The Prophecy Of Damascus And The Rapture Of The Church Series

Did you catch the phrasing and word pictures? Do you see a reference to the resurrections? Look closely.

A. Explanation of Word Pictures

The reaper in this passage is Jesus Christ. The grain that he is harvesting – the church. This passage of scripture is not only talking about a man gathering grain, and the Jewish people that will survive the battle with Syria. It’s also talking about the rapture of the church.

In verse 5 everything is being harvested whether or not the heads are mature. It’s a picture of the church at the rapture. Everyone is going home at the same time, regardless of his or her spiritual maturity or stature. If you belong to Christ, you’re going home.

Notice also the mention of the gleanings remaining in verse 6. After the grain harvest (the church being removed) there is still left the gleanings and the olive threshing. What did we say the gleanings represented? – The Tribulation saints. So, we have mentioned here the rapture of the church, or the second wave of the resurrection of the just, being followed by the third wave of the resurrection.

Last week we also mentioned that the olive tree is the symbol for the spiritual state of Israel. So after the rapture of the church, we see that Israel is still here as well to face the time of Jacob’s trouble, which is exactly what is taught elsewhere is scripture.

B. Timing of Events

But what does all this have to do with Damascus? Why do we find a reference to the rapture of the church stuck in the middle of a prophecy detailing the destruction of Damascus, Syria?

Now, I don’t want to be accused of being a date setter, because the Bible teaches that no one knows the time of the rapture not even the Lord Jesus himself. But after studying this passage and reading other minister’s interpretations of this passage, I believe we can see an overall timeline of some very close future events.

If Isaiah 17 is written in chronological order then, it appears that the fall of Damascus, which occurs in verse 1, will occur first. And then the rapture of the church will take place (verse 5) and finally the tribulation saints and Israel are left upon the earth to face the upcoming tribulation (verse 6).

Is this truly what Isaiah is saying here? Is the 17th chapter of Isaiah written chronologically? Maybe and then again maybe not, but it sure looks like it is to me. If I’m wrong, it doesn’t matter in the big scheme of things. No one’s salvation hinges on whether or not they believe this passage says the fall of Damascus must happen before the church can be raptured. But it does make an interesting argument for that interpretation.

And the fulfillment of seeing Damascus being destroyed would be a powerful witnessing tool for the Church to use before God starts gathering the members of His Church home to glory.

Conclusion

This is the last of the teachings in our prophecy series. I hope you’ve enjoyed them and learned a little bit more about the exciting times we live in. If I’ve failed to answer some questions you may have please feel free to ask me. I’ll do my best to answer you, or find the answer.