Q. Do you think the Rapture is imminent? Part 1

A. That is a controversial and complicated question that I don't think I can settle in this forum, but I will try and give what insight I can. First, let's look at the what imminent means. Imminent means "likely to occur or threatening to occur." In other words, could the rapture occur at "any moment" and that there are no prophesied events that have to happen? No, I don't believe that is true so I do not believe that the rapture is imminent. It seems the teaching of the imminent return goes back to a man named John Darby in the 1800's so this teaching has not been around that long. There are many good people who believe it and many who do not. If you do not believe in a pre-tribulation rapture than you don't believe in the imminent return either. Here is why I don't believe that the coming of the Lord in the Rapture is imminent. In the Bible, the redemption is playing out according to a very intricate plan and that means that there are certain times and seasons that the Lord carries out certain aspects of it. We see the blue print of His 7000 year plan in Genesis 1 and the creation week.Yes, that means that the heavens and the earth are less than 6000 years old right now, but that is another story. Later, in Leviticus 23 we have seven festivals given that are very prophetic in the life of the coming Messiah. These festivals of God have fulfillments in the history of Israel but there are deeper meanings. I have covered these in previous articles but I will list them again. Passover has to do with deliverance from Egypt through the blood of the lamb. The next day started Unleavened Bread and that lasted 7 days. During that week First Fruits was celebrated and that dealt with the plucking up of the first ripe barley sheaves and bringing them to the Lord. Fifty days later Shavuot was celebrated. After the summer growing period and on the first day of the seventh month another festival was celebrated called Yom Teruah, or Rosh ha Shanah as it is called today. This started the civil year and it had themes related to weddings, coronation of the king, resurrection and judgment. Ten days later was Yom Kipper and that is where the High Priest entered the Holy of Holies with the blood of a bull and goat and atoned for the sin of the nation. Five days after that Sukkot was celebrated and this was done to commemorate the years in the wilderness so people made "sukkahs" or booths to live in for a week. This overview is very basic and there are many books one can get that will take you into much more detail but it will suffice for now. Anyway, these festivals had to happen on certain days and they played out in the life of Yeshua as well. The first coming of Yeshua was not imminent and neither will the Rapture or the Second Coming to this earth to reign after the tribulation. All this will play out according to God's timing and plan. Yeshua came along the first time "in the fullness of time" and there was great expectation. He was crucified on Passover, buried on Unleavened Bread, was resurrected on First Fruits and sent the Holy Spirit on Shavuot. We are at the end of the summer growing period now and if the Lord fulfilled the first four festivals on the very day according to the biblical calendar, then it would be reasonable to believe that the last three will be fulfilled on the very day as well. Next week I will pick up here with a quick overview of the themes and idioms of Yom Teruah, Yom KIppur and Sukkot and try to explain that the coming of the Lord will happen according to a very orchestrated biblical blueprint and that the teaching if "immanency" could not be true. Yeshua's coming is fixed in time and there is no "tarrying" on His part, there is nothing we can do to speed it up or slow it down but that it will occur just like events in His first coming. Everything had to be in place for Him to come including the politics, certain people had to be born, the land, the Temple and so many other factors. Next week we will continue with this theme and show why His coming is not imminent, show how certain events in politics, certain people, the land and the Temple Altar have to be in place and a few other things so hopefully all this will clarify a few things for you.

Click here for Part 2