Waiting for the Lord = Rapture at any moment?
Summary
According to 2 Peter 3:13, every Christian expects a new heaven and a new earth, but no one would claim that these can come at any time.
1 Thess 1:9-10 9 For they themselves declare concerning us what manner of entry we had to you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God,
10 and to wait for His Son from Heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus who delivers us from the coming wrath.
According to the pre-tribulation doctrine, the fact that the Thessalonians were expecting the Lord shows that the rapture can happen at any moment, from the time of the apostles until today. And no prophetically announced event or sign necessarily must happen before the rapture. The rapture is therefore imminent.
Answer:
Expecting something does not mean that the expected can happen at any moment, nor does it mean that nothing has to happen beforehand. The following examples prove this:
Expectation of the liberation of creation from vanity (or impermanence)
Rom 8,19-21 19 For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God.
20 For the creation was subjected to vanity, not willingly, but through Him who subjected it in hope;
21 because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.
Remark: The Greek word for "(eagerly) wait" used here in Rom 8:19 is also used in 1 Cor 1:7 and Phil 3:20 and Heb 9:28, where it is always about waiting for the Lord.
Expectation of the Appearing and Revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ
1 Cor 1:4-8 4 I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given to you in Christ Jesus,
5 that you were enriched in everything in Him in all utterance and all knowledge,
6 even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you,
7 so that you are not lacking in any gift, patiently waiting for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ,
8 who will also confirm you to the end, that you may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Tit 2,11-15 11 For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men,
12 teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live with sound mind, righteously, and godly in the present age,
13 looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ,
14 who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from all lawlessness and purify a people for His own possession, zealous unto good works.
15 Speak these things, exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no one despise you.
Expectation of new Heaven and new Earth
2 Peter 3:10-14 10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a loud noise, and the elements will be dissolved with intense burning; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.
11 Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, of what sort ought you to be in holy behavior and godliness,
12 looking for and earnestly hastening unto the coming of the Day of God, through which the heavens will be dissolved, being set on fire, and the elements will melt with intense burning?
13 Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.
14 Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, spotless and without blemish;
----> All these events cannot occur at any time, but only after the great tribulation (also according to classical pre-tribulation doctrine). And yet we expect these events to happen.
More examples
Heb 11:9-10 9 By faith he sojourned in the land of promise as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise;
10 for he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God.
----> Did Abraham expect that the city could come at any time?
James 5:7-8 7 Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain.
8 You also be patient. Make your hearts firm, for the coming of the Lord draws near.
----> The farmer waits several months for the fruit, but he does not expect the delicious fruit to be ripe immediately after sowing. Because before that, the early and late rains must necessarily arrive.
Conclusion
Expecting something does not mean:
- that the expected can arrive at any moment or
- that nothing has to happen beforehand.
----> Thus 1 Thess 1:10 is not an argument for the pre-tribulation doctrine.