Space-Time Changes at the Rapture

Our default mode when thinking about of time is "linear" or "calendar" time---metered out to by seconds, minutes, hours days, years---by clocks and calenders. The problem with this view is that many predicted events in the Bible are best thought of as eternal events not strictly future. We are presently trapped in a four-dimensional space-time bubble embedded in a universe of perhaps ten or tenty higher dimenstions. When events happen in hese higher realms, do they effect us down here in our small bubble? Surely! Wait long enough and these events will intrude into the time domain of life on earth where we earth dwellers live. The problem is, if you have been born again--regenerated-- you are no longer an "earth dweller" but a "heaven dweller."

True, your present body--not yet redeemed--has you and I trapped down on the planet. You might live to be a hundred, but you might die today--God knows, you don't.

Every global use of “earth dwellers” in the Old Testament appears in a judgment context and probably all phrases also will take place in the future, during the day of the Lord or tribulation period. It is of special significance that both “earth dwellers” and “world dwellers” are used multiple times in Isaiah 24—27, often called “Isaiah’s Apocalypse.” Chapter 24 tells us that God’s worldwide judgment will come upon all mankind because of specific sins of “the inhabitants of the earth” (24:5, 6, 17). Isaiah 26:9b says, “For when the earth experiences Thy judgments the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness.” The final two verses of chapter 26 speak of the tribulation period. Verse 20 says that Israel will be hidden away and protected “until indignation runs its course.” Since the remnant of Israel will be protected during the tribulation, then what will be God’s purpose for the judgment of this period? Verse 21 answers that question as follows: “For behold, the LORD is about to come out from His place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity; and the earth will reveal her bloodshed, and will no longer cover her slain.” Thus, we see that a purpose for the tribulation will be to “punish” the earth dwellers. This is very similar to the statement in Revelation 3:10 that says the Lord will “test those who dwell upon the earth.” It seems clear that Isaiah 24— 27, and especially 26:21 provides the backdrop for understanding what is meant in Revelation 3:10, as well as John’s used of “earth dwellers” throughout Revelation. (Thomas Ice)

Without our new bodies we can’t look out the window at the splendor or smell the roses if we are living in New Jerusalem. But we can believe what God declares is true and walk by faith—as we have been instructed to do. Soon our new bodies will arrive in a cosmic time warp. We’ll be clothed upon by our new bodies and see that we are living in company with the redeemed of all ages. We do not need to wait around in linear time for the future. In reading the New Testament, pay attention to the verb tenses. Live here and now with Jesus and wait for your new body to be handed to you. Most everyone I know is trapped in time by their mortal bodies. But this present “earth suit” is not who I am, it’s merely my temporary home away from home. The real “you” is invisible. You are wearing a body that is unclean in every sense of the world. Jesus has prepared a place for us but we can't go there without thorough decontimation. At the Gate into New Jerusalem we must pass through the Bema Three gate.

Ray Stedman makes frequent mention of the difference between dwelling now in heaven versus being trapped in time on earth:

“It is important to see exactly the location where these 144,000 and the Lamb are seen. The opening sentence tells us they were "standing on Mount Zion" -- the temple mount in Jerusalem. This means that they were on earth, in Jerusalem, not in heaven. And they are seen together, the Lamb (Jesus). They are 144,000 male Jews chosen out of Israel -- "Christ's Commandos," as we called them earlier.

I want to try and put some loose ends together here. According to the promise of Jesus given to the seven churches in the opening chapters of this book, he told them in several places that he would take the church (i.e., the true believers of this present age), to be with him before this last seven-year period would begin upon the earth. This was accomplished, as Paul describes it in First Thessalonians 4, in what is called the "rapture" (or departure) of the church to be with Christ. The last word of that Thessalonians passage is, "so shall we ever be with the Lord," (1 Thessalonians 4:17b KJV).

