The 'Rapture Question'
Does it occur before the seven years, in the middle or at the end?
Part Two – Something Else.
I will begin this study by sharing the words of Jesus regarding His return.
This subject begins with a comment by one of Jesus' disciples. He remarked on the magnificence of the Temple.
Mr 13:1 ¶ And as he came out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him, "Look, Teacher, what wonderful stones and what wonderful buildings!"
This comment may have been prompted by something Jesus said a few days earlier. Jesus preached his last sermon (Matthew 23) against the corruption of the Jewish religion. He ended it this way.
Mt 23:37 "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! 38 See, your house is left to you desolate 39 For I tell you, you will not see me again, until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’"
Your house is left … desolate. In the Holy of Holies, the sacred room that the high priest could only enter once a year, was filled with the presence and glory of God. But at this very moment in history … the light went out.
Actually the light walked out. Jesus is the glory of God. The Jews as a nation would not see 'the Light' until they would see Him at the second coming and say 'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord'.
It is now several days later and Jesus and His disciples are walking away from the temple. This disciple may have voiced a comment that they may all have been thinking. How could this magnificent building, in all its glory, ever be leveled to the ground? It looked very permanent and impressive. Maybe that is why the comments about this glorious building.
Another reason for the comment “Look, Teacher, what wonderful stones and what wonderful buildings!” was the fact that this temple was only about 50 years old and was still not completed. Actually it was still not totally finished forty years later when the Roman army came in and leveled it to the ground.
This means that the disciples and Jesus, who spent most of the year a couple of hundred miles to the north, would notice the improvements on the temple each time that they would make a trip to Jerusalem.
It is said that the walls of the temple buildings were made of gleaming white marble and the whole eastern wall of the large main structure was covered with gold plates that reflected the morning sun, making a spectacle that was visible for miles.
So a disciple calls attention to the beauty of the building … and Jesus says, in effect, 'Its all coming down.'
Now, after the walk from the Temple to the mount of Olives, Jesus sits down. Four disciples come quietly and privately and want to know,
When will this happen? And will there be any warning signs before it happens? And what will be the signs preceding your coming and the end of the age?
Jesus answers very completely. This is two days before Jesus' arrest, trial and crucifixion. He is leaving. He is leaving a very small group of people with a mission to reach the whole world with the gospel. He had said, "Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” Lu 12:32 And one day before His arrest … John 13:1 Now before the feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that His hour had come that He should depart from this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end.
His heart must have been very touched by these questions. What should be His last words of encouragement to His little church?
In the back of Jesus' mind, at one point at least, it would seem He was very concerned about something. While He was teaching them about depending on God through prayer, we read this: ... “when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?" Lu 18:8. If there will be 'faith on the earth' when Jesus returns, it depends, first of all, on whether this little church has learned well from Jesus and will step out in faith. If they don't … if they die out … there will be no faith on earth when Jesus returns. It is up to them.
But as time went on, and the Father in Heaven revealed more to the Son, Jesus is able to give them a very complete picture of the endtime church.
You may have wondered if it really is all that important to hear and know the details surrounding His return. Perhaps you have thought, 'Just to know He is coming and for me to be living a Godly life so that I am ready to go … isn't that enough?'
I suppose I could answer that by listing several important benefits of knowing some details surrounding His return, but I just want to put it this way for now, … All of the words of Jesus are important. He took the time to carefully lay out many details to these four disciples. He had these words included in the divine inspiration of scripture. Included in His talk are some very serious words of caution and warning. For us to say in effect, 'I want to know Jesus better, I want to read of His love and miracles, I want to read about His sacrifice on the cross for me, but I do not want to read these words about the end time …' should awaken in us a question … why? Why do I shy away from these words of Jesus?
I am certain that is not the case with each of you so let's take the time to read a part of the answer that Jesus gives them … and us. (The complete Olivet Discourse.)
This talk by Jesus covered a range of events including the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple back in AD 70, the scattering of Israel, the arresting of Christians and their persecution and court trials, the betrayal of family, the betrayal by church family, the battle for truth as false prophets multiply, the battle against the increase of lawlessness and coldness of believers in the church, and then breaking-news in Israel as armies surround her. And then news of desolation in the temple. Terrible persecution increases. The days become shortened for the 'elects' sake. And then false Christs begin popping up all over.
Many events are foretold by Jesus. The span of time in which these events transpire start with 70 A.D. and end with the end of this age. The Olivet discourse is relatively straight forward and is not confusing. And yet many people read it and say, “It is all so confusing!” The potential for confusion began with the introduction of Dispensationalism. Prior to that there was really no confusion. In other words, a person could read the Olivet discourse and have the option to take it literally and there really was no confusion at all. I believe the answers Jesus gave His disciples are, number 1, meant to be taken literally just as He gave it, and number 2, they are important and should not be minimized.
