Christian Jottings

So, Christmas has passed and we’re coasting to the New Year.

3I/ATLAS has passed its closest point to earth (closest being twice the distance from the sun to earth) with nothing untoward happening, despite the significant amount of speculation and YouTube postings. Many will be relieved there hasn’t been an alien mass abduction; some will be disappointed there wasn’t a Rapture event, an event that governments around the world would have blamed on …. an alien mass abduction.

There is still time for 3I/ATLAS to surprise us all, but I’m guessing it probably won’t.

Meanwhile, wishing you all a Happy New Year and, for us Christians, that 2026 will be the year in which the Rapture occurs.

The obvious sign-post, in reality the absolute evidence, that we are in the final seven years is when the Antichrist is revealed and sets himself up as God.

2Th 2:3, 4   Let not anyone deceive you by any means. For that Day shall not come unless there first comes a falling away, and the man of sin shall be revealed, the son of perdition,  who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, setting himself forth, that he is God.

Immediately prior to this, he will have reneged on the agreement with the Jews and prevented sacrifices and offerings in their temple.

Dan 9:27  And he (the Antichrist) shall confirm a covenant with many (Israel) for one week (seven years). And in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the offering to cease (he will renege on the covenant and persecution of the church will follow) …..

For this to happen, there must be a temple in place, preceded by an agreement that would allow a temple to be built.
I believe that this will only happen if a two-state solution has been agreed.
All preceded by an agreement with the many.

Suggested sign-posts to look for then are:
A covenant with the many
A two state solution adopted and ….
A covenant specifically with Israel enforced
The third Jewish temple built
The covenant reneged on
The Antichrist revealed and set himself up as God

This is a question I recently came across on a YouTube channel.

The YouTube posting suggested that we shouldn’t actually be watching for Jesus. Whether you are of the pre-tribulation believers, the Pre-wrath or some other, then the Rapture of the saints will be unannounced and instantaneous. Which means you could only look for signs that that the Rapture might be soon.

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About the Rapture

The rapture of the church is the event in which all believers in Christ will be caught up (raptured) to meet the Lord in the air before His righteous judgment is poured out on the earth during the great tribulation, the second half of the tribulation period. Believers who have died will be resurrected first, followed by those still living.

The word rapture cannot be found in the Bible. The event is described in 1Thessalonians 4:13-18 where Paul is comforting those who were concerned that their departed brethren (those who sleep) will not be included in what we call the rapture.

Specifically verses 16 and 17:

16 Because the Lord Himself shall come down from Heaven with a commanding shout of an archangel’s voice, and with God’s trumpet. And the dead in Christ will rise again first.

17 Then we who remain alive will be caught up together (raptured) with them in the clouds to a meeting with the Lord in the air. And so we will always be with the Lord.

In verse 17, the words ‘caught up’ are translated from the Greek harpazo, which in the Latin Vulgate is translated rapturus, from which we get our English word rapture.

There are different views held by knowledgeable and sincere Bible teachers on when the Rapture will take place. Perhaps the two most vocal are ‘pre-trib’ and ‘pre-wrath’. Pre-trib is short for pre-tribulation, which says the rapture will occur before the seven year tribulation period; Pre-wrath says the rapture will occur during the tribulation period, but before God’s wrath is poured out on the nations.

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However, until the Rapture happens there is unlikely to be any significant sign. After all, any ‘sign’ of a Rapture event is subjective and can only be, in reality, wishful thinking, what you really wish would happen, and the ‘signs’ observed simply relate to that wishful thinking.

In reality, what pre-tribbers are looking for is no different to any other group; the signs that the beginning of the seven year tribulation period is near. The difference is that the pre-tribbers believe they will be raptured before the start of the seven year tribulation.

The implied advantage for pre-tribbers is that they are filled with joy the closer they believe they are to the Rapture. However, once entered the end-times, if there has been no rapture event, then the pre-tribulation view would be incorrect. The disappointment would be hard to bear.

The suggestion is that we should be looking for the Antichrist. If the reason for watching is to prepare for the persecution that will follow, and the Antichrist isn’t revealed until the mid-point of the seven years (the seventieth week -the end-times) then that might be leaving things a little late.

Personally, I’m watching for any significant indication that we have entered the end-times: the final seven years.

Meanwhile, we should all work towards being ‘Rapture ready’ in the hope that the pre-tribulation believers are right.