I believe that Christians should be able to search the scriptures regarding any issue that we may have an interest in, including the timing of the rapture.  I have personally studied the related scriptures and I do believe that we can know something of the subject. Psalm 90 speaks of God’s judgment in relation to time. Verses 12-15 say, "So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom. Return, O LORD, how long? and let it repent thee concerning thy servants. O satisfy us early with thy mercy; that we may rejoice and be glad all our days. Make us glad according to the days wherein thou hast afflicted us, and the years wherein we have seen evil." These verses are a prayer for the coming of the Lord and they begin by saying, "Teach us to number our days…" until what? Until the coming of the Lord!

Gal. 4:4 tells us that Jesus came the first time "when the fullness of the time was come…" and Eph. 1:10, speaking of the second advent, says that "in the dispensation of the fullness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ both which are in heaven, and which are on earth…" From these verses we learn that just as God had set a specific time for Jesus to come the first time, he has also set a specific time, the fullness of the times or years, for his later arrivals.

Ps. 102:13-16 says, "Thou shalt arise, and have mercy upon Zion: for the time to favour her, yea, THE SET TIME, is come. For thy servants take pleasure in her stones, and favour the dust thereof. So the heathen shall fear the name of the LORD, and all the kings of the earth thy glory. When the LORD shall build up Zion, HE SHALL APPEAR IN HIS GLORY." We learn from these verses that there is a specific, set time for the second advent of Jesus and that it is keyed to the building up of Zion (Israel), which has already begun, which means that soon he will appear in his glory. Because there is a set time for the second advent, and because the rapture will occur previous to that event, there is also a set time for the rapture.

From scripture we learn that God often gave his people the specific time when certain things were to happen. Noah knew seven days before the rains came (Gen. 7:4). Lot was warned one day before judgment fell (Gen. 19:12). Israel had blood on the door posts at Passover (Exo. 12). Dan. 9:25-26 gave the Jews, God’s chosen people, the exact time of Messiah’s first coming. My favorite is II Kings 2:1-11: in the account of Elijah being taken up to heaven in a whirlwind, both Elijah and Elisha and the sons of the prophets at Beth-el and Jericho knew the day that Elijah would be taken.

In Matt. 16:3 Jesus rebuked the Pharisees and Sadducees. He said, "O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky: but can ye not discern the signs of the times?" If Jesus expected the scripturally literate Jews to recognize the time of the fulfillment of prophecy, does he expect any less of us? I think not.

Bible prophecy is absolute and unchangeable. Amos 3:7 says, "Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets." From this verse we learn that Bible prophecy contains the revelation of the things that God intends to do. There are a lot of "prophecies" going forth in the world right now, and while some may be legitimate revelations from God, he has given us certain and absolute prophecies in his holy Word, and that is the primary source for information concerning the end times.  While there may be differences of interpretation among Christians, the Bible is the first source to consult in studying anything that has to do with the fulfillment of prophecy.

From Dan. 9:2 we learn that Daniel himself studied prophecy, and from his personal study of the scriptures he was able to determine the time of the fulfillment of prophecy affecting him in his day. His reaction to this discovery was very enlightening: he began to repent for his personal sins and for the sins of Israel and prayed for God to fulfill the prophecies.

This is my pattern. The prophecies affecting us today speak of the removal of the church followed by a time of unprecedented trouble and the judgment that God is going to pour out upon the whole earth. Is it unloving of God to pour out his wrath or for me to ask him to do so? No. God will not tolerate man’s rebellion eternally: there is a cut off point. He has tried all the nice ways to get man’s attention: he started with a garden; he sent the law; he sent the prophets; he sent his Son; he sent the Holy Spirit; he sent his Word, the Bible; he sent his evangelists, pastors and teachers. The only thing left is his judgment.

A quick scan of any newspaper or news broadcast will clearly show that man’s rebellion continues to grow worse by the day. We are fed a daily diet of murder, rape, child abuse, euthanasia, theft, homosexuality, destruction, terrorism and man’s attempt to be God. Our entertainment media is filled with filth, blasphemy, violence and ETs. Man’s iniquity is being filled up. Transgressors are coming to the full. We are living in the days when it is possible for man to utterly destroy himself. Man must be stopped.

But God demonstrates grace and mercy even in the judgment to come, because there is something worse than death, and that’s the lake of fire. God has never been "willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." (II Pet. 3:10) This is a clear statement of the will of God. But because he gave man free will, and because of his foreknowledge of the choices that man would freely make, God gave us Bible prophecy. It is very interesting that Rev. 6:16-17 and Rev. 16:11 indicate that during the tribulation men will acknowledge that they are experiencing God’s judgment, yet they still refuse to repent. Even so, man will be brought face to face with the existence of the God of heaven and the fact that he intervenes in the affairs of men.