The Link Between The Holy Spirit And The Rapture
God says,
“After He was baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove and settling on Him,”
Matthew 3;16
Interpreting Scripture
In order to interpret scripture we must be open to hear the voice of the One who wrote it. When we rely too much upon our natural minds to understand when the Holy Spirit spoke through His prophets, we lack the medium through which the word of God came in the first place.
First of all, we must be willing to allow God to lead and guide us into all truth. This precept is fundamental to anyone who ever hopes to come to a knowledge of the truth in His scriptures.
Secondly, we must be willing to follow the leading of His Holy Spirit wherever it takes us. Due to the church’s over-reliance on their natural minds, much of what people believe is either partially or wholly wrong. About the only two doctrines that people have right in general are the doctrines of salvation and water baptism. However, even in these two areas, men’s natural minds have prevented them from understanding the deeper meanings of what it is to be saved, when we are saved, and why we are saved.
I have found that for all my Bible College learning, it is the Holy Spirit showing me His truth that has been most eye-opening and revelatory. Hardly any of the truths that I share here at the Final Feast have come through study, but rather God has either shown them to me through experiencing Him, or He has simply told me the truth as He speaks to me. It is only after His revelation that I search His word to see if these things are true. Most of the time, I am surprised that what He says was plainly in His scriptures all along.
The Holy Spirit given to man
“Then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and the man became a living person.”
Genesis 2:7 (NASB)
The Holy Spirit leaving man
Later, in the Garden of Eden, after Adam and Eve partook of the forbidden fruit, the Holy Spirit left them. A tongue like a fire appeared on Adam’s head, then God’s Spirit left in a mighty rushing wind.
The Holy Spirit given to Jesus
At the river Jordan, that same Holy Spirit descended, gently, as a dove upon the head of Jesus after He was baptized, thus filling Him with God’s Holy Spirit.
God’s Holy Spirit was again taken from the earth when Jesus ascended.
God says,
“And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight.”
Acts 1:9
When the Spirit of God, which is “holy” was taken up from the earth, because the Spirit dwelt in Jesus, He was taken up from the earth, too. This is what a rapture is.
During the days between Jesus’s ascension and the infilling of the Holy Spirit upon those of the upper room in Jerusalem, there was no Holy Spirit on the earth.
On the day of Pentecost God gave the Holy Spirit back to mankind (the Body of Christ)
God says,
“And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.”
Acts 2:2-4
During this church age, the Holy Spirit has been with us to varying degrees, but always there. In Topeka, Kansas, in 1901, a fresh outpouring of His Spirit occurred. This continued to spread all around the world from there and other places, such as from Azusa Street in California.
However, since the Day of Pentecost, God has not taken His Holy Spirit from this earth. He has always been here and has been a restraining force upon the world, holding back the evil of the spirit of antichrist.
God takes His Holy Spirit from the earth along with the Body of Christ.
In the coming days, there will be a great, worldwide move of Divine Love, which we call the Tabernacle Blessing. This is spiritual uniting and maturing of the Bride of Christ who will be filled with His Spirit even beyond what the saints experienced in Jerusalem. This miracle of Christ in us, the hope of glory, will put a halt to the antichrist world system. However, God will again remove His Holy Spirit from the earth, just like He did during the time when Jesus left the Mount of Olives, and those who are filled with His Spirit will, like Christ, be caught up to God and to His throne.
After that, there will be no Holy Spirit upon the earth as God destroys the antichrist and his kingdom.
(Note: I do not know if the Holy Spirit will be present during the millennium. I suspect not. The reference to His Spirit covering the earth may refer to the New Heavens and New Earth.)
God gives his Holy Spirit to the Nation of Israel
The Holy Spirit will not come upon the earth again until He is poured out upon the Jewish people at the Battle of God and Magog.
God says,
“And on that day I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. And I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and of pleading, so that they will look at Me whom they pierced; and they will mourn for Him, like one mourning for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him like the bitter weeping over a firstborn. On that day the mourning in Jerusalem will be great, like the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the plain of Megiddo.”
Zechariah 12:9-11 (NASB)
This is the Holy Spirit that will be poured out upon Israel who is about to be destroyed, and they will realize that they pierced the Son of God, repent of their sin, and Jesus will return to them and save His people from certain destruction.
Accept the gift of His Holy Spirit and be ready
In conclusion, as you might realize, I have not done an exhaustive bible study of what I believe about the Holy Spirit. Some of what I have written is mainstream understanding, but much of it could be misconstrued as conjecture by biblical scholars. However–and this is the point of this essay–in order to see the bigger, deeper picture of what God is doing through His Holy Spirit, I have allowed Him to lead and guide me into these understandings; understandings which, for the most part, could not have been arrived at through systematic biblical study.
Therefore, if you wish to know God’s mind on the bible, open yourself up to allow Him to simply tell you the meaning of the words that He wrote. Do not insist that God conform to your church’s doctrine, realizing that anything you believe is inferior to what He says directly to you. After you receive His revelation, search the scriptures to see if those things are true while permitting yourself to consider things that you have never thought of or may even be controversial.
Blessings,
Michael