NOTES ON THE DAY OF THE LORD AND THE RAPTURE OF THE TRUE CHURCH: SPECIAL COMMENTARY ON SEPTEMBER 23, 2021

SCRIPTURE. “For we say this to you by the Lord’s [own] word, that we who are still alive and remain until the coming of the Lord, will in no way precede [into His presence] those [believers] who have fallen asleep [in death]. For the Lord Himself will come down from heaven with a shout of command, with the voice of the archangel and with the [blast of the] trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain [on the earth] will simultaneously be caught up (raptured) together with them [the resurrected ones] in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord!”

Therefore comfort and encourage one another with these words [concerning our reunion with believers who have died]. – 1 THESSALONIANS 4:15-18, AMP

Selah. Selah.

QUOTATIONS

RUTHERFORD. “The figure of the passing-away world (1 Corinthians 7:31), is like an old man’s face, full of wrinkles, and foul with weeping: We are waiting when Jesus shall be Revealed from Heaven, and shall come and wipe the old man’s face.” – SAMUEL RUTHERFORD, ‘Christ Dying and Drawing Sinners to Himself, Or, a Survey of Our Saviour in His Soule-Suffering, His Lovelynesse in His Death, and the Efficacie Thereof in Which Some Cases of Soule-Trouble in Weeke Beleevers Are Opened,’ 1647; edited

NOUWEN. “Is God present or is He absent? Maybe we can say now that in the center of our sadness for His absence we can find the first signs of His presence. And that in the middle of our longings we discover the footprints of the One who has created them. It is in the faithful waiting for the Loved One that we know how much He has filled our lives already.” – HENRY NOUWEN, ‘Out of Solitude: Three Meditations on the Christian Life,’ 2004; edited

GRAHAM. “The Second Coming of Christ will be so Revolutionary that it will change every aspect of life on this planet. Christ will reign in righteousness. Disease will be arrested. Death will be modified. War will be abolished. Nature will be changed. Man will live as it was originally intended [that] he should live!” – BILLY GRAHAM, ‘Billy Graham in Quotes,’ 2011; edited

FIRST THOUGHTS

It is noteworthy that in this and the past year, 2020-2021, the entire world has been increasingly convinced that ‘Something’s coming’ – the catchphrase that I have placed on my business cards and official stationery, derived from JESUS’ INSTRUCTION to His disciples as He ministered to the blind man in Jerusalem:

“We must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; night is coming when no one can work.” – JOHN 9:4, AMP

“Night is coming when no man can work.” And that, dear friends, is the larger part of the subject of this special teaching during SUKKOT 2021, the Jewish Feast of Booths, to celebrate ‘The gathering in of the harvest.’ Selah.

THE DAY OF THE LORD. This is, for all intents and purposes, what the Messiah was referring to as the apocalyptic ‘Night’ now hurtling toward the earth and its peoples at light speed. It shall cover the whole earth for the Seven Years of Jacob’s Trouble, or Great Tribulation, according to the Prophets. – cf. Daniel 9:27; Matthew 24:21

The online journal, ‘Bible Study Tools,’ offers a cogent, rudimentary Definition of this history-shattering Mega-Event. Written by WALTER ELWELL, published in 1996; edited.

“The Expression, often in the context of future events, refers to the time when God will intervene decisively for Judgment and/or Salvation. Variously formulated as the ‘Day of the Lord’ ( Amos 5:18 ) – the Day of our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 1:8; cf. 2 Corinthians 1:14 ), the Day of God ( 2 Peter 3:12; Revelation 16:14 ), or ‘The Last Day(s),’ the Expression highlights the unmistakable ‘Appearance of God.’ God will make visible His rule of righteousness by calling for an Accounting by the nations as well as individuals, dispensing Punishment for some and ushering in Salvation for others.”

This means that all humanity will experience all that the Bible describes, whether saved or unsaved, rich or poor, highly stationed or lowly. All, all, and there shall be no doubt for at least ‘One Moment’ Who is behind it. But only for a Moment. Selah.

