Ezekiel 38 And The Rapture

Q

I have listened to your teaching on the battle of Ezekiel 38 and the timing of the rapture. I am confused as how this is related to Romans 11:25, (For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.) Does this mean that when the “last” Gentile person is saved that the battle begins and the church is raptured, or are these events unrelated?

A

The purpose of God’s intervention in the Battle of Ezekiel 38 is to reveal Himself to Israel (Ezekiel 39:22) and bring His people back into their covenant relationship with Him. This is necessary for Israel’s blindness to be lifted and the 70th Week of Daniel to begin.

When God turns His attention back to Israel the Church has to be gone because Romans 11:25 tells us Israel’s blindness will not be lifted until the full number of Gentiles has come in.

While the two events are not directly related, these Scriptures imply that the rapture will come no later than the conclusion of Ezekiel 38.