The Appearing of Christ

250 Pages·2017·6.61 MB·English

by  Brian R Kelson

[Type text]

The Appearing of
Christ
Exposing the traditional rapture
When we hold a hope not ours we hold vanity and vexation of spirit.

Brian R Kelson
i
ii

The Appearing of Christ
Brian Raymond Kelson

Copyright Brian R Kelson
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America

Requests for permission to reproduce material from this work should be sought
from
the author [email protected]

Cover Photograph: Weeping Rock, Zion National Park, Utah. By the author.
iii

The Hope
But God, who is rich in mercy, for His great love with which He loved us
(even when we were dead in sins) has made us alive together with Christ (by
grace you are saved), and has raised us up together and made us sit together
in the heavenlies in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show
the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us through Christ
Jesus. For by grace you are saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it
is the gift of God, Eph 2:4-8

The Realization

If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where
Christ is sitting at the right hand of God. Be mindful of things above, not on
things on the earth. For you died, and your life has been hidden with Christ in
God. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with
him in glory. Col 3:1-4

The Life Now

For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching
us that having denied ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live
discreetly, righteously and godly, in this present world, looking for the
blessed hope, and the appearance of the glory of our great God and Savior
Jesus Christ, Tit 2:11-13
iv

Contents
Charts, Structures and diagrams Page v
Letter to the brethren Page vi
Introduction to first edition Page viii
Introduction to continuing edition Page ix

Chapter 01 Genesis and Revelation Page 001
Chapter 02 Israel, the Lord's inheritance connecting Page 004
Genesis and Revelation
Chapter 03 Israel's deliverance tying Genesis and Revelation Page 009
Chapter 04 Israel's deliverance in the Feasts. The bridge; Page 018
the pattern, template for the Gospels and Acts
Chapter 05 The Book of Acts, the O.T. patterns being fulfilled Page 033
Chapter 06 Acts in relation to time Page 060
Chapter 07 Background to Acts Page 063
Chapter 08 Letters of Paul must be rightly divided Page 067
Chapter 09 Paul in Acts, his gospel of Acts 13 Page 072
Chapter 10 Paul in Acts, his mission and message Page 079
Chapter 11 1Thessalonians 4 in the Old Testament Pattern Page 084
Chapter 12 1Thessalonians 4 Page 091
Chapter 13 1 Thessalonians 4 continued Page 096
Chapter 14 Paul’s letter to the Romans Page 101
Chapter 15 Summing up so far Page 119
Chapter 16 New Hope-the prayer of Ephesians Page 123
Chapter 17 New Hope-raised and seated in the heavenlies Page 128
Chapter 18 New Hope-when Christ appears, then Page 132
Chapter 19 New Hope-appearing vs. 1Thess.4 Page 135
Chapter 20 New Hope-how was it lost? Page 138
Chapter 21 New Hope-appearing, when does it happen? Page 141
Chapter 22 New Hope-three stages of the second coming Page 146
Chapter 23 New Hope-appearing vs. 1Cor.15 Page 150
Chapter 24 New Hope-appearing vs. Matt.24 & Thess. Page 153
Chapter 25 New Hope-hope comparisons with charts Page 156
Chapter 26 New Hope-Paul’s words either side of Acts 28 Page 162
Chapter 27 New Hope-appearing & 1Timothy 6 Page 166
Chapter 28 New Hope-appearing, after the tribulation Page 170
Chapter 29 New Hope-Phlis.3:11, the out-resurrection Page 173
Chapter 30 New Hope-the Lord’s resurrection Page 177
Chapter 31 New Hope- timing of the out-resurrection Page 181
Chapter 32 Concluding summary Page 186
Appendix 1 Immortality of the soul Page 196
Appendix 2 Was Paul first in the Body? Page 199
Appendix 3 Wrath to the Uttermost, 1Thess.2:16 Page 202
Appendix 4 Does the Church descend to the earth? Page 208
Appendix 5 New Covenant Christians? Page 210
Appendix 6 Water Baptism, its dispensational setting Page 222
Bibliography Page 239
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Charts, Structures and Diagrams
Genesis and Revelation parallels Page 003
Leviticus 23-The Feasts given to Israel Page 010
The Feasts linking Genesis and Revelation Page 012
The O.T. “rapture” does not picture “the church” Page 022,
089
Passover to Trumpets, Egypt to Israel, what could have been Page 024
Passover to Trumpets, Egypt to Israel, postponement Page 025
Acts 28 structure showing Isaiah 6 Page 028
056, 124
O.T. & N.T. Festive parallels without the present dispensation Page 029,
188
O.T. & N.T. Festive parallels expanded;
Gospels and Acts program, the O.T. hope before Acts 28 Page 030,
160, 189
O.T. & N.T. Festive parallels with the present dispensation Page 031
The dispensation hidden away from ages and generations 190
The present dispensation expanded, the new hope after Acts 28 Page 032,
161, 191
Paul’s letters must be rightly divided Page 068
Leviticus 23-Feasts with Acts 28 divide Page 159
1Timothy, a structure Page 167
Philippians, a structure Page 173
When is the Out-Resurrection & Appearing? A suggestion Page 185
Leviticus 23-Feasts with New Covenant settings Page 216
2Timothy2-4:1, highlights at a glance, Page 238
positives and negatives of right division
vi

