Titus 2:13
13 Looking for [prosdechomai] that
blessed [makarios] hope [elpis], and [kai] the glorious [doxa] appearing [epiphaneia] of
the great [megas] God [theos] and [kai] our [hemon] Saviour [soter] Jesus [Iesous] Christ [Christos]; KJV-Interlinear
13 looking for the blessed hope
and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus; NASB
The appearing of God,
is the Rapture of the Christians, thus concluding the dispensation of this
Church Age.
The doctrine of the
Rapture maintains that it can occur at any moment. No one knows the day or the hour. No one can predict the moment of His appearance. But at some point in the future, Jesus Christ
will descend into the clouds.He will
not come down to the ground in this Rapture, but will appear in the upper
atmosphere, and with a call, with a blast of a trumpet, with some predefined
and predetermined signal, that only Christians can hear, Christ will call and
snatch up, all Christians from our dispensation. Both those who have died, and those who remain
alive at the moment of the Rapture, will be caught up into the air.
When this occurs it will
occur in a blink of an eye.Like the
magician who moves quicker than the eye can detect, so too, Christ will descend
and recover all Christians from this earth.
The clouds will be
crowded, but no one who remains behind, all unbelievers, will be able to see
anything.Now you see someone and now
you don t.What did you blink?
This is the next great
(Biblical scale) event of history.It
will be dramatic and overwhelming for believers for certain. Its impact on unbelievers, if they even take
notice, will be one of disbelief or of extreme sorrow, having missed out, and
being left out.
The Rapture marks the
end of our dispensation, and the beginning of the final countdown of the
Tribulation.The last seven years of the
dispensation of the Age of Israel.
Matt. 16:27
27 For the Son of Man
is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels; and will then
recompense every man according to his deeds.
NASB
Matt. 16:28
28 Truly I say to you,
there are some of those who are standing here who shall not taste death until
they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.
NASB
Christ is God. Christ is the only one of the Godhead, who
comes to this earth in so dramatic a fashion.
The excitement is in
the expectation of His coming, and the principle taught here is in the preparedness
in anticipation of His coming.
Though we do not know
the day or the hour, nor even if He will come in our lifetime. But we are to be prepared in our spiritual
lives, in any case.
We all know that one
day we will die.We all know that our
death could come at any moment in our life.
Therefore, we should not base our spiritual growth on an expectation of His
coming in the distant future.Many do
that and many procrastinate or put off their interest in their spiritual life. This is to their detriment.
For those who have a
genuine interest in their future, for those who have a genuine interest in their
spiritual life, then this event is an exciting expectation, like a child
waiting to go to a fun park for the first time, only greater.
When the Rapture
occurs, every believer will be lifted up into the air. Every believer will be instantly changed from
their earthly physical bodies, into their new and permanent resurrection
bodies. Every believer will see Christ face
to face.Every knee will bend, every
head will bow to His phenomenal glory and presence. Then the second great procession, parade,
will occur taking believers from this earth into heaven. With fanfare, and choirs of angels, and
whatever else you associate with a great parade, this parade will be our
greatest moment in life up to that point.
The first great
procession occurred after the Cross, when Christ led captives, all Old
Testament believers, out of Paradise, and into heaven.
When the Rapture occurs,
human history will be only 1007 years away from the new universe and the
eternal state.That era is described as
beyond our imagination.No sorrow, no
death, no lack for anything ever again.
Far better than the life
that we all have in this world today.
While the earth is nose
diving into near extinction and the most terror filled time of history during
the seven year Tribulation, Church Age believers will be in heaven receiving
their evaluation before the Judgment Seat of Christ, celebrating at the wedding
feast, and preparing to accompany Christ in the Second Advent.
The most exciting time
of in all of history, repeat, all of history, up until now, is only one event
away.
As we witness the
unbelievable events of our contemporary times, of the government taking over
the financial markets, the take over of the auto and other industries, setting
aside and restricting unprecedented quantities of land from energy development
in the name of green, of the many nations growing ever closer to a one world policy
with this world economic crisis, with all of the signs too numerous to list,
then this is indeed a fascinating time to live in, regardless of the hardships
you may be enduring even now.
Jesus Christ controls
history.Man plays the game of world
domination with arrogance, but God possesses many chess moves ahead, and the
pieces of His plan will all fall together.
All we can do it watch and prepare, and wait.
So, whether you go to
your meeting with Christ by means of your physical death, or by means of the
Rapture, should make no difference.You
should not enter into His presence unprepared.
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