The problem that people get into at that point is they think that being "with the Lord" in heaven means to be taken far off into space somewhere. We all have difficulty thinking of heaven as being right here on earth as well as off in space. In other words, heaven is another dimension of existence just beyond our present senses. You can be in heaven and still be on earth at the same time. As I read these prophetic passages I am more and more convinced that this will be the case -- the church is with the Lord, but the Lord is on earth during the whole last seven years. The church is with him, but invisible to the rest of the world, and ministering to this select group of 144,000 Jews as Jesus appears to them from time to time. If this is true, Jesus will be in exactly the same condition with them as he was with the eleven disciples after his resurrection, when for a period of 40 days he appeared from time to time to them. At different times and in different places he was with them, and yet he would not be with them; he would step back into the realm of invisibility after appearing in their midst. This seems to be the situation here. These are not only 12 disciples -- they are 12 times 12 times 1,000 -- all men of Israel chosen for a special work on earth during these last days. If you can put that scene into your imagination you will get a much clearer picture of what is going on in these scenes. Now let us look at the characteristics of these 144,000…” The Time of Harvest.

To keep things simple, think of The Rapture of the Church, The Judgment Seat of Christ, and The Last Judgment as events in Eternity that transcend our 4D earth-time. As the time for an event in eternity to break in upon our present four-dimensional space-time envelope, we expect disturbances in nature and in the fabric of culture. The Star Wars SciFi fantasies talked about a disturbance in "the Force" but its more realistic to think Biblically. The Bible says that "in God we live and move and have our being." (Acts 17:28).

I do not believe true Christians will endure the tribulation period as such, but compromised believers will be have to make radical changes in their life styles en route to the Rapture. The Judgment Seat of Christ will be a relative breeze for those who are eager to be with Jesus. But think of the Bema Seat as a space-time bubble designed to bring the compromised into line with a our holy Bridegroom and His impending wedding. Much more "tribulating" is, I think, in store for the ill-prepared! Heaven is not an easy way out life for the irresponsible who have taken God for granted all their lives.

Some have wanted to speed up the coming Day of the Lord. For example, Isaiah:

"O that you would tear open the heavens and come down,
   so that the mountains would quake at your presence— 
as when fire kindles brushwood
   and the fire causes water to boil—
to make your name known to your adversaries,
   so that the nations might tremble at your presence! 
When you did awesome deeds that we did not expect,
   you came down, the mountains quaked at your presence. 
From ages past no one has heard,
   no ear has perceived,
no eye has seen any God besides you,
   who works for those who wait for him. 
You meet those who gladly do right,
   those who remember you in your ways." (Isaiah 64:1-5)

Everything that can be shaken will be shaken

 See that you do not refuse the one who is speaking; for if they did not escape when they refused the one who warned them on earth, how much less will we escape if we reject the one who warns from heaven! At that time his voice shook the earth; but now he has promised, ‘Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heaven.’ This phrase ‘Yet once more’ indicates the removal of what is shaken—that is, created things—so that what cannot be shaken may remain. Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us give thanks, by which we offer to God an acceptable worship with reverence and awe; for indeed our God is a consuming fire." (Hebrews 12:25-29)

 The seventh angel poured his bowl into the air, and a loud voice came out of the temple, from the throne, saying, ‘It is done!’ And there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, and a violent earthquake, such as had not occurred since people were upon the earth, so violent was that earthquake. The great city was split into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. God remembered great Babylon and gave her the wine-cup of the fury of his wrath. And every island fled away, and no mountains were to be found;  band huge hailstones, each weighing about a hundred pounds, dropped from heaven on people, until they cursed God for the plague of the hail, so fearful was that plague. (Revelation 16:17-21)

As long as you are living on earth is your old body (in relative safety you suppose) you needed worry about what happens when you die? Wrong. You are not your body. It's only your temp residence. you are a created spirit, already immortal. My friend Chuck Missler often called attention to us people as mostly software and not hardware.

Joints in Time

The Greek of the New Testament has several words to describe the flow of time in the social order. The word aion, often translated as "age," refers to an indefinite period of time marked by certain moral or spiritual characteristics. The "age" we live in now is the time period between the First and Second Advents of the Lord Jesus Christ. The general character of this current age was outlined by Jesus for us in the Olivet Discourse (1). The age "which is to come" (Ephesians 1:21, Matthew 12:32 Mark 10:30, Luke 18:30, Hebrews 6:5) will be the Millennium--the thousand-year reign of Christ on earth from the throne of His father David in Jerusalem. Between this age and the next there will be a violent seven-year transition known as "the tribulation period." 

