The Day of the Lord according to Ezekiel 32 (Sequence of Events leading to the Rapture)
This is a short study on the book of Ezekiel, chapter 32.
Ezekiel 32:2 "Son of man, take up a lamentation for Pharaoh king of Egypt, and say unto him, Thou art like a young lion of the nations, and thou art as a whale in the seas: and thou camest forth with thy rivers, and troubledst the waters with thy feet, and fouledst their rivers."
Who was this "young lion of the nations" that Ezekiel was referring to? It was Pharoah king of Egypt, but to a spiritually-discerning eye: he was a man, yet God compared him to a beast. That is a clue.
Psalms 91:13 "Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet."
The young lion and the dragon is placed together in this verse. We know that the dragon is a reference to Satan, and we also know that Satan will give the beast "his power, and his seat, and great authority" (Revelation 13:2).
Judges 14:5 "¶ Then went Samson down, and his father and his mother, to Timnath, and came to the vineyards of Timnath: and, behold, a young lion roared against him."
Who was this young lion that roared against Samson, who was a prefigure of Jesus Christ, also known as the "lion of the tribe of Juda" (Revelation 5:5)?
Revelation 13:6 "And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven."
It is the other lion, no doubt, the "man of sin" (2 Thessalonians 2:3), otherwise also known as "the beast", and popularly referred to as the Antichrist - the adversary of Jesus Christ.
Ezekiel 32:3 "Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will therefore spread out my net over thee with a company of many people; and they shall bring thee up in my net."
God says in this verse that he will lay a snare for the beast (Antichrist) and a company of many people with him, to snare them together in a single shot. Going in the same sequence is:
Revelation 19:19 "And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army."
This is the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies gathered together to make war against the KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS (Jesus Christ), but the following verses tells us:
Revelation 19:20-21 "And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. 21 And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh."
This goes along with the words of Ezekiel in:
Ezekiel 32:4 "Then will I leave thee upon the land, I will cast thee forth upon the open field, and will cause all the fowls of the heaven to remain upon thee, and I will fill the beasts of the whole earth with thee."
Recall in verse 2 where God compares the beast, the kings of the earth, and their armies to a whale, and in this verse, God says he will leave this whale upon the open field. Outside of water, the whale is totally helpless, and God will cause all the fowls of the heaven and the beasts of the whole earth to feast upon this whale.
Ezekiel 32:5-6 "And I will lay thy flesh upon the mountains, and fill the valleys with thy height. 6 I will also water with thy blood the land wherein thou swimmest, even to the mountains; and the rivers shall be full of thee."
There will be a great massacre and God will lay the flesh of the whale (man of sin and his company of many people) upon the mountains and in the valleys. This, in the words of Isaiah, is a feast that the LORD of hosts will make unto all people:
Isaiah 25:6-7 "¶ And in this mountain shall the LORD of hosts make unto all people a feast of fat things, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of wines on the lees well refined. 7 And he will destroy in this mountain the face of the covering cast over all people, and the vail that is spread over all nations."
Prophet Ezekiel continues:
Ezekiel 32:7-8 "And when I shall put thee out, I will cover the heaven, and make the stars thereof dark; I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon shall not give her light. 8 All the bright lights of heaven will I make dark over thee, and set darkness upon thy land, saith the Lord GOD."
After the great massacre of the beast, the kings of the earth, and their armies will God cover the heaven and make the stars dark. He will cover the sun, and the moon, and all the bright lights of heaven so that there will be complete darkness. This references to:
Isaiah 13:9-10 "Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it. 10 For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine."
It is the day of the LORD, and it is signify by complete darkness. Paul also confirms it in this passage:
1 Thessalonians 5:2-3 "For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. 3 For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape."
The day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in complete darkness. There will be no escape for the world of sinners, who at this point, would have taken the mark of the beast. Peter confirms with Paul and the prophets:
2 Peter 3:10 "But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up."
The dead in Christ has not risen and the rapture has yet to happen. The day of the Lord is come and his wrath must be past before the dead in Christ may be risen out of their sleep and God's elects who are alive and remain may be raptured.
Isaiah 13:11 "And I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible."
In the day of the Lord, God will punish the world for their evil and the wicked for their iniquity. In the words of Ezekiel:
Ezekiel 32:9 "I will also vex the hearts of many people, when I shall bring thy destruction among the nations, into the countries which thou hast not known."
There will be no escape for the wicked and all the nations that forget God. Prophet Isaiah goes long with these words:
Isaiah 13:12-13 "I will make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir. 13 Therefore I will shake the heavens, and the earth shall remove out of her place, in the wrath of the LORD of hosts, and in the day of his fierce anger."
God will shake the heavens and move the earth. There shall be great earthquakes in the day of God's fierce anger. This goes along with Luke's narration of the day of the Lord:
Luke 21:25-26 "¶ And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; 26 Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken."
Luke continues in:
Luke 21:27-28 "And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. 28 And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh."
After these things shall appear the Son of man in a cloud, coming with power and great glory. The word redemption is a reference to the resurrection of the dead and the rapture. When these things begin to come to pass, this is when we know that the resurrection of the dead in Christ and the rapture draweth nigh.
Matthew 24:26-27 "Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not. 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."
The coming of the Lord will be a very glorious event. Every eye shall see him when he comes. In the account of Revelation by Apostle John, he said:
Revelation 1:7 "Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen."
In the account of Jesus by Matthew:
Matthew 24:30-31 "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."
In the same account by Mark:
Mark 13:26-27 "And then shall they see the Son of man coming in the clouds with great power and glory. 27 And then shall he send his angels, and shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost part of heaven."
There will be no secret rapture. The coming of the Lord will be a very glorious event, and when he comes, all the tribes of the earth shall mourn, even the Jews who pierced him. It is then, that the Lord shall send his angels and with a great sound of the trumpet, the dead in Christ shall rise first.
1 Thessalonians 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: 17 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."
After the dead in Christ has risen, then only the living in Christ shall be caught up with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. That would be the rapture.
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