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“We’ll have to agree to disagree on that point.”

Link referenced: http://www.pre-trib.org/articles/view/doctrine-of-imminency-is-it-biblical

The link your cited which argues for the doctrine of imminency, uses the following scriptures to support this position. I will make my point after each reference.

Matt. 25:13
Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.

This is part of the Olivet discourse. In Matthew 24:36, He says, “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only.” This is indisputably in reference to His coming as we read of in verses 29 and 30, AFTER the Great Tribulation. The pre-tribulation view does not treat the second coming as imminent, before or during the 70th week of Daniel. Yet Christ says that when He comes at the end of the Great Tribulation, no one will know the day or hour. How is that?

If Christ says of His coming after the Great Tribulation will happen at a time no one knows, then could it happen at “any moment”? Obviously not. First the Great Tribulation must occur. He also describes His coming after the Great Tribulation as coming like a thief. The same description is used in the first letter to the Thessalonians and in Revelations.

John 14:1-3
Let not your heart be troubled; you 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 to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.

All those who believe in the literal, bodily, premillennial return of our Lord to the earth to reign recognize that the rapture means being with Christ. Nothing in this passage, to my knowledge, addresses the particular disagreement at hand.

Titus 2:13
Looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.

All of us consider the return of Christ to be our “blessed hope.” Again, nothing in this passage, to my knowledge, addresses the particular disagreement at hand.

1 Cor. 15:52
In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

The author of the article claims that this verse supports a distinction between the rapture of the church and the second coming at the end of the Great Tribulation. No such distinction exists in this passage.

1 Thessalonians 4:16-17
For 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.

Again, the author of the article claims that this verse supports a distinction between the rapture of the church and the second coming at the end of the Great Tribulation. No such distinction exists in this passage, either.

1 Thessalonians 1:10
And to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.

Once more, the author of the article claims that this verse supports a distinction between the rapture of the church and the second coming at the end of the Great Tribulation. No such distinction exists in this passage, either.

1 John 3:2-3
Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.

And one more time, the author of the article claims that this verse supports a distinction between the rapture of the church and the second coming at the end of the Great Tribulation. No such distinction exists in this passage, either.

For clarification, there is a distinction related to various aspects of Christ’s second coming. We meet Him in the air. But He will also return to the earth, as we read of Him planting His feet upon the Mt. Olivet and it splitting into two parts. First He will gather His saints to Him, later the wicked will be gathered up and removed. However, this does not support a second and third coming. It does not contradict a pre-wrath rapture. And it does not support imminency.

The author argues that “the Second Coming of Christ does not deal primarily with the saint but with the sinner” using the next 5 references.

Revelation 19:17-20
Then 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, that you may eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them, and the flesh of all people, free and slave, both small and great.” And I saw the beast, the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army. Then the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who worked signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image. These two were cast alive into the lake of fire burning with brimstone.

Revelation 20:1-3
Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; and he cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal on him, so that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were finished. But after these things he must be released for a little while.

Matthew 25:31-46
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. Then the King will say to those on His right hand, “Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.” Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, “Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?” And the King will answer and say to them, “Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.” Then He will also say to those on the left hand, “Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.” Then they also will answer Him, saying, “Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?” Then He will answer them, saying, “Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.” And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.

Zechariah 12:10
And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn.

Romans 11:26-27
And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written:
“The Deliverer will come out of Zion,
And He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob;
For this is My covenant with them,
When I take away their sins.”

One problem with using this dispensational view of Israel to support a pre-trib view is that Israel clearly will be deceived by the Anti-Christ. Jesus said that Israel rejected Him when He came in His Father’s name, but that they will receive one who is coming in his own name. It is only when Israel looks on Him whom they have pierced that they will sorrow unto repentance. This event will not be a secret rapture at the beginning of Daniel’s seventieth week. Nor will it be when Christ shows up at the end of it to defeat the anti-Christ. But it will occur when He visibly returns for the church AFTER the Great Tribulation but before the Day of Wrath as we read in Revelation 6 and 7.

