I was going to be going with some friends to a "Prophecy Conference" in a city not too far from home.
There was a question on my mind concerning the timing of the Rapture. So before the conference, I brought my thoughts to the Lord.
From the things we do know about "the last days," one thing that stood out glaringly to me is that the Temple in Jerusalem isn't yet built. The Book of Daniel -- and this passage is quoted by Jesus himself -- says that three and a half years into the Tribulation, the Antichrist goes into the Temple, into the Holy of Holies, and proclaims that he himself is God. This is called "The Abomination of Desolation."
Well, not only is the Temple not built, the Temple Mount itself is still under the jurisdiction of the Palestinians. So, I was thinking, by the time it takes for Israel to get control of the Temple Mount, and THEN considering the time it will take to build the Temple, bearing in mind that the previous Temple was compared to the seven wonders of the world, you're talking how many years for all this to be accomplished? "So," I opined to the Lord, "it's going to be awhile, right?"
Listen to this story.
We went to Portland and attended the conference. On the last day, we were just as alert and interested as during the first hour, so interesting was all we heard that weekend. Then .... suddenly ....a woman comes into the hall, goes onto the stage, and whispers into the speaker's ear, then leaves. The speaker turns to us and tells us that there's been some conflict in the schedule, and that we have to leave the hall, because a WEDDING is scheduled to take place now in this hall.
WE WERE INTERRUPTED BY A WEDDING! ! !
For those of you who don't understand -- the Rapture is when Christ comes for His Bride, the church.
The chills went up and down my spine, the way it always does when you realize the Lord has touched you. Instantly I knew that this was the direct answer to my question, "you can't be coming anytime soon, because so much needs to happen first, right?"
NOTHING needs to happen before the Rapture. In fact, this very point had been made during the teachings at the conference. Yes I did "catch" that fact, but never as powerfully as when the Lord went out of his way to show me personally that our lives are going to be INTERRUPTED BY A WEDDING!
