Jude.
Jude, the brother of Jesus, who
wrote the small book of Jude in the New
Testament, quotes a prophecy from Enoch in
vs. 14; "And Enoch also, the seventh from
Adam, prophesied of these, saying. Behold,
the Lord comes
with ten thousands of his saints, to
execute judgment on
all." Thus the coming of the Lord WITH His
saints is at the time that the Lord
personally and openly manifests Himself in
the final act (or acts) of judgment which
terminate this age, and put an end to man's
misrule. This is in harmony with II Thess.
1:7-8 where Paul states that "the Lord Jesus
shall be revealed from heaven with
His mighty angels, in flaming fire taking
vengeance on them that know not God, and
that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus
Christ." Notice, this is the time that He
shall be revealed. The Greek word for
"reveal "is apokalupto, and it means to
uncover and unveil something. Up until
Jesus comes with His saints, at the very
climax of the pouring out of the 7 vials of
wrath, He will not be "revealed.”
Previously, He comes as a "thief "at the
beginning of the tribulation to call the
firstfruits Bride. This begins His three and
one half year "parousia" or presence.
Present in the atmosphere but
unseen by those on earth. Near the close of
the tribulation He calls the rest of the
saints TO the marriage supper of the Lamb
(Rev. 19:9), but still He must remain
“veiled" except to those who have
entered into His realm, until the 7 vials of
wrath are poured out on the earth. During
the pouring out of these vials, the marriage
supper proceeds in the heavenlies. These
vials of wrath will likely cover a very
short period of time—perhaps not more than a
couple of weeks. THEN shall the entire
company of glorified saints be ready to
accompany the Lord in His visible descent to
the earth, forming great "cloud banks" of
glory around Him, and trailing off into the
distance behind Him like a great "train" in
splendent procession.
Revelation.
This final descent from the
heavenlies is pictured in the book of
Revelation, chap. 19:11-l6. Notice that this
follows the verses dealing with the
"Marriage supper" in 19:7-9. John says, "And
I saw heaven opened" (19:11); that is, what
had been previously unseen by the remaining
survivors on the earth would now be OPENLY
viewed. They would "see the Son of man
coming in the clouds of heaven with power
and great glory" (Mt. 24:30). Then John
proceeds: "and behold, a white horse; and he
that sat on
him was called Faithful and True. . . and
the armies (glorified saints) which were in
heaven followed him on
white horses, clothed in fine linen, white
and clean." We then have a statement that
confirms the other scriptures which indicate
that as Jesus returns He is consummating the
vials of wrath and climaxing the final
judgments: "And out of his mouth goes
a sharp sword, that with it he should smite
the nations. . . and he treads
the winepress of the fierceness of the wrath
of Almighty God. And he has
on his vesture and on his thigh a name
written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.“
(19:15-17). Remember that we had read
previously in Luke 17:29-30, that the Lord,
when speaking of the raining of fire and
brimstone on
Sodom , said:
"Even thus shall it be in the day when the
Son of man is REVEALED." Thus all these
scriptures agree that the Lord comes
finally, and is revealed in consummating,
cataclysmic judgments, when He returns WITH
His saints.
Zechariah.
Zechariah 14:4 indicates that when
the Lord returns in His final descent out
of the atmosphere that "his feet shall stand
in that day on
the mount of Olives." The following verses
indicate that when this takes place there
will be a great earthquake as the entire
earth reels under the impact of the immense
power of the glorified Christ. The Mount of
Olives will be split in two and a great
valley created, with underground waters
springing up to flow both east and west—to
the Mediterranean and Dead Seas.
Then 14:9 says, "And the Lord shall be king
over all the earth." Hallelujah! And the
glorified saints will rule with Him over
the earth (Rev. 15, 2:26, 3:21, 5:10,
20:4-6), For the last 2,000 years
(approximately) the Lord has been sitting at
the right hand of the Father on His throne
(Heb. 1:3, 8;1), but in Rev, 3:21 Jesus
says, "to him that overcomes
will I grant to set with me in MY throne,
even as I overcame, and am set down with my
Father in HIS throne." That throne of which
Jesus spoke, which is to be shared by the
overcoming saints, is in the New Jerusalem,
for "the throne of God and the Lamb (Jesus)
shall be IN it" (Rev. 22:3).
New Jerusalem descends.
Closely associated with the
events which take place in connection with
the Lord's return is the descent of the
celestial city, the New Jerusalem, which
Jesus has been preparing for those who are
to be a part of His heavenly kingdom
(John 14:2-3). John saw in vision the city
descending out of heaven (Rev. 21:1-10).
