When will the rapture occur? That question probably occurs to all Christians who hold to the futurist, literalist, and pre-trib view of prophecy interpretation. After all, the rapture is the ‘blessed hope’ that we all look forward to. It’s entirely natural for us to be curious about when it might actually occur. Fortunately, there are a few clues that we can look to. In the Olivet Discourse, Jesus discussed some of the events of the last days, the time just before he would return to Earth. And then, he mentioned a fig tree.
Matt 24:32-34
32 "Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near.
33 Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it is near, right at the door.
34 I tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened.
(NIV)
Israel was re-established as a nation in 1948, over sixty years ago. Jerusalem was completely re-occupied by Israel in 1967, over forty years ago. If these events are like the buds on a fig tree, and the generation that sees them will not all pass away before the Second Coming of Jesus, then we may reasonably expect that He will return within the next few years. And the rapture, which will precede the Second Coming by several years, may be right around the corner. In fact, it may be tomorrow. Or today. Come to think of it, why wasn’t it yesterday? What’s holding it up?
Perhaps the book of 2 Peter has the answer.
2 Pet 3:3-10
3 First of all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires.
4 They will say, "Where is this 'coming' he promised? Ever since our fathers died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation."
5 But they deliberately forget that long ago by God's word the heavens existed and the earth was formed out of water and by water.
6 By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed.
7 By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.
8 But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.
9 The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare.
(NIV)
Verse four asks the question, and verse nine answers it.
God is not slow, He is patient. God doesn’t want anyone to perish and go to Hell, He wants them to repent, and be saved. All of them. All of us.
Sadly, all of us won’t be saved. But he is patient, giving all of us the chance.
There are about seven billion people alive on Earth today. Half of the people who have ever lived are alive right now. Every day, there are those that come to a saving belief in Christ. And since God is patient, we shouldn’t expect him to arbitrarily announce that next Thursday is the deadline, and anybody who hasn’t believed by then is just toast.
He’s going to wait and gather as many sheep into the fold as he can before He closes the gate. He is going to wait until He is forced to act.
What will force Him to act? What will force Him to conduct the rapture? What will force Him to remove His church from this Earth? Consider the following verse:
1Thes 5:9
9 For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,
(KJV)
According to the Apostle Paul, the church is not appointed to wrath. So, God will not send his wrath down onto this planet while the church is still here. When the need comes for Him to apply some wrath to this planet, before He sends it, the Father will turn to the Son and say, “It’s time. Go and retrieve your bride. Gather your people, and bring them up here to safety.” And that’s when the rapture will happen.
Then, do we know when He will send his wrath?
Obviously, He will be raining down wrath during the time of the Great Tribulation. Much of the book of Revelation concerns itself with describing that wrath. But, is that the earliest time that God will unloose some of his wrath? The answer to that question is no. We know of at least one earlier time for certain, and perhaps a couple more that are ‘maybes.’ And, there may be others.
The two ‘maybes’ are the destruction of Damascus prophesied by Isaiah 17, and the destruction of Israel’s next-door neighbors prayed for and/or prophesied about in Psalm 83. However, in neither case is it certain that the destruction meted out comes directly from God. It may result from the actions of men.
One ironclad certainty we do have is the invasion mentioned in Ezekiel 38-39. Consider the following passages:
Ezek 38:18-23
18 This is what will happen in that day: When Gog attacks the land of Israel, my hot anger will be aroused, declares the Sovereign LORD.
19 In my zeal and fiery wrath I declare that at that time there shall be a great earthquake in the land of Israel.
20 The fish of the sea, the birds of the air, the beasts of the field, every creature that moves along the ground, and all the people on the face of the earth will tremble at my presence. The mountains will be overturned, the cliffs will crumble and every wall will fall to the ground.
21 I will summon a sword against Gog on all my mountains, declares the Sovereign LORD. Every man's sword will be against his brother.
22 I will execute judgment upon him with plague and bloodshed; I will pour down torrents of rain, hailstones and burning sulfur on him and on his troops and on the many nations with him.
23 And so I will show my greatness and my holiness, and I will make myself known in the sight of many nations. Then they will know that I am the LORD.'
(NIV)
Ezek 39:3-6
3 Then I will strike your bow from your left hand and make your arrows drop from your right hand.
4 On the mountains of Israel you will fall, you and all your troops and the nations with you. I will give you as food to all kinds of carrion birds and to the wild animals.
5 You will fall in the open field, for I have spoken, declares the Sovereign LORD.
6 I will send fire on Magog and on those who live in safety in the coastlands, and they will know that I am the LORD.
(NIV)
As you can see, the Lord leaves no doubt that he will intervene directly.
So, when does this happen? If we read a few verses farther we find the following:
Ezek 39:9-10
9 "'Then those who live in the towns of Israel will go out and use the weapons for fuel and burn them up-- the small and large shields, the bows and arrows, the war clubs and spears. For seven years they will use them for fuel.
10 They will not need to gather wood from the fields or cut it from the forests, because they will use the weapons for fuel. And they will plunder those who plundered them and loot those who looted them, declares the Sovereign LORD.
(NIV)
Unless part of that seven-year period extends into the Millenium, the battle of Ezekiel 38-39 must happen at least seven years before the Second Coming. That invasion, and God’s response to it, may well be the inaugural events of Daniel’s seventieth week.
Well, then, how soon is the battle? That’s difficult to predict. But, if Israel stages any kind of successful attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities, it won’t be all that hard for Iran to gather up willing allies for a revenge attack on Israel. The same is true if Israel destroys Damascus, or if it defeats all of its next-door neighbors in another Mid-East war.
Let’s put it all together. The rapture of the church hasn’t happened yet, because God has not been forced to unloose his wrath to defend His chosen people Israel from being annihilated in their own land. When that situation develops, before he starts dropping burning sulfur out of the sky, he will remove his church.
So, be on the lookout. And if you see Iran building a coalition to attack Israel, gird your loins and prepare yourself. If you are a true-blue, dyed-in-the-wool, born-again Christian, you will be about to depart on the most exciting flight of your life. If you’re not, you’re in for hell on Earth.
