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No One Knows The Day Or The Hour
By Jack Kelley

There are two popular phrases people use in connection with the End Times to discourage speculation about just when the Rapture might take place. One is “like a thief in the night”, and the other is “no one knows the day or the hour”.

It’s been suggested from time to time that I’m sometimes “overly specific” in my teaching on the subject of End Times prophecy (even though I’ve never proposed either a day or an hour) so I’ve undertaken a study of these two phrases to see if I’m guilty as charged.

Let me say from the outset that I don’t believe the day or hour of the Rapture can be known in advance by anyone on Earth because I don’t believe it’s set to happen on any specific day or at any specific hour. I believe it’s set to happen when a specific number of born again believers is reached, and I base that conclusion on my understanding of Romans 11:25.

I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in.

There are two Greek words in this verse that lend critical support to a proper understanding. The first is translated “full number”. It’s a nautical term that describes the pre-determined number of sailors necessary to operate a ship. Until the ship had its full number of crew members, it could not sail. This is why ship captains sometimes got unsuspecting men drunk and kidnapped them late at night and then set sail immediately. And the second, translated “come in” is also a nautical term that described the ship’s arrival at its intended destination.

By using these terms, Paul was saying that the hardening of Israel’s heart will not be fully removed until the Church reaches its pre-determined number and has been taken to heaven. There’s nothing arbitrary about God’s action here. He has already determined the number and will take the Church to its intended destination as soon as that number is reached. But as far as I can tell no one on Earth knows either the full number or the current number. All we can know is that we’ll be Raptured when the full number of Gentiles has come in and it could literally happen on any given day. Then we’ll disappear, the blinders will come off Israel and the 70th Week will commence.

Now, back to the topic at hand. What do these two phrases mean and are they intended to discourage speculation about the timing of the Rapture?

Like A Thief

This phrase appears 4 times in the New Testament. Let’s look at each one and see what it’s telling us.

Now, brothers, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, “Peace and safety,” destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. But you, brothers, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief. (1 Thes. 5:1-4)

This is Paul’s only use of the phrase. It’s clear He was speaking of the day of the Lord, and that while it will come as a surprise to unbelievers, events leading up to it should not surprise us. He made no mention of the Rapture here.

But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare. (2 Peter 3:10)

Here’s Peter’s only use of the phrase, and again the reference is to the End Time Judgments, not to the Rapture.

Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; obey it, and repent. But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you. (Rev. 3:3)

“Behold, I come like a thief! Blessed is he who stays awake and keeps his clothes with him, so that he may not go naked and be shamefully exposed.” (Rev. 16:15)

John used the phrase twice, both times quoting the Lord. In Rev. 3:3 He was criticizing the Church in Sardis, who in my opinion represents the mainline Protestants of today. He was reminding them that they’ve gotten away from His word and had better wake up and get back into it. Otherwise they won’t know when He will come to them. Notice the wording. In the Rapture He comes for us, not to us, and we meet Him in the air. The people He’s talking to will not go in the Rapture, and if they don’t wake up, even the 2nd Coming will take them by surprise. (In verse 4 we see that not everyone in Sardis is asleep. There are a few among them who will be ready for the Rapture and will walk with Him in robes of white.)

In Rev. 16:15 the world is well into the Great Tribulation, so the Lord’s warning is for Tribulation believers who will be responsible for keeping themselves saved during the most terrifying and dangerous time the world has ever known. When used symbolically, as it is here, clothing always stands for righteousness, and tribulation believers will be responsible for maintaining theirs.

Day and Hour

Now we’ll look at that other popular phrase, “No one knows the day or the hour”.

“No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.” (Matt. 24:36-37)

After the Great Tribulation ends (Matt. 24:29) there will be various signs in the heavens. The sun and moon will go dark and the stars will fall from the sky. Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear and all the nations will mourn. After that they’ll see Him coming in the clouds with power and great glory, having gathered His elect from all over Heaven to join Him (Matt. 24:30-31). This is confirmed in both Rev. 18:14 and Rev. 19: 11-14. From both the context and the passage itself it’s clear that the Lord was referring to the day and hour of the 2nd Coming when He’ll be coming with us not for us.

“Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.” (Matt. 24:42-44)

A few verses later, the Lord repeated the same thought, again in the context of the 2nd Coming.

The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of. He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. (Matt. 24:50-51)

And another few verses later. There’s no way this can refer to the Rapture because the things He described will not be done to unbelievers at the Rapture. He’s speaking of the judgments that follow the 2nd Coming.

“Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.” (Matt. 25:13)

For the fourth time in 28 verses the Lord has said that believers on Earth at the time of the 2nd Coming will not know the day or hour of His return. This one is in the context of the parable of the 10 bridesmaids.

In previous studies I’ve shown that this parable can’t be about the church. The Church is the Bride, not a bridesmaid, there’s only one bride, not 10, and the banquet follows the wedding, it doesn’t precede it. There’s no way a newly married bride can be excluded from her own wedding banquet by a husband who claims he doesn’t know her. The parable is about tribulation survivors, 5 of whom are saved and enter the Kingdom and 5 who are not and don’t.

What’s The Point?

Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day-and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing”. (2 Tim. 4:8)

I’ve searched the Scriptures in vain trying to find either phrase used in connection with the Rapture. But no where can I find a single verse prohibiting or even discouraging speculation about its timing.

On the contrary, I find that the Lord rebuked the religious leaders of His time for not expecting Him, and in doing so encouraged us to be aware as well. For example, commanded us to understand Daniel’s 70 weeks prophecy (Matt. 24:15), He criticized the Pharisees for not being able to read the signs of the times (Matt. 16:2-4), and had Jerusalem destroyed for not recognizing the clearly foretold time of His visitation (Luke 19:41-44). Paul warned us not to let events leading up to the Day of the Lord take us by surprise (1 Thes. 5:4), and as we see above promised that the Lord would award a crown to those who longed for His appearing. How many more reasons do we need?

So where did this idea come from? It appears that some of it can be blamed on theologians who misinterpreted the 2nd Coming parables in Matt. 24 & 25. Apparently they didn’t realize that when the Lord coined the phrase, “No one knows the day or hour” He was talking about His 2nd Coming, not the Rapture. But even then it’s the disobedient who are caught by surprise in these parables, not the faithful.

Some of it is also due to the fact that for generations church leaders have actively discouraged the study of prophecy for fear that focusing on the Lord’s return would make members less enthusiastic about funding their buildings and other Earth centered programs. They developed interpretations that allegorized it all away, making it seem like a fairy tale that no body really believes. I remember when I began to take Bible prophecy seriously my pastors warned me, “Don’t become so heavenly minded that you’re no earthly good.” These are the scoffers Peter warned about, who say, “Where’s the Coming He promised?” (2 Peter 3:4)

But there’s still more. Even among pre-trib believers, there is a fear of the rapture because of false doctrines they’ve been exposed to. The “partial rapture” hypothesis holds that only the truly worthy will be taken, while the rest of the Church will be left behind to clean up their act during some or all of the End times judgments. Others say believers who are not also “overcomers” will be cast into the Outer Darkness at the rapture and excluded from the Millennium. These opinions erode our assurance by concluding that we won’t know if we’re good enough until it’s too late, and make us fearful that we won’t qualify.

Then there are the “secular Christians” who don’t want their so-called good life to end before they’ve had a chance to experience it all. Yes, they want the Lord to come, but not yet, not now.

And finally there are those who know that if the Lord came for us today, members of their family and circle of friends would be left behind. They don’t want the Lord to come until they know everyone they love will be taken too.

For all these reasons and more, being faced with the idea that the Rapture could be very close is not a comforting idea for lots of believers. Suggesting time frames makes it all seem too real, so they don’t like it.

