Does anybody really care? I do. For those of us who are old enough to know, that was a rift from a Chicago song from the 70’s. Knowing the times and seasons is what we watchers are all about; well, that and sharing our faith in Jesus with as many who will listen and receive. The Bible tells us that ‘no one knows the day or hour’ of the Lord’s return. That message has been preached and reproached to watchers for way too long. I get it, nobody knows. That being said, I should like to speculate that the Lord may return on a future Pentecost Sunday, which is ‘the first day of the week.’ I wrote a blog post about that a few weeks ago.
The motivation for that write had more to do with developing a better understanding of the Apostle John’s phrase, ‘I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day.’ (Revelation 1:10) The ‘Lord’s Day’ is Sunday; the first day of the week. This was when John was caught up into heaven; that same Rapture that we are all about to experience. This would make John the first and only time traveler in history.
In Revelation, after John dictated the seven letters to the seven churches, which also represents ‘the Church age,’ this happens.
“After these things (the Church age) I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven. And the first voice which I heard was like a trumpet speaking with me, saying, “Come up here, and I will show you things which must take place after this.” 2 Immediately I was in the Spirit; and behold, a throne set in heaven, and One sat on the throne.” – Revelation 4:1,2
- John was ‘snatched up’ with the rest of the Church at the Rapture.
This explains the interaction between the resurrected Jesus, Peter, and John in John 21:
“Then Peter, turning around, saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following, who also had leaned on His breast at the supper, and said, “Lord, who is the one who betrays You?” 21 Peter, seeing him, said to Jesus, “But Lord, what about this man?” 22 Jesus said to him, “If I will that he remain till I come, what is that to you? You follow Me.” 23 Then this saying went out among the brethren that this disciple would not die. Yet Jesus did not say to him that he would not die, but, “If I will that he remain till I come, what is that to you?” – John 21:20-23
- The phrase, ‘till I come’ is a reference to the Rapture. The idea that John would remain till the Rapture is preposterous, unless the Lord translated him through time to the moment of the Rapture, where he was then caught up with the rest of the Church, where he was able to see and experience, as an eyewitness, what he wrote in the book of Revelation.
If this is true, then a future Pentecost Sunday might be the day that the Rapture occurs. This is known as the ‘Pentecost Sunday Rapture’ theory. While this messes a bit with immanence, it does propose a case for a Pentecost Sunday Rapture.
As far as ‘the hour’ goes, here’s my thoughts on the matter. We know that the Holy Spirit fell on the disciples and other followers of Jesus in the upper room in Jerusalem. Men from all over the region were in Jerusalem for the Feast of Pentecost as prescribed by the Law. When they heard the sound and came to the place where the newly baptized in the Holy Spirit Christians were…
…they were all amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “Whatever could this mean?” 13 Others mocking said, “They are full of new wine.” 14 But Peter, standing up with the eleven, raised his voice and said to them, “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and heed my words. 15 For these are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour (9am) of the day.” – Acts 2:12-15
- Here the Lord gives us a general time, ‘the third hour of the day,’ which is about 9am. The term ‘third hour’ means the third hour after 6am, which is sunrise, give or take.
My thought here is that if the Church was birthed on Pentecost, which is always on a Sunday; and it happened at about 9am, then what would it look like if the Church was raptured on a future Pentecost Sunday at about 9am Jerusalem time, just like in Acts 2? Some would argue as to when the exact day of Pentecost is, and how it aligns with the Feast of New Wine or how it’s tied in with Shavuot and such. My focus here is more about the timing of how it all works into a possible Pentecost Rapture scenario.
There are a lot of wildand crazy things happening in the world right now; scary things. We are on the edge of our world not being ‘normal’ and for a lot of reasons. People can feel it, they sense something ominous is on the horizon, and yet they are unaware as to how to deal with it; yet here we are, on the edge of eternity. For the believer in Jesus, we know what’s coming and we are ready to go. For those who don’t believe in Jesus or refuse to receive Him as their Lord and Savior, they are in pending danger and peril, and they don’t even know it. I believe that only reason the whole thing hasn’t unraveled is because we are still here; the Holy Spirit still restrains until we are gone!
Paul reminds us, “But concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write to you. 2 For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. 3 For when they say, “Peace and safety!” then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape. 4 But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief. 5 You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness. 6 Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober. 7 For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk are drunk at night. 8 But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation. 9 For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, 10 who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him. 11 Therefore comfort each other and edify one another, just as you also are doing.” – 1 Thessalonians 5:1-10
- The ’they’ in this passage are the unbelievers who will be left behind after the Rapture. The ‘you’ here are the believers who will be caught up with the rest of the Church at the moment the Lord returns for us.
We don’t know the day or hour, but if the day was a future Sunday on Pentecost, and the hour was around 9am Jerusalem time, then we could at least be watching with a little more focused ambition when the calendar strikes Pentecost Sunday and the clock strikes at the hour that aligns in your time zone to 9am Jerusalem time. The problem here is that we really don’t know when Pentecost actually is. Many watchers have speculated on their dates, but we really don’t know for sure. This being the case, the timing remains a mystery, but the season is always revealed; and we’re living in it right now.
I believe in immanence because it helps me to live my live well for the Lord every day of the year. However, there are high watch seasons where I experience a little excitement as it approaches, and a bit of a letdown when it passes. I would rather enjoy the rush of a potential high watch and the accompanying letdown than I would, not ever bothering to look; which I believe goes against the Lord’s command for us to be watching.
If a beloved soldier returned from war, but nobody was there to meet him at the train station or airport, that would be disappointing for them. I would rather be watching on a high watch than to miss the moment the Lord returned. This kind of awareness helps me to stay focused as I plan ahead while observing today.
I encourage you all to be good stewards of all that God has entrusted you with. Manage your blessings well and be watchful and mindful of the times and seasons in which we live. As I write this blog (7/20/24) we are going to have a ‘buck moon’ tonight. I will reawaken at 1am (CST) just to worship the Lord and pray for a little while as I set outside and enjoy the full moon, the quiet evening, with hopeful anticipation. When that’s done, I will go back to bed so as to be rested up and be ready to be in church, preaching another gospel message.
Maranatha!
Encouragemen is a blog written by Pastor Rob Lee, recently relocated to Northwest Missouri. He lives with his wife of 35-years, near their three adult children, their spouses, and children (their grandchildren). Pastor Rob is an Ordained Assemblies of God minister, a former Lead Pastor (25 years), police chaplain, and community advocate. He continues to serve, consult, and disciple men of God, including those who are in the ministry.
Encourage Men 