In
these obvious last days, so much is discussed about the time Jesus comes to
collect his believers and what happens.
But what does scripture really say?
Let’s take a closer look.
1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 (NIV)
16 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. 17 After that, we who are still alive and are left 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.
This
is a key scripture on the subject. First
note that the Lord himself descends from heaven. It seems he himself gives out a shout,
although what he says we do not know. It
may be “Come up here,” which is what is said from heaven to the two witnesses
in Revelation just before they ascend to heaven. Also there is a voice of the archangel. Again, we are not given what that voice
says. And then the trumpet call of
God. I would assume this is the sound of
the shofar.
After
the shout from the Lord, the voice of the archangel, and the trumpet blast,
verse 16 says the dead in Christ will rise first. So be specific now. Look at the words. They say that those believers who have died
will rise first. They shall come back to
life. Rise. As Jesus did on the third day. Please note there is no reference in verse 16
as to where these risen believers go.
Now
we look at verse 17. The verse begins
with an important and overlooked phrase – “After that.” The message is that after those who have died
rise, believers who are alive on earth are caught up together with the risen
dead in the clouds where we all meet the Lord in the air. But this only happens after the phrase “After
that.” In the King James version, the
phrase “after that” is rendered as “then.”
I ask you to consider this: How
much time elapses between the rising of the dead in Christ and our being caught
up together with the risen dead in the clouds?
Historically I expect all of us have reasonably thought this all happens
immediately. But even simple little
words in scripture are there for a purpose.
They have meaning. The original
word in scripture rendered “After that,” or “Then” surely means that nothing
happens to those of us living until after the dead in Christ have risen. It may also mean that there is time, maybe
just a little bit of time, between the rising of the dead in Christ and our and
their going to the clouds to meet Jesus.
If so, that would mean the risen dead would be alive on the earth. Would they be going around appearing to various
people as those from the graveyard did back after Jesus’ crucifixion? Remember, in Matthew 27:52-53 how believers
came out of their tombs and went into the city and appeared to people? (You may not remember because those verses
are seldom mentioned.).
If
indeed the risen formerly deceased believers do spend some time on the earth
and go about appearing to people, perhaps interacting and talking about the
Lord, might this not be a big incentive and perhaps a spur God would use in
bringing about an end time revival?
**********
From 1 Corinthians 15:51-53 (NIV)
51 Listen, I tell you a mystery: We
will not all sleep, but we will all be changed—52 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. 53 For the perishable must
clothe itself with the imperishable, and
the mortal with immortality.
This
is another key scripture on Christ’s gathering of his believers. The big point here is how in the twinkling of
an eye, at the sounding of the trumpet, living and dead believers are all changed. The dead are raised imperishable and those
still alive are changed. The big point
is in verse 53, where perishable bodies put on imperishable bodies and mortal
bodies put on immortality. In other
words, this is all about our getting those glorious new bodies you have heard
about. For some reason, the scripture focuses on the dead getting imperishable
bodies – and surely their old earthly bodies will have deteriorated and will
have proven to be perishable – and thus they get to be imperishable. And those of us still alive but still mortal
– e.g., we have bodies that cannot live forever – receive immortality (and no
doubt imperishability as well.)
**********
Luke 17:26-30 (NIV)
26 “Just as it was in the days of Noah, so
also will it be in the days of the Son of Man. 27 People were eating, drinking, marrying and being given in marriage
up to the day Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed them all.
28 “It was the same in the days of Lot. People
were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building. 29 But the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from
heaven and destroyed them all.
30 “It will be just like this on the day the Son of Man is revealed.
In
these verses in Luke Jesus describes two historical events that give a clear
message concerning his coming to collect his believers. He notes that the days of his return will be
like the days of Noah. People were just
living life as normal, eating, drinking, getting married; then Noah (and his
family) entered the ark, and look what happened. The flood came and destroyed everyone else. Just like that.
Also,
as in the days of Lot people ate, drank, bought, sold, planted, built, but then
Lot (and his family at God’s leading) went out of Sodom. When Lot left, fire and brimstone from heaven
came and destroyed everyone in Sodom on the same day.
Jesus
concludes it will be like that when the Son of man is revealed. This indicates of course that Jesus’
collecting his believers and taking them away will just be in the midst of
normal human activities going on.
