Can we know the day when the Rapture of the Church will occur?

Is your answer automatically: "...no man knoweth the day or the hour..." which is in part quoting Matthew 24:36 or Mark 13:32 which says:

"But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only."

Without exception, this is the most traditionally quoted scripture when confirming that we cannot know the timing of the Rapture of the Church. I say traditionally because tradition is defined as:

1. an inherited, established, or customary pattern of thought, action, or behavior (as a religious practice or a social custom)

2. the handing down of information, beliefs, and customs by word of mouth or by example from one generation to another without written instruction

And this scripture ['no man knoweth'] is an established, customary pattern of thought that has been handed down from one generation to another in emphasizing and confirming that we cannot know the day the Rapture of the Church will occur.

So, based on the authority of that scripture the 'timing' of the Rapture of the Church has been left a mystery to all believers, including the very people to whom it will some day apply.

And all that would be fine if the Rapture was in fact the subject of Jesus' conversation when He uttered those words: "But of that day and hour knoweth no man..."

But was that the subject of His conversation? The answer lies in the scripture itself.
So, let's go into the scripture of Matt 24 and find out.

Matt 24:1-3




So here in verse 3 we find the Apostles asking Jesus questions that He then proceeds to answer throughout the remaining verses of the chapter.

"and what shall be the sign of thy coming"

The 'coming' of Jesus being asked about here is of His 'second coming' not the Rapture of the Church. The Apostles could not have been asking Jesus about the Rapture of the Church as they had no knowledge at this time of the promise of Rapture. The promise of Rapture was told to Paul much later.

The Second coming of Christ and the Rapture of the Church are two separate events that take place on opposite ends of the seven year tribulation period. The Rapture precedes the seven year tribulation period and the Second Coming concludes it.

All of the study that we do in Matt 24 confirms in detail that Jesus is explaining to the Apostles of His second coming at the conclusion of the seven year tribulation period when He says in verses 29-30:

Matt 24:29-30


And in verse 35 Jesus goes one step further in the time frame of future events when He says to them, "Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away." Jesus is emphasizing that His word lasts forever; even longer then the time when heaven and earth will pass away.

And now, immediately after v.35 where Jesus has just told them that heaven and earth will pass away, we come to verse 36 and He says:

"But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only."

That is the day that 'no man knoweth'. The day when heaven and earth pass away! Heaven and earth do not pass away at the Rapture of the Church!

When do heaven and earth pass away? We find our answer in Revelation 21:1& 2, which is speaking of the time after the 1000 year reign of Jesus on earth. The time when John, the author of Revelation, sees the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven.

Jesus is referring to the time of the end of His 1000 year reign on earth when God the Father brings His holy city, new Jerusalem, down out of heaven. That is the time that 'no man knoweth'!

Putting Jesus' words into their proper context in His conversation with the Apostles clearly shows that He was not referring to the Rapture of the Church when He says that 'no man knoweth the day or the hour'.

But because of the blind acceptance of the misinterpretation of scripture, a "tradition" has developed in the Church that today even a mere mention of the subject of the 'timing of the Rapture' brings the wrath of the pulpit down on anyone that would dare to ask the question: "Can we know the day of the Rapture of the Church?"

However, now that we realize that we are not under the authority of Matt 24:36 we can legitimately ask our question and search God's word for the answer.

And what we are going to find is that the blind acceptance of the TRADITIONAL teaching of 'no man knoweth the day or the hour 'has hidden the truth of God's word as it has to do with the day of the Rapture.

And Jesus Himself warned of what tradition can do to understanding God's word when He said to the Pharisees in Matt 15:6: "you make void the word of God by your traditions."

And it has never been any truer than it is in this matter regarding the day of the Rapture, as we will discover.

For as God told Jeremiah in Jer 29:13:
"And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart."

God is saying that in our search of Him it must be with all of our heart, an open heart, so that we can receive the truth of His word. And when He answers us in the truth of His word we will know the truth and the truth will make us free from any tradition.

Once one sees God's answer in scripture in all of it's simplicity regarding knowing the day of the Rapture, one will ask oneself the same question that we all have asked at that moment of our enlightenment: How could we ever have missed it?

And the answer is quite simple: Tradition !!!!

Please go on to 'Substance and Shadow'...and allow God's word to demonstrate the day the Rapture will occur.

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