Jesus is coming! Jesus is coming! As a keen observer of world events through the lens of history and the book of Revelation I can clearly see the onrush of the end times. The end is not immediate but near; maybe as close as four years from now. The humanist manifesto is in shreds. Almost gone is the humanist propaganda and dream that there is no god at all; that man himself is a god who can save himself and make the world a better place. We all sense that man cannot save himself and things are getting worse in the world and not better. The lie has been exposed. Man is beginning a slow death spiral that will lead to eternal death, and we have a front row seat to see it with our own eyes. We can feel it in our bones, whether you’re a Christian who believes or a nonbeliever. The difference between the believer and the nonbeliever is striking. While the nonbeliever lives in a state of constant fear, dread, and despair the Christian true believer is at peace because they know God is in control of his creation. Believers know they have a “blessed hope.” Believers hopefully watch the horizon for the promised return of Jesus Christ, their Lord and Savior, who will one day appear in the air and call all those in Christ to himself, both dead and alive. At this rapture of the saints Jesus will give every believer their new eternal glorified bodies right there in the air, before returning to heaven with them. God will soon remove his church from the earth before pouring out his wrath on Israel and all the Gentile nations and peoples who have rejected the true God of this world and his salvation.
1 Timothy 6:14 – That you keep this commandment (to have faith) without spot, blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ’s appearing.
Jehovah is the one true God and the author of the Christian faith. God has proven himself whereas all the false gods of all the fake religions that have ever existed in the world have not; they all stand mute before our God because they don’t have a shred of proof to back up their claims. There’s no evidence or testimony to back them up. They exist only because Satan has created them through weak-minded men as a smoke screen to lead men away from the truth of God and his salvation. What proof do I have of God? Let’s start with God’s Word, our Holy Bible, which God has given us. The Bible was written over a span of 1500 years by forty different writers (prophets of God) who wrote as they were moved by the Holy Spirit of God. We ended up with the inerrant Bible (without error), which is the truth of God that was written so we might know God and know his commandments that we are to follow for a prosperous life. The consistent theme of the Bible is the revelation of Jesus Christ and the fact that none of the Bible writers varied from it, contradicted each other or walked over each others message proves God authored the Bible. God made the Bible one third prophecy, in part to prove he is who he says he is. God’s word contains over 1000 prophecies, over 500 of which have been fulfilled and documented as fact. Contrast that with all the false gods and fake religions that have ever existed who don’t have even one fulfilled prophecy between them. That proves without a doubt there’s a God in heaven.
Isaiah 1:18 – Come now and let us reason together, says the Lord, though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool.
The Bible clearly teaches there will be three “appearings” of Jesus Christ on the earth. The first appearing has already happened in the incarnation of Jesus Christ, who came down from heaven, took on flesh, and lived a sinless human life during his three and half years of ministry. By his crucifixion and resurrection Jesus atoned for the sins of all men, past, present and furure; which will allow a gracious God to restore fellowship with man if they accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. How can we be certain that the Son of God has already come and gone? Many of the 500 prophecies already fulfilled in the Bible were about the coming of the Messiah, Jesus Christ, the Son of God. In fact, there are over sixty specific prophecies about Jesus that were fulfilled with his first appearing. In a previous blog I listed the 37 fulfilled prophecies of Jesus I thought were most important, including the Old Testament predictions and the New Testament fulfillment. I won’t provide all of them again here. I’ll list just fifteen prophecies literally fulfilled at the first coming (appearing) of Jesus Christ:
Isaiah 7:14 – Born of a virgin
Micah 5:2 – At Bethlehem
Jeremiah 31:15 – Slaughter of the children
Hosea 11:1 – Called out of Egypt
Isaiah 11:2 – Anointed with the Spirit
Zechariah 9:9 – Entry into Jerusalem
Psalm 41:9; 55:12-14 – Betrayed by a friend
Zechariah 13:7 – Disciples forsake him
Zechariah 11:12 – Sold for 30 pieces of silver
Zechariah 11:13 – Potter’s field bought
Isaiah 50:6 – Spit on and scourged
Exodus 12:46; Psalm 43:20 – Not a bone broken
Psalm 69:21 – Gall and vinegar
Psalm 22 – Hand and feet pierced. Garments parted; lots cast
Isaiah 53 – Poverty, suffering, patience, death
One fulfilled Bible prophecy is enough proof of God for me. What’re the odds of over 500 prophecies being fulfilled in the Bible and also that any one person could fulfill 15, 37 or over 60 prophecies in the Bible about the coming Messiah, the Son of God? I’ll tell you. The odds are so great as to make it a certainty that Jehovah is God as he says he is and that Jesus Christ is indeed the Messiah, the promised Son of God. Since the first appearing of Jesus happened literally, exactly like the Bible said it would, then we can have confidence the next two appearings of Jesus will unfold in like manner. Believers understand from the Scriptures that God cannot lie and the eyes of God roam to and fro across the earth to fulfill his word. The Second Coming of Jesus Christ to the earth is coming and it will be the most important event in human history; it will be the culmination of the age. Jesus Christ will set foot on the Mount of Olives as prophesied and he will judge Israel and all the Gentile nations for their sins against God. The Second Coming of Jesus will actually be in two stages, seven years apart. The Second Coming of Jesus is called that because Jesus actually sets foot on earth for only the second time; but it’ll actually be the third appearing of Christ.
