TACO Trump Always Chickens Out? Iran Ultimatum Deadline Comes And Goes With No Action As Strait Of Hormuz Crisis Continues In Iran

For days now, the rhetoric coming out of Washington had all the markings of escalation. President Donald Trump issued a hard 48-hour ultimatum to Iran: reopen the Strait of Hormuz or face devastating U.S. strikes on critical infrastructure. The language was not vague. It was direct, forceful, and absolute. And now? That deadline has come and gone and has quietly turned into a 5-day deadline with the White House desperately trying to sell it as a win which it absolutely is not. It is hesitation, uncertainty, and sadly, weakness. TACO Trump is back with a vengeance.

“A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.” James 1:8 (KJB)

On this episode of the Prophecy News Podcast, instead of action, Trump extended the timeline, paused military strikes, and began talking about “productive conversations.” That’s not follow-through—that’s a pivot. And not a subtle one. Let’s say it plainly: this is exactly why critics have begun branding him “TACO Trump” — Trump Always Chickens Out. On multiple podcasts, I have already stated clearly that this war was not going in Trump’s favor. The early signs were there for anyone willing to look—Iran was not backing down, regional tensions were spreading, global economic pressure was mounting, and the Strait of Hormuz, one of the most critical chokepoints on earth, remained under constant threat. I said then that Trump looked like he was in over his head, and what we’re seeing now only reinforces that assessment. This is not a controlled situation. This is not a clean show of strength. This is a leader who issued a red line and is now stepping away from it under pressure. You can be absolutely certain of this: Tehran is not interpreting this as diplomacy. They are interpreting it as hesitation. In the Middle East, hesitation is not neutral—it is weakness. When the United States threatens “obliteration” and then delays action, adversaries recalibrate. They test further. They push harder. And that increases the chances of a much larger conflict down the road. The news is changing by the minute, and we bring it all to you today!

• CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO THIS LIVE PROPHECY NEWS PODCAST STARTING NOON EST

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO THIS LIVE PROPHECY NEWS PODCAST STARTING NOON EST

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Study Helps And Links For Today’s Podcast

• Relentless Ballistic Barrages Over Israel By Iran And Hezbollah Tonight Result In Horrific Mass Casualty Event In Arad And Massive Destruction In Dimona
• TEHRAN SHOCKER: As Iran Reveals Massive Underground Missile Facilities, The Tide Of World War Trump May Be Shifting Away From US And Israel
• Pentagon Makes Stunning Move To Incorporate The Palantir Maven AI Smart System As A ‘Program Of Record’ For It’s Long-term Warfighting Lineup
• Chaplain Huseth At The Baldwin County Sheriff’s Correctional Center In Alabama Has Reached Out To Let Us Know Of Their Need For Bibles

We Are Broadcasting Live Four Days A Week

• The BIBLE BELIEVERS Sunday Service

Every Sunday morning, from 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM EST, we invite you to join us live and in-person at the Bible Believers Church here inside the NTEB Bookstore in Palatka where we lift up the Lord Jesus Christ in psalms, hymns and spiritual songs, and preach a message from the pages of the King James Authorized Version Holy Bible.

OUR MOST RECENT SUNDAY SERVICE VIDEO: Sunday Morning Rapture

• The RIGHTLY DIVIDING Radio Bible Study

Every Sunday evening from 7:00 – 9:00 PM EST, we offer an in-depth rightly dividing and dispensationally correct rocket ride through the preserved word of God as found within the pages of the King James Holy Bible. 

• SUNDAY NIGHT: Our original Sunday Night Radio Bible Study, it’s from 7:00 – 9:00 PM EST, and we have praise, singing, testimony and of 90-minute King James Bible study. All our King James bible study programs are archived here.

• The NTEB PROPHECY NEWS PODCAST Hour

Every Monday and Friday afternoons from Noon to 1:30 PM EST, we examine breaking news and current events  in light of bible prophecy. 

• MONDAY AT NOON: Every Monday at Noon we review all the latest news and events related to bible prophecy, and examine what is happening in light of what is written. If you miss the live show, all of our Prophecy News Podcast programs are archived here.
• FRIDAY AT NOON: Friday at Noon we review all the latest news and events related to bible prophecy, and examine what is happening in light of what is written. If you miss the live show, all of our Prophecy News Podcast programs are archived here.

