Does the Bible Teach an Any-Moment Rapture?
by Marvin J. Rosenthal
Part II
EXPECTANCY NOT IMMINENCY
Many believers within the early church had either seen Christ during His incarnation or known fellow-believers who had known Him. Consequently, Christ's life, death, burial, and resurrection were not abstract issues of theology -- they were vibrant realities. His promise of personal return was dominant in their thinking. Their Lord was coming again in power and glory. Things would be different when that occurred. God, not Rome, would be the victor. Christ, not the emperor, would reign. Righteousness, not wickedness, would be the order of the day. Unlike today, the heart of the Apostolic Age burned with the prospect of their Sovereign's return. They knew full well that the Church Age had commenced. The apostle Paul had revealed that fact (Eph. 3:4-6). But they had absolutely no concept of its duration. It is easy for believers in the twentieth century to look back at two thousand years of church history, but the first-century church had no basis for anticipating that kind of extended period of time between their own day and the return of Christ. They believed that their Savior could return in their lifetime, and their lives revolved around the expectation of that event.
That expectancy can be seen in Paul's first epistle to the Thessalonians. He wrote:
"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. 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 {precede} them which are asleep" (1 Th. 4:13-15).
With the use of the personal pronoun we in the phrase "we who are alive and remain," Paul clearly includes himself among those who could be living at the time of Christ's return. In his second epistle to the Thessalonians, he emphasized the same truth. He wrote:
"Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand" (2 Th. 2:1-2).
The adjective our in the phrase "our gathering together unto him" again demonstrates the apostle's expectancy of Christ's return.
A score of verses teach the Second Coming of Christ. All are consistent with the thesis that Christ could return in any generation. Among those verses are the following:
"Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior, Jesus Christ (Ti. 2:13).
So that ye come behind in no gift, waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Cor. 1:7).
For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we look for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ (Phil. 3:20).
So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation (Heb. 9:28).
And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, who delivered us from the wrath to come (1 Th. 1:10)."
Expectancy -- yes; imminency -- no. There simply are no verses in the Bible which teach that Christ's return can occur at any moment, is signless, and that no prophesied events will precede it -- an absolute necessity to sustain pretribulationism. What the Word of God does teach is that every generation should be living with the expectation that Christ could return in its lifetime. That fact should be so real, that expectation so conspicuous, that it becomes a catalyst for holy living. But, the generation which enters the seventieth week of Daniel will know that Christ's return is near. They will know precisely, because signs will be given to that generation. The Lord taught: "Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh" (Mt. 24:32). They did not know the hour or day when summer would begin, but they did know the general time period. For the Jewish person of the first century, the fig tree was a sign of approximation. When its branch became tender and put forth leaves, one knew that summer was getting close. That was a non-debatable fact. And then, using the parable, the Lord taught this truth: "So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it {My return} is near, even at the doors" (Mt. 24:33).
The things that indicated that Christ's return was near had just been revealed by the Lord in Matthew 24:3-28 in answer to the disciples' question. They had asked, "And what shall be the sign of they coming, and of the end of the age?" Those things are (1) the emergence of Antichrist, (2) war generated by the Antichrist, (3) famine as a direct result of the war, (4) pestilence because of the resultant unsanitary conditions, (5) martyrdom of some who will not submit to the mark of the Antichrist, and (6) cosmic disturbance. These events will indicate that the Rapture is near. Like the fig tree, they will be signs of Christ's return. They will not indicate the precise hour or the day, but the general time period.
These signs of His coming cannot possibly have reference to Christ's physical return to the earth at the end of the seventieth week as some contend. That event will occur precisely three and one-half years (or 1,260) days) after the abomination of desolation occurs at the midpoint of the seventieth week. The precise day of His physical return will be known.
