Solving the Rapture Timing Puzzle

14th of April, 2024

The problem is, you’re all like blind men feeling different parts of an elephant. They were all correct too, but only in their small part.

The ongoing disagreements are like all those blind men shouting about the part of the elephant they had felt.

All it took was for one blind man to stop shouting and start listening. By hearing what the other blind men were saying, he was able to get a pretty good idea of what the elephant looked like.

The following may not be perfect, but here’s your elephant.

It’s said that the best way to eat an elephant is one bite at a time. To make this easier we’ve broken it down into 13 bite-sized pieces. Bon appétit!

Bite 1 — The Great Tribulation

Without doubt, God has gone out of His way to conceal this matter from us. So let’s start with something we can be sure of.

Matthew 24:29-31“Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.”

This is a picture of the rapture. It has the main elements of the rapture, as described by Paul in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17.

Matthew 24:30-31	1 Thessalonians 4:16-17
See the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven	For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven
Send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet	With the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God
And they will gather together His elect from the four winds	Shall be caught up together with them in the clouds

What we’re doing here is not unlike solving a jigsaw puzzle. We need to be careful not to force pieces to go where they shouldn’t. As we don’t have the luxury of being able to look at the picture on the front of the box, this is an easy mistake to make. But this piece we can be sure of.

The Rapture is immediately after the Great Tribulation.

However, there are lots of other pieces that need to be arranged, so let’s keep going!

Bite 2 — The Wrath of God

We can also connect the Rapture in Matthew 24:29-31 with the opening of the 6th Seal in Revelation 6:12-17. Here’s another table showing the similarities in those passages.

Matthew 24:29-31	Revelation 6:12-13
Sun darkened and moon not give its light	Sun black as sackcloth, moon like blood
Stars fall from heaven	Stars of heaven fall to earth
Powers of the heavens shaken	Shaken by a mighty wind
See the Son of Man	Hide from the face of Him on the throne

There are a couple of differences of omission, such as an earthquake being mentioned in Revelation and not Matthew. One explanation for this is that the focus of Matthew is on the gathering of the saints, which to them is a joyous event, whereas the focus of the passage in Revelation is on everyone else, for whom this event is fearful and terrifying. The differences serve to provide us with a full picture of the event, without adding distractions to the individual accounts. In other words, each passage describes a part of the elephant, but taken together we can see the bigger picture.

The underlying explanation for the differences is that all the main events surrounding the second coming have two fulfilments—a spiritual fulfilment that pertains to the church, and a physical fulfilment that pertains to the nations of the world. As we take more bites these dual fulfilments will become clear. The passage in Matthew is focused on the church and the passage in Revelation is focused on the nations.

At the end of Revelation 6, in verse 17, we read, For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?

Unless you’re pre-wrath, you probably believe the Great Tribulation and the Wrath of God are the same thing. But that’s not the case!

The Great Tribulation is a time of trial; a time of testing. That is what the word tribulation means, alternate translations being persecution, affliction or distress [LINK].

The Wrath of God is punishment. It is the pouring out of God’s fierce anger on those who were found guilty during the trial.

To use a courtroom analogy, we have the trial, followed by the verdict, and after that the carrying out of the sentence on the guilty. This is the same progression of events, and the same setting—a courtroom—as seen in Daniel 7:25-26.

As the Rapture occurs after the Great Tribulation (bite 1); and as the Rapture is the event described at the beginning of the sixth seal; and as the Wrath of God starts after the sixth seal, this is our next piece.

The Rapture is immediately before the Wrath of God.

Bite 3 — The Time of Jacob’s Trouble

It’s not just the prophecies related to the second coming that have dual fulfilments. Many other prophecies have two or more fulfilments as well. In Biblical times they called them types and shadows, or patterns.

The prophecy is the pattern. The exact interpretation depends on the context. That’s why prophecy is often so hard to understand in advance, but seems obvious in hindsight.

This same principle applies to the Great Tribulation and the time of Jacob’s Trouble.

They both follow the same pattern, but one is for the church (who is spiritual Israel) and the other is for natural Israel (including the scattered tribes, who have been sifted throughout the earth).

Remember, God made promises to Abraham’s natural children, but He also made promises to his spiritual children. In the last days, both groups of children will be tested according to the same pattern, but with differences due to the different contexts.