Your Generous Donations Make These Live King James Radio Bible Studies & Prophecy News Podcasts Possible!

HOW TO DONATE: Click here to view our WayGiver Funding page

Listen to What Our Donation Angels Have to Say About the Ministry of Now The End Begins

• “You are truly an end time ministry and I appreciate how our Precious Lord is using you to educate his very own flock. There is a lot of confusion , but your ministry is putting scripture in the right prospective. Thank-you so so much Geoffrey S Grider for standing firm and putting in a lot of hours of your time. God Bless You , also your Ministry and your family. IN JESUS MIGHT NAME.” T. Muto
• “Jesus. I am now 64 years old and never in all the years I’ve been a Christian was I able to grow in the Lord as much as I have in the last past year. All because of our blessed brother’s work Geoffrey Grider who as the bravery of standing fast forward without fear of claiming the truth of God by the power of his love in Jesus Christ. May God bless you abundantly to the end my dear brother… ROMANS: 8: 36,37,38” Mireille Anderson
• “I met you at the car dealership earlier this year. We spoke briefly, then you handed me a card and told me to check out the website. You left. A few minutes later, you returned to tell me not to forget to look up the website. I told you…” I already did. I already subscribed.” In that short time we spoke, I experienced from you…a total stranger…peace, joy, kindness, gentleness, compassion, and love. I am convinced that God sent you to share the Good News that Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior. For that, and for the work you are doing for the Kingdom of God, I say…Thank you and God Bless You.” Sonia Merced
• “I really enjoy the emails and Bible studies! I haven’t found a church and enjoy your services very much! Be blessed brother!” Marcia Mann
• “You and your organization are on the front lines in the Battle For Truth…. current events, end times, and trying to awaken a sleeping Laodicean Church. Thank you brother for fighting for us and all your teaching and insight God bless…” Daniel Cartrette
• I just want to thank you for the teachings you give every Sunday night on radio.  You are such a blessing to me. I absolutely love your way of teaching the scriptures.  I don’t have a church where I can have fellowship and teaching, so you have been my teacher for many months now. Thanks God you are there for all of us who have no church to go to.  I pray that the Lord will bless you abundantly in your ministry, and your loved ones too.  You are such a blessing to me, and many others, in these last days before the rapture.  Thank you so much Geoffrey, from the bottom of my heart. May the Lord keep you, until He comes back for us. You are in my prayers.” Donald Godin
• “Thank you for the work  you are doing brother.  Your page and your testimony were a blessing to me this morning as I came across it for the first time.  Thank you for the reality of your testimony and what God has done for you in introducing you to Jesus our Lord.  God has brought me, in salvation, to Himself as well, through His love and mercy and grace in salvation.  How can we praise Him enough?  How can we not share this good news!?  I pray this day for God’s blessing on your ministry that He may save many souls through the work He has called you to.  Isaiah 40:31 (KJV)” Mark and Melissa
• “Love the Sunday night bible study. I want to support someone who has the passion for the lost like Geoffrey does and rightly divides the word of God. God bless you.” Teresa Carey
• “I give because not many news outlets are brave enough or Godly enough to tell these stories from a Christian’s point of view. I see stories here that will not be seen anywhere else.” William Grayshaw
• “It’s hard to find solid biblical teaching in America these days. It’s a blessing to be able to take part in a ministry financially without being concerned about false teaching. All glory to God! God bless!” Maximilian Swan
• “I donate because you are reporting the truth about the increasing wickedness of our time, as God’s word foretold. In so doing we are reminded to “Keep looking up” as we wait in joyful hope for the Lord’s coming, Maranatha! ” Anthony Sloane
• “Geoffrey has the best End Times News out there. I have been receiving his emails for years now and always enjoy his Sunday night messages although I don’t always think exactly as he thinks. We are all in this “boat of life” together and as I come to the end of my life’s journey here, I am more aware of Jesus’s call for us to be one as He and the Father are One.” Deborah Cleaveland

STREET-TESTED NTEB GOSPEL TRACTS:

This is the official gospel tract of NTEB, used here on the streets of Saint Augustine and sent around the world as they are purchased through our website. We ask you to prayerfully consider supporting the work of Now The End Begins by purchasing a box of these full-color, high-quality gospel tracts. Thank you in advance!

