The Rapture
Last Seven Years
From studying the period of the last seven years, we know that it is a definite period. It has 2520 days, consisting of two periods of 1260 days, or two periods of 42 months. It is marked at the beginning by the seven year treaty made by the antichrist. It is marked at the middle by antichrist setting up the abomination in the holy place of the Temple in Jerusalem and causing the sacrifices to cease. It is marked at the end by the glorious coming of Jesus Christ. It is characterised by wrath being outpoured on the whole earth. Shortly after the beginning of this period one quarter of earth's population are killed (Rev 6.8). Later in this period another third of the entire remaining population of earth will perish (Rev 9.18). If the days were not limited, no flesh would survive on earth at all (Matt 24.22). No one could argue that we won't be sure when the final seven years begin. No one could argue that we are already in this period and don't know about it. It is a period of time recognisable beyond any possibility of doubt.
Conditions prior to the seven years
Immediately prior to the last seven years, conditions will be perfectly normal. The destruction of the seven years comes as a ghastly shock on everyone living on the face of the earth. 1 Thess 5.3 states: 'When they are saying, "Peace and safety", then sudden destruction comes upon them, as travail upon a woman with child, and they shall in no wise escape. But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.' In Daniel 11.21,24, the time immediately prior to the takeover of the antichrist is a 'time of security'. The distress, tribulation, judgments and indignation that characterise the final seven years, have not yet begun.
The coming of the last seven years are likened to the coming of the Flood in Matt 24.37-44. Conditions prior to it are normal: 'As the days of Noah, so shall be the coming of the Son of man. For as in those days which were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and they knew not until the flood came and took them all away; so shall be the coming of the Son of man.' This parable gives us the pattern - normal conditions, the taking away of the righteous, followed by overflowing destruction and tribulation the like of which the world has not known. In verse forty, 'Two men shall be in the field; one is taken and one is left; two women shall be grinding at the mill; one is taken, and one is left. Watch therefore, for you know not on what day your Lord comes'.
Conditions prior to the coming of the Son of man
Conditions prior to the coming of the Son of man in Matt 24.36-44 are the same as conditions prior to the final seven years - they are completely normal.
Notice that the coming of the Son of man in this passage is not marked by a spectacular event that is seen like the lightning from the East to the West (Matt 24.27). We are not able to know the day, as we are able to know the day precisely that the Lord Jesus will come at the end of the seven year period. No such thing here, for 'of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven ...' Matt 24.36. This coming is not characterised by power and great glory that every eye will see, but rather it is characterised by the removal of people from their daily routine and by a following overflowing of destruction similar to that of the flood. The destruction comes upon 'all them that dwell on the face of all the earth' Luke 21.35, just as the flood wrought world-wide destruction. None will escape it who has not been removed out of the picture. Even believers will be dying in their multitudes during this period (Rev 6.11; 7.14) and only 144,000 Jewish believers will be preserved by God from all of the judgments because of His particular purpose for them (Rev 7.3,4).
Conditions prior to His coming in glory
Matt 24.27 says that 'as the lightning comes forth from the east and is seen even unto the west, so shall be the coming of the son of man.' Verse 29 describes the conditions immediately prior to His coming: 'Immediately after the tribulation of those days, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: 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 on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.' Luke 21.26, 27 says that men will be 'fainting for fear and for expectation of the things which are coming on the world: for the powers of the heavens shall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.'
Conditions prior to His coming as a thief
By complete contrast to the coming of the Son of Man in glory, in Matt 24.36-44, the times of the coming of the Son of Man as a thief are likened with the days of Noah. Conditions prior to it are normal. Men are marrying and giving in marriage, eating and drinking, and they know nothing of what is coming upon them until the flood comes and takes them all away. 'So shall be the coming of the Son of man'. Here, the conditions prior to His coming are normal, they are not the conditions that we find on earth during the final seven year period. Moreover, the day of His coming is not known. The day of His coming in glory will be known by all as soon as the treaty with Antichrist is signed. Both men and angels will doubtless be counting those days with precision and they will know exactly on what day the Lord Jesus is returning. But not even the angels of heaven know the day of His coming as a thief.
The likening of the coming of the Son of man here to a thief is because of the surprise element - no one knows the time that it will take place. Even believers do not know when it will occur: 'Watch therefore; for ye know not on what day your Lord comes. But know this, that if the Master of the house had known in what watch the thief was coming, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken through. Therefore be ye also ready, for in an hour that ye think not the Son of man cometh.' Matt 24.42. We know when He will come in glory and there will be clear signs immediately prior to it of the darkening of the sun. Prior to His coming as a thief, by contrast, there will be no sign except that conditions are proceeding as usual. The point stressed here is lack of expectancy, completely the opposite of His coming in glory which will be earnestly expected.
