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As we look around this world of ours we
see nothing but trouble and that is just what Jesus said it
would be like. For in His great prophecy of
Matthew 24 and
Luke 21 he mentions that there would be wars and rumours of
wars, famines, pestilences and earthquakes in many places, that
men would be fearful because of what was happening on the
earth. He even mentions that the
powers of heaven would be shaken and He indicated that, as we
near the final hours of this earth’s history there will be even
more dramatic events.
Christians
need not fear
He also assured his followers that
though these things would be fearful there were also signs of
encouragement.
Luke 21:28 says: "And when these things begin
to come to pass then look up, and lift up your heads; for your
redemption draweth nigh."
Now isn’t that a wonderful statement!
There is no need for Christians to be fearful.
Jesus says
"Look up, lift up your heads."
Why?
"For your redemption draweth nigh."
And that is what we are looking for. Jesus
was the greatest of all the prophets and what did he say?
John 14:2-3 says: "In my Father's
house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told
you, I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a
place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself;
that where I am, there ye may be also."
What a wonderful promise! The promise of
His own coming in glory. Why, all the prophets of all ages have
told us that very thing.
With Tempestuous Fire
David, a great prophet of the Old
Testament times, spoke about the return of Jesus.
Psalm
50:3,4 says: "Our God shall come,
and shall not keep silence: a fire shall devour before him and
it shall be very tempestuous round about him. He shall call to
the heavens from above and to the earth, that he may judge his
people."
David assures us that when Jesus
returns to this earth it will not be silent. There will be
nothing secret about it, for he will be surrounded by fire, the
Bible says tempestuous fire.
Second Coming
of Jesus
There is prophecy after prophecy
speaking of that joyous event. The whole Bible is full of it.
Without question the second coming of Jesus is the hope of all
the ages.
We ought to notice what the apostle Paul
writes in
Hebrews 9:28, "So
Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them
that look for him shall he appear, the second time without sin
unto salvation."
The first time Jesus appeared, he came
as a Saviour, as our sin bearer to die upon the cross for our
sins. But the second time he will come as Lords of Lords and
King of Kings to set up His everlasting kingdom.
The second coming of Christ has given
thousands of Christians the courage to suffer persecution and
trial. We think of the time when Christians were marched to
their death to the Colosseum in Rome. If it were not for the
burning hope of the Saviour’s return, these Christians would
never had the courage to suffer so terribly.
There are scores upon scores of people
lying - waiting in their graves for the life giving call of the
Saviour when He appears in glory. They are resting in the
promise given in
Isaiah 33:17,
"Thine eyes shall see the king in his beauty: they shall behold
the land that is very far off."
No other event can compare with this
one. Jesus himself said in
Luke 21:27, "And
then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power
and great Glory."
There is no question that God’s people
will see the Saviour as he returns in majesty. For this is
mentioned a number of times in the Holy Scriptures. It also
mentions in the text that He comes in power amidst tempestuous
fire. Then it says great glory.
Great Glory
Great glory, now what could that be?
Jesus speaking of his coming, says that He will be surrounded by
great glory. In
Luke 9:26,
"For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him
shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall come in his own
glory and in his Father’s, and of the holy angels."
Now just imagine that! Not only does he
come in his own glory, and that must be indescribable, but he
comes in his Father’s glory. Isaiah the prophet was given a
glimpse of that, and he was overwhelmed with the splendour of
it.
G lory
of Angels
Then it tells us that He also comes in the glory of the angels.
The Holy Scriptures give us an indication of what that would be
like.
Matthew 28:2-4 says:
"And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the
Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone
from the door, and sat upon it. His countenance was like
lightning, and raiment white as snow. And for fear of him the
keepers did shake and became as dead men."
If one angel had such an effect upon
these hardened soldiers, what would it be like when thousands
appear in all their glory. In Matthew 25:31, it mentions that
all of the angels will be with Jesus as he returns in glory.
In
Revelation 5:11, speaking of the
angels, it tells us that there are ten thousand times ten
thousand and thousands of thousands. And how many is that?
It means that there will be countless numbers of dazzling
glorious Angels.
Every eye
shall see him
Now I would like you to notice another
text in
Revelation 1:7, "Behold,
he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they
also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail
because of him. Even so. Amen."
I am sure that you noticed it said every
eye shall see him. There are some who say that it is the
spiritual eye, that this meant in a spiritual sense. It
isn’t meant to be taken literally. If that is the case, why does
it say that those who see the Saviour "Shall wail"? My
dictionary says for "wail", "to moan", "to cry through grief."
