Preponderance of Scriptural Evidence
In a civil case the plaintiff/defendant has the burden of proving each essential element of their claim or counterclaim by a ‘preponderance of the evidence.” The party with the burden must present the more convincing evidence. …. Stated another way a preponderance of the evidence means the greater weight of the evidence.
https://www.vtd.uscourts.gov/sites/vtd/files/BURDEN%20OF%20PROOF%20-%20PREPONDERANCE%20OF%20EVIDENCE.pdf
INTRODUCTION:
There are many views on the rapture and the last resurrection. Some believe the rapture takes place before the tribulation, the middle of the tribulation or simply no rapture; just a last resurrection at the last trump. And the masses are just as divided on when and what the LAST TRUMPET is and when it takes place.
In this lesson we shall take what the bible says and compare scripture with scripture and let the preponderance of scriptural evidence speak. Then adjust our thinking and beliefs to ‘what saith the scripture.’
We will concentrate on these three phrases:
(1) HE WAS TAKEN UP
(2) THIS SAME JESUS
(3) IN LIKE MANNER
Though not necessarily in that order.
He was taken up” compared to others that were taken up.
“This same Jesus’ speak for itself.
“In Like Manner”
The phrase "in like manner" means in the same way or similarly to something previously mentioned. The phrase is used to indicate that an action is performed or a situation occurs in a way that is comparable to another action or situation.
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The pre-trib rapture, Act 1:9-11
Acts 1:9 And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight
NOTE:
01. He was taken up from the Mount of Olives
02. A cloud received Him
03. He disappeared into the cloud
04. The mount didn’t split as He arose upwards
Acts 1:10 And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel;
11 which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.
05. As He went up, so shall He come down:
1. Else the angels LIED;
2. Luke, the author of the book of Acts LIED;
3. And the Holy Spirit bore false witness to His ascension. Heb. 6:18 says it is impossible for God to lie. He didn't gallop up into heaven (ascend) from the Mt. of Olives on a white horse.
06. Q: How shall He be revealed when He come from heaven?
A: A cloud reveals Him, 1Th 4:17, when He comes down.
CONTRAST: A cloud concealed Him as He ascended.
07. He was taken up into heaven, see also, Acts 1:2, Luke 24:51, Mark 16:19
08. Q: From whence does He come?
A: From Heaven ‘in like manner.’
Don’t go looking for Him anywhere other than where the bible says. He will come from heaven.
IN LIKE MANNER!
09. Q: How did the angels say He would come back?
A: "In like manner" in a cloud. 1Th 4:17
“This same Jesus” is coming again ‘in like manner.’
Q: What was His role when He rose from the grave? When He ascended? His attire? His position?
A: He was the Saviour of all that believe and our High Priest making intercessions for us. What does that mean? When He returns He is again our Saviour, saving us from the upcoming tribulation and the Anti-Christ. The NT church body was not appointed to wrath.
He did not ascend as a K of K so He can’t return as K of K and L of L.
The phrase "in like manner" means in the same way or similarly to something previously mentioned. This phrase ‘in like manner’ is very important such is why I keep repeating it. It is used to indicate that an action is performed or a situation occurs in a way that is comparable to another action or situation.
Q: What previously occurred that these angels referred to when they said in like manner?
A: Acts 1:9 he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight! His ascension into heaven.
The angels said that the same Jesus they saw go into heaven, would come again IN LIKE MANNER as they saw Him go into heaven.
HE WAS TAKEN UP:
Jesus was taken up, Acts 1:9-11.
The angels told the disciples what to look for when He comes again:
CLOUDS! Look for clouds! That is the sign of the rapture. Don't be deceived.
11 which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, (1) which is taken up from you into heaven,
(2) shall so come in like manner
(3) as ye have seen him go into heaven.
(4) Acts 1:2 He was taken
We are told FOUR times from in the first 11 verses that He was taken up and will come back as He went up. He is coming back the same way and in the same role as He ascended.
That is the preponderance of the scriptural evidence; yet there’s more scriptures.
