Broad meadows

If you have gone to church or read anything related to the topic of eschatology, the next event on God’s calendar is the rapture. I’m not sure why they think that, given that they describe the beginning of a 7 year tribulation as the time of the seals, moving through the trumpets and finally the bowls. The problem with this concept is that it directly contradicts what Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 15 that this would take place at the last trumpet. There are also believers consistently being shown to be on earth in spite of the fact that according to Revelation 9, no one is repenting. They also fail to recognize the inconsistency in symbolism that this interpretation creates.

The first rider is riding a white horse. The color white is used to describe the throne of God, the white linen that represents the righteous action of believers, etc. White is referred to 14 times in the book of Revelation and each case it is referring to holiness or righteousness. Yet the church believes the rider on this horse is the antichrist. God does not put dark for light, that’s not his way.

As I have written earlier, this rider is the Michael/Elijah character prophesied by Jesus while descending the Mountain of Transfiguration. But why do I assert that this character is both? Primarily because of what Jesus says about the Elijah to come. In Mark 9:12, it’s written, “Jesus replied, “To be sure, Elijah does come first, and restores all things. Why then is it written that the Son of Man must suffer much and be rejected?”

Let me start with the question Jesus asks first. Why did Jesus suffer much and be rejected? So forgiveness of sins could be proclaimed to mankind. Then what does Jesus mean by all things? I believe he means all things in the heavenly realms and on earth. For Elijah to restore all things, he would have to do both and to do both would require a being who is both. It is he who opens the abyss in Revelation 9, after having “overcome” in his mortal life. It is he that, after his mortal life, then rises from the dead. He is the prophet that dies twice. The first five trumpets are really capturing the same event, his return, with each trumpet signaling the various effects of the event. All of this I wrote about in the sun/goat series. I encourage you to read it if you haven’t already.

So going back to the last trumpet and the rapture, what happens at the last trumpet? The witnesses are resurrected, triggering the rapture, and paving the way for the second resurrection.