Who is Left Behind? Understanding the Order of the Final Gathering (Rapture) | DouglasHamp.com
Doug Hamp's Eisegesis: Who will be taken and who will be left? (Luke v17:34-36).
Doug Hamp's incompetence as a bible teacher has become painfully clear over the last few weeks as I have watched his weekly Prophecy Roundtable with fellow hosts Scott Harwell and John Haller. {1} Hamp's mild mannered "chats" belie the lethal doctrines being promoted on these videos. Hamp and Harwell are modern Judaizers who promote Torah-observance, the Talmud and the skewed doctrine known as "Commonwealth Theology" which works on the false premise that both the Abrahamic covenant and the Mosaic covenant remain in place. Hamp takes the same position as Joseph Smith (Mormons) i.e. that the church is the ten tribes of Israel (Ephraim). Hamp applies the rapture to Israel and places it at the end of the tribulation. Much more could be said, but I will limit this post to Hamp's interpretation of Luke 17:34-36.
The above link demonstrates Hamp's error in taking one small excerpt from the scriptures in order to justify his warped view that this passage does not refer to the rapture. He does not take into account the parallel passage in Matthew 24 and other related scriptures that confirm that the righteous, not the wicked, are taken. (Psalm 119:160).
Hamp: "..we see that the ones taken from the bed, mill, and field, are not the righteous, but the wicked who have taken the mark of the beast. They are removed to destruction where the birds will eat their flesh. The righteous who didn’t know it will inherit the earth as flesh and blood and have children. The elect (commonwealth of Israel) are gathered by the angels and are transformed in a flash into their new bodies and become rulers with Christ during the thousand-year rule."
Hamp's eisegesis is an inversion of the entire passage. His proof text (Ezekiel 39:17-20), is based on the assumption that Ezekiel 38 and 39 refers to the battle of Armageddon in Revelation 19.* Ezekiel demonstrates that the assembly of the wicked has nothing in common with the rapture event described by Luke i.e. one taken (paralambanó) and the other left. (Luke 17:34-36). Ezekiel describes the gathering of the vultures, not the removal of the wicked, taking place on the the mountains of Israel, the location where Gog's armies will fall. (Ezekiel 39:4 cf. Matthew 24:28; Revelation 19:17). The kings and their armies are assembled together at Armageddon by the three unclean spirits coming out of the mouth of the dragon. (Revelation 16:13-14). And they assembled them at the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon. (Revelation 16:6).
Luke 17:34-35 : One will be taken (paralambanó). Typically paralambanó is an affirmative verb meaning to receive or to take to oneself. The verb paralambanó refers to the rapture in Matthew 24:40-41 and John 14:3.{2}
“As for you, son of man, thus says the Lord GOD: Speak to the birds of every sort and to all beasts of the field: ‘Assemble and come, gather from all around to the sacrificial feast that I am preparing for you, a great sacrificial feast on the mountains of Israel, and you shall eat flesh and drink blood. You shall eat the flesh of the mighty, and drink the blood of the princes of the earth—of rams, of lambs, and of he-goats, of bulls, all of them fat beasts of Bashan. And you shall eat fat till you are filled, and drink blood till you are drunk, at the sacrificial feast that I am preparing for you. And you shall be filled at my table with horses and charioteers, with mighty men and all kinds of warriors,’ declares the Lord GOD. (Ezekiel 39:17-20).
Luke 17:26-37
26Just as it was in the days of Noah, so will it be in the days of the Son of Man. 27They were eating and drinking and marrying and being given in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. 28Likewise, just as it was in the days of Lot—they were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building, 29but on the day when Lot went out from Sodom, fire and sulfur rained from heaven and destroyed them all— 30so will it be on the day when the Son of Man is revealed. 31On that day, let the one who is on the housetop, with his goods in the house, not come down to take them away, and likewise let the one who is in the field not turn back. 32Remember Lot’s wife. 33Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will keep it. 34I tell you, in that night there will be two in one bed. One will be taken and the other left. 35There will be two women grinding together. One will be taken and the other left.”37And they said to him, “Where, Lord?” He said to them, “Where the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.”
The question: Where Lord? Jesus identifies the wicked with the corpses i.e. the vultures will gather and they will gorge themselves on the corpses of the wicked where they have been killed by the Lord. And all the birds gorged themselves on their flesh. (Revelation 19:17-21).
The parallel passage in Matthew 24 confirms that the elect, not the wicked, are gathered and that this event (i.e. the rapture) happens immediately after the tribulation. (Matthew 24:29-31). In contrast, the battle of Armageddon occurs after the rapture and follows the trumpet and bowl judgments. The armies assemble at Armageddon at the sixth bowl judgment. (Revelation 16:12-14).
Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather (ἐπισυνάξουσιν) his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. (Matthew 24:29-31, 36-44 cf. Mark 13:27; Luke 21:26-28; 2 Thessalonians 2:1; 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17).
