At Any Moment

Imminent |  ˈi-mə-nənt
: ready to take place: happening soon
… systems engineers have become rather blasé about the imminent liftoff.

Imagine that you’re a rebellious teenager. For some of us, this exercise will be a little easier than for others. Now, imagine that your parents are going out of town and you decide to throw a party at your house (their house). The music is blaring, and a variety of things are going on that your parents would not approve of. The house is a mess and, out of nowhere, the phone rings. It’s your dad and he tells you that there was a change of plans and it looks like they’ll be back home, AT ANY MOMENT!

What happens to your rebellious streak at that moment? It pops like a balloon and evaporates like a drop of water in the desert. A flurry of new activity is now taking place. All of a sudden, you’re turning off the music, kicking everyone out and trying to recruit your friends to help clean up. What happened? A revelation of imminence has hit you!

Now imagine that same scenario but the message from your parents is different. The music is blaring and the party is rocking as your parents tell you, “It looks like we should be home in about 7 years.” What’s the reaction? You’d probably hang up and tell everyone that it looks like the party just got a little more epic. “Thanks, Mom! Call me when you’re actually on your way!”

Imminence is a sound, foundational doctrine concerning the return of Jesus. Why? Because an “at any moment” understanding can radically change our behavior (1 John 3:3).

Humility + Assurance

When approaching a subject that even the Apostle Paul called a “mystery” there should be a level of humility that accompanies your study (1 Corinthians 15:51). There are things that we may not understand but there are also some things that are made indisputably clear. We must anchor ourselves in the certainty of what the Bible teaches before we venture out to discover new revelation or endeavor to give our opinion.

An example of this would be the Deity of Christ. This is indisputably clear in the Word of God. Jesus IS God (John 10:30; Philippians 2:5-6; John 17:21; John 1:18; Colossians 2:9-10; John 10:33; John 1:1,14; John 8:22-24; Isaiah 44:6; Revelation 1:17-18; 1 John 5:7-8; Acts 20:28). This revelation is made so clear in scripture that any deviation from it should be considered cultish. This one truth, that Jesus IS God should inform and guide the rest of our study concerning His life and ministry. As we run across other scriptures that seem to contradict this truth, we must seek to understand them through it. We must not allow them to alter it.

The Bible says that Jesus slept but Psalm 121 says that God does not sleep or slumber. What are we to do with this? What we don’t do is cut ourselves loose from the sound doctrine of the deity of Christ because of an interesting theological discussion. There are many cults that teach that Jesus was JUST a man and people fall for it because they have interesting scriptural arguments. BUT, they’re only interesting arguments if you loose yourself from the anchor of the deity of Christ.

What do we do with seeming contradictions? We cling to sound doctrine and humbly ask God for understanding. If the new information seeks to take us away from our anchor, we should cast it away no matter how interesting it may be.

There is one foundational teaching about the return of Jesus that should be our anchor when seeking to understand the last days: Imminence.

22 Scriptural Proofs that Jesus Could Return at ANY Moment:

1. “Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh” (Matthew 25:13)
2. “But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only” (Matthew 24:36).
3. “Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up. Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh. Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season? Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing” (Matthew 24:42-46 KJV).
4. “Take ye heed, watch and pray; for ye know not when the time is. For the Son of Man is as a man taking a far journey, who left his house, and gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and commanded the porter to watch. Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the Master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning: Lest coming suddenly He find you sleeping. And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch” (Mark 13:33-37).
5. “Knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us, therefore, cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light” (Rom 13:11-12).
6. “And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly” (Rom 16:20).
7. “So that ye come behind in no gift; waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Cor 1:7).
8. “For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ” (Phil 3:20).
9. “Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand” (Phil 4:5).
10. “And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come” (1 Thess 1:10).
11. “Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober” (1 Thess 5:6).
12. “That thou keep this commandment without spot, unrebukable, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Tim 6:14).
13. “Looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus” (Titus 2:13).
14. “So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation” (Heb 9:28).
15. “Let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the Day approaching” (Heb 10:24-25).
16. “For yet a little while, and He that shall come will come, and will not tarry” (Heb 10:37).
17. “Be patient, therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain. Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh. Grudge not one against another, brethren, lest ye be condemned: behold, the judge standeth before the door” (James 5:7-9).
18. “Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 1:13).
19. “But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer” (1 Peter 4:7).
20. “Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown” (Rev 3:11).
21. “Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book” (Rev 22:7).
22. “He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus” (Rev 22:20).

