Raptureless Quotes

“First century Christians living in Israel knew they had only forty years to spread the gospel before Jesus came on clouds to destroy Jerusalem and they had to flee to the mountains. Because of this, they spoke of it being “the last hour” and “the latter times.” They said things like, “He is standing at the door,” and, “The Lord is at hand and the day is about to come.” This was their reality, but it is not ours. We must choose to stop taking what the New Testament authors meant for those living between AD 30 and AD 70 and applying it to our future.”
― Jonathan Welton, Raptureless: Third Edition

“The spirit of Elijah is not something we are looking for or waiting for. We have the privilege of living inside Christ, who is greater than Elijah.”
― Jonathan Welton, Raptureless: Third Edition

“Jesus set in motion a Kingdom that is still progressing and being established more and more each day. It will continue to progress until it has fulfilled the following verses: …For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea (Isaiah 11:9 NKJV). For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea (Habakkuk 2:14 NKJV). But truly, as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the LORD (Numbers 14:21 NKJV).”
― Jonathan Welton, Raptureless: Third Edition

“The Kingdom came in the manger, was proclaimed by John the Baptist, was explained and demonstrated by Jesus, was confirmed in the covenant of forgiveness at the Last Supper, was established more fully by the finishing of the old covenant on the cross, and was passed on to the apostolic ambassadors before Jesus’ ascension. Then it grew throughout the Book of Acts to reach the entire inhabited and civilized world before the AD 70 destruction removed the old covenant ways entirely.”
― Jonathan Welton, Raptureless: Third Edition

“The idea that the Father beat the Son to death violates every Old Testament shadow of the lamb sacrifice leading up to Jesus’ death. Also, Isaiah 53:4b is quite revealing, “We saw his suffering and thought God was punishing him.” Isaiah clearly prophesied that we would misunderstand what was happening to Jesus at the cross. Those who try to hold up their argument about the wrath of God with Isaiah 53 prove Isaiah’s prophecy about not understanding the cross.”
― Jonathan Welton, Raptureless: Third Edition

“The first thing we must recognize is that the crucifixion of Christ did nothing to assuage the wrath of God.1 Jesus was not the Father’s “wrath sponge” soaking up His anger toward sin on the cross. Although it is a popular notion, we have absolutely no indication of this in Scripture.2 The reality of what Christ did on the cross was that He operated as a perfect lamb sacrifice, thus creating a brand new covenant through which the Father could forgive sin once and for all. The cross was not the punishment of sin; the cross made a way for the Father to forgive sin. God did not punish our debt of sin; He forgave our debt of sin through the perfect sacrifice. No lamb sacrifice was ever punished for sin. Rather, the lamb’s death simply enacted covenantal forgiveness. The animal merely stood between the owner and God, and its shed blood brought covenantal forgiveness. Jesus, the perfect lamb, released perfect forgiveness (see Heb. 8:6–13).”
― Jonathan Welton, Raptureless: Third Edition

“The end of the age, the end, the last times, the last days, and the day of the Lord were very specific references to the days between Jesus’ prophecy in Matthew 24 and its fulfillment in AD 70. These were the last days of Judaism and Jerusalem. But we are not in the last days. The last days—the transition period during the death of the old covenant—are long behind us. Many don’t understand that the old covenant age ended with the AD 70 destruction and that the whole New Testament speaks of that end. We are now living in the Kingdom age, which grows without end.”
― Jonathan Welton, Raptureless: Third Edition

“Often this subject of the beast is connected in people’s minds with the infamous mark of the beast found in Revelation 13:16–17. This mark of the beast has been the cause of much fear, so I will address it here, even though I am not covering the entire Book of Revelation.11 Regarding the mark of the beast, it is important to note that in the ancient culture of Rome, the public market was the main source of trade and retail. For people to enter the public market, they had to pass through the main gate. It was required of all who entered the main gate to pay homage to the idol of the Emperor. Once homage was paid, ashes were placed on the hand or on the forehead of the individual, and then they were allowed to pass through the gates and buy and sell merchandise.12 This was called “taking the mark.” The parallels between this and the mark of the beast are stunning, and they further confirm the reality that the beast was Nero and the Roman Empire.”
― Jonathan Welton, Raptureless: Third Edition

“John clearly said any person who denies that Jesus came in the flesh, which is what the Gnostics of the first century were doing, is operating in the spirit of antichrist. In other words, the antichrist isn’t a person; it is a belief system, specifically, Gnosticism.”
― Jonathan Welton, Raptureless: Third Edition

“Jesus was saying that the gospel would be preached throughout the Roman Empire before He would come in judgment upon Jerusalem and the Temple. He was right. This has been fulfilled, and it has no further fulfillment in our future. We are not waiting for every person to hear the gospel so that the rapture can suddenly take place.21”
― Jonathan Welton, Raptureless: Third Edition

“What if you chose to believe optimistically about the endtimes, raise godly kids, plan long-term, reject thoughts of fear, and work as a member of the Bride making herself ready (see Rev. 19:7)? Even if you are wrong and suddenly get raptured out, what have you lost? You will have been a good steward of what God put in your hands rather than sitting on your hands, burying your talents, and waiting for a rapture that may not come in your lifetime! If you spend your life in fear, trying to figure out dates and guess who the antichrist is, you will be held accountable for all that wasted living.”
― Jonathan Welton, Raptureless: An Optimistic Guide to the End of the World - Revised Edition Including The Art of Revelation