WHAT DOES FISHING AND THE RAPTURE HAVE IN COMMON?
Many people like to fish. Regardless of how they fish, net, trot line, hook etc. all these ways of fishing have one thing in common:
Once the fish are CAUGHT, the fisherman TAKES them up so that they can keep the catch.
In Luke 5:4-11, the disciples cast their net into the sea and caught a multitude of fish.
John 21:6 they were again told to cast their net and TAKE UP what they caught.
The bible gives us some instances were folks were CAUGHT or TAKEN up. Please note, they did not move from one location to the other of their own accord.
1. Enoch was raptured out of the earth before Noah's flood, Gen. 5:24. Enoch is a type of the NT Church age saint that is raptured out of the world before God pours out His wrath. Those that alive at the rapture do not die. They (We) are changed; like Enoch we are taken up..
2. Elijah left the earth in a chariot of fire. 2 Kings 2:1, 11
3. Ezekiel was moved from placed to place when he saw his visions, Ezek. 3:12, 8:3,.
4. Jesus ascended into heaven and presented His body as a sacrifice to sin to the Father, John 20:17.
5. Jesus then came back to earth and dwelt with the disciple, 1 Cor. 15.
6. Jesus vanish away, Luke 24:31
7. Jesus appeared in the midst of the disciple, Luke 24:36.
8. Jesus showed Himself to Thomas, by passing thru a wall or closed door, John 20:26
9. Jesus ascended into Heaven, in His glorified body, Acts 1:9
10. Philip was caught up in the Spirit and transported to Azotus, Acts 8:40
11. Did Paul enter into the 3rd heaven, 2 Corinthians 12:3?
12. The Rapture, 1 Cor. 15: 1-9
13. The Rapture 2 Thes. 4
14. John was caught up into Heaven, Rev. 4.
The word CAUGHT up is in 1 Thess. To meet the Lord
These events are more preponderance of scriptural evidence for our blessed hope; the pre-trib rapture. Men and the Lord, appeared and disappeared, CAUGHT UP or taken and those listed above do NOT take into account all the appearance of angels in the bible, when they appeared and disappeared.
If God can make those things listed above happen, why do folks tie His hands with unbelief concerning the rapture of the church?
CALLED OUT:
John said in Rev. 4:1 He heard a voice that sounded as if it were a trumpet talking with me; which said: “Come Up Hither. That is an invitation.
4:2 immediately he was ‘in the spirit.’ Did he mean he was changed from flesh to spirit? (
God called Enoch out of this world before the flood
God called Abraham out Ur, Gen. 12:1
God called the nation of Israel out of Egypt, The first few chapters of the book of Exodus is about God calling Israel out of Egypt.
Jesus called His 12 disciples
If you are born again, the Holy Spirit called you!
One day God will call us out of this world, before His wrath is poured out, just as He did Enoch.
Some believe: NO PRE-TRIB rapture or no rapture. They find it impossible to believe that one day a trump will sound and graves will burst open, folks living will be changed and caught away?
Which is too hard for God: To raise an immortal body out of dust and unite it with its spirit or change a living body into an immortal body?
Is anything to HARD FOR GOD? Gen. 18:14, Jer. 32:17,
2 Corinthians 12:3 Paul said he knew a man that was CAUGHT up in the spirit.
Elijah was TAKEN up 2 Kings 2:1, 11.
Jesus was TAKEN UP. Caught up in the spirit and disappeared into the clouds.
Paul gives progressive or advanced revelation relating back to what the angels said, Acts 1:9-11
1st Thess. 4: 16 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:
He descends 'in like manner' as He ascended.
How do we know He descends in like manner? The answer is in v. 17.
17 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.
18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words.
We are caught up with Him in the clouds. He does not set foot on earth.
'So shall we ever be with the Lord.'
If 1 Thes. 4 is His Second Coming as some post tribulation folks teach, then why are we caught up into the clouds and on into heaven, while He is here on earth setting up his millennium kingdom? How can we ever be with the Lord, if He's in Jerusalem and we're in heaven?
