None of the passages that follow say what you think they mean. They mean exactly what they say.
Every resurrection which takes place prior to the one at the end of the thousand years belong to the first resurrection. What trips people up is the word "first" which they interpret as meaning 'only.' Below are the phases of the first resurrection:
* Jesus the first fruits
* The church at His appearing - (John 14:1-3, 1 Thess.4:13-17)
* The Male Child/144,000 (changed and caught up) in the middle of the tribulation (Rev.12:5)
* The two witnesses - (Rev.11:11-12)
* The Great Tribulation Saints - (Rev.20:4-6)
Yes, the Male is indeed caught up in the middle of the tribulation period! Do you know how I know that, because the scripture reveals it. Here's why -
In Daniel 9:27 it states that the ruler/antichrist will make a covenant with many for that one seven year period. Then it states that in the middle of the seven years, he will cause the sacrifices and offerings that will have been going on to cease. And will set up that abomination that will cause the desolation, which is when Israel flees into the wilderness/desert. Therefore, the seven period is divide up into two 3 1/2 year periods with the setting up of the abomination marking the middle.
At the sounding of the 7th trumpet, Satan and his angels are cast out of heaven and restricted to the earth, at which time the Male child is caught up to God's throne before the dragon/Satan can kill him. When the dragon/Satan sees that he has been cast to the earth, he goes after the woman/Israel who will have given birth to the Male Child. Then it says that the woman flees out into the wilderness where she is cared for by God during the 1260 days which is that last 3 1/2 years of that seven year period in 30 day monthly increments. That tells us that the Male Child is caught up to God's throne in the middle of the seven years and is also when Satan and his angels are cast out of heaven and are restricted to the earth and is the same time when the dragon/Satan pursues the woman/Israel. It's just simple math.
|<-------------------------------------------Abomination set up---------------------------------------|
|<-----------------3 1/2 Years------------------------|------------------------3 1/2 Years--------------|
|<------------------------------------------ Male Child Caught up-------------------------------------|
|<-----------------------------------------Satan Cast to the earth-------------------------------------|
|<------------------------------------Satan Pursues the Woman Israel------------------------------|
|<----------------------------------Woman cared for by God 1260 Days----------------------------|
"And the woman fled into the wilderness, where God had prepared a place for her to be nourished for 1,260 days"
"And when the dragon saw that he had been thrown to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child. But the woman was given two wings of a great eagle to fly from the presence of the serpent to her place in the wilderness, where she was nourished for a
time, and times, and half a time.
Time = 1 years, Times = 2 years, half a time = half a year = 3 1/2 years
John 14:1-3 was Jesus BEFORE His own resurrection guaranteeing His disciples that there would be a place for them in heaven when they die.
Sorry, but that is not what the scripture says! The resurrection of the church and the living believers being caught up as described in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 is a group event, NOT an individual, one at a time event. In the scripture, Jesus says that He is going to His Father's house to prepare places for us and that He would come back to get us so that where He is we may be also. The scripture gives the details of His returning for us stating the the dead believers would rise first (all at the same time). And immediately after that, the living would be transformed and caught up with those dead who will have just resurrected to meet the Lord in the air. At that point, the entire church from beginning to end will be in the same place at the same time and be taken back to the Father's house. This demonstrates that it is a group event.
According to your claim above for believers who die, Jesus would be making thousands of daily trips to gather each believer every time one died, which is not supported by the context.
1 Thess 5 says NOTHING about being taken to heaven. Both passages only note that believers will be "with the Lord forever".
There is no resurrection in the middle of the Trib. That is fantasy.
You are correct, there is no resurrection in the middle of the tribulation. There are in fact two! The Two witnesses will be killed by the angel of the Abyss/beast after their 1260 days of prophesying and will resurrect 3 1/2 days later, ascending up into heaven. Around the same time, the Male Child/144,000 will be transformed and caught up to God's throne.
The Bible does NOT say the 2W are given immortal bodies. They will be raised up the SAME WAY everyone in Acts was raised from the dead.
False! It is evident that you do not have a lot of study on this topic. In Paul's letter to the Thessalonians, he was talking about the resurrection and had the following to say:
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Now I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.
Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed—in an instant, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.
For the perishable must be clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. - 1 Corinthians 15:51-53
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The scripture above is synonymous with 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17, for it is speaking about the same event.
Notice that Paul says that "flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God," which means that we cannot go to heaven in our mortal bodies which decay. The mystery that Paul talks about in the first part of the scripture is that those who are still alive will be transformed into their immortal and glorified bodies and caught up to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be fit for heaven.
Here is how the Bible explains all this.
All believers from ALL time (Adam forward) are resurrected at the SAME TIME, which is at the Second Advent.
This stomps all over other scriptures. Why is it that you guys grab certain scriptures, but sweep the other under the rug?
Believers in Christ are not appointed to suffer God's wrath. Since God's wrath covers the entire seven years, then we cannot enter into that period in keeping with the scriptures and God's nature, which you are ignoring.
Just remember, the church must be gathered prior to the first seal being opened which initiates God's wrath. That's the barrier and cannot be changed.
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