The Secret of the “Secret Rapture”

The Second Coming of Christ, the Day of our Lord and the day of our deliverance from the pain and sufferings of this Earth, is the most awaited moment of all faithful Christians in the world.

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The Lord who left His royal state in heaven and chose to live in sufferings for our own sake will come in full glory accompanied by thousands and thousands of His angels to meet us in the clouds and be with Him forever in the realm of His Father. Everyone is excited to see this glorious period. Everyone is hoping to see their Lord face to face in the midst of the heavens. But the glory of this awaited moment is not the same as the moment being awaited by those who believe that the rapture will happen secretly. Yes, there are Christians who are deluded by the belief that the saints, during the rapture, will suddenly disappear prior to the tribulation, and that the public is unaware of what is happening to them.

Christ said to His disciples, “For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.” (Matthew 24:27). The lightning that comes out of the east and shineth into the west is not a secret event. Both east and west will see the glorious coming of the Son of God and He shall send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet to gather together His elects from one end of heaven to the other. Our beloved apostle Paul discussed the case in the same way when he stated, “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.” (I Thess. 4:16-17) This verse reveals that the coming of Christ and the rapture of the saints will never happen in silence or concealment.

Jesuit Fr. Manuel Diaz Lacunza

The theory of the Secret Rapture, as how its believers called it, is a product of a doctrine developed by the Catholic Jesuits to counter the Reformation. To confuse Protestants and prevent them from believing that the papacy is the fulfillment of the apocalyptic antichrist, the Jesuits Francisco Ribera, Robert Bellarmine and Manuel de Lacunza formulated a teaching placing the coming of the antichrist somewhere in the future and not in their present period as the historicists believed. Lacunza used the pen-name Rabbi Ben-Ezra to conceal his Catholic affiliation and that the Protestants will welcome his writings where the anti-Reformation teachings are contained.  The Scottish clergyman Edward Irving embraced the Jesuit teaching, especially of Lacunza who said that the coming of Christ is divided into two stages where the first point is the coming of Christ for His church to save them from the arrival of the antichrist. This is the first coming where the (secret) rapture will take place. Irving preached it with the support of the alleged rapture vision of Miss Margaret McDonald. The secret rapture belief was popularized by John Nelson Darby and then by Cyrus Scofield in the United States.

Why Christ Is Not the Father?

During the night of His prayer at the Mount of Olives, the Lord Jesus Christ set the way on how believers will attain everlasting life. In His prayer to the Father, the Lord declared;

“And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.” (John 17:3)

The statement is very clear and plain as a stream that flows through the paradise of God, that those who wish to live in eternity must have the knowledge about the Father and the Messenger He had sent to redeem the fallen race of man. And in conformity to  this prayer, the gospel helped us by supplying plenty of details about everlasting life. Christ, during His earthly ministry, presented before the world a loving Father who provides every good thing for His children and the One who is worthy for all the glory and praises of the entire creation because of His unfathomable wisdom, love, mercy and justice; that for the sake of the fallen race, sent His beloved Son, the Joy and Prince of His heavenly kingdom, to save them from the curses of sin. Concerning to this Prince, those disciples who witnessed the story of His great sacrifice and humility never left us without full knowledge about Him. By their letters, they presented to the world a Son who loved not His own life and covet not the glory that He have since the foundation of the world but unconditionally and wholeheartedly submitted Himself to the plan of redemption; a Son who seek not His own glory but the glory of His Father in heaven.

But however clear are the details of the Holy Scriptures about the Father and the Son, false preachers and corrupt theologians are continually destroying the gospel that even the very comprehensible details are illogically presented and twisted deliberately. Among these perverted teachers of religion are the so-called “Oneness theologians” who interpreted the nature of Godhead in a very complicated and illogical way that resulted into serious contradictions of biblical verses and harmed the mind of those people who want to know the truth. According to their invented doctrine;

“The Incarnation caused the eternal God to exist within two distinct consciousness – human and divine. God continued to posses a timeless omniscient ‘DIVINE CONSCIOUSNESS’ in heaven – while at the same time – He experienced a human existence  within the mind of the man Jesus Christ. Thus the One personal God of the Old Testament simultaneously exists as two distinct beings – being both God (Father) and man (Son). “

Plenty of Oneness denominations are scattered throughout the world. In the Philippines, there are 7 well-known Oneness groups that have their respective branches abroad. And based on my own experience, reasoning with them is a tragic one. I clearly seen how logic was badly destroyed when Oneness theology begins to strike the mind of its listeners, even to the mind of a known degree holder. The notion that the Father is Jesus Christ, the Son is Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost is also Jesus Christ is a clear invention unsupported even by a single paragraph from the Bible.  And since the doctrine of Oneness Pentecostals about God lack of biblical support, their defenders are trying hardly to withstand those verses that clearly state the truth, and when they can’t refute the obvious meaning of the verse,  they finally retired into telling that the matter is still a mystery. But the Bible is not a book of mystery or secrets. It’s a book of revelations – a book that the details are comprehensible  by human mind.  It has sufficient details for us to know who is our heavenly Father and who is Jesus Christ our Savior.

