Did Jesus Christ Really Rise From The Dead?

"Jesus then came and took the bread

and gave it to them, and likewise the fish.

This is now the third time Jesus showed himself

to his disciples after he was raised from the dead."

John 21:13-14

Some question the fact that Jesus Christ actually rose from the dead. All kinds of stories have been promulgated to foster the claim that he either didn't really die, or that it was not he who was seen after the crucifixion. Muslims teach that someone else took his place on the cross. Others put forth other wild stories to deny the resurrection of Christ.

For a person who has been born again through the Spirit of God this isn't even a question because they believe the Word of God. But for others, there are several points that refute the false accusations against the work Jesus accomplished in his death and resurrection. One of those points is the sheer number of eye-witnesses. Hear the words of the apostle Paul who also saw the risen Christ:

"For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received:

that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,

and that he was buried,

and that he rose again the third day according to the Scriptures,

and that he was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve.

After that he was seen BY OVER FIVE HUNDRED brethren at once,

of whom the greater part remain to the present,

but some have fallen asleep (died)."

1st Corinthians 15:3-6

A second point is that the apostles went on to preach the Gospel for the rest of their lives, in spite of what they would suffer for it. They were beaten, imprisoned, stoned, and in the end most of them were martyred. They could have escaped these sufferings if only they would cease preaching the resurrected Christ. It's highly unlikely that anyone would choose death rather than deny that they had in fact seen the resurrected Jesus. Would they allow themselves to be tortured for a lie? Would they give their lives for a lie?

Here is the summation of the matter clearly stated by the apostle Paul:

"Now if Christ is preached that he has been raised from the dead,

how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?

But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen.

And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty

and your faith is also empty.

Yes, and we are found false witnesses of God,

because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ,

whom he did not raise up—if in fact the dead do not rise.

For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen.

And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile,

you are still in your sins!

Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished.

If in this life only we have hope in Christ,

we are of all men the most pitiable."

1st Corinthians 15:12-19

But if it is TRUE, then we are of all people the most blessed!

I am one of them.

Are you?

The Rapture And The Prophecy of Daniel's 70 Weeks

The prophecy of Daniel's 70 weeks is the one most persuasive passage that shows that the Rapture takes place BEFORE the Tribulation. This prophecy of Daniel tells what the PURPOSE is for the last seven years. If you understand the PURPOSE, then the rest will make sense. “Seventy weeks are decreed upon your people and upon your holy city, to finish the transgression, to make an end of sins, to make reconciliation for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy." Daniel 9:24 "Seventy weeks are decreed upon your people…" What does the passage mean by "Weeks?" In the Hebrew, the word is "shavua" and it is a period of seven in the same sense that in English a decade is a period of ten. This passage is speaking of seventy periods of seven years. Seventy periods of seven equals 490 years which were decreed "upon your people" and "your holy city." All but the last seven have been fulfilled, and that last period of seven is what is referred to as "Daniel's 70th week." It is a period of seven years decreed upon the Jews, upon Israel, and upon Jerusalem, and it is to take place in the last seven years of this age. Jesus Christ referred to it as the Tribulation, (Matthew 24). Upon whom is the last seven years determined? This is the defining question. . It's determined "upon YOUR people," which is the Jews. . It's determined "upon YOUR holy city," which is Jerusalem. The purpose of that last seven year period is twofold: 1. It's "the time of Jacob's trouble" in which God will be dealing with the Jewish people. It is not two half-weeks that are "determined" upon Israel and Jerusalem, but one period of 7 years according to Daniel 9:24. 2. It's the outpouring of the wrath of God which will fall upon the whole world against the wicked. The wrath of God is NOT upon the church. "For GOD DID NOT APPOINT US (THE CHURCH) TO WRATH, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ..." 1st Thessalonians 5:9 The Book of Revelation gives more details, showing the events of the period revolve around Israel, The Temple, Jerusalem, the Two Witnesses, and the 144,000 from the twelve tribes of Israel ...not around the Church. The church was not present during the first 69 weeks, and is not present in the last week. The church conspicuously missing: The first three chapters of the Book of Revelation are ALL ABOUT THE CHURCH, where Christ is seen walking among them and sending messages to seven different churches. And then abruptly - after Revelation 4:1 - there is no more mention of the church until the end and the subject changes to the Tribulation. The church is conspicuously missing from chapter 4:1 when a door is opened, and a voice from heaven says "come up here." "After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven. And the first voice which I heard was like a trumpet speaking with me, saying, “Come up here, and I will show you things which must take place AFTER this.” Revelation 4:1 The Tribulation takes place AFTER the church age. The church was a mystery hidden in the Old Testament. The church age was a HIDDEN MYSTERY not revealed to the prophets of the Old Testament. It has to be removed before Israel's story begins again in the last 7 years. Paul was given the task of revealing this MYSTERY to believers. "I now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ, for the sake of his body, which is the church, of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God which was given to me for you, to fulfill the word of God, THE MYSTERY WHICH HAS BEEN HIDDEN from ages and from generations, but now has been revealed to his saints." Colossians 1:24-26 The church age began suddenly and unexpectedly on Pentecost, and ends suddenly and unexpectedly, at the Rapture, before the events of the 70th week begin. THEN, after the Rapture, the Tribulation begins. Isaiah 26 Shows The Rapture Taking Place Before The Judgments: First the resurrection: "Your dead shall live; together with my dead body they shall arise. Awake and sing, you who dwell in dust; for your dew is like the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead." Isaiah 26:19 Then a hiding away: vs 20: "Come, my people, enter your chambers, and shut your doors behind you; hide yourself, as it were, for a little moment, UNTIL the indignation is past." Then the judgments: vs 21: "For behold, the Lord comes out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity; the earth will also disclose her blood, and will no more cover her slain."

