Rapture Timing Question


God’s Plan and Timing of Events


Over the last few months, this question has come up persistently. One correspondent put it this way.
Question: “From world events, and what we have been taught, it seems that we are living in the generation when Christ will return. We have been taught this event is “imminent,” so the Rapture was expected to happen sooner rather than later in this generation. What has gone wrong?”

Extended Answer:
Thank you for your question. Please be patient with us as we explore three aspects of this question simultaneously; (1) the way the Lord has behaved on these issues in the past, (2) the overall Plan He is working to and (3) His idea of timing for these events.

Examples of Biblical  Event Timing:
In the Bible, we find that God’s timing of events can be very precise. For example, around 627 BC, Jeremiah began his prophetic ministry. Almost 20 years later, in 608 BC according to history and archaeology, the Assyrian empire fell to Nabopolassar, king of Babylon (and father of Nebuchadnezzar). That event started the Babylonian Empire. However, Jeremiah (in chapter 25:11b) had already prophesied that the nations would only serve the King of Babylon 70 years. Indeed, on the night of October 13th, 538 BC, the co-regent of the Empire, Belshazzar, was holding a feast when the city of Babylon fell to Darius, the general of the troops in the Medo-Persian confederacy, and the Babylonian Empire suddenly ended. That Empire had indeed lasted just 70 years, exactly as Jeremiah had prophesied.

However, we can go much further. An unexpected fact was noted by the great biblical expositor Dr. J. Sidlow Baxter in his volume, “Explore the Book.” In the section on the book of Haggai, he points out that the time that the desolation of the Temple began was given in Ezekiel 24:1,2 and Jeremiah 52:4. He then notes that the foundation of the Temple was laid in the circumstances detailed by Haggai 2, including the date in verses15 to 19. When the Jewish calendar is used in the calculation, the difference is exactly 70 years of 360 days each. The Lord then promised those who had returned from the Babylonian captivity “From THIS DAY I will bless you.” The prophecy had just been fulfilled to the very day.

There is an even more remarkable example of this. Sir Robert Anderson was a criminal investigator at Scotland Yard police headquarters, London. Around the beginning of the 20th century, he turned his skills to investigating the book of Daniel. One outcome of this study is published in his book “The Coming Prince.” He established that the prophesied time given by Daniel 9 “from the command to restore Jerusalem and build its wall” (Nehemiah 2:1, 5, 8) unto Palm Sunday when Jesus rode in on the donkey and presented himself as Messiah (Matthew 21:1-11), was exactly fulfilled to the very day. This incredible fulfillment emerged when the Jewish calendar with its 360 day year was used.  This is sometimes called the prophetic year as it is also employed in Revelation 12 and 13 as well as in Daniel. From these, and a number of other examples, it seems the Lord keeps to His prophesied time-schedule exactly. 

The Timing Puzzle for the Church:
It is against this background that we seem have a puzzle with matters of timing with the Lord’s return for the church, since Jesus himself said “no-one knows the day or the hour” of that event (Matthew 24:36). However, in that same discourse, Jesus also said “Now when you see these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption [His coming for the church] draws near” (Luke 2:28; ). So He expects us to be able to discern the “signs of the times,” since He called the religious leaders questioning Him “hypocrites” for not doing so (Mathew 16:3). Let us look at this in a little more detail and discern what is causing this puzzle.

It is certainly true that many Christians throughout the last 2000 years have expected the “blessed Hope” of Christ’s coming at any moment. Actually, Paul wrote in his letter to Titus 2:13 that “…we should live soberly, righteously and godly in this present age, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.” This was a persistent theme of apostolic teaching starting with Peter just after Pentecost in Acts 3:19-21 where he said: “Repent therefore and be converted that your sins may be blotted out, so that the times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that He may send [back] Jesus Christ, who was preached to you before, whom heaven must receive until the time of restoration of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of His holy prophets since the world began.” The “Times of Refreshing” or the “Time of Restoration of all things” are both referring to the Lord’s return and the Millennium of peace, prosperity and fruitfulness to follow (Revelation 20:1-7. Also, see more details about the Millennium in passages such as Psalm 72:16-19; Isaiah 11:1-10, 65:19 – 25; Micah 4:1-4; Luke 1:32-33 etc.). There was one other important component to these messages about Jesus as the Messiah who will return and bring in the Times of Refreshing. Peter put it this way: “For this promise is to you and your children and all who are afar off, as many as may call upon the Lord our God” (Acts 2:39). The implication was that these apostles and disciples seem to have expected the Lord to return within the lifetime of the children of his hearers. Hold that thought for a moment!

