The secular community, as well as Christians, pretentiously poked fun at Harold Camping’s prediction of the “Rapture.”  He said it would occur on May 21, 2011.  The day came and went as usual.  Christians all over the world knew from the words of Jesus himself that Mr. Camping’s prediction was in error.

“But of that day and hour knows no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.” Matthew 24:36 

Just one verse in scripture is enough for anyone who would attempt to narrow down the Second-Coming to a particular day or hour.  Most Christians can quote it by heart!  We can trust in Jesus’ word on this. But it is just one verse among many others Jesus had to say about His coming! Matthew 24 is a great source of plain language about the Second Coming if read in its context (without adding or subtracting) will prepare the sincere seeker of truth to be prepared for that great day!

Even though the faithful watchers can discern the times, Jesus will come at a time when they do not expect it, but they can be prepared!

“So you also, when you see all these things, know that it is near—at the doors!” …”Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” Matthew 24:33, 44

On the other hand, those not prepared are not looking for Jesus and are going about their normal routine. To them, Jesus will come as a thief in the night…totally unexpected. But to the watchers, they will not be overtaken as a thief as we shall see in this study.

Second Coming Shams

There are a host of other shams thrown at us by the enemy more complicated and tougher to unravel.   Many rely on non-biblical reasoning or sources concerning the Second-Coming. Examples:

“If my grandmother believed it, that is good enough for me.”

“If it is on the internet, it must be right. “

“The religious programming and books can’t be wrong.”

“The nice preacher on the TV is telling the truth.  Look at his big church!”

But, the enemy is at work with trickery that is so deceptive that even the best of Christians could be deceived.

“For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.“ Matthew 24:24

This warning by Jesus tells those who will listen that false christs (Messiahs), and false prophets (teachers, forecasters) will use the platform of religion to promote falsehoods that could deceive the “elect.”  The word for “elect” as translated from the Greek is the word, “eklektos.”  It means those “chosen by God”

These events and teachings are a strong delusion, but the implication is that the “elect” are not deceived.  What makes this group different?  Very simply, they listen to the voice of Jesus and His word.  Their guiding principle is Sola Scriptura.  The Bible alone.  Scripture comes first before the words of any person, book, movie, or institution.

“To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.” Isaiah 8:20

The situation in the last days is very profound. The magnitude of the deception is revealed through God’s word. Paul gave an important warning when He wrote to the Corinthians,  He stated plainly that evil appears to be good!  The bad guy is in a white hat!

 And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light.  It is not surprising, then, if his servants also masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve. II Corinthians 11:14. 

This verse tells us that Satan and his servants can look like an angel (messenger) of light!  Satan can even use scripture to lead people down the wrong path. He certainly tried with Jesus during the days of temptation in the wilderness.  But, Jesus knew His Father and He knew the word of God.

As Christians were quoting Matthew 24:36 when Camping made his prognostication, it would have been well for all of us to read the entire chapter and listened closely to the instruction Christ gave his disciples when they asked,

“…what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?  Matthew 24:3. 

His answer? 

“Take heed that no man deceive you. Matthew 24:4

The very first words out of Jesus’ mouth regarding the sign of His coming and the end of the world is a warning to LISTEN so that no man deceive you! 

 Deception in the Manner of His Coming

As we have seen from Matthew 24:36, Jesus himself does not know when he will return, but He knows there will be deception involved.   But the deception is not just only the timing, but the way He comes back to earth.

The whole of Matthew  24 and the parallel chapters in the other Gospels tell of  Jesus as He described to the disciples how He would return. It is straight forward with no ambiguity! Why is this important, especially to Christians? Could it be that even Christians could be deceived and thereby lost? If you read Jesus’ warning, it is primarily to His followers. The lost of this world could care less.

“For when they say, “Peace and safety!” then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape. ” 1 Thessalonians 5: 3

Recently, I heard a well-known TV evangelist say he doesn’t look at the signs or worry about the mark of the beast and other end-time-events because that is for those in the tribulation to worry about. Is this true? Isn’t this a dangerous way to prepare for Christ’s return? Is this not the object of the enemy’s falsehood to feel secure in something that is opposite from the teaching of Jesus?  

We will use primarily Mathew 24 for this first study.   Jesus’ return is not just about the “when” but the “how.”  Rest assured, the “elect” will know that his coming is near; by the signs he left us. If they are a student of the word of God, they will have stored up the truth in their minds and walked in the light.

“But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief. You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober. 1Thessalonians 5: 4-6

Remember therefore how you have received and heard; hold fast and repent. Therefore if you will not watch, I will come upon you as a thief, and you will not know what hour I will come upon you. Revelation 3:3

How We Got Confused

There was a time when Christians knew how Jesus would come and many of the events of His coming by simply reading the portions of scripture that plainly tell of His coming.  In the last several years, there are books, movies, radio programs,  preachers and teachers with a different story that is not based on plain scripture but rather on a script from Hollywood or a book.

In the study of Jesus’ Second Coming, there is no need for any fanciful interpretation or any deep study.  It is plain and simple; written for all men, women, and children, not just university theologians or popular TV preachers.

Staying in Matthew 24, Jesus goes on to describe his Second Coming in verse 27-31:

For as the lightning comes out of the east, and shines even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

For wheresoever the carcass is, there will the eagles be gathered together.

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.

