To the Five Doves,
Second Thessalonians 2:1-3 clearly states that "our
gathering" unto Christ will not happen until after the
antichrist has been revealed:
Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our
Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto
him, That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be
troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by
letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at
hand. Let no man deceive you by any means: for
that day shall not come, except there come a falling
away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son
of perdition.
(2 Thess. 2:1-3)
Many of us have our own idea of the antichrist's
identity, but this does not constitute his
revealing. Revelation 13:1-3 describes the
revealing of antichrist, and we should not anticipate
the rapture of the Church any time before that event
happens. He has not yet been "revealed."
When will the antichrist be revealed? According
to my calculations (which are detailed in my article,
The Double-Fulfillment of Daniel 9:25) Jesus Christ
will return on Yom Kippur 2015 (September 23).
Since the antichrist's 42-month reign (Rev. 13:5) will
end when he is cast into the lake of fire upon
Christ's return, he must be "revealed" 42 months
before that to begin his reign in the March-April 2012
time frame. Others have been more specific about
these dates. For example, Ron Reese calculates
"the chosen day for the antichrist to recover from his
mortal head wound, and start his 1260-day reign" to be
April 11, 2012.
Conclusion: let's not be looking for the rapture until
Revelation 13:1-3 has taken place. Perhaps that
will happen in late March or early April of this year.
Ray Schulz
Look Up! Ministries