CLICK IMAGE TO ORDER YOUR BOX OF NTEB GOSPEL TRACTS

But whatever you do, don’t do nothing. Time is short and we need your help right now. The Lord has given us an open door with a tremendous ‘course’ for us to fulfill that will create an excellent experience at the Judgement Seat of Christ. Please pray for our efforts, and if the Lord leads you to donate, be as generous as possible. The war is REAL, the battle HOT and the time is SHORT…TO THE FIGHT!!!

“Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;” Titus 2:13 (KJB)

“Thank you very much!” – Geoffrey, editor-in-chief, NTEB

The Day of Christ and the Day of the Lord could not be more different, one shows you the Pretrib Rapture and the other Jacob’s Trouble

There is a growing insistence in modern Christianity that the rapture of the Church can happen at any moment, with nothing needing to take place beforehand. It sounds comforting, it preaches well, and it has been repeated so often that many now accept it as unquestionable truth. The only problem? The apostle Paul flatly told you the exact opposite.

“That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.” 2 Thessalonians 2:3 (KJB) 

On this episode of Rightly Dividing, the Bible shows you the Kingdom of Heaven and the Kingdom of God, and these two kingdoms while ruled by the same King, could not be more different. One is for the Jews and Israel, and the other is for born again Christians and the Church. So it is that the Day of Christ and the Day of the Lord, while having some overlapping similarities, could not be more different. The Day of Christ is to be waited for, looked for, hoped for, and Paul tells us that the mere discussing of it brings comfort to the believer. The Day of the Lord, on the other hand, we are warned about not looking for it, not desiring it, and to escape and avoid this dreadful situation at all costs. In fact, Amos goes so far as to pronoun a condition of woe to fall upon any soul foolish enough to venture into its waters. The word ‘woe’ is a solemn declaration of impending divine judgment, severe sorrow, or misery. If you find yourself there, run! The differences between the Day of Christ and the Day of the Lord are as far removed as the East is from the West. On tonight’s Bible Study, we run all the references on the Day of Christ and show you the connection to the Pretribulation Rapture of the body of Christ, the Church, at the Day of Christ.

Study Helps And Links For Tonight’s Bible Study

• THE BIBLE BELIEVERS SUNDAY SERVICE: Sunday Morning Rapture
• There Are 7 Raptures In Your King James Bible, And The Pretribulation Rapture Of The Church Before The Start Of Jacob’s Trouble Is Only One Of Them
• The ‘Falling Away’ In 2 Thessalonians 2:3 Is Not The Pretribulation Rapture Of The Church, It Is One Of The Two Stated Conditions Needed For It To Happen
• The Kingdom Of Heaven And The Kingdom Of God Compared, Contrasted And Rightly Divided

• The BIBLE BELIEVERS Sunday Service

Every Sunday morning, from 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM EST, we invite you to join us live and in-person at the Bible Believers Church here inside the NTEB Bookstore in Palatka where we lift up the Lord Jesus Christ in psalms, hymns and spiritual songs, and preach a message from the pages of the King James Authorized Version Holy Bible.

OUR MOST RECENT SUNDAY SERVICE VIDEO: Sunday Morning Rapture

• The RIGHTLY DIVIDING Radio Bible Study

Every Sunday evening from 7:00 – 9:00 PM EST, we offer an in-depth rightly dividing and dispensationally correct rocket ride through the preserved word of God as found within the pages of the King James Holy Bible. 

• SUNDAY NIGHT: Our original Sunday Night Radio Bible Study, it’s from 7:00 – 9:00 PM EST, and we have praise, singing, testimony and of 90-minute King James Bible study. All our King James bible study programs are archived here.

• The NTEB PROPHECY NEWS PODCAST Hour

Every Monday and Friday afternoons from Noon to 1:30 PM EST, we examine breaking news and current events  in light of bible prophecy. 

• MONDAY AT NOON: Every Monday at Noon we review all the latest news and events related to bible prophecy, and examine what is happening in light of what is written. If you miss the live show, all of our Prophecy News Podcast programs are archived here.
• WEDNESDAY: Every Wednesday we do our Midweek Update, to keep you informed of breaking news. Unlike the other two podcasts, this is a pre-recorded program.
• FRIDAY AT NOON: Friday at Noon we review all the latest news and events related to bible prophecy, and examine what is happening in light of what is written. If you miss the live show, all of our Prophecy News Podcast programs are archived here.