Old Testament Parallels
Noah as an example ~ Noah entered the ark i.e. Noah preceded those outside who remained and were destroyed. (Luke 17:27 cf. Genesis 7:7). The ark rose above the flood waters and those who were left behind on the earth were destroyed.
In some versions Matthew 24:39 reads ..the flood took (airó) them all away (NIV KJV NASB etc.)
This is a point of confusion with taken (paralambanó). The context of the passage is not that the wicked were literally taken (raptured), but that the flood swept them away and they were destroyed.
..they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. (Matthew 24:39 ESV)
Lot as an example ~ Lot went out from Sodom. (Luke 17:18-28-29). The two angels accompanied Lot out of the city (Sodom), and Lot subsequently fled to Zoar: Then the LORD rained down sulfur and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 19:19-24). Those who remained in Sodom were destroyed.. so it will be when the son of man is revealed.. (Luke 17:29:30 cf. Matthew 24:31).
Lot and his family are told to flee without delay.. without going back for their goods and without turning back.. Lot's wife is given as an example not to look back. (Luke 17:31).
The righteous will be taken up in the rapture in order to escape the wrath of God on the earth. In the same way, Noah escaped the flood waters, and Lot escaped the destruction of Sodom. (Matthew 24:30-31).
Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. (1 Thessalonians 4:16-18).
Alan Kurschner's critique of Reclaiming the Rapture: Restoring the Doctrine of the Gathering of the Commonwealth of Israel by Doug Hamp and Chris Steinle is very cutting. Apart from commenting that it is very poorly written and edited, his main criticism is Steinle's incompetence, his denial of the rapture and his mistranslation of harpagésómetha as plunder.
Kurschner:
"Steinle argues fallaciously that Paul’s usage of harpagēsometha in 1 Thess 4:17 does not mean to be snatched or seized. Rather he thinks it means plunder." {3}
Hamp's conclusion is just as problematic as his faulty exegesis above.
He divides people into three categories:
The elect (Commonwealth Israel = followers of Christ)Those who took the mark of the beast (Hybrids/Rephaim cf. Isaiah 26:19, Rev 14:9-10)Those who were righteous but didn’t know it – they don’t take the mark or follow beast but they don’t necessarily seem to be followers of Christ either. (Matthew 25:37)
Hamp: "In conclusion, we see that the ones taken from the bed, mill, and field, are not the righteous, but the wicked who have taken the mark of the beast. They are removed to destruction where the birds will eat their flesh. The righteous who didn’t know it will inherit the earth as flesh and blood and have children. The elect (commonwealth of Israel) are gathered by the angels and are transformed in a flash into their new bodies and become rulers with Christ during the thousand-year rule."
* I recommend Chris White's video on the timing of the Gog/Magog War in Ezekiel 37 and 38. White successfully debunks the various theories that this war will occur prior to the return of Jesus Christ. He also outlines the difficulties associated with the battle of Armageddon view. (Revelation 19). White's view that the Gog/Magog war will take place at the end of the millennium is worth consideration. (Revelation 20:7-9).
The Timing of the Gog Magog War - YouTube
I’ve listened to this man about Pauline teaching the rapture dividing as in Timothy and see awful lies being spread bringing a possible scattering of faith filled believers.
ReplyDeleteHow can this be when scripture is clearly showing his errors before us
Mr Hamp you’re so off this planet get your spiritual eyes focussed and cease from messing with Gods scripture
ReplyDelete4. If the Parousia is simultaneous with the Resurrection of the Faithful - an occasion which sees the Faithful suddenly drawn up and then just as suddenly descending to dwell on the Earth - why did Jesus promise He was going to to make ‘’rooms’’ for his Faithful in His Father’s House (presumably in Heaven), when such an act would be unnecessary? It was to this place that Jesus ascended, and where he now works preparing ‘’rooms’’ for the Faithful. It cannot be that Saints go to be with Christ immediately after their death here on Earth, [and so are in need of rooms in Heaven] because there are numerous verses throughout the Bible that make it abundantly clear that the Dead are unconscious. Not least of these, are those verses in 1 Corinthians 15: 51 where Paul speaks of those who have died in Christ who will precede the Living Faithful at the occasion of their being ‘’caught up’’ into the sky to be with Christ – this event being commonly referred to as the Rapture. Clearly, those Dead Faithful are ‘’asleep’’ and thus not conscious and with Christ in Heaven already. So why does Jesus promise to build rooms in His Father’s House... unless they are to be used by the Resurrected Faithful during a special time in the future, that time being the Rapture BEFORE the Tribulation?
ReplyDeleteI think that the dead in Christ are conscious but without physical bodies because they call out before the rapture at the fifth seal. "asleep" is the term used for death.. but I don't think these people are unconscious.
ReplyDelete"When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne. They cried out with a loud voice, “O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” 11Then they were each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brothers should be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been."
The "rooms in John 14:2 are what Jesus is preparing for the resurrected saints..
We may have to rethink our presuppositions about the millennium. Alan Kurschner puts forward a good case that the bride comes with the New Jerusalem before the millennium.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5ql3VtP94U