But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober. For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night. But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation. For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,( I Thessalonians 5:1-9)
I Do believe we are really close now. Certainly closer than when we first believed.
But I think it a really bad idea(and witness) for believers in the Rapture to fight about it. The goal should be to alert people utterly asleep to wake up and see that Jesus is coming very soon. That is surely something we can all agree with, right? Jesus is coming!!!!
Many do not believe this, even in the church, so we should rejoice in that remnant which does believe in the second coming and the Rapture.
The issue, is to be ready.
Be ready for the Rapture (make sure your sins are forgiven, and your heart is right with God, keep short accounts) and remain ready for the difficulties of the last days. Even if you insist that we will not be going through the great Tribulation, you have to admit that scripture teaches that as we draw near to the end, all believers will be exposed to some greater levels of difficulty and rejection.
“All that will live godly in Christ Jesus, shall suffer persecution….”
Why fight over the timing? I know, it seems so clear to you, (your particular position) , but is it not possible that people of equally good will can think they see something else (as clearly)?
Someday soon it is all going to happen, and on this point one or maybe all positions currently championed will be proven to be in the wrong. Will we not all rejoice together anyway, and praise the LORD in his presence for coming to rescue us all?
Or do you have to be precisely right on the rapture to get to heaven? (the answer is no, thank God).
This all gets really ugly when disagreement descends into personal attack.
Disagreeing with a particular position on the timing of the Rapture is not necessarily a “Satanic Attack” of the enemy.
Shouldn’t we all go back to this assumption; we are brothers and sisters, and we all desperately want Jesus to come back? Besides this we all share this burden, we want as many as possible to wake up and be saved before the terrors to come descend upon the earth.
I am all for scriptural discussions, and I don’t believe someone has to be a PHD level scholar to engage in them. I do believe that there are people who know more than others, who have a greater education in scripture or capacity to understand Greek and Hebrew which is no doubt a tremendous help. But God can speak to anyone who seeks him and show them things out of his Word.
How about just dialing back and entering into civil and loving discussion ? It is not too late to recover our first love and remember that simple disagreements about issues which are non salvific, should not make enemies or expose the church to the charge of lovelessness.
Paul tells us that we know in part…(but I thank God for the part I know). Grace and Peace and the Love of the Father be multiplied to you…Maranatha!
Pastor Bill Randles Blog 
Maranatha, agree 100% this is right on time! Thank you Pastor,keep feeding His sheep
👍
The problem is that pre-trib advocates treat the ‘Rapture’ as distinct from the Second Coming which then leads to other errors as an inevitable consequence and ends up with a split or even two gospels ! So – it isn’t simply a case of ‘timing’. Are we not required to be lovers of the truth and defenders of the faith -in spite of the conflict it will arouse ? I find pre-trib preachers/teachers obsessively promote the ‘pre-trib’ part as if there is no alternative. I would plead with everyone to lay aside all that they have been taught on the subject and study the scriptures to see what they actually say.
I think that’s just what pastor Bill is saying..
Trying to change the theory that some hold is near impossible if we do in our flesh and by our own will. I held a certain view of this doctrine for most of my walk, and then the Spirit of God opened my eyes. It was not an easy dismissal of my former understanding, because I was only listening to other men’s teaching on that subject, The Word revealed the Truth.
I do find it appalling when so-called brethren consider you a part of some Satanic attack, when we don’t tow their line. This issue has become so divisive and caused much harm in a time when we all need to pull together and set these disputes aside.
I am ever so sorry, but “tow the line” should be “toe the line”, it comes from sporting environments where a line is drawn over which you must not step, as in darts for instance. Actually, now I come to think of it “tow the line” is a very good simile, if we know that the other end is held by Jesus, and we are being pulled to safety!harvey272
Brother Bill what a lovely balance. There are genuine Godly brothers and sisters in both camps who are not stupid but educated to a high level. They disagree – end of. We are ‘all one in Christ Jesus’. Leaving others to their views is gracious if it is a matter of opinion. How we need each other in these days. Let us indeed present a united witness as we ‘see the day approaching’. Thank you for a timely necessary word.
Because you have kept the word of My perseverance, I also will keep you from the hour of testing, that hour which is about to come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on earth. I am coming quickly; hold fast what you have, so that no one will take your crown. Rev.3:10,11.
I say, COME QUICKLY LORD JESUS!!!! Like your post Pastor Bill last night on the remnant, I am literally clinging to the Lord. I don’t want to be here anymore. The world has gone completely mad and now close relatives attacking me! I have been persecuted a lot the last twenty years but this with the family makes me feel like I am literally living in the twilight zone. Loved ones who I would never imagine turning on me for no good reason. It is so heart breaking. I am constantly wishing for the final trumpet to blow! I know of the two brother’s in the Lord thrashing out the timing of the rapture. I read all about it on their discernment web site. I know they really mean well, but would have to say: please don’t take my joyful hope away to go and be with like minded brethren and my Lord! The rock of my salvation. That hope is what keeps me going amid all the craziness I see. Blessings to you and everyone here. MARANATHA!!!!!!
Amen!
Maranatha!
You are so right..we can’t all be right and as long as He is faithful it won’t matter in the end you was correct!!!!
Come Lord Jesus your timing is alway perfect!!!
Absolutely agreed… if the Word says that “no one knows”, then no one knows! But we can certainly judge by the happenings of this world (the ‘red’ sky) that the Day of the Lord will be SOON!!
This arguing over an ‘unknown’ can be a distraction to bigger issues – such as, “Is it possible for us to ‘turn away’ from the faith after being saved?” Now, that is something to be worked through – with a solid answer (Hebrews 6:4-8, Romans 11:17-22) for those who would take heed to it!
