The Bible clearly teaches that there will be a bodily resurrection of the dead in the future (Job 19:26-27; Isa. 26:19; Matt. 27:52-53; 1 Cor. 15:5-8). Daniel was told that his people (the Jews) will be raised from the dead at the time of the end—a phrase that refers to the coming of their Messiah at the end of the Tribulation period (Dan. 12:1-2).

Paul was talking about the church and speaking by the Word of the Lord when he said the dead in Christ (Christians not Jews) will be raised; the living will be changed and all Christians will be caught up (raptured) into heaven together (1 Thess. 4:13-18). This will take place before the Tribulation period.

God made an everlasting covenant to give all of the Promised Land to Abraham and his descendants forever (Gen. 17:7-8). He said the covenant would go through Isaac (Gen. 17:18-21). And later, He said the covenant would go through Jacob (Gen. 28:13; 35:10-12).

Jacob had 12 sons (Gen. 29:31-30:24; 35:16-19). One of his sons was named Joseph. This is the one that was sold into slavery by his brothers for 20 pieces of silver (Gen. 37:28). He was framed by Potiphar’s wife and cast into prison (Gen. 39:7-20).

He accurately interpreted dreams for Pharaoh’s butler and baker (Gen. 40:1-19) and was eventually brought out of prison to interpret a dream for  Pharaoh (Gen. 41:1-37). On this occasion, Pharaoh made him the second most powerful man in all of Egypt (Gen. 41:38-45).

Joseph assumed power in Egypt at the age of 30 (Gen. 41:46). He lived 80 more years and died and the age of 110 (Gen. 50:22).

Just before his death, Joseph called some of the Hebrews together and said, “I die: and God will surely visit you, and bring you out of this land unto the land which he sware to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. And Joseph took an oath of the children of Israel, saying, God will surely visit you, and ye shall carry up my bones from hence” (Gen. 50:24-26).

Notice, that Joseph knew about the everlasting covenant that God made to give the Promised Land to the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (Gen. 17:7-8). We would expect him to know this because Jacob was his father.

Also, notice that Joseph said the time would come when God would cause the Hebrews to leave Egypt and return to the Promised Land; and he wanted his bones taken back to the Promised Land for burial. He believed God would fulfill His covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob so this was an act of faith. In fact, it is the reason why Joseph is mentioned in the faith chapter (Heb. 11:22).

The book of Exodus picks up where the book of Genesis leaves off. That is to say, with the death of Joseph (Ex. 1:6). Then it skips down to the birth of Moses, the man who would see that Joseph’s bones were taken to Israel (Ex. 2:1-10).

Moses was born in the land of Egypt and raised in the royal palace. He killed a man and fled into the land of Midian (Ex. 2:11-15). He spent 40 years there and left only after God called him to lead the Hebrews out of Egypt and back to the Promised Land. (Ex. 3:1-10).

He reluctantly obeyed but when the time came for the Hebrews to leave, Moses directed them to take the bones of Joseph with them (Ex. 13:19). They took the bones to the Promised Land and Joshua had them buried at Shechem (Josh. 24:31-32).

Dr. J. Vernon McGee wrote:

Why remove his body and bury it in the land? If Joseph knew he would be raised from the dead someday and taken up to heaven, what difference would it make if his launching pad was in Egypt or in the land of Israel? Well, the fact of the matter is that he was not expecting to go to heaven. He expected to be raised in the resurrection of his people in the land for the Millennium—and then for all eternity (Thru the Bible with J. Vernon McGee, Volume I, Genesis-Deuteronomy, p. 244)

The Jews don’t expect to be raised when the church is raised (at the Rapture). They expect to be raised when their Messiah comes to establish His millennial kingdom on earth, and they want to be raised in the Promised Land at that time.

On January 9, 2015, four Jews were murdered by Islamic Jihadists at a Jewish deli in Paris, France. Even though these four Jews lived in France, their family asked Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to allow them to be buried in the Promised Land. They were taken home for burial and laid to rest in Jerusalem on Jan. 14, 2015.

Mr. Netanyahu said, “To all the Jews of France, all the Jews of Europe, I would like to say that Israel is not just the place in whose direction you pray, the state of Israel is your home.”

Israeli Pres. Reuven Rivlin said, “This is not how we wanted to see you come home, to the State of Israel and to Jerusalem, its capital. We wanted you alive, we wanted you for life.”

Jews have been going home since the days of Joseph and Moses because they believe in the coming of their Messiah, the resurrection of the dead, an earthly millennial kingdom and they want to be raised in the Promised Land at the start of that wonderful kingdom.

Prophecy Plus Ministries
Daymond & Rachel Duck

This article is about the Second Coming not the Rapture. There are no signs of the Rapture. It can happen at any time and without notice. But there are signs of the Second Coming and the church is told to watch for those signs.

Many prophecy writers, including myself, believe the Rapture will occur before the Tribulation period. In that case, the Rapture will occur before the Second Coming because Jesus won’t come back to this earth (He will remain in the air at the Rapture) until the end of the Tribulation Period. So, if the Second Coming is close, the Rapture is even closer.