This city will be the home and
headquarters for Christ and His glorified
saints. It will be stationed in the upper
atmosphere where it will likely be seen by
those on earth as a soft glowing light. Although
the glorified saints return with Christ
when He touches down on
this earth, they will not be remaining on
this earth all of the time. During the
millennium they will be "ascending and
descending (see John 1:51), or you might
say, commuting between the New Jerusalem
(in the upper atmosphere) and the earth,
for they will be fulfilling their
responsibilities of "ruling" the
inhabitants of earth.
For more information on the New
Jerusalem, order the booklet, "The
Voice of the Seventh Angel."
Occupy.
In the parable of the pounds as
recorded in Lk. 19:1-27, a certain
"nobleman" (who pictures Christ Himself) was
to go into a FAR country (which represents
Heaven). So he gathered his servants
together and delivered to each a certain
amount of money, and said; "Occupy till I
come.”
Without going into the details of
the parable, I will simply state that WE
Christians are the servants who have been
given the responsibility and stewardship to
be faithful with what the Lord has committed
to us (the "money" in the parable represents
all the gifts and blessings that are ours
through Christ); and we are charged to
"occupy "until Jesus comes. The Greek word
translated "occupy "means "to busy
oneself,” "to trade,” to be occupied in
business.” Our "business" is the gospel of
Jesus Christ, and Mt. 24:14 says that "this
gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in
all the world for a witness to
all nations; and THEN shall the end come.”
As long as the Lord has not returned, there
is WORK to be done; we must be faithful
stewards of all that the Lord has committed
to us. Only the Lord knows when all nations
have had a sufficient witness. I point this
out because some have argued that we
shouldn't put much emphasis on the second
coming of Christ because it causes people to
think only about His coming and NEGLECT the
responsibilities that are ours now. Such
should NOT be the case if a proper balance
and perspective is presented.
It should cause us to be MORE
diligent than ever when we realize the
shortness of the time. Besides this, John
writes that every one who has this hope (of
His coming) "purifies
himself, even as he is pure" (I John 3:3).
Thus we will be diligent about our own
preparation as well as being faithful in the
work that the Lord has for us to do.
Ask.
We have already mentioned the
importance of prayer
(in connection with "watching," or being
spiritually awake and alert), but I want to
call your attention to an O.T. scripture
which is important for serious Christians at
this time. In Zech. 10:1 we read this
admonition, "Ask [ ] 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.” So
many tend to feel that what the Lord is
going to do will come to pass anyway. But
God has chosen to work through
chosen ones here on earth. God found an
instrument in the person of Elijah, and
James tells us that "Elijah was a man
subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed
earnestly that it might not rain; and
it rained not on the earth by the space of
three years
and six months. And he prayed again, and the
heaven gave rain, and the earth brought
forth her fruit." (James 5:17-18). Is not
God seeking out human instruments now who
will "pray earnestly" as did Elijah? Will He
work apart from such instruments? The
scripture quoted from Zechariah commands us
to "Ask [for] rain in the time of the Iatter
rain." This has two stages. One is now.
"Rain" speaks of the outpouring of God's
Spirit. Even so are we to pray now
for a greater move of God's Spirit among
God's people, for among those who are
hungering and seeking. The Spirit will be
increasingly moving and working in
preparation for the climax that is coming.
The second stage will be after the
firstfruits are translated. The remaining
church will be shocked into day and night
prayer,
ASKING for "Rain.” After 50 days of intense
seeking. God will hear from heaven and pour
out the full effusion of the "latter rain."
It will be a "second Pentecost" plus. For a
double portion and more will come on
the church for the glorious consummation
during the tribulation period.*
*A further thought needs to be
added here with regards to Jesus coming TO
His church in the ministry of the Holy
Spirit. The Lord has purposed to REVEAL
Himself IN (and through) His people in a
greater way before He comes for them. Paul
expresses this twice in the book of
Galatians.
First, he says in Gal. 1:15-16:
"But when it pleased God, who separated me
from my mother's womb, and called me by
his grace, to reveal his son IN me." Then
in Gal. 4:19 Paul declares: "My little
children, of whom I travail in birth again
until Christ be formed IN you." If Christ
is being formed (developed, matured) IN
us, then it follows that this will result
in a greater REVELATION of Christ IN and
through us. This is God's desire and
purpose for His church before the curtain
fully comes down on
this age: to REVEAL His Son IN His people.