Jesus gives this advice: Lu 21:28 “When these things begin to take place, look up and lift your heads, for your deliverance is drawing near."
Pray. To pray without ceasing, to continue in prayer are instructions the Apostle Paul passed on to us. But to pray ...when these things begin to take place … calls for a closer connection with the Father than ever before.
Jesus wants His church to know when the time is near and so He gives the parable of the trees budding and beginning to show leaves … as a sign that summer is near.
He warns that no one will know the day or the hour of 'the deliverance' from this terrible time.
He warns that drunkenness and over concern regarding the daily cares of this life can cause this dreadful period to come upon the church as a trap.
He cautions us to 'stay awake' and pray because we do not know when our day of deliverance will come. It will come quite unexpectedly, but if we are awake, He says, we will not be taken by surprise. Jesus said, “He that endures to the end shall be saved.” Saved … in this instance, is the deliverance that He has been talking about. He exhorts us to 'endure'. Then He says, at the end of our 'endurance' there will be deliverance.
And it is not all about deliverance. That is one valid reason that Jesus gives us a 'heads up', but there is another reason. Jesus said in Mr 13:10 “ ... the gospel must first be proclaimed to all nations. Once the Anti-Christ shows up it will too late for a lot of people. The Apostle Paul says there will be those who refused to trust Christ as their Lord and Saviour whose hearts will be deluded after the Anti-Christ makes his appearance. These people will not be able to accept the gospel. The time to reach them is BEFORE the man of sin arrives.
Mr 13:14 ¶ "But when you see the abomination of desolation standing where he ought not to be (let the reader understand), then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. From this point on it will be too late for those who have heard the gospel and refused it. The only ones still reachable would be those who have never heard.
Mt 24:14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.
Notice that all of the statements by Jesus about our not knowing the day nor the hour … all apply to the 'day of our deliverance' from tribulation. They do not apply to our avoiding it. They do not apply to 'no man knows the day and the hour of a rapture before tribulation'. These statements are all in the context of a terrible tribulation that is going on, but that there will be an end to it … and we are to 'look up' expectantly knowing that deliverance is near, however, we will not know the day nor the hour.
The apostle Paul concurs with this and says that Jesus' return need not catch us like a thief in the night.
But you are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief. 1Th 5:4
So here is the biblical sequence
Summing up.
So what have we covered in this short study?
We have compared Daniel chapters 11 and 12. They have given us a sequence of final major world events that occur during the last 7 years prior to the millennial reign of Jesus. We have taken a look at present world news to determine how what we see, indicates where we are in terms of biblical prophecy.
Could the rapture occur at any time? We have examined and discussed the Pre-tribulational view of end-times.
We have determined that Jesus could NOT return 'at any moment', because He has stated some things that must occur first. We have read about the things that would occur prior to 'the rapture' as given in order by Jesus to the disciples.
This means we are to keep our eyes open, be awake, be testifying of the need for salvation to our loved ones and others, and we need to be encouraging others as we 'see' the day approaching.
This subject begins with a comment by one of Jesus' disciples. He remarked on the magnificence of the Temple.
Mr 13:1 ¶ And as he came out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him, "Look, Teacher, what wonderful stones and what wonderful buildings!"
This comment may have been prompted by something Jesus said a few days earlier. Jesus preached his last sermon (Matthew 23) against the corruption of the Jewish religion. He ended it this way.
Mt 23:37 "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! 38 See, your house is left to you desolate 39 For I tell you, you will not see me again, until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’"
Your house is left … desolate. In the Holy of Holies, the sacred room that the high priest could only enter once a year, was filled with the presence and glory of God. But at this very moment in history … the light went out.
Actually the light walked out. Jesus is the glory of God. The Jews as a nation would not see 'the Light' until they would see Him at the second coming and say 'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord'.
It is now several days later and Jesus and His disciples are walking away from the temple. This disciple may have voiced a comment that they may all have been thinking. How could this magnificent building, in all its glory, ever be leveled to the ground? It looked very permanent and impressive. Maybe that is why the comments about this glorious building.
Another reason for the comment “Look, Teacher, what wonderful stones and what wonderful buildings!” was the fact that this temple was only about 50 years old and was still not completed. Actually it was still not totally finished forty years later when the Roman army came in and leveled it to the ground.
This means that the disciples and Jesus, who spent most of the year a couple of hundred miles to the north, would notice the improvements on the temple each time that they would make a trip to Jerusalem.