The coming of the Lord for His Church can best be described by the word expectancy. Jesus can come during any generation of history, but only those who are alive when the seventieth week of Daniel commences will know that the Lord's return is near. They will not know the hour or the day, but they will know the general time period because signs will precede His coming. That is the significance of the Lord's teaching: "Verily I say unto you, This generation {the generation that enters the seventieth week} shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled" (Mt. 24:34).
THE CHURCH WILL ENTER THE SEVENTIETH WEEK
God never exempts His children from the normal and natural difficulties of a sinful unregenerate world. The destruction of Sodom was God's work -- so He told Lot to get out of the city. The universal flood was His judgment -- so He told Noah to get into the ark. The difficulties of the first part (the first six seals) of the seventieth week of Daniel are the result of the emergence of the Antichrist and the rebellion of unregenerate men against God. From those events the Church is not exempt. She will be exempted, however, and raptured before God's wrath commences with the opening of the seventh seal (Rev. 6:17; 8:1).
Therefore, it must be concluded that the Church has yet before her a period of great difficulty related to the activities of Antichrist before her final deliverance.(15) No normal person enjoys persecution, and the prospect of entering an unprecedentedly difficult period of time(the seventieth week of Daniel) is not a pleasant prospect. Understanding that fact should not cause God's people to recoil in fear and intimidation; it should be a call to holiness and preparation.
The Church is the Bride of Christ, and the Bridegroom would never harm His bride. The Bible teaches that he does not -- He raptures her before His wrath against the wicked commences.
The first part of the seventieth week is not the wrath of God. It is a period of time when the Antichrist will arise; he will deceive many; he will enter the temple erected for the glory of God; he will demand the worship from men that should be directed to the true Bridegroom alone. In that day, the true Bridegroom will be under attack. A false lover will seek to capture the hearts of men.
It would not be comely for the Bride to absent herself during such an hour of history. A true and courageous Bride will want to remain, fight, and give her life in martyrdom, if need be, to condemn the false lover and tell the world that Jesus Christ alone is the true Lover of her soul.
Nearing the end of his life and anticipating the approach and anguish of Calvary, the Lord asked three of his disciples to watch and pray with Him. They could have been of great help -- an encouragement to the Savior in His time of need. However, when the Lord returned from His awesomely difficult time in the Garden of Gethsemane, He found His disciples asleep. The first Gospel records it this way: "And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour?" (Mt. 26:40). Gethsemane means olive press, for in that garden, olives were squeezed to produce olive oil -- and in that garden the Lamb of God was squeezed as he anticipated that which was before Him, and He "sweat . . . great drops of blood." He desired the support of His disciples in an hour of great need, but they did not give it.
During the seventieth week of Daniel, the Lord will need and want a courageous Bride to stand for Him and speak of His exquisite perfection as the gates of Hell are arrayed against His character through the Antichrist who will be directly empowered by Satan (Rev. 13:4). Will the Church, His bride, be asleep, having been convinced of an any-moment, signless, imminent Rapture? Will she have become so complacent and worldly that her only concern will be her well-being and escape rather than the glory of the Bridegroom? Will she neglect the oft-repeated warnings to be ready, watching, and expectant?
The apostle Paul taught an important principle which the church in America would do well to be reminded of: "If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us" (2 Tim. 2:12). This could be the generation that will enter the seventieth week of Daniel. Some of us may be called upon to suffer, even to the extent of martyrdom. If we are not willing to make such a sacrifice for our sovereign Lord, we are not deserving of being called His disciple.
Jesus is coming again. The dead in Christ will be raised, the living caught up -- both to meet the Lord in the air and be forever with Him. The true believer just can't lose -- Jesus is coming again.
(15) The apostle Paul taught that one evidence of God's righteousness during His day of the Lord judgment of the wicked would be based on the wicked's persecution of the righteous during the seventieth week of Daniel (2 Th. 1:4-8).
ARE YOU LONGING FOR HIS APPEARING?
THE RETURN OF JESUS CHRIST
THE DAY OF THE LORD
