The Rapture Verdict – A Review

I’m always on the lookout for those who transcend the constraints of popular thought and allow the Holy Spirit to direct their understanding of the Last Days. I have found very, very few who have enough of that ‘Last Days’ understanding to be able to give them more than the briefest of mentions.

Well, I can now say that I’ve found one name that is worthy of great commendation:

Michael Snyder

I bought his latest book – The Rapture Verdict – a few days ago, and blasted through it. I wanted to see if I could recommend it to you.

I am glad to say that I can.

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The Rapture Verdict – A Review

In these days of deception, telling the truth will get you in trouble. Our churches have become breeding grounds of an awful feel-good theology. Our pastors and leaders have become proud and arrogant. Our brothers and sisters have chosen disobedience and the pleasures of this world, instead of a humble obedience to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

So, I find it remarkable when someone stands up and proclaims the truth, no matter what the cost to himself. You will find the names of many such brothers and sisters in my writing, and now I get to add the name of another:

Michael T. Snyder

Years ago, when he started writing about the troubles of America and the rest of the world, I wasn’t sure who Michael was. Over time, he demonstrated himself to be a good brother in Christ who was concerned about the physical and spiritual welfare of the Body of Christ. And then, he sacrificed his legal career to engage in his work full-time.

It takes a lot of faith and courage to do something like that – and a willingness to pay a very high price. Those of you engaged in the same kind of effort… you know that price all too well.

That willingness to sacrifice demonstrates a commitment to God that all of us should pay attention to. But, willingness to sacrifice doesn’t always mean that you are able to ‘rightly divide the word of truth’ (2 Timothy 2:15). However, I have yet to see Michael make a ‘false step’ in anything that he has written.

Does He Get It?

So, until he wrote the book that I am reviewing here, I always had this thought in my mind… about the Rapture…

Does he get it?

So few do, so I assumed that he didn’t. It’s not a real criticism, since my best friends don’t get it. In fact, the church that I call home… the pastor there doesn’t get it, either. But, I trust the Lord, that He will reveal the truth to these dear brothers and sisters, when the time is right.

Well, I rejoice in being able to say that Michael gets it. In fact, he knocks it out of the park. It’s a home run. A field goal and a slam dunk. All in one.

In fact, you could stop reading this review right now, and go and buy the book. It’s that good.

Now, does it mean that the book is perfect?

Of course not. Nothing that I write is perfect. In fact, I write everything with the firm belief that I am wrong, at least somewhere.

With that in mind, can I find mistakes in what Michael has written?

I’m not sure. After all, there is no reason for me to assume that I’m more correct – or knowledgeable – than Michael is. But, maybe I can add a few hard-won observations.

So, let me try to do that.

Picking the Book Apart

First of all, I benefit from the knowing that the Pretribulation Rapture was wrong, for all of my Christian life. My Dad was taught the Pre-Trib view in Bible college, but he very quickly saw that it was wrong, once he ditched his library of commentaries, and just read the Bible as it was meant to be read.

That happened soon enough so that I would benefit from Dad’s understanding, once I accepted Christ at the ripe old age of six.

Like my Dad, Michael was taught the Pre-Trib rapture, and we all accept what we are taught when we first begin our walk with Christ. Eventually, we reach a point where we realize that there are some things that we were taught that are just plain wrong.

I’ve been through several of those moments, and they are often wrenching and painful – especially for someone like myself. I’ve always been a doggedly determined so-and-so, and getting me to change my mind takes a lot of work. God’s had to beat me up a time or two, ‘cuz I often won’t listen any other way.

Michael seems to be a more willing to listen to what God is telling him, so he might not have needed as much chastening:

And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.

 – Hebrews 12:5-6

But, it is one thing to have known all of your life that the Pretribulation Rapture was a lie. It’s another thing to have believed that it was true, and then come out of that lie and see the truth. THAT is a much bigger deal.

The Love Of The Truth

So, as you read The Rapture Verdict, I want you to understand that you are reading a book written by someone who believe in the Pretribulation Rapture, and WANTED to believe in the Pretribulation Rapture. There was no reason for Michael to discard this false belief, other than a love of the truth.

And, that’s really the point, isn’t it?

The love of the truth.

The Tone Of The Book

Notice also that Michael is a far more loving and forgiving person than myself. He doesn’t call down this person or that person for teaching lies. He doesn’t attack false teachers for the lies that they teach. He merely demonstrates the truth in love.

I believe that there is a greater need for such gentle souls in the Body of Christ, than for the ‘Hellfire and Damnation’ types like me. Although, I believe that both are needed.

All of that is to say that the tone of the book is excellent.

The book is also organized in a straightforward way, that covers all of the bases, and he ends the book with a list of the main points. It really demonstrates an organized mind and thoroughness that is needed for a book like this.

