There is considerable debate among Bible teachers, students, scholars, and theologians regarding the topic and timing of Matthew 24:36 and Mark 13:32, two distinct passages of Scripture within the Olivet discourse between Jesus and his disciples about the end of the age. This debate has been ongoing for centuries, particularly within the dispensationalist, premillennial, pre-tribulation camp.
“But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father” (Mark 13:32). The question that causes so much debate is this: Is this passage of Scripture referring to the Second Coming of Christ to the earth or the coming of Christ in the sky at the pre-tribulation Rapture?
There are well-known and respected Bible teachers and scholars on both sides of this controversial issue. John F. Walvoord, Jack Kelley, and Thomas Ice are a few learned men who believe these Olivet Discourse verses refer to the Second Coming. Dr. Arnold Fruchtenbaum, Dave Hunt, and Terry James are among the learned men who believe these verses refer to the Rapture. Evidently, both sides cannot be right. That means some of these respected men of God are mistaken. This only proves one thing. Even the best Bible teachers can’t be right 100% of the time, especially when it comes to prophecies regarding eschatology.
As I mentioned in the first article, I believe the ‘day’ is referring to the ‘day of the Lord,’ which encompasses the ‘hour’ of the Rapture, the gap of time between the Rapture and the seven-year Tribulation (Daniel’s 70th week), the Tribulation, and the Second Coming. Since the ‘hour’ begins the ‘day,’ and the ‘hour’ is the Rapture, then no one knows when the ‘day of the Lord’ will begin. Most modern-day Bible teachers believe that the prophecy of Hosea 5:15-6:1-3 refers to Jesus Christ’s return at the end of the age. Many believe that the ‘day’ in Hosea 6:2 refers to a thousand years because “one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day,” according to 2 Peter 3:8 (and Psalm 90:4).
The first part of Hosea 6:2 says, “after two days he will revive us.” Therefore, by this logic, if Christ were crucified in any given year, He should return (second coming) two thousand years later. The second part of verse two says, “In the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight.” Most adherents to the ‘thousand years is as one day’ theory believe the Millennial Kingdom of Jesus begins at the start of the third ‘day.’
The long-time president of Dallas Theological Seminary and one of the most prominent evangelical scholars and biblical prophecy experts of his generation, John F. Walvoord, had a slightly different take on these verses in Hosea. “How does the Coming of Christ for his church relate itself to the Day of the Lord, which precedes the second coming of Christ by a number of years? This Day of the Lord will come suddenly and unexpectedly. What is the point? The point is that just as the translation (rapture) of the church is the end of the day of grace, it also marks the beginning of the Day of the Lord. In other words, the one event seems to do two things: it serves as the closing of one day and the beginning of the other.” {1}
Therefore, in Dr. Walvoord’s view, the ‘day of grace,’ which begins with the start of the Church by the giving of the Holy Spirit on the Feast of Shavuot/Pentecost and ends with the removal of the Church from the earth at the Rapture, is considered Day 1. Day 2 is the Day of the Lord, which begins at the Rapture, progresses through the seven-year Tribulation (Daniel’s 70th week), and ends at the Second Coming (or shortly after). Day 3 is the Millennium.
THE DAYS OF NOAH AND LOT AND THE RAPTURE
“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, And knew not until the flood came, and took all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be” (Matthew 24:39-40). The Greek word (transliteration) for ‘took away’ in Matthew 24:39 is ‘eren,’ which is derived from ‘airo’ and is translated in the KJV as: away with, bear (up), carry, lift up, loose, make to doubt, put away, remove, take (away, up).
Neither the Noah illustration (Matt. 24:37-39 cf. Lk. 17:26-27) nor the Lot illustration (Lk . 17:28-29) is appropriate for illustrating the Second Coming. At the Second Coming, the unrighteous will be removed, and the righteous will remain to inherit the kingdom (Matt. 13:30, 41-43, 49-50). However, in both of these illustrations (Noah and Lot), the righteous are removed from the sphere of judgment, and the unrighteous are left to be destroyed.
