(Based on information presented in The Missing Key in Dispensational Eschatology)
For many years, there have been strong disagreements among Christians concerning the chronology of the end-times. But even among fellow adherents to the interpretive camp known as Premillennial Dispensationalism, there are often variances in the way certain passages of scripture are interpreted. Often, those variances are embraced in an attempt to remain consistent with one’s own predetermined stance. At times, these views may result in awkward and “forced” conclusions that open the door for the attacks of our eschatological opponents, who seem to salivate at the opportunity to attack the Dispensational belief in a pretribulation Rapture. But these vulnerabilities turn out to be unnecessary when we simply allow the Bible to plainly speak, and avoid superimposing our own terminological assumptions onto its teachings. When we simply allow the Bible to interpret itself, the apparently difficult issues we must answer turn out to be just that: only apparent and not actual.
The Pattern of the Parousia
Over the past decade, I’ve engaged in an ongoing study where I’ve attempted to do exactly that. Although I was already convinced of the soundness of the pretribulation Rapture view, I was unsatisfied with some of the standard explanations related to some of these “difficult” passages, such as a number of the “Parousia (or Second Coming) teachings” of Jesus in the gospels (e.g. Mt. 24, 25; Mk. 13; Lk. 12, 17, 21). For instance, concerning the Olivet Discourse, many typical explanations concerning whether Jesus is speaking of the Rapture or the Second Coming “proper” (at the end of the Tribulation) are contextually illogical and contradictory. I also found these explanations to be inconsistent with the later epistolary writings, which often employ the same figures of speech and “imminence language” used by Jesus in those original teachings. A sound exegesis requires us to understand Jesus’s original “Parousia” teachings in the same way that the later New Testament writers understood them. Since these writers used the same eschatological idioms and expressions originally introduced by Jesus, it’s clear that they actually got their understanding of eschatology from those original teachings of Jesus. We must then ensure our understanding is consistent with theirs.
Ultimately, I discovered that when the plain text is allowed to speak – free from popular assumptions or personal definitions – it turns out to be quite capable of interpreting itself! This basic dispensational hermeneutic resulted in my identification of a biblical paradigm that at present is not widely recognized by students of eschatology, despite its pervasive and somewhat obvious presentation in the scriptures. While many excellent scholars have rightly acknowledged different aspects of this paradigm, few have acknowledged it in its fullness. And until now, it has never been systematically developed as a framework that can consistently be applied to the Bible’s eschatological content. My wholehearted conviction is that when it is consistently applied, this paradigm solves all of these problems. In fact, it is the only way to make sense of the many passages that have caused dispensational teachers to resort to awkward and inconsistent interpretations and explanations. I refer to this paradigm as the “missing key,”and it’s built upon three key claims (with one additional necessary insight noted afterwards).
Claim #1 – Scripture teaches that the Rapture and the broad period of the Day of the Lord are temporally connected (meaning connected in time or sequence; i.e. they don’t each occur randomly or independently of one another).
Claim #2 – Scripture both explicitly and implicitly teaches that the Rapture and the beginning of the broad period of the Day of the Lord are simultaneous.
Claim #3 – Scripture teaches that the Rapture and the broad period of the Day of the Lord are both imminent (a feature I refer to as “dual imminence”).
Note: “Imminence” is a term that describes an event that is perpetually looming and can occur at any moment. An imminent event has no preconditions or prerequisite signs or events. It occurs suddenly, without warning, and is completely unpredictable. Dispensationalists normally recognize the Rapture of the Church as being imminent, but often overlook the fact that the Bible presents the broad Day of the Lord as also being imminent.
In addition to these three key claims, I also identified one other important puzzle piece that acts as a critical differentiator in support of this paradigm. This additional insight involves two elements: 1.) that the beginning of the broad period of the Day of the Lord is not biblically equivalent to the beginning of the Tribulation period, and 2.) that an intervening gap of time between these two points will almost assuredly exist. All of this however, falls within the broad Day of the Lord. The combination of all of these observations yields the following visual representation:
The three key claims, along with the additional insight noted above, in many ways overlap, undergird, and support one another, leading to the undeniable common-sense conclusion of the imminent and simultaneous occurrence of the Rapture and broad Day of the Lord. In other words, at the beginning of the broad Day, the righteous are removed and immediately a series of divine judgments begin to fall upon the wicked who are left behind. These judgments escalate progressively and culminate in the Second Coming “proper” at the end of the Tribulation.