In fact, as I look over the book, I can find only one mistake and a handful of possible additions.

Jacob’s Trouble

I don’t know anyone who gets Jeremiah 30 right. Of course, there’s a limit to my knowledge, so I’m sure that there are others out there who DO get Jeremiah 30 right. I hope that you are one of them.

Most people describe Jeremiah 30 as talking about the Tribulation and the coming of the Antichrist. For most of my life, that is how I felt about it, so you certainly have an excuse if you feel the same way.

In fact, it was only over the past few years, that I realized that Jeremiah 30 was talking about the Salvation of Israel, YEARS before the coming of the Antichrist and The Great Tribulation. In fact, it was only two years ago – now, almost three – that I had that huge epiphany, in which all the pieces fell into place, resulting in  Ezekiel’s Fire.

Now, that I’ve seen Michael Snyder’s efforts, I will need to update Ezekiel’s Fire, to point people to another view than just my own.

Why do I say all this?

Because Michael mentions Jacob’s Trouble, which is here:

Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob’s trouble, but he shall be saved out of it.

 – Jeremiah 30:7

Michael equates Jacob’s Trouble with the Great Tribulation, and that is completely understandable, since commentators for centuries have been claiming that it is the Great Tribulation.

But, ask yourself this:

Is that what Jeremiah 30 talks about?

No, it’s not. It talks about the return of Israel to God. The salvation of Israel.

Furthermore, when you look at all the other passages that are clearly about the salvation of Israel, a picture emerges of great destruction and death, before the salvation of Israel – at the time of the salvation of Israel.

Yet, Israel is NOT saved DURING THE GREAT TRIBULATION!

The salvation of Israel happens BEFORE the Great Tribulation. And, that is a vital point to see, because you will not be ready for what happens, if you do not see it.

You will also confuse the Gog and Magog in Revelation, with the Gog and Magog in Ezekiel 38 and 39. In fact, a whole HOST of mistakes will be made if you place Jacob’s Trouble in with the Great Tribulation.

I know, ‘cuz I made most of those mistakes.

In fact, if any of you have a personal connection with Michael Snyder, tell him that I’d like to talk to him via email – or any other means – about this. He’s on the right track, and I would like his input. I would also like to add my own input to his work.

In fact, I would dearly love for him to take this prophecy of a Superflare and run with it. I certainly would love to see how he puts the pieces together.

For those of you who do not know my email address already, it is:

john [at] omegashock dot com

I will try to reach out to him, myself, but I would appreciate whatever you can do to help make the connection.

Quibbles

Here is where I nitpick and worry over inconsequentials. I’m a bit of a worrywart when it comes to interpretation of the Bible, and I’ve seen many people go off the rails by following the wrong line of reasoning. The fact that I’ve been off the rails a time or two just adds impetuous to my pickiness.

So, take everything that I say here with a grain of salt. I am well aware that I tend to go overboard, and that I could be wrong myself.

The Word For Rapture

There is a limit to all that you can put into a book, so this is a very tiny quibble.

The word Rapture comes from the Latin, Rapturo – which means ‘caught up’. The Greek version of that word is ‘Harpazo‘, which also means ‘caught up’, but also involuntarily – by force.

When you are Harpazo’d, you don’t have a choice in the matter. You are picked up and carried away – which is exactly what The Rapture is. When God sends His angels out to pick us all up, we will be grabbed and carried away.

We see the use of Harpazo, here:

Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

 – 1 Thessalonians 4:17

The words ‘shall be caught up’ is this word:

ἁρπαγησόμεθα

Or:

Harpagesometha

The Greek letter Alpha (α) has an ‘ah’ sound, but when you add a Dasia (‘) it indicates ‘rough breathing’ – or, an ‘H’ sound. So, ἁ actually sounds like ‘ha’.

I say all that because I keep getting my Greek confused. It’s been a long time since I really studied it.

Like I said, adding Harpazo to the discussion is nice, but not necessary.

Although, I find it interesting that the Pretribbers don’t like to talk about the one verse in the Bible that actually uses the Greek form of Rapturo.

Why?

Because – as Michael Snyder so skillfully illustrates – it is connected with the resurrection, and there’s only one of those for the children of God. Connecting the Rapture to the Resurrection is vital and important, and Michael does it very well.

The Feast Days

Michael makes a point about connecting the Holy Days of the Old Testament with the Return of Jesus. That connection makes me uncomfortable for a couple of reasons, and I might be completely wrong in both of those reasons.

First, it’s not actually said in the Bible that these Holy Days are connected with The Second Coming. Michael is not being dogmatic when he makes his points, so it’s not a criticism. He has a personal belief that the key events of the Last Days will correspond to important and relevant holy days.

I’m unsure, but more than willing to consider that he might be right. I certainly do not dismiss his points, and will carefully consider them.