It is frequently stated (mainly by those who believe it refers to the Second Coming) that in the Noah illustration, it is said that the unrighteous are taken; however, that is a misunderstanding of the phrase “took all away” (Matt. 24:39). This phrase does not refer to the unrighteous being taken anywhere, for they are left to face judgment and destruction. In contrast, the illustration of Noah’s deliverance perfectly illustrates the Rapture. Noah and his family were lifted above the waters of judgment and were returned after the judgment abated. Note how this accords perfectly with the Lot illustration (Lk. 17:28-29), both of which are compatible analogies with the Rapture.
Luke’s account of the Noah illustration and the Lot illustration (Lk. 17:28-30) makes this quite clear. “They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all” (Luke 17:26-27).”Also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed” (Luke 17:28-30). Notice that Lot was taken out of harm’s way, and the unrighteous were left behind and were destroyed.
The Greek word for ‘taken’ in Matthew 24:40-41 (“Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left.“) is ‘paralambanetai’ and means receive, take. It is a combination word: 3880 paralambánō (from 3844 /pará, “from close-alongside” and 2983 /lambánō, “aggressively take”). In Matthew 24:40-41 (and Luke 17:35-36), as in the Noah and Lot illustrations, it is the righteous who are taken or received to a place of safety, while the unrighteous are left to face judgment.
THE RAPTURE’S IMMINENCE
The appearing (coming of the Son of Man) described in Matthew 24:36-44 is sudden, unexpected, and imminent, but the Second Coming is none of these. The Second Coming will be preceded by many signs over a period of seven years, as described in the previous verses in Matthew 24 (also in Mark 13, Luke 21, and the 21 judgments of Revelation). The Rapture is so unexpected and sudden that it is said to occur at an hour one does not expect and comes like ‘a thief in the night.’ However, we are told to watch and wait for the Lord. Matthew 24:42-44, Luke 12:39-40, and Revelation 3:3 all mention an unexpected ‘hour’ and the phrase, ‘like a thief in the night.’
“And ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their lord, when he will return from the wedding; that when he cometh and knocketh, they may open unto him immediately. Blessed are those servants, whom the lord when he cometh shall find watching: verily I say unto you, that he shall gird himself, and make them to sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them. And if he shall come in the second watch, or come in the third watch, and find them so, blessed are those servants.
And this know, that if the goodman of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not have suffered his house to be broken through. Be ye therefore ready also: for the Son of man cometh at an hour when ye think not” (Luke 12:36-40).
Now contrast the coming of the Son of man at the Rapture to His Second Coming, “Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen” (Revelation 1:7). Of course, at the Second Coming, He comes as the great warrior king, the Man of War, as described in Revelation 19:11-21. “And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and His name is called The Word of God. And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean” (Revelation 19:13-14).
THE PARABLE OF THE FAITHFUL SERVANT AND THE EVIL SERVANT
Now, let’s look at the closing passage of Matthew’s version of the Olivet Discourse with the ‘hour’ of the Rapture in mind. This is a parable called the faithful servant and the evil servant.
“Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his master made ruler over his household, to give them food in due season? Blessed is that servant whom his master, when he comes, will find so doing. Assuredly, I say to you that he will make him ruler over all his goods. But if that evil servant says in his heart, ‘My master is delaying his coming, and begins to beat his fellow servants, and to eat and drink with the drunkards, the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him and at an hour that he is not aware of, and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matthew 24:45-51).
The master’s ‘coming’ at an hour the servant is not aware of refers to the Rapture, which is the beginning of the ‘day of the Lord’ (the seven-year Tribulation).
Of course, this same ‘hour’ is also mentioned in the other synoptic gospels, specifically Mark 13:32 and Luke 12:39-40, 46. It is also found in the Book of John. “The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself and has given Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of Man. Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth—those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation” (John 5:25-29).
