RAPCON 1

Following the horrific terrorist attack by Hamas on October 7, 2023, I wrote an article entitled "Where Is This Going?" In that article, I discuss where I thought things were headed in the Middle East from the viewpoint of Bible prophecy.

One of the topics I discuss in that article concerns the nature of some of the prophetic particulars in regard to the attack of Gog-Magog described in the book of Ezekiel. And in light of recent events in the Middle East, I feel compelled to revisit that and some related issues.

Of course, I didn't know any better than anyone else what the next two years might bring. But after watching the Israeli military go after Hamas like a hungry cat going after a pack of scurrying rats for the last two years, suddenly we see God at work stirring the Middle East pot once again. And as He stirs that pot, He is making good use of the spoon He saw fit to place in the White House in January 2025 in the person of Donald Trump.

Now, thanks in large part to what some are calling Trump's 20-point Gaza peace plan, to the surprise of many we are suddenly looking at a possible end to the war in Gaza (or at least a substantial slacking off in the fighting). And as the global push for a two-state solution reaches fever pitch, all of a sudden words like "peace in the Middle East" are being heard in conversations and speeches around the globe. And I don't have to tell most of you what all this is beginning to feel like:

It's beginning to feel like

end-time prophecy just

shifted into a higher gear.

Although hurdles still remain and Hamas continues to squabble over some of the terms of Trump's plan, particularly concerning their disarmament, officially the war is over...at least on paper. Of course, the boots-on-the-ground reality could yet take a different turn. And I say that because within a week after signing the agreement, Hamas violated the ceasefire at least three times, and Israel responded forcefully. Oh, and Hamas claims they can't find over a dozen of the bodies of deceased hostages they promised to return.

So, at this point one would certainly be justified in asking the same question I posed two years ago:

Where is this going?

Rather than hit this question head on, however,  I plan to take a different tack on things this time and review some of the connections between three of the key events in the end-time scenario: the Rapture, the attack of Gog-Magog, and the Tribulation. I want to go over some of the reasons why I am convinced from Scripture that the catching away of the Church must precede God's crushing of the Gog-Magog coalition, and why God's crushing of the Gog-Magog coalition must precede the launching of Tribulation. In the process, I also want to toss something I wrote in that October 2023 article in the trash can.

And as prophetic events unfold and develop before our eyes, I will have more to say about something I call RAPCON 1—an obvious play on words inspired by DEFCON 1, which is the highest possible state of alert for a nuclear war.

The catching away and the crushing

Opinions certainly vary on some of the details of Gog-Magog—and although some highly respected Bible teachers disagree, I personally am convinced from Scripture that this attempted existential attack on Israel by a coalition of nations that includes Russia, Iran, Turkey, and several Northern African nations must of necessity come after the Rapture and before the Tribulation. And as I have discussed before, I am convinced Gog-Magog is in fact a key event that leads to the scenario that gives rise to the treaty of Daniel 9:27 that launches the Tribulation in the first place.

And I will continue to be so convinced until things turn out differently.

Which I admit they could. But due to my view of Gog-Magog as a key event that (a) follows the Rapture and (b) precedes and helps lead to the launching of the Tribulation, it is easy and natural for me to view it as a key piece of the prophetic puzzle that knits together other key end-time events.

One of the reasons I am convinced from Scripture that the Rapture occurs before Gog-Magog is because Ezekiel makes it clear that God's intervention in this attack is His way of turning His face back to His people Israel after almost two thousand years, as He prepares to draw a remnant of them to faith in their Messiah during the Tribulation:

²⁹Neither will I hide my face any more from them: [which is basically another way of saying "I will turn my face back to them"] for I have poured out my spirit on the house of Israel, said the Lord GOD.

(Ezekiel 39:29 AKJV / emphasis & [comments] added)

As God turns His face back to Israel, the fact that God tends to deal with Israel and the Church separately suggests that He is finished with His dealings with the Church and so the Church Age is complete, which means we are home and dry. Many overlook the fact that Paul strongly supports this idea in Romans:

²⁵For I would not, brothers, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fullness [Greek: pléróma] of the Gentiles be come in. [See remarks below.]