Whats more, those that think the rapture takes place at the Second Coming, have no verse that states we are caught up and then we TURN AROUND and come back down.
THE IMPORTANCE OF KNOWING:
Q: Why is it so important to know how He ascended?
A: Because John said He saw Him coming back as KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS, Rev. 19:11
WHAT IS A MYSTERY:
I Cor. 15:51 Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,
52 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.
A mystery is something that was previously unknown, and yet not fully understood. A religious truth that one can know only by revelation and cannot fully understand; something which baffles or perplexes.
Do not let folks confuse you by telling you His SECOND COMING is the rapture or that there is no rapture of the church.
SOME THINGS ABOUT JESUS ARE NOT MYSTERIES OR SECRETS
(1) The birth of Jesus was no mystery or secret. OT prophets foretold of the coming Messiah. The shepherds told everyone what they saw at His birth.
(2) His death on the cross was no mystery or secret. Acts 26:26 For the king knoweth of these things, before whom also I speak freely: for I am persuaded that none of these things are hidden from him; for this thing was not done in a corner.
Isaiah 53 gave a vivid picture of His death.
(3) His resurrection was not a secret or mystery, 1 Cor. 15:1-9
(4) His 1000 year reign is no mystery or secret, the entire nation of Israel looked for the Kingdom, the 12 went out and preached it in Mat. 10
(5) The Second Coming of Jesus Christ is NO MYSTERY! The OT prophets foretold of His comings. Mat. 24 speaks of His coming again, with Him standing right there with the disciples as He answered their questions. Joel 2, Zech. 14, Dan. 9 all speak of the SECOND COMING of the Lord. Isa. 63 gives a picture of the battle of Armageddon.
(6) The last resurrection is no mystery,
Job, the character in the oldest book in the bible was well aware that in his flesh he would see God, Job 19.
John 11:24 Martha told Jesus that Lazarus would arise at the resurrection at the last day.
(7) A new heaven and a new earth was no mystery or secret, Isa. 65:17
BEHOLD I SHEW YOU A MYSTERY:
Paul said: Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,
Q: What was the mystery Paul revealed that is now no longer a mystery but a biblical truth denied by many?
A: The pretrib rapture of the NT church body.
What Paul revealed was not the Second Coming of Christ as seen by John, Rev. 19. His second coming was no secret. Paul didn't comment on those end time events as recorded in Mat. 24. Paul was well aware of just about everything that the OT prophets recorded about his SECOND COMING. Paul knew the law and the prophets.
52 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 not the Second Advent. At the 2nd Advent, He comes back on a horse and the armies of heaven come with Him.
Recall: “In Like Manner?” He left as Saviour and at the rapture He returns as Saviour.
At the SECOND ADVENT, He returns KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS!
Paul makes no mention of the battle of Armageddon in 1 Cor. 15, nor of any other events that were prophecies by OT prophets or by Jesus Himself. 1 Cor. 15 is a chapter on victory over death.
53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.
John the Revelator wrote in detail of what happens on the earth before His second coming and what would happen to the nations before and during his arrival.
Whereas Paul revealed in detail what happens at the rapture; how the dead are raised first and the living are changed.
54 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.
55 O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?
56 The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.
57 But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
US? Us is a pronoun and refers back to the noun 'brethern' in 1 Cor. 15:1. Brethren would then refer back to the folks at whom Paul addressed the letter of 1 Cor. 1:2 'to the church which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus,...' This letter is not addressed to the world. Rather, it is address to the NT church of which Paul was made the apostle.
58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord
Again, we find 'beloved brethren' Beloved was a term used to describe John the apostle. He was the disciple that laid his head in the bosom of Jesus at the last supper. John the beloved is a type of the NT church.
The point here is 1. Cor. 15 is not addressing the nation of Israel nor the Gentiles of the world. Paul address the saints at Corinth 'with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our, both theirs and ours;' That would include we lowly believers today and those from 59 AD when Paul wrote 1 Corinthians.
