Nearer than when we first believed

"Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In my Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also." (John. 14:1-3)

"For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 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 thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words." (1Thes. 4:16-18)

God has put eternity into the hearts of men (Ecc. 3:11), as evidenced by the abundant speculation about the afterlife. But why be concerned with ages to come and worlds unknown, when there are so many pressing issues to contend with in the here and now? Without losing our current focus, it's because mankind was created to live forever--that there's an insatiable curiosity about the hereafter.

Do you remember how General Maximus rallied his troops in Gladiator with, "What we do in life echoes in eternity." This tagline has the ring of truth, even if the comparatively few years we spend on earth will pale in significance to an unending eternity. As such, every person should pause and examine life in the light of this "blessed hope." For Christians, "eschatology," or the "doctrine of last things," can be a powerful factor in shaping our present conduct, and motivating service for God and man. In this regard, we've been given considerable insight into what the future holds.

With predictive prophecy comprising fully one quarter of Scripture, the Bible stands alone as divinely inspired--as only God knows the end from the beginning (Isa. 46:9,10). From God's eternal vantage point, prophecy is merely history provided in advance. The prophetic passages like the ones above (along with 1 Cor. 15: 51, 52) support the Biblical basis for what's referred to as "the Rapture" of the church. This event includes complete transformation (Phil. 3:20, 21) and union with the Lord Jesus Christ that never ends.

Occurring at a time different from the coming of Christ in judgment, the Rapture has been described as pre-tribulational. Those who are left behind, having not previously placed their trust in Christ as personal Lord and Savior, will face an increasingly horrific seven-year interim period that's punctuated by persecutions, wars and natural disasters--of a type never before experienced on earth. Feeling vulnerable? While God wants all of mankind to be saved from this fate, justice will ultimately be visited on those not under grace.

Many have asked, "When is Christ expected to return?" While the Lord's return for His Church could happen at any time (i.e. doctrine of imminence), specific estimates may be relative to our culture. For example, 2005 on our Western calendar is also the year 4703 for the Chinese, and 5766 for the Jews. [2] Most people also don't realize that the West has not kept an unwavering record of time. Anyone wanting to chart, 100 BC to 2000 AD for example, would have to contend with the fact that 46 BC was 445 days long, there was no year 0 BC, and in 1582 we switched from Julian Years (360 days) to Gregorian (365 days).

Because most prognosticators are not aware of all of these errors, their math is immediately off by several years. But when it comes to knowing the general time frame of Christ's return for His Church, the Word of God is more generous. Jesus forewarned us of a number of events that will take place prior to His return. When we see the predicted events coming together, we can conclude that time is short (Mark 13:30). Most of these prophecies will take place during the tribulation. So any forewarning of their arrival, would make the Rapture all the more likely because it will occur before the start of the seven-year tribulation period.

More specific estimates of the Lord's second coming rely upon a determination of both: a basis year, which initiates a predetermined countdown, and the length of a generation. One compelling theory suggests that we look to the year 1917 (with the signing of the Balfour Declaration), which coincided with international support for founding the State of Israel. To 1917 then add a 50-year jubilee increment (Lev. 25:11) to get to 1967, where history records that the Six-Day Arab-Israeli War resulted in the Jewish control of Jerusalem. If we use 1967 as our basis year, another jubilee increment takes us to 2017--suggesting the rapture event would occur before 2010 (by subtracting a 7-year tribulation).

Approximating a biblical generation of 50-years can also be supported through simple extrapolation. By dividing the historical period from Abraham to Christ by 42 generations (see Matt. 1:17), we come up with roughly 52-year increments. I also find it interesting that even the ancient Mayans approximated generational epochs of this duration. And although I put no real credibility in the calendars of pagan societies, mysteriously the ancients also reckoned the end of recorded history--in our generation.

Ultimately, the Lord tells us that we cannot know the day or the hour, however He does expect us to be mindful of signs of the times (Matt. 16:3), and to look for His appearing (Matt. 24:42). With this in mind, by my basis of estimate, the Rapture is very near. Starting with the fulfilled prophecy of Israel being re-established as a nation (occurring in 1948), I add the relative length of a generation (e.g. 70 years), and then subtract a tribulation period (i.e. 7 years)--leaving a not to exceed date approximating 2011.

If we are the rapture generation, then anytime between now and the next 6-years, in a moment's notice, believers will be transformed. Whether the events that have transpired in this generation--Israel's re-gathering, the revived Roman Empire (i.e. European Union), the Middle-East Road Map, etc.--are prophetic triggers [4] or not, this much we know for sure..."now is the time of God's favor, now is the day of salvation" (2 Cor. 6:2).

By the way, the admonishment to act "now" acknowledges the brevity of life and the closing window of opportunity for accepting God's offer of salvation--by grace through faith in Christ. This passage also represents an aspect of biblical prophecy that deals more with forth-telling (i.e. proclaiming truth) than foretelling (i.e. describing a future event).

Inspired, prophetic foretelling ended with the Revelation (e.g. at the closing Canon). However, prophetic forth-telling continues throughout Christendom today, pastor to congregants, believer to seeker--everytime we espouse biblical precepts and principles that govern our faith and practice. So while knowing the exact timing of foretold events is exclusively reserved for the Almighty, you and I are expected to be about the business forth-telling in the here and now.

And frankly, something of the prophet in me wants to emphasize to others that life is short and unpredictable (Jam. 4:14). So if you have a talk to give, a message to write, or a song to sing for the Lord--we are to fulfill our individual missions before the dispensation of grace draws to a close. The catastrophic events recently in the news remind us of how fragile and uncertain this life can be. And a simple glance in the mirror daily affirms that time marches on.

Either at the Rapture or the end of this mortal life, we all have an appointment to keep with the Lord (Heb. 9:27). And the apostle Paul captured the sense of urgency that we should make our own in these last days when he penned, "...understanding the present time. The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed" (Rom 13:11).

Roy Tanner