Second, I’m worried about Judaizing. Jesus inferred that in the Last Days, there would be Judaizers that would force us to follow the Old Testament laws. The key verse is this one:

But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day:

 – Matthew 24:20

The fact that we will have trouble fleeing on Shabbat, means that Judaizers will make it difficult to move about when The Great Tribulation comes. They will have imposed ‘Sabbath Laws’.

Having lived in Israel for a considerable amount of time, I have had the opportunity to see Christians take up ‘The Law’ and make it a part of their Christian walk. It always grieves me to see it, because it puts those Christians under a bondage that they cannot possibly handle.

I love the Jewish people passionately, and I look for the day when they will accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior. That day will be wonderful. They will have the promise of eternal life, and they will be freed from the shackles of the Torah.

Many have written to me about the need to follow the Law, and I understand that desire. But, if you seek to follow one of the laws, you must follow all of them. And, we aren’t talking about the Ten Commandments here. We’re talking about all 613 laws.

Read Galatians. That letter from Paul to the church at Galatia is really all that you need to know about following the Law.

Of course, Michael Snyder isn’t advocating the following of the Old Testament Law. He’s merely pointing out a spiritual pattern that seems to point to the time when Jesus will return.

But… In The Clouds

Oh, one point in Michael’s favor about the ‘feast days’ in the Fall. When it says that Jesus will come in the clouds (Matthew 24:30), I can definitively say that there are no clouds in Israel during the summer. Only in the late Fall, the winter, or in the early Spring do we see clouds in Israel. For the rest of the year, they have the clearest and bluest skies you can imagine.

So, the mention of Jesus returning ‘in the clouds’ could rule out the summer and point us towards those feast days that DO occur when there are normally clouds.

Awesome point.

The Last Trump

Is the Seventh Trumpet in  Revelation 11, the Last Trump (1 Corinthians 15:52) when the Resurrection happens?

I have been resisting that idea for a long time and am still resisting it… but …Michael makes an excellent case for it. So, I find my resistance crumbling.

Having read this book, I am now more prepared to believe that the Seventh Trumpet in Revelation 11 is the Last Trump in 1st Corinthians.

(sigh)

I am SO hard-headed.

Day of the Lord

Michael makes the point that every time you see the phrase ‘day of the lord’, it always means the Second Coming. I believe that there is truth to that, and that AT LEAST MOST of the phrases that mention the ‘day of the lord’ are actually talking about the return of Jesus.

But, can we be so categorical?

Well, here’s a search of all the terms with the exact phrase, ‘day of the lord’:

https://www.biblegateway.com/quicksearch/?search=day+of+the+lord&version=KJV&searchtype=phrase

Michael might be right.

What do YOU think?

The Millennium

This is not a ‘quibble’.

It’s an outright praise!

I opened Michael’s book with trepidation, because most who reject the Pretribulation Rapture… also reject Revelation 20 and the Millennium. Most anti-pretribbers rip out Revelation 20 and say that there is no Millennium.

Some say that we are IN the Millennium right now.

Some say that there will be no Millennium.

Both are taking away from the Book of Revelation and are causing themselves to be erased from the Book of Life. And yes, you heard me (read me?) right. If you believe that there will be no literal Millennium, or that we are in the Millennium…

If you believe that…

…especially if you teach it…

…you have been removed from the Book of Life.

Here are two of the scariest verses in the Bible, in terms of Revelation:

For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:

And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.

 – Revelation 22:18-19

Please, Please, PLEASE do NOT take ANYTHING AWAY FROM REVELATION. You MUST believe everything that Revelation says. If you delete ANYTHING, you will not be with us in Heaven.

Will you go to Hell?

I guess that you would have to.

Please be afraid of that.

Please believe everything that Revelation says. There will be a literal thousand year reign on Earth, by Christ. It will be AFTER the Tribulation.

To say otherwise is to put a question mark over your eternal destiny.

Now, there’s also the sin of ADDING to Revelation. I believe that the Pretribbers are doing that. They will still go to heaven, but they will suffer for it.

Do NOT add to the Book of Revelation. DO NOT.

I do not want you to suffer. I really don’t.

Tekiah Gedolah

Okay, now I’m REALLY making an issue over something minor. But, I’m a picky guy, so I can’t help myself.

I speak Hebrew. Not wonderfully well, but I do speak it – enough to do the normal chores a modern person needs to do in Israel.

So, when Michael said that Tekiah Gedolah means Last Trump… um …that Hebrew speaking part of me recoiled with a bit of Yiddish:

Oy, VEH!

This is the Hebrew:

תקיעה גדולה

תקיעה – trumpet blast or blare

גדולה – big, large

It literally means, The Big Trumpet Blast.