And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

Matthew 24: 27-31

What do you see in the words of Jesus regarding his coming?  Is it secret?  Are only a few Christians affected by it?  Is it in two parts or just one?  From the verses above, we can plainly see:

• His coming is bright like lightning!  While lightning is quick, the comparison here is not the speed but by the brightness (shining)! The reference to shining involves sight.  Is there anything quite or secret about lightning that lights up the whole sky from east to west?
• There is a tribulation before he comes and the sun is darkened and the moon does not give her light and the stars fall from heaven (massive meteorite shower?) and the powers of the heavens are shaken!  Can anyone miss this?  Is the tribulation before or after he comes?  It is before he comes!
• Those who are lost see the sign of the Son of man in heaven and the people of the earth mourn!  They see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. They are not left to wonder.  They see Him!
• He sends his angels with a great sound!  You can hear it!  The angels gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other!  Will this gathering be secret?  No! There is no indication here that this will be at the speed of lightning.  The process of gathering is for both the alive and those who died in Christ.

A Clear Picture

The clearest picture of the 2nd Coming is found in the letter to the Thessalonians by Paul. Here he provides more detail to the canvas of this event.

 “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:

Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

Wherefore comfort one another with these words.”

1 Thessalonians 4: 16-18.

From this verse, we can plainly see:

• Jesus comes down from heaven (where he went to prepare a place for us-John 14: 2, 3) and there is sound in the form of a shout, a voice, and a trumpet. So can we conclude there is sound involved with the Second Coming? Yes!
• Those that died in Christ are resurrected. The resurrection of the saved is the beginning of literal eternal life.  It is the reward Jesus brings with him (Revelation 22:12).
• Those who are alive when Jesus comes will begin to ascend up into the heavens and meet both Jesus and those who were resurrected.  Here is the “rapture.”  It means to be caught up, but there are two groups that meet the Lord in the heavens.  Those who were in their graves asleep in Christ and those who did not experience death. (1 Thessalonians 4: 13, 14)
• This is where immortality is given.  Eternity with Jesus starts here at this event! (Notice it is not at death)….”and so shall we ever be with the Lord!”

Paul”s further explanation of these events are found in his letter to the Corinthians.

 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump(et): for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.

1 Corinthians 15: 52, 53

 Notice that when Jesus returns, immortality is given instantly at that point…not at death. As mentioned above, this is the reward Jesus brings with Him…It is out of context and in error to use the following verse at a funeral (as I heard) because the saying can only come to pass when Jesus returns and gives us immortality.

“O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?”

1 Corinthians 15: 55

The context of this quote is found in the verse just before (v. 54)

“Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed…

So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.”

1 Corinthians 15:54

Very plainly…it is at the second coming that Jesus takes the dust of the dead and shapes them back into life.  The sleep of death is but like a mere second. When Jesus resurrects those who are asleep in death, they are instantly (a twinkling of an eye) given the gift of immortality and bodies that will never decay.

There is a lot going on in these verses to let us know there is nothing secret and it is not in two parts.  Other verses from the other writers further describe the glory of his coming, Here are just a few:

Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.

Mark 8:38

Jesus does not come in his glory alone, but the glory of his Father and with the holy angels!  With all that glory, there is nothing secret or invisible about His coming!

The lost have a different response to His coming:

 And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains;

 And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb:

Revelation 6: 15-16:

The unsaved will hide in the darkest places of the dens and rocks of mountains and pray for them to fall on them to hide them from the face of Jesus!  No secret coming here!  This was also foretold by Isaiah:

“Go into the rocks, hide in the ground from dread of the LORD and the splendor of his majesty!”

Isaiah 2:10

 “Behold, he comes 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. Even so,  Amen.”

Revelation 1:7

From the verses above, we can see:

• When he comes, he comes in His own glory and the glory of the father and the holy angels.  It only took the glory of one angel to make the soldiers at the tomb of Jesus drop to the ground like dead men (Matthew 28: 2-4).  Imagine the whole sky full of the glory of millions of angels and the glory of the Father and Jesus!
• Those that are lost cannot bear to look upon the sight of Jesus’ coming and try to hide from the face of Jesus by calling for the rocks and mountains to fall on them.
• Every eye sees him coming!  Much like every eye can see the sun as the earth turns.  It is possible that his coming is seen up to as long as a 24 hour period!

Nothing secret about this!

Notice the contrast of the words of those that are saved.

 “And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us: this is the LORD; we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation.

Isaiah 25:9

In the next writing, we will study out where Hal Lindsey and others came up with the idea of a sudden snatching away of the church and the 7-year tribulation.

Another topic we will study is the fate of the lost.  The reason for the Lord’s apparent delay in coming is because when he comes, there will be those who perish in the destruction of the earth:

The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.

2 Peter 3: 9, 10

The Second coming is both rejoicing and destruction for this earth as we know it. Nowhere does the word of God split the return of Christ into two parts. But, as we shall see, the saved spend a honeymoon of one thousand years with Jesus in heaven (where he is now) before He creates the new heavens and the new earth prepared in the saved of the redeemed.

“Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.” 2 Peter 3: 13

In conclusion, the Lord taught his disciples about the deception regarding the timing and manner His second coming.  This deception would be very tricky and inspired by the enemy himself with the intent to take as many as possible with him, especially those who give up on the return of Christ and return to their former life:

But if that evil servant says in his heart, ‘My master is delaying his coming,’ and begins to beat his fellow servants, and to eat and drink with the drunkards, the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him and at an hour that he is not aware of,..Matthew 24: 48-50

It is critically important for the follower of Christ to know what Jesus and the writers of the Bible have to say about this grand event when all the saved will meet the Lord in the air and begin eternity with each other never; to experience sin and death ever again.  What a day that will be!  It will be glorious! We shall behold Him!

 Listen to the correct theology of Christ’s second coming in Sandi Patty’s version of “We Shall Behold Him.”  May the Lord bless you as you listen.