COMING TO THE
CLOUDS
First there will be the rapture of the church, His saints.
This is when Jesus
Himself will come down to the clouds to call His bride home.
This is a joyful
time that all believers are looking forward to.
looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing
of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ,
16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven
with a shout,
with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of
God.
And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are
alive and
remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds
to meet
the Lord in the air.
And thus we shall always be with the Lord.
18 Therefore comfort one another with these
words.
1 Thessalonians 4:16-18
At the end of the tribulation, Jesus returns to earth with
His saints, every eye, person on earth will see Him coming. There will be great
mourning, not joy. There are two events, His appearing, and His returning. We
know that no Christian would mourn the appearing of Jesus Christ. He is our
blessed hope that we are watching for.
Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear
in heaven,
and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn,
and they will see the Son of Man coming on
the clouds
of heaven with power and great glory.
Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every
eye will see Him,
even they who pierced Him. And all the
tribes of the earth
will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen.
Jesus will appear a second time apart from sin to save His
bride from God’s wrath to come, not return, but appear. A pre-tribulation rapture.
10 and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He
raised from the dead,
even Jesus who
delivers us from the wrath to come.
1 Thessalonians 1:10
28 so Christ was offered once to bear the sins
of many. To those who
eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time,
apart from sin, for salvation.
Hebrews 9:28
A THIEF IN
THE NIGHT
Only with a pre-tribulation rapture can Jesus come when no
one knows the day or the hour. A thief in the night to the world, but true
believers are told to watch for his appearing, which will be a joyful time.
For you yourselves know perfectly that the
day of the Lord
so comes as a thief in the night.
But you, brethren, are not in darkness,
so that this Day should overtake you as a thief.
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.
KEEP WATCH
We are
told to always keep watching for our blessed hope and His glorious appearing,
not His returning to earth. Those on this earth are so wrapped up in
themselves, they can’t watch, let alone see through the darkness that blinds
them to the truth.
42 Watch therefore, for you do not know
what hour your Lord is
coming.
Matthew 24:42
“Watch therefore, for you know neither
the day nor the hour
in which the Son of Man is coming.
5 You
are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of
darkness.
6 Therefore
let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober.
“He has blinded
their eyes and hardened their hearts, Lest they should
see with their
eyes, Lest they
should understand with their hearts and turn,
So that I should
heal them.”
John 12:40
There
are those who mock us for believing in a pre-tribulation rapture. They say if
you think you can escape, that is not in the scriptures, but it is. Only
through Jesus Christ is one worthy to escape the coming tribulation. Do you
really think that Jesus will drag His bride through the tribulation before
taking us the heaven.
Watch therefore, and pray always that you
may be counted worthy to escape
all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man.
Much more then,
having now been justified but His blood,
we shall be
saved from wrath through Him.
Romans 5:9
10 and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He
raised from the dead,
even Jesus who
delivers us from the wrath to come.
1 Thessalonians 1:10
Do not
be deceived, there are those who say we are already in the tribulation. But
remember Jesus said there would always be tribulation in this world. If you
read the book of Revelation, you would
know we are not in Thee Tribulation.
God’s
word tells us that Satan is the prince of the air.
2 in which you once walked according to the
course of this world,
according to the prince of the power of the air,
the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience,
Ephesians 2:2
We know
God cast him out of heaven because Satan wanted to be like God, the Most High.
Satan plans to make war against Jesus and His saints and exalt himself above
God.
The Fall of Lucifer
12 “How you are fallen from heaven,
O Lucifer, son of the morning!
How you are cut down to the ground,
You who weakened the nations!
13 For you have said in your heart:
‘I will ascend into heaven,
I will exalt my throne above the stars of God;
I will also sit on the mount of the congregation
On the farthest sides of the north;
14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds,
I will be like the Most High.’
O Lucifer, son of the morning!
How you are cut down to the ground,
You who weakened the nations!
13 For you have said in your heart:
‘I will ascend into heaven,
I will exalt my throne above the stars of God;
I will also sit on the mount of the congregation
On the farthest sides of the north;
14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds,
I will be like the Most High.’
Isaiah 14:12-14
We can only imagine what great anger Satan will have
from the book of Revelation, when he sees Jesus descend to the clouds to claim
the dead in Christ and also the living. Souls Satan knows he can never touch.
At this point Satan knows his time is short, bringing great wrath down to the
earth. Thankfully we are in heaven rejoicing.
Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them!
Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea!
For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath,
because he knows that he has a short time.”
During the tribulation many will realize that Jesus
is the promised Messiah and be saved, their names are written in the Book of
Life. These new believers will make a stand against Satan. At this time God
grants Satan authority to make war with His saints on earth. But those who
worship Satan do not have their names in the Book of Life, they had been
blotted out.
“He who overcomes shall be
clothed in white garment,
and I will not blot out his name
from the Book of Life; but
I will confess his name before My
Father and before the angel.
Revelation 3:5
6 Then he opened his mouth in blasphemy against
God, to
blaspheme His name, His tabernacle, and those who dwell
in heaven. 7 It was granted
to him to make war with the saints
and to overcome them.
And authority was given him over every
tribe, tongue, and
nation. 8 All who dwell on
the earth will worship
him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the
Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
Revelation 13:6-8
The saints that were raptured before the tribulation
will be returning with Jesus at the end, they are coming with Him for battle,
when Jesus sets up His kingdom. These saints are referred to as His bride. We
are given a description of how the saints will be clothed.
7 Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him
glory, for the marriage
of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.”
8 And to her it was granted to be arrayed in
fine linen, clean and bright,
for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.
Revelation 19:7-8
14 And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine
linen,
white and clean, followed Him on
white horses.
Revelation 19:14
His bride watches, and is always ready, for He will come as a
thief in the night, coming to the clouds at an hour you do not expect.
Therefore you also be ready,
for the Son of Man
is coming at an hour you do not expect.
And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came,
and those who were ready
went in with him
to the wedding; and the door was shut.
17 Then
we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together
with them in the clouds to meet the Lord
in the air.
And thus we shall always be with the
Lord.
18 Therefore
comfort one another with these words.
1
Thessalonians 4:17, 18
