How Soon the
Rapture?
Signs
of the times
By
Pete Rose
Jesus' disciples on
the Mount of Olives
when He told them of
the coming
destruction of the
temple shortly
before His passion
and crucifixion,
asked Him, “When
will these things
happen, and what
will be the sign of
your coming, and of
the end of the
world?” (Matthew
24:3). Jesus
answered them with a
list of signs that
would mark the time
of His coming, but
stated, “Of that day
and hour no man
knows, not even the
angels of Heaven nor
even the Son, but
the Father only.”
(Matthew 24:20). But
though no man knows
the exact time,
Jesus did indicate
that those living at
the time would know
when it is near.
There are other
clues scattered
about the Holy
Scriptures which,
when all put
together, can give
us a pretty good
idea of when it will
happen.
Number one sign: The
fig tree. When it
buds and brings
forth leaves, Jesus
said you know summer
is near at hand.
“Likewise, when you
see all these things
begin to come to
pass, know that it
is near, even at the
door.” (Matthew
24:33] The fig tree
is a symbol of
Israel. The number
one sign of all
these signs is the
regathering of
Israel as a nation.
Virtually the
entirety of end time
prophecy concerns
Israel as a nation,
in the land God gave
them. From 70 AD
when Titus overran
Jerusalem and the
Jews were dispersed
across all the known
world until 1948,
there was no nation
of Israel. Thus
during that interval
none of these
prophecies could
have been fulfilled.
Now with Israel back
in the land, we are
seeing increasingly
rapid fulfillment of
these signs Jesus
gave. Everything
hinges on Israel as
a nation back in the
land God gave them.
Birth
pangs. Jesus likened
the signs of the
approaching end to
birth pains. They
start subtly at
first, and increase
in frequency and
intensity as the
hour to give birth
approaches, becoming
most intense and
most frequent just
before the mother
gives birth to her
baby. Like birth
pains, so shall
these signs of the
end increase in
frequency and
intensity as the end
approaches.
The
days of Noah and
Lot. As it was in
the days of Noah so
shall it be when the
Son of man returns.
(Matthew 24:37) “In
the days before the
flood, people were
eating and drinking,
marrying and giving
in marriage,
building and
planting, and paid
no heed to what was
coming until the
flood came and took
them all away.
(Matthew 37-39, Luke
17:26-27). Two
things characterized
the days of Noah and
Lot, (1) an overflow
of violence and
wickedness (Genesis
6:11-12), and (2)
everything was
business as usual
right up until
disaster overtook
the people affected
(Luke 27:27-30). In
both cases those
involved were warned
beforehand, and
chose to ignore the
warnings. So will it
be with the world
when Jesus returns.
Violence. Just 20
years ago it was
rare that you heard
of multiple murders.
Then there was
Columbine, some 20
or more students
murdered in cold
blood by a pair of
crazies. Then there
was the massacre at
a university in
Virginia, over 30
students murdered by
a fellow student
gone mad, who even
locked the doors
shut so no one could
get out. Today, such
mass killings have
become so
commonplace they
don't even make
front page news any
more. Not to mention
the massacres that
take place routinely
in some third world
countries, and women
raped and killed
just because they
disagree with those
ruling them. The
world is rapidly
becoming as it was
in the days of Noah.
Wickedness and
immorality. In the
past few years,
morals have been
thrown to the wind.
Homosexual conduct,
condemned by God, is
now glorified and
defended by the
world. And so is
promiscuous sex of
any kind. Gays march
in the streets,
proud of their sin,
and demanding not
just their rights,
but that they be
made a special
privileged class.
Greed is pandemic.
Trafficking and use
of illicit drugs is
on the rise, and
with it crimes
committed by addicts
to support their
habit, and violence
and killing among
those who are
selling the stuff.
Senseless murders
have become common
place. Good is being
called evil, and
evil is being called
good. The world is
heading in the same
direction as Sodom
and Gomorrah in
their day..
False
messiahs and false
prophets. Many will
come in that day
saying, “I am
Christ,” and will
deceive many
(Matthew 24:4-5). We
just recently
recently elected a
president whom some
people in the world
are calling a
“messiah”, and I
have not heard him
disclaim it. And it
appears he is
leading this country
straight down the
road to socialism
and ruin. One day
soon one will come
in his own name,
claiming to be the
Christ, and the
world will follow
him and proclaim him
God, but he will be
the devil incarnate
instead.
Wars
and rumors of wars.
It has been said
that there have been
more wars in the 20th
century alone than
in all of history
past. There is
warfare going on
between tribes and
ethnic groups today,
and there will be
more wars with
increasing intensity
as the end
approaches.
