Posts Tagged ‘The Rapture’

Apocalyptic Fever

Sunday, May 15th, 2011


(May 15, 2011) I believe every generation since Jesus Christ walked the earth has believed they were living in the End-Times. The Thessalonian Church of the First Century was worried that their fellow Christians who had died would miss the second coming of Jesus Christ. Millennial fervor swept through elements of Christendom leading up to the year 1000 A.D. (here is a website with a list of apocalyptic dates in history) The current generation is no different from previous ones when it comes to some sort of Apocalyptic Fever. Last week someone at my job asked me about the news story stating that Jesus Christ would return on May 21, 2011. They had heard the women on the television show The View discussing it. Later in the week I heard the following commercial on one of our local secular radio stations:

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It is amazing to me that Christians continue to set dates about the return of Jesus Christ.

The Millerites

In 1833 William Miller, a Baptist layman, was convinced that Jesus would return sometime during the years 1843-44. He gained a substantial number of followers. Eventually they came to the conclusion that Jesus would return on October 22, 1844 based on the 2300 day prophecy in Daniel 8:14. Some followers prepared for this event by getting rid of their possessions. When Jesus did not return the “Millerites” were understandably disillusioned while at the same time the general public ridiculed them. There were even some acts of violence perpetrated against Miller’s followers.

88 Reasons Why the Rapture is in 1988

More recently Edgar C. Whisenant, a NASA engineer, published a pamphlet titled 88 Reasons Why the Rapture Will Be in 1988. Once again elements of the Evangelical Church including Trinity Broadcast Network were caught up in Rapture fever. When Jesus failed to return that year Whisenant published a new pamphlet titled The final shout: Rapture report 1989. When that date passed he wrote more pamphlets predicting that the return of Jesus would occur in the early 1990s.

Harold Camping

Harold Camping is the president of Family Radio, a Christian broadcasting network based in California. In 1993, Camping wrote a book in which he said there was a “strong likelihood” that Jesus would return in 1994. Here is a partial audio recording of a debate between Harold Camping and John Noe on the Larry King Live show in 1993:

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This would not be the end of Harold Camping’s date-setting.

May 21, 2011

On March 8, 2011 the Daily Mail newspaper website posted the following headline with the accompanying article which discusses Harold Camping’s latest foray into predicting the return of Jesus Christ: ‘Awesome, it’s the end of the world’: Doomsday campers travel the country preaching the Apocalypse…on May 21 The article states: “Most people like to push thoughts about the end of the world to the back of their minds, hoping that the apocalypse, if it ever comes, will be a long way off. But for one group of not-so happy campers, doomsday is a lot sooner…May 21 to be precise. According to the predictions of the Family Radio ministry, on that date a massive earthquake will shake the world apart, littering the ground with ‘many dead bodies’. Those who believe in Jesus will be carried into heaven, while the rest of humanity will endure 153 days of ‘death and horror’ before the world ends on October 21…Speaking to CNN the group’s leader, 89-year-old Harold Camping, is adamant that the date is accurate. He said: ‘I know it’s absolutely true, because the Bible is always absolutely true. ‘If I were not faithful that would mean that I’m a hypocrite.’ Despite his conviction, Camping has predicted the world would end before – on September 4 1994. That, he says, was a mistake, a misreading of the biblical codes used to decipher the exact date of the ‘rapture’. In order to get the warning out in time he fudged his calculations, a mistake he maintains he did not make this time.” [emphasis added]

The article then reports the calculations Camping used to come to the conclusion that the Lord would act on May 21, 2011: “According to the Church’s website, there are two ‘proofs’ that May 21 2011 is the judgement day. According to them, Noah’s great flood occurred in the year 4990 B.C., ‘exactly’ 7000 years ago. At the time, God said to Noah he had seven days before the flood would begin. Taking a passage from 2 Peter 3:8, in which it is said a day for God is like a thousand human years, the church reasoned that seven ‘days’ equals 7000 human years from the time of the flood,making 2011 the year of the apocalypse. In its second ‘proof’ the exact date is revealed by working forward from the exact date of the of the crucifixion – April 1, 33 AD. According to their reasoning, there are exactly 722,500 days from April 1, 33 A.D. until May 21, 2011 – the alleged day of judgement. This number can be represented as follows: 5 x 10 x 17 x 5 x 10 x 17 = 722,500. The church then argues that numbers in the bible have special meanings, with the number 5 signifying atonement or redemption, the number 10 signifying ‘completeness’ and the number 17 equalling heaven.”

