I am a Rapture watcher, and many of you are as well! We have been eagerly awaiting a trumpet and a shout (I Thess. 4) for years and even decades. We have grown tired of wars and rumors of wars; of stories in the news that are heartbreakers; of personal betrayal; of relationships that primarily hurt or fail.
Imminent Means Any Minute!
For years I have believed that the Rapture of believers is imminent. The Rapture is signless, and will be unannounced, and the Bible suggests it could happen at any minute or imminently. No clearly prophesied event must transpire prior to the Rapture.
If the return of Christ for His Church is imminent, then obviously it will be before the coming period of Tribulation with its predicted signs and judgments. In theological language, the Rapture of the Church must be pretribulational.
A Billion Souls to be Saved Soon?
And yet I hear a dozen evangelists stating that we are on the verge of a great revival. One self-proclaimed prophet says that a billion souls will come to faith in the coming weeks and months. If my Rapture is imminent, how can there be an imminent revival?
Which is it?
A gentleman wrote me recently stating, “Jan, you should be hearing the prophetic words for today about a period of coming peace and a worldwide revival. It is about to dawn. The end is not yet! Instead, prepare for your part in the glorious coming revival, not the Rapture.”
Yes, A Revival Is Coming!
The Bible does talk about a coming revival. The question concerns its timing. Is it in the coming days, or is it after the Rapture when the “left behind” world realizes they should have listened to believers like you and me, get a second chance, and multitudes come to faith?
Once the church is gone, God employs supernatural efforts to proclaim the gospel one final time through the 144,000 evangelists. These 144,000 Jews (Rev. 7:4) are “sealed,” which means they have the special protection of God. They are kept safe from the divine judgments and from the wrath of the Antichrist. They can freely perform their mission during the seven-year Tribulation, or “time of Jacob’s trouble.”
As a result of their ministry, “a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language” (Revelation 7:9)—will come to faith in Christ. That, my friends, is a true revival. But, it is post-Rapture and not in the believer’s lifetime.
On top of that, there are Two Witnesses in Revelation who will have miraculous powers to accompany their message (Revelation 11:6), and no one will be able to stop them in their work of evangelization! These men will be true prophets, unlike so many of today’s self-proclaimed prophets, speaking by divine revelation (Revelation 11). Their witness will be so effective that the Antichrist will have them killed, but they will be resurrected.
Additionally, according to Revelation 14:6-7, an angel during the Tribulation will proclaim an “everlasting gospel” to every nation, tribe, language, and people. This message urges humanity to fear, glorify, and worship God because the hour of His judgment has arrived.
All of these supernatural happenings result in the greatest revival in history, but it is not in the Church Age! It is post-Rapture.
Then What Is the Falling Away?
So, what does the Bible say about the spiritual temperature in the last days? It’s not a pretty picture. It describes a great “falling away” (II Thess. 2:3), not a revival.
In Luke 18:8 we read that when the Son of Man comes, will he find any faith on the earth?
In the classic passage written to the church—II Timothy 3—we read that there will only be a “form of godliness” (II Timothy 3:5) that will be prominent in the last days.
The Bible warns about a departure from the faith in I Timothy 4:1-5. Again, that is not the language of a revival. And I don’t think the wolves among the flock, (Acts 20:29) spoken of by Paul, are spreading revival.
It says in II Timothy 4, that in the last days, people won’t even endure sound doctrine. You can’t have a genuine revival with false doctrine raging.
God Will Pour Out His Spirit in the Church Age
And yet it says in Acts 2:15-18 that in the last days God will pour out his spirit on all flesh. There will be gospel-preaching churches and evangelists in these last days. Many of them will be effective. The new media will spread this gospel to the ends of the earth in the Church Age and many will respond—but nothing like the outpouring of the gospel during the Tribulation.
Could we say there is a genuine outpouring of God’s spirit in the last days, but the predicted revival happens when believers are gone and God does it supernaturally? And the Bible talks more about end-time persecution in our day than it does revival.
Perhaps Today!
But don’t lose heart and please, share the gospel while there is still time so those you love can escape the coming Tribulation. And remember, the biblical theme for the coming Rapture is “perhaps today.” Any minute or imminent. Nothing must precede it.