Titus 11:13 – For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.
If you’ll notice in the above Scripture God refers to the rapture and the Second Coming as separate events so we know they occur at different times. The rapture of the church saints in the air by Jesus is referred to in the Bible as the “blessed hope.” In the Bible the Second Coming of Jesus to the earth is also referred to as the “glorious appearing.” We also know from other verses in the Bible that these two events occur seven years apart. Believers are excited about this Second Coming of Jesus because it’ll usher in the 1000 year millennial kingdom of Jesus Christ on the earth. Believers aren’t as concerned now about how this third appearing of Jesus Christ affects them because they’ll know all about it before it happens because believers will already be in heaven by then and will accompany Jesus at the Second Coming. The focus of believers should be on the second appearing of Jesus, that’s the important one for believers, where Jesus is coming in the air to call all believers to himself (the rapture), to give all believers, both dead and alive, their resurrection bodies before returning to heaven with them.
Revelation 20:6 – Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years.
The Second Coming of Jesus to the earth (the glorious appearing) is not as important to believers as the rapture because with the rapture believers still have skin in the game. Believers have more time to build up treasures in heaven by their work for the kingdom of God. Believers can still witness for Christ and help save lost souls for God. Believers can still do good works and glorify God by their actions. On the other hand, the saints will know the exact date of the Second Coming before it happens because believers will be alongside Jesus in their new glorified bodies when Jesus does descend from heaven to the earth. Believers will have already ended all good works done in the body and will have already received their rewards at the bema judgment seat of Christ before attending the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. There are eight times more prophecies concerning the Second Coming of Jesus as there are for his first coming. Since the first coming of Jesus was documented as fact we’re eight times more certain that the Second Coming will also literally be fulfilled as written in the Bible. I’m listing some of the prophecies to be literally fulfilled at the Second Coming:
Acts 1:11 – That Jesus will come to the earth again
Zechariah 14:4 -At the Mount of Olives where he ascended
2 Thessalonians 1:8 – In flaming fire
Matt.24:30; 1 Peter 1:7; 4:13 – In the clouds of heaven with power and great glory
Job 19:25 – Jesus will stand upon the earth
Deut.33:2; 1 Thess.3:13; Jude 14 – His saints (the church) will come with him
Revelation 1:7 – Every eye will see him
2 Thessalonians 2:8 – He will destroy the antichrist
Matt.25:31; Rev.5:13 – He will sit on his throne
Matt. 25:32 – He will gather all nations before him and judge them
Isa.9:6-7; Luke 1:32; Ezek.21:25-27 – He will have the throne of David
Jeremiah 23:5-5 – His throne will be upon the earth
Daniel 7:13-14 – He will have a kingdom
Dan.7:18-22-27; Rev.5:10 – He will rule over it with his saints
Ps.72:11; Isa.49:6-7; Rev.15-4 – All kings and nations of the earth will serve him
Zech.9:10; Rev.11:15 – The kingdoms of this world are his
Genesis 49:10 – The people will gather unto him
Isaiah 45:23 – Every knee will bow to him
Zech.14:6; Ps.86:9 – Everyone will come and worship the king
Psalm 102:16 – He will build up Zion
Jer.3:17; Isa.33:20-21 – That his throne will be in Jerusalem
Matt.19:28; Luke 22:28-30 – The apostles will sit on thrones judging the tribes of Israel
Ps.2:8-9; Rev.2:27 – He will rule all nations
Isaiah 9:7 – He will rule with judgment and justice
Eze.40-48; 43:2-5; 44:4 – The temple will be rebuilt and the glory of the Lord will enter it
Isaiah 40:5 – The glory of the lord will be revealed
Isaiah 32:15 – The wilderness will be a fruitful field
Isaiah 35:1-2 – The desert will blossom as a rose
Isaiah 11:10 – His rest will be glorious
The second appearing of Jesus Christ (in the air) is never referred to in the Bible as the rapture. The word rapture is a human term taken from the Latin translation of the Bible which is no longer in print or in use. The rapture event is prophesied in God’s Word and referred to by the Apostle Paul as the, “blessed hope” and in other areas of the Bible as simply our “hope.” Nonbelievers scoff at the rapture but Scripture clearly says it will happen. Scripture says the word of God is only foolishness to those that are perishing (nonbelievers) and to those who believe it is the power of God unto salvation. Believe in what God says. Even some believers don’t believe Jesus Christ will literally come for them in the air. Now, either these believers haven’t read or studied the Scriptures as thoroughly as they should have or they can’t believe or accept the literal interpretation of the Bible as God intended. A believer who refutes the rapture is going against God. They are, in effect, calling God a liar to his face and they will be held accountable at the bema judgment seat of Christ. Faith is believing in what God say, with no questions asked. You either have faith or you don’t. There is no middle ground. I’m listing some Scriptures that prophesy about the coming rapture of all believers, our “blessed hope.”