Having played the trumpet in High School, my תקיעה גדולה would be more of an ugly BLAT. So, I’m hardly an expert on big trumpet blasts.

No Man Knows The Day Or The Hour

This is the first time that I have heard anyone speak of ‘Rosh Hashanah’ as the “Hidden Feast”, with the idea that no one could really know when Rosh Hashanah would occur.

I’ve been through something like 15 Rosh Hashanahs in Israel, without seeing any difficulty figuring out when it would occur. But, then again, I wasn’t living among the Ultra-orthodox Jews, although I have friends who are.

Of course, that brings up the danger of interpreting the Bible through the lens of the rabbis. I’ve seen some Christians do that, and I cannot tell you how bad an idea that is. Judaism is not true to the Bible. If you consult Judaism to understand the Old Testament, you will go off the rails very quickly.

Don’t do it. Please.

Now, I’m not saying that Michael does that here. I don’t know his sources for his information, and I am not discounting his interpretation. He might be right.

All that I’m saying is that no one should consult with the rabbis to understand these things.

I love the Jewish people. I might even have the tiniest respect for fact that their religion kept them together so that they could return to Israel.

But, the Rabbis are pure poison.

Do NOT listen to the Rabbis. Do NOT. Whatever truth they have is mixed with the deadliest toxin. It WILL destroy you.

But, I kinda like the point that Michael makes, when he talks about not knowing the day or hour when the Lord would return. I don’t have a strong opinion on it. I just don’t want anyone to fall into the trap of consulting with Rabbis.

The Jesuits

When Michael Snyder talks about the history of the Pretribulation Rapture idea, he starts with Edward Irving, The Irvingites, Margaret MacDonald, and John Darby.

It’s a good place to start, and most who want to dissect the history of the Pretribulation Rapture idea, are forced to start there – unless they accidentally stumble over a deeper history.

I believe that the true source of the Pretribulation Rapture idea comes from Chilean Jesuit priest, Manuel Lacunza, who wrote under a pseudonym. Lacunza’s book was written in Spanish and was picked up by Irving. Irving was so excited by the ideas in that book that he learned Spanish so that he could translate it.

Lacunza might also have been basing his work on a couple of other Jesuits from a couple of hundred years earlier. They wrote in Latin, and no one knew about their work until long after all of this blew up.

Whatever the case, the Jesuits are involved with this lie, and they are also the ones who were tasked with destroying the Protestant Reformation. And, I believe that this Pretrib lie was a part of that effort.

The Jesuits are a vile and evil bunch. You can read more here:

http://www.omegashock.com/2014/08/05/the-pre-tribulation-rapture-lie-part-3-jesuit-origins/

Or, just go here:

http://www.omegashock.com/?s=Jesuits

Seriously, stay away from those Satanists. And yes, that is who they worship and follow.

Conclusion

Okay, I think that I’ve done enough criticism. The few possible errors that I might (or might not) have identified are trivial by comparison to the important work that Michael Snyder has done here.

I cannot emphasize enough the need for Pretribbers to read this book. For those of you who struggle with trying to understand which position is right… you need to read this book. If you have friends who are Pretribbers, and you want to be able to answer them… you need to read this book. If you want a good launching point written in a kind, gentle and loving way… you need to read this book.

If you want a wild-haired, hellfire and damnation view… you need to read my book:

http://www.ezekielsfire.com/

But, do you REALLY want to start with that?

Okay, yes, you DO need to read my book. But, I believe that you will also appreciate what Michael has done here.

Furthermore, buying Michael’s book will be helping to support the incredibly valuable ministry that Michael and Meranda Snyder are engaged in. They are doing a wonderful job, and I hope that you will give them whatever support you can.

So, when you buy The Rapture Verdict, use this link:

http://amzn.to/1MA3qVz

I believe that link will give Michael a bit extra income. At least, I think so.

(All the links to The Rapture Verdict on this page have that link.)

Again, I hope that you will reach out to Michael and tell him that I would love to talk to him.

May the Lord God bless all of you in truth and righteousness. May He light your path and keep you safe in the days ahead. And, when the Rapture comes, I look forward to seeing all of you at the throne of Christ.

(I’ll be the ridiculous, tall white-haired guy, waving his arms too much –
standing with the adorable Taiwanese woman.
)

 

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Read my book, Ezekiel’s Fire.

It’s free, and it may just save your life.

Here’s the website:

http://www.ezekielsfire.com/

Or, download the PDF:

http://www.omegashock.com/ef/ezekielsfire.pdf

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I truly hope that you’ll be ready for this
(That’s a link. Click it for a discussion on preparation.)

A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself: but the simple pass on, and are punished.Proverbs 22:3

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If you find a flaw in my reasoning, have a question, or wish to add your own viewpoint, leave a comment on the website. Your input is truly welcome.

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