It is astonishing to recognize the simplicity of this understanding and its pervasive nature throughout the scriptures. It is the clear pattern given to us by Jesus, which is then repeated and built upon in the subsequent epistles. Once you grasp this template, it becomes impossible to ignore. We even find it established in the Old Testament in the form of prophetic typology – which is later interpreted for us by Jesus Himself in the gospels. He would explicitly define these “types” as teaching tools as He began to disclose prophetic revelation concerning His future Parousia (coming). We will only be able to briefly examine two such examples in this article.
The Flood of Noah’s Day
The first typological example of simultaneous judgment and deliverance is Noah’s Flood, which Jesus uses as a pattern for His Parousia as He introduces His teachings on eschatology. When we look back at the original Genesis account, it is clear that the righteous (Noah and his family) entered the ark on the same day that the judgment began to fall on the wicked.
11 In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on that day all the fountains of the great deep burst open, and the floodgates of the sky were opened. … 13 On this very same day Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth, the sons of Noah, and Noah’s wife and the three wives of his sons with them, entered the ark. -Genesis 7:11, 13 (NASB)
The righteous (Noah and his family) were removed and physically relocated into an environment of safety (the ark) just as the judgment of the Flood was beginning to fall upon the wicked. The scriptures are clear that this was a same-day occurrence. In other words, the rescue and judgments aspects were simultaneous.
In the Gospels, Jesus then uses this Flood account as a typological template to teach His disciples about His future return (the beginning of the broad Day of the Lord, or Parousia). This is recorded in Matthew 24 in His Olivet Discourse.
37 But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. 38 For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, 39 And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. -Matthew 24:37-39
An essentially identical saying is also recorded in an earlier teaching in Luke 17, a chapter that includes similar content to the later Olivet Discourse.
26 And just as it happened in the days of Noah, so will it also be in the days of the Son of Man: 27 people were eating, they were drinking, they were marrying, and they were being given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. -Luke 17:26-27 (NASB)
It is critical to note that the focus of Jesus’s typological comparison in both of these accounts is primarily on two specific aspects, which are both explicitly demanded by the text itself:
the suddenness of the Flood judgment upon the wicked world, taking them off guard during a period of complete normalcy (think signless and unpredictable imminence)
the simultaneous “same day” rescue of the righteous and judgment of the wicked
Jesus first conveys to us that in the times leading up to the Flood, people were absorbed in lifestyles of complete normalcy (eating, drinking, marrying, and being given in marriage) and were entirely unaware of the sudden judgment that was about to befall them. Their obliviousness is explicit in Jesus’s statement that the wicked of Noah’s day “knew not until the flood came.” His adamant emphasis on the routine activities of life communicates the relative mundaneness of the time immediately prior to the outpouring of the judgment. There were no signs or precursors. Things were not falling apart. It was life as usual. (Notice the total incompatibility of this description with an “end of the Tribulation” context!) Second, Jesus emphasizes that this normalcy continued until the day righteous Noah entered the ark, and then immediately (that same day), as the righteous were removed, the judgment fell suddenly on the unsuspecting, wicked world.
Jesus uses this Noahic judgment analogy to teach His disciples about the ultimate future judgment event – the broad Day of the Lord (of which the judgment phase in its entirety comprises His “coming” or Parousia). His entire point is to communicate that the broad Day will likewise come suddenly (without signs) during a time of complete normalcy, and that it will simultaneously bring salvation for the righteous and a period of judgment upon the wicked. He uses the Flood of Noah as a prophetic pattern for understanding the arrival of the broad Day at which time His Parousia begins. The two points identified are the two points of emphasis upon which Jesus built the comparison. We must limit our primary understanding of this comparison to the points Jesus emphasized since they are explicit in the text. His intended meaning is not vague or difficult to understand.
The Destruction of Sodom in the Days of Lot
The second Old Testament typological example of simultaneous deliverance and judgment is the destruction of Sodom in the days of Lot. Jesus uses this as an equivalent example to teach about His Parousia. The Genesis account of this judgment is clear that the righteous (Lot and part of his family) were removed from Sodom on the same day that the judgment began to fall on the wicked inhabitants of that city. We find this account in Genesis 19.
