The question everyone has been asking for years: When will the rapture take place?
While none of us can know the exact time and hour, there are certainly many questions revolving around this event that is still to come.
In an interview with Jennifer Bagnaschi from Deep Believer, Prophecy Watchers host Mondo Gonzales answered some key questions regarding the coming rapture.
/**/1. There are false narratives behind where the pre-Tribulation rapture theory came from.
Perhaps the most contentious part about the rapture relates back to pre-Tribulation vs. post-Tribulation theories. As Bagnaschi points out, many believe that the concept of God’s people being taken out of this world before the rapture occurs is heavily connected to a young woman’s prophesy from the 1800s, and that it is believed prior to that many Christians did not have this view.
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“The woman’s name is Margaret McDonald, but in fact, if people go back and look at her material, she actually was not a pre-trib person she was a pre-wrath person,” Gonzales says. “Then people will falsely claim that Darby picked up on that and ran with it… there’s no doubt Darby popularized an idea but the idea that it began with Margaret McDonald, that’s false.”
2. There are a few key verses that make a pre-Tribulation rapture theory plausible.
Key biblical passages supporting the pre-Tribulation rapture include 1 Thessalonians 1:10 and 5:9, which declare that believers are not destined for wrath. Revelation 3:10 also promises that Christ will keep His church from the hour of trial coming upon the whole world.
There are also plenty of biblical patterns which show God’s mercy and rescue of those who obey and follow Him wholeheartedly.
Jesus Himself referenced the days of Noah and Lot in Luke 17:22-37 as examples of divine rescue before judgment.
Jesus described the time of His coming as one of normalcy—people buying, selling, planting and marrying. This does not match the catastrophic conditions of the Tribulation, where widespread death, famine and war will make normal life impossible. Perhaps, then, the rapture will occur before this time of great destruction.
3. There are people who will be saved following the rapture.
The Tribulation will be a time of intense persecution, where believers who come to faith after the rapture will likely face martyrdom. As this will be the very worst of times, Gonzales warns people not to wait to get saved until after this occurs.
“Jesus said it; don’t wait. Get rescued prior because there is no promise of being kept through,” Gonzales says.
In these challenging times, believers must stay anchored in God’s Word and remain strong in faith. As the signs of the end times unfold, we are called to stand firm, endure to the end and declare the hope of the gospel. By walking in the power of the Holy Spirit and shining His light, we can stay faithful and advance God’s kingdom until Christ’s return.
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Abby Trivett is content development editor for Charisma Media.