Why?

Why do Christians continue to set dates concerning the return of Jesus? As I said at the beginning of this article, interest in the second coming of Jesus Christ began in the early church. I believe the desire to see His return is a God-given desire to those who believe in Him. The apostle Paul wrote, “12 Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; 13 Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ; 14 Who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto Himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.” (Titus 2:12-14) Because of this desire I believe some people try to “help” the Lord fulfill His prophetic word. God had promised to give Abraham his one desire, a son. Instead of waiting on the Lord to fulfill His promise, Abraham tried to “help” the Lord out by sleeping with one of his wife’s handmaids. This resulted in the birth of Ishmael which eventually led to many problems for Abraham and his Jewish descendants. God, according to His timing, did fulfill His promise with the birth of Isaac. The problem with Christian date-setting is that it is clearly contrary to the word of God. Jesus said concerning His return, “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.” (Matthew 24:36) In the article above Harold Camping stated, “I know it’s absolutely true, because the Bible is always absolutely true.” Therefore Mr. Camping and all the Christians throughout history should have known that the return of Jesus Christ will be in God’s timing and that we will never know the precise date of that timing. This truth notwithstanding, we will once again be subjected to Apocalyptic Fever next year as we approach the Mayan prophetic date of December 21, 2012.

What about this generation?

Is this generation different than all the previous generations when it comes to expectations about the return of Jesus Christ? Not in regards to Christian and biblical beliefs. I believe God has put in Christians today the same spiritual desire as all those who came before us. However, there is one extraordinary difference between us and those who preceded us. For eighteen hundred years the Jews as a people were dispersed throughout the world. Yet God promised in the Old Testament that one day He would bring the Jews back to the land of Israel and that He would never remove them from the land again. In 1948 God returned the Jews to their land. I believe the culmination of this prophecy will occur when Jesus does return and gathers the rest of His elect from the four corners of the earth and brings them to Israel.

From a non-biblical viewpoint, I wonder how long humanity can go on with the turmoil that is occurring around the world and is likely to continue. Islamic terrorists can never give up trying to regain control of Israel and therefore terrorism will not abate. With the advent of globalization in the 20th and 21st centuries, economies are so interdependent that an economic disaster to any segment of the earth’s governments can have an adverse effect on the rest of the world. Even the world has some sense of foreboding concerning the earth’s future. Three days ago bloomberg.com posted a story about Russians who were purchasing bunkers because they thought a global catastrophe was in the near future (Rich Russians Buy Bunkers on Apocalypse Angst). The first line of this article states, “Terrorism can be good for bunker builders. An apocalypse can be even better for business.” Last year there was a story of some Europeans fleeing to caves in order to protect themselves from some future calamity. I wrote an article last June concerning a Pew Research poll of Americans and the return of Jesus Christ. 41% of Americans think that Jesus will return by the year 2050. Of course these people have no way of knowing that but it does reflect a growing sense of pessimism about the earth’s current state of affairs.

Lastly, besides the rebirth of Israel there is one other biblical prophecy spoken by Jesus which may have some bearing on how soon He may return. His disciples asked Him a few days before His crucifixion and resurrection what the signs would be of His return and the end of the age. He gave them several signs but one in particular referred to the actual timing of His second coming: “This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.” (Matthew 24:14) How close is this prophecy to fulfillment? Last year I did an article titled, “Bible translators hope to have every language covered in 15 years”. I am not saying that Jesus will return in the next fifteen years. What I am trying to do here and with this blog is illustrate that events have occurred, are occurring, and will occur that seem to indicate that Jesus’ return will be sooner rather than later. How much sooner I cannot say because “Of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.”

