Jesus IS coming. I think Jesus is ready to come get His church. If He comes today it is fine with me. From the “signs of the times” I know Jesus is coming soon.
Jesus Followers have been looking up towards Heaven eagerly awaiting the return of our Lord Jesus for almost 2,000 years.
We get scoffed at for our belief. However …
We are told in 2 Peter 3:3-9 that scoffers will scoff because He hasn’t yet appeared but God doesn’t want anyone to perish. God hates sin but He loves ALL people.
For that reason He is giving everyone time to come to the cross of Christ, repent and be saved.
The scoffers (are YOU one?) forget that with God a day is as a thousand years and a thousand years are as a day.
Jesus IS Coming SOON
The signs are all there for those who have eyes to see and ears to hear. In fact …
Jesus Himself teaches us in Matthew 24 what we should be looking for and seeing in order to know when His coming is near, even at the door. But I am going to list them for you.
Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives with his disciples when they asked Him “when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” Jesus answered:
“Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many.” Then He went to list the things that would come to pass and be signs that would signify the end was near, even at the door.
1 – Wars, rumors of wars, Nation against Nation
2 – Famines and earthquakes
3 – Jesus followers will be handed over, persecuted, killed because of their belief in Jesus and hated by all Nations.
4 – Many (lukewarm Jesus followers) will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other.
5 – False prophets will appear and deceive many (even Jesus followers).
6 – Due to the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold.
7 – The gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations.
There are two more crowning events that will take place before the end.
One of these events is that the anti-Christ will stand in the Holy place (Temple) and declare himself god the other is that Christ will take His true church out of the world.
In order for the Abomination of Desolation (Daniel 9:27) to occur the Jewish Temple must be rebuilt. This is going to be quite a feat because …
The Holy of Holies must be rebuilt upon the exact location of the other two.
If the correct location is the Dome of the Rock, thought to be the location of the previous two Temples, there isn’t a way currently (for the Jews) to access and ensure the correct location archaeologically because it is owned by the Palestinians.
Jesus goes on to explain, in Matthew 24:32-35, that these are truly events that you need to be aware of and heed the signs.
“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 near. Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it is near, right at the door. Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened.”
So all these things currently transpiring today, before our very eyes, are significant clues.
Number seven (7) on the list above is very significant because this is the first time in the two thousand years since His death and resurrection that number seven can be and is being fulfilled.
With the advent of world-wide television broadcasting, the internet, computer, tablets and smart phones the Gospel of Jesus Christ is now being broadcasted to literally every country in the world. This one requirement was impossible until this generation. Technology is helping fulfill the Word of Christ.
This is an exciting time for Jesus followers who truly love the Lord, read His Word daily, Meditate upon His Word, pray and have a relationship with Christ because we know, we see and we understand what is soon to happen. So what is going to happen exactly?
Very soon we (Jesus followers) are going to take the coolest ride of our lives! I mean this is gonna be waaay cooler than Star Trek’s teleportation. The “beam me up Scotty” thing because literally MILLIONS will be taking that trip at the same time!
MILLIONS In The Air To Meet Christ!
The “rapture” (taking out) of Christ’s church is going to be an incredibly exciting experience for Jesus followers (those who have accepted Christ as their personal savior and live for Him).
Yet for those who have NOT yet been saved and/or have totally rejected the Gospel of Christ the same experience will be terrifying because …
They will be left behind.
An unbelieving sister will be hugging her saved brother and will suddenly find herself holding his clothes, her brother will be gone, caught up to meet Christ in the air.
A young unsaved mother will be breast-feeding her newborn son when suddenly he disappears leaving her in total shock and terror. Someone took her baby, snatched him away from under her eyes, out of her arms and into His, the arms of Jesus Christ the creator and Lamb of God.
Jesus followers driving to work will be caught up in the air while their unsaved passenger(s) looks on screaming in terror realizing he, she or they are going to crash on the interstate at 60 miles per hour.
Planes will fall from the sky because their pilots and co-pilots have been taken to be with Jesus while the unsaved passengers live the last moments of their lives screaming in terror, falling from the sky on their way to eternal damnation because they did not accept the Gospel of Christ as fact.
The above movie is good in the fact it gives a great perspective of what it will be like when Christ takes His church. But WHY does the rapture of the true church happen?
It happens to save true Jesus followers from the coming tribulation.
The coming tribulation will be so horrible that Christ doesn’t want His people to go through it.
WHEN Will The Rapture Take Place?
I do NOT know the exact time and neither does anyone else. Yet …
There are theories about whether it will happen before the tribulation (pre-trib), during the tribulation (mid-trib) or after the tribulation (post-trib).
Yes, there are three different views on when the rapture of Christ’s church is going to occur.
The post tribulation view doesn’t hold water.
Let’s face it the anti-Christ and his minions will kill all the true believers.
True believers won’t accept the mark of the beast or worship him and so will be killed. Common sense dictates there would NOT be any believers to rapture after the tribulation because they would all be dead.
The mid-tribulation theory may be entirely possible because …
In Matthew 24 Jesus says several things that allude to the fact that believers may have to survive or contend with possible death during the first 42 months of the tribulation. For example in Matthew 24:13 Jesus states:
“but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.”
