Copyright © 2024 Michael A. Brown
‘So you also must
be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect
him.’ (Matt. 24:44)
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 advent 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. This is shown in Figure 10.1 below:
Figure 10.1 The second coming of Christ is a two-stage event
In another way of looking at this, we can view the second coming 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 advent in power and glory at the end-point or telos of this age, which is immediately
after the great tribulation, as Figure 10.2 illustrates:
Figure 10.2 The rapture triggers the beginning of the end-period of this age
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 and unfettered development of wickedness and
evil in this world. 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 focused 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, volcanic eruptions, 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 the area, with
its epicentre 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 to UK, 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 (with their laces loosened up), just in case a large aftershock
were to strike during the night and everybody 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 so-called 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 the message 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.
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 version to translate the Greek verb harpazo in 1 Thessalonians 4:17 which the NIV renders as ‘caught
up.’
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