I’ve been fervently studying the end-times the past few months. Prophecy has always been a subject I love and have studied, but the past months, with the world going the way it is, I’ve got a renewed fuel for my fire. In any case, I’ve recently come across your teachings, and you’ve opened my eyes in many areas, specifically Matthew 24 and 25.
With that being said, can you tell me what basis now the pre-trib rapture has for being an ‘unknown hour’? Many people point to Matt 25, but as you’ve taught, this all refers to the Second Coming.
That’s right. The so-called “day or hour” verses in Matt. 24-25 all refer to the exact timing of the 2nd Coming, not the Rapture. The justification for believing in a secret rapture is found in the fact that only vague hints are given as to its timing. For example Paul hinted that it would occur in the End Times sometime before the Wrath of God comes (1 Thes 1:10 & 5:9) and before the anti-Christ is revealed (2 Thes. 2:7-8). That’s like telling someone on a bus who asks when to get off that his stop is one before yours so if he sees you getting off he’s missed it.
The Rapture is also a “signless” event in that there’s no preceding event warning that it’s about to come. It’s not directly connected to any other end time event. I believe that this is due to the fact that there’s no specific Rapture date set in Heaven. The Rapture will occur when the Church achieves its full number (Romans 11:25) not when some predetermined day comes.