He is Coming Quickly

From the very earliest days of the Church, the return of Jesus was expected to happen imminently and suddenly. Jesus said, "Behold I am coming quickly", the Greek word for 'quickly" is tacheos. We get our word "tachometer" from this word. It means more than just speed, but also means "suddenly, without delay. There are over 22 verses in the New Testament that clearly speak of the immanency of Jesus' return. When his disciples asked about His return, Jesus said, "But of that dey or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone. Be alert; for you do not know when the appointed time will come. (Mark 13:32-33) "You too, be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour that you do not expect." (Luke 12:40) We are instructed repeatedly throughout the New Testament to be watchful and ready for Jesus's return, not knowing the exact time. We are to be aware of the signs of the times, remaining ready for Jesus' return, when it does happen.

Most Evangelical churches believe in the 'imminence' of Jesus' return. "Imminence" refers to the concept that the return of Jesus (the Rapture) could happen at any moment, without any specific sign or event needing to occur first. Why is the imminence of Jesus' return important? It is important because it's timing aligns with the Pretribulation Rapture, the three concepts being "Pre-tribulation Rapture" "Mid-Tribulation Rapture and "Post-Tribulation" Rapture. All views, other than "Pretribulation Rapture" require a number of prophetic occurrences to take place before the Rapture can be declared imminent.

If the return of Jesus for His Church is Imminent, then obviously it must take place before the coming Tribulation the seven years when God's wrath is poured out on an unbelieving and unrepentant (Revelation 9: 2021) If the Church were world. required to go through the seven-year tribulation, you would expect the New Testament writers to have warmed us to be prepared for trying times. But they repeatedly tell the Church to be comforted by the "coming of the Lord" (1 Thes 4:18). The word "comfort" alone strongly implies the rapture will take place before the tribulation. The early church used the word "Maranatha" frequently. Maranatha consists of three Aramaic words: "Mar" ("Lord), "ana" ("our"), and "tha" ("come"). "Our Lord Come: The Interesting thing about Maranatha is that it comes in the form of a petition. When a Christian in the early Church would make this statement, he was actually petitioning the Lord to come. Someone has observed that Revelation 22:9 is the last prayer of the Bible, (Even so come, Lord Jesus.) Someone else has pointed out that Revelation 19:20 also includes the last "promise" of the Bible "Surely, I come quickly." What the Church must remember in that not only is the coming of Jesus imminent, but it is also certain!