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The Rapture is Not Post-Trib The post-tribulation view requires that the church be present during the 70th week of Daniel, even though it was absent from the first 69. The Tribulation is not purposed upon the church, it's purposed on Israel. Not Pre-Wrath The pre-wrath view requires the church to be present during the first part of the 70th week, which indicates a misunderstanding of the purpose and continuity of the 70 weeks. It also suggests that the first half of the week will be relatively calm. No, as soon as "the Lamb" opens the seals (Revelation 6) THE WRATH OF GOD begins, and is anything but calm. Here is the entire 70th Week passage in Daniel, chapter 9: 24: Seventy weeks are determined upon your people and your holy city, to finish the transgression, to make an end of sins, to make reconciliation for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy. 25: Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the command to restore and build Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince, there shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublesome times. 26: And after the sixty-two weeks MESSIAH SHALL BE CUT OFF (the crucifixion of Jesus Christ) but not for himself; and the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; the end of it shall be with a flood, and till the end of the war desolations are determined. The destruction of Jerusalem took place in 70 AD. That was the end of the 69th "week." The MYSTERY of the church age is parenthetical. It began on Pentecost after the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, and ends with the Rapture before the beginning of the Tribulation. Then the story goes back to Israel. The 70th week begins when the Antichrist confirms a seven-year covenant: 27: Then he (the Antichrist) shall confirm a covenant with many for one week; but in the middle of the week he shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering; and on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate, even until the consummation, which is determined, is poured out on the desolate. Only born-again believers in Jesus Christ will be taken by him in the Rapture. False "Christians" will not be taken, as shown in the "seven wise and seven foolish virgins" passage in Matthew 25 1:13. The day after the Rapture there will be many churches remaining. Make sure of your position with Jesus Christ lest you be in one of them. MORE: The Rapture