Oneness theology destroys logic, etymology, and lexical categories. It removes the sense of the biblical chapters and verses until the

meaning is finally twisted or polluted. Lets take for example the praying of Jesus. We all know that praying is an act of communication performed by a man to his God, thus it requires two distinct  individuals – the one who pray and the recipient of his prayers. And most of the time when we are praying to God in an open area, we lift up our face to heaven – to the direction of God’s throne and habitation, like what Jesus did according to John 17:1. If it’s true that Jesus Christ is also the Father, what then the necessity of lifting up His head to heaven as He is speaking to another individual other than Himself? Is He talking to Himself with a piece of dramatic act? That’s nonsense! Oneness defenders formulated an explanation concerning to the praying of Jesus but still they don’t have even a single biblical verse that supports this explanation. Furthermore, according to the book of Matthew;

“And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him:

 And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” (Matthew 3:16-17)

The story of Christ’s baptism tells us that while the Son (as He was addressed by the voice from heaven which is obviously His Father’s) is with the Baptist in the Jordan River, the voice of the Father was heard from heaven saying, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” And at the same time, the Spirit of God is descending like a dove and lighting upon the Son. This description perfectly explains that there are three active individuals separated by space in this specific scenario – the Father (which is the owner of the voice), the Son (which is in the River), and the Spirit of God (which is descending like a dove).  Therefore, the claim that the Son is both the Father and the Holy Spirit is illogical and unbiblical in its  fullness, or may be Oneness Pentecostals are trying to devoid this scenario of its meaning.

The Messenger

If there is a single biblical term that really ignored by these Oneness preachers, this is definitely the term “messenger”. “Messenger” stands for the One who bears a message; the bearer of a verbal or written communication, notice, or invitation, from one person to another. The office of a “messenger” which Christ possessed according to the Holy Scriptures defines the relation of the Son to the Father. Christ is not the Father or the Father sent Himself to the world, but Christ is the messenger of the Father (or the Father sent Jesus Christ). The reasoning that the Father existed within two distinct consciousness – one divine in heaven and the other human in the mind of the flesh – and that makes Him to exist simultaneously as two distinct beings,  is nothing but a fallacy when the concept of the word “messenger” is concerned. That is amounting to say that the Father sent Himself to the world as a messenger of His own self, and there’s indeed no such thing mentioned in the Holy Scriptures. What was written in the Bible is this; “And we know that the Son of God is come… “(I John 5:20). Come from where? Christ said, “For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.” (6:38 of John). Christ came to the world not to do His own will, but the will of the One who sent Him. It explains  that Christ is not the same person who sent Him, or else the phrase “not to do my own will” will become nonsense. The next question is, “Who sent Jesus Christ?” In John 12:49 it says, “For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak.” This is a direct and very clear statement of Christ Himself that He is not the Father. His arrival on earth is not according to His own will and the words that He speak are not of Himself… therefore, Christ is not the Father! And again, in John 13:16 Christ said, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him.” Is Christ the Father? Of course not, because the Sender is greater than the one who is sent.

Please do not be deceived by this false movement. Friendliness, good music and good food will not save you. We must pass this and all doctrine through the lens of Scripture. If a teaching is contrary to the entirety of God’s Word….it is error.

The Only Living Apostle Of Our Time

Marikina, my beloved hometown, was regarded by many Filipinos as the “shoe capital of the Philippines”. Here, shoes are being compared with the finest footwear of Italy and regarded as an ingredient of total elegance and self make-over. The largest leather made shoes in the world was displayed at the city’s Sports Arena, and many people are trying to visit and take some pictures with it.

Aside of the finest footwear of the country, Marikina also won the title “the cleanest city” in the republic. As a matter of fact, plenty of market places scattered all over the Philippines cannot be compared with the city’s Public Market when it comes to cleanliness. Marikina Public Market was well-organized by the government and vendors themselves are regulated by the discipline they earned from succeeding administrations. Thus, Marikina was regarded by its neighboring cities as the home of the disciplined people. However, the green city was suddenly spotted with a kind of dirt came from its religious sphere. Because at the heart of my hometown, a building was erected to be a worship center for a congregation established by a man named Arsenio Ferriol – a man who calls himself as the endtime apostle of the Church of Christ. His group was famous by their street preachings with matching some offering bags surrounding everywhere in the vicinity of the project area. Sometimes, they can be seen in public vehicles

Arsenio Ferriol, the Founder of the Pentecostal Missionary Church of Christ.

like buses and jeeps and sometimes knocking at your own door bringing with them some envelops where you can put your donations to the ministry. So, if you are a lawyer or a doctor, or an accountant, and you are assigned to be a part of a missionary activity in a public market, you have no choice but to carry an offering bag and ask donations from those non-believers walking in front of you – a practice never taught anywhere in the Holy Scriptures.