THE BEGINNING OF SORROWS. It is all but here, beloved. Or at least its ‘Birth Pains.’ Consider this historic exchange between Jesus Christ and His disciples after He had left the Temple to settle on the Mount of Olives, all of them likely seated around Him, hanging on every Word.

“While Jesus was seated on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, and said, ‘Tell us, WHEN will this [destruction of the temple] take place, and WHAT will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end (completion, consummation) of the age?’

Jesus answered, ‘Be careful that no one misleads you [deceiving you and leading you into error]. For many will come in My name [misusing it, and appropriating the strength of the name which belongs to Me], saying, “I am the Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed),” and they will mislead many. You will continually hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not frightened, for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end [of the age]. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs [of the intolerable anguish and the time of unprecedented trouble].’” – MATTHEW 24:3-8, AMP

Most conservative theologians view this “Beginning of Sorrows,’ as roughly parallel to the SEAL JUDGMENTS OF REVELATION 6. They are the First Tremors, or ‘Signs’ leading up to the Great Tribulation of Seven Years spoken of by Daniel and Jesus, cited earlier, by which we may know that the world is close to His Return.

THE SIX SEALS. Here is their Sequential Summary from an earlier Commentary of mine titled, “Notes on the Age of Antichrist,” which in turn was adapted from my book, ‘The Sixth Seal: A Pre-Wrath Commentary on the End of History As We Know It’ (2017, Chapters 3-8).

THE FIRST SEAL: ANTICHRIST (vv. 1-2). The very reason I wrote this Blog is to repeat this Vital Point: The Last Days fully BEGIN with Antichrist’s Rise, going forth “to conquer,” initially by verbal bombast, deception and intrigue, creating Chaos and Division to aid in such Conquest (Kelly, 2017, pp. 39-45).

The Prophet Daniel gives us insight into this Beast-Man’s Core Nature.

“After this I kept looking in the night visions, and behold, [I saw] a fourth beast (the Roman Empire), terrible and extremely strong; and it had huge iron teeth. It devoured and crushed and trampled down what was left with its feet. It was different from all the beasts that came before it, and it had ten horns (ten kings). While I was considering the horns, behold, there came up among them ‘another horn, a little one,’ and three of the first horns were pulled up by the roots before it; and behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of a man and a mouth boasting of great things.” – DANIEL 7:7-8, AMP; emphasis my own

THE SECOND SEAL: WARS (vv. 3-4). Next, the Antichrist shifts his posture from a verbal assault on existing power structures, to that of militant actions, both foreign and domestic. Thus, both Civil War and World War are ignited to destabilize the international order, as he acts to violently consolidate his grip on power. These events likely start gradually, then escalate rapidly. Thus, sadly, ‘Slaughter’ characterizes this phase of the Birth Pains (Kelly, 2017, pp. 52-68).

THE THIRD SEAL: SCARCITY (vv. 5-6). As world financial markets rise and fall, depending on human emotion, stock manipulation by crass capitalists and Antichrist’s efforts to control the economy, at some point they come crashing down. This, in turn, fuels the twin monsters of hyperinflated prices on goods and services, and consequent unemployment spikes to compound the Crisis. Fear and panic and famine issue from this phase, but there is some clear promise of shelter and provision for the true saints of God (Kelly, 2017, pp. 69-82).

THE FOURTH SEAL: DEATH (vv. 7-8). Note that these events ‘intensify’ as we move from one to the other, in loose chronological fashion, as is the overall pattern of the entire Book of Revelation. All follows in agreement with the issuing of the Plagues of Egypt in Moses’ times (Exodus 7-12). This Catastrophe will see one fourth of the earth killed, meaning as many as a billion and a half lives will be lost to pestilence, wars, famine, and even the shattering of normal food chains, as wild animals fend for food among those on the earth (Kelly, 2017, pp. 83-91).