Philippians 3:20
For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.

All believers, not just those misled by the pre-trib doctrine, eagerly await Christ’s return.

Titus 2:13
Looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.

Ditto.

Hebrews 9:28
So Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation.

How does the author claim there is a distinction between the rapture and second coming, deny that the rapture is the second coming, and then use this reference to the SECOND COMING to support us “looking” for His return? As I pointed out in the earlier post, we look, watch, and see the Day of the Lord, not by looking up at the sky, but by watching for the signs of His soon return. When we see ALL of those signs, then we will start looking up, because THEN and only then will His return be imminent. Those who are expecting Him before these signs are those who will later say, “Behold my Lord delays His coming,” but in reality, Christ will come exactly when His Father has determined for Him to return. No sooner. No later.

1 Thessalonians 1:10
And to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.

Wrath. Not tribulation. We all must go through tribulation. Tribulation is NOT wrath.

1 Thessalonians 5:6
Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober.

Again, watching is not looking up but looking for the signs.

1 Thessalonians 4:18
Therefore comfort one another with these words.

It is even more comforting to those who are going through great trials. Pre-tribbers often claim that knowing we must go through the Great Tribulation takes away hope. But we are to pray to escape all these things. We must endure to the end. When you accept the reality that tribulation is NOT optional for the believer, then it becomes obvious that tribulation does not make Christ’s return less hopeful but much more.

1 Thessalonians 4:15
For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep.

Expecting Christ to come in one’s lifetime is not the same as believing He might come at any moment. I also believe He will come in my lifetime. I do not believe He will arrive without the signs of His return, which He provided for us in scripture, happening first.

1 Thessalonians 4:17
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.

Again, I also expect to remain until the coming of the Lord. This in no way requires believing He may come at any moment.

2 Thessalonians 2:1
Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you...

The author says, “Many have concluded that the expectation of some was so strong they had ceased their work and had to be exhorted to return to their labors.” And Paul corrected this by teaching them that the Day of the Lord would NOT come until certain signs had been fulfilled. In verse 3 he wrote: “Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition.” Again, the Day of the Christ is AFTER the Great Tribulation. And it is when Christ will rapture the church. Revelation 8, onward, is predominantly about this Day of Wrath.

1 Timothy 6:14
That you keep this commandment without spot, blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ’s appearing.

Once more, I also expect to remain until the coming of the Lord. This in no way requires believing He may come at any moment.

Hebrews 10:37
For yet a little while,
And He who is coming will come and will not tarry.

Christ’s return is rightfully described as certain, soon, sudden, and surprising. None of these things infer that He may return at any moment or that His return will be signless. Teaching that His return is signless causes those who identify as Christians to NOT look for the signs which Christ gave us.

2 Thessalonians 3:10-12
For even when we were with you, we commanded you this: If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat. For we hear that there are some who walk among you in a disorderly manner, not working at all, but are busybodies. Now those who are such we command and exhort through our Lord Jesus Christ that they work in quietness and eat their own bread.

Paul also told them what signs to look for that would precede the Day of Christ.

James 5:8
You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.

Patience as a requirement makes more sense to those who are suffering tribulation.

Revelation 22:20
He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming quickly.”
Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus!

Again, the certain, soon, sudden, surprising return of Christ need not be signless.

2 Thessalonians 1:8
in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.

The author claims that the language of this passage distinguishes this event from the rapture, describing instead the wrath God will be pouring out on the world. The problem is that the passage clearly teaches that this IS the rapture. In the preceding verse Paul writes, “and to give you who are troubled rest with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels.” Does the author believe that our rest will NOT occur at the rapture but rather after Daniel’s seventieth week? The author claims this is an event distinct from the rapture, yet the passage says we will enter into rest at the same exact time that God pours out fiery wrath on the wicked. This simply can not be reconciled with a pre-trib view. We enter rest and angels pour out fir judgments. Sounds an awful lot like what I’ve been describing as pre-wrath, as we find in Revelation 6-8.