The Return of Christ

     Jesus tells us that His return will follow the Cosmic signs in the sky at the end of the 3 1/2 years of tribulation. "And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory. And He will send forth His angels with a great trumpet and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other" (Matt 24:30-31 NASB).

     There are some common themes found in these verses that are repeated in other passages relating to the second coming of our Lord. In Daniel 7:13-14 we read of one like a Son of Man coming with the clouds of heaven, approaching the Ancient of Days to receive an eternal kingdom. Jesus also claims this passage to Himself when interrogated by the high priest (Mark 14:61-62). We also read of the coming day when Egypt will come under a "cruel master" (Isaiah 19:4). This chapter foretells of the suffering of Egypt, and their ultimate redemption as they turn to the Lord in their time of distress. It begins with the LORD coming on swift cloud (Isaiah 19:1), ultimately placing this in the last days. Revelation 14:14-16 states, Then I looked, and behold a cloud, and on the cloud sat One like the Son of Man, having on His head a golden crown, and in His hand a sharp sickle. And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him who sat on the cloud, "Thrust in your sickle and reap, for the time has come for the time has come for You to reap, for the harvest of the earth is ripe." So He who sat on the cloud  thrust in His sickle on the earth, and the earth was reaped. (NKJV)  The return of Christ will be the time when the saints are gathered to Him.

   Jesus tells us that when the sign of the Son of man appears in the sky, all the tribes of the earth will mourn. Revelation 1:7 agrees with this. Behold He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him, so it is to be. Amen. This verse is taking from Daniel 7:13, and Zechariah 12:10, which reads, "I will pour out on the house of of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and supplication, so they will look on Me whom they have pierced; and they will mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him like the bitter weeping over a firstborn."  The appearance of Jesus in the sky will certainly cause grief and mourning for those who are caught unaware, who are not spiritually ready to meet Him. However, it will be a day of salvation for the surviving remnant of Israel, who at the end of the brutal tribulation, will have their hearts open to receive their Messiah, the one whom they pierced at the time of His first coming to earth. God will pour out on them a Spirit of grace and supplication, they will repent with great sorrow at this time and so "All Israel will be saved." (Romans 11:26)

     And we read of the voice of the angel, and the trumpet blast in the epistles of Paul. In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed (1Cor 15:52 NASB). 

     For the Lord Himself descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the arch-angel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord (1 Thess 4:16-17 NASB).

     John saw this in his revelation of Jesus Christ, Then the angel whom I saw standing on the sea and on the land lifted up his right hand to heaven, and swore by Him who lives forever and ever, who created heaven and the things in it, and the earth and the things in it, and the sea and the things in it, that there will be delay no longer, but in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he is about to sound, then the mystery of God is finished, as He preached to His servants the prophets (Rev 10:5-7 NASB).  

     Then the seventh angel sounded; and there were loud voices in heaven saying, "The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ; and He will reign forever and ever." (Rev 11:15) These verses quoted out of Revelation are in the context of the angels with the seven trumpets. This is speaking of the sounding of the seventh trumpet, the same trumpet Paul refers to in his epistles, and what Jesus speaks of in His teaching on the end of the age. This is the trumpet blast that is sounded at the return of Christ.

     It is in Revelation 19 where we read of Christ's return, and the events that occur at that time. this is a subject I will explore in future posts. Let us all find ourselves ready to "Stand before the Son of Man" (Luke 21:36).

Fear or Faith

      The last days will be a time of great trial upon the earth. We have looked at the teaching of Jesus concerning the time of the end, comparing it to the breaking of the seals in the book of Revelation. Up to this point we have briefly discussed deception, wars, famines, persecution, and the signs in the heavens that will precede the second coming of Jesus.

     Jesus, at the close of His parable on prayer found in Luke 18:1-8, asks a question that we all should seriously ponder. "When the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?" This parable closes with the mention of the elect crying out to God for justice, and His faithfulness to carry it out (Luke 18:7-8). Revelation 6:9-10 tells of the martyred saints crying out to the Lord for judgement, and an avenging of their blood, upon those who dwell upon the earth. I think this is no accident, and Jesus is teaching us that persistent prayer is linked to faith, and that it is, and will be absolutely necessary to make it through the time of sorrow coming upon the world. 