The ‘hour’ in all these verses appears to be a word that is used in conjunction with ‘resurrection.’ The first part of John 5:25, “the hour is coming,” refers to the future resurrection of the dead in Christ at the Rapture (per 1 Thessalonians 4:16 & 1 Corinthians 15:52). The second part of ‘the hour’ in verse 25, “and now is,” refers to the time after the crucifixion, when Jesus and many saints were brought back to life (per Matthew 27: 52-53). They became the ‘first fruits of the dead in Christ’ to be resurrected (1 Corinthians 15:20). It’s interesting that Jesus used the word “hour” instead of “day” in this passage of scripture (John 5:25).
The next hour mentioned in John 5:28 encompasses all of the different resurrections that will occur. They include “those who have done good” (the first resurrection) and “those who have done evil” (the second resurrection). In John 5:28-29, Jesus merges the two resurrections into one ‘hour,’ even though they occur at different times.
The ‘first resurrection’ refers to the resurrection of believers (“those who have done good”), which consists of Jesus and the first fruits (per 1 Corinthians 15:20), the Church at the Rapture (they that are Christ’s at his coming, per 1 Corinthians 15:23), Old Testament saints, and Tribulation martyrs. The ‘second resurrection’ refers to the resurrection of unbelievers (‘those who have done evil’), which occurs after the Millennium at the Great White Throne judgment (as per Daniel 12:2b, and Revelation 20:11-15).
The Jews have always required a sign before they would believe (1 Corinthians 1:22). Jesus’ disciples were no different. The disciples wanted to know the sign of Jesus’ return to earth to establish His kingdom. I believe the Rapture of the Church is the supernatural sign that Jesus will give the Jews, indicating His soon return afterward (a minimum of seven years) as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Thus, Jesus answered the disciples’ question, albeit in a cryptic way.
Although Jesus referred to the Rapture in several of the Gospels, he didn’t expound upon it or fully teach his disciples about it. The apostles were both emotionally and theologically unprepared to receive this revelation at this time. It would be left up to Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles, to give a clear and detailed teaching of the Rapture. However, the disciples would eventually recall the words of Jesus, including his teachings on the Mount of Olives, as recorded in John 14:26. “But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.”
In the Book of John, Jesus also gave hints of the Rapture when he said, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die” (John 11:25-26). This is a tremendous statement that I am sure the disciples didn’t fully understand. It describes the two stages of the Rapture. “Though he may die, he shall live” describes the dead in Christ being raised from the dead to everlasting life. “Whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die” describes those believers who are alive at the time of the Rapture. They/we will never die but will be raised to glory in Christ Jesus. We are part of the first fruits of the LORD.
NO ONE KNOWS THE DAY OR HOUR
I have recently seen several videos on YouTube where the speaker claims that Jesus actually revealed the day of the Rapture in Matthew 24:36 through his words, “No one knows the day or the hour.” In this particular video, the speaker says that “No one Knows The Day Or Hour” is a Hebrew idiom that refers to a specific day called Yom HaKeseh. It is the day that is ‘concealed’ and the day in which Christians will be concealed. It is also another name for Rosh Hashanah/Yom Teruah, also known as the Feast of Trumpets. The ‘bible teacher’ in this video believes the Rapture will occur on a future Feast of Trumpets, but doesn’t specify any particular year (or hour).
This belief in a ‘Trumpets Rapture’ is probably one of the more popular views among Christians who believe Christ will return on a Feast of the Lord day. The main reason given for this view is the trumpet mentioned in Paul’s prophecy regarding the Rapture. “In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed” (1 Corinthians 15:52). The other reason is the Hebrew idiom regarding no one knowing the day or hour Rosh Hashanah will occur.
