Re: The Rapture

I agree, the Rapture is not the subject in those passages, nor in Matthew 24.

Remember that Jesus is answering a question by Jews, about Jews, before the cross. He is referring to his second coming, the one where he will set foot on earth at the end of the Tribulation to set up his earthly kingdom.

Remember also that the "mystery", the church, had not yet been revealed. It was only revealed to Paul after his conversion, well after Pentecost.

I too believe that the literal approach to Bible study is the best, but that includes considering the context. The Bible is not, as some people (not you) try to say, a collection of random words or phrases that can be mixed and matched any way we want, as if the words themselves had mysterious meanings that the average person cannot understand. Each book of the Bible was written through a person, using their personality, at a time in history, to a certain audience. These, along with "the whole counsel of God" (the whole Bible), are all a part of the context.

With that in mind, consider the fact that not all is revealed by God in so many words, but we must "search the scriptures". For example, there is no firm statement in the OT about the Messiah coming twice. How would anyone in the OT have understood this? The answer lies in studying the prophecies, because there are two prophetic themes that seem to be in conflict: either the Messiah would rescue Israel from her enemies and reign forever, or he would be rejected by Israel and "cut off" from the living. In our hindsight we can see that this conflict is resolved by two comings.

Likewise, the NT contains two apparently conflicting sets of prophecies:

Jesus will come unexpectedly, like a thief, while people go about their usual business, during times of peace, and will meet us in the air to take us up to heaven.
But also, Jesus will come at a predictable time, when the world is in an uproar, during global war, to bring his people down to earth and conquer the antichrist.

With the OT as our example then, we can find the solution: Jesus must come twice. Sometimes the NT speaks of the Rapture, and other times it speaks of the 2nd coming.
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