Copyright
© 2019 Michael A. Brown
‘…while we wait for the blessed hope – the glorious
appearing of our great God and Saviour, Jesus Christ…’ (Titus 2:13)
THE Jews in Old Testament times
believed in a one-stage coming of the Messiah.
By this, they meant that when he came he would intervene powerfully and
decisively in the issues of the time, saving Israel from their enemies and
setting up his earthly kingdom. However,
of course, we know that when Jesus did come, they did not accept him as their
Messiah because he did not fulfil this expectation. Instead, in God’s sovereign purpose to fulfil
prophetic scripture and redeem humankind, as the Lamb of God he was crucified
for the sins of the world, rising again from the dead three days later. He will come again a second time as King of
kings and Lord of lords to establish his kingdom. So as Christian believers we know that in
actual fact Messiah comes twice.
The second coming of Jesus the Messiah is in
itself a two-stage event. Whereas some
Christians believe that when Jesus comes again in glory, visible to the whole
world, he will come straight down to earth, judge humankind and then establish
his eternal kingdom (to put it very simply), yet, when we take a close look at
the many scriptures that speak about ‘the coming of the Lord,’ we can discern
that there are actually two separate stages which are described and that these
are very different to each other. Much
as a set of mountains which, when viewed from a far distance, all seem to be
blurred together, but, as we approach them, we can clearly see that in fact
they consist of two mountain ranges, one behind the other. So to reach and scale the second range, we
first have to climb over and get beyond the range which is nearer to us.
In the first stage, Jesus comes for his
believing church in what we call ‘the rapture,’ and then, in the second stage,
he actually returns to earth in power and glory bringing believers with
him. His return to earth in power and
glory happens immediately after that time of great distress on planet
earth which is often called ‘the great tribulation’ and which is associated
with the worldwide reign of Antichrist:
‘For then there will
be great distress, unequalled from the beginning of the world until now – and
never to be equalled again.’
(Matt.
24:21)
‘Immediately after the distress of
those days “the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the
stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.” At that time the sign of the Son of Man will
appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the
clouds of the sky, with power and great glory…’ (Matt. 24:29-30)
‘I saw heaven
standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called
Faithful and True. With justice he
judges and makes war… The armies of
heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white
and clean.’
(Rev.
19:11,14)
If a person who knew the scriptures was
around during that time, and knew how long this great tribulation would last
for, then s/he would certainly have a pretty good idea as to when this physical
return of Jesus to earth was going to happen.
In fact, s/he would simply wait until s/he saw the signs in the sun,
moon and stars, because that is when it happens.
By contrast, Jesus’ coming for believers
in the rapture happens earlier than this, before the revealing of
Antichrist (see below). However,
although we know that the rapture of believers will happen at some point, we do
not know exactly when. Jesus said that
no one knows the day or hour when he will come for believers:
‘No one knows about that day or
hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.’ (Matt. 24:36)
So even Jesus does not know when he will
come, only the Father knows, just as a Jewish bridegroom did not know when he
would go to get his bride. He would wait
for his father to tell him that all the preparations were complete, and that
the time had finally come when he could go and get her and bring her to his
father’s house. In this way, Jesus said
that he would go and prepare a place for us and then come and receive us to
himself:
‘In my Father’s house are many
rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for
you. And if I go and prepare a place for
you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I
am.’ (John 14:2-3)
The rapture is the event that will signal
the beginning of the final period of this present age. Vine tells us that the Greek word sunteleia used in Matthew 24:3 denotes
the heading up of events to their appointed climax, or, to put it simply, the
‘wrapping up’ or ending of the age. So
it is the period of time in which things are brought to their conclusion. This is distinct from Christ’s second coming
in power and glory at the end-point or telos
of this age, which is immediately after the great tribulation, as the following
simple diagram illustrates:
And so it is this coming of Christ to
rapture believers that as Christians we look forward to as our blessed hope
(Heb. 9:28). The revealing of the man of
sin, Antichrist, is held back and restrained by the presence of the Holy Spirit
in the believing church on planet earth.