THE FIFTH SEAL: MARTYRDOM (vv. 9-11). Now here we have the fatal consequence for all inhabitants of the earth who ‘Resist Antichrist.’ This is especially so for true disciples of Christ, who are blamed, hunted down, persecuted, imprisoned and even killed for their Faith. Interestingly, the text does not yet indicate a mass slaughter of believers’ here, but only a ‘limited number.’ The larger numbers of deaths come during the Great Tribulation that follows the opening of the Sixth and Final Seal, described next (Kelly, 2017, pp. 92-100).

THE SIXTH SEAL: GOD’S WRATH. Please note that the conservative, orthodox reading of these texts clearly teaches: True Christians are NOT appointed to God’s Wrath, but they are exposed to Satan’s furies that dominate the Birth Pains and the first Five Seals (1 Thessalonians 5:9). Here the fullness of Divine Wrath is spilled in this earth shattering the entire Cosmic Order, violating of the very Laws of Nature, tearing apart the normal pattern of the very stability of Earth and Sky.

The Text again speaks for itself, as John likely struggles to find the Words.

“I looked when He opened the sixth seal, and behold, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became like blood. And the stars of heaven fell to the earth, as a fig tree drops its late figs when it is shaken by a mighty wind. Then the sky receded as a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved out of its place.”

And the kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the commanders, the mighty men, every slave and every free man, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains, and said to the mountains and rocks, ‘Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! For THE GREAT DAY OF HIS WRATH HAS COME, and who is able to stand?'”– REVELATION 6:12-17; edited

THE PIVOT. Who, indeed, beloved? None, it would seem. Not even one. At this precise Moment, at the Messiah’s ripping open of THE SIXTH SEAL, that human ‘History as we know it,’ is catastrophically Undone in a ‘Cosmic Break’ from the Former Order, of massive proportion.

For it is Now that the Days of Grace are officially Finished, and The Great Tribulation commences. I also teach, therefore, that The Age of the Gentiles is over at this Great Pivot, and The Age of the Jews commences, on what the Israelites call, ‘The Day of Jacob’s Trouble.’

PRE-WRATH DOCTRINE. The inescapable point, by the Scriptures and the best hermeneutics, is that God’s Fury cannot, cannot fall until The Church is ‘Withdrawn’ (Raptured) from the scene. God’s Wrath cannot fall on the True Church, period.

A single passage suffices, though if time and space permitted, many more would be added.

“So then let us not sleep [in spiritual indifference] as the rest [of the world does], but let us keep wide awake [alert and cautious] and let us be sober [self-controlled, calm, and wise]. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who are drunk get drunk at night. But since we [believers] belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet, the hope and confident assurance of salvation. FOR GOD HAS NOT DESTINED US TO [INCUR HIS] WRATH [that is, He did not select us to condemn us], but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died [willingly] for us, so that whether we are awake (alive) or asleep (dead) [at Christ’s appearing], we will live together with Him [sharing eternal life].” – 1 THESSALONIANS 5:6-10, AMP

Following nearly 40 years of Biblical research, the Pre-Wrath Doctrine is the only one that perfectly unites Old and New Testament Doctrine, harmonizes the Biblical Teaching on both Jewish Israel and the Christian Church, and demonstrates the perfect Love and Justice of God.

THE TEACHING: THE RAPTURE OF THE TRUE CHURCH

Therefore comfort and encourage one another with these words [concerning our reunion with believers who have died]. – 1 THESSALONIANS 4:15-18, AMP

As always then, we go straight to THREE KEY TERMS that express the Core of this stunning Doctrine of the Church, writ for what I believe is the present generation of true believers in Jesus Christ.

THOSE WHO REMAIN. Now then, to beat a well-worn theological drum I have been teaching on for months: Only these, beloved, ‘Get to go.’ From the Greek term, ‘Perileipomai’ [περιλείπω], translated as: “To leave behind; to survive [a great trial]; to continue [or endure] with the Lord; left over after the others have withdrawn [or departed from the faith]; to rest or abide in the same place when others remove, or are lost, destroyed or taken away.”