In the Book of Revelation in
chapter 6
we are told that those who "wail" at the coming of Jesus, cry
for the mountains and rocks to fall on them and they say in
verse 17, "For the great day of
his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?"
This is speaking of those who "wail" at
his appearing. Yes every living person will see Jesus when He
comes the second time, the good and the bad.
They also which pierced Him
We are told that God will resurrect
certain wicked people, "they also
which pierced him."
the wicked priests
the accusing Sadducees
the Roman executioners
Caiaphas the high priest, the
one most responsible for Jesus' unjust trial, condemnation and
crucifixion.
Jesus had a confrontation with Caiaphas
and told him in
Matthew 26:64,
"Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand
of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven."
Those who took part in the crucifixion
will be raised for a time to see the coming of Jesus.
"They also which pierced him."
Then they will slip back into their graves.
As we have looked at several passages of
Scripture, it is very clear that when Jesus comes the second
time it will be a tremendous event. For the Scriptures speak of
tempestuous fire, that Jesus will be manifested in threefold
glory: that of the Father’s, and the Son's, and that of the
angels. It also tells of the rejectors of God’s salvation
"wailing or crying out" for there own destruction.
False Christs and
False Prophets
However Jesus knew that there would be
those who would try to confuse people regarding the manner in
which he would return to this earth. So he gives this warning in
Matthew 24:24, "There shall arise
false Christs, and false Prophets, and shall shew great signs
and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall
deceive the very elect."
Nothing secret about Christ's return
There have been many false Christs and
there have been many false prophets. One of the great deceptions
of these false prophets is that which is known as the secret
rapture, which teaches that God’s people are swept up to
heaven in a mysterious and secret way. Jesus warned about this
deception in
Matthew 24: 26, 27:
"Wherefore if they shall say unto you, behold, he is in the
desert: go not forth; behold he is in the secret chambers;
believe it not. For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and
shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son
of man be."
There will be nothing secret about
Christ’s return. And just as you cannot miss the lightning
as it flashes across the sky, so it will be impossible to miss
the Saviour’s return when He comes in majesty and power and
great glory.
The Bible also assures us that there was
nothing secret about the ascension of Jesus. You will find it
recorded in
Acts 1:9-11:
"While the beheld, he was taken up; and a
cloud received him out of their sight. And while they looked
steadfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by
them in white apparel; Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why
stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken
up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have
seen him go into heaven."
The angels assured the disciples that as
they actually saw Jesus go back to heaven so he will return.
"As he went up."
"He disappeared out of their sight."
He will return in like manner
"as ye have seen him go."
Great sound of trumpets
And now turn with me to
Matthew 24:31:
"He shall send his angels with a great
sound of a trumpet and they shall gather together his elect from
the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other."
You will notice that the angels gather
His elect, that there is a great sound of a trumpet, it says a
great sound. This suggests that there could be many trumpets.
Whether all the angels will be blowing trumpets I am not sure.
Possibly the trumpet blast will come from a special group of
angels. For if all the angels were to blow trumpets, the earth
would crumble and collapse as did the walls of Jericho.
A mighty shout
St Paul mentions something else that
will take place at that time.
1 Thessalonians 4:16 says:
"For the Lord himself shall descend from
heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the
trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first."
With a mighty shout the Saviour gives
the call to His people to come forth from their graves. Yes,
there is plenty of noise at this time and plenty of dramatic
action also.
1 Thessalonians 4:17 says:
"Then we which are alive and remain shall
be caught up together with them (the ones who have died in
Christ) in the clouds, to meet the Lord
(in the air) and so shall we ever be with the Lord."
Silence in Heaven
The living people of God, along with
those who have been raised from the graves, will join Jesus in
the air and take their last look at the earth, then they begin
their journey to Heaven, a distance of approximately 7 and one half
days.
Revelation 8:1, says:
"And when he had opened the seventh seal,
there was silence in Heaven about the space of half an hour."
The Bible students recognise that half
an hour in prophetic time is about 7 and one half days. The text
goes on to say that Heaven will be silent for that length of
time. Seeing that all the Angels are with Jesus, it is easy to
understand the silence in Heaven.
Why is Jesus coming again?
There are some people who ask,
"Why does Jesus come the second
time?"
They do not realise that Jesus made a
promise that He would do this in
John 14:3. Jesus says, "…I
will come again." He assures us that the first and foremost
reason for His return is to take us to our heavenly home, and
that is natural enough, for we desire to be with Him as much as
He desires our company.
I am sure that you are looking forward
to being with Jesus, as Jesus is looking forward to having you
with him.
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