15 When morning dawned, the angels urged Lot, saying, “Up, take your wife and your two daughters who are here, or you will be swept away in the punishment of the city.” 16 But he hesitated. So the men grasped his hand and the hand of his wife and the hands of his two daughters, because the compassion of the Lord was upon him; and they brought him out and put him outside the city. … 22 Hurry, escape there, for I cannot do anything until you arrive there.” Therefore the town was named Zoar. 23 The sun had risen over the earth when Lot came to Zoar. 24 Then the Lord rained brimstone and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah from the Lord out of heaven, 25 and He overthrew those cities, and all the surrounding area, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground. -Genesis 19:15-25 (NASB)
Righteous Lot and his two daughters (remember, his wife was turned into a pillar of salt) were removed and physically relocated into an environment of safety away from Sodom immediately prior to the beginning of the city’s destruction. God would not allow the angels to begin the judgment until Lot had safely arrived in Zoar. Once the righteous were removed, the Lord immediately rained down sudden judgment on Sodom that same day. It all took place within a twenty-four-hour period.
This is confirmed in the New Testament, as Jesus then uses this example (directly following His allusion to Noah’s Flood in Luke 17) to further teach His disciples about His coming.
26 And just as it happened in the days of Noah, so will it also be in the days of the Son of Man: … 28 It was the same as happened in the days of Lot: they were eating, they were drinking, they were buying, they were selling, they were planting, and they were building; 29 but on the day that Lot left Sodom, it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. 30 It will be just the same on the day that the Son of Man is revealed. -Luke 17:26, 28-30 (NASB)
Like the previous example of Noah’s Flood, we see that Jesus’s comparison focuses on both the suddenness of Sodom’s judgment during a period of apparent normalcy and the simultaneous “same day” rescue of the righteous and judgment of the wicked. First, He teaches that in the times leading up to the destruction of Sodom, the setting was of complete normality (the people were engaged in normal living – eating, drinking, buying, selling, planting, etc.). They were completely unaware that any judgment was coming, and they were not yet experiencing the judgment. Life was as ordinary as ever and no warnings or signs were apparent. This continued until the day righteous Lot was removed from Sodom, and then immediately and suddenly the judgment fell on the unsuspecting, wicked inhabitants. (Like the Noah example, this is wholly incompatible with an “end of the Tribulation” context.)
And like the Noah example, we once again see from the text itself, that these concepts of “sudden” and “simultaneous” are the two points of emphasis that we must note. We cannot insert our own ideas about why Jesus uses these two examples of Noah and Lot. To infer meanings related to Nephilim (“days of Noah”) or homosexuality (Sodom) is to completely miss His point. The text clearly dictates His reasons, which are identical in each case. Jesus declares that it will be just the same on the day that the Son of Man is revealed. In other words, He’s using these judgment examples to teach His disciples of the similar aspects of the coming ultimate judgment event – the broad Day of the Lord, or the protracted period whose beginning phase is Christ’s Parousia, or coming. The onset of the broad Day will come suddenly (imminently), with no preconditions or preceding signs, and will bring simultaneous salvation for the righteous and a period of judgment upon the wicked. It will come at a time of complete normalcy (not Tribulation) upon an unsuspecting world that will be experiencing “life as usual” and will usher in a broad period of eschatological signs and judgments, climaxing in the Second Coming proper of Christ at the end of the Great Tribulation.
The “righteous” who are being rescued then can easily be identified. The contextual criteria allow for only one conclusion. Jesus’s description of the judgment beginning suddenly on an unaware population during a period of routine normalcy can only refer to the absolute beginning point of this entire period of judgment (the beginning of the broad Day), not some time during it. This can only refer to the rescue of the righteous Church at the pretribulational Rapture. The Rapture of the Church is the opening event that triggers this eschatological period. This is the only interpretive option possible, since the entire context of both examples is built upon imminence (suddenness, signlessness, and unpredictability). The only imminent rescue of a righteous group that coincides with an imminent beginning of judgment upon the wicked takes place at the absolute beginning of this broad eschatological period called the Day of the Lord (what we think of as the “end-times”). As was stated several times already, this can in no way be referring to the Lord’s coming at the end of the Tribulation, which is a time incompatible with imminence and a setting of “routine normalcy.” It also cannot be said that this final phase of His coming can suddenly take the world off-guard without signs. As J.F. Strombeck states,
There can be no complacency nor unexpected destruction after the most terrible destruction of all time has begun. [1]
To the contrary, it will conclude the most predictable and sign-filled time in history; a period which scripture tells us even the wicked recognize as the time of God’s wrath (Rev. 6:16-17) and will be expecting His return with such intensity that they are actually preparing to do battle with Him (Rev. 19:19). The wicked world cannot be “taken off guard” if they are knowingly preparing for and expecting His return.
