A very prominent element of the Pre-tribulation Rapture view is what they call the “Doctrine of Imminence”. So important is this doctrine that it is often what they appeal to as proof that their PTR theory is biblical, and anyone who holds to any of the other views is heretical because the are denying the imminence of Christ’s return. That doctrine is defined by probably the most well-known advocate of the Pretribulation Rapture Theory of our day, Tim LaHaye (author of the “Left Behind” series), who gives the following definition or explanation for this argument in his Popular Encyclopedia of Bible Prophecy:

 “The term ‘imminence’ (or imminency) as applied to the rapture of the church means that Christ may return at any moment for His church, and no biblically predicted event must necessarily precede it…. It may occur at any time and that it is the next predicted even in God’s prophetic timetable. …  In addition, one cannot know precisely when an imminent event will occur.  Thus, one should be prepared for it to occur at any moment.  Imminent does not mean ‘soon’; the word ‘soon’ implies that it must occur within a short time or within a specified time, which destroys the concept of imminence.  The rapture of the church has been imminent since the days of the New Testament, but it clearly was not ‘soon’ at that time.” (LaHaye, Tim and  Hindson, Ed, General Editors, The Popular Encyclopedia of Bible Prophecy, Imminence”; Harvest House Publishers, Eugene Oregon, 2004, p. 144)

            This is the same author who writes about the signs of the end times, making the following statements:

“I call the regathering of nearly 6.5 million Jews back to the Holy Land and their becoming a nation in our generation “the infallible sign” of the approach of the end times. To fully see its significance you must first understand that the regathering of the nation, exactly as the prophets foretold, can be understood only in light of the fact that the Jews exist at all. Never has a nation been able to maintain its national identity, even three to five hundred years after being removed from its homeland—until Israel.” (T. LaHaye & J. Jenkins, Are We Living in the End Times?, Kindle Books, p.47)

“It is time now to learn a ‘parable from the fig tree: ‘Now learn this parable from the fig tree: When its branch has already become tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near. So you also, when you see all these things, know that it is near, at the doors. Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all these things are fulfilled.’ (MATTHEW 24:32-34) Many prophecy students interpret this passage to mean that when we see the rise of Israel as a nation (as we did in 1948), we will know that the time of the end is ‘near—at the doors.’ They reason that when a fig tree is used symbolically in Scripture, it usually refers to the nation Israel. If that is a valid assumption (and we believe it is), then when Israel officially became a nation in 1948, that was the ‘sign’ of Matthew 24:1-8, the beginning ‘birth pains’—it meant that the ‘end of the age’ is ‘near.’ It was as if the tree were planted in 1914–1918 when the first ‘birth pain’ was felt, but it did not grow into a full-blown tree capable of budding until 1948 when Israel was granted statehood, thus fulfilling Ezekiel 37:1-8.” (Ibid, p. 56)

“We have, then, both internal and external evidence for believing that Russia indeed is the nation that will fulfill the prophet Ezekiel’s warning for the last days.” (Ibid, p. 86)

            Of course, this is not just according to LaHaye, but is actually a popular subject among Pretribulationists, Dr. John Walvoord being one of most widely recognized authorities and proponents of such beliefs and teaching:

“Of the many peculiar phenomena which characterize the present generation, few events can claim equal significance as far as Biblical prophecy is concerned with that of the return of Israel to their land. It constitutes a preparation for the end of the age, the setting for the coming of the Lord for His church, and the fulfillment of Israel’s prophetic destiny. Israel, God’s “super-sign” of the end times, is a clear indicator that time is growing short. God is preparing the world for the final events leading up to Israel’s national regeneration.” (Walvoord, Armageddon, 105-6.)

