The first time the rapture is mentioned in the Bible

Ezekiel 13---The first mention of the rapture
The main focus of this exegesis is Ezekiel 13:20 Wherefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against your pillows, wherewith ye there hunt the souls to make them fly, and I will tear them from your arms, and will let the souls go, even the souls that ye hunt
to make them fly.

Many false teachers are claiming the first time the rapture is mentioned was in the second century and fail to rightly divide the meaning of this verse above. The scriptures do not directly mention the pre tribulation rapture anywhere except in Ezekiel who teaches against it. False teaching is false teaching and it doesn’t matter when it started. Ezekiel mentions “flying away” which is a direct reference to the pre tribulation rapture long before the second century. YHVH says he is against it!

There is only one time in history where Christians are taught to fly away and that is the end times. The words “flying away” are a direct reference to the rapture. It’s one of the greatest heresies in all of Christian history. They actually teach the flesh body will come out of the grave and reunite with the spirit body at the rapture. This is a form of reincarnation which is totally contrary to God’s Word. It is appointed unto man once to die and after that the judgment.

Does the flesh body get harpazo? or Caught Up?—Or Does the Spirit body get harpazo?
“Caught Up” G 726 (har-pad'-zo) to seize, catch up, snatch away obtain by robbery. catch, seize, take by force.
2 Corinthians 5:8 and Ecclesiastes 12:6 and 7 are perfect explanations of the harpazo which is the separation of the body and the spirit. The spirit is harpazo away from the flesh body and separated. Not the flesh body harpazo away from the earth and separated from it.
The flesh body is not caught up in rapture from the earth.
The flesh body remains and it is the spirit that is caught up.
The two verses below explain it perfectly.
2 Corinthians 5:8 We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord. (It doesn’t say you go lay in a hole in the ground after death)
Ecclesiastes 12:6 Or ever the silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken, or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern.
7 Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it. (The dust is symbolic for flesh-carnal man-kind)

Your flesh body goes back to dirt (dust) and your spirit goes back to God. The great Harpazo… explained on an individual basis and also collectively at the second coming.

Let’s look at the rapture apologists go 2 scripture for the rapture doctrine;

1 Thessalonians 4:17 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.
To render this verse into modern English would be as follows;
Then we that are still alive and remain on the earth at the time of the second coming shall all die and then be reunited with those who have died in the past to meet the LORD in our new celestial spirit bodies and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Zachariah 14 describes this moment.

Here is how fast this change of bodies will be; 1 Corinthians 15:51 Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, (Limbo) but we shall all be changed, (to spiritual body)
52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: (7th) for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. (The change is instantaneous)
53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.
The Celestial body is incorruptible and the terrestrial is corruptible
40 There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another.
Starting in verse one of Ezekiel 13.
Ezekiel 13:1 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
2 Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel that prophesy, and say thou unto them that prophesy out of their own hearts, Hear ye the word of the LORD;

False teachers will never touch this chapter. They claim this chapter is only written to the Jews. The problem is, those same false teachers don’t know the difference between the House of Judah and the House of Israel and claim all the 12 tribes are Jews.

The problem with this faulty logic is that the Jews don’t teach the fly away doctrine called the rapture and a majority of Jews don’t believe in Jesus. The Bible doesn’t contradict itself. The only way these false teachers can deny this chapter is to deny who it is written to.
The body of Christ is often referred to as the Bride of Christ in the feminine sense. This chapter is written to the House of Israel but also to the grafted seed as well.

The House of Israel and the House of Judah are two separate houses at this time. They will be joined back together as Ezekiel 37 tells us but they are not to be confused. The book of Ezekiel is written primarily to the House of Israel that have been scattered all over the world. They are the lost sheep of the House of Israel. Chapter 13 is written to the false teachers-profits of the House of Israel in the end times. They claim that all of the House of Israel are Jews and forget about the other 11 tribes that this book is written to. By denying who the book is written to, they can deny the message written within. There is no other time in history when the fly away rapture doctrine has been taught but the present. So take heed false teachers of today, your day is coming fast. Ezekiel said it.
Ezekiel continues;
3 Thus saith the Lord GOD; Woe unto the foolish prophets, that follow their own spirit, and have seen nothing!
4 O Israel, thy prophets are like the foxes in the deserts.
(A reference to the Song of Solomon)
Song of Solomon 2:15 Take us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vines: for our vines have tender grapes. (They knock the flowers off before they become fruit. Christ is the vine.

5) Ye have not gone up into the gaps, neither made up the hedge for the house of Israel to stand in the battle in the day of the LORD.