²⁶And so all Israel [i.e. Jews who change their minds about the Messiah] shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:

²⁷For this is my covenant to them, when I shall take away their sins. [See remarks below.]

(Romans 11:25–27 AKJV / emphasis & [comments] added)

The blindness Paul speaks of is clearly part and parcel of God turning His face away from His people temporarily because they rejected and crucified their Messiah. At the same time, God uses it as an opportunity to begin to focus His attention on this new body of believers known as the Church.

In this context, "the Gentiles" mentioned in verse 25 refers to the newfound Church, and "until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in" is unquestionably a reference to the Rapture. The word Paul uses here (pléróma) was used in those days to indicate that the entirety of a ship's crew and all designated passengers were on board and so the ship was ready to set sail.

And as soon as that last person gets saved and the body of Christ is complete, the Church will be prepared to cast off.

Thus, Paul is telling us that Israel's blindness will be removed after the Rapture. And Ezekiel is telling us that when God delivers Israel from the attack of Gog-Magog, He will no longer hide His face from them (i.e. He will turn His face back to them) and will remove the blindness Paul speaks of.

The pieces all fit together:

Rapture → Gog-Magog

In verse 27 above, the salvation of the Jewish remnant comes during Daniel's 70th Week, when approximately one-third of Israel will come to faith in their Messiah and be protected throughout the Great Tribulation so they can be ushered into the kingdom at the Second Coming, and the remaining two-thirds who continue to reject that Messiah will perish (Zech. 13:8–9).

Now, I admit that for me personally, if we are in a situation where the pre-conditions of Gog-Magog that we will review momentarily are all satisfied, thus giving that attack a prophetic green light, I sometimes feel as if the Rapture is a wee bit more imminent than usual. It's imminent with a capital "imm." It's like when the nukes are ready to start falling and it's DEFCON 1. Except in this case I might say...

It's RAPCON 1.

If it's go for launch for Gog-Magog, then anticipating the Rapture just feels like slightly clearer sailing. In that case, nothing else would have to happen after the Rapture to satisfy the pre-conditions that green-light Gog-Magog. It could be (and I am inclined to believe it will be) a classic case of bada-bing bada-boom: The Rapture occurs (removing the Restrainer), Satan makes that evil thought arise in Gog's mind, the players gather for the attack, God stomps their guts out, saves His people Israel, and the events that lead to the treaty of Daniel 9:27 that launches the Tribulation are off and running.

It strikes me that many people aren't familiar with these so-called "pre-conditions" for Gog-Magog. I devote a portion of my October 2023 article to these pre-conditions, but I feel compelled to review them here because I have a bit more to say in their regard in the remainder of this article.

The checklist

Ezekiel's prophecy in chapters 38–39 tells us some prophetically significant information about Israel's future and its condition in the end-times. For example, Ezekiel makes it clear that this attack will come after Israel has been regathered into their land and re-established as a nation in the last days (Ezek. 38:8). And as everyone knows, this part of Ezekiel's prophecy has certainly been fulfilled, culminating on May 15, 1948.

But he also mentions three pre-conditions that would be true of Israel at the time of the attack of Gog-Magog. Here is the passage in question:

⁷Be you [i.e. Gog] prepared, and prepare for yourself, you, and all your company that are assembled to you, and be you a guard to them. ⁸After many days you shall be visited: in the latter years [i.e. the last days] you shall come into the land that is brought back from the sword, and is gathered out of many people, against the mountains of Israel, which have been always waste: but it is brought forth out of the nations, [i.e. in the last days, the Jewish people will be regathered into their land from all over the world] and they shall dwell safely [Hebrew: betach—see comments below] all of them. ⁹You shall ascend and come like a storm, you shall be like a cloud to cover the land, you, and all your bands, and many people with you.