Arsenio Ferriol, the leader and founder of the so-called “Pentecostal Missionary Church of Christ” or “the 4th Watch”, is just one of those false and self-proclaimed apostles of the modern Christianity. Other examples are Renato Carillo of “Jesus Is Our Shield”, the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in the Mormon Church, the Charismatic apostles, and finally the Pope, who calls himself “Prince of the apostles”. Why did I believe that these so-called “apostles” are frauds and self-proclaimed apostles? Because if we will try to look deeper in the Bible, we will learn that apostleship is not just a kind of religious office which anyone can attach to their own names anytime they want, or just because they have preaching talent. The line of the apostleship passed through according to some strict procedures and standards mentioned in the Bible, except, of course, those twelve individuals personally chosen by our Lord Jesus Christ. Standards which I think cannot be applied with those pretending apostles in our age. What are these procedures and standards for choosing an apostle? The Book of Acts explains;

And in those days Peter stood up in the midst of the disciples, and said, (the number of names together were about an hundred and twenty,)

Men and brethren, this scripture must needs have been fulfilled, which the Holy Ghost by the mouth of David spake before concerning Judas, which was guide to them that took Jesus.

For he was numbered with us, and had obtained part of this ministry.

Now this man purchased a field with the reward of iniquity; and falling headlong, he burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out.

And it was known unto all the dwellers at Jerusalem; insomuch as that field is called in their proper tongue, Aceldama, that is to say, The field of blood.

For it is written in the book of Psalms, Let his habitation be desolate, and let no man dwell therein: and his bishoprick let another take.

Wherefore of these men which have companied with us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us,

Beginning from the baptism of John, unto that same day that he was taken up from us, must one be ordained to be a witness with us of his resurrection.

And they appointed two, Joseph called Barsabas, who was surnamed Justus, and Matthias.

And they prayed, and said, Thou, Lord, which knowest the hearts of all men, shew whether of these two thou hast chosen,

That he may take part of this ministry and apostleship, from which Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place.

And they gave forth their lots; and the lot fell upon Matthias; and he was numbered with the eleven apostles. (Acts 1:15-26)

When Judas Iscariote was removed from his office because of his foolishness, and that the rest of the apostles decided to choose someone who will fill the vacancy, a procedure of election was set and the candidates were chosen based upon a standard written in verse 21 and 22, where it says;

Wherefore of these men which have companied with us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us,

Beginning from the baptism of John, unto that same day that he was taken up from us, must one be ordained to be a witness with us of his resurrection.

To choose an apostle, it is necessary that the candidate should be a witnessed unto the life of Christ during His entire ministry. Question: is there anyone in our age that fits with this standard? Obviously, there’s none. Someone might ask me, “what about Barnabas and Paul”? Of course these two men were also regarded by the Scriptures as apostles. Paul, as we all know, was chosen personally by the Lord during his journey to Damascus. Barnabas, Paul’s partner was also a chosen one, but unlike Paul, he received his election in front of the members of the Church. Accordingly, he was elected by the Holy Spirit through an audible voice. In the book of Acts it says;

Now there were in the church that was at Antioch certain prophets and teachers; as Barnabas, and Simeon that was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen, which had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.

As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them.

And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away. (Acts 13:1-3).

Paul and Barnabas are personally chosen by God and confirmed through the laying of hands by the very apostles chosen during the ministry of Christ. (Galatians 2:9). Therefore, based upon these standards and procedures, no one can be declared as apostles unless he literally witnessed the life and ministry of Christ or was called by God in the same manner as of Paul and Barnabas. Its also important that the candidates should be confirmed by the very apostles of Christ.

Question: Is it rightful to say that those pretending apostles of our time

Renato Carillo of "Jesus Is Our Shield".

are true apostles? Of course, they can’t be! That’s why I’m saying that these apostles are fraud. They are fake and liars. Mr. Arsenio Ferriol of the so-called “4th Watch” is a false apostle – he who teaches his members to become beggars in front of the unbelievers; a kind of teaching very much contrary with the works of the true apostles of Christ;

Because that for his name’s sake they went forth, taking nothing of the Gentiles. (III John 1:7)

The Bishop of Rome who regards himself as “Prince of the apostles” and that man Renato Carillo who asked his members to purchase the unbiblical “prayer cloth”. And finally, Joseph Smith, a man considered as an apostle by the Mormon Church, and since he was an apostle and that apostles will judge the twelve tribes of Israel (Matthew 19:28), so Mormons say that people will appear before Christ and Joseph Smith on the Judgement Day.

For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ.

And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. (II Corinthians 11:14-15)

So, is it mean that the last day congregation of God doesn’t have an

The 12 Apostles of the Mormon Church

apostle? God forbid. In order for us to be consider as a true Church of God, we must be completed in spiritual gifts. All the apostles, from Peter to Barnabas, were already dead, and there’s no one in our time that can comply with the biblical standards of being an apostle, as what we have already proven. So, who is our living apostle? Our holy and genuine apostle? In the book of Hebrews it says;

Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus; (Hebrew 3:1)

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