Your Generous Donations Make These Live King James Radio Bible Studies Possible!

On our Sunday and Wednesday night radio bible study, we are preaching and teaching the gospel of the grace of God, rightly divided and dispensationally correct, to a truly global audience who is hungry for the word. These programs would not be possible without your generous support. Listen to just a few of the recent comments we have gotten:

• I  thanked God for sending to your website in 2015 , I  live in the South of France near Nice and let me tell you here there isn’t any Bible Believing church at all, the sad reality of France is that is full of freemasons and Muslims. You came to me at the time I  was going to take my own life because of my job. You’re anointed person and I pray for you, family  and  ministry because you’re a blessing to all of us. May God bless you always. I know I’ll meet you in heaven one day. Lots of Love from your sister in Christ, Paula.

• “Hi Geoffrey and staff, Today is my one year anniversary that I got saved on your podcast!  I am now a KJB only, I threw away my other two versions I had.  I was shocked to learn of the differences and how the new versions twist the words of God, and dilute the message at best. Thank you for the fabulous bible  education and fire for the Lord.  I donate on your website throughout the year.  Thanks for all that you do.” Donna

• “I have been reading on NTEB for about 5 years and listening as I can to your services.  If I could list the encouragement, the doctrines, the awareness of what is coming (our blessed hope) but also the last days culture in which I live that you have taught me, this email wouldn’t fit in this letter. Because of you, I am a stronger more equipped soldier for Jesus Christ. Thank you sir for you, your ministry in my life. Faithful to the end because He lives in me.” Ruthie Dennis
• “My name is Carl N from Mumbai, India. My wife Andrea and I have been ardent listeners of your Bible Study and news update podcasts from the very start of the lockdown last year. In fact we make it a point to share these links with our family and friends… many times getting into trouble, as the truth upsets people. We cannot even begin to tell you how this has changed our lives and walk with the Lord. Thank you so much for what you’ve been doing for the Kingdom!! We’ve even switched Bible translations to the KJV. For the last month or so, you’ve been speaking about making end times Bible study materials available. This got us really excited, as we’re eager to use these for our weekly house church group.” Carl N – Mumbai, India
• “I listen to your podcasts often. Very enlightening and I’ve learned a lot. I’m Catholic and followed the Holy Bible throughout my life however, since listening to your podcasts, I’ve learned much more. I recently sent NTEB a small donation. I’d like to do so again in the future. I’ve also signed up for NTEB chatroom. Anyways, I have a downloaded version of KJB on my computer and I follow your Bible Study with my pdf version KJB. You have offered to send out printed version of KJB if requested. If not too much trouble, when you or your staff get the opportunity please send me a copy.” Kevin W – Frankfurt, Germany
• Just wanted to let you know that your ministry is producing fruit. After listening to the studies and church on NTEB, I was motivated to write witness letters along with NTEB gospel tracks to friends from my hometown who I know are not saved. I sent two of the letters to former Catholic priests of mine….I attached the response from him urging me to read the book “Prove It!.” My wife and I have been placing your gospel tracks in different places we visit. This coming Sunday, I am hosting my first Bible study in my house with some people in our neighborhood. Tomorrow evening I have been given a chance to teach the lesson to our youth church group (our church is very Laodicean), and I am going to talk to the youth on end times. Thank you so much for your ministry and encouraging us to get something done for Jesus while we still can! Thomas B 
• “The sole purpose of this email to you is to let you know how much we have been blessed by your amazing ministry/website. ‘We’ is my wife and I, in our early forties, 3 kids, professing, churchgoing, bible believing Christians in The Netherlands.  Since two months, I listen to your bible studies on Sunday evening, and since this week also to your prophecy podcast. I listen to them in the archives, because of the 6 hour time difference. The shofar and the blessing at 0:30 into the study never fails to make tears in my eyes. We are praying for you, we are praying for your voice, that it lasts in these incredible busy times for you. Listening to your podcasts, you seem to do it effortlessly, talking, scanning the chatbox for questions, diving into the texts, from Genesis to Revelation and everything in between, I love it when you realize after 1:30h into the study, actually a lot more subjects need to be addressed! Thank you for all your work and effort, you are doing an amazing job. Although it all seems effortlessly, I know it is not…Our faith is strengthened by your work and we are able to testify in a better way to the people around us!” Wouter D. van der Wiel – Netherlands
• “Wanted to send you encouragement and thank you for all you are doing!! I’ve been reading from this website for about 5 years and I’ve been on this at least 10 times a day. It’s the most honest prophecy website in history. And you have ministered to me greatly. This lockdown has been amazing as God gets us unto himself and smooths out the paths for us. I was reading devotional from Kenneth Copeland and during that time you had really hit That ministries hard. I was not Word Faith but I was feeding off his teaching. During this time I have removed Kenneth Copeland I wanted to thank you for your exposure of his ministry. Holy Spirit is truly the leader of all truths. The bible study on Bill Gates was tremendous. And I had the same check in my spirit as you did. He’s the guy that gonna lead this one world revolution Amazing times we live in. I’m super excited and living in total victory and peace. Once again thank you for the time you put in your reward in heaven will truly be great. Looking forward to this coming week. My prayer tonight is this …Father send Your Son!! DG
• “Thank you oh so much for sound teaching. I am so thankful and blessed for clicking on your channel. I have been on your Facebook page since 2011 and never subscribed to you-tube channel until today. I loved the live recording of singing, what a delight to hear the joy of the Lord in the voices of the congregation. So wonderful to hear the part about Luke 12:36, that has made my eyebrows furrow when I read and therefore I have always steadfast to not leaning on my own understanding. May God continue to bless you, your family friends and loved ones. All Glory be to Jesus, my Saviour Redeemer and King, Amen.” Susan Anderson
• “Loved this teaching! Presented in a clear contextual manner that was easy to follow along. You connected the dots for me that had previously brought so much confusion, namely the 4th seal covenant, the 5th seal tribulation saints, and the 6th seal 2nd Coming of Christ AFTER the wedding of the Body/Bride of Christ IN HEAVEN. Wow, after 41 years since my being born again by the Holy Spirit in to the Body of Christ, I finally have the answers to end the confusion. What joy and peace has flooded my heart! Thank you for this encouraging teaching of the Word.” SB
• “I am from Sri Lanka and listen to the radio Bible study every week.” Nihal Perera