It is said that the walls of the temple buildings were made of gleaming white marble and the whole eastern wall of the large main structure was covered with gold plates that reflected the morning sun, making a spectacle that was visible for miles.
So a disciple calls attention to the beauty of the building … and Jesus says, in effect, 'Its all coming down.'
Now, after the walk from the Temple to the mount of Olives, Jesus sits down. Four disciples come quietly and privately and want to know,
When will this happen? And will there be any warning signs before it happens? And what will be the signs preceding your coming and the end of the age?
Jesus answers very completely. This is two days before Jesus' arrest, trial and crucifixion. He is leaving. He is leaving a very small group of people with a mission to reach the whole world with the gospel. He had said, "Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” Lu 12:32 And one day before His arrest … John 13:1 Now before the feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that His hour had come that He should depart from this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end.
His heart must have been very touched by these questions. What should be His last words of encouragement to His little church?
In the back of Jesus' mind, at one point at least, it would seem He was very concerned about something. While He was teaching them about depending on God through prayer, we read this: ... “when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?" Lu 18:8. If there will be 'faith on the earth' when Jesus returns, it depends, first of all, on whether this little church has learned well from Jesus and will step out in faith. If they don't … if they die out … there will be no faith on earth when Jesus returns. It is up to them.
But as time went on, and the Father in Heaven revealed more to the Son, Jesus is able to give them a very complete picture of the endtime church.
You may have wondered if it really is all that important to hear and know the details surrounding His return. Perhaps you have thought, 'Just to know He is coming and for me to be living a Godly life so that I am ready to go … isn't that enough?'
I suppose I could answer that by listing several important benefits of knowing some details surrounding His return, but I just want to put it this way for now, … All of the words of Jesus are important. He took the time to carefully lay out many details to these four disciples. He had these words included in the divine inspiration of scripture. Included in His talk are some very serious words of caution and warning. For us to say in effect, 'I want to know Jesus better, I want to read of His love and miracles, I want to read about His sacrifice on the cross for me, but I do not want to read these words about the end time …' should awaken in us a question … why? Why do I shy away from these words of Jesus?
I am certain that is not the case with each of you so let's take the time to read a part of the answer that Jesus gives them … and us. (The complete Olivet Discourse.)
This talk by Jesus covered a range of events including the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple back in AD 70, the scattering of Israel, the arresting of Christians and their persecution and court trials, the betrayal of family, the betrayal by church family, the battle for truth as false prophets multiply, the battle against the increase of lawlessness and coldness of believers in the church, and then breaking-news in Israel as armies surround her. And then news of desolation in the temple. Terrible persecution increases. The days become shortened for the 'elects' sake. And then false Christs begin popping up all over.
Many events are foretold by Jesus. The span of time in which these events transpire start with 70 A.D. and end with the end of this age. The Olivet discourse is relatively straight forward and is not confusing. And yet many people read it and say, “It is all so confusing!” The potential for confusion began with the introduction of Dispensationalism. Prior to that there was really no confusion. In other words, a person could read the Olivet discourse and have the option to take it literally and there really was no confusion at all. I believe the answers Jesus gave His disciples are, number 1, meant to be taken literally just as He gave it, and number 2, they are important and should not be minimized.
Jesus gives this advice: Lu 21:28 “When these things begin to take place, look up and lift your heads, for your deliverance is drawing near."
Pray. To pray without ceasing, to continue in prayer are instructions the Apostle Paul passed on to us. But to pray ...when these things begin to take place … calls for a closer connection with the Father than ever before.
Jesus wants His church to know when the time is near and so He gives the parable of the trees budding and beginning to show leaves … as a sign that summer is near.
He warns that no one will know the day or the hour of 'the deliverance' from this terrible time.
He warns that drunkenness and over concern regarding the daily cares of this life can cause this dreadful period to come upon the church as a trap.
He cautions us to 'stay awake' and pray because we do not know when our day of deliverance will come. It will come quite unexpectedly, but if we are awake, He says, we will not be taken by surprise. Jesus said, “He that endures to the end shall be saved.” Saved … in this instance, is the deliverance that He has been talking about. He exhorts us to 'endure'. Then He says, at the end of our 'endurance' there will be deliverance.
And it is not all about deliverance. That is one valid reason that Jesus gives us a 'heads up', but there is another reason. Jesus said in Mr 13:10 “ ... the gospel must first be proclaimed to all nations. Once the Anti-Christ shows up it will too late for a lot of people. The Apostle Paul says there will be those who refused to trust Christ as their Lord and Saviour whose hearts will be deluded after the Anti-Christ makes his appearance. These people will not be able to accept the gospel. The time to reach them is BEFORE the man of sin arrives.
