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A Rapture Theory
By George Stroh
September 14, 2020
For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up (the rapture) together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord. (1 Thessalonians 4:16, 17)
Since the beginning of the Church in Acts chapter 2, Christians have been looking forward to the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and to what is known as the rapture. The unanswered question, of course, is exactly when will the rapture happen? All we know for sure is; "...for now salvation is nearer to us than when we believed." (Romans 13:11)
So with the warning that I'm NOT a prophet and have no extra-biblical revelation from God, here is a theory I think is at least worth considering about the timing of the coming rapture of the Church and the events to follow. .
When His disciples asked Jesus, "Tell us, when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?" (Matthew 24:3), Jesus told them, "Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away, until all these things take place." (Matthew 24:34). The Lord was obviously referring to a future generation that will see "all these things take place" (Read Matthew 24 and 25 about the future of Israel, the tribulation period, and the coming Kingdom of God.)
Israel was reborn as a nation in 1948. Could this be the beginning of the future generation the Lord was talking about? Psalm 90:10 says, for the days of our life, they contain seventy years, or if due to strength, eighty years. Interestingly, the current worldwide life expectancy is 72.6 years and, in Israel, 82.6 years. Beginning in the year 1948, an 80 year generation timeline would mean the second coming would happen by 2028. Subtracting 7 years for the tribulation period, would mean that the rapture of the Church would have to happen before or during the year 2021.
Now concerning that day and hour no one knows... (Matthew 24:26) Again, it is only a theory. I'm Just saying....
Maranatha!
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