By Hal Lindsay in his latest newsletter:
We must understand that the Rapture of the Church is imminent. That doesn't mean it's going to happen today or sometime next week. But it does means that it could happen at any time - even in the next second. There are no signs to be fulfilled before the Rapture. That's how every generation of Christians could legitimately hope for the Lord's appearing in their time, even before signs of the end of the age became acute. We don't need signs to expect the Rapture.
But in this generation, we see tremendous signs that the Tribulation period is near. And since the Rapture must take place before the Tribulation, signs that the Tribulation is near mean that the Rapture must be extremely near.
What are the signs? Two stand out.
One - Israel. End-time signs revolve around Israel, but until 1948, there was no Israel. God bringing that ancient nation back to life - vividly predicted over and over in scripture - gives meaning and urgency to all the other signs.
Two - in our day, we see a convergence of signs. In other words, they're happening all at once. No generation ever saw anything like this.
But these signal the Rapture only in the sense that the Rapture must take place before the Tribulation. So, is our generation different? Yes. I'm convinced it is.
That does not mean that you or I will not die before the Rapture. We might. But if we do, we will have lost nothing by living our lives expecting the Rapture, and we will have gained a great deal. It's how God wants us to live. And it enhances every part of the Christian walk.
We must understand that the Rapture of the Church is imminent. That doesn't mean it's going to happen today or sometime next week. But it does means that it could happen at any time - even in the next second. There are no signs to be fulfilled before the Rapture. That's how every generation of Christians could legitimately hope for the Lord's appearing in their time, even before signs of the end of the age became acute. We don't need signs to expect the Rapture.
But in this generation, we see tremendous signs that the Tribulation period is near. And since the Rapture must take place before the Tribulation, signs that the Tribulation is near mean that the Rapture must be extremely near.
What are the signs? Two stand out.
One - Israel. End-time signs revolve around Israel, but until 1948, there was no Israel. God bringing that ancient nation back to life - vividly predicted over and over in scripture - gives meaning and urgency to all the other signs.
Two - in our day, we see a convergence of signs. In other words, they're happening all at once. No generation ever saw anything like this.
But these signal the Rapture only in the sense that the Rapture must take place before the Tribulation. So, is our generation different? Yes. I'm convinced it is.
That does not mean that you or I will not die before the Rapture. We might. But if we do, we will have lost nothing by living our lives expecting the Rapture, and we will have gained a great deal. It's how God wants us to live. And it enhances every part of the Christian walk.