Judgement begins at the house of God, thus the Great Tribulation comes first, followed by the Rapture.

The pattern is then repeated in the time of Jacob’s Trouble, which is followed by Armageddon.

Jacob’s Trouble is the Wrath of God, not the Great Tribulation.

Bite 4 — The Revelation 12 Confirmation

Revelation 12 confirms this distinction between the Great Tribulation and God’s Wrath.

Revelation 12:4-6His tail drew a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was ready to give birth, to devour her Child as soon as it was born. She bore a male Child who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron. And her Child was caught up to God and His throne. Then the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, that they should feed her there one thousand two hundred and sixty days.

The reference to the stars of heaven being thrown to earth establishes that this is another description of the same event found in Matthew 24:29 and Revelation 6:13.

Ruling the nations with a rod of iron is a promise to those who overcome in Revelation 2:26-27. Thus, this is depicting the Rapture of the church. It even uses the same word (harpazó in the Greek) as Paul used when describing the Rapture (caught up in English) in 1 Thessalonians 4:17.

Revelation 12 has an unusual structure. Unlike many other prophecies, it employs a chiastic structure. In essence that means the first half of the prophecy is mirrored in the second half. Until now you’ve had to take our word for the dual fulfilment of prophecy, but Revelation 12 makes the dual fulfilment obvious. The first half is for spiritual Israel, the church (being that which is above), and the second half is for the nations (being that which is below).

It’s important to understand that only those who overcome are Raptured at this point. There will be some (perhaps many) in the church who will miss out. This is illustrated in the parables in the remainder of Matthew 24 and the parable of the virgins at the beginning of Matthew 25.

Those who aren’t raptured will then be looked after for 1,260 days, by those who were. When it says they should feed her, they can only be God and the male child. Thus, those who are left behind will not be left without help.

We’ve already established that the Rapture is after the Great Tribulation. This passage shows that when the Great Tribulation and the Rapture are over, there’s still another three and a half years of trouble before the end!

The Wrath of God is three and a half years long.

Bite 5 — The Wrath of Satan

In heaven, Satan accuses the brethren (believers) day and night (Revelation 12:10). At the Rapture, those faithful believers are caught up to heaven. Satan is cast down to the earth around the same time.

Thus begins the Wrath of Satan.

Revelation 12:12bWoe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time.

This is also part of the wrath of God. God uses His adversaries to carry out His judgements against His own people. We saw this in the Old Testament where He used Assyria and Babylon as His instruments of wrath. At this time, Satan himself will be used as God’s instrument. So the wrath of Satan is part of God’s wrath.

He first turns his ire towards the other woman—Jerusalem, though God will protect the remnant that flee (this is also referred to in Matthew 24:16-20).

Satan will then make war with the rest of those who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ (Revelation 12:17).

These are the ones who were not taken at the Rapture. The ones who were left behind. The unwise virgins. It also includes anyone else who repents and calls out to Him during this dark day (Joel 2:32). They are the ones Paul said would be saved, yet so as through fire.

1 Corinthians 3:14-15If anyone’s work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.

The wise virgins are those who will receive a reward. The unwise virgins are those who suffer loss, but they can still be saved, if they endure to the end. The fire they will have to endure is the fire of Satan’s wrath.

God’s wrath starts with Satan’s wrath against His unfaithful people.

Bite 6 — Outer Darkness

Zephaniah 1:15 says the day of the Lord (the day of His wrath) is a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness.

This is the beginning of what the scriptures term outer darkness.

Matthew 25:30And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

The unprofitable servants are also the unwise virgins. The wise virgins who were ready went in with Him to the wedding; and the door was shut (Matthew 25:10), leaving the unwise virgins outside.

The wailing and gnashing of teeth will accompany the terrible realisation that they have missed out on the wedding; that they are outside and the door is shut. The rewards that those who were taken into the wedding will receive are no longer theirs. This is the outer aspect of outer darkness.

The second reason for wailing and gnashing of teeth is the simultaneous realisation that they will not be kept from the wrath of Satan. This is the darkness aspect of outer darkness. The darkness of the day of the Lord’s wrath.

They can still be saved if they buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed (Revelation 3:18). The white garments are the wedding garments worn by the guests in the parable of the wedding. This will be their final chance to repent. As Matthew 22:10 says the wedding will be filled with guests, we know many will repent during this time.