1 Cor. 15:20-34 Paul speaks of the last resurrection, the 1000 year reign, and the last judgment. We know this is true because death and hell are not destroyed until the last resurrection.
TWO COMINGS IN ONE VERSE:
Rev.1:7 Behold, he cometh with CLOUDS; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.
Rapture: Rev. 1:7a
He comes with clouds at the rapture just as the angels said, Acts 1:9-11, 1 Th. 4:17.
Note how 1:7a ends with a semicoln. A semicolon is a punctuation mark used in writing to connect two related independent clauses or to separate items in a list, especially when the items contain internal punctuation. It represents a pause that is stronger than a comma but less final than a period.
The rapture and the 2nd Advent are two independent events. Thus, we have the rapture separated from the 2nd Advent by a semicolon,
2nd Advent: Rev. 1:7b
And every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.
The church age saints will not be wailing and mourning because of His return. He is our blessed hope, Titus 2:13 “Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;”
SECOND ADVENT vs IN LIKE MANNER
Revelation 19:11-16
11 And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.
12 His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself.
13 And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.
14 And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.
15 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.
16 And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.
TELESCOPES:
Let your imagination have some free thinking for a few minutes. Those telescopes rotating the earth, looking out toward the stars, searching for creation of the universe or alien life will one day see a great sight. Just imagine those telescopes seeing a man on a white horse galloping across the universe, and behind this man is an army riding white horses as well This spectacle is flashed around the world in Hi-Def and surround sound!
All EYES will see Him.
(You've seen events like this in just about every action movie, especially a western! A rider riding across a hill, his silhouette against the empty sky. The hero riding in the save the damsel in distress.
01. When Jesus returns at the rapture He is not on a white horse; He didn't exit on a horse.
02. At the rapture, He does not make war. (Remember: IN LIKE MANNER!!)
03. The Jesus that the disciples saw, as He ascended, did not have the same attributes nor the apparel as described in Rev. 19:11-16
04. His clothing was not dipped in blood when He left.
05. His clothing is not dipped in blood at the rapture.
06. No armies accompanied Him as He ascended.
07. No armies accompany Him at the rapture
The preponderance of scripture evidence, comparing scripture with scriptures revealing Him ascending, and looking at the scripture revealing His Second Advent, where do we find IN LIKE MANNER as described in Acts 1:9-11? We don't
08. At the rapture He comes to take His 'Christian' soldiers to heaven
09. So that we - armies of heaven - come back with Him, Rev. 19:14
10. No sword came out His mouth when He left.
11. No sword appears in His mouth at the rapture
12. He didn't smite the nations as He ascended.
13. He does not smite the nations at the rapture
14. He was not ruling the nations with a rod of iron as He ascended.
15. He does not rule with a rod of iron at the rapture
16. He didn't tread on anything as He ascended.
17. He does not tread the grapes of wrath at the rapture.
18. He was not crowned with anything as He ascended other than thorns at His crucifaxion.
19. At the rapture, He has NOT been crowned KING OF KINGS and LORD OF LORDS.
20. Furthermore, the armies of heaven (church) can not come back with Him, Rev. 19:14, unless we first go up with Him, Rev. 4:1-2.
21. At the rapture He does not touch the ground.
22. At the Second Advent, He lights on the Mt. of Olives from which He ascended and when He lights on the mount, it splits,
Zech. 14:4 And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south
IN CONCLUSION:
Comparing the scriptures that tell of Him ascending, with scriptures revealing His Second Advent, where do we find IN LIKE MANNER as described in Acts 1:9-11? We don't. The preponderance of scriptural evidence demands a pre-trib rapture. Furthermore, we have not dealt with scriptures in the Old Testament that go into detail about His Second Advent.
Things different are NOT the same. By comparing scripture with scripture, we bible believers realize, know, and believe the rapture and second advent are two separate events.
So what part of ‘He was taken up,’ “this same Jesus.’ and 'in like manner' escapes your understanding