Nothing thrills my soul like teaching the word of God, it is what the Lord called me to do 29 years ago, and Now The End Begins is the vehicle in which I am able to do it. How exciting it is to be able to teach the Bible to tens of thousands of people per year. Like I told you with the first post of 2020, I have dedicated myself now full-time to NTEB, and it is only through your generous support that such a thing is possible.

HOW TO DONATE: Click here to view our WayGiver Funding page

Listen to what our donation angels have to say about the ministry of Now The End Begins

• “You are truly an end time ministry and I appreciate how our Precious Lord is using you to educate his very own flock. There is a lot of confusion , but your ministry is putting scripture in the right prospective. Thank-you so so much Geoffrey S Grider for standing firm and putting in a lot of hours of your time. God Bless You , also your Ministry and your family. IN JESUS MIGHT NAME.” T. Muto
• “Jesus. I am now 64 years old and never in all the years I’ve been a Christian was I able to grow in the Lord as much as I have in the last past year. All because of our blessed brother’s work Geoffrey Grider who as the bravery of standing fast forward without fear of claiming the truth of God by the power of his love in Jesus Christ. May God bless you abundantly to the end my dear brother… ROMANS: 8: 36,37,38” Mireille Anderson
• “I met you at the car dealership earlier this year. We spoke briefly, then you handed me a card and told me to check out the website. You left. A few minutes later, you returned to tell me not to forget to look up the website. I told you…” I already did. I already subscribed.” In that short time we spoke, I experienced from you…a total stranger…peace, joy, kindness, gentleness, compassion, and love. I am convinced that God sent you to share the Good News that Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior. For that, and for the work you are doing for the Kingdom of God, I say…Thank you and God Bless You.” Sonia Merced
• “I really enjoy the emails and Bible studies! I haven’t found a church and enjoy your services very much! Be blessed brother!” Marcia Mann
• “You and your organization are on the front lines in the Battle For Truth…. current events, end times, and trying to awaken a sleeping laodicean Church. Thank you brother for fighting for us and all your teaching and insight God bless…” Daniel Cartrette
• “I’m a KJB believer. We’re so close to being “caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air; and so shall we ever be with the Lord. I have many lost family who don’t want the truth, including my husband & son. I’ve been banned from seeing my grandsons since I comforted the 4 1/2 year old with sharing Jesus loving the little children & telling him about the one who created him last he stayed overnight March 3rd. He was so excited to hear about Jesus! His dad (my son) was angry that I told him & wants me to apologize. I never will do so. If my own family won’t hear, I know there’s others searching for the truth. My heart grieves for all the lost who will spend eternity in hell if they reject the Lord Jesus Christ, the expectant hope of the world. He is not willing that any should perish. God bless your ministry, Geoffrey! (I continue to pass out your tracts & you’re on my prayer list!)” LouAnn Benham
• “Love the Sunday night bible study. I want to support someone who has the passion for the lost like Geoffrey does and rightly divides the word of God. God bless you.” Teresa Carey
• “I give because not many news outlets are brave enough or Godly enough to tell these stories from a Christian’s point of view. I see stories here that will not be seen anywhere else.” William Grayshaw