1 Corinthians 15:22-23 – For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. But each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ’s at His coming.
1 Thessalonians 4:16 – That Jesus will come to the earth himself and he will shout
John 5:28 – That the dead will hear the voice of Jesus and come forth
1 Thessalonians 4:17 – That the raised dead and the living believers will be caught together up to meet Jesus in the air
John 14:3 – That Jesus will receive them unto himself
Luke 12:37 – That Jesus will minister unto his watching servants
1 Corinthians 15:53 – Believer shall receive new eternal glorified bodies while in the air with Jesus
The Bible commands that all believers love the rapture and to continually watch for its coming in anticipation. Believers are never more alive than when they expect Jesus to come for them at any moment. They are encouraged and motivated to witness for Christ, do good works and over all live more godly lives. The explosive growth rate of the early church during the first three centuries after the death of Jesus can largely be attributed to believers expecting the imminent return of Jesus Christ to take believers to heaven. The standard greeting between believers in those days was, “Jesus is coming.” As believers we need to recapture the passion for the rapture that existed in the early church. The rapture event is also very important to God as evidenced by the fact that God will give a special crown in heaven to all those saints who show a special love for the rapture and who watch continuously for its coming. According to 1 Thessalonians 4:18 God wants all believers to keep in remembrance the coming rapture in order to encourage and comfort each other. I have no idea what rewards or privileges go along with the crown of rejoicing but I plan to work for it and you should too. I urge all believers to strive with me for this crown, to focus on the coming rapture of the saints as a way to energize our faith in God; to help us to be obedient to God’s commands and to encourage us to do good works for the kingdom of God during the short time we have left here on earth. All the rewards we’ll ever receive in heaven, for all eternity, are dependent upon the actions we take for God while we’re in the flesh here on earth. Let’s take advantage of our opportunities while we can. This is why God leaves us on the earth after our salvation; to do the work he has planned for us.
1 Thessalonians 4:18 – Therefore comfort one another with these words (the rapture).
Isaiah 66:8 – Who has heard such a thing? Who has seen such a thing? Shall the earth be made to give birth in one day? Or shall a nation be born at once? For as soon as Zion was in labor, she gave birth to her children.
2 Peter 3:8 – But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.
I’ve pondered long and hard over what God means by the above Scripture; 2 Peter 3:8. All Scripture is there for a reason and I believe 2 Peter 3:8 is one of the keys to unlocking God’s plan for human history. God didn’t need seven days to create the world. God could have made the world with a snap of his fingers. So why did God need to take seven days to create the universe? I believe God made the world in seven days to symbolize or represent the seven thousand years of human history he had planned for us on this planet. One day of creation was allotted for each God-day of 1000 years and vice versa, hence the meaning of the Scripture. We know from the time of creation to Abraham was 2000 years (two God-days of 1000 years each) and the time from Abraham to Jesus was 2000 years (two more God-days). From the time of Jesus to right now has been almost 2000 years (another two God-days). God made the world in six days and then he rested on the seventh day. That has always puzzled me because I know God never gets tired. Sunday’s day of rest was meant to symbolize the 1000 year millennial kingdom of Jesus Christ, when all believers will “rest in Christ.” If my calculations are correct we’re very near the end of 6000 years of human existence and near the end of the sixth God-day. God is not arbitrary. If God was exact with Daniel’s prophecy I believe God will also be exact with his 1000 year God-days. If we can determine when God starts each God-day we can determine the exact date each day ends.