ARE CAUGHT UP! Here is the very heartbeat of the Christian’s Blessed Hope, precisely here – a Doctrine that has savaged for at least a century or more, often times by Christian scholars. Defined from the uniquely explosive word, ‘Harpazó’ [ἁρπάζω]: “Literally, to seize upon with great force; to steal or rob [as with a thief in the night]; to rescue in an open act of violence; to snatch away (in an instant); take to oneself; to catch away [by great power]; to pluck or pull upward or away forcibly.”

COMFORT ONE ANOTHER. Now the intended effect of this priceless teaching. Taken from the Greek, ‘Parakaleó’ [παρακαλέω]: “To call to or for, to exhort, to encourage; send for, summon, invite; beseech, entreat, beg; exhort, admonish; to console; refers to believers offering up evidence that stands up in God’s court; to offer condolence ‘up close and personal; to strengthen; to invigorate; to cheer or enliven; to give new vigor to the spirits; to cheer, or relieve from depression, or trouble; to relieve from pain or suffering.”

THE COMMENTARY. “‘Shall be caught up’ – The Word here used implies that there will be the application of external force or power by which this will be done. It will not be by any power of ascending which they will themselves have; or by any tendency of their raised or changed bodies to ascend of their own accord, or even by any effort of their own will, but by a power applied to them which will cause them to rise … The verb does not elsewhere occur in the New Testament In all these instances there is the idea of either foreign force or violence effecting that which is done. What force or power is to be applied in causing the living and the dead to ascend, is not expressed. Whether it is to be by the ministry of angels, or by the direct power of the Son of God, is not intimated, though the latter seems to be most probable.” – ALBERT BARNES, ‘Notes on the Old and New Testaments,’ 1884; edited

In anecdotal support of this entire idea of Great Force required to raise the Church in such a supernatural way, I recall seeing a 2016 movie some time ago called, ‘Risen,’ starring RALPH FIENNES as a Roman Tribune in search of Truth in the turbulent Times of Jesus Christ on the earth back then.

Here is a brief excerpt from my book, ‘The Sixth Seal’ describing an astounding, related Biblical Event.

“As the disciples were gathered to receive the Lord’s final instructions and bid farewell to the Messiah at the Mount of Olives near Bethany, a heretofore unprecedented and stupendous thing happened [as Christ Rises]. They are ‘nearly blown back’ by the sheer force of the Ascension.” – KELLY, 2017, p. 116; edited

DK’S TAKE. The Rapture Event shall be commensurate with and simultaneous to the Lord’s ripping open of the Sixth Seal Judgment. That is to say: The violent Catching Away of the True Church occurs on THE VERY SAME DAY as the Wrath of God falling upon the earth, triggering or signaling the Start of the Seven Year Tribulation.

Here is a succinct and thoroughly documented statement of this position by DR. MAX D. YOUNCE, Pastor of Heritage Baptist Church in Walnut Grove, Minnesota. – Ret. September 21, 2021; edited

“The Church Age began on the Day of Pentecost, over 2,000 years ago, and will end with the Rapture. The Rapture will ‘begin’ the 7 years of Tribulation, which will end with Christ coming to the earth and establishing His Kingdom for 1,000 years … We have the same false teachers today, advocating a Partial or a Post-Tribulation Rapture, as those believers in Thessalonica encountered over 1900 years ago. As we have stated previously, the Christian is admonished to be “Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ,” NOT, “the blessed hope and glorious appearing of the Tribulation Period! (The Day of God’s Wrath).”

By all that is theologically harmonious with both Old and New Testament Doctrine, I propose to you that this best fits the Early Church understanding and the orthodox meaning of The Day of the Lord. – cf. JOHN WHEELER, ‘Prophecy and Heresy,’ 2018; personal manuscript

FINAL THOUGHTS

The first line of my book that was written in May of 2015, though published two years later in 2017, was this:

“The world is on fire, and the Messiah is coming soon” (2017, p. 13).