Many will repent and be saved during Satan’s wrath, but as through fire.

Bite 7 — The Sheep and Goat Judgement

The Sheep and Goat judgement occurs after the wrath of Satan has been brought to a close. This is at the seventh trumpet.

Revelation 11:18“The nations were angry, and Your wrath has come [or came],  And the time of the dead, that they should be judged,  And that You should reward Your servants the prophets and the saints,  And those who fear Your name, small and great, And should destroy those who destroy the earth.”

For it to end at the seventh trumpet, the wrath of Satan must encompass all seven trumpet judgements. When they are complete, God will finally have finished taking back the kingdoms of this world.

Matthew 25:31-33“When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left.”

Although it’s depicted as a discrete event, the process of dividing the sheep from the goats will begin after the Rapture and continue for the duration of the trumpet judgements. When the seventh trumpet sounds, the judgement of the sheep and goats will be over. This period is the cloudy and dark day during which the shepherd will seek out My sheep and deliver them from all the places where they were scattered (Ezekiel 34:12).

Note that there are many sheep who don’t know Jesus (Matthew 25:37-40). They will still receive the reward of eternal life (v. 46), in the same way that those unwise virgins who endure to the end shall. Why? Because God looks at the heart.

Many Christians believe that only those who have faith in Jesus will be saved. That is certainly true of the Bride. But those who don’t know Him and yet do what He commanded will not be destroyed with the wicked. He has a place for them in His kingdom too, just as He does for the unwise virgins. He is not willing that any should perish.

The Sheep and Goat judgement takes place during the seven trumpets.

Bite 8 — The Wrath of the Lamb

After the Sheep and Goat judgement, God will take out His vengeance on the goats.

1 Peter 4:17For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God?

In the Old Testament types, both the Assyrians and the Babylonians, after carrying out God’s wrath against His people, were then forced to drink from the cup of His indignation themselves. The same pattern will repeat in the last days.

This is the winepress of God’s Wrath, which He will tread Himself (Isaiah 63:1-6), and is seen in the bowl judgements, in which the Wrath of God is complete (Revelation 15:1).

In the trumpet judgements, a third of the trees, the sea, the rivers and the heavens were struck. This is symbolic of the third of the people who will repent and be redeemed during that time. Zechariah 13:9 says, I will bring the one-third through the fire, will refine them as silver is refined, and test them as gold is tested.

In the bowl judgements, everything is struck, symbolising the fact that no-one will repent of their wickedness. Perhaps, even at this very late hour, God is still willing to forgive those who repent. But we’re told throughout the bowl judgements in Revelation 16 that no-one does (verses 9, 11, and 21).

The Bowls of Wrath follow the Sheep and Goat Judgement and finish God’s Wrath.

Bite 9 — The Wedding Feast

Revelation 19:6-9And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude, as the sound of many waters and as the sound of mighty thunderings, saying, “Alleluia! For the Lord God Omnipotent reigns! Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.” And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. Then he said to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!’ ”

The warning in Revelation 16:15, during the sixth bowl, that says Blessed is he who watches, and keeps his garments, lest he walk naked and they see his shame, is a reference to this event, which at the time of the sixth bowl will be imminent.

The Wedding Feast will happen once the Wrath of the Lamb is complete.

The garments are a reference to the parable of the wedding feast in Matthew 22, and being found there without a wedding garment.

Matthew 22:8-13Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy. Therefore go into the highways, and as many as you find, invite to the wedding.’ So those servants went out into the highways and gathered together all whom they found, both bad and good. And the wedding hall was filled with guests.

But when the king came in to see the guests, he saw a man there who did not have on a wedding garment. So he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you come in here without a wedding garment?’ And he was speechless. Then the king said to the servants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

There are a few things to note here. This parable is talking about the wedding guests, not the Bride. Outer darkness here is not the same as the outer darkness we discussed previously. This outer darkness is final. Remember, the prophecy is the pattern, but the meaning must be derived from the context. At this point the context is those who have had a chance to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed (Revelation 3:18) but who neglected to.

The wedding guests are those from the Sheep and Goat Judgement, bad and good. They missed out on the wedding, but they were invited to the wedding feast, which takes place some time after the wedding itself. In modern terms, think of it like missing the wedding ceremony, but making it to the reception.