HOW TO DONATE: Click here to view our WayGiver Funding page

STREET-TESTED NTEB GOSPEL TRACTS:

This is the official gospel tract of NTEB, used here on the streets of Saint Augustine and sent around the world as they are purchased through our website. We ask you to prayerfully consider supporting the work of Now The End Begins by purchasing a box of these full-color, high-quality gospel tracts. Thank you in advance!

CLICK IMAGE TO ORDER YOUR BOX OF NTEB STREET PREACHER GOSPEL TRACTS

But whatever you do, don’t do nothing. Time is short and we need your help right now. The Lord has given us an open door with a tremendous ‘course’ for us to fulfill that will create an excellent experience at the Judgement Seat of Christ. Please pray for our efforts, and if the Lord leads you to donate, be as generous as possible. The war is REAL, the battle HOT and the time is SHORT…TO THE FIGHT!!!

“Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;” Titus 2:13 (KJB)

“Thank you very much!” – Geoffrey, editor-in-chief, NTEB

HOW TO DONATE: Click here to view our WayGiver Funding page

The Bible doctrine of the Pretribulation Rapture of the body of Christ is an oft-ignored and much maligned subject here at the end of the falling away

The blessed hope of every born again Bible believer living in the Church Age dispensation is the Pretribulation Rapture, or catching away, of the body of Christ. Paul says that we are to speak about it, teach it, preach it and to comfort one another with the words in the Bible showing us the rapture. But in our day, because we live in the time Paul calls the ‘falling away’, the doctrine of the Pretribulation Rapture is not only not taught and not preached from the pulpit, it is maligned by lukewarm Laodiceans who cannot or will not ‘rightly divide’ the scripture. Today my message is ‘Sunday Morning Rapture’, everything you should know but don’t because no one taught it to you about the soon-coming catching away of the body of Christ into the clouds.

“Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.” 1 Thessalonians 4:17,18 (KJB)

GREAT COMMENTARIES ON THE RAPTURE OF THE CHURCH AND THE SECOND ADVENT, CLICK TO ORDER!!

SUNDAY SERVICE STUDY NOTES: Sunday Morning Rapture

Sunday Morning Rapture

The Rapture Is A New Testament Mystery Concerning The Church

The first thing we need to establish is that the church was not revealed in full in the Old Testament, and neither was the Rapture. The Old Testament contains types, shadows, patterns, and prophetic pictures, but the direct doctrinal revelation is given through Paul.

The Rapture was a ‘mystery’ truth

1 Corinthians 15:51-52 (KJB)

“Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.”

This is foundational. Paul does not say, “I remind you of what Isaiah fully explained.” He says, “I shew you a mystery.” That means the full doctrine was not plainly revealed before.

The church itself was a mystery not made known in other ages as it is now

Ephesians 3:3-6 (KJB)

“How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words, Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ) Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit; That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel:”

The church as one body was not the subject of open Old Testament revelation. Therefore, the catching away of that body before the time of Jacob’s trouble is also not laid out in full doctrinal form in the Old Testament.

Christ and the church are joined as bridegroom and bride

Ephesians 5:30-32 (KJB)

“For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones. For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.”