The Great Apostasy and the Second Coming of Jesus Christ

Sunday, April 3rd, 2011

(April 3, 2011) “8 When the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:8) I believe this is one of the most intriguing things Jesus said during His earthly ministry. To whom was He directing this question? Was He trying to motivate the Disciples to spread the faith? No, He knew they were going to preach the gospel throughout the Roman Empire and lead many to faith in Him (Luke 21:12-15). Was He trying to motivate future generations which would include us to spread the faith? No, because in Matthew 24:14 He stated as a fact that the gospel would be preached in all the world and then the end would come. Or was He asking a rhetorical question of Himself? I believe that He indeed was making a statement with this question indicating that true faith would be lacking on earth when He returns again. The context of this question begins in the last section of chapter 17 of Luke where He describes His second coming. He immediately follows this with a parable of the Unjust Judge and persistent prayer in the first seven verses of chapter 18. The meaning of this parable is that His followers should be persistently praying that His kingdom would come without further delay. He concludes this parable by asking if He will find faith on earth when He does come again. The answer to this question lies in biblical prophecy.

The Tribulation Period

The apostle Paul’s first written letters were to the Christians in the Church of Thessaloniki, Greece. He wrote them circa 50-52 A.D. which was about twenty years after the crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ. End-Times prophecy pervades these two letters and reveals that the early Church had a tremendous interest in the second coming of Jesus and the events leading up to it. In chapter four of 1 Thessalonians Paul explains the event that Christians call the Rapture or taking away of Christians from the earth. Chapter five discusses the timing of the Day of the Lord. In chapter two of 2 Thessalonians Paul speaks of the evil ruler (whom Christians call the Antichrist) and the events surrounding his ascension to power:

“1 Now we request you, brethren, with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, 2 that you not be quickly shaken from your composure or be disturbed either by a spirit or a message or a letter as if from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. 3 Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, 4 who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God. 5 Do you not remember that while I was still with you, I was telling you these things? 6 And you know what restrains him now, so that in his time he will be revealed. 7 For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only he who now restrains will do so until he is taken out of the way. 8 Then that lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord will slay with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming; 9 that is, the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders, 10 and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved. 11 For this reason God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they will believe what is false, 12 in order that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness. 13 But we should always give thanks to God for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth.” (2 Thessalonians 2:1-13)

Paul states that the Antichrist will come to power and enter the rebuilt third Jewish Temple in Jerusalem and will declare himself to be God. Then Jesus will return and destroy him at His second coming. However, before that happens there will be an apostasy or falling away from the Christian faith which will cause the world to look for an earthly leader to rule over them. They will reject the truths of God’s word concerning His Son Jesus Christ and turn to Satan’s son for their earthly salvation. These events are corroborated in chapter 13 of the Book of Revelation which talks about how the beast or Antichrist will deceive the whole world.

Jesus also warned that many would be led astray from Him, the true Messiah, just before His second coming:

“3 As He was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, ‘Tell us, when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?’ 4 And Jesus answered and said to them, ‘See to it that no one misleads you. 5 For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will mislead many…21 For then there will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will. 22 Unless those days had been cut short, no life would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short. 23 Then if anyone says to you, ‘Behold, here is the Christ,’ or ‘There He is,’ do not believe him. 24 For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect. 25 Behold, I have told you in advance. 26 So if they say to you, ‘Behold, He is in the wilderness,’ do not go out, or, ‘Behold, He is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe them. 27 For just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes even to the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be.” (Matthew 24:3-5,21-27)

The Great Apostasy

In his second letter to Timothy and the last epistle he wrote, Paul issues two warnings about the apostasy coming in the last days:

“1 But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: 2 For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3 unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, 4 traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 having a form of godliness but denying its power.” (2 Timothy 3:1-5)

and:

“1 I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom: 2 preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction. 3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, 4 and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths.” (2 Timothy 4:1-4)

Jesus said that the signs of the last days would be like labor pains (Matthew 24:8), meaning they will get more and more intense in nature and come closer and closer together. Thus, the apostasy will also be great with those who turn away from the true faith of Jesus Christ just before His return. Paul described the beginning of the end of true Christianity by stating that people will have “a form of godliness but denying its power”. The Christian Church began its slide toward this final, great apostasy with the Age of Enlightenment beginning in the late 1700s. The world then was declaring that reason should triumph over superstition and religious authoritarianism. This led to the decline of the Church and to the denial of the supernatural aspects of the Bible while at the same time giving rise to secular humanism and liberalism. Although Protestant churches went on having a form of godliness, they denied the power thereof which eventually led to the near extinction of any Spirit-filled churches in Europe by the 21st Century. It appears that Islam is now filling the vacuum left by the exit of true Christianity in Europe.

