Why Has The Rapture Been Delayed So Long?

In this regular feature, Dave and Tom respond to questions from listeners and readers of The Berean Call.Here is this week’s question:Dear Dave and TA, I know you two did an extensive series on the rapture of the church, and I caught most of it, but there’s a question that’s been bugging me about the rapture, and I guess I missed your answer, if indeed you gave one.Why would Jesus say that He is going to return for His church, tell us to watch for it with expectancy, and then not return as of yet for nearly 2,000 years?I don’t get it!

Tom:

Dave, we need to, first of all, establish that Jesus did say that He would return for His church. So let me quote some Scriptures:John:14:1-3 [1] Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. [2] In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. [3] And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.
See All...:“Let not your heart be troubled:ye believe in God, believe also in me.In my Father’s house are many mansions:if it were not so, I would have told you.I go to prepare a place for you.And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.”Now secondly, He wanted us to watch for His return with expectancy, and we’ve got Luke:12:37Blessed 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.
See All...,38,40, I’ll read those.“Blessed are those servants, whom the Lord, when he cometh—

Dave:

Well Tom, you ought to start with Verse 35, Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning; And ye yourselves like those who wait for your Master.Okay, but anyway, go ahead.

Tom:

Okay.“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,—that is, the supper—and will come forth and serve them.”Verse 38:“And if he shall come in the second watch, or come in the third watch, and find them so, blessed are those servants.”Verse 40:“Be ye therefore ready also, for the Son of man cometh at an hour when ye think not.”Dave, I think with those verses we have, not only blessed hope, but imminency.

Dave:

Well Tom, we have many verses.You mentioned the blessed hope, looking for that blessed hope, the glorious appearing.

Tom:

Yea, Titus:2:13Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;
See All....

Dave:

So, if we are looking for it, I mean, there’s no point in looking for it if it couldn’t happen until after the great tribulation, or until after Antichrist.

Tom:

But Dave, what about, some would say, Well, what about its delay?There’s actually no delay because it’s going to come when Jesus will have it come.

Dave:

Well Tom, let me just give a couple other verses.Philippians:3:20For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ:
See All..., “Our citizenship, or our conversation, our manner of life as in heaven, from when we also look for our Savior—who will change our vile bodies…” and so forth.Or if we went to Hebrews:9:27And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:
See All..., 28, “It’s appointed unto man once to die and after this the judgment, but unto them that look for Him shall He appear the second time.”Now it sounds like we’re supposed to be looking.1Thessalonians chapter 1, somewhere around verses 9 and 10, “You turn to God from idols to serve the living the living and true God, And to wait for His Son from heaven.”Now, it sounds like the early church was taught to watch, wait, look, expect Christ. And they were supposed to be ready when He came, and He would come at a time when they didn’t think He might come.Now it’s very simple, if He cannot come, and this is the post-trib teaching, if He cannot come until after the great tribulation, that throws all these verses out.You can’t possibly, watching and waiting and looking for something that can’t happen now, but can’t happen until after the great tribulation.

Tom:

So, imminency is just ridiculous, it’s absurd with a view like that.

Dave:

Okay, now to answer this man’s question:How come He said He would come and then He hasn’t come yet?Well, He didn’t say when He would come, in fact He said, No man knows the day or the hour.But what is the value then of watching and waiting and expecting him?Well, 1 John Chapter 3, John says:Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, even if he is pure.Now, it’s rather purifying, I think, in my life to realize that I may not have tomorrow, and well, I could die.Well yeah, but they are not dying like flies everywhere.We don’t know when we are going to die, but that’s not what He’s talking about. That’s not the imminency.My death may be imminent and I don’t know it. But that’s not going to purify me because you have ways of delaying in doctors help, and so forth. I could, maybe, get by another day or another week, or whatever.But when Christ, if the Rapture could happen at any moment. I don’t have time to clean up my act. I don’t have seven years, post-trib, that’s not a blessed hope.It’s a blessed hope only to those who happen to be alive at that moment. Certainly not a blessed hope for me that Jesus will come at the end of the great tribulation.

Tom:

Plus, there are conditions, and it’s going to be off in the future, so it dampens that expectancy, Dave.

Dave:

And that pulls the rug out from under the purifying affect.It’s only purifying if I know the Lord could come at anymoment.So, why did Jesus say He would come?Because He’s going to come!Why did He take so long?I don’t know, that’s His business.Well, how come, we’ve been waiting and He doesn’t show up, what good does it do us then to watch and expect him?Because, it has a purify affect, and this is exactly what our Lord told us to do.We’re going to follow the Bible, Tom, and I know there are people out there who don’t believe in a pre-trib. They probably believe in a post-trib, but we’re just trying to follow the Bible.

Tom:

You say you’ve got an illustration, and it’s very rough and sort of crude, and so on, I’ve got one for you on this basis.

Dave:

All right.

Tom:

But it’s a personal one.My wife—we’ve got a grandchild now down in Southern California, so Peg has a real opportunity to go down.Well, when she goes away, sometimes it for a week or two weeks.She’s, first of all, an impeccable housekeeper. Now I’m left alone in the house, all right, so if she says, Tom, I’ll be back, I don’t know when, but it could be any time.You want to guess how I keep the house very nice?But if she says, I won’t be back for two weeks— When do you think I might get around to getting the house up to her standard?

Dave:

Oh, just before you go to get her at the airport!

Tom:

Dave, you’ve got that right!So, as I said, it’s kind of a crude example, but the point is I love her and I want to please her and I want the place to look nice when she comes home.And if I know the date— You know me, Dave, I’ve got lots of other things to do, I’m not going to get after it.

Dave:

One other quick verse, we have it in Luke where you read and we also have it in Matthew 24:“What and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, my Lord delayeth his coming, and shall begin to eat and drink with the drunken, and so forth, and beat his fellow servant—Jesus says, If you talk about a delay of my coming, that’s going to lead you into evil.It’s not going to purify you unless you are expecting me.

Tom:

It’s like the bride waiting for the groom.What kind of excitement would I have in my heart knowing that as the bride of Christ he’s right there at the door?

Dave:

Amen.