The Feast of Trumpets is the only Feast of the Lord that comes on a ‘new moon.’ A new moon conjunction occurs when the moon is in conjunction with the sun, meaning they are in ecliptical longitude, making the moon invisible from Earth. However, most Jewish (and Christian) Bible scholars believe the Jewish months have always begun (the 1st day of the month) when a waxing crescent moon is first visible. So, Tishri 1 would begin in the seventh month (of the religious calendar) after the crescent moon was first observed in the evening sky, or the following evening.
Supposedly, the old Hebrew saying was that no one knows the day or the hour when the crescent moon (after the first new dark moon of Fall) will be visible, so no one knows in advance when the day of Tishri 1, Rosh Hashanah (the Feast of Trumpets) will occur.
When the disciples asked Yeshua “what would be the sign of your coming,” He told them, “But of that day and that hour no one knows; not even the angels which in heaven, nor the Son, but the Father” (Mark 13:32). This saying is one reason why many believers think the Rapture will occur on the Feast of Trumpets (on Tishri 1), as it is associated with the new moon of the seventh month, and no one will be able to predict when the crescent waxing moon will become visible to the naked eye.
THE JEWISH WEDDING
However, I don’t believe this is the correct analogy for this phrase in Mark 13:32. I think the better analogy would be the Jewish wedding scenario, where no one knew when the wedding was to take place. If the bridegroom was asked when the wedding was to be, he might well say, “No one knows. It is not for me to know; only my father knows.” Jesus said basically the same thing in Mark 13:32-33. In ancient Israel, the bridegroom could not collect his bride until his father’s approval was given.
Just as a bridegroom would have told his bride that he would go to prepare a place for her, so Jesus told His disciples, “In my Father’s house are many abodes, were it not so, I had told you: for I go to prepare you a place; and if I go and shall prepare you a place, I am coming again and shall receive you to myself, that where I am ye also may be” (John 14:2-3 – DARBY). One day soon, Jesus will return at the Rapture to collect His bride, the Church, and take her to His Father’s house (the third heaven), where the many-roomed New Jerusalem will be made ready as our eternal home.
John 14:2-3 is definitely a Rapture passage. Interestingly, the Greek word (transliteration) for ‘receive‘ in verse 3 is ‘paralēmpsomai,’ a form of the word ‘paralambanó.’ The Greek word for ‘is taken’ in Matthew 24:40,41 (and Luke 17:35,36) is ‘paralambanetai’ and is also a form of the word ‘paralambanó.’ This is just another reason why these verses in Mathew and Luke refer to the Rapture and not the Second Coming.
“Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints” (Revelation 19:7-8 – KJV). See The Jewish Wedding & The Rapture – Amos37 for more illustrations and parallels between the Jewish wedding and the Rapture.
TRUMPETS OR SHAVUOT/PENTECOST
Trumpets were blown on many occasions in ancient Israel, not only on the Feast of Trumpets. They were used during most festivals and on the first day of each month. “Also in the day of your gladness, and in your solemn days, and in the beginnings of your months, ye shall blow with the trumpets over your burnt offerings, and over the sacrifices of your peace offerings; that they may be to you for a memorial before your God: I am the Lord your God” (Numbers 10:10).
So, trumpets were blown on not only the new moon of Tishri, but on the other eleven (and sometimes twelve) new moons throughout the year as well. The new moon of Tishri wasn’t the only time “no one would know the day or hour” of the first visible sighting of the waxing crescent moon, as this was the case for the other months as well. However, the Feast of Trumpets is the only Feast of the Lord that is observed on a new moon.
Likewise, there are two other Feasts of the Lord for which “no one knows the day or hour” for a particular year. They are Firstfruits and Shavuot/Pentecost. The date of Shavuot/Pentecost isn’t determined until Firstfruits is (as it comes 50 days after), and Firstfruits doesn’t have a date either until Nisan 1 is determined. Biblical Firstfruits (per Leviticus 23:10-11) occurs on the day after the Sabbath after Biblical Passover (Nisan 14). Nisan 1 could be delayed by a month (where an intercalary month is added) if the crops weren’t in a state of ripeness at the end of the twelfth month.