Hebrews 9:26 – He then would have had to suffer often since the foundation of the world; but now, once at the end of the ages, He has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself.
Scripture says only God the Father knows the day of Christ’s Second Coming. Jesus spoke in parables to share spiritual truths with believers that nonbelievers wouldn’t be able to understand. In much the same way, God has included prophecies in the Bible meant to be revealed in the end times to believers while keeping nonbelievers in the dark. The fulfilled prophecies of God will give spiritually aware believers a general sense of the timeline of end time prophetic events and let us know the “season” of their fulfillment. We need to clear up two end time false teachings prevalent among weak-minded Christians today who have been influenced by satanic forces. First, the rapture and Second Coming of Christ occur at the same time and are essentially one event. Scripture clearly teaches this is false. These are two distinct, separate events that occur for different reasons, to two different people and at different times. Second, that the rapture occurs at the halfway point or at the end of the seven years of the tribulation period prophesied by God. Again, this is a false teaching. Scripture is clear that the church will be raptured to heaven prior to the tribulation where God pours out his wrath on Israel and the nonbelieving Gentiles. We know that the seven year tribulation period starts with a signed peace agreement between Israel and the antichrist and the man of sin won’t be revealed until the church is removed from the earth. We know the rapture and the peace agreement with Israel occur very close together, seven years before the Second Coming.
Hebrews 9:28 – 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 for sin, for salvation.
I believe we can use Scripture to verify that we are indeed in the season for the impending rapture of the church. I believe we can further shrink the timeline based on historical events and a number of Scriptures. Isaiah 66:8 predicted Israel would be born again in a single day, which occurred on May 15, 1948. That started the prophetic time clock ticking on the end times because Jesus said everyone alive in that generation would not pass away before he returned for his church. It is now been 74 years since Israel was born. God has set our current normal lifespan at 70-80 years. A few will live much longer but nobody lives past 120 years in the modern age so even if someone was born the day before Israel became a state and lived to be 120 years old that’s only another 46 years from today. I believe we can narrow it down further. We know Israel is the key to God’s prophetic time clock and we know God is precise with his timing of Bible events.
Matthew 24:42 – Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming.
For example, when Daniel prophesied that the Messiah would be revealed in the city of Jerusalem in 483 years it occurred on the exact date foretold (using the Jewish calendar). Adam, the first man, was a type of Christ. Jesus is called the second Adam. Abraham was a type of Christ because he was the firstfruit of the Jewish people. Jesus is the firstfruit of the church, the first of many brethren. If God’s prophetic time clock is Israel then it makes sense God would start and end each 1000 years for a God-day based on Jesus. We’re almost at the end of the sixth God-day. It can’t end based on the anniversary of Jesus’ birth because we’re already past that date (the year 2000). The end of the sixth God-day can only end on the 1000 year anniversary of Christ’s death which will occur in April 2033, on good Friday. This date will coincide with the Second Coming of Jesus Christ to the earth to end the age.
Hebrews 9:24 – For Christ has not entered the holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us.
When God has important information to share with us he routinely uses other verses of Scripture in other Bible books to verify his message. The absolute best method of Bible interpretation is using Scripture to interpret Scripture. That way a Scripture that may be a little ambiguous is made crystal clear. I’ve already given you my analysis of 2 Peter 3:8 as talking about the seven days of creation representing seven thousand years of human history God has allotted us; one 24 hour creation day equaling 1000 years (one God-day). Does God mention this anywhere else in the Scriptures? Yes he does. Check out the following verses:
Hosea 6:1-2 – Come, and let us return to the Lord; for He has torn, but He will heal us; He has stricken, but He will bind us up. After two days He will revive us; on the third day He will raise us up, that we may live in His sight.
“Come, and let us return to the Lord;”
I love it when I see a Scripture start with the word “come” followed by a comma (see Isaiah 1:18). God is coming down to our level and speaking to us in a personal way, asking us, exhorting us to do what he’s asking us to do. In verse one God is asking us to return to the Lord which means we used to be with God but aren’t anymore. God is telling us he wants us back and he has made a way we can return to him. When God says “us” he’s talking to every person he has ever made.
“for He has torn; but He will heal us;”
Adam and Eve were in perfect fellowship with God in the Garden of Eden and they were immortal beings in glorified bodies that never grew old or got sick. When Adam and Eve sinned against God they were literally torn away from fellowship with God and torn away from the Garden of Eden. That has already happened. God says he will heal us (future tense). God will repair the torn relationship with man and restore fellowship with God based on our future individual actions. To return to the Lord each person must believe the gospel message of Christ and accept Jesus Christ ans Lord and Savior.
