ON BEING "RAPTURED" (A PROCESS)

02-23-20 This message may be viewed live streaming video at youtube.com and tabernacleofinoses.org today Sunday at 11 :00 am, and repeated 24/7 thereafter. The video, audio, and study notes are archived. God is Thought. The brightness of our revelations depends upon the correctness of our doctrines, our building blocks, our Godly Thoughts laid one upon another, ascending into the mind of Christ. (Amos 3:7) Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but [Heb: except] he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets [Heb: inspired men].

ENOCH WAS "RAPTURED"

(Gen 5:21-24) And Enoch [J] lived sixty and five years, and begat Methuselah: And Enoch walked with God after he begat Methuselah [for] three hundred [more] years, and begat sons and daughters:

And all the days of Enoch were three hundred sixty and five years: And Enoch walked with God: and [then] he was not; for God took [Heb: seized] him [i.e., raptured him] [2,3 ].

1.     Enoch= Heb: initiated/// to narrow; fig. to initiate or discipline: dedicate, train up.

2.      rapture = Diet: 1. the state of being carried away with i,Qy, love, etc.; ecstasy. 2. an expression of great joy, pleasure, etc. 3. a carrying away or being carried away in body in body or spirit - to enrapture; fill with ecstasy. {a revelation]

3.      (Heb 11:5) By faith [Gk: beliej] Enoch was translated [Gk: transferred, lit. transported] that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.

ELIJAH WAS "RAPTURED"

(2 Kings 2:1,2) And it came to pass, when the LORD would take up [to ascend: carry up, recover, restore] Eliiah [Heb: the Lord is my God] into heaven by a whirlwind {Heb: a hurricane], that Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal [Heb: rolling, wheel, revolution} [JJ. And Elijah said unto Elisha, [A TEST OF FAITH] Tarry here, I pray thee; for the LORD hath sent me to Bethel [Heb: house of God]. And Elisha said unto him, As the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. So they went down to Bethel [Heb: house of God]. [i.e., to go to church] [2,3]

1.      Commentary: Gil gal has the same Hebrew meaning as Galilee. Of the 32 parables of Jesus, 19 were spoken around or near the Sea of Galilee. The fish caught up by Godly fishermen from the Sea of Galilee are figuratively likened unto saved persons. Perhaps the town of Gilgal, being itself located near the Sea of Galilee, was an Old Testament type and shadow of the starting point of the process of our Christian education, i.e., our salvation.

2.       (1 Thes 4:16,17) For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up [Gk: seized: caught away] [like the fish] together [in a net] with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air [i.e., altogether fishing is a process]: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

3.       (Luke 5:8-10) When Simon [Heb: hearing] Peter [Gk: a (piece of) rock] saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying [a confession], Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, 0 Lord. For he was astonished, and all that were with him, at the draught [Gk: haul] of the fishes which they had taken [Gk: seized (captured): caught]: And so was also James, and John, the sons of Zebedee, which were partners with Simon. And Jesus said unto Simon [Heb: hearing], Fear not; from henceforth thou shalt catch men.

(2 Kings 2:3,4) And the sons of the prophets {a school of prophets in Bethel] that were at Bethel came forth to Elisha, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the LORD will take away thy master from thy head to day? And he said, Yea, I know it; hold ye your peace. And Elijah said unto him, Elisha, [ A TEST OF FAITH] tarry here, I pray thee; for the LORD hath sent me to Jericho. And he said, As the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. So they came to Jericho [Heb: fragrant Ill make of quick understanding] [i.e., the sweet fragrance of eternal salvation].

(2 Kings 2:5- 7) And the sons of the prophets [ another school of prophets in Jericho] that were at Jericho came to Elisha, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the LORD will take away thy master from thy head to day? And he answered, Yea, I know it; hold ye your peace. And Elijah said unto him, [ A TEST OF FAITH] Tarry, I pray thee, here; for the LORD hath sent me to Jordan [Heb: a descender]. And he said, As the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. And they two went on. And fifty men of the sons of the prophets went, and stood to view afar off: and they two stood by Jordan [Heb: a descender] [i.e., a type and shadow of the Holy Spirit].

(2 Kings 2:8) And Elijah took his mantle [Heb: garment, glory, robe Ill powerful, glorious] [i.e., his covering of God's glory], and wrapped it together [t'wrapped together" as the "napkin" set aside in the tomb of Jesus that had been "about his head" John 20:7], and smote the waters [like Moses and Aaron did the Red Sea], and they [the waters of the Holy Spirit] were divided hither and thither [rather like the arms of the Holy Spirit opening to embrace them], so that they two went over on dry ground [(safely) having previously been judged (declared) "innocent"].

(2 Kings 2:9,10) And it came to pass, when they were gone over, that Elijah said unto Elisha, Ask what I shall do for thee, before I be taken away from thee. And Elisha said, I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit [i.e., revelations] be upon me fl]. And he said, Thou hast asked a hard thing {2]: nevertheless, [THE FINAL TEST OF FAITH] if thou see me when I am taken from thee, it shall be so unto thee; but if [thou shalt] not [see me], it shall not be so.

1.      Dake's Annotated Reference Bible: "a double portion"= proving that there are different measures of the Holy Spirit and power which men have received.

2.      Dake's Annotated Reference Bible: "a hard thing"= The true idea here is a difficult thing for me [Elijah] to grant and it was. How could a man impart twice as much as he himself had? How could he give something that he did not have [own]? The answer is by faith and Jehovah honoring him in requesting a double portion for Elisha. It was so, for the record shows that Elijah experienced 16 miracles besides the translation and Elisha experienced 32 - double the number [ of Elijah].

(2 Kings 2:11-14) And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot [Heb: a vehicle] of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder [1]; and Eliih went up by a whirlwind into heaven. And Elisha saw it [ELISHA PASSED THE FINAL EXAM], and he cried, My father, my [spiritual] father, the chariot of Israel [i.e., that vehicle which will carry God's people into Heaven, i.e., the Bible], and the horsemen thereof [Heb: drivers (in a chariot), collectively calvary]. And he saw him no more: and he took hold of his own clothes, and rent them in two pieces. He took up also the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and went back, and stood by the bank of Jordan; And he took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and smote the waters, and said, Where is the LORD God of Eliiah [answer: the LORD God of Elijah, is here]? and when he also had smitten the waters, they parted hither and thither [proving the LORD God was there]: and Elisha went over.

1.      (Heb 4:12) For the word of God is quick [Gk: alive], and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit [ dividing asunder the natural mind from the spirital mind], and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

2.      (Mat 13:47-50) Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net [i.e., the Bible: Isa 28:9-13], that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind: Which, when it was full, they drew to shore, and sat down, and gathered the good into vessels [vehicles (chariots)], but cast the bad away. So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth [Rom 8:18], and sever the wicked from among the iust, And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.