Further, the context of both of these examples especially emphasize that the judgment began on the same day, directly after the righteous were removed. In other words, the righteous in both examples experienced none of the judgments. Once again, this was one of the two primary points of emphasis in the Lord’s comparison and is yet another reason the context cannot refer to the end of the Tribulation. Scripture is clear that the righteous of this period (Tribulation saints, both Jew and Gentile) will not be spared from experiencing its intense distress. These examples then must of necessity refer to the righteous of the Church Age being removed in the imminent Rapture, just as the also-imminent broad Day and its sequence of judgments begin to befall the wicked (our paradigm of dual imminence + simultaneous occurrence).
Further anchoring this “imminence” context is the observation that Jesus’s uses of the Noah and Lot examples are routinely accompanied by exhortations toward eschatological watchfulness (“watch,” the Greek verb grégoreó), in light of the unknown time of His coming. The call toward watchfulness for the Lord’s coming is commonly used alongside the “thief in the night” imagery (as well as the equivalent “master at the door”) and always refers to the Rapture and simultaneous beginning of the broad Day. This is seen plainly in Matthew’s recording of the Olivet Discourse, as Jesus elaborates on His usage of the Noahic example by following with a parable of the sudden, signless, and unpredictable coming of a thief in the night (Mt. 24:42-44). His message is simple: imminence! Since a thief gives no indication of the timing of his coming to plunder a house, a homeowner must perpetually watch for the thief himself. In like manner, Jesus’s followers are instructed to perpetually watch, not for some preceeding signs, but for Him! This thief parable is consistently used to refer to the beginning of the Parousia when the righteous are removed and judgment simultaneously begins to fall upon the wicked. This is the only setting in which it can fit. The end of the Tribulation is unable to accommodate such a context.
We find confirmation of this understanding in the subsequent epistles and book of Revelation. An examination of these books reveals that this is precisely how writers like Paul, James, Peter, and John understood these teachings of Jesus (and therefore how we must also). They consistently apply the same parables and imminence expressions Jesus uses throughout these discourses to the Rapture of Church Age believers at the opening of the broad Day and its immediate outpouring of judgment. They also routinely distinguish this “beginning of the Parousia” context by employing consistent “imminence language,” including the equivalent expressions “near,” “soon,” “quickly,” “at hand,” “shortly,” “draws near,” and others. (Ja. 5:1-11; 1 Pet. 4:7; 2 Pet. 3:3-10; Rom. 13:11-12; 1 Thess. 1:9-10; 2:16; 4:15-5:11; 2 Thess. 1:6-10; 2:1-5; Rev. 1:1-3; 2:5, 16, 25; 3:3, 10-11, 15-16; 19-21; 16:15; 22:6, 7, 10, 12, 20, et al.). These observations galvanize this context, and the recognition of “imminence language” makes this simple. Imminence only can refer to the beginning of this extended eschatological period, and the associated removal of the righteous at this time can only be the pretribulational Rapture of the Church.
Conclusion
While we cannot have expected Jesus’s original audience on the days He issued these discourses to have understood much, if anything, about the Church or especially the Rapture (as these concepts weren’t yet fully disclosed in all of their eventual fullness), His message was easily understandable: the righteous living during that hour will be immediately removed as sudden judgment simultaneously begins to fall upon the wicked. That was the simple message! But today, having the benefit of full New Testament revelation, we can look back upon these early teachings of Jesus and easily recognize that He was planting “seed form” doctrine that would later be expounded upon more fully in John 14 and the epistles of Paul.
So, from Jesus’s usage of the Noah and Lot examples, we recognize a clear typological pattern established by these Old Testament judgment events that provides a basis for the “missing key” paradigm. No other view satisfies all of the contextual criteria. The Church will not experience any part of this time of judgment. Both the rescue of the righteous and the judgment of the wicked will commence simultaneously and imminently, just as was established in both of these Old Testament types. This is the only pattern Jesus gives us for understanding the end-times, and this evidently was the only pattern the subsequent New Testament authors anticipated. We therefore must embrace it as well.
[1] J.F. Strombeck, First the Rapture, Moline, IL: Strombeck Agency, 1950, p. 69.
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