            It might not be unreasonable to ask Mr. LaHaye or Dr. Walvoord a simple perhaps naïve question, such as: Did there not have to be fulfillment of these prophecies before Christ could return? According to their dogmatic statements about the imminence of Christ’s return none of these prophecies had to be fulfilled. Yet at the same time, according to them, Israel had to be there as a nation, and Russia has to be a powerful nation threatening Israel. To my knowledge, and in fact common knowledge, neither one was the case for millennia from the time Israel was completely destroyed (when Emperor Hadrian put down the Bar Kochba rebellion and exiled the Jewish population in 136 AD, erasing the very name Israel, changing it to Syria Palaestina), up to fairly recent 20^th century history. Furthermore, with respect to Russia, while there were different states throughout history according to some sources the earliest on record seems to go back to the Rurik Dynasty in 862, but of course she has only emerged in its present form as a Communist country in the early 20^th century (circa 1917).

What that means is that if in fact LaHaye and Walvoord actually believe what they claim to believe that Christ could have returned anytime since His first advent and resurrection/ascension, then they can’t believe that all those prophecies about Israel and Russia had to happen before his return – so how can they now call the fulfillment of those prophecies “signs of the end times”, clear indications that His return is “imminent”, now even meaning near?

            When we read what they write about these end times it is clear that they know a number of prophecies have to be fulfilled before that prophesied day of the Lord event. Israel has to be there as a nation, and Jerusalem as a major city – according to the book of Revelation. This goes back to Daniel’s prophecies, a cornerstone of their whole eschatological system of Dispensationalism – Daniel 9:27 where the Antichrist makes a 7-year covenant with Israel (requiring Israel exists as a nation), to begin that Tribulation Period. Furthermore, there has to be a temple in Jerusalem for the prophesied “Abomination of Desolation” event to happen, which they all agree happens at the midpoint of that 7-year Tribulation Period. While not all agree with LaHaye about Russia as the nation prophesied about by Ezekiel (involving very inferior exegesis), these professing adherents to that definition and doctrine of “imminence” clearly believe it has to be fulfilled before Christ returns and the day of the Lord begins.

            The reality is that no real Bible scholar or even student of this subject of end time prophecy, including these PTR advocates, believes that Jesus could have come between about 136 AD and 1948 AD. If they were to be honest and realistic they would have to admit that the absence of a temple in Jerusalem for the Antichrist to desecrate as in the “abomination of desolation”, predicted not only by Daniel, but also by Jesus in Matthew 24:15, presents even a current problem for that definition of imminence.

            Some could possibly argue that the imminence is about Christ’s return to the clouds to rapture the church, and these other prophecies and signs of the times are about the second coming to the Mount of Olives to judge the world at the end of the Tribulation Period. However, the absurdity of such an argument is too obvious which is why they seem to just ignore the problem, apparently hoping no one will recognize it. If one does try to use such a line of reasoning, then they must explain how all these necessary prerequisite developments could have happened in the time frame of 3 ½ years between the Pretrib rapture and the midpoint of the 7-year period when the Antichrist fulfills the “abomination of desolation” prophecies. For example, in 200 to 1900 AD when there was no Israel, no Jerusalem and no Temple, and no real national superpower of Russia, how could the rapture happen and 3 ½ years later all these prophesied prerequisites just suddenly happen? For that matter, if the rapture were to happen today the temple would have to be built, the Antichrist would have to come to power to make the 7-year treaty with Israel, the one-world government of the Antichrist would have to be set up, all in the next 3 ½ years. While it does appear all of this is in the works, and could happen fairly rapidly, it nevertheless requires a stretch of the imagination to believe it will happen so soon (as of 2024) – especially since the same people have been telling us this for most of the last century. But while this concept of “imminence” of Christ’s return may seem credible to some, it has not really made any sense for most of the last 2 thousand years – it’s just another contradiction in the man-made Pretribulation Rapture theory. If their definition – that no prophesied event has to be fulfilled since Jesus was here the first time before He can return – then the whole “signs of the times” concept is ipso facto meaningless. How then can all these men write so much, selling us so many books and movies, about the prophecies being fulfilled which were precursors of Christ coming back, the much anticipated “Parousia”? Giving them the benefit of the doubt, maybe they don’t really believe it, because if they do one hates to consider what other explanations there are for such self-contradictory messages: “there aren’t any, but here they are and you should be paying attention to them”.