Dual Imminence (1) - Introduction

In this Series, we explore the New Testament teaching on Imminence. The Coming of Christ for His Church is imminent – that is, He could come at any time. It will be unexpected, without signs and without warning, and that no predicted events necessarily have to come first. The timing of His Coming is totally unpredictable, for God has chosen to keep it as His secret. Therefore, no man can know in advance, when He is coming. When we study the Scriptures on Imminence, we actually discover that there are 2 events that are imminent: (1) the Rapture of the Church and (2) the start of the eschatological Day of the Lord, a time of judgment, otherwise known as the Tribulation and the End of the Age. As both of these events are imminent, it follows that they must be simultaneous, because if one came before the other, the 2nd event would not be imminent. Therefore, when Christ comes for His Church, He also comes to initiate the Day of the Lord on the earth. Thus, His Coming has 2 purposes which are accomplished at the same time: (1) He will come suddenly to bring judgment upon the earth, and at the same time (2) He will rescue His people from that coming judgment. This means the Tribulation will begin on the same day of the Rapture, and so the Rapture will initiate the Tribulation. This confirms the Pre-Tribulation Rapture. The foundation for this belief is the teaching of Jesus, which is then taken up and confirmed by the apostles, Paul, Peter and John. We start this series by studying the teaching of Jesus on His Coming in Luke 12:35-41, with a special focus on the meaning of His Coming as a thief (see also Matthew 24:43-44, Revelation 3:3-6, 16:15). As well as Jesus coming as a thief, other scriptures say "the Day of the Lord comes as a thief" (2Peter 3:10, 1Thessalonians 5:3-4). Derek proves that the Day of the Lord is the same as the time of Birth Pains at the End of the Age, which is also the period of time known as the Tribulation. This is confirmed by Revelation 6-19, which describes the Tribulation. It is Christ, who initiates this time of Divine Judgment in Rev 6, by breaking the first 6 Seals in quick succession, and the result corresponds exactly to Jesus’ description of the Birth Pains of the Tribulation. This shows that the Tribulation is also the Day of the Lord, when God moves in Judgment. Therefore, this is not just a time of great evil, suffering and persecution, but a time of Divine Judgment and Wrath. It is this aspect of Divine Judgment which primarily differentiates the Tribulation from the Church Age. Derek shows how Paul in 1Thessalonians 4-5 teaches that both the Coming of Christ to rapture the Church (chapter 4) and His Coming to initiate the Day of the Lord, a time of Divine Wrath (chapter 5) are imminent, indicating that they are simultaneous. This is confirmed in 1Thessalonians 5:9: “God did not appoint us to wrath (of the Day of the Lord), but to obtain salvation (in the Rapture) through our Lord Jesus Christ”, and 1Thessalonians 1:10: “You wait for His Son from Heaven...Jesus who rescues us from the coming wrath.” This describes the imminent rescue of the Church from an imminent judgment (wrath), accomplished by the Coming of Jesus from Heaven.