Be Quiet. You’ll Scare Them Away.

Well intended people incorrectly say that talking about the End Times frightens new believers, so we shouldn’t do it. What if we get them all excited and then it doesn’t happen? they ask. It’s no secret that the church is populated by a lot of folks who have zeal without knowledge and are easily taken in by anything that promises to either make their life easier (prosperity gospel) or help them escape it altogether (rapture mania). When I came to the Lord in the mid 1980’s a book titled 88 Reasons Why The Rapture will take place in 1988 triggered some rapture mania. A year ago the so called “Blood Moon Scenario” had folks looking for the rapture during the fall feasts. And there have been several others in between. In every case a couple of hours of study proved the theories false.

Paul called the Bereans noble because they searched the Scriptures daily to verify what he taught them (Acts 17:11) And that’s the Biblically correct response to these claims. It’s not to take other verses out of context in an effort to silence them. That only introduces another false teaching. And worse, it encourages the Church to go back to sleep.

When we hear someone suggest or even insist on this time or that one, our response should not be to automatically condemn the person for “date-setting”. It should be to “search the Scriptures daily to see if those things be true” before making a decision about it.

Personally I would much rather see the Church engaged in a lively discussion about the nearness of end times events than to see us trot out the old “No one knows the day or hour” line while sticking our heads back in the sand. What subject is a more important topic for discussion today? And think of all the extra crowns the Lord would have to order. Besides, people don’t fall away when dates come and go because if they’re saved they can’t fall away. If they fall away they weren’t saved to begin with. The Lord doesn’t miss opportunities to save people because of mistakes men make. He knew those who are His before He laid the Earth’s foundations, and promised not to lose even one of us.

So come on Church. Let’s get back to our job. The Bible warns us that there’ll be false teachers and says they’ll be held accountable. But it also admonishes us to do our homework so we’ll know one when we see one. Selah 09-05-09

Bible Prophecy – The Signature of Its Author
By Jack Kinsella

“Produce your cause, saith the LORD; bring forth your strong reasons, saith the King of Jacob. . . Shew the things that are to come hereafter, that we may know that ye are gods: yea, do good, or do evil, that we may be dismayed, and behold it together.”

“Behold, ye are of nothing. . .” (Isaiah 41:21,23-24a)

There is so much going on in the world related to Bible prophecy if one doesn’t stop from time to time to consider the Big Picture one can lose the sense of awe that comes from watching the Lord’s Plan come together.

It is easy to get so caught up in the details that one misses the awesome power of the Big Picture itself; the embodiment of the old saying about being unable to ’see the forest for the trees’.

Bible prophecy is more than a prediction about the future. It is a promise about the future. God doesn’t just list events out of context.

The events emerge later, out of the promises He makes.

God promised the restoration of Israel in the last days — as a benchmark against which to measure other end-time’s promises.

To bring about the restoration, God promised that the Jews would be forced out of Israel, scattered worldwide, persecuted worldwide, and that they would then return to Israel.

All of these promises were fulfilled in the context of the greater Promises of the Big Picture; the return of Christ for His Church and the national redemption of the Jews.

The Bible contains hundreds of prophecies. Some were fulfilled more than 3000 years ago. Others have been fulfilled since then. The most astonishingly unlikely prophecy of Scripture was fulfilled on May 14, 1948, when Israel resumed its seat at the table of nations after a 2,700 year absence, as prophesied by Daniel, Ezekiel, Hosea, Isaiah and Jesus.

Israel was established as a nation some 3,400 years ago. The Jews lost sovereignty about 2700 years ago. Israel existed under a sucession of conquerors until AD 70 when the Jews were banished from the Holy Land by the Romans.