Did Jesus fulfill the Feast of Shavuot/Pentecost, or was it fulfilled by the Holy Spirit Himself? Both Jesus and the Father are described as sending the Holy Spirit. In John 16:7, Jesus says, “But I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I am leaving; for if I do not leave, the Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you.” This verse (along with John 15:26) suggests that Jesus sends the Holy Spirit.
However, in John 14:26, it is written, “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and remind you of all that I said to you.” This implies that the Father sends the Holy Spirit. So, it can be concluded that both Jesus and the Father have roles in sending the Holy Spirit at Shavuot/Pentecost.
If Jesus fulfilled Shavuot/Pentecost by sending the Holy Spirit, then He did so when He was in heaven, not on earth (as He was during the first three spring Feasts). If Jesus didn’t fulfill Shavuot/Pentecost by sending the Holy Spirit, then this Feast of the Lord still awaits fulfillment by Him (as do the last three fall Feasts). At the Rapture, Jesus will not set foot on the earth, as He remains in the sky, where those believers who are alive will meet him in the air.
I agree with Jack Kelley’s view on the Rapture: “The Rapture doesn’t have to occur on a Feast of the Lord, but if it does, Pentecost seems to be the most obvious candidate.” The Church began on Pentecost (aka Shavuot), and it’s logical that it could end on Pentecost as well. Pentecost is in the midst of the early spring Feasts and the fall Feasts, as the Rapture is between the First and Second Comings. I believe Rosh Hashanah (Trumpets) is a better speculative choice for the Second Coming than the Rapture. Jesus will fulfill the last three fall Feasts of the Lord at the Second Coming, like he fulfilled all of the early spring Feasts of the Lord at the First Coming.
There were three times a year that the Israelites were to gather together to keep the Feasts of the Lord. “Three times in a year shall all thy males appear before the Lord thy God in the place which he shall choose; in the feast of unleavened bread, and in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of tabernacles” (Deuteronomy 16:16). These Feasts of the Lord were appointed to coincide with the harvest seasons of Israel. The Feast of Unleavened Bread takes place during the barley harvest season. The Feast of Weeks, or Shavuot, takes place during the wheat harvest season. The Feast of Tabernacles takes place during the olive and fruit harvest season.
THE FIRSTFRUITS OF THE HARVESTS
Jesus was the ‘firstfruits’ to be raised from the dead with a translated heavenly body. “But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept. For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming” (1 Corinthians 15:20-23). Jesus was resurrected during the early spring barley harvest, on the Feast of Firstfruits.
There are two (second) comings of the Lord. The first one takes place in the sky at the Rapture. The second one takes place on the earth at the Second Coming.
The second ‘firstfruits’ to be raised from the dead will occur at the Rapture. Could it take place at the second mandatory convocation, where all males were to ‘appear before the Lord,’ during Shavuot/Pentecost? This would be during the wheat harvest season. Jesus said, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hates his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal” (John 12:24-25). It’s interesting that the blossoming of the fig tree mentioned in Matthew 24:32 and Song of Solomon 2:13 occurs in late spring, just before summer. See Rapture_In_the_Song_of_Solomon.pdf. Late spring is the time of year when the Feast of Shavuot (Pentecost) occurs.
The third ‘firstfruits to be raised from the dead will occur after the Second Coming, when the Tribulation saints and Old Testament saints will (‘appear before the Lord’) be raised from the dead. This should coincide with the Feast of Tabernacles (at the end of Daniel’s 70th week), when the autumn harvest of fruit and olives typically occurs.
“If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sits on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory” (Colossians 3:1-4).
Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.
Randy Nettles
Endnotes:
{1} Every Prophecy of the Bible by John F. Walvoord
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