The Gentile Converts and Israel:
The Rapture and coming of Christ were a very important component in the teaching of the apostle Paul right from the start. Indeed, the first letters that Paul wrote to any group of believers were to those at Thessalonica, and his first and second letters to the Thessalonians are both primarily dealing with questions relating to Christ’s return and the events around the time of the Rapture. Thus, one question that these believers had concerned those Christians who had recently died, since it looked as if they would miss out on the Rapture that they themselves were looking forward to (1 Thessalonians 4:13). The impression we gain from this is that it seemed as if they were expecting that event in their lifetime. In 1 Thessalonians 1:10 Paul does not deny this, but states the situation very clearly when he says that we are "... to wait for His Son from Heaven ... even Jesus who will deliver us from the wrath [the Tribulation] to come."  He then gave details of the Rapture in 1 Thessalonians 4:13 - 5:10. A little later, we recognize that it was also a component of his message to the Corinthians (see 1 Corinthians 15:51 – 58).

When Peter and then Paul had given this message to both Jews and Gentles, the Holy Spirit confirmed that the Gentiles had been accepted by God in the same way the Jews were. As a result, the mother church in Jerusalem held a Council as to what to do about the large numbers of Gentle converts. In Acts 15 we find that James, the chairman of the meeting quoted the prophet Amos to point out that, after God had finished “visiting the Gentiles to call out of them a people for His name, He would then return,” and re-establish the Davidic Throne (Acts 15:12-21). The conclusion for us is that we have been living in the “Times of the Gentiles” since those 1st century days AD. This is confirmed by Paul’s comments in Romans 11:25-26 where he warns the Gentile converts “For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinions, that a hardening in part has happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles has come in. And then all Israel will be saved.” So, the Lord is waiting for the full quantity of Gentiles to accept Him, and then the “Times of the Gentiles” will be over and He will deal directly with Israel again.

The Clue that Jesus Gave:
Jesus made some very important comments on this matter which have been recorded for us in Luke 21. First of all, He mentioned the traumatic time that the Jews would undergo with the Romans in 70 AD. Here are His words: “There will be great distress upon this land and wrath upon this [Jewish] people. And they [the Jews] will fall by the edge of the sword, and be carried away captive into all nations [the 70 AD worldwide dispersion]. And Jerusalem will be trodden down by the Gentiles, until the Times of the Gentiles are fulfilled. … and then, on the earth, there will be distress of nations with perplexity [the great Tribulation].” Here is the time marker telling us when the Church Age, the Times of the Gentiles is at the point of closing: it is when the city of Jerusalem is restored to Jewish control. That happened on the 7th June 1967, the first time in almost 2000 years. Jesus concluded His comments in Luke 21:31, 32, 36 by saying “When you see these things begin to happen, know that the kingdom of God is near. Assuredly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all be fulfilled… Watch therefore and pray always that you may be accounted worthy to escape all these things which will come upon the whole earth [the Tribulation] and stand [instead] before the Son of Man.” So essentially there seems to be a warning period of a human lifespan before Christ’s return that has been given to the generation alive when these events began. There are a number of other occasions when generation information like this was given in the Bible.  See for example Genesis 15:16; 2 Kings 15:12; Joel 1:1-4. Psalm 90:10, etc. The actual time for the people involved on those occasions seems to range from about 40 years to 80 years or so.

Old Testament Back-Up for These New Testament Passages:
Even the Old Testament has its counterparts of similar statements to these New Testament comments. First, we read in Psalm 102:13, 16, 18, 22 that: “You will arise and have mercy on Zion [city of Jerusalem]; for the time to favor her, yes, the set time has come….When the Lord has built up Zion, He will appear in His glory…This shall be written for the Last Generation [literal Hebrew] … When the peoples are gathered together and all kingdoms will serve the Lord [Millennium].” So, it appears from these words that the generation that will witness the Lord’s return is the generation on earth at the moment. Another aspect of this is in Zephaniah 2:1-3 “Gather yourselves together, yes, gather together, O nation not desired.” This is the regathering of Israel from worldwide dispersion to become a nation in May 14th 1948, that only a few other nations would support. Eventually, Numbers 23:9 tells us that “Israel will stand alone, and will not be reckoned among the nations.” However, the Zephaniah passage goes on: “Before the decree is issued, Before the day passes like chaff, Before the Lord’s fierce anger comes upon you, Before the day of the Lord’s anger comes upon you [the great Tribulation, the Time of Jacob’s Trouble, the Wrath of God etc.], Seek the Lord, all you meek of the earth [Gentiles as well as Jews], who have upheld His justice. Seek righteousness, seek humility. It may be that you will be hidden [in heaven] In the day of the Lord’s anger.” The implication seems to be that the meek of the earth will be hidden in heaven (the Rapture) before the Tribulation breaks out. Again, it seems to be scheduled to occur in the lifetime of the generation living today.

