Any Moment

I hear it so often, “The Lord could return any moment now!” Any moment. In layman’s terms they are expressing what theologians call the “imminent return of Christ”. The word imminent means “impending, or likely to happen at any moment”. What is being suggested is this: there is nothing more in Biblical prophecy that needs to happen before Jesus comes to rapture the Church. They can say that because they believe the rapture will occur before any and all of the events of the Great Tribulation.

The imminent return of Christ is taught by the vast majority of evangelical prophecy teachers and writers in America. It is taught in unison with the teaching of the Great Tribulation theory and the accompanying pre-tribulation rapture. These three teachings have become a fundamental belief for many Christians in just the last 200 years.

The actual second coming of Christ, when He sets foot on the Mount of Olives, when He defeats His enemies and sets up His kingdom, will not occur until after many tumultuous events take place (supposedly in the Great Tribulation). But what if there is no Great Tribulation? Then the rapture occurs when Jesus actually comes again -- one single event. That pretty much blows holes in the “any moment” concept, because the tumult and judgment that precedes the second coming also precedes the rapture. This singular event will not be an unexpected surprise.

The exact moment may not be known, but it will be quite evident when Jesus is right at the door. As Jesus said, “Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it is near, right at the door. Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened” (Mt 24:32-34). I don’t think this supports a surprise, any moment, imminent rapture.

What, then, is likely to occur at any moment, if not the rapture? Let me set the stage. Paul told the Thessalonians that the coming of Christ and the gathering of the saints would not occur until after the man of lawlessness is revealed, and the great rebellion occurs (II Thes 2). He makes it crystal clear that certain tumultuous world events will serve as a precursor to the gathering of the saints. What Paul describes is the same scenario as prophesied in Revelation 17, the rising up of a ten-nation Arab-Islamic coalition (Rev 17:8, 11-14). The “eighth beast” will destroy the seventh beast, America (Rev 13:1-10; 17:9-10, 16), and then it will rule for only “one hour”. America must be destroyed (Dan 7:11; Rev 18:8) before the Arab-Islam nations unite to invade Israel and war against the Lamb (Rev 17:14).

The destruction of America is not even on the timeline of most Prophecy teachers. It’s not even on their radar, because they refuse to acknowledge that the little horn (Dan 7) and the Great Babylon (Rev 18) are prophecies about America. I cringe when I think of the destruction coming upon America, and how few Christians are awake, alert, and ready for such calamity.

America will be destroyed, not during a seven-year Tribulation, but in the final few years of the end times, while Christians are still on earth. We will suffer greatly – “death, mourning, and famine… consumed by fire” (Rev 18 8). This event is most likely the next event on the end times timeline. It could happen at any moment.