Earthquakes. While
there have been
earthquakes all down
through history,
there has been a
steady increase in
the frequency and
intensity of quakes
in recent years. A
magnitude 9 quake in
Indonesia in 2004
generated a huge
tsunami with waves
up to 100 feet high
which flooded
coastlands as far
away as the east
coast of Africa.
Between the quake
and the tsunami over
230,000 people died.
It was the longest
quake in history,
lasting nearly 10
minutes.
(Wikipedia-Indian
Ocean Earthquake)
Earthquakes in
China, Pakistan,
Italy and elsewhere
have also killed
thousands and caused
widespread
destruction in
recent years.
Famines. While there
has been no famine
in the US as yet,
there are famines in
other parts of the
world, and it would
only take a few bad
harvests before
there would be
famine here.
Pestilences-AIDS is
rampant in many
parts of the world,
and there is no
known cure for it.
An outbreak of swine
flu in Mexico at
this moment has
disease control
experts worried that
it could turn into a
worldwide pandemic.
This virus is said
to be like none ever
seen before, a
hybrid of bird,
swine and human flu,
all rolled into one
virus. Some are
saying it was
deliberate and the
virus was
genetically
engineered, not
natural.
The
sea roaring and
men's hearts failing
them for fear.
Hurricanes have
become more frequent
and more intense in
recent years. Just a
few years ago there
were three category
5 hurricanes in a
single season, two
of them making
landfall in very
close to the same
area, along the Gulf
coast. Katrina hit
New Orleans causing
tremendous damage,
with even more when
levees failed,
flooding much of the
city. Rita hit
further west only a
short time later,
again causing
extensive damage.
Tornadoes have been
on the rise too. In
just the first
quarter of 2009
there have been more
tornadoes and
tornado outbreaks
than in a normal
year.
The
kicker: Jesus told
His disciples, This
generation (the
generation that sees
the beginnings of
these signs) will
not pass until all
is fulfilled. In
other words, the
generation born when
these signs began
will still be alive
when everything
prophesied has come
to pass. All this is
prophesied in Jesus'
Olivet discourse
with His disciples,
found in Matthew 24
and Luke 17, shortly
before He was
crucified.
But
this is not all.
There are other
clues as to the
timing of the
rapture elsewhere in
the Bible.
1
Thessalonians 5:9
tells us God has not
appointed us to
wrath, but to obtain
salvation by our
Lord, Jesus Christ.
2 Thessalonians 2:3
tells us the
antichrist cannot be
revealed until there
be a falling away
(the literal meaning
of the Greek
actually speaks of a
departure, a moving
away-the rapture of
the saints) first.
Verses 7 and 8 speak
of a restrainer Who
must be taken out of
the way before the
antichrist can be
revealed. Would this
not be the Holy
Spirit, living in
the saints,
restraining evil?
When the church is
removed in the
rapture, this
restrainer will be
taken out of the way
leaving the way
clear for the
antichrist to reveal
himself, not before.
The
book of the
Revelation is
divided into three
parts. Jesus
instructs John to
“write the things
you have seen, the
things which are,
and the things which
shall be hereafter”
(Revelation 1:19).
The things you have
seen—the vision of
the seven
candlesticks, the
vision of Jesus and
His appearance, and
holding seven stars
and a sharp two
edged sword going
out of His mouth.
The things which
are—the seven
churches John was
instructed to send
letters to. The
things which are to
come—all John saw
after he was caught
up to heaven in
Revelation 4:1.
In
the message to the
church of
Philadelphia, a
picture of the
believing church of
today (Revelation
3:7-12) Jesus
promises them,
“Because you have
kept the word of My
patience, I will
also keep you from
the hour of trial
that is to come upon
all the world, to
try those who dwell
on the earth.” (V
10). This “hour” can
be none other than
the great
tribulation, and
Jesus has promised
those who have faith
in Him that He will
keep them (us) from
that hour.
In
Revelation 4:1 John
sees a door opened
in heaven and hears
a voice telling him,
“Come up here, and I
will show you the
things that must be
hereafter.”
Immediately John is
in the spirit and
sees the throne of
God and 24 elders
seated around the
throne. These 24
elders speak of
Israel and the
church, 12 of them
representing the 12
tribes of Israel,
and 12 representing
the 12 apostles of
Jesus. There is no
further mention of
the church on earth
until we see them
coming with Jesus on
white horses at the
battle of
Armageddon, strongly
suggesting that the
church is no longer
present on earth
during this
interval.
