Eric Casagrande      /          Genelyn Novabos

 

 

The Rapture & The Age of Grace  -  Part 1

   

I’d like to speak with you today, about certain teachings being propagated where it concerns the end-times. To be more specific, I will be addressing the subject matter of The Rapture, and its alleged relationship with another well-known doctrine, entitled: The Age of Grace.

It has long been presumed that the rapture will not only herald the starting point for the Tribulation period, but also the finishing point for the Age of Grace. This teaching is generally based on the following suppositions:

 

Supposition #1

From the time of Adam’s creation, up until the giving of the Mosaic Law upon Mount Sinai – two thousand years were said to have passed. This time period is referred to as: The Age of Lawlessness.

 

Supposition #2

From the time at which the Mosaic Laws were given on Mount Sinai, until the atoning death of our Lord Jesus Christ at the cross – an additional two thousand years is said to have passed. This time frame has been referred to as: The Age of the (Mosaic) Law.

 

Supposition #3

Then finally, from the time at which Jesus Christ went to the cross and became our atoning sacrifice, until the rapture of the Church and the start of the Tribulation, another two thousand years is said to pass. This period of time is known as: The Age of Grace.

The total amount of time outlined by these 3 suppositions, is six thousand years – which many believe matches up with the idea of a six day creation time frame, followed by a day of rest (the Millennial Kingdom of Christ).

 

Now of course, it should be quite obvious to most of my readers, that the noted two thousand year calculations are in fact somewhat miscalculated. For example, from Adam’s creation to the giving of the Mosaic Law, isn’t actually 2,000 years, but much closer to 2,620 years. Additionally, the period covering the time span from the giving of the Mosaic Laws up to the crucifixion of Jesus Christ (the beginning of the “Age of Grace”), is also not 2,000 years, but rather only around 1,412 years.

The only period which comes anywhere near matching the 2,000 year mark is the current epoch (the so-called “Age of Grace”), which begins with the sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ, and spans up to our present time. It totals about 1,978 years to-date (June 2010).

But setting all this aside, the very idea God’s grace is suddenly going to come to an end at the rapture, is completely false and highly unbiblical.

How do I know? Well for one thing, people are still going to come to Christ in the tribulation, and the Bible teaches us (Ephesians 2: 5, 8-9), it is only through God’s grace that we are saved:

 

“Even when we were dead in sins [ God ]

hath quickened us together with Christ

(by grace are you saved) …

 

For by grace are you saved through

faith and that not of yourselves: it is

the gift of God:

 

Not of works, lest any man should boast.”

 

Furthermore, Titus 2: 11 gives a second witness that we are only saved by the grace of God.

 

 

“For the grace of God that brings salvation,

has appeared to all men.”

 

 

Kindly note that it clearly says “to all men”. It does not exclude anyone, either before or after the rapture of the Church. The grace of God, as revealed in the person of Jesus Christ, is going to be extended to all people of all nations, for the simple reason that God doesn’t want a single person to perish (2 Peter 3: 9).

But how do we know people are going to receive Christ during the Tribulation period? Is there any evidence in the Word of God to support such a position? My friend, there is plenty of evidence to prove this point. Consider the following scripture (Revelation 6: 9-11):

 

“When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under

the altar the souls of those who had been

slain because of the Word of God, and for

the testimony which they held.

 

They called out in a loud voice, How long,

O Lord, holy and true, until you judge the

inhabitants of the earth, and avenge

our blood?

 

Then each of them was given a white robe,

and they were told to wait a little longer,

until the full number of their fellow servants

and brothers who were to be killed as

they had been, was completed.”

 

These verses clearly state that people are being put to death for their witness of Jesus Christ, while the seals are being opened. This would be quite impossible if in fact nobody was coming (by grace), to the Lord Jesus Christ after the rapture!

Additional proof is shown in Revelation 7: 9-14, where the apostle John describes an uncountable number of people standing before the throne of God, and he tells us exactly who these people are:

 

“And one of the elders answered, saying unto

me, ‘Who are these, which are arrayed in

white robes? And where did they come from?

 

And I said to him: ‘Sir, you know’.  And he

said to me: ‘These are they, who have come

out of great tribulation, and have washed

their robes, and made them white in the

blood of the Lamb.”

 

John clearly points out to the reader that these people (of which no man could count), had come to know Jesus Christ during the time of the great tribulation! So how can the grace of God have ended at the rapture?

Let me give you a third witness from the Word of God, that His grace does not end at the rapture. Take a look at Revelation 20: 4, where it describes to us what happens after the second coming of Christ:

 

“I saw thrones on which were seated those

who had been given authority to judge.

And I saw the souls of those who had been

beheaded because of their testimony for

Jesus, and because of the word of God.

They had not worshipped the beast or his

image, and had not received his mark on

their foreheads or hands. They all came

to life again, and they reigned with

Christ for a thousand years.”

 

My friends, these people clearly came to know the Lord Jesus Christ after the rapture (that they had obviously missed), and during the Tribulation period. Therefore it is an absolute certainty – with the Bible as our witness – that God’s grace will not end at the time of the Rapture!

Furthermore, although it’s quite true that with the shed blood, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the New Covenant came into existence – nevertheless, this wasn’t the first point at which God extended his tender-hearted grace towards mankind!

My friend, God’s plan of salvation and the grace which made it possible, did not just suddenly come into being when Jesus Christ was born into the Earth. No! For we are told in 2 Timothy 1: 8-9, that God first showed His grace to us – in Jesus Christ – before the world began:

 

“So do not be ashamed to testify about our

Lord, or ashamed of me his prisoner. But

join with me in suffering for the gospel,

by the power of God.

 

Who has saved us, and called us to a holy life,

not because of anything we have done, but

because of his own purpose and grace. This

grace was given us in Christ Jesus, before

the beginning of time .”

 

Furthermore, we know that God’s grace will exist long into the future, even beyond the time of the Millennial Kingdom of Christ (Ephesians 2: 4-7):

 

“But God, who is rich in mercy, for his

great love wherewith he loved us,

Even when we were dead in sins, has

quickened us together with Christ,

(by grace you are saved)

 

And has raised us up together, and

made us sit together in heavenly

places in Christ Jesus:

 

That in the ages to come he might show the

exceeding riches of his grace, in his

kindness toward us through Jesus Christ.”

 

My friends, the previous two scripture quotations alone, show that God’s grace did neither suddenly appear, and neither will it just suddenly end (with the rapture). No! The grace of God is not some “thing”. The grace of God is a person … the person of Jesus Christ! The incredible grace of God – similar to Jesus Christ – is from everlasting to everlasting!

No beginning … and no end!

Oh hallelujah!  Praise His name forever!

 

 

 

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