Yeah I am sure. This is something I am adamant about. I know others don't see the nearness of the Rapture as I do and some see it nearer every high holy day that comes. What I do see is that we are so close to the end that at any moment of any day more now than ever before we could hear the sound of the trumpet and the shout. You mentioned birth pangs in a previous post. I take that particular analogy very much to heart. Throughout history once a woman is pregnant one of two things happens in roughly 9 months a baby is born or still born or like in this time sadly killed in the womb. A few have gone longer than 9 months but they are rare. That being said 1948 is likely what we could call the conception of the birth in question. Like any pregnancy from the point of conception till the first missed period a woman doesn't even know if she is possibly pregnant. Then it is a short while till morning sickness starts and goes away. After that is the long months leading up to her showing and more till she is feeling very uncomfortable till finally the water breaks and birth is just hours away.
Matching that to the longer time frame of the generation which I see some now put that only in the Tribulation period but miss where Jesus said in Math 24:8 All these are the beginning of sorrows. The sorrows he is referring to here are those of the birth suffering a woman goes through starting at labor. Granted he is talking to his Jewish disciples at that time and goes into things of the Tribulation because unsaved Jew will be here for that it still does not mean that the signs coming like a pregnancy growing closer together and more intense don't start at the time of labor. They start before that but not as strong. Hence we are seeing the signs coming more frequently now and with each new one more intensely. So how close are we? If we the generation Jesus speaks of is the one that start when Isreal is rebirthed as a nation which a large number of Bible scholars agree on then we have from 1948 a mere 40, 70-75, or 120 if we stretch the time given to man. We are past the 40 year generation mark even if we put the start at 1967 and the Six Day war that got Israel in possession of Jerusalem once again. 1988 would have been 40 for the first possible date and 2007 for the 1967 year start. So it is evident that 40 was not what was meant by a generation. Also 120 is not a good candidate as most people never live that long even in Jesus' time. So that gives us more likely the 70-75 time of a generation give or take. If we used the 1948 then we are looking at 2018-2023 and since we have already made it to 2024 then we are in the little bit of give and take. Since both pregnancies and generations don't have exact prescribed time limits it is fairly safe to think we are at some point just before the water breaks and labor starts.
So it would make logical sense that based on all that we are likely with in a year or less of first the Rapture and second the start of the Tribulation with the revealing of the son of perdition. As such I believe the church can not afford now to be relaxed at any time for any reason. Our enemy is cunning, never tires, and always looking for any opening to attack. I also see by the more relaxed nature of conversations that many even if they don't admit are thinking ok we have another 4 years before we have to worry about anything. I am truly concerned that the ball may get dropped and people will be lulled back to sleep, no bueno on that score, not the time.
So no I am not stirring the pot for funs and giggles. I am earnestly hoping to keep people awake because the best time for the enemy to attack is when we aren't looking. It could be geopolitical, it could be some failure of modern technology, or some natural disaster but it is a time ripe for some form of sudden destruction small as it would be now pointing to the same that will be in Tribulation.
I've been expecting the rapture for many many years now. I don't want to pigeon-hole God. I believe that we can know the season, but not the timing. Date-setting is never a good idea, and I have seen dates that have been set on the dates you have proposed (and been spectacularly wrong) and then people get discouraged. Personally, I do think these dates are relevant and I wouldn't be surprised if the feasts are involved (although it would be a great Christmas present to be home at last! Or today! Today would be fabulous!)
We can not be relaxed about God's work. We never should have been relaxed about God's work to begin with. We are told to be vigilant always, because His return is soon. We know that what needs to happen for the rapture, is the fullness of the gentiles to be complete. The last of the gentiles that is going to be saved before the tribulation. That's the condition. And the harder we work, the more likely that is to happen.
I am thrilled that Donald Trump was elected. It was, straight up, a direct answer to prayer to many in the church who prayed and fasted for this result. Four years of puppet Harris would have resulted in the direct downfall of the USA and played right into the globalists' hands, and the very unsubtle persecution of Christians all over the world, including the west. Donald Trump is not our messiah, but I think that he will be a good leader. I believe that he truly wants America to prosper and that he wants peace in the Middle East (and the rest of the world) and he understands that that is obtained by being stronger than your enemies. I have said before, though, that I don't believe he is saved.
What I am seeing with this election:
1) Both sides are abundantly clear. Even the unsaved (except for the completely delusional who loved not the truth) can see the difference between godly Christian values and those of the world. Anyone paying attention will be without excuse.
2) We've been given a bit of a stay in the fall of the USA. This is important for people around the world, and especially Christians, because stability will help them reach more people. The vacuum of power when the US falls will result in war. Period.
3) While it's true that Trump won the popular vote and the electoral college, if you look at the margins in a lot of these elections, it's by 3% or less in a lot of cases. That's a lot of people voting for straight up evil even if they failed this time around.
The Bible says that destruction will come upon the world suddenly. A Trump presidency, with the legislative branch, and the judicial branch, working together will result in the kind of life that people are used to. The calm before the storm. This country is on a knife's edge. If Trump manages to do even a part of what he promised, we may well be quite comfortable. Israel will also be at peace. These are the conditions that need to be in place before the trib. That large contingent rooting and voting for evil is still there. The globalists won't stop working towards their goal. A shift in the balance of power will happen at the rapture, even if it's by the smallest of margins, and it will tilt in that side's favor. The lawless will be overjoyed at taking back the reins, and God is going to give them exactly what they want. I believe that they will be working to start WW3, so that Trump is too busy putting out fires to completely clean up the swamp.
God delayed Trump's re-election by four years. He preserved his life from multiple assassination attempts. I believe that Trump is a major chess piece in the end times scenario, whether he ends up saved and coming up with the rest of the church or serving (or becoming) the antiChrist (I personally don't think he will, but I don't completely discount it, either) and his being raised up to power at this time specifically shows the nearness of the coming tribulation (and of course the rapture before it.)
Perhaps what you are seeing in this board is not so much a lack of excitement for the rapture, but more a resistance to date-set. We don't know when the rapture is. We just don't. And I don't want to hurt our witness on this forum with guests who read our comments, and assume we are a bunch of crackpots who said it will happen within x amount of time and then it doesn't, even if I personally think that we really aren't long for this world.
I am also happy that Trump got elected, because it was an answer to prayer and the direct implications on the furtherance of the gospel are wonderful. It in no way affects my view of the timing of the rapture. I know you're new and a lot of us already have this kind of understanding amongst us that you wouldn't necessarily know about, coming from what sounds like, a forum of more diverse group of believers with less of a common agreement about understanding the end-time prophecies.
It's hard to convey tone on the internet, and I am concerned that the enemy is sowing division amongst believers who really do share a common heart for our Blessed Hope. I pray for the unity and understanding of CCF, and truly hope that when disagreements occur, we continue to respect and
love one another.
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