Revelation 11:7-10
tells of the killing
of the two witnesses
who have brought
plagues upon the
earth for the past
three and a half
years, and states
that all the world
will see their dead
bodies lying in the
street for three and
a half days. Just 50
years ago this would
have been
impossible. Now with
satellite TV
anything can be
broadcast from
anywhere in the
world and picked up
and the images
transmitted
worldwide in just a
matter of seconds.
In
Revelation chapter
13 we have the
vision of the
antichrist and his
system, in which
there will be one
world government and
one monetary system,
the latter requiring
one to receive a
mark in his hand or
on his forehead,
without which no one
will be able to buy
or sell. There has
been within just the
past six months or
so an exponential
speedup of movement
toward a one world
government and a one
world monetary
system, and the
technology is
already in place to
make the mark of the
beast
enforceable—RFID
chips and electronic
funds transfer. All
that is needed is
for someone to
design the
infrastructure to
put the two
together, and with
the technology
already at hand it
would take only a
short time to do
that. Without the
mark (or RFID chip,
as the case may be)
on your person the
machinery won't
work, and there will
be no way to carry
out any kind of
monetary
transaction.
In
Daniel 12:4 the
angel speaking to
Daniel after telling
him to seal up the
book till the time
of the end, tells
him in that day many
will run to an fro,
and knowledge will
increase. Just 200
years ago the
fastest means of
travel was
horseback, top speed
maybe 40 miles per
hour, and that only
for a relatively
short time.
Computers,
telephones,
television and many
other things we
depend on today
weren't even dreamed
of just 100 years
ago. Commercial
airliners can whisk
people around the
world in hours on
trips that would
have taken months
just a century or
two ago, and
astronauts are
whirling around the
globe every 90
minutes at some
17,000 miles an
hour. And the
prophecies Daniel
was told to seal up
until the time of
the end are now
being understood.
From
all of the above it
appears certain that
we are in the hour
prophesied by
Daniel, Jesus and
others. It is the
end of the age of
grace, the end of
time for the church
on earth. It appears
that everything is
setting up for the
political and
monetary system that
will be in force
during the great
tribulation, and
everything could be
put in place very
quickly. With modern
construction
techniques, even the
tribulation temple
could be built
probably in a matter
of months.
When
Jesus gave the sign
of the fig tree, he
stated that the
generation seeing
the start of all
these things, the
regathering of
Israel, will not
pass away until all
He prophesied is
fulfilled. It has
been 61 years since
Israel was
re-established as a
nation in modern
times. The great
tribulation will run
for seven years. If
70 years is the
lifetime of a
generation, and all
must be fulfilled in
that time frame, and
it has already been
61 years, that
leaves only two
years to the start
of the great
tribulation. The
rapture is imminent.
There is no other
prophetic event that
has to precede the
rapture, though some
may, such as the war
of Psalm 83 and/or
Ezekiel 38-39. And
since it is apparent
that the rapture
must precede the
tribulation, how
much sooner must our
exit be?
Just
a quick disclaimer
here. I am not
trying to set a date
for the rapture.
Only a fool would do
that. Jesus said no
man knows the day
nor the hour, and
neither do I. But He
did say we would
know when the time
was at hand, and
based on the
Scriptures and
current events and
trends I believe
that time is here.
Jesus
warned us to be
ready. To those who
are not watching, He
will come as a thief
in the night to
steal away his
jewels, the church.
Those of us who are
His are not of the
darkness and will
not be caught by
surprise, we will
know when the time
is at hand.
If
you have received
Jesus into your life
as your Lord and
Savior, you are
ready. When that day
comes, you will be
among the missing on
Earth, gone to be
with Jesus where He
is. If you have
procrastinated or
refused to receive
Jesus as Lord and
Savior, that day
will
catch you as a
thief, and you will
be left behind in a
world of total
chaos, to go through
the great
tribulation. It will
be a time of strong
delusion and many
will be deceived
into irreversible
damnation. While it
will be possible to
be saved during the
tribulation it will
probably be at the
cost of your life.
Even so, better to
be saved, get your
head chopped off and
spend eternity with
Jesus, than to keep
your life for a
time, and in the end
burn in the lake of
fire for eternity.
The
Gospel in a
nutshell:
-
All have sinned,
and the
punishment for
sin is death and
eternal torment
in hell.
-
Jesus took your
hell for you on
the cross, in
your place, to
keep you out of
hell.
-
You must receive
Him to receive
His salvation.
Just invite Him
into your life,
and walk with
Him.
Bible
verse to think
about: “Therefore be
ye also ready, for
in such an hour as
ye think not, the
Son of man cometh.”
(Matthew 24:44.)
Don't
miss it!
|