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The Rapture is Imminent!
The coming of the Lord Jesus for His Church is presented in the New Testament as an imminent hope and expectancy. That the coming of Christ is "imminent" simply means that our Lord may come at any time. Nothing needs to happen before He comes. No prophecy needs to be fulfilled before He comes. It may be today! Such an expectation is well supported by an abundance of Scriptural testimony:
1. (John 14:3) And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto Myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.
2. (Rom. 13:11) And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.
3. (1 Cor. 1:7) So that ye come behind in no gift; waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
4. (1 Cor. 11:26) For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do show the Lord's death till He come.
5. (1 Cor. 15:51-52) Behold, I show you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, (52) In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
6. (1 Cor. 16:22) If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be Anathema [.] Maranatha ["Our Lord cometh!"].
7. (Phil. 3:20) For our conversation [citizenship] is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ.
8. (Phil. 4:5) Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand.
9. (Col. 3:4) When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with Him in glory.
10. (1 Thess. 1:10) And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.
11. (1 Thess. 4:17) Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
12. (Titus 2:13) Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ
13. (Heb. 9:28) So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.
14. (Heb. 10:25) Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.
15. (James 5:8) Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh.
16. (1 John 2:28; 3:3) And now, little children, abide in Him; that, when He shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before Him at His coming….And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as He is pure.
17. (Jude 21) Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.
18. (Rev. 22:20) He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus. (cf. Rev. 3:11; 22:7,12).
As the above passages indicate, believers are to be constantly waiting for and looking for and expecting His coming and His appearing. We are to look for and eagerly await the glorious appearing of our Great God, even our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ (Tit. 2:14). It is interesting that we are not told to be looking for the man of sin (the Antichrist) to be revealed. We are not told to be looking for the 144,000 Jews who will be sealed by God during the time of Daniel's 70th week. We are not told to be looking for "the abomination of desolation" to be set up in Jerusalem. We are told to be looking for Christ Himself.
None of the Tribulation events will take place prior to the removal of the Church; otherwise the Rapture would not be imminent. If the Rapture were not to take place until sometime during the last 3½ years (as the *Pre-Wrath Rapture view teaches), then this would destroy the doctrine of the imminent return of Christ. We would know that before the Rapture could take place, the treaty (covenant) would need to be made with Israel at the beginning of Daniel's 70th week (Dan. 9:27) and "the abomination of desolation" would need to be set up at the middle of Daniel's 70th week (Matt. 24:15). We would look for these events to happen before we could even begin to expect Christ to come for His Church.
Was Paul looking for the imminent return of Christ? Paul expected that Christ would come for him because he considered himself part of the group that would be alive on earth at the time of the Rapture. Notice that Paul includes himself by using the personal pronoun WE--"WE which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent [precede] them which are asleep….Then WE which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air…" (1 Thess. 4:15,17). Of course we now know that Paul was not part of that group of believers living at the time of the Rapture. Instead he was part of the "dead in Christ" group mentioned in verse 16 (also described as "them who are asleep"--verse 15). But because of his belief in the imminent return of Christ, Paul believed he might be found among the believers living on earth at the time of the Lord's coming for His Church.
Notice also Paul's use of the pronoun "we" in 1 Corinthians 15:51-52, "Behold, I show you a mystery; WE shall not all sleep, but WE shall all be changed, (52) In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and WE shall be changed." Notice that Church Age believers are divided into two groups: (1) the dead that shall be raised and (2) those alive at Christ's coming who will not sleep (who will not die physically) but who will be changed. Paul believed he might be part of this second group, although we now know that Paul was actually part of the first group. Paul, living in the first century, expected that he might be among the generation of believers who would not see physical death. How much more ought we to have this blessed expectation!
* I would also include the Post-tribulation rapture doctrine as destroying the doctrine of the imminent return of Christ
The coming of the Lord Jesus for His Church is presented in the New Testament as an imminent hope and expectancy. That the coming of Christ is "imminent" simply means that our Lord may come at any time. Nothing needs to happen before He comes. No prophecy needs to be fulfilled before He comes. It may be today! Such an expectation is well supported by an abundance of Scriptural testimony:
1. (John 14:3) And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto Myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.
2. (Rom. 13:11) And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.
3. (1 Cor. 1:7) So that ye come behind in no gift; waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
4. (1 Cor. 11:26) For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do show the Lord's death till He come.
5. (1 Cor. 15:51-52) Behold, I show you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, (52) In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
6. (1 Cor. 16:22) If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be Anathema [.] Maranatha ["Our Lord cometh!"].
7. (Phil. 3:20) For our conversation [citizenship] is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ.
8. (Phil. 4:5) Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand.
9. (Col. 3:4) When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with Him in glory.
10. (1 Thess. 1:10) And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.
11. (1 Thess. 4:17) Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
12. (Titus 2:13) Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ
13. (Heb. 9:28) So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.
14. (Heb. 10:25) Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.
15. (James 5:8) Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh.
16. (1 John 2:28; 3:3) And now, little children, abide in Him; that, when He shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before Him at His coming….And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as He is pure.
17. (Jude 21) Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.
18. (Rev. 22:20) He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus. (cf. Rev. 3:11; 22:7,12).
As the above passages indicate, believers are to be constantly waiting for and looking for and expecting His coming and His appearing. We are to look for and eagerly await the glorious appearing of our Great God, even our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ (Tit. 2:14). It is interesting that we are not told to be looking for the man of sin (the Antichrist) to be revealed. We are not told to be looking for the 144,000 Jews who will be sealed by God during the time of Daniel's 70th week. We are not told to be looking for "the abomination of desolation" to be set up in Jerusalem. We are told to be looking for Christ Himself.
None of the Tribulation events will take place prior to the removal of the Church; otherwise the Rapture would not be imminent. If the Rapture were not to take place until sometime during the last 3½ years (as the *Pre-Wrath Rapture view teaches), then this would destroy the doctrine of the imminent return of Christ. We would know that before the Rapture could take place, the treaty (covenant) would need to be made with Israel at the beginning of Daniel's 70th week (Dan. 9:27) and "the abomination of desolation" would need to be set up at the middle of Daniel's 70th week (Matt. 24:15). We would look for these events to happen before we could even begin to expect Christ to come for His Church.
Was Paul looking for the imminent return of Christ? Paul expected that Christ would come for him because he considered himself part of the group that would be alive on earth at the time of the Rapture. Notice that Paul includes himself by using the personal pronoun WE--"WE which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent [precede] them which are asleep….Then WE which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air…" (1 Thess. 4:15,17). Of course we now know that Paul was not part of that group of believers living at the time of the Rapture. Instead he was part of the "dead in Christ" group mentioned in verse 16 (also described as "them who are asleep"--verse 15). But because of his belief in the imminent return of Christ, Paul believed he might be found among the believers living on earth at the time of the Lord's coming for His Church.
Notice also Paul's use of the pronoun "we" in 1 Corinthians 15:51-52, "Behold, I show you a mystery; WE shall not all sleep, but WE shall all be changed, (52) In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and WE shall be changed." Notice that Church Age believers are divided into two groups: (1) the dead that shall be raised and (2) those alive at Christ's coming who will not sleep (who will not die physically) but who will be changed. Paul believed he might be part of this second group, although we now know that Paul was actually part of the first group. Paul, living in the first century, expected that he might be among the generation of believers who would not see physical death. How much more ought we to have this blessed expectation!
* I would also include the Post-tribulation rapture doctrine as destroying the doctrine of the imminent return of Christ
