Nearly 2,000 years after its birth on the Day of Pentecost, the Church of God sighs for the return of her Beloved — she sighs for the return of Him who purchased her with His own blood: the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. And it is not only she who sighs for the great Day of the Lord, but all of creation as well. Indeed, creation waits with earnest expectation for the revelation of the Sons of God — the Salvation ready to be revealed in these last days: the Rapture of the Church. The Rapture of the Church is that great and wondrous event that the world today is on the verge of witnessing. By it will be definitively sealed the final destination of every human being upon earth: either eternal rest with God, or eternal torment alongside Satan and his angels. This Day of the Rapture of the Church will therefore be a day of salvation for some, but also a day of great desolation for others. It will be a day of joy, of gladness, and of triumph for all who are raptured — but also a day of bitterness, anguish, and suffering for those who are left behind. It will thus be the beginning of eternal life for some and the beginning of eternal death for others. And this day of the Rapture of the Church is very near — very near indeed, and coming in great haste. To better understand all of this, let us begin by examining the times and seasons that will precede the Rapture of the Church and the Marriage Supper with Jesus Christ.

Several passages of the Bible help us to better understand — and more clearly characterize — the times and seasons that will precede the Rapture of the Church and the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. Through these passages, the Bible teaches us that they will be times and seasons characterized by a profound distraction on the part of men — a distraction generated by man's attachment to vanity. The Bible prophesies that they will be times and seasons marked by the growth of sin, that is, sin will reach its peak in those days. It further prophesies that they will be times and seasons marked by an apparent peace and safety throughout the world. Finally, the Bible prophesies that those times preceding the Rapture of the Church will be times and seasons of great suffering and tribulation for the Church of God. Let us therefore begin by examining each of these seasons in turn.

Times and Seasons of Profound Distraction

Let us examine the passage of Matthew 24:37–38.

Verse 37
But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

Through this verse 37 of Matthew 24, the Lord gives us a characterization of the times and seasons that will precede the Rapture. The Word tells us that "as it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be at the return of the Lord Jesus Christ." Why did the Lord choose to compare the time of Noah to our own time? The answer is that what took place in the time of Noah is a perfect picture or illustration of what will occur in these last days. The manner in which God saved Noah — the one righteous man of his time (Genesis 6:9) — from the flood, will be the same in our day with the righteous who constitute the true Church of God. Noah is a type of the Church, and his entering the Ark is a type of the Rapture. It is therefore not without reason that the Lord compares the times that preceded Noah's entry into the Ark with the times that will precede the Rapture of the Church. What, then, happened before Noah entered the Ark — before he was saved? Verse 38 gives us the answer.

Verse 38
For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark.

We observe from this verse 38 of Matthew 24 that the times preceding Noah's entry into the Ark — his salvation — were marked by the carelessness of men toward God, and by their carelessness toward the salvation God was offering them (2 Peter 2:5). What mattered to these men was nothing more than the pleasures the world of that time afforded them — marriage, eating. And the Word of God tells us that the times preceding the Rapture of the Church will be like this. Yes, the times preceding the Rapture of the Church will be marked by a powerful attachment of man to the things of this world, to the cares of this world — in short, to vanity. And we already see this in these last days. Yes, dear friends, we can all see in these days preceding the Rapture of the Church that what matters to man is nothing but his earthly life: everything man is doing, he is doing for himself, he is doing for his belly. What matters to him in these last days is nothing but his work, his business, his affairs; we see how men are denying God because of all these things. We see in these last times that what matters to man is money — money again and again; what matters to man is marriage — to the point where men even commit incest for the sake of it. Men no longer regard God at all. They prefer to give themselves over to the passions and pleasures this world offers them rather than to God.

Yes, beloved, in these days preceding the Rapture of the Church, men prefer to give themselves over to sex, to drugs, to alcohol, to sports, to video games, to films and series of every kind — rather than to God their Saviour. Even those who call themselves born-again Christians are being swept along by this current. Hence the apostasy. What I mean by this is that before the Rapture of the Church takes place, many will no longer believe in God — they will abandon the faith because of eating and drinking, because of the cares of this world. The biblical passage of 2 Timothy 3:1–5 alone summarizes the times that will precede the Rapture of the Church.

