from Mattfivefour above ...
"If my understanding of the feasts is correct --and I believe it is-- the Rapture will occur on a Feast of Trumpets. How soon that particular feast may occur depends first of all on whether we are in "the season" or not. I believe we are. Second of all, it depends on when ”the fullness of the gentiles” (Romans 11:25) occurs; and THAT no one knows, except God. But surely we are close."
The Feast of Trumpets makes sense but how does it fit in with imminency? The Feast is a 2-day event, but if the first day passes, then we would "know" when the rapture would occur, it would be on the second day. You could change the year but it's the same issue. Also, if the rapture is on that feast day, or any feast day, that means that the other 363 days of the year are not possible thus no imminency. If the rapture has to be on any particular day, then it destroys imminency. Right? What are I not seeing?
Brother, this is the thing that keeps me from 100% certainty. Yet everything seems to fit, except imminency. So I have to ask a question as I study: Is our understanding of the doctrine of imminency correct? It is something of which I'm making a study now. I'm aware of the skilled arguments made by Dr John Walvoord and Dr Thomas Ice. They make very sound points. But I did notice that in both cases and in the cases of others whom I've read on the subject, their arguments are based on certain presuppositions. They're based on the fact that when Jesus says "I'm coming as a thief in the night" that that means He could be coming at any night, when it could just simply mean unexpectedly. Now the word unexpectedly would seem to preclude a specific time frame such as the 48 hours of the feast of Trumpets; but does it necessarily? For example, let's say that one year the Feast of Trumpets starts, but the one who comes as a "thief" does not come. Nothing happens, and we go well yes it didn't happen, it's not this year. But somewhere in that 48 hours suddenly there we are in heaven. He came, after all; indeed unexpectedly!
You see my point? I'm not saying that this is correct, I am merely questioning our presuppositions regarding imminence. I think it's a subject that needs further exploration and a much deeper exploration than just taking words at what we presume are their meaning when we may be imposing our own interpretations of what those words really mean. I'm sorry If this makes your brain hurt; it makes mine hurt just to talk about it! But when we come up against two parts of Scripture that seem to contradict each other, then my hermeneutical rule is that there is no contradiction in the Scripture, the contradiction arises from our misinterpretation of one part of Scripture. I and many others could be misinterpreting the significance of the Feast of Trumpets. And others could be misinterpreting the Scripture's meaning in passages that would seem to indicate imminence-- specifically that Jesus could appear at any moment of any day of any year.
So, my brother, I look with eagerness to every Feast of Trumpets going forward, but at the same time I try to live as though I could be face to face with Jesus at any minute. I suggest this latter is a good idea. Because it is not just the Rapture that will bring us face-to-face with Jesus. Death will do that, too. And as much as we may not like to face it, death may come for us at any minute, of any hour, of any day, of any month, of any year. So, in that sense, our coming face-to-face with Jesus is indeed imminent every moment we live. That should certainly have an impact on the way we live our lives each day.
Sorry that I cannot give you a better answer, a solid scriptural answer regarding the Rapture and its imminence, at this time; but it is a subject I am examining and praying about.
