John Owen, the 17th century theologian quoted “Satan’s greatest success is in making people think they have plenty of time before they die to consider their eternal welfare.” ~ John Owen.
The hard, sobering truth is, apart from very specific, miraculous instances of prophetic grace, that generally, we do not know the day or the hour when we will meet our Maker, either via our own passing away from this life to the next, or via the next coming of Christ, often referred to as the Rapture.
Contrary to some modern day commentators, The Rapture is clearly described in the New Testament (see, e.g., 1 Thessalonians 4; 1 Corinthians 15:50-54; Matthew 24, Jesus’ own discourse), and is foreshadowed in the Old (see, e.g., Zechariah 14; Jeremiah 30:7).
I recognize that many Christians do not take the Rapture and End Times prophecies literally. There are many different interpretations about whether and when the Rapture will occur. Some believe it is figurative; some believe it is literal. The subject is complicated and not going to be settled in a Blog, especially not in a Blog by me. However, taken literally (again, recognizing that not all Christians do), when the Rapture happens, those who are alive, in Christ, will be caught up (“rapturo” in the Latin), “in the twinkling of an eye,” (estimated by some to be about 1/40th of a second). Further, Jesus taught in Matthew 24 that no one knows the day or the hour. So we don’t know when it will happen and when it does, 1/40th of a second is not enough time to “get right with God.” That’s why He encouraged us to be ready; rather than think we could get ready when it’s happening.
What struck me recently, though, is that some preachers believe that the (literal) Rapture is imminent, based on the re-formation of Israel in May of 1948 (we are nearing the end of that generation) and based on the increases in intensity and frequency of the preceding phenomena described by Jesus and the convergence of other prophesied factors that are now currently in place.
I recently heard one preacher (a New York Times bestselling author) teach that he believes strongly that it could occur during Rosh Hashanah (the Feast of Trumpets) of this year. I can’t really do the study justice, but here are some highlights: Rosh Hashanah is the “Feast of Trumpets” that commemorates a 10-day period of introspection that culminates in Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. Trumpets are mentioned in the scriptures describing the Rapture. Further, Rosh Hashanah is a two-day feast that commonly is described in the Jewish tradition for the people not knowing the day or the hour of its beginning because of how that is measured (the appearance and sighting of the first sliver of the new moon). Since the Feast is two days long, by saying it could occur during Rosh Hashanah, we still don’t know the day or the hour. Moreover, Jesus’ life fulfilled the Spring Feasts — He died on Passover; was buried on the feast of Unleavened Bread; rose on the Feast of First Fruits and Pentecost was on Pentecost, not to mention the more than 300 prophecies that his life fulfilled.
Rosh Hashanah is less than two months from now. I have to admit that shook me, somehow made the Lord’s admonition to be prepared/ready, and the reflection that, honestly, I could meet him even sooner than that, more concrete. We just don’t know. The point isn’t to set the date and time, but to be ready whenever it may occur.
Please feel free to leave a comment. Thank you.
Notes/Disclaimers:
*”ASV” refers to the American Standard Version of the Bible and “KJV” refers to the King James Version of the Bible, both of which are in the public domain. Links are to the New International Version on BibleGateway.com.
**I am not affiliated with any of the websites that I mentioned above (other than I may have donated a time or two), nor have they endorsed this website in any way. I am just listing them because I have found them to be very helpful references.
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