I recall vividly having a bit of a cognitive argument with the Lord on that line. “Sir, the world is in fact not on fire, and I don’t strongly sense You are coming anytime soon. Things seem to be pretty stable round these parts, the world’s steady depravity notwithstanding.

THEN CAME TRUMP. Then a Contemptible Man came riding down his gilded New York escalator the very next month on June 16, 2015. In January 2016, Jerry Falwell, Jr. enthusiastically called the American Church to support him as the best friend to Christian faith ever in all American history. Who then summarily fired me two months later in March of that year from Liberty University, for refusing to write in favor of Mr. Trump.

Can you say, ‘Harbinger’? A Forerunner, a Precursor of things to come.

Serving therefore as the ‘first canary’ in the political coal mine, The Writing was pretty much on the Wall at that point. In just four short years, this is what took place in an increasingly angry, confused and divided America and Church.

JUNE 21, 2016. Closed Door Meeting with 173 leading Evangelicals in New York City to successfully woo them to his side.

JULY 21, 2016. Donald Trump clinches the Republican nomination for President, with Mike Pence as his running mate.

NOVEMBER 8, 2016. Donald Trump elected President of the United States with a turnout of 55.7%, a popular vote of only 46.1% to Hillary Clinton’s 48.2%, but an Electoral College count of 304 to 227.

JANUARY 6, 2021. The Day the Nation changed forever, having attempted an unprecedented, lawless ‘coup d’etat,’ resulting in 5 deaths, unknown numbers of rioters injured, 140 police officers injured, several recent suicides, and at least $30 million in damages. And a shattered nation and international instability.

THE GREAT TURNING. From November 2016 through January 2021, America embarked on what NOAH WEBSTER (1828) defines as: “A winding; a bending course; flexure; meander. Deviation from the way or proper course.” Make that read: The Church effectively ‘replaced’ True Christianity for the perverse, twisted and brutal alternative of Trump Nationalism to the tune of 80%, give or take a few clicks.

DK’S TAKE. And the rest, as I would say it, is History on steroids. To Wit: A radically reconstituted GOP and Trump Church remains in ascendency, while the True Remnant Church has become a much maligned and hated minority. This seismic transformation shows little evidence of abating, whether or not Trump returns to power in 2024.

The latest poll, just out this week, revealed Donald with a stunning lead of 58% among would be contenders for the nomination. The distant also-rans were Pence at 13%, DeSantis at 9%, Haley and Rubio at 3%. – DENNIS MICHAEL LYNCH, “President Trump Leads The 2024 Pack by HUGE Margin,” ‘djhmedia,’ September 22, 2021; edited

As I have been arguing for months now following my June 2021 Circuit Ride, this desire appears to exist well beyond the confines of the GOP and the Evangelicals. Confirmed time and time and time again in informal conversations all across the Southern half of the Nation:

America and the Church want Trump back! Selah.

TRUMP’S FUTURE. The formidable Brookings Institute portended several possibilities for Trump in the days to come, all of which are somewhat plausible. From a piece by J. HUDAK, C. STEINGLEIN & E. KAMARCK, “Trump’s Future: Nine Possibilities,” February 5, 2021.

Leading the “TrumPublican” faction of the GOP.

Uniting MAGA to form a third party.

Continuing calls for violent insurrection.

Creating his own communications company.

Maintaining marginal status in the GOP akin to Sarah Palin.

Get convicted by the Senate by a Republican Party ready to move on.

Disappearing in a swamp of criminal charges and civil suits.

Going to jail.

Looking abroad, either for refuge or to enrich himself

DK’S 10^TH. Becoming the 47^th President of the United States by defeating Joe Biden onTuesday November 5, 2024.