¹⁰Thus said the Lord GOD; It shall also come to pass, that at the same time shall things come into your mind, and you shall think an evil thought: ¹¹And you shall say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; [see comments below] I will go to them that are at rest, [some translations read "a peaceful people," and the Hebrew is shaqat] that dwell safely, [Hebrew: betach] are all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates,

(Ezekiel 38:7–11 AKJV / emphasis & [comments] added)

Besides the fact that Israel will be regathered into her land and re-established as a nation in the last days, Ezekiel also mentions three specific pre-conditions that must be true of Israel at the time of the attack of Gog-Magog, and these three pre-conditions are as follows:

1. Israel must be a land of unwalled villages (v. 11).

2. Israel must be dwelling safely (vv. 8, 11).

3. Israel must be at rest (v. 11).

Although nos. 2 and 3 might sound like more or less the same idea, the Hebrew used is different and suggests two different things. Let's consider these three items, and the last one is key.

1. Unwalled villages.

A number of good people have a tendency to automatically interpret Ezekiel's references to "unwalled villages" to mean that Israel cannot have any walls around anything throughout the entire country. No walls along any part of their border. Then they use this wooden interpretation to argue that Gog-Magog cannot occur until Israel tears down all the walls they built to separate Israel proper from much of the West Bank in order to limit Palestinian hostility in the region...a move that would require some radical geopolitical changes.

But is that what Ezekiel actually means?

I am convinced this is not what Ezekiel means. Consider: Ezekiel lived in the Middle East in the 7th–6th centuries BC, and at that time in that part of the world it was common for cities to be fortified by walls for protection from attacks by any enemy groups that happened to be in the region. So, for people in Ezekiel's day, an "unwalled village" was basically a city that lived in relative peace rather than in fear of enemy attacks.

Of course, if such an unwalled city were attacked for whatever reason, it would be an easy target since it was undefended by the walls that protected most cities. As a result, that city would most likely fall and be taken over or destroyed by the attacking group.

So, Ezekiel's emphasis here is simply that at the time of the attack of Gog-Magog, cities throughout Israel will enjoy a state of relative peace—they will not be living in a state of constant fear of imminent attacks by an enemy. People won't be hiding in bunkers. Life will go on pretty much as normal for the great majority of people in Israel.

Is Israel in such a condition today? Absolutely. Although they have been involved in conflicts over the years, and there have certainly been isolated instances of violence in the nation (like October 7, 2023), generally speaking life in Israel goes on pretty much as normal for the great majority of people. They may be a bit on their guard in certain situations, but they certainly don't live in a state of constant fear of imminent enemy attacks.

So this one is good to go.

Pre-condition no. 1: GO

2. Dwelling safely.

The phrase "dwelling safely" is used twice, once in v. 8 and once in v. 11, and in both cases the Hebrew word is betach. Note that the idea of betach is closely related to what we just discussed concerning "unwalled villages."

The word betach, especially when it is used in reference to a nation, is normally translated as follows:

betach (n.) — In regard to a nation: a condition of peace and security resulting from complete confidence in one's ability to defend oneself.

In other words, the simple reason that Israel is a "land of unwalled villages" today where life goes on as normal for most Israelis is because they know Israel possesses a very powerful military that they know can do a good job of defending their nation.

So is Israel in a condition of betach today? Absolutely.

Pre-condition no. 2: GO

3. At rest.

Although nos. 1 and 2 are satisfied, no. 3 is the one in question.

And this one is black or white.

The Hebrew word used is a form of shaqat (quiet, undisturbed, calm, at peace, at rest). This is one of two Hebrew words the prophet Ezekiel uses to describe Israel at the time of the attack of Gog-Magog, the other being betach—security born of confidence in one's ability to defend oneself.

Israel has basically had a healthy amount of betach ever since they defeated the five enemy nations who jumped on them the day after they declared independence on May 15, 1948. And nothing that has occurred since then has caused it to dim significantly.

But there are questions in the minds of many concerning the interpretation of the word shaqat, and those questions tend to lead them to very different views concerning Gog-Magog.

There are some outstanding Bible teachers who are convinced that the word shaqat implies that there will be total peace and tranquility all throughout Israel at the time of the attack. To hear some describe it, you'd think the word shaqat meant that at the time of the attack, life in Israel must be like the opening scene from The Sound of Music. No violence. No crime. Peace, love, and tranquility on every street corner throughout the entire country.

The problem, however, is that this is highly unrealistic. I mean, when is life ever like this all throughout any country? That's easy: Never!