Suddenly the believers will be gone.
It also indicates that when those believers are gone, judgement comes on
the earth immediately. Why
immediately? Look again at the
words. The same day Lot went out of
Sodom the fire and brimstone came down on Sodom. And the same day Noah and his family entered
the ark the springs of the great deep were opened and the floodgates of the
heavens were opened (see Genesis 7:11-13).
**********
LOOKING STILL FURTHER AT THE ACTUAL
MOMENT
Note
that in the account of Noah, as presented in Genesis Chapters 6-7, Noah works
for years to build the ark at God’s guidance.
Then when God tells Noah to get in the ark, he does so and takes his
wife and his three sons and their wives – a total of eight. The door is shut by God and the flood comes. In fact, water is already coming when Noah goes
into the ark. Now Noah was ready to
go. He had had all those years to
discuss with his wife and with his sons and their wives, all those years when
he no doubt prayed and sought God. They
were ready.
In
the fuller account of Lot and Sodom as presented in Genesis Chapter 19, we see
that the angels arrive in Sodom at night and early the next day they take Lot
and his wife and two daughters by the hand and lead them out of the city. So whatever words they used during the night,
Lot was still moving slowly in leaving.
Perhaps he was trying to convince other family and friends to leave and
he was having no luck. We know from
scripture he was unsuccessful in convincing the fiancées of his daughters to
leave (Luke 19:14). The angels knew he
and his family would be destroyed if they stayed there, so they made them get
out.
There
is a message for us here. When the Lord
sends for us when he is collecting his believers, we must be ready to go
then! Think about all we have read above
concerning this moment. We have read
about how Jesus comes in the clouds and how there is a shout and a trumpet
sounding and a voice of the archangel.
Elsewhere in Mark 13 and Matthew 24, Jesus describes how he sends the
angels out to collect the elect. So
while we have all thought we would just somehow be taken away and then suddenly
appear in the clouds with Jesus, is it not possible that an angel will suddenly
appear at your home or wherever you are and tell you it is time? And as Jesus has advised, if we are on the
roof we are not to go down inside the house.
Or if we are in the field, we are not to go back for anything.
Jesus’ own words indicate there is some
decision or action required on our part. Obviously when the angel comes to tell us or
we get the word some other way, we have to be ready to go. There will be no extra time and we must go,
possibly going with the angel who has brought us the news. Some believers have never seen an angel or
perhaps never been in the presence of strong spiritual forces of God. This may be a shock to them. But they must be ready. They must watch as Jesus warns. Even if they think they are dreaming, they
should go with the angel.
Now
someone might ask, how does a person know this is an angel of God and not an
evil spirit? Easy. The Holy Spirit and the gift of discernment
will enable the believer immediately to know the angel is from the Lord. If you don’t know the Holy Spirit or have not
been baptized by the Holy Spirit, ask God for that. Find a born again spirit filled believer and
ask him to pray for you to receive the Spirit and to be baptized with the
Spirit. Another possible check for you –
you can apply John’s advice in 1 John 4:2.
You can ask if the angel acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the
flesh. Any angel from God will certainly
acknowledge this.
Now
with all this clear and dramatic scripture describing the gathering away of the
saints, of Jesus’ believers, of Jesus’ CHURCH, when does this happen? The Bible is not specific in that, but there
are several verses that point out believers were not appointed to suffer wrath,
and that is what is coming on the world during the last of the last days
(Revelation 3:10, Romans 5:9, 1 Thessalonians 1:10 and 5:9, and Luke 21:36). I would expect this gathering away to happen
before the seven year Tribulation begins, or at the latest before the mid-point
of the Tribulation which is when the Great Tribulation begins and the
anti-christ takes up residence in the temple in Jerusalem.
The
key point is that the time is near.
There is nothing that has to happen from a Biblical prophecy perspective
before Jesus comes and collects his believers.
Nothing. In Luke 21:36 (NIV),
Jesus gave the key recommendation:
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.”
So
I say to you watch! Be alert! Be ready!
And when you get the clear word it is time, then act. Likely that will involve going with an angel.
May
God bless you and protect you and hold you in the palm of his hands.
Keep Your Eyes on Jesus!
(June 2015)
Copyright © 2015 by John
Newlin
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