The church is the salt of the earth which restrains the full development
of wickedness and evil on earth. So
Antichrist cannot be revealed until this restraining power has been removed,
i.e. until Jesus has come to remove believers.
It is the removal of believers in the rapture, with all the worldwide
chaos that will inevitably ensue after this happens, that then triggers the
revealing and rise of Antichrist, and the time of judgement and great
tribulation:
‘And now you know what is holding
him back, so that he may be revealed at the proper time. For the secret power of lawlessness is
already at work; but the one who now holds it back will continue to do so till
he is taken out of the way. And then the
lawless one will be revealed....’
(2 Thess. 2:6-8)
The rapture will be a sudden, unexpected
and very powerful event. Two things will
happen in it. When the Lord descends to
the air to gather believers to be with him, firstly the dead in Christ will
rise from their graves and go up to meet the Lord, and then, secondly,
believers who are living at that time will be transformed ‘in the twinkling of
an eye’ (i.e. very quickly) into their spiritual bodies and will then be ‘snatched
away suddenly’ and also go up to meet the Lord in the air.[1] After this event, Antichrist will be
revealed, leading into the time of great distress associated with his reign.
‘For the Lord himself
will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the
archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise
first. After that, we who are still
alive will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in
the air. And so we will be with the Lord
forever.’
(1
Thess. 4:16-17)
‘Listen, I tell you a mystery: We
will not all sleep, but we will all be changed – in a flash, in the twinkling
of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the
trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be
changed.’ (1 Cor.
15:51-52)
The unexpectedness of this coming of the
Lord was underlined by Jesus by comparing it to how people were living in the
time of Noah and also in the time of Lot.
People were going around focussed on and consumed by their daily lives,
much like people today. It was ‘business
as usual.’ They were too busy to be
concerned with God or with the message that God’s people were preaching to
them. They considered it an irrelevance
to their lives. They had no idea what was coming. So they were buying and selling, building and
planting, marrying and giving in marriage.
And yet when the building of the ark was complete, and the door was shut
with Noah and his family safely inside, the rain suddenly started to fall and
the flood came:
‘As it was in the days of Noah, so
it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.
For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking,
marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they
knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all
away. That is how it will be at the coming
of the Son of Man.’
(Matt. 24:37-39)
It was similar in Lot’s day. When he and his family had been taken away
safely from Sodom, Sodom and Gomorrah were then totally destroyed:
‘It was the same in the days of
Lot. People were eating and drinking,
buying and selling, planting and building. But the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulphur
rained down from heaven and destroyed them all.’ (Luke 17:28-29)
Both of these events would seem to the
local people to have happened suddenly and unexpectedly, without any
warning. The only people ‘in the know,’
as it were, were Noah and Lot together with their families. They themselves had been warned, and Noah in
particular had had plenty of time to prepare for it. In fact, Noah had tried to warn people about
what was impending (2 Peter 2:5).
Neither the flood in Noah’s time nor the judgement in Lot’s time could
take place until these people had been removed and were safe. But when they were removed, then destruction
came suddenly.
It will be much the same in the time of
the rapture. We know that the Lord is
coming for us, so we can and should prepare ourselves for it. We are ‘in the know.’ As believers we are not appointed to suffer
wrath, but to receive salvation. We are
exhorted to watch the times, and to pray that we will be able to escape all that
will come upon the earth in the time of great distress. When the rapture happens suddenly, believers
who are ready will be taken, but everyone else will be left:
‘…for you know very well that the
day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night. While people are saying, “Peace and safety,”
destruction will come on them suddenly, as labour pains on a pregnant woman,
and they will not escape.’
(1 Thess. 5:2-3)
‘But you, brothers,
are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief… For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath
but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.’
(1
Thess. 5:4,9)
‘Be careful, or your
hearts will be weighed down with dissipation, drunkenness and the anxieties of
life, and that day will close on you unexpectedly like a trap. For it will come upon all those who live on
the face of the whole earth. Be always
on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to
happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man.’