Understand that when both the words betach and shaqat are used in reference to a nation, they are typically used with a rather specific meaning. When shaqat is used in regard to a nation, it is normally interpreted as follows:

shaqat (v.) — A nation that is shaqat is not actively engaging in a war on a national scale with any other nation or people group.

(See Joshua 11:23; 14:15). In other words, the nation is at rest from war with another nation. And as I said, this one is black or white:

Either they are at war, or they have stood down from war.

That is, the nation may have been at war up until recently, but now they have officially ended that conflict and the fighting has largely ceased. There may be a few skirmishes here and there, but they are no longer at war in a full-blown, national sense with another nation or people group.

Strong's Concordance generalizes this word's Old Testament usage this way:

The distribution [of the 41 usages of shaqat throughout the Old Testament] traces Israel's checkered history of rest [or peace] granted when they trusted the Lord and turmoil [which typically involved armed conflict with surrounding nations or people groups] when they departed from Him.

(emphasis & [comments] added)

— Strong's Concordance [Source]

So does the word shaqat apply to Israel at this point? Good question.

Pre-condition no. 3: KEEP READING

Somewhat stretchy

I feel compelled to insert this brief section at this point in order to straighten out something I wrote in my October 2023 article that I feel is in error. This is in keeping with my philosophy of "Go back, get it right, and move on."

Prior to the terrorist attack on Israel by Hamas on October 7, 2023, Israel was not at war with anyone as a nation. They were clearly in a state that could be legitimately characterized by the word shaqat. So, pre-condition no. 3 was clearly satisfied and Gog-Magog had a green light.

But the next day, all that suddenly changed.

The moment Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu officially declared war on Hamas on October 8, pre-condition no. 3 got switched off. I knew from that day forward until the war was over, it was a red light for Gog-Magog.

On October 8, 2023, the attack

of Gog-Magog became a NO GO.

When I sat down to write my article of October 2023, I was painfully aware of this. Judging from the nature of the situation in the Middle East between Israel and terrorist groups like Hamas, Hezbollah, and so on, I dreaded to speculate how long such a conflict could drag on...and up until the last couple of months, there was nothing happening in Gaza to assuage that dread.

Again, knowing that Gog-Magog cannot go down until some unknown future date can make the Rapture feel slightly less imminent for me (it's not, of course, but it's just easy for certain people like me to feel that way).

And as the war dragged on, I felt myself slipping into RAPCON 2...then 3.

As a result, while working on that article my creative side came to the fore. I felt compelled to figure out a scripturally plausible way around that red light, and force Gog-Magog back on track so it could happen at any time.

Now, Ezekiel makes it clear that the Gog-Magog scenario basically kicks off with an evil thought (to destroy Israel) arising in Gog's mind (Ezek. 38:10). But the possibility occurred to me that perhaps that evil thought had already entered Gog's mind prior to October 8, 2023—the day that pre-condition got switched off by Israel's official declaration of war.

By the fall of 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin (a prime candidate for the role of Gog) had already had a major falling out with Benjamin Netanyahu over his response to Russia's war with Ukraine (or the lack thereof in Putin's view), and a frustrated Putin had begun to harbor genuine ill will toward Israel. Plus, Russia had begun to cooperate militarily much more extensively with Iran—another major Gog-Magog player. In other words:

The Gog-Magog coalition was clearly beginning to gel.

As a result, it didn't seem all that unreasonable to me that the thought of wiping out Israel had at least entered Putin's mind before Israel's declaration of war with Hamas on October 8, 2023.

I speculated that perhaps the Gog-Magog scenario had officially kicked off when that evil thought arose in Gog's mind while Israel was in a state of shaqat prior to October 8 (just as Scripture requires), and that perhaps the ensuing outbreak of fighting between Israel and Hamas only amounted to a few preliminary skirmishes that would serve to get Israel riled up and in a fighting mood before the primary attack by Russia, Iran, Turkey, and several Northern African countries went down ("preliminary skirmishes" that Ezekiel neglected to mention for some odd reason).

Perhaps...perhaps...perhaps...

In that article two years ago, I openly admit this idea is "somewhat stretchy."

Now, two years later, I'm inclined to just go with "wrong."

