Mark 13:32 But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the
angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.
33Take ye heed, watch and
pray: for ye know not when the time is. 34For the Son of man is as a man taking a far journey, who left his house, and gave
authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and commanded the porter
to watch. 35Watch ye therefore: for ye
know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at
the cockcrowing, or in the morning: 36Lest coming suddenly he
find you sleeping. 37And what I say unto you I
say unto all, Watch.
Someone wise once said if you want better answers, ask better questions. Wouldn't it be nice to get better answers on the timing of the rapture? Guess what? Those answers are not coming. This brings us back to why? And what are we to do with contradictory evidence? Lets start with contradictory evidence. What kind of evidence in the Bible support the mid-trib rapture? How about this:
Luke 17:27 They did eat, they
drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe
entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all. 28Likewise also as it
was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they
planted, they builded; 29But the same day
that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and
destroyed them all. 30Even thus shall it
be in the day when the Son of man is revealed. 31In that day, he
which shall be upon the housetop, and his stuff in the house, let him not come
down to take it away: and he that is in the field, let him likewise not return
back. 32Remember Lot's wife. 33Whosoever shall
seek to save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life shall
preserve it. 34I tell you, in that night there shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken, and the other
shall be left. 35Two women
shall be grinding together; the one shall be taken, and the other left. 36Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken,
and the other left. 37And they answered
and said unto him, Where, Lord? And he said unto them, Wheresoever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered together.
That statement up there about being on the housetop, or in the field and not returning back to his house to retrieve his stuff is a direct link to 1. the unexpected coming of the Lord (verses27-30 and 32-37) and 2. the swift judgement coming at the time of the abomination that causes desolation around the mid-point of the tribulation (verses 30-31). When the Lord tells us "in that day" He is linking all of that together.
Okay, so how does this tie in to the middle of the tribulation coming of the Lord jive with the pre-tribulation coming of the Lord for His Church? It doesn't, which is why we have divisions in the Church along these lines passages of scripture. Okay, so where does that leave us? It leaves us with contradictory evidence for the timing of the rapture which brings us full circle back to square 1 which is what? We do not know the day or hour. He told us we wont know the day or hour because He himself through multiple monkey wrenches into scripture to confuse the daylights out of us. Confusion? Yes, on timing. So, the Lord has sown confusion about the timing but should that leave us in a state of confusion? No. We do not need a PhD, or ThD or thousands page e-book to figure this out. What we need is to do what He told us to do. We need to obey.
What did He tell us to do? Be watching for His unexpected return, always. That's it. So the best evidence to believe the pre-tribulation rapture today is not direct evidence it is indirect evidence. Direct evidence leads to confusion. The Bible gives direct evidence for pre, mid and post trib as evidenced by the existing divisions in the Church along those same lines. The indirect evidence tells us in the face of what we cannot be certain of (timing) do what you can be certain of. What can we be rock solid certain on? We are 100% certain that we are to be watching and praying for the unexpected return of the Lord each and every day. Anyone who debates or dismisses that clear Biblical fact is a fool.
The Superiority of Watching Every Day
We do not know the day or hour because the Lord told us we would not know the day or hour. Its clear cut. We do know for certain we are to watch for His unexpected coming every day because He pounded that order into us over and over again in Matthew, Mark and Luke. Watching for the Lord every day is superior 1. because the Lord told us to do it, and 2. the strategy auto updates to include as necessary every one of the rapture positions. What does that mean? It means if the Lord does not arrive before the tribulation, we continue to watch and pray into mid trib. If the Lord does not come back mid-trib, we continue to watch and pray into post-trib. Its a no brainer. Its simple, its easy, it requires no sophisticated arguments. What it requires is a simple reading of the Word and simple obedience to do what we were told to do.
This line of thinking, ie doing what we were told to do solves the rapture debate. Watch and pray today for the Lord's unexpected coming and do not stop until 1. you go to heaven first or 2. The Lord fulfills His promise to arrive unexpected.
So, we continue to watch, every day month and year. Predictions come and go, you tubers come and go. What does not come and go is the Word which tells us to watch and pray without ceasing. The Lord Himself gave this writer signs in 2017 and 2018 that He is coming soon but has He arrived yet? No. So what? Do we throw our hands up in the air and say "2018 is a good year to stop watching" while we watch the world descend into madness and every prophesy the Lord uttered fall into place? We do not stop, we do not quit, we shift into low gear and grind out the time doing exactly what our God told us to do without failing. If we do what we were told to do, there is no confusion, there is just simple obedience and love that can and will bring us across the finish lines with shouts and cheers from the audience in heaven:
2 Peter 1:3According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: 4Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. 5And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; 6And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; 7And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. 8For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins. 10Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall: 11For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
grace and peace