(Luke
21:34-36)
‘Two men will be in the field; one
will be taken and the other left. Two
women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.’ (Matt. 24:40-41)
When we look at the various signs that
Jesus associated with these end-time events, we can clearly see that they are
being fulfilled right before our eyes.
And we don’t need a doctorate in rocket science to understand this! It is plainly evident to anyone who cares to
compare scripture with daily events worldwide.
Wars, revolutions and political turmoil are worldwide news every
day. Earthquakes, floods and many other
natural disasters such as those caused by hurricanes, tornadoes, tsunamis, prolonged
and extreme heatwaves, droughts, wildfires, famines and disease are happening
with increasing frequency and intensity.
Shocking and fearful events fill the news regularly (Matt. 24:6-8, Luke
21:10-11). The wickedness of human
nature seems to strive to find ever more degenerate and evil ways in which to
express itself (Matt. 24:12). The
foundations of righteousness in society are being dismantled and there seem to
be no boundaries anymore.
Parallel to this, the gospel is being
preached throughout the entire world, and believers experience persecution in
many countries (Matt. 24:9-14). The Jews
are returning to their ancient and now re-established homeland in increasing
numbers in fulfilment of prophetic scripture (e.g. Isa. 11:11-12). Need I go on?
Jesus said that when we see all these things happening, then we should
lift up our heads because his coming is near, right at the door:
‘Now learn this lesson from the fig
tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that
summer is nigh. Even so, when you see
all these things, you know that it is near, right at the door.’ (Matt. 24:32-33)
‘When these things begin to take
place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing
near.’ (Luke
21:28)
The increasingly open calls to establish a
‘new world order’ in which we see ourselves as global citizens ruled by a one
world government indicate the direction in which things are now moving
politically. Children are increasingly
(and often passively!) being conditioned to think like pliable global citizens
all with the same kind of worldview, in line with the values of the world core
curriculum which is being disseminated.
If it were to be adopted worldwide, the new Chinese model of
manipulating and controlling the whole of their vast society through a personal
social credit score (which is now in the process of being rolled out
nationwide) would quickly manipulate people everywhere into subjection to a new
world order under Antichrist.
Furthermore, the increasing drive towards
a cashless society and the fact that people are now beginning to be encouraged
to embed RFID microchips into their hands for convenience in buying goods
(amongst other uses), is a telling sign that the so-called ‘mark of the Beast’
(which everyone will be forced to have on their right hand or their forehead
during Antichrist’s reign, and without which they will not be able to buy or
sell) is coming soon (cf. Rev. 13:16-17).
The development of technology is moving so fast that it will not be long
now before the mark is ready. We are
just a hop, skip and jump away from it!
In short, we are now at a point in world
history which will soon lead into the end-period of the age. So by any sober and objective consideration,
the resurrection-rapture event (which will then trigger the revealing and reign
of Antichrist) is ‘just around the corner.’
All the signs point to the fact that it is ‘at the door.’ We are closer to it now than we have ever been.
For Christians who are aware of the
increasing fulfilment of prophetic scriptures in these times, and who ‘watch
and pray’ as Jesus said, these are exciting and momentous times. The coming of the Lord for believers really
is going to happen soon. It is
very near at hand! So we need to prepare
ourselves and to be ready for our ‘upward call.’ We need to live in the light of the fact that
it is going to happen soon. We need to
be living faithful and pure lives close to the Lord, to be active in his work
and doing his will in our lives, pleasing him, and looking forward to his
coming:
‘For the grace of God that brings
salvation has appeared to all men. It
teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live
self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for
the blessed hope – the glorious appearing of our great God and Saviour, Jesus Christ,
who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for
himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.’ (Titus 2:11-14)
My wife recently went on a one-week trip
to her own country to have a break and visit her family. During the night after she arrived,
unexpectedly an earthquake of 6.4 magnitude struck an area about 30 miles west
from where she was staying. It caused a
lot of damage. Dozens of people were
killed and many others made homeless.
Rather than returning immediately, she stayed there just as she had
planned, and did what she could to help in the situation. Like many other people, she spent much of the
first two nights outside sleepless, because there were many aftershocks and no
one wanted to get trapped inside if their apartment block collapsed. After this, she started to sleep inside
again.