I'm certain this whole idea was a bridge too far, and I only speculated in such a manner because I couldn't bear the possibility of an extended war between Israel and Iran's puppets dragging on for heaven knows how long, which I knew from Scripture would postpone Gog-Magog for heaven knows how long. And even though, as I keep emphasizing, this really has no bearing whatsoever on the timing of the Rapture, still...

I feared I'd be slogging along in RAPCON 3 for heaven knows how long.

But at this point, I have burned that "bridge too far" behind me.

BEFORE, not AFTER

As I mentioned at the outset, another thing I want to touch base with is why I believe Gog-Magog must happen before the Tribulation, and is in fact a key event that helps create the scenario that leads to the treaty of Daniel 9:27 that launches the Tribulation.

First of all, understand that Haram al-Sharif (the Muslims' Arabic name for the Temple Mount) is the third holiest site in Islam, after Mecca and Medina.

OK, straight up: For the entire Muslim world, the idea of the Jews building their Third Temple on the Temple Mount and thus desecrating (yes...desecrating) Haram al-Sharif in the most despicable manner any Muslim could imagine is beyond unthinkable. I once read that Jewish leaders don't even bring up the subject of building the Third Temple on the Temple Mount with regional Arab leaders because they're afraid they might have an apoplectic fit and launch an attack on Israel. But Scripture is clear:

There must be a temple on the Temple Mount by the midpoint of the Tribulation, because it will be desecrated at the abomination of desolation.

So what gives? I discuss this in my December 2021 article, and for the sake of simplicity I identify those who believe Gog-Magog occurs before the Tribulation as the BEFORE group, and those who believe it occurs after the beginning of the Tribulation as the AFTER group—and the AFTER group includes a number of outstanding Bible teachers that I greatly respect.

To hear people in the AFTER group tell it, sometime between now and the start of the Tribulation a fully empowered Muslim world (just as it is today) will, for reasons that are unclear, suddenly decide to roll over and become downright amenable to the idea of allowing Israel to so desecrate Haram al-Sharif. Suddenly they will be motivated to play ball with their Jewish bros and will voluntarily do an about face on the idea of desecrating Haram al-Sharif with the Jews' temple—something that would trigger WWIII today.

But I have yet to hear one single person of the AFTER persuasion offer a plausible explanation as to what will suddenly cause the Muslim world to do a complete 180 and suddenly have such a dramatic change of heart over what is an extremely touchy issue for Muslims all over the globe.

You think some smooth-talking, up-and-coming leader (as in the man who will become the Antichrist) will sweet-talk the Muslims into allowing such a thing?

If you know anything at all about the Muslim world in its current state, you know a lime popsicle has a better chance in the lake of fire.

Ain't happening...end of story. Yet Scripture indicates there will be a Third Temple, and I and many others believe that permission to begin building it will be part of the treaty of Daniel 9:27 that launches the Tribulation.

The AFTER group has no answers for this. None. In my experience, they don't talk about it all that much. They gloss over it, and just casually assume it will happen...somehow. It's just another piece of the prophetic puzzle, so they just jam it in there and move on. And the BEFORE group has a terse reply:

"Not good enough, hoss."

For the BEFORE group, however, explaining the Muslim world's sudden change of attitude is as easy as falling off the proverbial log. Why? Well, possibly because we take into consideration what God says He is going to do to the nations that gather for this attack—all of which are Muslim nations except Russia. And just what exactly is God going to do to these nations that are prepared to wipe out His people Israel? As I said earlier:

He's gonna stomp their guts out.

"Whoa...stop right there, Bible Dude!! Where does it say that?! My Bible doesn't say any such thing!! Now you're just making stuff up!!"

Got a KJV? No? Then go borrow your baby sister's and open it to Ezekiel 39. Over the years, many outstanding Bible expositors have argued about the interpretation of the following verse in Ezekiel's prophecy:

²And I will turn thee back, and leave but the sixth part of thee, [that is, destroy five-sixths of your forces] and will cause thee to come up from the north parts, and will bring thee upon the mountains of Israel:

(Ezekiel 39:2 KJV / emphasis & [comments] added)

And I quoted the King James Version for a reason. Virtually all modern English translations render this as "lead you on" or "drive you on," etc. Nothing about a "sixth part" of anything. At the heart of the issue lie two extremely similar Hebrew words, and each of them appears only once in the Old Testament, both in the book of Ezekiel (one in 39:2 and the other in 45:13).

