Ω The final words of Jesus to His closest disciples are recorded In Acts 1:7-8. His parting instructions laid out the great commission to the founding members of the church: “…and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
When Jesus finished speaking, His disciples watched as He began to ascend toward heaven, eventually taken away in a cloud. As the disciples gazed heavenward, an angel standing nearby said to them, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven,” (Acts 1:11).
There is a lot of debate about the return of Christ. But, if we are to take the Bible simply at its word, Jesus will return to His church the same way as He left the church. There are many scriptures to substantiate this. All of them mention that His return will be in the clouds of heaven. Both the Old Testament (Daniel 7:13) and the New Testament (Matthew 24:29-30; Luke 21:25-28; I Thessalonians 4:15-17; and Revelation 1:7) all testify to the return of Jesus in the clouds of heaven. Jesus will come “in like manner” as His church saw Him leave…in the clouds.
However, there is something else that is also noted: “and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him,” (Revelation 1:7).
The return of Jesus in the clouds of heaven will be highly visible. It will be the most public spectacle of His glory ever witnessed on earth. His coming will be anything but secret, private, or open to only a select few.
Jesus Himself described His return in no uncertain terms: “For as lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be,” (Matthew 24:27).
God had no trouble plainly describing His return to earth in the clouds. And nowhere in scripture is there described a separate, or secret coming of Himself.
Those who teach that there must be a separate “pre-trib” return of Christ for His church— apart from His Second Coming in the clouds— do so because they have designated the entire 7-year period of end times as the “tribulation” or wrath of God! They reason that since the church is not appointed unto God’s wrath, we must of necessity be removed before the final 7-years of end times begins. But their hypothesis falls apart under the strong light of scripture! According to scripture:
– The day of God’s wrath will not come unless there has first occurred the great apostasy & the revealing of Antichrist (2 Thessalonians 2:3-4). God’s wrath will not precede the crime!
– Malachi 4:5 states that Elijah the Prophet must also first appear on the scene to warn people before wrath falls!
– Joel 2:31 states that there will be cosmic signs before God’s wrath starts.
– There must also be the sealing/salvation of the 144,000 Jews before wrath can commence (Revelation 7:1-3).
Reading the full account in Revelation of the events of end times, it becomes plain that God’s wrath only unfolds well into the breaking of the Seals:
– At the 5th seal, the martyrs are heard asking God, “When will You judge and avenge our blood?”
– At the 6th seal, the people on earth recognize that “His wrath has come” after witnessing the cosmic darkening of the sun, moon, & stars and the sight of Jesus coming in the clouds of heaven (see Revelation 6:16-17 together with Matthew 24:29-31 for a full description)
– At the breaking of the 7th seal, scripture documents the start of God’s wrath, with a silence so profound & unusual that the prophet, Zephaniah, made note of it: “Be silent in the presence of the Lord God; for the day of the Lord is at hand. For the Lord has prepared a sacrifice; He has invited His guests,” (Zephaniah 1:7).
God’s wrath begins at the 7th seal, which releases the FIERY 7 trumpet judgments, followed by 7 bowl judgments. God’s wrath will be administered by His angels, just as Jesus had indicated while on earth:
“So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come forth, separate the wicked from among the just, and cast them into the furnace of FIRE. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth,” (Matthew 13:49-50).
God’s wrath is His unique trial or testing of people on earth. The word for “testing” is also “assay,” as in testing by fire. The saints who have stood faithful are not appointed unto this wrath or testing: “Because you have kept My command to endure, I will also keep you from the hour of testing that is going to come on the whole world to test those who live on the earth,” (Revelation 3:10).
So, when do the saints get removed? Jesus taught that we would be removed immediately PRE-WRATH, just like Noah & Lot:
The wrath of God begins at Seal 7. WE ARE REMOVED IMMEDIATELY PRE-WRATH DURING SEAL 6 with the cosmic signs & Second Coming of Christ in the clouds.
– We are “caught up in the CLOUDS to meet the Lord in the air,” (I Thessalonians 4:17). Or as Mark 13 puts it: “And then He will send His angels, and gather together His elect from the four winds, from the farthest part of earth to the farthest part of heaven,” (Mark 13:27).
– This great harvest or collection of souls is seen in Revelation chapter 7 as the great multitude in heaven.
We have not been given the day or hour of Jesus’ return. Only the season— sometime well into the end time period. That puts Christians in the crosshairs of Antichrist’s persecutions (along with Israel).
Many people have been conditioned to believe that the glorious appearing of Christ in the clouds of heaven takes place at the end of the 7-year period. But, it doesn’t. In fact, Jesus said that His return (at Seal 6) would cut short the great tribulation that His people will be undergoing: “But, for the elect’s sake, those days will be shortened,” (Matthew 24:22b).
We do not know the day or hour of our deliverance. Only that God is never early; He is never late; He is always right on time.
Following Jesus’ return (& rapture of the saints) at Seal 6, God’s day of wrath begins (Seal 7). The trumpet judgments then occupy the remaining portion of the 7-year period. It takes time for all the trumpets to play out! The effect of the 5th trumpet judgment alone lasts 5 months!
With the blowing of the 7th trumpet, “The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ!” (Revelation 11:15). The 7th trumpet ends the 7-year period. Antichrist’s reign lasts exactly 3 1/2 years. By the end of the 7 years, his power is broken, & his forces are on the run. They will be “finished off” by the bowl judgments and the final showdown at Armageddon. This takes place during a scripturally-documented 75-day transition period following the end of the 7-year period. Daniel 12:11-12 says:
“And from the time that the daily sacrifice is taken away, and the abomination of desolation is set up, there shall be 1290 days. Blessed is he who waits, and comes to the 1335th days.”
At the ascension, an angel told the founding members of the church that Jesus would return as He left, in the clouds of heaven. This is not hard to grasp. But, because some have left off the love of the truth, and substituted, instead, a gospel that tickles many ears, people are being deceived.
Does it make sense that God would give the highly detailed “Revelation of Jesus Christ …to show His servants— things which must shortly take place” if we weren’t going to be present for any of it? Does it seem right that the Bride of Christ would be whisked away before the end times, at the time in history when she is needed most? Should Laodicea be taken to heaven on beds of relative ease when her beloved Groom is undergoing the greatest attack on His character in history?! Should the church leave the final harvesting of the entire world to only 144,000 Jews in Israel? Would Jesus Himself be enjoying a 7-year “honeymoon” with His bride, while His own nation & people are undergoing the greatest threat to their existence in history?
The persistence of a pretrib rapture lies in the fact that we naturally want to escape suffering. But, it is not because the theory is on well-grounded scriptural footing.
The American church has gotten its patriotism mixed up with its Christianity. We see ourselves as the greatest nation on earth, bowing to no one. So our religion must follow suit. Our hope is in our leaders, our enemies will be trounced, our way of life will be preserved. And then we will be taken out of here.
But, the example of the martyred apostles and the persecuted first and second-century church stands before us in the fellowship of Christ’s sufferings:
“Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also,” (John 15:20).
We are to follow in Jesus’ footsteps. The writings of the early church fathers spoke plainly that the church would both see and undergo the persecution of the end time Antichrist. Yet, Laodicea refuses to see or hear.
What was Jesus’ remedy for Laodicea? “I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve that you may see,” (Revelation 3:18).
The cure for any lukewarmness or half-hearted devotion is evident. We must undergo greater testings of our faith, before we can emerge spotless, white, a Bride worthy of her Groom. Our flesh may shrink back. Yet, if we allow our spirits to rise to the occasion, it will become the church’s finest hour! Halleluia!
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