2 Timothy 3:1–5
¹This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. ²For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, ³Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, ⁴Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; ⁵Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.

Just as in the time of Noah — that preacher of righteousness (2 Peter 2:5) — God in these times preceding the wedding feast is calling every man to take part in His nuptials. But what is man's response to this call of the Lord?

Matthew 22:2–6
²The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king, which made a marriage for his son, ³And sent forth his servants to call them that were bidden to the wedding: and they would not come. ⁴Again, he sent forth other servants, saying, Tell them which are bidden, Behold, I have prepared my dinner: my oxen and my fatlings are killed, and all things are ready: come unto the marriage. ⁵But they made light of it, and went their ways, one to his farm, another to his merchandise: ⁶And the remnant took his servants, and entreated them spitefully, and slew them.

Luke 14:16–20
¹⁶Then said he unto him, A certain man made a great supper, and bade many: ¹⁷And sent his servant at supper time to say to them that were bidden, Come; for all things are now ready. ¹⁸And they all with one consent began to make excuse. The first said unto him, I have bought a piece of ground, and I must needs go and see it: I pray thee have me excused. ¹⁹And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to prove them: I pray thee have me excused. ²⁰And another said, I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.

These are the various responses that men are giving to God in these times preceding His wedding feast. Their hearts being so utterly saturated by vanity, men no longer trouble themselves with the salvation of their souls; they no longer heed the call to salvation that God extends to them; they have become wholly irreligious — loving work more than God, loving marriage and all manner of vanity more than God. These are the times and seasons that precede the Rapture of the Church. How many men and women in these last days does the Lord invite to take part in His great feast? How many are those who decline the invitation to the wedding feast with Jesus Christ because of the love of the world?

All of this widespread distraction will cause the great Day of the Lord to come upon men as birth pangs surprise a pregnant woman. Because of this attachment to the things of this world, men will be startled and confounded when they see Christ Jesus coming upon the clouds with glory and power. On that day, men will be astounded to see the heavens shaken and the stars falling from the sky at the brilliance of the return of Jesus Christ. They will not know what to do. Only those who will have kept faith in Jesus Christ — by renouncing the passions and things of this world — will not be taken by surprise on that day.

Luke 21:25–27
²⁵And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; ²⁶Men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. ²⁷And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.

1 Thessalonians 5:4
But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.

Times and Seasons When Sin Will Reach Its Peak

What else had taken place in the time of Noah, beyond man's attachment to vanity? Genesis 6:5 gives us the answer.

Genesis 6:5
And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

In the time of Noah, sin — the wickedness of men — had reached an extraordinary level. You will notice that the Bible tells us that "not a single righteous thought remained in man — that every imagination of the thoughts of men was directed only toward evil." Can you picture for a moment the world in which Noah lived before his entry into the Ark? Can you picture for a moment the number of abominations committed every single day? You therefore understand that in the time of Noah, beyond man's attachment to vanity, sin had also reached its peak — and the entire human race was completely corrupted and perverted by sin.

And what does the Lord say of Noah's time in relation to ours? The Lord says that what came to pass in the time of Noah will likewise come to pass before His return. That being so, just as humanity was corrupted by sin before Noah entered the Ark, so it will be before the Church is raptured. Just as sin reached its peak before Noah entered the Ark, so it will be before the Church is raptured. Just as abominations were being committed before Noah entered the Ark, so it will be before the Church is raptured. In our own day we already have a foretaste of these abominations through same-sex marriages, through hideous acts such as intimate relations with robots and animals. We have a foretaste of this corruption of humanity through people who, born as men, desire to become women — on the pretext that they do not feel comfortable as men — or vice versa. We see this corruption of the human race through abominable laws being passed here and there: laws authorizing abortion and thus murder; laws declaring men and women interchangeable; laws protecting all those abominable and ungodly people known as LGBT — lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and transsexuals — and many other such laws. This is precisely the mystery of iniquity of which the Apostle Paul spoke in 2 Thessalonians 2:7.