However, although everyone was invited, only those with wedding garments will be given admittance. These are the Sheep from the Sheep and Goat Judgement. The bad, who are the Goats, will go into everlasting punishment (Matthew 25:46), which is the outer darkness we just discussed.

The guests invited to the wedding are all those from the Sheep and Goat Judgement, bad and good.

Bite 10 — Armageddon

Armageddon is the destruction of the wicked. It is the second fulfilment of the Wedding Feast.

Revelation 19:17Then I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the birds that fly in the midst of heaven, “Come and gather together for the supper of the great God”.

At this time the Beast and the False Prophet will be cast alive into the lake of fire, and all the Goats will be killed (Revelation 19:20-21).

Armageddon is like the dessert of the Wedding Feast.

Bite 11 — The Full Timeline

At this point it would be a good idea to read the article The seventy weeks of Daniel are almost over, if you haven’t already. Or at least, read it next.

In it we made the rather bold claim that the 70th week started on the 6th of April, 2017, when the Jews sacrificed a lamb beside the temple mount to confirm and strengthen the Mosaic covenant, which they had not kept since the time of Christ. We provide all the timing indicators that prove from the prophecy of Daniel’s 70 weeks that this date is correct.

It has generally been agreed upon that the Great Tribulation is in the second half of the 70th week, and we too agree with that. Jacob’s Trouble follows the Great Tribulation, and therefore takes place after the 70 weeks have ended. Jacob’s Trouble follows the same pattern as the Great Tribulation and is of roughly the same duration (a time, times and half a time, or three and a half years).

Now we need to fit the above puzzle pieces into the timeline from the aforementioned article.

Note the Great Tribulation and Satan’s Wrath are both cut short, and almost by the same amount. This cutting short reduces the actual time of testing, but the overall amount of elapsed time remains the same. Thus, when the Great Tribulation is cut short, the time of Jacob’s Trouble begins, but the Rapture still occurs when it would have originally, had the time not been cut short. Thus, when the Rapture takes place, Jacob’s Trouble is already underway.

Why did we choose the 5th of December, 2026 as the end date for the Wrath of Satan?

It’s due to the prophecy in Daniel 8 about the 2,300 days, which starts with the abomination of desolation and ends with the sanctuary (saints) being cleansed.

Daniel 8:13-14Then I heard a holy one speaking; and another holy one said to that certain one who was speaking, “How long will the vision be, concerning the daily sacrifices and the transgression of desolation, the giving of both the sanctuary and the host to be trampled underfoot?”

And he said to me, “For two thousand three hundred days; then the sanctuary shall be cleansed.”

The abomination of desolation was on the 18th of August, 2020 (see above chart). Adding 2,300 days to that date brings us to the 5th of December, 2026.

That date is also the first day of Hanukkah, the Feast of Dedication of the temple after it was cleansed following the historical abomination of desolation in the days of the Maccabees, around 167 BC.

Incredibly, in 2026 the 5th of December falls on the 24th of the 9th month in the Hebrew calendar, which just happens to be the exact same day the foundation of the temple was laid after the return from the captivity in Babylon (Haggai 2:18).

These are further amazing confirmations that these dates are accurate. For confirmation of the other dates, refer to the aforementioned article.

We are assuming Jacob’s Trouble started with the October 7th, 2023 attack on Israel by Hamas, which in hindsight seems like the most likely date. Using that as the date on which the Great Tribulation ended and Jacob’s Trouble started, the number of days in the shortened Great Tribulation are 1,145, and the number of days in the shortened Jacob’s Trouble are 1,155, a difference of just 10.

With the Great Tribulation being shortened and overlapped by Jacob’s Trouble, the total number of years from the start of the 70th week until the end of the wrath is reduced from 10.5 to exactly 10 — the same number of years of persecution that the church was warned of in Revelation 2:10, using the common day to a year reckoning.

We’ve all been expecting a “seven year tribulation” but it’s been there all along. Ten years.

The “end-times”, from the start of Daniel’s 70th week until the end of Armageddon, is ten years.

Bite 12 — The Rapture

1 Thessalonians 4:16-17For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.

We need to clarify a common (and understandable) misconception. The dead in Christ in this passage does not refer to all the saints who have ever lived and died in the flesh, whose bodies have suffered corruption. They will be raised as part of the first resurrection, but that is not at this time. We won’t be covering that resurrection in this article.