When she returned to UK, she told us that
going through the experience of this earthquake and the many aftershocks had
taught her that she needed to be ready.
She said that when she went to bed at night, she would sleep with her
jacket on and with her shoes near the end of the bed, just in case a large
aftershock were to strike during the night, and they all had to rush downstairs
to get outside where it was safe. So
she went to bed prepared and ready for what might happen.
This is a very good illustration of what
it means to be ready for the Lord’s coming.
We need to be ready, because we do not know when he will come for
us. Of course, we need to be ready in
the attitude of our spirit, not by keeping our jacket on while we sleep!
The three short parables that Jesus told
in relation to his coming in the rapture all emphasise the need for us to be
ready and waiting expectantly. The owner
of the house knew that the thief was coming at some point during the night, so
he stayed up waiting for him until he came, so that he could keep his house,
family and belongings safe. He did not
simply shrug his shoulders, ignore the threat, leave his back door open and just
go off to bed! (Matt. 24:42-44).
The wise and faithful steward knew that
his master would come back one day. So
he lived in the light of this and kept on plugging away in the responsibilities
that the master had given him to do in the meantime, day in and day out as the
years went by, working faithfully to his master’s expected standards. He loved and honoured his master and wanted
to please him, so that, when he returned, he would find his work still going on
just as he had always expected it to while he was away. The steward did not forsake his
responsibilities as though they were not really important, thinking that his
master might never come back anyway, and simply go off and live the kind of
carnal life that everyone else around him seemed to be living, drinking and
getting drunk regularly (Matt. 24:45-51).
Likewise the five wise virgins knew that
the bridegroom was coming, although they did not know exactly when. There was nothing that gave them greater joy
than the anticipation of knowing he was going to come, and that they would then
go into the wedding feast with him. So
they prepared themselves, going out and buying sufficient oil to last them
through the night-time festivities which would take place after the bridegroom
came and took his bride. The five
foolish ones also knew that the bridegroom was coming. Like some believers in churches today, they
had heard it taught many times that he was coming. They knew it in their heads, but they did not
prepare their hearts and live in such a way that reflected that they really
believed it. They said they were
believers, but they did not live like it.
So they did not buy any oil for themselves. As a consequence, when the cry rang out at
midnight to proclaim that the bridegroom had finally arrived, they were not
ready and so they could not go with him into the feast. The door was shut, and it remained shut on
them even though they later knocked on it hoping to enter (Matt. 25:1-13).
Some believers have lived for years
hearing and knowing that Jesus is coming back, but they get so swallowed up by
the activities and issues of daily life – marrying and giving in marriage,
building, planting, buying, selling, and so on – that they are not ready in
their hearts for the coming of the Lord.
So what about you, my friend – are
you ready? By this I don’t mean are you ready simply because you want to
escape from the problems and issues you have in your life, or simply because
you are perhaps getting on in age and are tired of life. No, the rapture is not an escape clause from
the realities of daily living in this present evil world.
I mean this: are you ready to go because
above all other things you love him whom you have never yet seen (1 Peter 1:8)? The coming of the bridegroom is the deepest
longing of the bride’s heart. Is your
heart looking expectantly for his coming, knowing that the time is very
near? And will you tell others and warn
them about what is coming soon, so that they too can prepare themselves by
repenting from their sin and embracing Jesus as their Saviour? Or are you so earth-tied and consumed with
the business of daily living that you are simply unprepared? And do you love the things of this life so
much that, like Lot’s wife, you wouldn’t want to be parted from them anyway
(Luke 17:32)?
Jesus is coming soon, very soon, for his
church, his believing bride, for those who are ready and waiting for him. His coming is just around the corner. Are you ready?
[1] The word ‘rapture’ comes from the
Latin verb rapio which means ‘to
snatch away suddenly.’ This verb is used
in the Vulgate to translate the Greek verb harpazo
in 1 Thessalonians 4:17 which the NIV renders as ‘caught up.’
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