MY EXPECTATION. As I mentioned before, JAKE TAPPER’s keen observation is one with which I strongly agree: “Trumpism is already in the American bloodstream,” and therefore will be a powerful influence fore the foreseeable future. He’s right, beloved.

Donald Trump, just one man, has changed America and the Church, I believe, for perpetuity.

CODA. Therefore, I conclude, for all the reasons I have stated in the last two years in my Commentaries, in both written and video form: The Day of God’s Wrath is upon us beloved. But the vastly better news is that the RAPTURE OF THE TRUE CHURCH must, must ‘precede’ it.

Here is how I summarize that stupendous Mega-Event in ‘The Sixth Seal.’

“I remain impressed by the supernatural ‘Force’ indeed that will be required for [The Rapture] to happen, clearly implicit in the language chosen by the Holy Spirit to describe such an extraordinary event This, not unlike the very indescribable ‘Power’ that raised Christ from the dead, which some scientists have likened unto a controlled, thermonuclear event (e.g., JEFFREY SKURKA, 2014). And all of this ON THE VERY SAME DAY – the violent Exodus of hundreds of millions from the earth, while the very Cosmos is being shaken quite literally to its limits. Terror, tumult and chaos beyond human description, for all those who ‘remain.’” – 2017, p. 117; edited

THE REMNANT RAISED! But for all those who have labored to stay with Jesus Christ through many tests and trials of our faith, the ones who endured and remained faithful, shall indeed ‘Rise’ in a thunderous demonstration of God’s Supernatural Power, the very same Force that Raised Jesus from the Tomb on that Day of days, beloved.

So do I close with the WORDS OF THE KING to us all, at the End of our Grand Tour of the Churches of Revelation – and Beyond.

“And He who sits on the throne said, ‘Behold, I am making all things new.’ Also He said, ‘Write, for these words are faithful and true [they are accurate, incorruptible, and trustworthy].’ And He said to me, ‘It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the one who thirsts I will give [water] from the fountain of the water of life without cost. He who overcomes [the world by adhering faithfully to Christ Jesus as Lord and Savior] will inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be My son.

But as for the cowards and unbelieving and abominable [who are devoid of character and personal integrity and practice or tolerate immorality], and murderers, and sorcerers [with intoxicating drugs], and idolaters and occultists [who practice and teach false religions], and all the liars [who knowingly deceive and twist truth], their part will be in the lake that blazes with fire and brimstone, which is the second death’ …

Behold, I (Jesus) am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to each one according to the merit of his deeds (earthly works, faithfulness). I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End [the Eternal One] … I [John] testify and warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book [its predictions, consolations, and admonitions]: if anyone adds [anything] to them, God will add to him the plagues (afflictions, calamities) which are written in this book; and if anyone takes away from or distorts the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away [from that one] his share from the tree of life and from the holy city (new Jerusalem), which are written in this book.

He who testifies and affirms these things says, ‘Yes, I am coming quickly.’ Amen. Come Lord Jesus! The grace of the Lord Jesus (the Christ, the Messiah) be with all [the saints—all believers, those set apart for God]. Amen. – REVELATION 21:5-8; 22:12,16, 18-21; AMP

May we all thereby ‘Make ready for His Arrival,’ beloved, the One who comes like a Thief in the night to those in darkness. But like a loving Husband for His Bride to the faithful. I therefore joyfully commit these sayings to you all, for the Redemption of your souls, and the Transformation of your very order of being, forever and ever and forever. Amen.

Ever you servant, on this my 77^th year, at the 7^th Feast of Sukkot, September 23, 2021. DK

POSTSCRIPT: I am now taking a Partial Sabbatical from this work to draft the two new chapters for the Revised publication of ‘The Sixth Seal II,’ to be published in the Summer of 2022. I will, however, post each draft for your review as I write during the month of October, and will maintain a presence of Facebook with occasional posts of current interest to us all.

VIDEO LINK

WEBSITE LINK