Verse 5 gives us a timeline that is set in stone before the “DAY of the LORD” focusing on the end times. Mainstream leadership in Christianity has failed its parishioners by not standing in the gap for them and teaching them how to stand and fight the antichrist before the great Day of the Lord comes. Instead they’re teaching them to fly away in rapture and escape the great tribulation that will come upon “the entire World” as Revelation 3:10 explains.
Ezekiel continues;
6 They have seen vanity and lying divination, saying, The LORD saith: and the LORD hath not sent them: and they have made others to hope that they would confirm the word.

They teach a false hope of rapture and also teach others this same false doctrine.

7 Have ye not seen a vain vision, and have ye not spoken a lying divination, whereas ye say, The LORD saith it; albeit I have not spoken?
8 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because ye have spoken vanity, and seen lies, therefore, behold, I am against you, saith the Lord GOD.
9 And mine hand shall be upon the prophets that see vanity, and that divine lies: they shall not be in the assembly of my people, neither shall they be written in the writing of the house of Israel, neither shall they enter into the land of Israel; and ye shall know that I am the Lord GOD.
10 Because, even because they have seduced my people, saying, Peace; and there was no peace; and one built up a wall, and, lo, others daubed it with untempered morter:

Woe unto those who are with child and give suck in those days…to false doctrine.
-Untempered mortar is symbolic for false doctrine. Those who help to spread it are just as guilty. All of this false and misleading doctrine will be exposed with the truth and washed away when Christians realize they have been lied to by the modern day false teachers.

11 Say unto them which daub it with untempered morter, that it shall fall: there shall be an overflowing shower; and ye, O great hailstones, shall fall; and a stormy wind shall rend it.
12 Lo, when the wall is fallen, shall it not be said unto you, Where is the daubing wherewith ye have daubed it?

I can hear all of the excuses now…

13 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; I will even rend it with a stormy wind in my fury; and there shall be an overflowing shower in mine anger, and great hailstones in my fury to consume it.
14 So will I break down the wall that ye have daubed with untempered morter, and bring it down to the ground, so that the foundation thereof shall be discovered, and it shall fall, and ye shall be consumed in the midst thereof: and ye shall know that I am the LORD.
15 Thus will I accomplish my wrath upon the wall, and upon them that have daubed it with untempered morter, and will say unto you, The wall is no more, neither they that daubed it;

Your spreading lies will end and the foundation of them will be discovered.

Ezekiel 13:16 To wit, the prophets of Israel which prophesy concerning Jerusalem, and which see visions of peace for her, and there is no peace, saith the Lord GOD.
17 Likewise, thou son of man, set thy face against the daughters of thy people, which prophesy out of their own heart; and prophesy thou against them, (The Hebrew word for daughter will surprise you)

The word “daughter” must be looked at closer below; As found in Ezekiel 13:17
“Daughter” H # 1121 ben: son Original Word: בֵּן Part of Speech: Noun Masculine Transliteration: ben
Phonetic Spelling: (bane)Definition: son afflicted, age, anointed one, appointed to, arrow
From banah; a son (as a builder of the family name), in the widest sense (of literal and figurative relationship, including grandson, subject, nation, quality or condition, etc., (like 'ab, 'ach, etc.)) -- + afflicted, age, (Ahoh-) (Ammon-) (Hachmon-) (Lev-)ite, (anoint-)ed one, appointed to, (+) arrow, (Assyr-) (Babylon-) (Egypt-) (Grec-)ian, one born, bough, branch, breed, + (young) bullock, + (young) calf, X came up in, child, colt, X common, X corn, daughter, X of first, + firstborn, foal, + very fruitful, + postage, X in, + kid, + lamb, (+) man, meet, + mighty, + nephew, old, (+) people, + rebel, + robber, X servant born, X soldier, son, + spark, + steward, + stranger, X surely, them of, + tumultuous one, + valiant(-est), whelp, worthy, young (one), youth. see HEBREW banah see HEBREW 'ab see HEBREW 'ach

After looking at the Hebrew word for “Daughters” above I would use the word “builders” as in Builders of Israel instead of “daughters of Israel”.
Ezekiel 13:18 And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Woe to the women that sew pillows (Pillow Cases) to all armholes, and make kerchiefs upon the head of every stature to hunt souls! Will ye hunt the souls of my people, and will ye save the souls alive that come unto you?
A closer look at the word “Women” below;
Hebrew # 802 “Women” ishshah: woman, wife, female Original Word: אִשָּׁה Part of Speech: Noun Feminine Transliteration: ishshah Phonetic Spelling: (ish-shaw') Definition: woman, wife, female
adulteress, each, every, female, many, none, one, together, Feminine of 'iysh or 'enowsh; irregular plural, nashiym {naw-sheem'}; a woman (used in the same wide sense as 'enowsh) -- (adulter)ess, each, every, female, X many, + none, one, + together, wife, woman. Often unexpressed in English.
see HEBREW 'iysh see HEBREW 'enowsh see HEBREW 'enowsh