This begs the question to the end of what?
This may also be the passage or verse that makes some people think the rapture will occur after the tribulation but again the post tribulation theory just doesn’t make sense. But that could allude to the time the Father thinks is right and that time may be in the middle of the tribulation.
The pre-tribulation theory seems to hold the most promise from a common sense standpoint. It also holds the most promise for believers because …
It would guarantee believers escape the horrors of the coming great tribulation. I mean seriously who in their right mind would want to live through hell on earth?
The pre-tribulation theory makes scriptural sense because of what Jesus again says in Matthew 24:37-41 which is this:
“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. 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.”
This is an important verse, a significant clue because Noah and his family were already in the Ark before the rains began. The rains did not begin first and the water rise thus making it necessary for Noah and his family to swim to the ark.
Therefore since Jesus clearly states it will be the same as in the days of Noah I have to believe that believers will be taken up to meet Christ in the air before the tribulation gets under way.
If I am wrong It then must be right after the anti-Christ proclaims himself God and will desecrate the Temple with an idol (statue of the beast). This would mean the Temple must be re-built and we’d be 42 months into the tribulation. Either way we know things will seem pretty much normal to unbelievers (as in the days of Noah) and that Jesus is coming as a thief in the night!
“Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.” Matthew 24:42-44
God’s Warning System
God’s character is such that He is compelled to warn His children of the coming end times. He isn’t going to give us the exact date and time but He is definitely trying to get our attention. Jesus gives us clues in Matthew 24, Mark 13 and Luke 21. These “signs of the times” are God’s way a warning believers that the time for His Son’s return is near. Through various Bible prophecies we are told to watch for these signs.
Natural signs and clues. We are told in Matthew 24:7 and Luke 21:11 there will be famine, earthquakes, pestilence and signs in the heavens (4 Blood Moons for example). This is the category of signs least respected simply because they are easily missed or ignored due to the fact that natural disasters happen, continuously throughout history.
However there is a clue in respect that these natural signs are increasingly prevalent. Jesus stated they would be like birth pangs. Birth pains or contractions start out slow and increase in both amount and intensity as birth draws near.
We are seeing this happen today. There are more earthquakes, tsunamis, wild fires, volcanoes, famines and pestilence. The 4 blood moons are a huge sign we saw in the heavens.
Over the last 5 years we have also seen and heard about massive, unexplained animal deaths. Birds, fish, antelope and more dying by the thousands with no explanation! Yet the Bible tells us in Hosea 4:1-3 …’Hear the word of the Lord, ye children of Israel: for the Lord hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land. By swearing, and lying, and killing, and stealing, and committing adultery, they break out, and blood toucheth blood. Therefore shall the land mourn, and every one that dwelleth therein shall languish, with the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of heaven; yea, the fishes of the sea also shall be taken away.’
Wars and rumors of wars. In Matthew 24:6 , Mark 13:7, Luke 21:9 Jesus mentions wars and conflicts. The Harbinger written by Rabbi Jonathan Cahn suggests, with a ton of supporting evidence, that various occurrences such as 9-11 has been God’s way to wake up a Nation about to come under judgement.
Persecution. In the latter days Jesus said believers would suffer persecution, even death. That we’d be hated on account of His name.
“Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me.” Matthew 24:9
You can plainly see (TV news, articles, internet) this happening.
We can no longer pray in schools. God has been removed from our schools and courts. Muslims are killing Christians as you read this. We are classified as extremists according to the press (The Washington Times & Fox News Radio) and put on “watch lists” in our own country (USA) [1].
Society changes. You can see the massive society changes taking place. When I was young if you were to tell me it would be illegal for me to smoke in public but fine to hold hands with and kiss another male I’d have said you were crazy! When I was young sodomy was against the law yet now same sex marriage is legal while smoking in public is not.
Abortion, the killing of God’s unborn human creations was never condoned. Now America kills millions of babies each year. And if you think for one minute that an unborn child is NOT a living, creation of Almighty God think again. For the Lord God says:
“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you” – Jeremiah 1:5
Jesus said we’d become increasingly lawless and immoral as the time for His return approached; as evil as in the days of Noah. People are now calling evil good and good evil.
False Prophets and Cults. IF a sect, cult or denomination has their own book, other than the Bible, chances are they do NOT teach the truth. There are even those who teach from the Bible but change the Word of God in such a manner that it serves their agenda not God’s!
I’m not a preacher, nor a prophet. I’m just a guy who reads the Word of God. Listen to Dr. David Reagan of Lamb and Lion Ministries and learn more.
Are YOU Ready?
Jesus IS coming. If Jesus suddenly appeared today would you be ready? I’m glad you found this page. I believe there is a reason you found this page and have gotten this far. And that reason is likely to be the chance for you to get ready to meet Christ. You can be ready to meet Christ by giving your life to Him right now. Pray this prayer, then live for Jesus!
References:
1 – Defense Department classifies Catholics, evangelicals as extremists
By Lachlan Markay – The Washington Free Beacon – – Friday, April 5, 2013