The church is not Israel. The church is the body and bride of Christ, and the removal of that bride before the outpouring of wrath fits the pattern of Scripture.

The Classic Rapture Passages

1. The Lord descends, the dead in Christ rise, and living saints are caught up

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 (KJB)

“But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.”

You will notice the following:

• This is for “the dead in Christ” and those alive in Christ.
• The saints are “caught up”.
• They meet the Lord “in the air”.
• Christ does not here come to the earth to set up the kingdom.

This is a comfort, not a warning of wrath.

The Instantaneous Change Of The Church

1 Corinthians 15:51-53 (KJB)

“Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.”

This is not the slow gathering of tribulation survivors into a kingdom. This is the instant transformation of the church.

Victory over death

1 Corinthians 15:54-57 (KJB)

“So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

The Rapture is the church’s bodily victory before the wrath to come.!!

The Church Is Told To Wait For God’s Son From heaven

1 Thessalonians 1:9-10 (KJB)

“For they themselves shew of us what manner of entering in we had unto you, and how ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God; And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.”

That is pretribulation language. The church is not appointed to enter the wrath and then survive it. Jesus “delivered us from the wrath to come.”

Appointed not to wrath

1 Thessalonians 5:9-10 (KJB)

“For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, Who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him.”

In the immediate context, Paul has just spoken of “the day of the Lord” in 1 Thessalonians 5. The church is not appointed to that wrath.

Looking for that blessed hope

Titus 2:13 (KJB)

“Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;”

The blessed hope of the church is not the rise of Antichrist, not the seals, not the trumpets, not the vials. It is Jesus Christ.

Christ Promised To Receive His Own Unto Himself

John 14:1-3 (KJB)

“Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.”

This fits the Rapture beautifully:

• Christ comes for His own.
• He receives them unto Himself.
• He takes them to the Father’s house.

This is not the same scene as His return to earth in judgment.

The Church’s Citizenship And Bodily Change

Our conversation is in heaven, not here on the Earth. Believers are not looking for a ‘Golden Age’ here on Earth, and should reject it when offered.

Philippians 3:20-21 (KJB)

“For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.”

Again, the church is looking up, not bracing for the outpouring of divine wrath.

The Appearing Of Christ For His People Produces Purity And Patience

1 John 3:2-3 (KJB)

“Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.”

This is church hope: transformation at His appearing.

The coming of the Lord draweth nigh

James 5:7-8 (KJB)

“Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain. Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh.”

Though James has a strong tribulation flavor doctrinally, the principle still shows the saints living in expectation of the Lord’s coming.

The Church Is Kept Out Of The Hour, Not Preserved Through It

Kept from the hour of temptation not preserved through it. Big difference.

Revelation 3:10 (KJB)

“Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.”

Notice carefully:

• Not merely kept in temptation.
• Not merely kept through temptation.
• Kept from the hour itself.

That is removal before the global trial begins.

The Twenty-Four Elders In Heaven Before The Tribulation Judgments Unfold

Revelation 4:4 (KJB)

“And round about the throne were four and twenty seats: and upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment; and they had on their heads crowns of gold.”

Revelation 5:9-10 (KJB)

“And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.”

Before the seal judgments begin in earnest, a redeemed company is already seen in heaven, crowned and enthroned.

The Rapture Is A Comfort; The Second Coming Is Terror For The Unrepentant

1 Thessalonians 4:18 (KJB)

“Wherefore comfort one another with these words.”

Revelation 19:15 (KJB)

“And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.”

Those are not the same event.

Old Testament Pictures, Patterns, And Prophetic Hints Of A Pretribulation Rapture

Enoch: Removed Before The Flood Judgment

1. Enoch walked with God and was taken

Genesis 5:24 (KJB)

“And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him.”

The New Testament confirms Enoch was translated

Hebrews 11:5 (KJB)

“By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.”

Enoch is a powerful picture of the church:

• He walks with God.
• He is taken out.
• He does not see death.
• He is removed before the flood judgment falls.

Noah, by contrast, is preserved through the flood and pictures a remnant preserved through tribulation.

Noah: Preserved Through Judgment, Like Israel Through The Time Of Jacob’s Trouble

Genesis 7:16 (KJB)

“And they that went in, went in male and female of all flesh, as God had commanded him: and the LORD shut him in.”

