05/06/2026
In his recent article on the imminence of the rapture (see link in the comments below), Dr. Fruchtenbaum states that after the destruction of the Temple in A.D. 70, nothing has been missing for the rapture to occur. We received some questions regarding this statement and found the answer in Dr. Fruchtenbaum’s Yeshua book:
"After outlining the things to come from their own day until the beginning of the kingdom, the Messiah presented an exhortation, saying that when believers see 'these things begin to come to pass,' then they are to look up—raise their heads—because it will mark their imminent redemption from this world. The question arises: What is the antecedent to the phrase 'these things'? The context of the verse begins in Luke 21:20 with the phrase: 'But when ye see Yerushalayim compassed with armies.' This happened in A.D. 66, and subsequently, the Temple was destroyed four years later. Luke specified that when they see Jerusalem destroyed, which is the beginning of these things (Lk. 21:20-27), they should look up, for 'their redemption draws near' (Lk. 21:28). Once Jerusalem was destroyed in A.D. 70 and the judgment for the unpardonable sin finally came, every prophecy that must precede the rapture of the church was fulfilled. Since A.D. 70, the rapture has been imminent.
Imminence does not mean that the rapture must happen soon, but that as of A.D. 70 there is nothing left to precede it. The events prophesied in the Olivet Discourse lead up to the tribulation. Obviously, the closer the tribulation, the closer the rapture must also be. Since A.D. 70, the rapture has been imminent; therefore, the exhortation applies to all generations since A.D. 70. The Olivet Discourse will shortly contain a clear promise of a pretribulation rapture."
Arnold G. Fruchtenbaum, Yeshua - The Life of Messiah from a Messianic Jewish Perspective (San Antonio, TX: Ariel Ministries, 2017), p. 416.