• In Ezekiel 39:2, the Hebrew word Ezekiel uses is שָׁשָׁא (shasha). Strong's Exhaustive Concordance lists the meaning as to annihilate, or to leave but a sixth part. However, the NAS Exhaustive Concordance lists the meaning as (and I'm quoting here) "probably to lead on." [Source]

• In Ezekiel 45:13, the Hebrew word Ezekiel uses is שָׁשָׁה (shishshah). Strong's Exhaustive Concordance and the NAS Exhaustive Concordance both list the meaning as to divide into six parts; to leave a sixth part. [Source]

And you can go ahead and exhale, because I'm going to refrain from pushing this concordance business any further. It's like I always say:

When people who know 900 times more about something than I do can't agree, it's time for me to take a step back and chill.

Let me say this, however: From what I've read, I get the distinct feeling that the Holy Spirit may be engaging in a bit of word play. It is entirely possible that elements of both meanings (i.e. "to lead on" and "to leave a sixth part") are present in 39:2. Some excellent commentators have concluded that God is saying something along the following lines, and it makes sense to me:

"Listen up, Gog: I'm in control here, and I'm going to lead you on to wherever I want you for my own purposes. And in the process, I'm going to annihilate you by destroying all but a sixth part of your forces."

In other words:

"I will lead you on...and I'm gonna stomp your guts out."

But think about this: When God intervenes to save His people Israel from the attack of Gog-Magog, He does so by destroying five-sixths of the attacking forces. So when the smoke clears from Gog-Magog, the Muslim world at large will have just witnessed two of the most powerful Muslim military forces in the world (Iran and Turkey) plus several smaller ones get crushed by the hand of God before they can lay a finger on His people Israel. OK, key question:

Q. Do you suppose this might serve as a bit of an "attitude adjustment" for the Muslim world in regard to building the Third Temple on Haram al-Sharif?

A. "Mmm...I guess that could be arranged. Need any help building it?"

Here's the thing: Following God's devastating intervention on behalf of His people in Gog-Magog, the Muslim world will be greatly weakened militarily and Israel will be emboldened and empowered like they've never been in their modern history. So as Israel and the surrounding nations gather to forge a peace agreement in the wake of the devastating result of Gog-Magog...

It's the Muslims who will be

approaching the table with their

hats in their hands...not Israel.

Now, in regard to the giddily hyped two-state solution, understand that Israel has a reputation for being magnanimous in victory. For a stellar example of this, all you have to do is look back at what Israel did after the Six Day War in June 1967. In the wake of Israel's stunning victory in the Six Day War and the retaking of Jerusalem at its climax, Israeli General Moshe Dyan decided to graciously allow the Jordanian Waqf to maintain control of the Temple Mount—a move that mystified many Jews. In other words:

He voluntarily handed the holiest site in all of Israel back to a defeated enemy. But why?! Because he feared that taking control of the Dome of the Rock and the al-Aqsa mosque would set the stage for a future war.

Of course, some argue that all he did was make a future war inevitable. But we shouldn't be too hard on Moshe Dyan, since it is clear today that all of this was part of God's sovereign, end-time plan.

So as a rising world leader gathers the nations together for peace negotiations at some point following the divine devastation of Gog-Magog, I am convinced that an empowered Israel will demand and be granted permission to build their Third Temple on the Temple Mount (many Jewish experts are convinced they can accurately position the Third Temple and leave the Dome of the Rock untouched), and a humbled, weakened Muslim world that's a bit more in a mood to cooperate will acquiesce. In return, Israel will generously agree to some species of two-state solution as a magnanimous show of goodwill and their genuine desire for a lasting peace with their Muslim neighbors.

So as you can see:

These pieces all fit together

just as well as the first set:

Gog-Magog → Tribulation

And I trust you know where that leaves us:

It leaves us right at the doorstep of Daniel's 70th Week.

And it leaves us with one important question:

Are you ready?

Be ready. Stay ready.

