The Little Children

I was reading 1 John (KJV) and noticed that the author addresses multiple audiences:

• My little children (my dear children in the NIV)
• Brethren and my brethren (dear friends in the NIV)
• Fathers, young men, and children (The IVP Bible Background says this represents different stages of faith; fathers held positions of honor and authority; young men had strength and vigor, but were still vulnerable to temptation; children were still learning)
• Beloved (Rabbi Meir says beloved is Israel) 

I created a table so I could look at the passages side-by-side and noticed that the Greek word for little children was different in just one verse.

1 John 2:1	Tekníon
1 John 2:12	Tekníon
1 John 2:18	Paidíon
1 John 2:28	Tekníon
1 John 3:7	Tekníon
1 John 3:18	Tekníon
1 John 4:4	Tekníon
1 John 5:21	Tekníon

1 John 2:18: Little children, it is the last time; and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come even now are there many antichrists whereby we know that it is the last time. (KJV)

I looked up the Greek words using the Complete Word Study Bible:

• Tekníon: Child, a little child.  Used only figuratively and always in the plural.  A term of affection by a teacher to his disciples

• Paidíon: Child, a little child, either male or female. A child recently born, a baby, an infant.  Metaphorically in 1 Cor 14:20, “be not children in understanding,” meaning weak, ignorant, childish.  As an endearing appellation for the followers in Christ

In Matthew 18:3, Jesus says: Verily I say unto you Except ye be converted and become as little children [paidíon] ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven (KJV, notation added)

The late pastor John White preached that it is the little children [paidíon] who are entering the kingdom. They are submissive to the Lord.  He also refers to little children as "a body of believers taken out of the body” who will be great in the kingdom.  

Little children are also the sons and the brethren or brothers of Christ, who are those who are seeking to enter the kingdom by doing the will of the Father (Matthew 5:20, Matthew 7:21; 18:3; 19:23-24, Mark 9:47; 10:23-25; Luke 18:24-25; John 3:5; Acts 14:22). 

Scripture tells us that some will only see the kingdom and not everyone will enter the kingdom:

John 3:3: Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

Matthew 7:21: Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.

If we are striving to be little children and enter the kingdom, how do we know what the will of the Father is? White says we discover it by studying the Bible.

Pretribulation Rapture: Fact or Fiction?

I watched a video this week where two pastors passionately argued that a pretribulation rapture is a work of fiction.  Their mission is to warn that believers will go through the tribulation.

When you do not understand the coming millennial kingdom and the events surrounding the judgment seat of Christ, it is easy to confuse parts of Scripture.  I believe this is what happened to these pastors.

They cited 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17, which does describe the rapture (emphasis is mine):

¹⁶ For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. ¹⁷ After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.

Then they cited Matthew 24:29-31 as evidence of why there will not be a pretribulation rapture (emphasis is mine):

²⁹ Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: ³⁰ And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. ³¹ And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

But Jesus is not talking about the rapture here.  The pastors stressed the importance of comparing Scripture with Scripture, but they fell short.  They based their assumption on the mention of a trumpet in both 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 and Matthew 24:31.  Look at a previous verse, Matthew 24:27:

For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

I believe this verse does refer to the rapture.  Believers will meet Jesus in the clouds in the air — which happens in an instant, like lightening — but no one on earth will see Him.  Immediately after the rapture, the seven-year tribulation begins.  Then after the tribulation everyone will see Christ Jesus when He visibly returns to earth.  This is the post-rapture and post-trib event that Jesus is describing in Matthew 24:29-31.  

We see a similar reference to Christ Jesus’ visible second coming to earth in Revelation 1:7 (emphasis mine):

“Look, he is coming with the clouds,” and “every eye will see him,
even those who pierced him”;
 and all peoples on earth “will mourn because of him.”
So shall it be! Amen.

The pastors also argued that Matthew 24:37-41 describes the rapture:

³⁷As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. ³⁸For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; ³⁹and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. ⁴⁰Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. ⁴¹Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.  (Matthew 24:37-41, emphasis mine)

I admit that these verses stumped me.  When you compare Scripture with Scripture, during the days of Noah God “took away” all the evil people in the flood.  This includes the nephillim, the giant offspring of fallen angels who mated with daughters of men (Genesis 6:4) to try and pollute the human gene pool and prevent the birth of Jesus.  While Matthew 24:37-41 sounds like the rapture, it would be contradictory.

I prayed for God’s wisdom, set my studying aside, and went to listen to John Herbert, a kingdom truth preacher I like.  Wouldn’t you know it he was talking that about that very passage!  Herbert says the parable is describing all believers at the judgment seat of Christ; that the Greek word for “taken” describes being an intimate associate or a joining to one’s self. 

Comparing Scripture with Scripture, Jesus tells us in Matthew 13:38 that the field is the world.  Grinding the mill also relates to the threshing floor, where the wheat will be separated from the chaff.  In the Matthew 24:40-41 parable, Herbert says Jesus is talking about believers and their works done while in the body that will either withstand the test of fire or be burned up at the judgment seat of Christ.  

Herbert also says the ones who are left behind in Matthew 24:40-41 are believers whose works do not withstand the test of fire.  They will be outside the millennial kingdom (in the outer darkness) for a period of 1,000 years.

An alternate theory is that Jesus is referring to the remnant of believers who will be saved during the tribulation period.  The ones who are taken are those who are unsaved and will suffer God’s wrath and judgment.  But I need to do more study on this before I make a conclusion. 

Either way, I am convinced that these verses — and all of the types — in Scripture do not support a post-tribulation rapture.

What’s in a Name?