“He has stricken, but He will bind us up.”
God uses a common literary device of repeating a truth in a slightly different way to help clarify what he’s saying and drive home the truth so we understand it. God tore Adam and Eve away from his presence and kicked them out of the Garden of Eden. But Adam and Eve were also “stricken” by God by removing their glorified bodies and replacing it with sin-stained bodies like we all have, bodies that will get sick, grow old and die; leaving only our eternal spirit which returns to God for judgment. This curse has befallen all men after Adam but God in his mercy will rescue us. God says he will bind us up (bandage our wounds and heal us) if we accept God’s salvation (future tense). God will bind us up by giving us glorified bodies once we have restored our fellowship with the Father by accepting his saving grace unto salvation by acknowledging Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior.
“After two days He will revive us;”
This is a clear reference to all believers who have died in Christ in the 2000 years (two God-days) since the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Believers, both alive and dead, will be raptured to meet Jesus in the air to receive their glorified resurrection bodies before returning to heaven with Jesus . The two thousand years that have passed since the death and resurrection of Christ is referred to as “two days” in this verse. This Scripture tells us explicitly that a God-day is 1000 years. You have to remember that the word “day” in the Bible can refer to a 24 hour creation day, a 12 hour Jewish day or a 1000 year God-day, depending on the context of the verse.
“on the third day He will raise us up, that we may live in His sight.”
The third day referenced in this Scripture is the 1000 year God-day we know as the 1000 year millennial kingdom of Jesus Christ where he will reign on earth. God has promised in other Bible verses that believers will always be with Jesus and that is confirmed here. Believers will live and reign alongside Jesus in his earthly kingdom for 1000 years and beyond. Let’s not forget Jesus will also raise up all believers who died in Christ during the seven year tribulation period and give them their glorified resurrection bodies like the raptured saints.
Most Bible scholars think Jesus died on April 3, 33 AD, at the age 33, because Jewish men couldn’t teach in the synagogue or become a Rabbi until age 30, and we know Jesus taught in the synagogue and was acknowledged to be a Rabbi (teacher). We have to assume Jesus started his three and a half year ministry as soon as he turned 30 years of age. Based on the Scriptures the only other possible date for the death of Jesus is in April of 30 AD; but then Jesus would have had to start his ministry earlier and had it last longer. Biblical scholars are split on this issue but I believe in the 33 AD date as the date of Jesus’ death. I don’t think God makes any mistake with the world dating system so 33 AD is the right date. Jesus Christ is the focal point of history and it make total sense for God to start and end his God-days surrounding the activities of Jesus Christ. The fourth God-day could have ended with the death of Jesus and the resurrection of Jesus began the first day of the fifth God-day. If we fast-forward 2000 years it would then be a logical assumption that the end of the sixth God-day would coincide with the Second Coming of Jesus Christ to the earth and the beginning of the seventh God-day (the millennial kingdom) starting the following day.
Luke 21:36 – (Jesus speaking) – 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.
If you use the Jewish calendar the Second Coming would then be on Easter Sunday of 2033. We know the tribulation period starts exactly seven years before the Second Coming and is triggered by the signing of a peace agreement by Israel with the antichrist. We’re talking about a timeline for the rapture to occur in April of 2026, probably on Good Friday or Easter Sunday. The rapture will occur before the signing of the peace treaty. Most Bible scholars think the two events occur almost simultaneously, but certainly no more than a day or two apart. If I’m right the rapture of the church will occur four years and two months from now, in 2026, over Easter weekend. It’s okay to speculate on the time of the “blessed hope” but it in the end it really doesn’t matter. What’s important for us is to be expecting it and we’re continuing to work for the kingdom of God as if Jesus were coming tomorrow. We’re to keep our eyes on the horizon watching for the coming of Jesus in the air for us. Believers are to do the work of God while it’s still day and continuously give praise, worship, honor and glory to God for all he has done for us. I wish you all Godspeed!
Revelation 16:15 – (Jesus speaking) – Behold, I am coming as a thief. Blessed is he who watches, and keeps his garments (righteousness), lest he walk naked and they see his shame.
Hebrews 10:35-36 – Therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise.
Hebrews 10:37-38 – For yet a little while, and He who is coming will come and will not tarry. Now the just shall live by faith; but if anyone draws back, My soul has no pleasure in him.
1 Thessalonians 2:19 – For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Is it not even you in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at His coming?