Elements of the modern Christian Church in America seem to be fulfilling Paul’s final warning that “the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths.” There are church leaders who teach that the orthodox doctrine of eternal Hell and torment is false and that a loving God would not punish someone forever. Consequently they support the heretical doctrine of Universalism which states that every human being will eventually experience salvation whether or not they receive Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. Others teach that all religions have good aspects to them and that believing in Jesus is only necessary for those of the Christian faith. Therefore we can be united with those who have chosen to find God through other faiths. If Christians declare that Jesus is the only way to salvation then they are being intolerant of those of other faiths. If Christians state that homosexuality or abortion is sinful then they are narrow-minded bigots and hatemongers who don’t care about or love others. Experience, sentimentality, and relativity dominate the teaching of these modern church leaders while sound biblical doctrine is reinterpreted or dispensed with altogether. All of this leads many in the modern church movement to denigrate and disparage those Christians who maintain a belief in the doctrinal truths of God’s word. Tragically, I believe it will cause many in the future to participate in the great apostasy that is going to occur during the End-Times.

When the Son of Man returns will He find faith on earth?

There are a couple of other prophecies which have a bearing on the answer to this question. The first is the Rapture of the Christian Church. If the Rapture occurs before the Tribulation Period, there will be no Christians left on the earth at that time. However, God seals 144,000 Jews who will apparently lead millions to Christ during that seven-year period of Tribulation. But John sees many of those same millions of new believers in heaven after they had been martyred by the Antichrist and his followers. Thus, after the Rapture and the apostasy and the martyrdom of the Tribulation saints and the devastation of the earth because of God’s judgment, it appears that there will be few left who have faith when Jesus returns at His second coming. There will be more goats than sheep on earth at the time of His return (Matthew 25:31-46).

having a form of godliness but denying its power.”

Noah’s Ark and the Rapture

Tuesday, April 27th, 2010

(April 28, 2010) Noah’s Ark may have been found according to the London Newspaper The Sun (‘Noah’s Ark’ found in Turkey) and Fox News (Has Noah’s Ark Been Found on Turkish Mountaintop?). The Fox News article reports, “A group of Chinese and Turkish evangelical explorers say wooden remains they have discovered on Mount Ararat in eastern Turkey are the remains of Noah’s Ark. The group claims that carbon dating proves the relics are 4,800 years old, meaning they date to around the same time the ark was said to be afloat. Mt. Ararat has long been suspected as the final resting place of the craft by evangelicals and literalists hoping to validate biblical stories. Yeung Wing-Cheung, from the Noah’s Ark Ministries International research team that made the discovery, said: ‘It’s not 100 percent that it is Noah’s Ark, but we think it is 99.9 percent that this is it.’” The Sun article includes video footage of the find. Christian archaeologist Dr. Randall Price, who was with this team of explorers when they made the find in 2008, considers this event to be a hoax (Statement of Dr. Randall Price on the Alleged Discovery of a Wooden Structure on Mt. Ararat). In any event, the story of Noah does have End-Times prophetic implications.