The New Testament also refers to time as measured in chronos and kairos--times and seasons. Chronos means quantity of time, space of time, duration, succession of moments, length of time, or a bounded period of time. To understand this word, it is helpful to read the passages of the New Testament where chronos is used. These include Matthew 2:7, Luke 4:5; 8:27; 20:9, Acts 20:18, Romans 16:25, and Mark 2:19. Kairos refers to the quality of time or season, the epoch characterized by certain events, the decisive quality of happening, an opportune time, or a fortuitous moment. Kairos is used in such passages as Romans 5:6, Galatians 6:10, Matthew 13:34, 26:18, Revelation 12:12, I Peter 1:11, and Luke 4:13. In the New Testament we have expressions like "times of refreshing" (Acts 3:19), "times of ignorance" (Acts 17:30), and "the times of the Gentiles" (Luke 21:24). 

Before leaving earth after His resurrection from the dead Jesus reminded them, "It is not for you to know the times or seasons which the Father has fixed by his own authority." (Acts 1:7). What this means is that we can not set dates for the return of Jesus, nor can we unravel the past history of our planet with clarity. One reason we can not extrapolate the time scales of histories (either forward or backward in time) has to do with the internal "joints" in history which are determined by God alone:

"The 'seasons' are the critical epoch-making periods foreordained of God, when all that has been slowly, and often without observation, ripening through long ages is mature and comes to birth in grand decisive events, which constitute at once the close of one period and the commencement of another. Such, for example, was the passing away of the old Jewish dispensation; such, again, the recognition of Christianity as the religion of the Roman Empire; such the conversion of those outside; such the great revival which went along with the first institution of the Mendicant Orders; such, by still better right, the Reformation; such, above all others, the second coming of the Lord in glory." (Archbishop Trench)

God has never lost control over individuals and nations for even a nanosecond. Though He has not told us when, He will ultimately judge all of us against the standard of His Son. God is moving history inexorably towards the consummation He has chosen for us in advance. For history to be jolted and disturbed from time to time is what we ought to expect. 

The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in shrines made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all men life and breath and everything. And he made from one every nation of men to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their habitation, that they should seek God, in the hope that they might feel after him and find him. Yet he is not far from each one of us, for `In him we live and move and have our being'; as even some of your poets have said, `For we are indeed his offspring.' Being then God's offspring, we ought not to think that the Deity is like gold, or silver, or stone, a representation by the art and imagination of man. The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all men everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed, and of this he has given assurance to all men by raising him from the dead." (Acts 17:24-31) 

America's horrendous national tragedy on September 11, 2001 (911) seems to have been one of these mysterious "joints in time" when history turned and headed in a different direction. Many individual, national, and global values and priorities changed drastically in a matter of hours on September 11th. What is likely is that some major reconfigurations in the angelic realm (behind the scenes) took place on that particular day. Angels have more to do with events in the world than most of us imagine. Warfare between fallen and unfallen angels is ongoing, and angels have a lot to do with social behavior, the nature of cultural values and our quality of life.

Israel is the key factor in understanding the age we live in now. A little over a hundred years ago God began to allow Jewish immigrants to return to their homeland after two millennia of Diaspora. National identity was restored to Israel in 1958 and the Jewish State has grown in numbers and in economic and military strength ever since. All this is consistent with the predictions of Israel's ancient prophets. In other words, the stage is being set in the Middle East for the Second Advent of Jesus Christ. Israel is as yet an unbelieving nation and their glorious future as head of the nations will only come after the "time of Jacob's trouble" when many millions of Jews will perish as World War III rages in their very midst. (Zechariah 12-14 has a number of details about these approaching events). 

