Gospels and Raptures (Kingdom - Part 1): Introduction

The Gospels and their Raptures (Kingdom - Part 1)

Introduction

There are many believers in the Body of Christ who profess that there is only one gospel. How they interpret this view is their choice; 

• either that they believe in only one gospel message that can save or
• they believe there is only one gospel message period

What is my view on this? Well, I disagree completely with the latter statement! There is clear evidence in scripture of several distinct gospel messages, a few of which will be elaborated on in this series. As for the first statement, I can agree and disagree. Let me explain. Right now, in this dispensation of grace, there is only one gospel that can save. This is a fact! This can easily be proven and confirmed in scripture which I will do in this lesson series. However, if we do not only consider the grace dispensation, but look in the book of ACTS, then it is clear that during that transition period of 1st century Christianity, there most certainly were two concurrent gospels that could save. Again, this series will provide the scriptural proof of this fact.

In addition to the gospels, I will also be looking at the end result (or destination) of the believers of that gospel, ie: the rapture or resurrection. There are multiple gospels, so we also have more than one rapture or resurrection event. The raptures are the reason for the gospels. The good news of the gospels bring salvation and salvation means resurrection and rapture. As I define a gospel from ACTS, it will lead to salvation for that people group. The salvation they will experience is by resurrection and/or by rapture. There is a lot to say and a lot to learn in this series, and I will ensure that I validate the content with scripture references to confirm my views and interpretations.

What is a Gospel?

Simply put, a gospel is a message that proclaims good news to those hearing it. What is this good news? In its most fundamental form, it is a message of salvation. It is the transfer of information to fallen humanity of what God requires of them to be accepted by Him. Receiving and believing the gospel in the way it was proclaimed, and at that specific moment in time, was the instructions of God to allow that person to be justified, or to be made righteous in the sight of God. If a person responded in faith to the gospel message, they would come under the mercy and grace of God. They would be saved from His holy wrath and righteous judgement. By nature, man is separated from God because of their innate sin nature, but God provides them a way to come back into right standing with Him by means of the gospel, the good news of salvation. Without the gospel and faith in it, man is eternally doomed.

What is a Rapture?

The word "rapture" does not occur in our English Bibles. We get the word by way of Jerome of Stridon (347-420 AD). In his work of revising the Latin New Testament from the Greek New Testament, he translated the Greek word ἁρπάζω [Gk: (h)arpázo: to snatch up, to seize, to grab] (into the Latin "rapiemur". The Latin verb form is "rapio" and means to be "caught up" or "taken away". From these Latin words come our English word "rapture". 

In most cases, the raptures are part of the great biblical doctrine of multiple resurrections in which all who have put their trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, through the gospels, will receive resurrection bodies and be with the Lord forever. These events will occur at particular times during the end times. The first of these raptures is imminent and will involve the members of the Body of Christ. This rapture event will end the grace dispensation that has been in effect for the last 2000-years. Once the Body of Christ is caught up, a new period of time will begin, and will usher in great distress and trouble under the holy and just wrath of God. As I continue in this series, I will bring into light the other raptures and validate them with scripture confirmations.

What is a resurrection?

It is important to note that a resurrection is not being raised from the dead. Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead (and there are many other accounds of people being raised from the dead), but these are NOT resurrections! To be raised from the dead means that this person is now alive again, BUT they will die again! To be resurrected means that this person will NEVER again die. The very first bodily resurrection from the dead is that of the Lord Jesus Himself.

John 12:24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except (unless) a corn (grain) of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.

Thus Jesus spoke of His death and resurrection, saying but if He dies He will bears many grains. Christ is the grain or "Seed" (1Pet 1:23, Gal 3:16) of God the Father, whose resurrection life brought light and life to all who will believe to receive Him and His life… making them the "many sons of God."

"But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept" (1 Cor.15:20).

This is not the space to define all the resurrections that will take place, but we will cover it in a basic way within the scope and gospels of this series.

What are the Gospels?

There are references to a number of gospels in the New Testament, each gospel having unique content in regards to message, conditions, and destination. In this study I will be dealing with the following gospels,

1. The gospel of the Kingdom
2. The gospel of God (the gospel of the circumcision)
3. The gospel of Christ (the gospel of the uncircumcision)
4. The gospel of the Grace of God

My plan is to outline the content of each gospel into the following sub-topics so that one can compare them per sub-topic across the entire series,

1. Origin
2. Message
3. Conditions
4. Participants
5. Destination
6. Additional
7. Summary

I will do my best to keep within this structure for ease of reference.

Encouragement

If anyone is struggling to make sense of these topics based on their own studies, or are simply interested to learn more about these things to bring clarity to the Word of God, I trust and hope that this series will illuminate the topics and provide a framework of content to build up or establish their own interpretations.

IMPORTANT: The aim of this series is not to dispute the views of others, neither is it to establish a dogmatic hypothesis. If anything, this is simply my personal study and interpretation of what I clearly see outlined in scripture. It is not an in-depth or comprehensive study of the gospels and raptures, but just my attempt to simplify and understand the content, the separation, and the advancement of each.

Look out for Part 2 which will start with "The Gospel of the Kingdom". To avoid missing any posts, you can subscribe to this blog so that you receive an automated notification of new posts.

God bless.