They wandered, persecuted and afflicted, and were dispersed (but never absorbed) among all the nations of the world. But when God called them back to their land at the appointed time, they came in exactly the order prophesied:

“Fear not: for I am with thee: I will bring thy seed from the east, and gather thee from the west; I will say to the north, Give up; and to the south, Keep not back: bring My sons from far, and My daughters from the ends of the earth. (Isaiah 43:4-5)

Zionist history records the first modern mass emigration of Jews back to the Holy Land as the “First Aliyah” (1882-1903)

“Between 1882 and 1903, approximately 35,000 Jews immigrated to Palestine, then a province of the Ottoman Empire. The majority, belonging to the Hibbat Zion and Bilu movements, came from Eastern Europe with a smaller number arriving from Yemen.” (Wikipedia entry for ‘aliyah’)

These early immigrants from the East later gathered the survivors of Hitler’s Holocaust in Western Europe, and, under the slogan, ‘Never again’ declared the rebirth of the sovereign state of Israel.

The Russians soon clamped down on Jewish emigration, and Jewish ‘refuseniks’ languished in Soviet labor camps until the USSR collapsed and ‘gave up’ her Jews — from the north.

In 1991, during a 36-hour covert operation, Israel airlifted 14,325 Ethiopian Jews to Israel in defiance of the Mengistu regime then in power who was ‘holding back’ the Ethiopian Jewish community from emigrating to Israel.

Since then, dozens of other rescue operations have been mounted for isolated Jewish communities world-wide.

God’s promise was fulfilled exactly as it was given, in order and to the last detail.

“I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like Me, Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all My pleasure.” (Isaiah 46:10)

Allow yourself a second to contemplate that verse and what it reveals. God’s ’signature’ is to start at the end with a Promise, then outline in advance how He will keep it.

First, the end — Israel’s restoration — told ‘from the beginning’ and then, ‘from ancient times’ His method for accomplishing ‘the things that are not yet done.’

God not only promised Israel’s restoration, but in so doing, foretold, in detail, the events that would make restoration necessary — and the order in which He would accomplish it.

Down to details like the subtle difference between ‘gathering’ from the West and commanding the South to ‘hold not back’. Awesome.

The prophet Joel foretold that the modern state of Israel will be partitioned by other nations.

“I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for My people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted My land.” (Joel 3:2)

Zechariah foretold that Jerusalem would become the focus of international attention, a ‘burdensome stone’ that will cause all the nations of the world to be gathered against it. (Zechariah 12:1-5)

The prophet Micah said that in the last days, Jerusalem would become the world’s most important religious site. (Micah 4:1)

NONE of this was even possible to be fulfilled only a generation ago. Today, it is so much a part of the daily newscasts that it loses its impact.

Step back from it for a minute and see it for what it actually is.

The scenario playing out before our eyes conforms exactly with God’s promises regarding Israel in the last days. That is just part of the Big Picture. It’s awesome.

All the rest of the details are, in and of themselves, just as awesome.

But when you step back and see how each detail is so interdependent on so many other details, ‘awesome’ isn’t quite adequate to describe it.

The attention to detail confirms for us that no matter how chaotic and out of control world events seem to be, everything is going according to Divine Plan. God remains in control of events and He told us how it all turns out in the end.

“To whom then will ye liken Me, or shall I be equal? saith the Holy One.” (Isaiah 40:25)

Our God is an awesome God.

Russian report: Netanyahu may be planning attack
Written: 9-10-2009
Rapture Forum Staff: Chris

In yesterday’s edition of the Rapture Report we discussed the mysterious 10 hour “disappearance” of Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu. As you will recall the PM’s office refused to list his whereabouts despite numerous media inquiries. Finally, the PM’s office released a statement that the PM had been on “tour” of military facilities with two high ranking Israeli military personnel. Today, the Israeli media is reporting that a Russian Kremlin official has confirmed that Netanyahu did in fact make a visit to Moscow on Monday. The Jerusalem Post reports:

A senior Kremlin official confirmed Wednesday to the Russian paper Kommersant that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu did indeed make a clandestine trip to Russia on Monday. Commenting on the visit, the official said that “this kind of development could only be related to new and threatening information on Iran’s nuclear program.” The Russian newspaper quoted experts speculating that such a trip would only be justified under extraordinary circumstances, “for example, in the case of Israel planning to attack Iran.”

