The Timing of The Rapture

THE TIMING of THE RAPTURE

 

Ever since I started to read the Bible back in the early 60's, I have never understood the timing of the rapture. I know for sure that Jesus is going to come back to earth some day for His Church (Acts 1: 6-11), but only the Father knows when that will be according to Jesus in (Matt 24:36). Paul explains clearly how it will happen in (1 Thess 4:15-18) but there has been much speculation about when it will happen. I easily figured out it had to be "pre-millennial", He has to be here on earth in order to reign for 1000 years. But then I was faced with deciding was it "Pre", "Mid", or "Post" regarding the time of the "Great Tribulation". I chose the "pre-tribulation" position at the time because I didn't like to consider suffering under the rule of that terrible "beast of Rev 13". I believed that doctrine, and taught it to others for some 30 years, before I knew there was another position called "The Pre-wrath Rapture" position. Once I understood that position toward the timing of the rapture, I never looked back.

 

I was introduced to this new position of the timing of the rapture by reading "The Sign" by Robert Van Kampen, written and published first in 1992 after spending 8 years and some 9000 hours of studying the scriptures pertaining to this subject. I consider this book was a gift from God to me from a brother in the Lord from Oklahoma USA, who was in SJ at the time as a representative from Martyrs for Christ organization who were having a conference in SJ and he stayed with us for a week. His name is Ray Thorne who just happened to have his copy of the book with him. He asked me if I had ever heard of the book, and of course I hadn't, so he let me look it over for that week and when he left graciously gave it to me as a gift. If happens to be a revised copy dated 1999, and I received it on Feb 20/2001, and it has answered my many questions about not only the rapture, but the whole end times scenario. It especially covers how God is going to deal with His "chosen people" the Jews in these end times. Something my previous teaching on the rapture never mentioned, it seemed all they were interested in was getting to heaven before the tribulation started. I now am sure the tribulation will start at the mid-point of the 7 year period mentioned in (Dan 9:24-27), when this world ruler will reveal himself as being the Antichrist and will immediately start the tribulation with the church. At some point in this tribulation God will shorten this time (Matt 24:21-22) by sending Jesus for the rapture, and then the angels to pour out God's Wrath!!

Sincerely submitted.

Dave Jamer                                                                                                                   15/10/14