The Days of Noah

Jesus said, “30 And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31 And He shall send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. 32 Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: 33 So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors. 34 Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled. 35 Heaven and earth shall pass away, but My words shall not pass away. 36 But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but My Father only. 37 But as the days of Noe [Noah] were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. 38 For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, 39 And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.” (Matthew 24″30-39)

How was it in the “days of Noah” ? The Book of Genesis answers this question: “5 And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 6 And it repented the LORD that He had made man on the earth, and it grieved Him at His heart. 7 And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth Me that I have made them. 8 But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.” (Genesis 6:5-8)

Except for Noah and his family the human race had turned from God and thought to do evil only. Because of the sinfulness of man a case could be made that every generation since Noah has thought to do evil only. Is the time we are living in any different than all the previous generations? It is interesting that five chapters later in Genesis (after a partial repopulation of the earth) an event occurred which I do believe has a modern-day parallel:

“1 And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech. 2 And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they dwelt there. 3 And they said one to another, Go to, let us make brick, and burn them thoroughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for morter. 4 And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth. 5 And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded. 6 And the LORD said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do. 7 Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech. 8 So the LORD scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city. 9 Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the LORD did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did the LORD scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth.” (Genesis 11:1-9)

The people once again started to turn from God by trying to “make us a name” and unify apart from the will of God who said they were to fill the earth. In our day the people of the world are turning away from the God of the Bible and His Son and trying to unite as a global community. Instead of worshipping God the world wants to worship “Mother Earth”. This global desire will culminate in the cult of the Antichrist when he appears on the world stage:

“1 And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast [Antichrist] rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy. 2 And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority. 3 And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast. 4 And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him? 5 And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months. 6 And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven. 7 And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations. 8 And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.” (Revelation 13:1-8)

For the first time in history technology has made the possibility of a global community a reality. This time however, God won’t destroy the world with water but will allow mankind under the leadership of this evil world ruler to begin the destruction themselves. God will add His judgments to the those of man and they will only cease with the second coming of Jesus Christ.

The Ark and the Rapture

There is one other parallel to the story of Noah and End-Times prophecy. Christians who believe in the Pre-Tribulation Rapture use the example of God saving Noah before His flood judgment came upon the world as prophetic type of how God will remove His followers before He judges the world in the End-Times. God called Noah, his family, and His creatures into the ark before the flood began. The wording used in Genesis is interesting:

“1 And the LORD said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before Me in this generation. 2 Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee by sevens, the male and his female: and of beasts that are not clean by two, the male and his female. 3 Of fowls also of the air by sevens, the male and the female; to keep seed alive upon the face of all the earth…15 And they went in unto Noah into the ark, two and two of all flesh, wherein is the breath of life. 16 And they that went in, went in male and female of all flesh, as God had commanded him: and the LORD shut him in.” (Genesis 7:1-3,15-16)

Notice that the LORD called His people and He shut them safely inside the ark. Thus, Pre-Tribulationists believe that before God begins His judgments upon the earth He will call His people to heaven with the Rapture. God seems to confirm this principle in the prophetic Book of Isaiah:

“20 Come, My people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast. 21 For, behold, the LORD cometh out of His place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity: the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain.” (Isaiah 26:20-21)

It may be that our days are like the days of Noah. If so, God’s judgment may not be far off. Only He knows exactly when it will begin.

This Generation: Womb to the Zoom (Rapture) or Tomb?

Thursday, November 26th, 2009
The Rapture

The Rapture

(November 26, 2009) The most controversial End-Times event is the Rapture. The controversy involves two main issues. The first is when will the Rapture take place in relation to other prophesied End-Times events.

The Tribulation Period

Both Jesus and and the prophet Daniel spoke of a future time of horror coming upon the earth and its inhabitants:

“21 For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. 22 And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened.” - Matthew 24:21-22

“1 And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.” – Daniel 12:1

Some have stated that these two prophecies refer to the destruction of the Jewish Temple in 70 A.D. However, if the Holy Spirit was referring to that event then both prophecies would have been rendered inaccurate. The key phrases in these two passages speak of this future trouble as having never occurred at any time in history. That is not true for the Roman destruction of the Temple in 70 A.D. Six hundred years earlier the Babylonians destroyed the first Jewish Temple and took the Jewish nation captive. One could probably make a case for the two World Wars in the Twentieth Century as being the worst destruction and devastation in human history (aside from the Flood). Thus the time of trouble or Tribulation Period as Christians refer to it is yet future and will be unlike and other time in history.