The article went on to speculate as to what the sudden “emergency” trip to Russia could have been for:

What is almost as mysterious as whether the trip took place, is what might have been discussed, with speculation focused on Iran, possible Russian arms deals to Iran and Syria, or the disappearance of the Arctic Sea cargo ship – suspected of carrying Russian made S-300 anti-aircraft missiles bound for Iran – that went missing last month. The trip, if indeed it took place, would not have been the result of an impromptu, emergency decision, since there was already talk among Netanyahu’s inner circle during his visit to London and Berlin two weeks ago about a possible visit to Russia ahead of the United Nations General Assembly meeting at the end of the month. Interestingly, almost exactly two years ago, then-prime minister Ehud Olmert paid a lightning visit to Moscow to meet with then-Russian president Vladimir Putin, a day after the Russian leader returned from a trip to Teheran in which he warned outside powers not to attack Iran and said there was no evidence it was developing nuclear arms.

To thicken the plot, the YNetNews agency is reporting that an anonymous Israel source has suggested that Netanyahu went to Moscow to inform the Russians of an a decision to move on Iran. The article reports:

The paper then quoted what it called an “informed” Israeli source, who wished to remain anonymous, as saying, “Such a visit could be related to new information and could threaten the Iranian nuclear program. It should not be ruled out that Israel may be ready to move on to decisive actions with regards to Iran, and Netanyahu has decided to inform the Kremlin of this.”

After reading these articles and seeing Netanyahu take off on a secret mission to Moscow, it would seem to me that we could be seeing the final touches being put on a soon to be Israeli strike on Iran. Over the past few months we have seen the Israelis practice long distance aerial exercises simulating missions of the same length as it would be to Iran. We’ve seen Israeli submarines moving through the Suez Canal for the first time in years. To me, this could all be pointing to a soon to be conflict with Israel and Iran over their the Iranian nuclear program. I truly would not be surprised if we woke up one morning to see the smoking ruins of Iran’s nuclear program on CNN.

As with all things, we need to continue to watch and stay sober as things appear to be possibly moving forward in a prophetic sense if Israel is indeed about to move on Iran. Such a move will surely have global consequences as well as speed up the prophetic program of the Lord. With all of this in mind, we should remain calm and collected knowing fully that the Lord is completely in control no matter how chaotic things appear on earth. The Lord does not provide us with the spirit of fear but that of a sound and stable mind. As usual, let us keep looking up, for our redemption is drawing nigh!!

God bless.

Netanyahu “disappears” for 10 hours amid rumors of meeting with Russia’s Putin in Moscow
Written: 9-9-2009
Rapture Forum Staff: Chris

In an article from the Jerusalem Post it was reported that Israeli PM Benajmain Netanyahu went “missing” for 10 hours on Monday. Speculation was ripe that he had gone to some undisclosed country for possible peace talks. The Jerusalem Post reported:

Rumors swirled Monday afternoon that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu had gone abroad, to an unnamed country, for a few hours of intensive talks. Throughout the day the Prime Minister’s Office, when asked about Netanyahu’s whereabouts, said only that he was on a tour. After hours of speculation, and numerous inquiring phone calls, the PMO finally released the following laconic statement Monday evening: “The Prime Minister’s military attach� reports that the prime minister is visiting a security installation inside Israel.” Netanyahu was accompanied to the installation by National Security Adviser Uzi Arad and the military attach�, Meir Kalifi. Netanyahu’s tour lasted for more than 10 hours.

