The Doctrine of Imminence

Imminence and What the Bible Says about Imminence
Danny McDowell

Words of Christ are Always in Red

Matt. 24:36-39
36But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. 37But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. 38For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, 39And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

Matt. 24:44
44Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.

Matt. 24:50
50The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of,

Matt. 25:13
13Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.

I Thess. 5:2
2For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.

Rev. 16:15
15Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.

Pre-Tribulation Imminence
These are a few of the scriptures commonly used to support the pre-tribulation Doctrine of Imminence.

The Doctrine of Imminence simply states that "The Rapture of the church can come at any time, on any day, in any hour and that this imminence has been so since the establishment of the church on the Day of Pentecost when the church first received the Holy Spirit”.

This position teaches that ALL the apostles taught this position and that first and second century church leaders also taught this doctrine.
This position holds emphatically, that there are no necessary signs preceding the Rapture.

What does the Bible say?

The Doctrine Of Imminence
Words of Christ in Red

John 21:18
18 Verily, verily, I say unto thee, When thou wast young, thou girdedst thyself, and walkedst whither thou wouldest: but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not.

Note that Peter's death has been foretold. He will live to be of old age.

II Peter 1:13-14
13Yea, I think it meet, as long as I am in this tabernacle, to stir you up by putting you in remembrance; 14Knowing that shortly I must put off this my tabernacle, even as our Lord Jesus Christ hath shewed me.

Peter reaffirms the prophecy of his martyrdom. How could Peter possibly have taught an imminent rapture in his lifetime, since the Lord himself prophesied Peter’s martyrdom? How could anyone in the church believe in an imminent rapture in Peter's lifetime since the word tells us the dead in Christ will be raised FIRST! There could be no rapture prior to Peter's death.

Acts 23:10-11
10And when there arose a great dissension, the chief captain, fearing lest Paul should have been pulled in pieces of them, commanded the soldiers to go down, and to take him by force from among them, and to bring him into the castle. 11And the night following the Lord stood by him, and said,” Be of good cheer, Paul: for as thou hast testified of me in Jerusalem, so must thou bear witness also at Rome”.

Could Paul have taught an imminent rapture prior to his preaching in Rome? - Impossible, since the Lord himself had prophesied this event. Paul had to preach in Rome. There could be no rapture to that prophesied event.

Matt. 25:14-19
14For the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods. 15And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey. 16Then he that had received the five talents went and traded with the same, and made them other five talents. 17And likewise he that had received two, he also gained other two. 18But he that had received one went and digged in the earth, and hid his lord's money. 19After a long time the lord of those servants cometh, and reckoneth with them.

...Note the words of Jesus, "To a FAR country," and "after a LONG time."

Luke 21:24
24And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.

...Note "… till the times of the gentiles be fulfilled.
..." There can be no rapture till the gentile age has come to an end.

I Thessalonians 5:1-5
1But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. 2For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. 3For 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. 4But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. 5Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness."

That day shall not come as a surprise to those who know The Signs through the word! All of the “thief” passages of the New Testament are a warning to THE WORLD-----------and NOT to God’s elect. This passage emphatically CONFIRMS that it is THE WORLD that will be taken by surprise.

Hosea 3:4-5
4For the children of Israel shall abide many days without a king, and without a prince, and without a sacrifice, and without an image, and without an ephod, and without teraphim: 5Afterward shall the children of Israel return, and seek the LORD their God, and David their king; and shall fear the LORD and his goodness in the latter days.

Hosea clearly tells us that Israel would abide "Many Days" without a prince and a sacrifice. This CLEARLY refers to "the times of the gentiles." How could there be a RAPTURE prior to the Jews return to the land?

Hosea 6:1-3
1Come, and let us return unto the LORD: for he hath torn, and he will heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up. 2After two days will he revive us: in the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight. 3Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the LORD: his going forth is prepared as the morning; and he shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter and former rain unto the earth.

This can only be speaking of millennial days (and not 24 hour days) because of Hosea's previous words in 3:4-5 "Many Days." After 2 millennial days messiah would lift up the nation of Israel and in the 3rd millennial day "We (Israel) will live in His site." The return of Jesus for His church, and the SECOND HALF of the 70th week of Daniel were impossible prior to the expiration of the second millennial day, and in the third millennial day, (the reign of Christ on earth) "We (Israel) shall live in His site."

Luke 10:30-35
30And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. 31And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 32And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side. 33But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him, 34And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. 35And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee.

Note the Good Samaritan (Christ) pays the innkeeper "two pence." A pence (dinarias in the Greek N.T.) equals one days wages. This reference is to two days wages - Two Millennial Days. The Samaritan is Christ Himself the wounded man is Mankind, The Priest and Levite were the Legalism and rigidity that the Pharisees had applied to the old covenant. The innkeeper was the Pastor and leader of the Church. He will reward the innkeeper More after 2 days. This passage is profoundly prophetic!

John 11:6
6When he had heard therefore that he was sick, he abode two days still in the same place where he was. Why did Jesus remain in His place for 2 days while His dear friend Lazarus languished on his sickbed? Did the Lord care nothing for the loved ones of Lazarus who were suffering as they watched their brother drawing his last breath? They must have had someone posted at the door and watching for Jesus to come up the road. They must have imagined in their minds that any moment now He will arrive - but He didn't, and Lazarus died.
Why?

HE IS THE RESSURECTION AND THE LIFE!
And though a man should die, yet shall he live.
After two days He will lift us up, and in the third day we shall live in His sight.
This event was a type and foreshadow of the resurrection of the righteous dead, AFTER TWO DAYS!

The Book of Revelation was written after the destruction of the temple in 70 A.D.
Could the rapture take place prior to the completion of the New Testament?

The New Testament was canonized many years after the penning of Revelation. Could the rapture take place prior to that event?

Could the rapture take place prior to the invention of the printing press, which made it possible for the peoples of the earth to receive the Word of God?

Could the rapture take place prior to the printing of the 1611 Bible?
This is a Killer for you KJV thumpers (I use it myself). The KJV was the first Bible (in English) to go throughout the earth as the British Empire colonized the world.

Could the rapture take place prior to the Protestant movement?
Rapture = No Pilgrims!
Rapture = No USA
Rapture = No Israel in 1948
Rapture = No fulfillment of the gentile age.
"Jerusalem shall be trodden till the times of the gentiles comes to an end."

HAS THERE EVER BEEN A RAPTURE?
HAS THE RAPTURE EVER BEEN IMMINENT?
IMPOSSIBLE!!!

I won't spend much time in explanation of this subject. Scripture does well on it's own. It is taught in the Pre-tribulation doctrine that the rapture of the church is a SILENT event and that millions of people will simply come up missing from all over the earth.
Headlines will read;

“MILLIONS MISSING FROM THE EARTH”

This is what the Bible says!

Matthew 24:30
30Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

Luke 17:30
30Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.

Colossians 3:4
4When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.

I Peter 5:4
4And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.

I John 2:28
28And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming.

I Timothy 6:14
14That thou keep this commandment without spot, unrebukable, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ:

II Timothy 4:1
1I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom;

II Timothy 4:8
8Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.

Titus 2:13
13Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;

I Peter 1:7
7That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:

SILENT RAPTURE??? NONSENSE !!!