Prepare yourselves, therefore, to see things far worse than what you see now; prepare yourselves to live in a world that will be completely darkened by sin; prepare yourselves to see the corruption of humanity reach a point of no return. Do you now understand the meaning of the passage in Matthew 24:12?

Times and Seasons of Apparent Peace and Safety

1 Thessalonians 5:1–3
¹But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. ²For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. ³For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.

The times and seasons that will precede the Rapture of the Church will be marked by an illusion of peace and safety throughout the world. In those days, men will believe they are living in security and will suspect nothing. How can we explain the fact that, before the Rapture of the Church, men will be in a delusion of peace and safety, completely unsuspecting? How can this be explained? Perhaps we should ask ourselves this question: can anyone speak of times of peace and safety without there having first been a time of trouble or war? Ecclesiastes 3:8 tells us that there is a time for war and a time for peace. We understand, therefore, that before men proclaim a time of peace and safety, a general chaos or war must first fall upon the earth — and this time of global chaos will be brought about by a world war: the Third World War.

The Bible (Revelation 9:13–18) prophesies that it will begin in the Middle East — and this we can already perceive through the tensions that exist today between Iran and Israel, between Iran and the United States, and between Israel and the Arab states. It is evident that this part of the globe is a source of instability for world peace. The Bible (Revelation 9:13–18) prophesies that it will be nuclear — which can already be inferred from the fact that all the major world powers have equipped themselves with nuclear weapons and bunkers (nuclear shelters). The Bible (Revelation 9:13–18) further prophesies that it will kill a third of mankind — which, based on the current world population, amounts to more than 2.2 billion people.

Imagine the chaos that will be upon the earth in the aftermath of this nuclear war; imagine the desolation among men at the end of that conflict. It is in these chaotic times that a man with flattering words will appear — a man full of cunning and deceit, who will play the role of peacemaker, the man of peace, proposing peace to the nations. This man is none other than the Antichrist. Given the chaos and desolation, the whole world will receive him with open arms, in the hope that he will definitively put an end to world wars and ensure peace. In those days, men will believe they have solved the problem of peace by accepting the son of the devil at the head of the world. Hence these moments of peace and safety before the Rapture of the Church and the Marriage Supper of the Lamb.

Times and Seasons of Great Tribulation for the Church of God

From the moment the Antichrist is accepted by men as the messiah who will bring peace, for the Church of God it will be the beginning of the Great Tribulation. Indeed, as soon as the Antichrist plunges men into his illusion of peace, he will proclaim himself god by committing the abomination of desolation (Matthew 24:15; Daniel 8:11; 2 Thessalonians 2:4), and he and the false prophet will cause men to worship him (Revelation 13:12). From that point, he will wage war against all who refuse to worship him (Revelation 13:15) — and most particularly against the true children of God. This is precisely the Great Tribulation. The Bible specifies that he will prevail against the saints of God — that is, he will put them to death, whether by fire and flame, or by the sword.

Matthew 24:15, 21–22
¹⁵When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) ²¹For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. ²²And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened.

Luke 21:12–13, 16–19
¹²But before all these, they shall lay their hands on you, and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues, and into prisons, being brought before kings and rulers for my name's sake. ¹³And it shall turn to you for a testimony. ¹⁶And ye shall be betrayed both by parents, and brethren, and kinsfolks, and friends; and some of you shall they cause to be put to death. ¹⁷And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake. ¹⁸But there shall not an hair of your head perish. ¹⁹In your patience possess ye your souls.

Revelation 13:7, 10
⁷And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations. ¹⁰He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.

You therefore understand that the times and seasons that will precede the Rapture of the Church will not be easy for the Church. They will be times and seasons of great sufferings, great oppression — in short, of great tribulation. These times of suffering, as you have read in Luke 21, will serve as a testimony to the nations before the return of Jesus Christ. What will matter above all to every Saint of God — the Church — in those days will be perseverance in the midst of trial.

Revelation 14:12
Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.

Luke 21:19
In your patience possess ye your souls.

May the Lord bless you!