Only Israel has a covenant relationship with God among all the nations (3). We are Christians first and Americans second, "our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will change our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power which enables him even to subject all things to himself." (Philippians 3:20-21)

For two thousand years Jesus has been building His church. When the calling out of this special group is completed, Israel will again be center stage in world history. The church is multinational, multicultural, and made up of peoples from all the world. Anyone who is willing to allow Jesus to rule as Lord in his or heart is immediately a member of this universal family--the people of God. There is, however, no other way to come to God --Jesus said so Himself, "I am the way and the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father except by me." (John 14:6)

There are a lot of things happening in our world which tell the discerning that the end of the age is near. Once slumbering background desert kingdoms in the Middle East surrounding Israel have sprung back to wealth and power and became major players on the world stage. Reconfiguration of the nations of Europe clearly speaks of a coalescing federation towards the ten nation "revived Roman Empire" spoken of in Bible prophecy. A clear movement towards one world government can be seen from the daily news. A world-religion is coalescing and drawing together all religious peoples who do not name the name of Jesus as Lord. As the age draws to a close we see more and more violence and evil coming to the surface as God releases restraints on the evil in the human heart. 

Meantime there is much confusion about the role of the United States in all this. Some seem to thing that the U.S. is a nation which receives special favor from God, though the Bible gives no support for this view. Actually only 5-10 of the Christians in the world are Americans these days, and the number of true Christians within our country is a small fraction of our total population. American is one of the "gentile world powers" described in Daniel. We are, by and large, a fully pagan nation. And, what is worse, the church in America is presently weak and severely compromised by serious sins one of which is surely "worldliness."

But as to the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need to have anything written to you. For you yourselves know well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. When people say, "There is peace and security," then sudden destruction will come upon them as travail comes upon a woman with child, and there will be no escape. But you are not in darkness, brethren, for that day to surprise you like a thief. For you are all sons of light and sons of the day; we are not of the night or of darkness. So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober. For those who sleep sleep at night, and those who get drunk are drunk at night. But, since we belong to the day, let us be sober, and put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us so that whether we wake or sleep we might live with him. Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing." (1 Thessalonians 5:1-11)

The BEMA Podcast

Recently my friend Kelly Helmuth messaged me about a Podcast she liked.  The BEMA Podcast originates in the Palouse district of Idaho and Washington and is largely an effort to bring Jewish tradition into Bible interpretation to balance our western cultural bias in approaching the Bible. Marty Solomon and Brent Billings are doing a great job in this podcast, in my opinion. 

Wikipedia: The Bema in the Synagogue  A bema (or bima) was an elevated platform used as an orator's podium in ancient Athens. The term can refer to the raised area in a sanctuary. In Jewish synagogues the term used is bimah (or bima); it is for Torah reading during services. Prior to Reform Judaism, all synagogues had their bimah in the middle. The ceremonial use of a bema carried over from Judaism into early Christian church architecture. It was originally a raised platform with a lectern and seats for the clergy, from which lessons from the Scriptures were read and the sermon was delivered. In Western Christianity the bema developed over time into the chancel (or presbytery) and the pulpit. There is no standard synagogue architecture. A typical synagogue contains an ark (where the scrolls of the Law are kept), an “ eternal light” burning before the ark, two candelabra, pews, and a raised platform (bimah), from which scriptural passages are read and from which, often, services are conducted. The segregation of men and women, a practice that is still observed in Orthodox synagogues, has been abandoned by Conservative congregations. A ritual bath (mikvah) is sometimes located on the premises.

Bema 1: The reviewing stand where judges sat to evaluate the performance of athletes in the Greek Games.

Bema 2: In Provinces ruled by Rome, a city-center meeting place was located when a Proconsul from Rome could visit periodically to settle local disputes according to Roman Law.

Bema 3: A performance review all followers of Jesus experience upon entry into the next life.

The last on the list is the most important.

“For we are God’s fellow workers (synergos); you are God’s field, you are God’s building (oikodomē) According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I have laid the foundation, and another builds on it. But let each one take heed how he builds on it. For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.  

Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each one’s work will become clear (phaneros); for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed (apokalyptō)by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is.  

If anyone’s work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire. 

Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are. 

Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you seems to be wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise.  

