In the last chapter of the bible (in verses 7, 12, and 20), Jesus tells us three times, “I am coming quickly.”
“And behold, I am coming quickly. Blessed is he who heeds the words of the prophecy of this book.”
12 “Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to render to every man according to what he has done.
20 He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming quickly.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus. (Bold for emphasis)
And because He has been speaking (in chapters 21 and 22) of the believers’ eternal home—of the New Jerusalem, the river of life, and of seeing His face, etc.—I think, He is speaking to the church and not to the unbeliever. Thus His words are intended to be words of hope and encouragement to us. They are indeed words of promise. He…
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Prayer A to Z 
Hi Stephen…thanks for your recent comment. The interpretation of end-times biblical prophecy I believe is purposely vague by God’s intent as He gives us some but not all of the fine details. This is why we currently have about 4 or 5 major interpretations…pre, mid, post, pre-wrath…and “pan”…it will all pan-out.
I have good Christian friends and family members who are all over the map regarding the timing of the rapture. I am pretty familiar with the pretrib approach and respect it…I have read all 12 volumes of the Left Behind books and have read and studied some of the literature. The rapture may indeed occur before the tribulation.
For purposes of discussion, let me leave you with a few thoughts.
There are about 7 billion people on the planet. If 1 out of 20 are Spirit-born Christians, that means that 350 million Christians would be raptured off the earth pre-trib, along with underage children. God does not make mistakes…each and every Christian without exception would disappear in an instant.
What would that do to the delicate balance in this world to believe or not believe? If that many people instantly disappear faith in the Bible, biblical prophecy, and in Christianity will shift over into the zone of observable factual evidence…like the existence of the noonday sun, two plus two equals four, or Jesus after His resurrection walking into the Jerusalem temple. After the momentous event of the rapture, faith in God thereafter would be altered dramatically…would no longer be the same or of the same quality.
Second…in 2 Timothy 3:1 Paul says…”This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.”
At the time of this epistle, Timothy is not a tribulation saint as understood in our modern times. Timothy is not a member of a distinctive group of people who will be left behind after the rapture occurs. Timothy is a member of the one and only main body of the Christian church in existence when Paul wrote Timothy this letter. In the first century, there is no division between Christians in-good-standing and some future, soon-to-be converted group of post-rapture tribulation saints. Within the contemplation of Paul and the early church, there is no conception of something called a post-rapture tribulation saint.
If the rapture occurs in the first century, then Timothy will be raptured. If the rapture occurs in Timothy’s lifetime, he will be one of those taken as described in Matthew 24:40-41. Yet Paul addresses this particular end-times prophecy to Timothy, as if Timothy is in fact a tribulation saint. Whatever Paul is referring to as “perilous times”, they directly apply to Timothy. These perilous times do not leap-frog over Timothy one generation to a future group of first century people unsaved at that time, who would become converted to Christianity as a result of discovering they were left behind after the rapture. Paul’s prophecy is aimed directly and squarely at Timothy, a born-again, Spirit-filled, first-century Christian. If Timothy is a scripturally viable rapture
candidate, then according to Paul’s prophecy here, Timothy is apparently also a scripturally viable candidate to experience perilous end-times. (two paragraphs taken from one of my books).
I think the cross of Christ found in every narrative story of faith in the Bible…that God displaces our way with His higher ways within a journey of faith…is an element in the eschatology debate that has curiously been missed. God does not give all of the information upfront to Abraham, Joseph, Moses, David, etc. because in a journey of faith we “walk by faith, not by sight.”
Anyway, thought I would share some issues to think about…it is certainly an extremely important topic as we enter the last days.
Barton Jahn
Thanks for your thoughts. I will have to read it again as there is so much you said. I won’t comment too much, but as far as Timothy in perilous times, I think there have been many perilous times in history, but that doesn’t mean it is refering to the Tribulation. The Tribulation is a very specific event. I don’t think anything in the book of 1 and 2 Timothy are refering to The Tribulation. I think parts of Matthew 24 is refering to The Tribulation, and of course, most of Revelation and parts of Daniel are refering to The Tribulation. So what I am saying is just because the bible mentions perilous times of even times of tribulation, that does not mean it is refering to “The Tribulation.” Oh by the way, I don’t believe anything in Matthew 24 is refering to the rapture, even verse 40-42. I think it means that they are taken (maybe be the angels) in judgment during the Great Tribulation. But of course I could be wrong. I have heard it both ways and know both arguments. I pretty much stick with people like Tim Lahaye and Mark Hitchcock and Thomas Ice (he is a good one), and I have Things to Come be Pentecost ( I love that book). A also follow John MacArthur pretty close. Anyway, thanks again for yoiur comment. Blessing to you.