The dead in Christ are those members of the Bride and her companions (the wise virgins) who have committed sins worthy of death. They are faithful believers but are spiritually dead. They are brands plucked from the fire, like Joshua their High Priest in Zechariah 3:2.

Their dead spirits will be revived first. Then both they and those who are still living and who have remained faithful will be caught up to meet Jesus in the air.

Based on the dual fulfilments we’ve mentioned, our understanding is that the first fulfilment of the Rapture, being for the faithful Bride—the male Child of Revelation 12—will be a spiritual catching up. We will meet Jesus in the spirit and our spirits will be joined to His. Thus the rapture itself may not be at all what we are expecting.

There is, however, going to be another rapture at the 7th trumpet, which will be for the wedding guests with white robes. That second fulfilment of the rapture will be more like what we have expected to see, with bodily resurrection, but that won’t be until after the trumpet judgements.

The following passage from Isaiah shows that after the rapture the Bride will hide herself for a while, until the wrath is over. That would be consistent with the Bride being changed (spiritually) but in the physical there may be little evidence that anything has changed. The Bride won’t be revealed in all her glory until the Wedding Feast (Revelation 19:8).

Isaiah 26:19-20Your dead shall live;
Together with my dead body they shall arise [the Rapture].
 Awake and sing, you who dwell in dust; 
For your dew is like the dew of herbs,
 And the earth shall cast out the dead.

Come, my people, enter your chambers,
And shut your doors behind you; 
Hide yourself, as it were, for a little moment, 
Until the indignation [the Wrath] is past.

It may even be that not everyone will be raptured at once, but that the rapture occurs over a longer period of time, with each individual being transformed at a day and time of the Father’s choosing. This could be the reason why of that day and hour no one knows (Matthew 24:36).

The Rapture may well go unnoticed, for those not raptured.

Bite 13 — The Mark of the Beast

In our earlier article about Daniel’s 70 weeks we made the seemingly outrageous claim that the Covid jab was the mark of the beast. We stand by that claim. However, the astute reader may have realised that that too is going to have two fulfilments.

The first, we have already experienced. It was indeed a time of trial and testing, but it may also have been a trial run, testing the rollout and identifying problems before the main event.

We used to disagree with Chuck Missler, who famously stated that Christ isn’t going to beat up His Bride before the wedding, for the scriptures seemed to indicate otherwise. It now appears that Chuck was correct. The real beating is going to occur during the time of Jacob’s Trouble, a time from which the Bride will mercifully be kept safe (Revelation 3:10). Jesus did, after all, suffer on our behalf, and He did say that His burden was light—at least, for those who believe in Him and keep His commandments.

That will not be the case for those who have to make their decision during God’s Wrath—known as the valley of decision. It is looking increasingly possible that the World Health Organisation’s Pandemic Treaty is going to bind all nations to follow their direction in the event of another pandemic, and already we’re hearing rumblings that they’re planning one. If so, this time it will not be optional, and those who take the proffered jab will have no further hope of redemption, as the scriptures state.

God has given us fair warning.

Turn to Jesus and buy your wedding garments now, before it’s too late.

Final Thoughts

Jesus warned us that a house divided against itself cannot stand. We’ve been divided against ourselves for too long because we each thought our rapture timing view was the right one, and our brethren were wrong. But really, we have all been right, depending on how we define the words we use.

Pre-trib is right, if by tribulation we are referring to God’s Wrath.

Mid-trib is right, if by tribulation we are referring to the combined tribulations of the Great Tribulation and God’s Wrath.

Post-trib is right, if by tribulation we are referring to the Great Tribulation.

Pre-wrath is the most right of all, as it correctly differentiates between the Great Tribulation and God’s Wrath.

Even those who claim Jesus won’t return until Armageddon could be correct, because prior to then we meet Him in the air.

The point is, it doesn’t really matter who was right and who was wrong, so long as we are ready.

Furthermore, if we’re right about the timing herein, the rapture could occur at any time, or it could even have occurred or be occurring, and we may have no idea unless it happens to us (and we understand what is happening).

Just as importantly, if we’re right, the period of time known as the Wrath of God will have already started. Those who are raptured will be kept from (or guarded through) these trying times, and will be used by God to help others who call out to the Lord from now on.

Matthew 9:37-38Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.”

Joel 2:32Whoever calls on the name of the Lord [Jesus] shall be saved.