“Pillows” Hebrew # 3704 keseth: a band, fillet Original Word: כֶּסֶת
Part of Speech: Noun Feminine Transliteration: keseth Phonetic Spelling: (keh'-seth)
Definition: a band, fillet pillow From kacah; a cushion or pillow (as covering a seat or bed) -- pillow. see HEBREW kacah
H # 3680 kasah: to cover Original Word: כָּסָה Part of Speech: Verb Transliteration: kasah
Phonetic Spelling: (kaw-saw') Definition: to cover clad self, close, conceal, cover self, flee to hide, overwhelm A primitive root; properly, to plump, i.e. Fill up hollows; by implication, to cover (for clothing or secrecy) -- clad self, close, clothe, conceal, cover (self), (flee to) hide, overwhelm. Compare kasah. see HEBREW kasah
“Kerchief” H # 4555 mispachah: a long veil Original Word: מִסְפָחָה Part of Speech: Noun Feminine Transliteration: mispachah Phonetic Spelling: (mis-paw-khaw') Definition: a long veil kerchief From caphach; a veil (as spread out) -- kerchief. see HEBREW caphach

There is a hint of adultery in the Hebrew meaning the way it is used here. This is also mentioning the Bride of Christ. They are not immune to laziness and being deceived by false teachers. This prophesy does not exclude men. Go back to the beginning where the subject is laid out. “Son of man; speak to the “prophets of Israel” to paraphrase. This is also one of the few places where women are singled out for teaching false doctrine. This entire chapter is speaking to men and women who are false teachers and make no mistake about it. Adultery is carnal but idolatry is spiritual and they are closely related and not exclusive to men or women.

Regarding the controversial words “Women” and “Daughters”
It didn’t say; speak only to the “daughters” or that “women” would be the only ones sewing pillows over Gods outstretched saving hands. The deeper meaning is; the false prophets of today (male and female Bride of Christ) cover the truth of scripture with their own lies and divination's and they prevent the truth from getting to the children of God who desperately need it …

Ezekiel continues in chapter 13;
19 And will ye pollute me among my people for handfuls of barley and for pieces of bread, to slay the souls that should not die, and to save the souls alive that should not live, by your lying to my people that hear your lies?
20 Wherefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against your pillows, wherewith ye there hunt the souls to make them fly, and I will tear them from your arms, and will let the souls go, even the souls that ye hunt to make them fly.

(What happens when you sew a pillow or a pillow case around GOD’S hands? You prevent Gods saving truth from getting to those who are starving for it)

21 Your kerchiefs also will I tear, and deliver my people out of your hand, and they shall be no more in your hand to be hunted; and ye shall know that I am the LORD.

In the end, all of the false teachers of this age will be exposed by God Himself.

22 Because with lies ye have made the heart of the righteous sad, whom I have not made sad; and strengthened the hands of the wicked, that he should not return from his wicked way, by promising him life:
23 Therefore ye shall see no more vanity, nor divine divination's: for I will deliver my people out of your hand: and ye shall know that I am the LORD.

Un-tempered Mortar is like concrete without cement. False doctrine is like a bunch of words put together without any meaning. Your pastor probably has one of those new fangled translations that have birds flying and magic charms dangling in it and they don’t even know the difference. All of the new translations have completely changed Ezekiel 13 and because of that they are trash. They completely hide the true meaning of this chapter therefore fulfilling the prophesy that God gave to Ezekiel and violating Revelation 22:18.

Isn’t it ironic that on the cover of the book “Left Behind” there are people flying in the sky like birds? How many times have you seen these ridiculous pictures with people gone and their clothes lying on the ground? No matter how you look at it rapture believers are saying that the body just flew away in a rapture. Isn’t it also Ironic that God chose the word “FLY” to describe what He was against in Ezekiel 13? There have been many songs written about this subject with the main one called “I’ll Fly Away”.

There is no time to fly, in the twinkle of an eye.

Clouds” G 3509 nephos a dense crowd, a multitude, great company.
To me this is speaking of a great multitude of spiritual beings gathering back together at the second coming.
“Air” G 5590 “psuché” breath, the soul (a) the vital breath, breath of life, (b) the human soul,
This is the body you will be in---in the moment of a twinkle of an eye you are changed to your breath of life body at the second coming. This also applies to everyone who has died in the past.
Now again, the rapture believers turn this into a circus. They interpret this as; your flesh body flying around in the air and the clouds meeting Christ at the rapture.
“Air” G109 aér air, the lower air we breathe. From aemi (to breathe unconsciously, i.e. Respire; by analogy, to blow); "air" (as naturally circumambient)

Rapture teachers claim the Harpazo is the flesh being snatched away but in reality it is the spirit being snatched away leaving the body behind.

