Countdown to the Rapture

The seven year period that precedes the second coming of Christ to planet earth is known as the Tribulation, the last 3 & 1/2 years of this period is known as the Great Tribulation. It is also the 70th. week of Daniel chapter 9 It marks the beginning of “ the Day of the Lord”.

What will it be like?
There are many questions that arise which have to do with the timing of the second coming of Christ. Early on in my Christian life I believed the Rapture and the Second Coming were one in the same. Where the confusion came had to do with the interpretation of isolated passages of scripture taken out of context. For instance if you were to read about the Rapture of the church as a post tribulationalists you would expect John 14:3 to be Jesus explaining where the Believers living at the time of His return would be taken: “I go to prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am there ye may be also.”

Would I have to wait until His second coming to earth to be taken to my home in Heaven? What about the verse in Matthew 24:40-42 about two in the field working, one taken, the other left behind, or the two women grinding at the mill, one taken and the other left. Does that speak of the rapture or the second coming?


In order to clear up the confusion that many of these verses taken out of context can result, it is important to do here as well as in any area of study to understand the times in which prophecy was given...to whom...and was the prophecy fulfilled in light of past predictions, or was it a yet future event?

In a few words the Rapture, Tribulation, Second Coming, and the millennial reign of Christ to the Disciples and the Apostles except for Paul was a mystery. But like any mystery...there must be an explanation. Maybe it isn’t possible for the human mind to comprehend all that God has planned and purposed for mankind...maybe some of us care more than others about such things as destiny...and the afterlife. Maybe it’s not fashionable to be puzzled about events that happen as the world turns, seemingly unconnected events yet timed somehow to fulfill the will of God.


What is the safety net God has made available to his Bride, the Church? Is it all wrapped up in a promise only to be deciphered by those who continue to look for His soon return with hope, and not for those who doubt? Does God treat doubt like sin? Or is the study of prophecy a particular exercise that is only meant for a few...who have the time?

I admit there are many questions seemingly unanswered. Also to complicate this, many who have knowledge of the future through a proper study of the rightly divided Word are often ridiculed for thinking they “know it all” when they are asked about areas in which they have expertise. I’m beginning to think that persons who are deceived don’t want to know the truth. That the truth to a deceived person is devastating unless there is a safety net for them to fall into until they get the correct picture in view. I believe Dispensationalism has been given a bad rap by the subjective crowd who continue on their merry way from one “feeling” to the next.


The Charismatic Renewal movement is shredding the truth in evangelical churches at this very moment. The false signs and wonders occurring during this age will intensify and be even more convincing when the Tribulation actually begins. We must concentrate on what the Word of God says about the times in which we are living.

The many questions being raised today have the same root cause as those of the early Church. Look at the problem as it occurred. The Thessalonians were anticipating the Lord’s soon return. They had a general knowledge about His coming, the end of the world, or worlds system, and the consummation of history. They hadn’t been conditioned by the prevailing thoughts of our time like evolution, re-incarnation, and the like. They knew that the world would not go on forever, that it had not always been here or that it would never end as so many actually believe today.


They knew of our Lord’s response to the question asked by the disciples one day, “Tell us, when shall these things be? And what shall be the sign of Thy coming, and of the end of the age?” (Matt. 24:4). With this question, the disciples revealed that they wisely did not believe in false doctrines about the perpetuity of all things and various views of the uniformity and eternity of nature, which were prevalent in their day and certainly pervasive in our day. You could say that they had honest doubt about the future, and I maintain that the Lord honored their concerns and in a manner of speaking He was thankful for their honesty.

How different it is today, it seems just the opposite: everyone has their own opinion and there are as many theories about creation and life and death overall as there are rivers in America. I maintain that it’s the dispensationalist that rightly divides the word of truth that has his or her feet firmly planted on the sure foundation of time past, time present, and time future, through a proper understanding of God’s plan of the ages.

What do you think?
Your questions are also encouraged. www.livingtruthministry.com
KMS