As I said, as of October, the Gaza war is effectively over...at least on paper. Trump's 20-point peace plan has been signed, the hostages have been released, and although hurdles still remain to be worked out, at least the fighting has largely stopped except for a few ceasefire violations and the resultant spankings.

Some may disagree and things could always take an unexpected turn, but at this point, I don't think it's too much of a stretch to say Israel has regained a condition of shaqat...at least for the time being. So for people like me...

It's starting to feel like RAPCON 1 again!

But let me be the first to say that this situation could get flipped on its head in a Tokyo minute and before anyone can blink Israel and Hamas could be right back where they started two years ago...or worse. The point is that none of us knows exactly how God has arranged for this to play out.

And in regard to all this RAPCON business, it's time to come clean.

As I worked on this article, it finally slapped me upside the head—and I think it's something important that we should all remember. In reality...

We've been at RAPCON 1 for

almost two thousand years.

Why? Because according to Scripture, RAPCON 1 is actually the only RAPCON level there is. Anything less is simply failing to obey God's Word, because Scripture makes it clear that we are to live in a condition of RAPCON 1—eager, active anticipation of an event that could literally occur at any time, because its precise timing is under the sole authority of a sovereign God.

No? A few verses of Scripture to ponder:

¹¹For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, ¹²instructing us [Greek: a form of paideuó: to instruct, teach, educate, as a child being taught in a classroom] to the intent that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we would live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present age; ¹³looking for the blessed hope and appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, ¹⁴who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity and purify for himself a people for his own possession, zealous for good works.

(Titus 2:11–14 / emphasis & [comments] added)

Notice that it is the grace of God that teaches us to look forward to and anticipate the blessed hope of the Rapture.

And a "blessed hope" that you don't think can or will happen anytime soon can hardly be called "blessed."

¹⁶For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with God's trumpet. The dead in Christ will rise first, ¹⁷then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. So we will be with the Lord forever. ¹⁸Therefore comfort one another with these words.

(1 Thessalonians 4:16–18 / emphasis added)

If we're plodding along in what feels to us like RAPCON 3 or 4 and we truly feel as if the Rapture isn't going to happen anytime soon, then Paul's words are really not all that "comforting."

And that tells me we have no business feeling that way.

³If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again [and most agree He is speaking of the Rapture, not the Second Coming] and will receive you to myself; [and there's your first clue] that where I am, you may be there also.

(John 14:3 / emphasis & [comments] added)

Notice that when Jesus said "I will come again," He didn't feel the need to qualify it in any way. He didn't soften or temper it. He didn't say "I will come again...some fine day in the sweet by and by, so you can chill for now."

Oh no. He said:

I. Will. Come. Again.

Period. And the message could scarcely be any clearer:

Be ready. Stay ready.

And Scripture could scarcely be any clearer in regard to the imminence of the Rapture—this is a virtual no-brainer. There are, however, a few who subtly misread this word to some degree. So for the record, here is just about the best definition of "imminent" I can muster:

When we say the Rapture is "imminent," we mean that, as of this present moment, it could happen at any time because based on what God has revealed to us about His Word up to this point, we currently don't see any prophesied event in Scripture that absolutely must happen first.

— From "The Ins and Outs of Imminence" [Source]

So, as far as looking forward to the blessed hope of the Rapture is concerned, any events that are transpiring in the Middle East have no bearing on that, as important as they may be to the advancement of the prophetic scenario.

Yes, we should pay attention to what's happening between Israel and Hamas or Hezbollah or whoever. Yes, we should pay attention to what's happening in regard to the two-state solution. Yes, we should pay attention to the unfolding of the prophetic scenario so as to maintain a sense of how near the Rapture may be. And as far as whether or not Israel is currently in a state of shaqat...

Today, you could make that argument. Tomorrow, who knows?

The point I want to leave you with is that no matter what is happening in the world, there is absolutely no excuse for us to ever slip out of RAPCON 1...and if we do (as I have done on occasion), we need to get our noses back in the Word and get our heads screwed on straight ASAP.

So I'm in RAPCON 1 today, and

I'll be in RAPCON 1 tomorrow.

And with God's help, I'll be in RAPCON 1 when I hear that trumpet sound.

Will you?

From Greg Lauer @ A Little Strength—NOV '25

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