This was the official line as of Monday evening, yet today (Wednesday) it is being reported that Netanyahu may have secretly taken a private jet and visited with Vladimir Putin in Moscow. This development is very interesting to say the least especially since the reports came out that the Mossad had possibly intercepted a Russian ship that supposedly had arms or missiles that were headed for Iran. The Jerusalem Post is reporting today:

The reason for Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s mysterious 10-hour disappearance from the media radar on Monday was a clandestine trip to Russia, according to a report Wednesday by the Hebrew language daily Yediot Aharonot. Israel Radio reported that Netanyahu leased a private jet since he knew using an Israel Air Force jet would raise the suspicions of the Israeli media.

The Russians for their part denied knowing anything about a visit by Israeli PM Netanyahu. However, it was reported that Netanyahu was on “tour” with National Security Adviser Uzi Arad and the military attach�, Meir Kalifi. This whole situation has me wondering what Netanyahu was doing in Moscow if he was indeed there? My initial reaction is that it must have been a pretty serious situation in order for the Israeli PM to leave the country unannounced and with no details on his whereabouts for the entire day. This situation leads obne to ask whether there could be a major conflict brewing between Russia and Israel over the recent “hijacking” of the Russian ship? I’m not sure what to think at this time but perhaps over the next few days we will be given more clues on this interesting yet strange development.

As Bible prophecy watchers know the propeht Ezekiel foretold of an end times conflict between Russia and Israel. This conflcit is detailed in Ezekiel 38-39. One of the questions that I would like to have answered is whether or not there could be a serious “crisis” forming between Russia and Israel? It seems to me with the discovery of natural gas off the coast of Israel, the recent situation with the hijacked Russian ship, Israel’s involvement in the Russia/Gerogia conflcit, etc. that there seem to be more than a few flashpoints between Russia and Israel. I guess only time will tell what becomes of this situation.

In other news, the US warned that Iran is nearing atomic bomb capability. This is certainly no surprise as the international community has wasted the last 5 years playing “political chess” with the Iranians and have now found themselves in what IAEA chief ElBaradei called a “stalemate”. This stalemate and “Nevile Chamberlain” type diplomacy has brought the world to a serious point in history where one if not the largest state sponsor of terrorism will have achieved their goals and ambitions of a nuclear bomb. The Jerusalem Post reports:

The United States warned Wednesday that Iran is close to having the capabilities to produce a nuclear weapon and urged Teheran to join in fresh talks with key allies about its disputed intentions. Glyn Davies, Washington’s chief envoy to the International Atomic Energy Agency, said the latest report by the nuclear watchdog shows that Teheran is either very near or already in possession of sufficient low-enriched uranium to produce one nuclear weapon, if the decision were made to further enrich it to weapons-grade.

Davies went on to further state:

“This ongoing enrichment activity…moves Iran closer to a dangerous and destabilizing possible breakout capacity,” Davies told the agency’s 35-nation board of governors. “Taken in connection with Iran’s refusal to engage with the IAEA regarding its past nuclear warhead-related work, we have serious concerns that Iran is deliberately attempting, at a minimum, to preserve a nuclear weapons option,” Davies said.

The international community, including the US, has given Iran until the end of September to respond positively to talks and place a suspension on their nuclear enrichment program. Yet in other news articles Iran has consistently denied any possible suspension of their nuclear program and refuses to provide transparency or cooperation to the IAEA into their nuclear program. I believe that we have seriously entered into a position where the only thing that will stop Iran from reaching their nuclear goals and ambitions is for a military strike to be made that at the very least delays the program for years. And the way things are right now in the world, the only country with a serious mind to doing that is Israel. Israel simply can’t afford to allow Iran to go nuclear. The dream and reality of the Jewish state will be in serious jeopardy if the Iranians acquire nuclear weapons.

To that end, let us continue to watch the situation in the Middle East as things appear to be reaching a crticial point where the world must either accept a nuclear Iran or make the military move to stop them from becoming a nuclear power and threat to the whole world. Let us pray that somehow Iran’s nuclear program is stopped and the threat of nuclear proliferation to terrorist organizations and state sponsors of terrorism is avoided. In the meantime, we need to keep looking up, for our redemption is drawing nigh!!

God bless.