When I read genealogies in Scripture, I often have to remind myself that every word of Scripture is there for a reason.  So I thought it would be interesting to see what genealogies may tell us. 

I started with the genealogy in Genesis 5:1-31, which describes the line descending from Adam to Noah.  I consulted two sources for my exercise: the NET Bible and Hitchcock’s Bible Names Dictionary. 

I was surprised to learn that some of the names listed in the King James Version have different spellings in the New International Version (the alternates are in parentheses). 

Adam: Earthy, red, the first man

Seth (Sheth): Put, who puts, fixed, compensation

Enos (Enosh): Man, mortal man, sick, despaired of, forgetful

Cainan (Kenan): Possessor, possession, purchaser, buyer, owner

Mahalaleel (Mahalalel): Praise of God, praising God

Jared (Jered): descent, a ruling, commanding, coming down

Enoch: Dedicated, disciplined

Methuselah (Mathusala): He has sent his death, man of the dart

Lamech: Poor, made low, powerful

Noah: Repose, consolation, rest

Chuck Missler has written that this Genesis genealogy describes the first advent of Jesus Christ.  The references he used are different from mine, but I think we do get this picture.

 

I then chose the genealogy from Matthew 1:1-20, since it marks the beginning of the New Testament. Once again, I found it interesting that many of the names of the ancestors of Jesus also tell us about some the attributes of our Lord. 

But when you break the list up into separate blocks as I’ve done below, you might argue that it results in several “mini-stories,” that allude to the first or second advents of Christ Jesus.

Abraham: Father of a great multitude

Isaac: Laughter

Jacob: Heel-catcher or supplanter

Judas (Judah): The praise of the Lord, confession

Phares (Perez): A breach

Zara (Zerah): A rising as the sun

Esrom (Hezron): Enclosed, dart of joy, division of son

Aram (Ram): Elevated, high

Aminadab (Amminadab): One of the prince’s people, my people is liberal

Naashon (Nahshon): Enchanter; that foretells, conjectures

Salmon: A raiment; a garment, peaceful, he who rewards

Booz (Boaz): In him is strength

Obed: Serving, a servant; a workman

Jesse: A gift, oblation, wealth

David: Well beloved, dear

Solomon: Peaceful, perfect, one who recompenses

Roboam (Rehoboam): Enlarger of the people, who sets people at liberty

Abia (Abijah): The Lord is my father

Asa: Physician, cure

Josaphat (Jehoshaphat): Whom Jehovah judges, the Lord is judge

Joram (Jehoram): Whom Jehovah has exalted, exaltation of the Lord

Ozias (Uzziah): Strength of Jehovah, strength of the Lord

Jotham (Joatham): Jehovah is upright, perfection of the Lord

Achaz (Ahaz): Possessor, one that takes or possesses

Ezekais (Hezekiah): Might of Jehovah, strength of the Lord

Manasseh (Manasses): Forgetting, he that is forgotten

Amon: Faithful, true, builder

Josiah (Josias): Whom Jehovah heals, the Lord burns, the fire of the Lord

Jechoniah (Jechonias, Jehoiachin): Whom Jehovah establishes, preparation or strength of the Lord

Shealtiel (Salathiel): I have asked of God, or lent of God

Zerubbabel (Zorobabel): Born at Babel, a stranger at Babylon, dispersion of confusion

Abiud (Abihud): My father is majesty, father of praise

Eliakim: Raising up by God, resurrection of God

Azor: Helper, a court

Zadok (Sadoc): Just, righteous

Achim: The Lord will establish, preparing, revenging, confirming

Eliud: God is my praise

Eleazar: Help of God, court of God

Matthan (Mattan): Gift

Jacob: Heel-catcher or supplanter

Joseph: Let him add, increase, addition

Jesus: Jehovah is salvation, savior, deliverer

Do Not Be Deceived!

For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. (Genesis 3:5)

Satan’s first lie continues in many different forms to this very day.  If you have the time watch "The Age of Deceit," an excellent video that provides a comprehensive overview of the many ways that Satan has attempted — and continues to attempt — to deceive man and disqualify him from ruling and reigning with Christ Jesus in the Millennial Kingdom.   

If you are already familiar with these concepts it will be a review for you.  You may want to recommend the video to others in your community, particularly those who are being deceived by New Age doctrines.  But be prepared to be dismissed as a “fringe” believer.

When these truths were first presented to me, I was quite skeptical.  Despite being a church-going believer, I knew nothing about prophecy.  So I made it a priority to study Scripture and learn.  If you are new to prophecy, I urge you to do the same.  I pray that God will give you eyes to see and ears to hear.

After watching this video, I felt led to go to the Book of Jude.  It is such a small book, yet so rich with prophetic warnings:

Jesus will be denied as God, even within our own churches, as the tares (deceivers) have slipped in amongst the wheat.  Some of these tares are openly preaching that man can be as gods, just as Satan promised Eve.

For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ. (Jude 4)

Those who remain steadfast in Christ Jesus and the Bible will be mocked and scorned:

But, beloved, remember ye the words which were spoken before of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ; How that they told you there should be mockers in the last time, who should walk after their own ungodly lusts. (Jude 17-18)

Jude 6 also speaks to the fallen angels who cohabitated with women in an attempt to corrupt the seed that would produce the Messiah (Genesis 6:4), which prompted God to cause the great flood:

And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.

The video will show you how this is happening once again, just as Jesus prophesied in Matthew 24:37:

But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

There is so much more, which is why the video is 2½ hours long.  As you watch, I hope you find strong comfort in the knowledge that everything that is happening has been foretold in Scripture.  While these events are incredibly evil, their emergence means that the Lord will be coming for us very soon.