They Didn't Have The Oil

"Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish. Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them, but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps." Matthew 25:1-4 What is the difference between these two groups of people? It has to be such a huge difference that later the Lord ends up saying to the foolish virgins: vs 12: “But he answered and said, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.’” How terrible! He never knew them, he said, yet they had gone out to meet him. In other words, they knew ABOUT him, they were "religious," they knew enough to know that he would come at some point, yet they didn't "KNOW" him. The element on which this story stands is the oil that they did not take with them. In the Scriptures, oil is symbolic of the Holy Spirit. There are many - MANY - churches today who meet regularly on Sunday mornings and sing hymns and have a Scripture reading and do good works and love each other. This is all fine and good, but if they are lacking the most important thing, the Holy Spirit, then it's all worthless. And many, if not most, churches in this Laodicean day are in this category. They do religion. So how can you tell whether they are lacking the Spirit of God? Here's how - the Holy Spirit is all about testifying of Jesus. It's all about revelation. What revelation? Jesus. It's all about Jesus. When a church gets off into "service," good works, community outreach, building programs, books and videos, professional-sounding musicians, pot-luck dinners, and so much more, it's all fine and good except for many, the focus is not on JESUS. As time comes closer to the "last days," as the world is being set up for the one-world religion, as Satan's agenda is about to break forth and is doing so even now - it's no coincidence that Jesus is no longer the focus in the churches today. Those churches think they're ok, they see it too - the approaching Tribulation, and their response to it is to stock up with goods to get them through the hard times of the Tribulation. But there's no stocking up on ...OIL. They've missed the whole point. And when the Bridegroom comes, they will be left behind to consume the goods they've prepared with. Those who are stocking up and preparing to survive the Tribulation, are watching and preparing for the Antichrist. But those who have the oil are watching for Jesus Christ. One day I asked the Lord, "what is the difference between works of gold, silver and precious stone, versus works of wood, hay, and stubble (1st Corinthians 3:12)? He answered me with a question: "Look back upon your walk with me and tell me what is the difference between each time you were successful in bringing souls to me, versus the times you weren't." That took awhile, because I wanted to look deeply and "get" what he was saying. After reviewing the stories, I came to a startling conclusion. Every single one of those that succeeded was a story HE set up; they happened totally unexpectedly, and it was easy. The other stories in which I tried so hard to convince people unsuccessfully, failed. And now I "got it!" Now I understood! The difference was the Holy Spirit. HE created the stories, HE brought about the circumstances that led to the success, HE did the work when the time came, and HE accomplished what HE was doing. These works were the works of gold, silver, and precious stone. Any other effort on my part was wood, hay and stubble, and the proof was in the pudding. One succeeded, the other didn't, and the difference was the oil, the Holy Spirit. To "know" the Lord is not to know ABOUT him, it's to have a PERSONAL relationship with him. That starts when a person recognizes his terrible sinfulness, realizes he can do nothing about it, hears the Gospel and responds with surrendering his/her life unto the Lord Jesus Christ. Christ becomes the Savior and brings about the new birth. He becomes their Lord and they follow him intimately for the rest of their lives. All others, those who are perhaps religious, those who maybe grew up in a Christian home, go to church, do good works, but who have not been born again by the SPIRIT OF GOD - these do not KNOW him. Their lives are all about what they can do for God with their programs. The ones who have the oil, are those who know to walk intimately with him, trusting him to bring about whatever he so desires, how he desires, and when he desires. As for the former, they will hear in the end, "Assuredly, I say to you, I never knew you." Friends, we need to get serious with God ON HIS TERMS, not ours. Our good works and religious practices will not save us. In fact, the Scriptures say they are a stench in God's nostrils, because they are done from self, not from his Spirit. Especially if you are "religious," take some time to examine your heart to see whether your life is rooted in the Spirit of God, or in self. If you're not sure, if you don't have a strong assurance of your salvation, then go to the Lord and get this settled between him and you. You'll need to come to a deep honesty about yourself, and pride has to go. "God RESISTS the proud" (James 4:6). You will have to overcome your pride and stop justifying yourself before him. He will meet you there and you will come to know him in a way you'd never, ever, thought possible. It will change everything. Then when the Bridegroom comes, your lamp will be filled with oil and you will go with him. Don't miss this!

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