He’s Coming

“Ask ye of the Lord rain in the time of the latter rain; so the Lord shall make bright clouds, and give them showers of rain, to every one grass in the field” (Zech. 10:1). “And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit. And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of the Lord come. And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the Lord hath said, and in the remnant whom the Lord shall call” (Joel 2:28-32). We are there my friend. These things are upon us, and we now stand at the time where truly “the end of all things is at hand,” as Peter stated. And as he went on to say, “be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer” (I Pet. 4:7). Everyone and his brother has been talking much for a long time about ‘the end time.’ Well, we are not only in the end time, we are at THE END of time. If you are in your fifties or younger, and you live a normal life span, you will probably see the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ to this world. I want to note here just a few key things that should be remembered by all who are serious about being ready to meet him at his coming, whether dead or alive. First of all, Jesus told us the manner in which he would come, as well as the manner in which he would NOT come: “Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. For 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… 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.” (Mat. 24:23,24,26,27). The emphatic point that Jesus was making here is that he will not just show up in the earth and announce that he has come, but rather he will come FROM HEAVEN in the sight of all men, even as the lightning flashes across the heavens above us.

The clear and evident reality of the visible, bodily coming of the Lord Jesus Christ from heaven to this world is also confirmed in the book of Revelation: “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” (Rev. 1:7). This verse mirrors the passage I’ve already partially quoted from Matthew 24, as well as the portion of that passage that follows: “Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall SEE the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory” (Mat. 24:29,30). This also happens to be exactly what two angels of the Lord told the followers of Jesus after they saw him ascend into heaven in a cloud: “And while they looked stedfastly 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” (Acts 1:10,11). These angels spoke only of ONE second coming of the Lord, even as Jesus himself did; which cuts out the whole ‘rapture’ tradition. There will be NO RAPTURE. 'The rapture’ is not in the Bible, and the idea of it constitutes two second comings or a second and third coming, depending on how you want to say it. Neither are there two or three stages of the second coming of Jesus, as some have erroneously presented. There is ONE second coming of the Lord from heaven, and it will be quite visible to the entire world, as Jesus said it would be (Mat. 24:30). Contrary to popular, comfortable tradition, God’s elect will endure everything that is written; and that means that many will be put to death for their faith in Jesus, as the scripture also declares (Dan. 11:32,33; Rev. 13:7,13-15; Rev. 20:4). Because of this many will forsake their faith in Christ and will betray unto death their brethren, kinsfolk, and even immediate family members; as the Bible also clearly shows (Mat. 10:21,22; Mat. 24:10-13). But those who continue faithfully in the faith will be made pure and white in the sight of God, and will be a bride adorned in “fine linen, clean and white,” ready to meet Jesus at his coming (Dan. 11:35; Dan. 12:10; Rev. 7:14; Rev. 19:7,8).

As my opening passages show, their will be a great and mighty outpouring of God’s Spirit in the earth, giving man one last chance to acknowledge and submit to the Lord Jesus Christ for what he has done for all men; and to escape the soon coming wrath of God that Jesus will bring upon this sinful world at his coming (Rev. 14:9,10). As I type these words, I assure you by the holy Ghost that this final move has already begun. It is coming down as the small droplets of the beginning of a rain now, but soon it will be a deluge. That outpouring of the love, and power, and truth of God will prepare those whose hearts love Jesus, for enduring the time of great tribulation that will come afterward. Because this mighty outstretched arm of God will be rejected by the greater part of men in the earth, there will also be a worldwide apostasy from and against the true faith of Jesus Christ. This great apostasy will also be accompanied by great supernatural 'miracles’ that will deceive everyone in the earth who does not hold steadfastly to the holiness of God’s Spirit that is in Christ. The scriptures also confirm these things repeatedly (Mat. 24:24; II Thess. 2:1-3; 8-12; Rev. 13:13-15; Rev. 16:13,14). My final note here on these things is that there is ONE “resurrection of the just,” and it will take place AT the second coming of Jesus to this world (Lk. 14:14; Jn. 5:29; Acts 24:15; Rev. 20:6). More perfectly stated, it will take place as soon as he appears in heaven; and those who are without sin, both dead and living, will be glorified bodily with immortality and caught up instantly to meet him in the air on his way to earth (Mat. 24:31; Rom. 8:11; I Cor. 15:52-54; Philip. 3:20,21; I Thess. 4:16,17; I Jn. 3:2,3). In order to get the understanding and assurance of the things mentioned here, one should really study out all of the referenced scriptures in the article. If I quoted them all, this would have to be a book instead of a short post. If you read and study all of these things slowly and honestly, you will most likely feel the burden of heaviness that I have felt while putting this article together. Like it or not, we are at the very end of this world, and all things that are written will be shortly fulfilled. There is no time for pretending, or for fantasizing about escaping persecution and tribulation. There is only time to be very serious and sober about preparing our hearts and lives for all that is coming. May God help us one and all is my prayer. God bless.