The timing of the Rapture revolves around the Tribulation Period which will last seven years. It will occur just prior to the Tribulation or sometime during the seven years or at the end of the Tribulation when Jesus returns to the earth to judge the nations and set up His Millennial kingdom. Those who hold to a particular viewpoint on this issue usually are very passionate for their position and can quote scripture to support their belief. Because of this I don’t know when the Rapture will occur, only that it will occur because the apostle Paul prophesied it would in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17 and 1 Corinthians 15:51-53. If it was clear when the Rapture would take place there wouldn’t be the divisiveness among Christians concerning this issue. These same Christians would agree that a person is saved only through the sacrificial atonement of Jesus Christ. They would agree that Jesus was born of a virgin. They would agree that Jesus Christ was crucified for our sins. They would agree that God raised Jesus from the dead. They would agree that Jesus ascended back into heaven. Why would they agree? Because God’s word is absolutely clear on these issues. Why don’t they agree on the timing of the Rapture? Because the Bible is not clear when it will take place. The fact that there is disagreement on this issue is proof that the Bible is not clear on the subject. (For further discussion on the timing of the Rapture please see Ch. 8 – The Rapture Mystery from my book Even at the Doors: Jesus, Israel, and the End-Times )

Here is a video from a church that believes in the Pre-Tribulation Rapture:

The Rapture, this Generation?

The second issue concerns when will the Rapture take place in God’s plan for humanity (and thereby all the End-Times prophesied events). There have been attempts by people in recent history to specify a date for the Rapture (contrary to Jesus’ statement that “of that day and hour knoweth no man” - Matthew 24:36). I remember one example that occurred in 1988. Edgar C. Whisenant published a booklet titled 88 Reasons Why the Rapture Will Be in 1988. Obviously the Rapture did not occur that year or any other year in history. One day the Rapture will occur. The apostle Paul declared in his letter to the Christians in Thessalonica, Greece:

“13 But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. 15 For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. 16 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: 17 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. 18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words. ” - 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

He elaborated on the Rapture teaching in his letter to the Christians in Corinth, Greece:

51 Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. 53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.” - 1 Corinthians 15:51-53

In the first passage Paul was answering the Thessalonian Christians’ fear that they had missed the return of Jesus. He goes on to tell them that Jesus will descend from heaven and call His children to come up to Him in the air. The words “caught up” are translated from the Greek verb harpazo which means to seize suddenly or snatch away. The implication (as alluded to in the Corinthian passage which states this will occur in the twinkling of an eye) is that believers will be snatched up to Jesus (as in zoom up) in the air. When a Latin version of the Bible was created the word harpazo was translated into the Latin word from which we get the English word rapture.

Jesus’ disciples asked Him what would be the signs of His coming and the end of the age. He responded by giving them signs to look for in Matthew ch. 24 and said, “33 So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors. 34 Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.” – Matthew 24:33-34 Thus, the generation that see the prophetic signs that Jesus gave will be the generation that experiences the Rapture.

Is the current generation the one that will see the End-Times come to pass? The Bible gives other prophecies concerning the End-Times. One of them declares that God will return the Jews to the land of Israel (Ezekiel ch. 37-39; Amos 9 – For further discussion on this subject please see ch. 18 – God’s Timepiece:Israel from my book Even at the Doors: Jesus, Israel, and the End-Times). Another one states that the Jewish Temple will be rebuilt in Jerusalem (Daniel 9; Matthew 24; 2 Thessalonians 2 – For further discussion on this subject please see my article 2 Thessalonians 2:4 – A Literal Third Temple). Both of these prophecies involve End-Times events. The fact that God returned the Jews (see my article Does the land of Israel belong to the Jews) in 1948 and that they have recreated the utensils and priestly garments that are to be used in Temple worship services indicate that God is not far off from implementing His End-Times plans. Globalization of economies and communications further suggest that the eschatological prophecies could be fulfilled in this current generation. However, only God knows when it will happen and wants His followers to keep living their lives for Him and watching for the signs that He said would occur at the end of the age. Whether we see the tomb or experience the zoom we are to keep our eyes on the Lord and keep “13 Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; 14 Who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto Himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. 15 These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority.” (Titus 2:13-15)



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