In my opinion, Luke 21.34-36 gives an exhortation to be a believer. If we are not believers, that day, the final seven year period and all its horrors, unequaled in world history, will come upon us, along with everyone else who lives on the face of the earth. If you are a believer, by contrast, you will escape. How will you escape? You will stand before the Son of man; you will be taken off this earth, for all of the inhabitants of the earth will be flooded by the destruction that is coming, but believers will not be on the earth. 'Take heed to yourselves, lest haply your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting and drunkenness and cares of this life, and that day come on you suddenly as a snare; for so it shall come upon all them that dwell on the face of all the earth. But watch ye at every season, making supplication that ye may prevail to escape all these things that shall come to pass and to stand before the Son of man.' Believers are characterized by watchfulness and they escape the day that is coming on the whole earth by being taken out of the scene to stand before the Son of man.
1 Thess 4.13-18 describes in more detail the coming of the Son of man as a thief. He comes to snatch away every believer before pouring out His wrath on the inhabitants of the earth. The event will certainly be visible to His followers who shall see Him 'descend from heaven, with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first; then we that are alive, that are left, shall together with them be caught up in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air; and so shall we ever be with the Lord.' The sole purpose of His coming is to take away the living believers from the earth and to resurrect the bodies of dead church saints. Together, those who wake (those alive) and those who sleep (those who have died) will be caught up to be with the Lord. The letter goes on to describe the 'day of the Lord' that will come as 'sudden destruction' upon all those that dwell on the earth (as in Luke 21.35). He says that on contrast to those who will be overtaken by that day, by that destruction, we should watch and be sober. 'For God appointed us not unto wrath, but unto the obtaining of salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him.' Our means of escaping the wrath is that we will be with Jesus, whether we wake or sleep. To mention here those that wake or sleep being with the Lord, would be irrelevant if the writer was talking about our salvation from hell. In terms of our salvation from Hell, whether we are in a state of waking or sleeping at any particular time is irrelevant - these terms are descriptions of believers who are living and believers who have died and 'sleep' in the Lord Jesus. To mention salvation for those who are living and for those who have died is not a reference to salvation from Hell but is referring to a specific time in history when a whole group of believers 'obtain salvation' and 'escape wrath' by means of 'being together with' the Lord i.e. not on earth; some of this group of believers are those who 'wake', those who are living, who never died but were changed in a moment in the twinkling of an eye and caught up, and those who have died and 'sleep' but will be raised first. See 1 Cor 15.51,52, "Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed - in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed." He is speaking about our salvation from the day of the Lord by means of the rapture, 'that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him.' Similarly in Luke 21.35,36, those that stand before the Son of man escape that day that comes 'suddenly as a snare ... upon all them that dwell on the face of all the earth.' The only means of escape is not being on the earth. "Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man." As mentioned, that destruction comes upon all those who dwell on the face of the earth, but believers will escape it by their removal from earth - they will be taken to be with the Lord Jesus before the day comes.
Matt 24.40,41 further describes the rapture as a time when people will be going about their day to day business. Women will be grinding at the mill, men will be working in the field. At this time one of them is supernaturally 'taken', one is 'left'. This is in contrast to the horrific conditions of the final seven years, in which no one will be going about his ordinary business, but men will be seeking to die and will be hiding in the caves and rocks of the earth and crying to the rocks to fall upon them. Men will be dropping like flies. Not so are the conditions that are prior to the rapture. Business as usual and one is taken, one is left. Then the day of the Lord sweeps all that dwell on the earth like sudden destruction. 'They knew not until the flood came and took them all away, so shall be the coming of the Son of man.' Matt 24.39.
Notice that at the rapture, the Lord Jesus comes in order to call His saints out from the earth to be with Him. At His coming in glory, He comes specifically to deliver His people Israel from their enemies that are surrounding them in the form of armies. His coming in glory has nothing to do with any passage that describes events that occur at the rapture - they are completely different in nature, the events prior to each event are completely different. It is simply impossible to synchronize the two events or even try to have them occurring in the same time period. They do not fit together in the prophetic time-line. They are two separate events and are necessarily separated by a gap of time during which world circumstances change drastically.
To place the rapture at any time after the signing of a treaty with Antichrist undermines the teaching of Scripture that the rapture will be unexpected and will be preceded by normal living conditions in which men are marrying, eating, drinking, working in the fields etc. Luke exhorts us to watch for we do not know when He will come - there are no conditions that might suggest He is coming, apart from the normal daily conditions of life. If we do not think He is coming unexpectedly, we will not be watching and waiting for Him to come as He wants us to be and has strongly exhorted us to be. Certainly the devil would have us diverted from the Lord's command and would keep us from looking for His coming, and all the more so as the time approaches. Heed the exhortation: 'Therefore, be ye also ready, for in an hour that ye think not the Son of man cometh.'