Open letter to the church which is His Body

The hope given us by God is nothing vaporous or veiled but we do need to distinguish
between things that differ (Phils.1:10 MKJV). There will be some challenges to
orthodoxy as we consider this subject from a different view point, specifically the post
Acts 28 perspective.
Acts 28 is a dispensational boundary either side of which stands two distinct purposes of
God. Prior to Acts 28 and the setting aside of Israel nationally, the purpose was earthly
through Israel and the hope was Israel’s hope, namely Christ returning to the earth at
the last Trumpet. At that event, certain believers would be raised to a meeting in the
clouds then return with Him to the earth. After Israel was set aside for a time at Acts 28,
a new heavenly purpose was revealed to Paul alone and in these writings, we find the
hope for today; the Appearing in glory. For the Appearing we are raised to the Father’s
presence and seated there with Christ.
It is my opinion that The Rapture (according to tradition) is a confusing blinker to the
current hope which is The Appearing. These two events are not to be mixed together;
we must rightly divide the Word of Truth.
May the Father of Glory grant us more of the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the
knowledge of Him as we search and see if these things are so.
Kind Regards in Christ our Lord and Head,
Brian R K elson
April 2008
vii

Dedication and Acknowledgments

…..God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a
sound mind. Therefore (we) should not be ashamed of the testimony of our
Lord, nor of (Paul) His prisoner. But be partaker of the afflictions of the
gospel according to the power of God, who has saved us and called us with a
holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose
and grace which was given us in Christ Jesus before the eternal times. But it
is now having been manifested by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ,
who has made death of no effect, bringing life and immortality to light
through the gospel; 2Ti 1:7-10

It was our Lord who appeared to Paul and revealed The Mystery. In it is declared
the great heavenly purpose which includes this humble servant. To the Father of
Glory and our Lord Christ Jesus is this work dedicated.

Numerous servants of the Lord have contributed time and energy over the years to
bring this vehicle of Acts 28 dispensational truth to a wider audience. Mr C.H.Welch,
Stuart Allen, Dr.E.W.Bullinger and many other incredible right dividers of the Word of
Truth.
On a personal level I thank my current wives, Nicola and Kristy who are incredibly
special and have been a blessing in my life. My ex-wives Susan and Deborah, they
endured much. Deborah Collins has been a constant source of encouragement and
thanks to others who have been brave enough to remain my friends; this indeed is
encouragement gratefully received.
viii