     "But keep on the alert at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are about to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man" (Luke 21:36 NASB). At first glance many may think this is a reference to a pre-trib rapture, hoping that we as Christians will not experience any of these events. But why pray that we will have strength to be raptured? It makes no sense. Jesus is telling us that in light of all the chaos taking place around us, the persecution, the deception, apostasy, natural disasters and cosmic signs, we must have an unwavering faith. "By your endurance you will gain your lives" (Luke 21:19). "But the one who endures to the end, he will be saved" (Matt 24:13). "He who overcomes will inherit these things, and I will be his God, and he will be my son" (Rev 21:7).

     Contrast this with the unbelieving people of this earth, great and small, who hide themselves from the wrath of God, calling for the mountains and rocks to cover them from His presence (Rev 6:15-17). Jesus tells us that men will faint from fear as all these things are happening (Luke 21:26). But as for those of us who love Him, and long for His appearing (2 Tim 4:8), when we see these things taking place, we must look up for our redemption is drawing near (Luke 21:28).

Cosmic Signs

     Continuing on in the Olivet discourse Jesus states,

     "But immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken" (Matt 24:29NASB). 

     Jesus refers here to several old testament passage that portray the same events set to occur at the "day of the LORD".  Isaiah 13 contains a prophecy against Babylon, the nation that was to carry the people of Judah into exile. Although this exile was due to Judah's apostasy, yet God would judge Babylon for its cruelty. This prophecy, although fulfilled in part when the Medes and Persians conquered Babylon, telescopes out to the future, and the day of the LORD.

     Wail for the day of the LORD is near! It will come as a destruction from the Almighty. Therefore all hands will fall limp, and every man's heart will melt. They will be terrified, pains and anguish will take hold of them; they will writhe like a woman in labor, they will look at one another in astonishment, their faces aflame. Behold the day of the LORD is coming, cruel, with fury and burning anger, to make the land a desolation; and He will exterminate its sinners from it. For the stars of heaven and their constellations will not flash forth their light; the sun will be dark when it rises and the moon will not shed its light.  Thus I will punish the world for its evil and the wicked for their iniquity; I will also put an end to the arrogance of the proud and abase the haughtiness of the ruthless. I will make mortal man scarcer than pure gold and mankind than the gold of Ophir. Therefore I will make the heavens tremble, and the earth will be shaken from its place at the fury of the LORD of hosts in the day of His burning anger (Isaiah 13:6-13 NASB).

     I have underlined the sections that Jesus refers to in Matthew 24. Again, the context of this portion of Isaiah 13 is the day of the LORD, and Jesus links this with His return.

     Isaiah 34 also foretells the time of God's wrath and indignation upon the nations and their armies (Isaiah 34:2). At this time All the hosts of heaven will wear away, and the sky will be rolled up as a scroll; all their hosts will also wither away as a leaf withers away from the vine, or as one withers from the fig tree (Isaiah 34:4 NASB). 

     Now let's look at the breaking of the sixth seal in Revelation chapter six. This event is set to occur after the martyrdom unleashed by the breaking of the fifth seal. This agrees with the statement of Jesus we read above (Matt 24:9). I grew up with the teaching of a pre-trib rapture. Part of my understanding was that the moon was to turn dark red before this event occurred. Yet we see here that this idea is actually wrong, it does not agree with Jesus' teaching, or the words of this chapter either. We actually find that the bible teaches the opposite here.

     I looked when he broke the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth made of hair, and the whole moon became like blood; and the stars of the sky fell to the earth, as a fig tree casts its unripe figs when shaken by a great wind. The sky was split apart like a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island were moved out of their places (Rev 6:12-14 NASB).

     This passage of scripture also draws from the old testament. Notice the quotation of Isaiah 34:4 here. The book of Joel is also quoted,

     "I will display wonders in the sky and on the earth, blood, fire and columns of smoke. The sun will be turned into darkness and the moon into blood before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes" (Joel 2:30-31 NASB). 

     This verse is found in a passage foretelling the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Peter quotes from this passage on the day of Pentecost, explaining to the people what it was they were seeing and hearing (Acts 2:14-21). Peter's focus was on the signs that accompanied the filling of the Holy Spirit, but this prophecy, like so many others, looks also to the distant future and finds its final fulfillment at the end of this age. 

     Scripture interprets scripture. You will find a continuity between the books of the bible, both old testament and new. It is fascinating to see the number of old testament quotes found in the new testament. The book of Revelation relies heavily upon old testament imagery. I would recommend to everyone who seeks to study scripture, and in this case, prophecy, that you use those cross references that many bible's contain. You will find these things spoken of throughout the word of God.