The timing of these events may well have been hinted at in Hosea 5:15 - 6:2 (God speaking) “I will go and return to My place [heaven] until they [the Jews] acknowledge their offence [the rejection of Messiah].” Israel then responds: “Come, let us return to the Lord; for He has torn, but He will heal us; He has stricken, but He will bind us up. After two days He will revive us [as a nation], and on the third day He will raise up that we may live in His sight [the Millennium].” This seems to imply that, after 2 days of 1000 years each, the nation of Israel was prophesied to revive, and then Messiah would reign in their midst for the 1000 years of the Millennium. This may be supported by 2 Peter 3:8.

Time-Lines and Reasons Why:
These prophesied events may be summarized in a time-line as follows: From the 4 Gospels and the book of Acts we see that Messiah’s sacrifice, in April of 33 AD, was rejected by many Jews and their religious leaders around the Roman Empire. The book of Acts records the way this choice was made by the Jewish leaders – which is why, in every city, Paul presented Jesus as Messiah “to the Jew first, and also to the Greek” (Romans 1:16). By the time Paul arrived in Rome, about 61 AD, the Jewish religious leaders had their last chance. Paul called a special meeting for those leaders in Rome and presented Jesus as Messiah. They were less than enthusiastic. In response to this consistent rejection around the Empire, the Holy Spirit through the apostle Paul stated that God was now setting the Jews aside and instituting the Times of the Gentiles in full measure. That decision also meant that Messiah’s return would not occur in the 1st century as the Apostles had hoped and taught. In hindsight, everything had hinged on the rabbinical response to the offer of Jesus as Messiah.

The Mystery of the Church:
It was about a year after this event (62 AD), that Paul had his revelation from the Lord about the “Mystery” of the Church and he then wrote to the Ephesians from Rome in 63 AD. In that letter, Paul presented the basic concepts about the Church and its relationship to Israel (Ephesians 2 & 3) that the Lord had given him. In Deuteronomy 18:15-19 the ministry of Messiah is hinted at along with severe punishment for rejecting him as detailed in Deuteronomy 28:49-68. A decade after that final rejection in Rome, the Roman legions came in 70 AD, destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple and dispersed the Jews around the world. Israel had been set aside and the Church age established. Until that choice, which had been developing around the Empire, was crystallized in Rome, the outcome was unclear. Even Christ did not know – only the Father (Matthew 24:36 and Acts 1:7). However, once the rabbinical decision had been made, the path ahead clarified, and the possibility of Christ’s return in the 1st century evaporated. It was a little after that when the Revelation of what was going to happen in the Times of the Gentiles and the Tribulation to follow, was given by the Father to the glorified Jesus. Jesus, in turn gave it to His servant John (Revelation 1:1). From a number of considerations, including the testimonies of Polycarp (a disciple of the apostle John), Irenaeus and Jerome, it can be shown that Revelation was written about 96 to 97 AD. For about 2000 years, the 7 main periods of Church history (Revelation 2 and 3) allowed many Gentile believers in Messiah to become part of the “bride of Christ.” In that 2000 years, the Ottoman Empire took control of the Holy Land; it became a desert (Daniel 11:16 KJV), and Bedouin tribes settled there until the Empire ended in World War 1 (Daniel 11:19) with the resulting Balfour Declaration.

The Re-Entry of Israel into the Time-Line:
The next part of God’s program came on 14th May 1948 when the Lord was true to His promise and the Jews were settled back in their original homeland and came there from around the world as in Ezekiel 36. Then, in the 6-Day War of June 1967, the city of Jerusalem was restored to Israeli control after 2000 years, as prophesied in Luke 21 and detailed in Obadiah 15-21. This was the clue from the Lord that the Times of the Gentiles, the Church Age, was at the point of closing. Zechariah 12:2 – 3 says from that time on, Jerusalem was going to be a contentious issue internationally right up to the time when the Lord returns at the Battle of Armageddon (Zechariah 14:1-5). Jesus said in Luke 21:28 “Now when these things begin to come to pass, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near [that is, Jesus catching away His Bride to be with Him in heaven – that is, the Rapture].”

Just how close is this Rapture event? The nation of Israel had formed on 14th May of 1948, and the restoration of Jerusalem on 6th June 1967, just as the prophetic word had indicated. The prophetic verses noted above also seemed to indicate the Rapture would occur in the lifetimes of that generation, just as our questioner pointed out. Again, as the questioner pointed out that, rightly or wrongly, the idea that the Rapture would occur  sooner rather than later in that generation had been generally held. As this “last generation” went on time-wise, and Russia and Iran were invited to establish bases in Syria starting 2015, the prospect of Isaiah 17 and Ezekiel 38 being fulfilled loomed large. These events were expected to be among the last to occur before the Tribulation burst on the world, so it was expected that those events would mark the latest possible timing  for the Rapture to occur. However, the establishment of Russian and Iranian bases in Syria happened a decade ago, and the prophesied events relating to their presence in Syria have not yet occurred. Many asked that if the Lord had been so exact in His timing in the past, what has gone wrong this time? However, all these things have to happen “in the fulness of time,” at the perfect moment according to the Bible.

