Revelation 1:7 says
Look, he is coming with the clouds,
and every eye will see him,even those who pierced him;and all the peoples of the earth will mourn because of him.So shall it be! Amen.
ANSWER:
We can also point to Matthew 24:30 which is a parallel passage and reads as follows:
At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory.
Now, there are places in scripture where we are warned about false reports of Christ's return. In fact, Jesus said it many times in his Olivet Discourse (recorded in Matthew 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21). For example, Matthew 24:4-5 says, “Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many."
Later in Matthew 24:23-27 Jesus has these words of warning:
At that time if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or, ‘There he is!’ do not believe it. For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect–if that were possible. See, I have told you ahead of time. So if anyone tells you, ‘There he is, out in the desert,’ do not go out; or, ‘Here he is, in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather.
In other words, the Second Coming of Jesus Christ will be very visible and if someone says Jesus has come again and it was not an event witnessed by everyone, then it should not be believed. Some people, in fact, claim that prophecy was fulfilled a long time ago (in A.D. 70), yet Jesus did not return as He explained in the verses noted above; thus, they are incorrect in saying A.D. 70 fulfilled prophecy. Also, one day the Antichrist will arise on the scene and along with the False Prophet many great miracles will be performed; however, that should not be mistaken for the true return of the Messiah, Jesus Christ because it will be a much more grand event seen by everyone.
Before I conclude, I want to mention this important point: the Second Coming of Jesus is not to be confused with the Rapture. The Rapture of the Church will be an event wherein true Christians are taken into the clouds to meet Jesus in the air (which precedes when Jesus returns in the Second Coming after the tribulation has taken place). The Rapture is most clearly described in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18 where we read:
For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.
This brief illustration outlines the sequence of events in the end times:
We are currently living in what is known as the Church Age (which started after Christ's death and ascension into heaven). The Rapture is an imminent event that could happen today, tomorrow, or a few years from now (many experts, including me, believe that world events are strongly indicating we are currently living in the last days). The Tribulation is often interpreted to last for seven years and it will be immediately followed by the true Second Coming of Christ.
As I conclude this article, I would like to remind everyone that we're told throughout scripture that the Rapture will take many people by surprise. Therefore, as we go about our daily lives as described in Luke 17:26-36 (eating and drinking, marrying, working, building, etc.), we should follow the words of Jesus in Luke 21:36, "Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man."
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In Rev. verse 1:7 it says that "everyone will see him even those who pieced him" when the second coming occurs. But since he has not returned yet isn't that a false prophecy since those who pierced and killed him are dead?
ReplyDeleteGreat questions. The one thing that needs to be recognized is that both those dead and those alive will witness Christ's return, at which time all will be judged. (I'll post a link to an article explaining the judgments of Christians and non-Christians alike a little further below.)
ReplyDeleteTo quickly summarize, that judgment will happen at the "end of the world as we know it", which will occur just prior to what we think of as eternity. Revelation 20:10 explains Satan, the Antichrist, and the False prophet will be thrown into hell and the following verse begins the description of a great judgment, known as the "Great White Throne Judgment" (Revelation 20:11-15).
We can also read about that in a parallel passage found in Matthew 25:31-22, "When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left."
Thus, Revelation 1:7 is making a point to explain that not only will those alive on earth see Christ's return, but everyone will witness it! It will be an extremely spectacular event!
Should Christians Fear Judgment?
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I find Matthew 24 to be one of my favorite biblical passages and it is by far my favorite gospel. I find it to be amazing and yet frustrating how post-rapture christians believe in their heart and mind that they are serving the true Christ and living G-d while they go chasing after "new age" Christs who's only power comes from "the gift" of angels and His cruicified.
ReplyDeleteThe bible, the torah, the word, the spiritual gifts, the light, never belonged to these men from the beginning. It is stolen property, to be taken back by Christ and His saints at His Second Coming. That is why Christ told everyone who dwells on earth in Matthew 24:23 At that time if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or, ‘There he is!’ do not believe it. 24For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect—if that were possible. 25See, I have told you ahead of time.
26“So if anyone tells you, ‘There he is, out in the desert,’ do not go out; or, ‘Here he is, in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. 27For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 28Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather.
And there you have it, a parable, a divine mystery.
Where the carcass is, there the vultures will gather, around a dead body. That's because they are like thieves, preying on the body of Christ.
This is why even those who pierced Him, will mourn for Him, because we need a savior. The world will be in complete and total chaos and turmoil.
Revelation 1:
7Look, he is coming with the clouds,
and every eye will see him,
even those who pierced him;
and all the peoples of the earth will mourn because of him.
So shall it be! Amen.
Many things must come first, a sequence of events but realize that He does return before the 7th Trumpet.
We are looking for a Jewish Carpenter from Bethlehem, glorified in almost unapproachable light, with holes in his hands, wound in His side, the marks of a cruicified savior, now glorified alongside tens of thousands of saints.
An unmistakable global event, how can the world be deceived?
That is why I say to stay in prayer with the angels, saints and church globally, and gather in His name.
We are supposed to find each other, that is His will.
The wolf came to scatter, He is the good shephard, gather in His name.
Michael