when they receive their glorified bodies.
Yet we will always find scoffers who love to argue just to find any silly excuse that such an army is evil, that these people simply lunge between the weapons and not into them, even perhaps these are literal locusts, which is why they are not killed.
If this argument is true, what is the purpose of the verse and where is the miracle? In addition, the context is speaking of the miraculous—”they run on the walls” (V 9). How can people run on walls? With glorified bodies, we do not only walk on walls but also walk through them becoming one with Christ and completely connected to God in ways we can never fathom and is how Christ was able to enter through walls in John 20:26.
In verse 11, these are the Lord’s army:
“The Lord gives voice before His army” (Joel 2:11).
This leaves no question that the army of Joel 2 are the Christians. In Zechariah 14:5 the army is defined: “all the saints with you.” They are the saints—both the martyred and the living.
He (the bridegroom) and the bride prepare for war leading up to the Marriage Supper of The Lamb and participate in the Battle for Jerusalem:
“Let the priests, the ministers of the LORD, weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say, Spare thy people, O LORD, and give not thine heritage to reproach, that the heathen should rule over them: wherefore should they say among the people, Where is their God? Then will the LORD be jealous for his land, and pity his people.” (Joel 2:17-18)
Christ cares about His land and His headquarters in Jerusalem.
The Book of Joel describes a single event—the Day of the Lord and the Battle of Armageddon.
In Joel 2, this incorruptible body is fighting on the Day of The Lord:
“Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the LORD cometh, for it is nigh at hand.” (Joel 2:1)
Again in both passages there is the trumpet. Joel describes this day as:
“A day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds and of thick darkness, as the morning spread upon the mountains: a great people and a strong; there hath not been ever the like, neither shall be any more after it, even to the years of many generations. Fire devours before them; and behind them a flame burns: the land is as the Garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them.” (Joel 2:2-4)
“Neither shall one thrust another; they shall walk every one in his path: and when they fall upon the sword, they shall not be wounded.” (Joel 2:8)
Here these fighters cannot be wounded, because they have incorruptible bodies as described in 1 Corinthians 15. Joel presents the believers as super-human and this event as a definite tribulation:
“They shall run to and fro in the city; they shall run upon the wall, they shall climb up upon the houses; they shall enter in at the windows like a thief. The earth shall quake before them; the heavens shall tremble: the sun and the moon shall be dark, and the stars shall withdraw their shining. And the LORD shall utter his voice before his army: for his camp is very great: for he is strong that executes his word: for the day of the LORD is great and very terrible; and who can abide it?” (Joel 2:9-11)
The “sun and the moon” being dark are none other than The Day of The Lord. Yet on that day, He speaks to His army in preparation for this battle of the Day of the Lord. Messiah is here in person, leading the defense of Jerusalem. This confirms that Christians will fight physically in Jerusalem.
This declaration of the Lord before His army is also confirmed and supported in Revelation 19:15:
“And out of his mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.” And in Revelation 19:14 speaks of the Lord’s army: “And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.”
Joel 2:16 describes it this way:
“Gather the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the elders, gather the children, and those that suck the breasts: let the bridegroom go forth of his chamber, and the bride out of her closet.”
Here is the Rapture in which the bridegroom (Messiah) meets the bride (Messiah’s followers) to participate in The Marriage Supper of The Lamb. The text continues to tell us what is to come: “Let the priests, the ministers of the LORD, weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say, Spare thy people, O LORD, and give not thine heritage to reproach, that the heathen should rule over them: wherefore should they say among the people, Where is their God?” (Joel 2:17)
Immediately after this intercessory cry is let out, the saints are transferred into the army to actually help fulfill their own prayers. In Revelation 19:13:
“And He was clothed with a garment sprinkled with blood; and his name is called The Word of God… And the armies that were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. And out of his mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations, and he shall rule them with a rod of iron; and he treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.”
The armies followed Him to earth, in order to “smite the nations.” Notice, the armies are “clothed in fine linen, white and clean.”
According to Revelation 19:7-8, this is the attire of the bride of Christ. Many argue that His armies are angelic hosts, yet Scripture alludes to martyred-saints.
The Christians, who are with the Lord, are given white robes, the same garments in which the armies are dressed. Messiah will come for battle with His army of Christians:
“Who is this that comes from Edom (Arabia) from Bozrah in garments stained crimson? Who is this so splendidly robed, marching in his great might? It is I, announcing vindication, mighty to save. Why are your robes red, and your garments like theirs who tread the wine press? I have trodden the wine press alone, and from the peoples no one was with me; I trod them in my anger and trampled them in my wrath; their juice spattered on my garments, and stained all my robes. For the day of vengeance was in my heart, and the year for my redeeming work had come. I looked, but there was no helper; I stared, but there was no one to sustain me; so my own arm brought me victory, and my wrath sustained me. I trampled down peoples in my anger, I crushed them in my wrath, and I poured out their lifeblood on the earth.” (Isaiah 63:1-6)
“I (the Lord) will send a fire into Teman: and it shall devour the houses of Bozrah.” (Amos 1:12)
These (Teman, Bozrah, etc.) are Muslim nations today. And the Lord is fighting them. This will be the day when Christian will finally participate in executing justice.
Many Christians cannot get a grip over this issue that they will be fighting a war against an Islamic invasion—the Battle for Jerusalem. It will be the final war that will finally bring peace. Yet western Christians rarely talk about the literal war in this “Rapture” experience. In the East Christians already cry out, “how long O Lord?” Meanwhile westerners argue about whether we are at war with ISIS and the timing of the “Rapture” and are you “Rapture Ready” nonsense.
I have seen so many American church gladiatorial arenas where I have spoken in which every time the word “Rapture” comes up that a verse and chapter sword fight ensues and the casualties of war are counted on all sides while the injured run to other clinics to join others of their “Rapture” timing persuasion, while in the East, few are concerned with childish wars; in Iraq and in Syria, there is a land that is already in the Tribulation: The Turkish born ISIS wants Christian heads on a platter as they daily cry to God:
“How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?” (Revelation 6:10)
I rest my case.