Eschatology The Rapture – When? Part 2

The Doctrine of Imminency The English word “imminent” comes from the Latin verb “immineo, imminere,” when means to “overhang” or “project.” An imminent event is one that is always hanging overhead, is constantly ready to befall or at any moment.

One of the most compelling arguments for the Pre-Tribulation Rapture position is the continuous admonition of the New Testament to look for Christ’s coming. The very language employed by the apostle Paul indicates that he lived in anticipation of the Second Coming. (1 Thes. 4:13-18) What kind of comfort would it be, if the saints are to live in anticipation of the reign of terror perpetrated by the Antichrist instead of living in anticipation of the Rapture?

The New Testament does teach the imminency of Christ’s return. (Phi The New Testament does teach the imminency of Christ’s return. (Phi. 3:20; 1 Cor. 1:7,8; Tit. 2:13; 1 Thess. 1:10; 1 John 3:2,3) Believers are never admonished to look for Antichrist. We are admonished to look for the coming of Christ. (Jam. 5:7-9)

Maranatha Our Lord Comes!

The Marriage Motif On more than one occasion our Lord utilized the Jewish marriage ceremony to communicate truth about the future. The parable of the wedding guests indicates the antipathy of the unsaved toward the wonderful invitation to be part of the ceremony. (Matt. 22:1-12) In the Jewish context the marriage took place at the father’s house, followed by a grand procession to the home provided by the groom where the marriage supper transpired. (Matt. 25:1-13)

This is the imagery our Lord employs in promising to return for the church. (John 14:1-3) He evokes the wedding motif in the warning to watch for His coming.(Luke 12:35-40) Honest study of the sequence of the book of the Revelation reveals that that Christ will come in procession from heaven at the end of the Tribulation, not only to conquer and rule the earth during the millennium, but also to inaugurate His kingdom in which the Marriage Supper of the Lamb holds sway for 1,000 years. (Rev. 19:5-9) The sequence of events dovetails with a pre-tribulation rapture.

The Purpose of the Tribulation One of the primary problems in interpreting the timing of the Rapture flows from Covenant Theology. Failure to make a clear distinction between Israel and the church causes confusion in applying passages which deal specifically with Israel. Daniel’s seventieth week has nothing to do with the church. (Dan. 9:24) Similar misapplication frequently occurs in Matthew 25.

Gentiles are judged on the basis of how they respond to the Jews during the Tribulation period. If the purpose for the Tribulation period is understood, the absence of the church from that period becomes evident. Putting the two concepts together, the purpose of the Tribulation is the reclamation of Israel and the judgment of the unbelieving world. It has nothing to do with the Church which will be with Christ in heaven throughout the entire seven years.

The Promises of Scripture Understanding the purpose of the Tribulation dovetails with the explicit promises of the New Testament that the church will be preserved from the wrath of God. (Rev. 3:10; 1 Th. 5;1-11; 1 Th. 1:9,10; Rev. 3:10) The church is not, nor ever will be subject to the wrath of God.

A Clarification An often repeated assertion that the imminent return of Christ prior to the Tribulation is a relatively modern invention simply is not true! John N. Darby did not originate dispensationalism, nor premillennialism, nor pre-tribulation rapturism.

Early church leaders simply reflected the position of the first century church as trained by the apostles and evidenced by the New Testament. It is true that much prophetic truth was lost during the Dark Ages when Romanism school men in mysticism and spiritual blindness. To rediscover these prophetic truths later is no more an invention than Luther’s rediscovery of justification by faith.