This must come through a greater work and
moving of the Holy Spirit within us, that
"the love of God might be shed abroad in
our hearts by the Holy Spirit which is
given to
us" (Rom. 5:5), and that the "fruit" or
character of Christ might be developed
more
fully within, even the fruit of the
Spirit (Gal. 5:22-23).
Snare.
The importance of being spiritually
alert and ready is emphasized by Jesus in
Luke 21:34-36: "And take heed to
yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be
overcharged with surfeiting, and
drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so
that day come on
you unawares. For as a SNARE shall it come
on all them that dwell on the face of the
whole earth. Watch [ ] therefore, and pray
always, that you
may be accounted worthy to escape all these
things that shall come to pass, and to stand
before the Son of man." The Greek word
translated "snare" in this passage, means a
trap (as fastened by a noose or
notch); used figuratively it can be a trick
or stratagem.
Repeatedly in this study, I have
been seeking to show you God's strategy; and
that is to suddenly and unexpectedly (by
most) to break into the "household" of the
church and "take" as a thief, the "jewels"
(firstfruits saints) in order to bring the
remaining church to its knees in brokenness
and repentance. We have shown that these
firstfruits saints are to fulfill the role
of the Bride. In the 24th chap. of Gen., we
read the story of Eliezer (a type of the
Holy Spirit) being sent by Abraham (a type
of God the Father) to get a bride for Isaac
(a type of Jesus Christ). The bride was
Rebekah. The Hebrew word for REBEKAH means
"a rope or noose." Thus we can see that the
very name of the Bride (Rebekah) indicates
that the "snare" which God is preparing to
suddenly "spring" on
the world is the TAKING (by translation) of
that group of saints who will make up the
Bride company. This is a part of God's
stratagem.
Veiled.
But notice, in Gen. 24:64-67 we
read that Rebekah remained "veiled" until
after she had met Isaac and he had taken
her into his mother's tent. This shows that
up until the time that the Bride is taken,
much of the truth of God and his end-time
strategy remains "veiled;" and that is why
there is so much confusion and lack of
understanding even among God's people. But
when the Bride company is translated, the
remaining "veils" will be taken away. This
is shown to us in the book of Revelation in
10:5-7. Quoting from the Amplified version:
"Then the (mighty) angel whom I had seen
stationed on sea and land raised his right
hand to the heaven (the sky), and swore in
the name of Him who lives forever and ever.
. . (He swore)
that no more time should intervene and there
should be no more waiting or delay. But that
when the days come that the trumpet call of
the seventh angel is about to be sounded,
then God's mystery—His secret design. His
hidden purpose—as He had announced to His
servants the prophets, should be fulfilled
(accomplished, completed)." It is at the
time that the 7th angel (trumpet) begins to
sound that the Bride company is translated. Then
the "mystery" (secret design or stratagem)
will be "finished" in the sense that all
remaining "veils" will then be taken away;
and also, God will be able to complete His
end-time purpose, for the church will
quickly begin to understand and enter into
the dynamic and glory which God has planned
for His people during the tribulation
period, and participate with fullness of
power in the glorious consummation of this
age.
Worthy.
We had previously quoted Lk.
21:34-36 about the "snare.” But I want to
emphasize the statement in vs. 36
concerning those "accounted worthy to
escape all these things. . . and to stand
before the Son of man." What does it mean to
be "worthy?" The Greek word translated
"worthy" means to be entirely deserving or
fit, comparable or suitable. And how do we
become worthy? Jesus makes it very clear in
Mt. 10:34-38: "He that loves
father or mother more than me is not
worthy of me: and he that loves
son or daughter more than me is not
worthy of me. And he that takes
not his cross, and follows
after me, is not worthy of me.
"A very clear distinction needs to be made
here. It is possible to receive a gift
from the Lord (such as salvation), and
yet not be worthy of HIM, as far as being
ready to dwell in His immediate presence and
qualifying to be a part of His ruling
kingdom.
There must be sufficient change
in our lives that there is a comparableness
or suitableness of our natures with His,
and there must be a proving to be
trustworthy and faithful so that we are fit
to dwell with Him. (For more information on
this, order the article "Preparation
for the Lord's Coming” ).
Only the "Firstfruits" will be worthy of
this high calling at the beginning of the
tribulation.
The tribulation will provide the
opportunity for a vast host of others to
qualify and be ready by its close.
Finally.
We see from Gen. 24:63 that Isaac
went out into the field at eventide; and
there He received His beloved Rebekah.
"Eventide" speaks to us of the approaching
close of this age, and is not our "Isaac"
(Jesus) coming to the "field" (this world)
to receive His beloved? Even so, COME, Lord
Jesus!