Mr 13:14 ¶ "But when you see the abomination of desolation standing where he ought not to be (let the reader understand), then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. From this point on it will be too late for those who have heard the gospel and refused it. The only ones still reachable would be those who have never heard.
Mt 24:14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.
Notice that all of the statements by Jesus about our not knowing the day nor the hour … all apply to the 'day of our deliverance' from tribulation. They do not apply to our avoiding it. They do not apply to 'no man knows the day and the hour of a rapture before tribulation'. These statements are all in the context of a terrible tribulation that is going on, but that there will be an end to it … and we are to 'look up' expectantly knowing that deliverance is near, however, we will not know the day nor the hour.
The apostle Paul concurs with this and says that Jesus' return need not catch us like a thief in the night.
But you are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief. 1Th 5:4
So here is the biblical sequence
- In the last days there will be a great increase in lawlessness and sin. 2Th 2.3, Mt 24.12
- Believers are asked to 'encourage one another as they see the day approaching'. He 10.25, Romans 13.11,12,13
- This lawlessness will affect the churches and coldness will be the result. Mt 24.12, Re 2.4, Re 3.15,16
- Israel will be surrounded by armies and be controlled by 'The King of the North'. Lu 21.20
- Israel will have a re-instituted daily sacrifice and the temple will be rebuilt. Da 9.27, 2Th 2.4
- A world war will happen between the north and south. Da 11.24,25
- A second war takes place between the north and the south. Da 11.29
- Israel's newly instituted daily sacrificial system will be stopped. Da 9.27 Da 11.31
- The Anti-Christ enters the temple and claims to be God. 2Th 2.4, Mk 13.14
- Christians pray fervently. Re 8.3,4 Mk 13.33
- Worship of the 'beast' will be made mandatory. Re 13.12,15
- Orthodox Jews flee to a place of hiding. Mt 24.15,16 Re 12.6
- Christians are martyred. Da 11.33, Re 6.9, Re 13.7, Re 20.4
- Two witnesses minister for God. Re 11.3,4,5,6, Da 11.33,34
- The Antichrist enforces a new world-wide monetary system Re 13.16,17
- The Two Witnesses are killed Re 11.7,8,9
- The world celebrates. Re 11.10
- A window … or door opens in the sky allowing unbelievers to see an angry God about to unleash the
great day of His wrath upon them. Re 6.12,13,14,15,16,17 - The Two witnesses (and all remaining believers) ascend through the open window. This is the rapture. Re 11.11,12
- The Beast destroys the prostitute. (The King of the South is destroyed by the King of the North) Re 11.16 Da 11.40
- The Kings of the East come toward Jerusalem. Da 11.44 Re 16.12
- Jesus descends with his Saints and destroys the armies of Anti-Christ and the armies of the East.
Da 11.45 2Th 2.8, Re 19.15,20,21 Ze 14.4,12 - The beast and the false prophet' are cast into the lake of fire. Satan is cast into the 'abyss'. Re 19.20 Re 20.3
- Jesus begins His millennial rule from Jerusalem Re 20.4,5,6
- At the end of the millennium Satan is released from the Abyss, gathers unbelievers together to attack Christ.
- Fire destroys the unbelievers. Satan is sent to the lake of fire. Re 20.9,10
- The last judgment takes place to judge all who have not stood before a judgment … namely the lost from
creation onward, the saved and others left alive after the millennial reign who had entered as human mortals,
produced children whose responsibility it was to receive Christ as Savior. Re 20.12 - The 'holding place', Hades, was cast into the Lake of Fire. (this would include the whole planet) Re 20.14
Isa 51.6 Mt 24.35 He 1.10,11,12 2Pe 3.10 - All of those whose names were written in the Book of Life (those who accepted Christ) were not cast into
the Lake of fire. Everybody else was cast into the Lake of Fire. Re 20.15 - All believers are transferred to a New Earth for Eternity Re 21.1
Summing up.
So what have we covered in this short study?
We have compared Daniel chapters 11 and 12. They have given us a sequence of final major world events that occur during the last 7 years prior to the millennial reign of Jesus. We have taken a look at present world news to determine how what we see, indicates where we are in terms of biblical prophecy.
Could the rapture occur at any time? We have examined and discussed the Pre-tribulational view of end-times.
We have determined that Jesus could NOT return 'at any moment', because He has stated some things that must occur first. We have read about the things that would occur prior to 'the rapture' as given in order by Jesus to the disciples.
This means we are to keep our eyes open, be awake, be testifying of the need for salvation to our loved ones and others, and we need to be encouraging others as we 'see' the day approaching.