Noah is not a picture of the church being raptured. Noah is a picture of a preserved remnant through judgment. That actually strengthens the distinction:

• Enoch = removed before wrath.
• Noah = preserved through wrath.

 Lot: Removed Before Fire Fell

1. The angels could do nothing until Lot was out

Genesis 19:22 (KJB)

“Haste thee, escape thither; for I cannot do any thing till thou be come thither. Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar.”

2. Jesus uses Noah and Lot as end-time patterns

Luke 17:26-30 (KJB)

“And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all. Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.”

Lot’s removal before fire falls is another pre-wrath pattern.

Isaac And Rebekah: The Gentile Bride Called Out While The Son Is Absent

Genesis 24:63-67 (KJB)

“And Isaac went out to meditate in the field at the eventide: and he lifted up his eyes, and saw, and, behold, the camels were coming. And Rebekah lifted up her eyes, and when she saw Isaac, she lighted off the camel. For she had said unto the servant, What man is this that walketh in the field to meet us? And the servant had said, It is my master: therefore she took a vail, and covered herself. And the servant told Isaac all things that he had done. And Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah’s tent, and took Rebekah, and she became his wife; and he loved her: and Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death.”

Dispensationally this is a beautiful picture:

• Abraham pictures the Father.
• Isaac pictures the Son.
• The unnamed servant pictures the Holy Spirit.
• Rebekah pictures the called-out bride.

Joseph Takes A Gentile Bride Before He Reveals Himself To His Brethren

Genesis 41:45 (KJB)

“And Pharaoh called Joseph’s name Zaphnathpaaneah; and he gave him to wife Asenath the daughter of Potipherah priest of On. And Joseph went out over all the land of Egypt.”

Joseph receives a Gentile bride before his later reconciliation with his brethren, a strong picture of Christ taking a predominantly Gentile church before Israel’s national restoration.

Boaz And Ruth: The Kinsman Redeemer Takes A Gentile Bride

Ruth 4:13 (KJB)

“So Boaz took Ruth, and she was his wife: and when he went in unto her, the LORD gave her conception, and she bare a son.”

Again, not a formal doctrinal proof text, but a remarkable pattern of redemption and marriage.

Jacob’s Trouble Is For Jacob

Jeremiah 30:7 (KJB)

“Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob’s trouble; but he shall be saved out of it.”

It does not say the time of the church’s trouble. It says Jacob’s trouble.

New Testament Passages Showing The Tribulation Is Not The Church’s Appointed Portion

1 Thessalonians 5:1-4 (KJB)

“But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.”

The contrast is plain:

• they / them = world under judgment
• ye / brethren = church not appointed to that wrath

Christ delivers believers from coming wrath

Romans 5:9 (KJB)

“Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.”

We are accepted in the Beloved, not reserved for condemnation

Romans 8:1 (KJB)

“There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.”

The tribulation is a period of divine judgment on a Christ-rejecting world and for the purging and restoration of Israel, not for condemning the body of Christ.

The Blessed Hope Compared With Israel’s Second Advent Hope

The church waits for Christ from heaven

Philippians 3:20 (KJB)

“For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ:”

Israel awaits Messiah’s manifestation to earth

Zechariah 12:10 (KJB)

“And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.”

The church’s hope is heavenly; Israel’s kingdom hope is earthly.

The Rapture Vs. Second Coming

The Rapture:

• Christ comes in the air — 1 Thessalonians 4:17 (KJB)
• He comes for His saints — John 14:3 (KJB)
• The church is caught up — 1 Thessalonians 4:17 (KJB)
• Bodies are changed instantly — 1 Corinthians 15:51-52 (KJB)
• It is called a blessed hope — Titus 2:13 (KJB)
• Believers are delivered from wrath to come — 1 Thessalonians 1:10 (KJB)

Second Coming:

• Christ comes to the earth — Zechariah 14:4 (KJB)
• He comes with His saints — Zechariah 14:5 (KJB); Revelation 19:14 (KJB)
• He comes in judgment and war — Revelation 19:11-15 (KJB)
• He destroys Antichrist — 2 Thessalonians 2:8 (KJB)
• He establishes visible kingdom rule — Revelation 19:15 (KJB)

Now The End Begins is your front line defense against the rising tide of darkness in the last Days before the Rapture of the Church

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“Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;” Titus 2:13 (KJB)

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