Most of those who watch the signs think the Second Coming is very close. They know that Jesus said, “Of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only” (Matt. 24:36). But they also know that Jesus said, “When ye shall see all these things (the signs), know that it is near, even at the doors” (Matt. 24:33). And they also know that the Bible says we can see the day approaching (Heb. 10:25). So even though no human being knows the day and hour, prophecy teachers are not contradicting the Scriptures when they say the Second Coming is close.

They believe it is close because God has revealed timing clues along with some prophecies. For example, concerning the Battle of Gog and Magog (Ezek. 38-39), God said it will happen in the latter days (Ezek. 38:16) and latter years (Ezek. 38:8). But in order for this prophecy to be fulfilled, God said Israel will be back in the land; Israel will have cattle and goods; Israel will be opposed by Russia, Iran, Turkey and others, etc. These pre- conditions are in existence today and they seem to be screaming out that the latter days and latter years have arrived.

Another example involves one of the verses mentioned above (Matt. 24:33). Jesus said His Second Coming will be close when all of the signs are apparent in the same generation. Between 70 A.D. and 1948 the nation of Israel didn’t exist so it was impossible to see all of the signs during that span. Between 1948 and 1967 Israel didn’t control the Temple Mount so again it was impossible to see all of the signs. But all of the signs appear to be coming on the scene now. Some prophecy teachers call the appearance of all of the signs a convergence of the signs. Some even think this convergence of the signs is more important than any other sign including the return of Israel. Anyway, this convergence of all of the signs in the same generation is a timing clue signifying that the Second Coming is near.

Bible prophecy requires the establishment of a New World Order (world government) during the Tribulation period and before the Second Coming (Rev. 13:7). In 2009, Henry Kissinger said, “Pres. Obama has been chosen to bring in the New World Order” and we are now a little more than two years from the end of his second term. In 2013, Vice-Pres. Biden said, “The affirmative task we (the U.S.) have now is to actually create a New World Order.” In 2014, he said, “I believe we and mainly you (the 2014 Air Force graduating class) have an incredible opportunity to lead in shaping a New World Order.” And in 2014, Pres. Obama talked about a coming “new order based on a different set of principles.” So if our leaders are close to the establishment of a New World Order, the world is close to the Second Coming and even closer to the Rapture of the church.

Bible prophecy requires the establishment of a global religion during the Tribulation period. In Feb. 2014, it was reported that Pope Francis wants to reverse the Protestant Reformation and unite all religions. The Reformation began with a split in the Roman Catholic Church. The recognized beginning of this split occurred on Oct. 31, 1517 when Martin Luther posted his Ninety-Five Theses on the door of Castle Church in Wittenberg. The 500th Anniversary of the Reformation will occur on Oct. 31, 2017. So Pope Francis has established Oct. 31, 2017 as a goal for an anti-Reformation (a reversal of the Reformation by uniting Catholics, Protestants, Muslims and Jews into one religion). He may not be able to do it, but again, if the world is close to the establishment of a world religion (in 2017); it is even closer to the Rapture of the church.

Bible prophecy requires the coming Antichrist and his False Prophet to have the ability to identify everyone and to track all of their buying and selling about three and one-half years before the Second Coming (Rev. 13:16-17). Now, it is being reported that Obamacare requires every American to have a National ID card and that the Dept. of Homeland Security will start enforcing this in 2017. In fact, NBC recently predicted that every American will have a RFID implant by 2017. So the appearance of things that will be used after the Rapture (ID cards, chipping people, etc. by 2017) are timing clues that signify that the Rapture is getting close.

The Tribulation period and Second Coming also require the arrival of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (Rev. 6:1-8) which many believe is the rise of the Antichrist with an increase in war, famine, pestilence and earthquakes (also see Matt. 24:5-7). The Antichrist can’t rise because the church is still here (II Thess. 2:7-8), but this year it has been reported that wars have increased seven years in a row; the price of several foods (pork, beef, chicken, etc.) has reached an all time high and this is just the beginning; drug resistant viruses(pestilences) are spreading around the world, and big earthquakes (those larger than 7.0) have doubled since 1979. How can those who watch not believe that we will soon be going home?

Bible prophecy requires the Antichrist to confirm a Middle East peace treaty that will begin the Tribulation period after the Rapture of the church. There have been many failed attempts at a Middle East peace treaty, but proposals are now being drafted that will ask the UN Security Council to take over the peace process; to set a date for dividing the land of Israel and creating a Palestinian State; and to enforce the UN Security Council actions with international troops. It means the PA is asking the UN Security Council to dictate a solution and send in troops to enforce it.

After the Rapture, there will be a global economic collapse (Rev. 6:5-6) and a recent report by the Bank of International Settlements recently said the entire world is now in a situation of unsustainable debt and more. As the world approaches the Tribulation Period what it does to Israel will come back on it.The U.S. is trying to erase Israel’s borders and for all practical purposes God has allowed America’s borders to become seemingly non-existent. More could be said, but many prophecy writers have good reason to believe that they can see the day approaching. Are you prepared?

Prophecy Plus Ministries
Daymond & Rachel Duck