There is one word that can sum up all New Testament eschatology: WATCH!

This “at any moment” attitude was central in the teachings of Jesus and the apostles. This is our anchor and anything that pulls us away from an urgent watchful attitude should be thrown out. It has no place. It falls by its own weight. If the teaching suggests that even one prophecy has to come to pass before Jesus can return for His church then it cuts us loose from the doctrine of Imminence and should be thrown in the trash.

I want you to notice that I haven’t mentioned PRE-, MID- or POST-Rapture. The reason is that it’s unnecessary. When you understand imminence then there is no debate. Both MID and POST require dozens of prophecies to be fulfilled before Jesus could return for His Church. There are those who will say that they can maintain an imminent attitude because they know that they could die at any moment and meet Jesus in death. This is like the old Canadian TV comedy, “The Red Green Show” on public access. It was a parody of Home Improvement with the host attempting to fix everything with duct tape. The problem is that in real life, duct tape isn’t always the right fix. Attempting to use death to replace the glorious appearing of Jesus is like trying to fix a car engine with duct tape. It doesn’t work.

These theologians are unwittingly robbing us of the exquisite diamond of the rapture of the Church and replacing it with the cubic zirconia of an unexpected death, hoping we won’t be able to tell the difference. It is true that, should the Lord tarry, we will all meet death but that doesn’t negate the fact that, according to the above scriptures, Jesus didn’t want us looking for death or the anti-christ… He wanted us looking for Him to return!

It only takes a few moments of fearless self-introspection to know why. Take some time to contemplate your death. Think of all the ways it could happen and what it would be like to die, leave this world and meet Jesus. NOW, take a few moments to consider that, at any moment, Jesus could split the eastern sky and catch you up to meet Him in the clouds. There’s a difference!

Maranatha!

The early church was so expectant that Jesus would return at any moment that they greeted one another with the word “Maranatha” which means, “Our Lord, Come.” It’s a petition that every Christian had on the tip of their tongues. This is how they said hello and goodbye (1 Corinthians 16:22). If they thought they were so close to the return of Jesus, how much more should we be looking for it?

2 Minute Warning

What happens on any sports team when the two-minute warning is given? Does anyone slow down, bury their heads in the sand or disengage from the game? NO! The last few seconds of any game are the most exciting. No matter how tired everyone is, they kick it into gear because they know that they only have a few moments left to make a difference. The revelation of imminence causes them to push past their pain, fight a little harder and give it all they’ve got.

As believers, we’re not called to look for car accidents or heart attacks, though we should be prepared for both. We’re called to look for His soon and imminent return and this knowledge should create an urgency for us to push past the pain, fight a little harder and give it all we’ve got.

Occupy till I come. (Luke 19:13)

At any moment we will give an account for how we obeyed Jesus’ command to occupy till He comes. Will we be found faithful? Death may be certain, but He is more certain!

If you have not been living your life as if Jesus could return at any moment and you know that you’re not ready; Cry out to Him in prayer, repent and allow the Holy Spirit to place an end-time urgency in your heart. The two-minute warning has been given and it’s time to give it all you’ve got to glorify Christ in this world.

I’ve written a book about spiritual warfare + the armor of God and how it relates to the rapture of the Church, called: The Ephesian Mandate. It comes with an in-depth e-course that will transform your life. I encourage you to take a look at it.

Also, I’ve placed some of our teachings about this subject below. Watch and allow them to build your faith.

Thank you for your support.

If you appreciate the work we do to spread the good news of Jesus Christ, please consider giving a gift to help us continue this work. Maranatha!