Jesus Warning and Peter’s Explanation:
Jesus had actually warned about this in Matthew 24:48-51 where the servant says “my Lord delays His coming” and behaves in a way that does not glorify the Lord. The sorry outcome is detailed in verses 50-51. In view of this, consider the answer to our question given to us by the Apostle Peter in 2 Peter 3:3, 4, 9: “Know this, in the Last Days, scoffers will come, walking according to their own ideas and saying ‘Where is the promise of His coming…’  But the Lord is not tardy or slow in fulfilling His promise, according to some people’s conception of slowness. Rather, He is longsuffering and extraordinarily patient with us, not wanting any to perish, but that all should come to repentance.” Consider what has happened. In the last decade, many thousands of Muslims alone have come to accept Jesus as their Savior, sometimes through miraculous circumstances. What has happened for them and others has convinced us that the Lord Jesus really does have an intense love for all people and He wants as many as possible to accept Him and escape the coming Tribulation. The outcome of this is that, instead of the Lord coming at an early time in this generation, He will indeed probably leave it until the last possible moment so that every last Gentile with a heart the Lord can touch and use in His future plans comes to accept Him. It’s like the last few pieces of a huge jig-saw puzzle waiting to be slotted into place to complete the picture. So, in this case, instead of the Rapture happening early in our generation as some originally expected, it may well be at the last possible moment.

“Exhort Each Other Daily…”
That may be why Jesus said we will certainly know the times and the seasons, but no-one knows the day or the hour even though all the signs are there that it is very close. It is rather like a woman in her 9th month; all the signs are there that the event is imminent, but the exact moment of delivery is going to be a surprise. For that reason, Hebrews 10:25 reminds us to “exhort one another daily, so much the more as you see that Day approaching.” That is the aim of these Beacon articles to bring you updated information on world events that show the Day is coming closer, and to encourage you not to give up hope as the world descends into chaos. Thus, the next event we should be looking for are the events leading up to the wipe-out of Damascus in Isaiah 17. This wipe-out may well be coincident with problems related to the activities of the Hezbollah in Lebanon, as a careful reading of Zechariah 9:1-3 and 10:9-10 suggest. Indeed, Israel right now is considering just when it will be appropriate to eliminate the Hezbollah threat from Lebanon and Syria. These human choices by the leadership of both the Hezbollah and Israel are playing into this equation, just as the decisions by the Rabbis in the 1st century AD played into the equation then. So, watch these events closely.

The Sound of the Trumpet!
Finally, Zechariah 9 starts out with the destruction of Damascus, the oldest continually inhabited city in the Middle East, if not the world. Then, as in Isaiah 17:12-14, the related but later battle of Ezekiel 38, may also be in view in Zechariah 9 & 10. It is therefore in the context of one of these two battles that the startling comment is made in Zechariah 9:14 that “Then the LORD will be seen over them …and the Lord God will blow the trumpet.” This is uniquely the “trumpet of God,” not of man nor of angels, and it seems possible for it to qualify for the “trumpet of God” blown for the Rapture of the church as in 1 Thessalonians 4:16 and 1 Corinthians 15:52. So despite apparent delays, the Rapture event looks as if it may be on schedule to occur within this generation.

One Last Question and Answer on this topic:
The question came from someone who suggested the Rapture had not happened because it may not occur until the end of the Tribulation. Their question was: “What events would have to happen to convince you there was no pre-Tribulation Rapture?”

Beacon Answer: If we were wrong about the pre-Tribulation Rapture, I would expect to see some specific events. First, a peace covenant would be made with Israel for 7-years, or more precisely for 2520 days, by an internationally recognized figure. Second, as part of that Covenant, the 3rd Temple would start to be built on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. Building is expected to take about 220 days before the sacrifices are instituted again. Third, from Revelation 11, the two prophets, (probably Moses and Elijah – Malachi 4:4-5) would start ministering in Jerusalem and would continue to do so for 1260 days (3½ years). During that time rain will not fall on selected portions of this planet. These events are expected to mark the beginning of the Tribulation. If we saw all of these events, and the Rapture had not occurred, it would be proof that it was not going to occur pre-Tribulation, as these are all Tribulation events. The other two positions are that it could occur mid-Tribulation, or end-Tribulation (just before the Millennium). But these were not the views of the church fathers who were instructed by the apostles, such as Polycarp (a disciple of the apostle John).

Barry Setterfield 15th February, 2024.