Again (as stated above)…
“Because you have KEPT the word of My PERSEVERANCE, I also will keep you from the hour of testing, that hour which is about to come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on earth. I am coming quickly; HOLD FAST what you have, so that no one will take your crown.” Rev.3:10,11.
Truly, this perseverance and “holding fast” to Jesus needs to be our focus!! Through WHATEVER hard times and persecution He has ordained for us – for our GOOD and HIS glory!! 🙂
~ maranatha!!!!!!
A dear friend of mine, who I really respect for the good head on his shoulders, who is very knowledgeable about the Bible, and myself distinctly disagree about the Rapture’s timing. He’s pre, I’m mid-post… We tease each other that we’re going to find out soon, and laugh about it. I’m watching carefully in case he’s right (Jesus commanded us to… If God caused Sarah to give birth at 90 and named the resulting son “Laughter” (Isaac/Yitzhak,) then He’s likely got quite a surprise for us all (although I seriously doubt it’s two raptures as the Brethren think, either). Might it be on Rosh HaShanah (Feast of trumpets… celebrated on two days because the Jews don’t know the day or hour? Maybe. I’ll watch and find out when it happens. But, it’s close. VERY close. Close enough to sound the alarm.
God bless you all,
-Gordon Wood
“There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down” Jesus “pronounced” as He departed “Herod’s” gleaming white marble temple gilded with gold, through white marble colonnades he would never walk again, amid its vaulted archways and grand stairways. And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, His disciples came saying, “Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?”
Adding “nothing” more regarding the “judgment” He had pronounced, the Lord continued “… many shall come in my name, saying, I am the Christ; and shall lead many astray. And ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars; see that ye be not troubled: for these things must needs come to pass; but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; and there shall be famines and earthquakes in divers places. But all these things are the beginning of travail” (Matthew 24:5-8).
The Greek word rendered “travail” ὠδίν ōdin is used to describe a woman in the pangs of birth. We appear to be seeing subtle manifestations of that “beginning of travail.” Unfortunately, Christendom is focused, if focused at all, on “Israel’s” prophetic “flowchart,” rather than its own, unaware that the “beginning of travail” follows that which “must” come before, i.e., “The Quickening.”
As a mother senses that twinkling” sensation of life within, when the child latent in the darkness of her womb emanates that first discernible affirmation of life, so will the “Body of Christ” sense that “twinkling sensation of life within when “caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air” (cf. 1 Thessalonians 4:17).
“Behold, I tell you a mystery: We all shall not sleep, but we shall all be changed, 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” (1 Corinthians 15:51-52).
“The Quickening” is the consummation of a seven faceted mystery “which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints: To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory” (cf. Colossians 1:26-27).
Pastor Bill, thank you for this article. Christians should not be dividing over the timing of the rapture. I know that feelings are strong on this issue. Just this past week one prominent teacher said that the pre-wrath view is “Satanic.” Regardless of one’s view, I think it would be prudent for each of us to reexamine our own views, and to listen to those who hold another. What is important is what the Bible tells us. But we should not divide over it. Regardless of our view, we should all be preparing for the return of the Messiah of Israel. We are living in amazing times!! The book of Daniel is, I believe, being unsealed. Many other prophecies are being fulfilled before our eyes.
I also think we should consider the consequences should our view on the timing of the rapture be wrong. If the pre-tribulation view of the rapture is wrong, for example, then it has the potential to undermine the faith of those who hold to it and firmly believe that the Church will not face the anti-Christ, because they won’t be prepared. If it is not true, then many Christians will be caught off guard and offended, and perhaps fall away from the faith, especially in the West, where this view is popular. But believers down through time have faced many anti-Christs. Persecution and martyrdom are the pattern for believers. Jesus told us we will be hated for his sake. We only need to look at the plight of Christians in the Middle East, in Islamic countries. Where is the rapture for them?
If the other views, i.e., mid-trib, pre-wrath, post-trib are wrong, then pastors may cause unnecessary fear in their flocks. It isn’t what many want to hear. They could lose their congregations.
In any case, I believe pastors need to prepare their churches for persecution. We see what is already happening in our country. It is not going to get better.
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Brother Bill, I agree that brethren need to remain gracious while discussing issues that are non-salvific but I have noticed that during the recent accentuation on “Christ is returning VERY immanently” (with many distinct Pre- Trib groupings forming) the commission of ‘therefore GO’, in my neck of the woods at least, has come to near silence in both exhortation and action.This is what I believe leaders should be warning about. Let’s ‘Occupy TILL He comes’. Gracious regards to you all dear brethren, Patti Shaw.
I love that comment “I’m grateful for the part I know” !! I am not learned in any way, but I often say with King David, “I am more learned than my teachers” simply because I believe God.
I agree with you Pastor bill. I love that saying
“In essentials : unity
In non-essentials: liberty
In everything: charity”
I don’t think I’ve heard that saying before, but I certainly agree with it!
I used to feel that way (Don’t argue about the rapture), but as I feel it getting closer and closer, it’s becoming painfully obvious that someone who’s indoctrinated with the belief that they won’t face the antichrist or the tribulation will be ripe for a mental, emotional and spiritual meltdown when it happens… and believe me, please, it will happen. Pretend you’re reading all those rapture verses for the very first time and then answer this honestly: where exactly does it tell us that the rapture and the second coming are two separate events that occur at two vastly different times. And you must do that without reading ideas into the text like some kind of psychic, or offering ad hoc excuses, one after another to save a vacuous interpretation. Stuff like that reminds me of the desperate tactics employed by evolutionists who are the champions of delusional thinking.