The Greek and English meaning for the word Rapture

“Rapture” G # 1611 ekstasis: a displacement (of the mind), i.e. bewilderment, ecstasy Original Word: ἔκστασις, εως, ἡ Part of Speech: Noun, Feminine Transliteration: ekstasis Phonetic Spelling: (ek'-stas-is) Definition: a displacement (of the mind), bewilderment, ecstasy Usage: (properly: distraction or disturbance of mind caused by shock), bewilderment, amazement; a trance.

G # 1839 existémi: to displace, to stand aside from Original Word: ἐξίστημι Part of Speech: Verb Transliteration: existémi Phonetic Spelling: (ex-is'-tay-mee) Definition: to displace, to stand aside from Usage: (lit: I remove from a standing position), (a) in trans. tenses: I astonish, amaze, (b) in intrans. tenses: I am astonished, amazed; insane… I am out of my mind, am mad.

What is even more troubling is they associate the word rapture with the words “caught up” and the Greek word Harpazo. Intense joy or euphoria has nothing to do with being caught up and dying. They have high jacked the words caught up and Harpazo and turned them into a circus side show.
“Caught up” and “rapture” should never be associated with each other when rightly dividing scripture. It breaks all the rules of hermeneutics and turns God’s word into a Hollywood d rated movie. It is just so fundamentally wrong on so many levels but yet most of the Christian church believes in this fairy tale.

The expression “Coming” Strong'’s Greek # 3952 parousia: a presence, a coming Original Word: παρουσία, ας, ἡ: parousia Phonetic Spelling: (par-oo-see'-ah) Short Definition: presence, a coming, arrival, advent Definition: (a) presence, (b) a coming, an arrival, advent, especially of the second coming of Christ. (parousía) is a "technical term with reference to the visit of a king or some other official, 'a royal visit' " (Souter) – "hence, in the NT, specifically of the Advent or Parousia of Christ"

Matthew 24:30 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.
As you can see the words appearing and coming are used in the same verse to describe the second coming; If you come to somebody you will automatically appear to them.

The expression “Appearing” Strong's Greek # 3700 appear, look, see optanomai: to appear Word: ὀπτάνομαι Transliteration: optanomai Phonetic Spelling: (op-tan'-om-ahee) I appear, am seen (by), let myself be seen (by).A (middle voice) prolonged form of the primary (middle voice) optomai (op'-tom-ahee); which is used for it in certain tenses; and both as alternate of horao; to gaze (i.e. With wide-open eyes, as at something remarkable; and thus differing from blepo, which denotes simply voluntary observation; and from eido, which expresses merely mechanical, passive or casual vision; while theaomai, and still more emphatically its intensive theoreo, signifies an earnest but more continued inspection; and skopeo a watching from a distance) -- appear, look, see, shew self.

G # 2015 epiphaneia: appearance Original Word: ἐπιφάνεια, ας, ἡ Part of Speech: Noun, Feminine Transliteration: epiphaneia Phonetic Spelling: (ep-if-an'-i-ah) Definition: appearance Usage: appearing, manifestation, glorious display. appearance, brightness. From epiphanes; a manifestation, i.e. (specially) the advent of Christ (past or future) -- appearing, brightness. see GREEK epiphanes
This applies to the past present and future and not just the second coming

G # 2016 epiphanés: notable Original Word: ἐπιφανής, ές Part of Speech: AdjectiveTransliteration: epiphanies Phonetic Spelling: (ep-if-an-ace') Definition: notable Usage: manifest, glorious, illustrious.
G # 142 speaks of the spirit and not the flesh.
G # 142 airó: to raise, take up, lift Original Word: αἴρωPart of Speech: Verb: airó Phonetic Spelling: (ah'-ee-ro) Definition: to raise, take up, lift Usage: I raise, lift up, take away, remove. to take up, take away A primary root; to lift up; by implication, to take up or away; figuratively, to raise (the voice), keep in suspense (the mind), specially, to sail away (i.e. Weigh anchor); by Hebraism (compare nasa') to expiate sin -- away with, bear (up), carry, lift up, loose, make to doubt, put away, remove, take (away, up).see HEBREW nasa'

English rapture definition

[ˈrapCHər] NOUN a feeling of intense pleasure or joy.
"Leonora listened with rapture" synonyms: ecstasy • bliss • euphoria • elation • exaltation • joy • joyfulness • joyousness • cloud nine • seventh heaven • transport • rhapsody • enchantment • delight • exhilaration • happiness • pleasure • ravishment • the top of the world • delectation NORTH AMERICAN (the Rapture) (according to some millenarian teaching) the transporting of believers to heaven at the Second Coming of Christ.
"thousands of Christians gathered outside Rochester and other cities, awaiting the Rapture"

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