For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, “He catches the wise in their own craftiness”; and again, “The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile.” 

Therefore let no one boast in men. For all things are yours: whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas, or the world or life or death, or things present or things to come—all are yours. And you are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s.” (1 Corinthians 3:9-23)

The Judgment Seat of Christ will not be about sin! Jesus has paid in full for all our sins. The Bema will, however, be a full performance review. It will be thorough, going to motive. Hebrews 4:12 says,  “...the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and spirit, of joints and marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” Jesus will be our personal examiner.

Most of us remember our past mistakes and accomplishments. God has the actual facts, He has a complete data base, and His searching eyes will reveal all our hearts. Mostly He will heal and restore. But the heat will be turned up! Obviously we can't be allowed into heaven (New Jerusalem) if we are contaminated with evil at all levels of our lives, conscious or unconscious. Right motives matter as well, but God knows us far better than one and his evaluation is what matters. We are house guests in His universe in the first place and many will will be left out of His coming kingdom. 

"For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away. And cast the unprofitable servant  into the outer darkness.  There will be weeping and  gnashing of teeth.’ When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory.  All the nations will be gathered before Him, and  He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. And He will set the  sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father,  inherit the kingdom  prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink;  I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was  naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me;  I was in prison and you came to Me.’ “Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’  And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you,  inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’ “Then He will also say to those on the left hand,  ‘Depart from Me, you cursed,  into the everlasting fire prepared for  the devil and his angels: for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’ “Then they also will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?’ Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Assuredly, I say to you,  inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ And  these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” (Matthew 25:29-46)

Many people have only heard of “The Last Judgment” at the end of history. Many people expect to get into heaven without any serious hitch, not understanding that The Great White Throne is not a minor event at all.  The God with Whom we have to deal is not only all-powerful, He’s also all-just and all-holy — not to be taken for granted. 

When any follower of Jesus (who knows Jesus personally) dies (or “died”), he or she leaves earth’s constrained 4D space-time domain and time travels (I believe) to a great event in the heavenly places called the Bema (the Judgment Seat of Christ). 

We will all be together for that event but it will be a highly personal disclosure of everything we ever were, thought said, did. It will be a kind of cosmic evaluation time, a performance reiew, with Jesus in charge. The purpose is not condemnation (that can’t happen)—but commendation. All of our sin has been dealt with by Jesus once for all, and can't be charged against us again.

How long will this evaluation take? In earth time down below, it will have happened in “a moment, the twinkling of an eye.” Subjectively: Jesus has “all the time in the world” to show us who we are and what He accomplished in and through us down below.

“Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I tell 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 trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.”

“O Death, where is your sting?
O Hades, where is your victory?”

"The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.” (1 Corinthians 15:50-58)

In heavenly, subjective time, God’s great reality-check will require whatever time each of us, one-on-one, requires.

“Nevertheless when one turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.

“Therefore, since we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we do not lose heart. But we have renounced the hidden things of shame, not walking in craftiness nor handling the word of God deceitfully, but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God. But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them. For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your bondservants for Jesus’ sake. For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

“But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us. We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed— always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. For we who live are always delivered to death for Jesus’ sake, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So then death is working in us, but life in you.

“And since we have the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, 'I believed and therefore I spoke,' we also believe and therefore speak, knowing that He who raised up the Lord Jesus will also raise us up with Jesus, and will present us with you.” (2 Corinthians 3:16 - 4:14)

The Bema will go to motive, as good courtroom judges know. Our Judge will be the God of Israel and true Jewish Messiah (Jesus), Yeshua.

“Let a man so consider us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. Moreover it is required in stewards that one be found faithful. But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by a human court. In fact, I do not even judge myself. For I know of nothing against myself, yet I am not justified by this; but He who judges me is the Lord. 

Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord comes, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness and reveal the counsels of the hearts. Then each one’s praise will come from God.” (1 Corinthians 4:1-5)

"Enemy-occupied territory - that is what the world is.  Christianity is the story of how the rightful King has landed in disguise,  and is calling us to take part in a great campaign of sabotage."  (C.S. Lewis)