It was forty days after His resurrection that Christ ascended into the cloud in the sight of many witnesses, but certainly not for the purpose of escaping tribulation.

The standing of the elect on their feet on the earth is the first resurrection from the dead, the resurrection of God's kings, priests, and judges. They are His witnesses and have suffered at the hands of the religious leaders of the world. Now they are in authority and are the God- ordained judges of the people who persecuted them. Such is the perfect justice of almighty God.

This is the resurrection of the indestructible army of dead-living saints.

I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. (Galatians 2:20)

So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army. (Ezekiel 37:10)

Notice that Elijah is a type of the two witnesses in that he was caught up to Heaven. But Elisha also is a type of the two witnesses in that he died of a sickness (typical of the overcoming of the saints by Antichrist) and then was responsible for the resurrection of a dead man. Elisha is a strong type of those who will bear the double portion of the anointing.

And it came to pass, as they were burying a man, that, behold, they spied a band of men; and they cast the man into the sepulchre of Elisha: and when the man was let down, and touched the bones of Elisha, he revived, and stood up on his feet. (II Kings 13:21)

Because the elect are resurrected and are indestructibly alive before they ascend into the air to meet the Lord, it can be seen that the contemporary doctrine of the "rapture to escape tribulation" is as illogical as it is unscriptural.

Why would the resurrected saints be required to be caught up to Heaven in order to escape tribulation when they already are indestructible? Most of them have just returned from Heaven, having been there for hundreds or thousands of years.

As soon as we are raised from the dead we are invincible, along with Abraham, Moses, James, and all the other saints. Do we truly believe people of this position in God, already having been in Heaven for thousands of years, must be "raptured" because of their fear of suffering under Antichrist?

Did Jesus ascend into the cloud in order to escape suffering at the hands of wicked people? The resurrected Christ could appear and disappear at will. After His resurrection He no longer was subject to the attacks of wicked, Satan-filled people.

In like manner, after our own resurrection we no longer will be subject to the attacks of wicked, Satan-filled people. There will be no need for us, after we have been raised from the dead, to be caught up into the air in order to escape tribulation.

To be continued.