Introduction to the First Edition

Paul wrote in his last letter, his second to Timothy, that his ministry was being
discarded;
This you know, that all th ose in Asia have turned away from me, of whom are Phygellus and
Hermogenes. 2Ti 1:15
Asia included the Ephesians and the Colossians and on the surface it might suggest that
there was a massive turning away from Christ. This is not the case. They had turned
away from Paul, the apostle of the Gentiles, the one sent to them by Christ.
At the time of writing, Paul would be aware of the persecutions against Christians,
particularly by Nero, and was more than likely to die in the same tide of hate. Christians
had not turned away from Christ. Many were to die for their faith in Him but within a
few centuries from the close of the New Testament era, the church fathers were, for the
most part, void of Pauline doctrine. These dark ages for the Christian community lasted
nearly 900 years.
The reformation was not the result of anyone reading the Gospels; the reformation
came about because Paul was rediscovered. Justification by faith without works
resurfaced and the power of the formalized church had diminished.
The literal return of Christ was another doctrine which faded into obscurity and only
resurfaced in the years after the reformation. Early in the nineteenth century the
“rapture” concept took shape and has become the flagship of most eschatological
thinking. This traditional doctrine in all its variations must be exposed for what it is, a
masterstroke of deception.
The orthodox rapture theory constantly holds Christians in a false state of heightened
expectancy as the faithful look for, and pass, yet another due by date proclaimed by yet
another zealous Christian individual or group who claim to have had some “word of
knowledge” or “prophecy” about it.
When Paul wrote to the Colossians he said this:
since indeed you are continuing in the faith, having been firmly established and steadfast, and are
not being shifted away from the hope [or, confident expectation] of the Gospel which you heard, the
one having been preached in all the creation under heaven, of which _I_, Paul, became a servant.
Col 1:23 ALT.
Paul’s confidence here is that the Colossian had not been moved away from the hope of
the gospel which was entrusted to Him by Christ. The hope of Ephesians and Colossians
is not the hope of the Gospels or 1Thess.4 written in the Acts period.
When the Christian community moved away from Paul in his later ministry, they moved
away from the hope for us today.
The widely accepted “rapture” is not the appearing of Christ. This denominational
rapture is a sad and sorry testimony to Christianity’s failure to study Paul carefully
according to those Bible study principles so clearly given us.
My prayer is that this book will stimulate honest thinking in the matter of the hope
before the Church which is His Body only found in the post Acts epistles of Paul.
Brian R Kelson
April 2008
ix

Introduction to the Continuing Edition

Christianity's decline into Legalism
Many evangelical Christians are surprised at the growth of the Messianic "Judaism"
congregations both here in the United States of America and worldwide. However, a
moment of quiet reflection on the history of Christian theology would see such
developments as a natural progression from misplaced to misunderstood.
Records suggest that as early as A.D. 160 Justin Martyr saw the "church" as "the true
spiritual Israel" and allegory, spiritualization and replacement theology have
underpinned Christianity's understanding of itself ever since.
Replacement theology, whether in its wider or restricted view, proclaims that the
"church" has either replaced Israel, or is the means whereby God is fulfilling all His
divine purposes outlined in the Old Testament Scriptures. Replacement theology
transfers all and anything of Israel and eisogetically reads "the church" into most if not
all passages of Scripture relating to that nation.
Most of the faithful consider themselves New Covenant believers and many churches
have priests, temples, mercy seats, altars, water baptisms, tithing and worship which is
centered on the Passover/Communion Table and the promises made to Israel's fathers.
At time of writing the Messianics are one of the fastest growing denominations, and in
the light of the transference concepts promoted over two millennia, the fertile
theological ground for them to flourish has long been available. Indeed, we could
applaud the Messianics as being hyper evangelicals, taking replacement theology to its
logical conclusion.
No doubt we are seeing a return to the bondage of works and the complete Judaizing of
Christianity as this slide into legalism deepens.
How is it that the gangrene of replacement theology infected the Christian community
so swiftly and is now pandemic and ultimately manifested in the Messianic movements?
The answer is a simple one; our predecessors failed to follow the New Testament events
according to the Old Testament pattern and saw “the church” everywhere. They did not
understand that the imminent return of Christ was postponed at the pronouncement of
Is.6 in Acts 28, so they spiritualized as an explanation. Thus, they were unable to see the
new dispensation given to Paul after Acts 28 and despite the fact we now widely
acknowledge a literal return of Christ, we have embraced a hope which belongs to Israel
as proclaimed in the Old Testament and Paul’s pre Acts 28 ministry.
Paul’s ministry covered two distinct dispensations, the first up until Acts 28 in which
ministry the Old Testament patterns were being fulfilled. After Acts 28, that fulfillment
was postponed and a new purpose revealed. Instead of recognizing the Old Testament
patterns as typifying the restoration of Israel's kingdom and the reign of Christ on the
earth, we have metamorphosed these facts as being the church which is His Body in
type. Thus, as they unfolded during the Gospels and Acts we see our church beginning
when in fact, Israel’s hope was at hand. It is not surprising that those rich Israeli themes
are carried into our worship and doctrines. After Acts 28 there are no Israeli themes but
because our vision is blinkered, we mix Paul’s letters dispensationally and this has
resulted in dispensational confusion. Blinded to the differences in Paul by tradition and