SIGNS IN SCRIPTURE
In March’s article we talked about the signs of the Rapture. I want to add to that teaching by quoting the Scripture concerning the signs of the Rapture, as well as scripture pertaining to Christ’s Second coming to the earth seven years later.
The Word can and does speak for itself…HIMSELF!
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God. HE was with God in the beginning….” John 1:1.
- Matthew 26:64. To set up this scene, Jesus is before
the High Priest, who has demanded Him to declare if He is the Messiah, the Son
of God. Jesus answers…”Yes, I am. And in the future you will see me, the
Messiah, sitting at the right hand of God and returning on the clouds of
heaven.” At this present time, Jesus IS sitting at the right hand of the
Father, making intercession for us.
- Luke 21:27 “Then the peoples of the earth shall see me
coming in a cloud with power and great glory.” Jesus came the first time as a
lamb…to be slaughtered for the sins of the world.
The next time He comes to the earth, He will come as the Lion…"in power as well as great glory", i.e. dignity, glorious, honor, praise, worship…quite the opposite of a babe of humble birth in an obscure town, and lain in a manger. In between these two events, Jesus tells us in Revelation 16:15, that He “will come as unexpectedly as a thief in the night,” referring to the Rapture.
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In the first two verses, Jesus is talking about His Second
coming, not the Rapture. We know this because He says, “You” to the High Priest
referring to the religious order in the first verse, and then “the peoples of
the earth (including Israel) in the second verse. Only the Bride of Christ
(those who are watching and living like they are awaiting His coming) can see
Him when Jesus comes secretly to catch His Bride away to Heaven. When Christ
comes to the earth for the Second time, (His birth was the first time), ALL eyes
shall see Him.
- Matthew 24 seems to bounce back and forth between these
two, as well as additional events. We talked about Luke 21 in March’s article.
We saw that in Luke’s version of the ‘Sermon on the Mount’, Jesus had foretold
of several different periods of time pertaining to the last days, but they
were each in their separate dispensations. Verse 27 of Matthew 24 speaks of
the rapture…here again, we know it is this time Jesus speaks of, because of
the swiftness and unpredictable nature of lightning…”For as the lightning
flashes across the sky from east to west, so shall my coming be, when I, the
Messiah, return…” (He has said that no man knows the day or the hour of His
appearing: verses 36, 42, and 44: The Living Bible).
- 2 Timothy 2:15 tells us to “Study to show ourselves approved unto God as workmen rightly dividing the word of truth”. There are keys to understanding the differences between the scriptures pertaining to the time prior to the Rapture and the Rapture itself, the time of the Tribulation, Christ’s Second coming, and the Kingdom period. I had given you keys to the pre-rapture times in March's article, 'Signs'. Now in the above verses, the keys to the difference between the Rapture and the Second Coming have been presented.
I usually suggest to students of the Bible, to buy a Concordance…(Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible is a good one). You can look up any scripture (even if you can only remember one main word of it), and the meanings of key words in their original languages, of either Hebrew (Old Testament) or Greek (New Testament).
Another efficient aid is The Manners and Customs of the Bible. It is hard to understand some parables, unless you know what the customs were in that day. These two books have proved invaluable to my personal studies for over forty years.
The most important book, of course, is the Bible itself. There are many translations, and I use several. The King James Version is the original, which is easily available to us today, and the one most concordances are geared to. (The New King James is more readable). If you can get your hands on a Scofield Reference Bible, (which is also a KJV) you will get so many helps in his footnotes, and great insights into the Hebrew names and language.
For study, I like the Amplified Bible, and for easy reading, I like the Living Bible. Many people prefer the New International Version (NIV), which many churches use today. Before you buy, it is good if you can borrow different translations from friends or family and get familiar with the different styles. If that isn’t possible, you may wish to take time to browse your local Bible Book Stores. Even most Wal-Marts have a Bible section. Of course, there are sites online where you can compare the various translations, or check at a library, before you make a final selection.
I hope you endeavor to study the Word of God…it is well worth the effort!
* “I esteem the words from God’s mouth more than my
necessary food”…Job 23:12
God Bless You All,
Pastor Moser
May, 2006
*New addition: WOW! (Words Of Wisdom).
At the end of each message, I will add a WOW!
It may be a modern Proverb, my own thought, a ‘Sermon in a Sentence’, or a
Scripture.
Not all will necessarily refer to the message of the month.
I hope you all will welcome our new addition!
In : 2006.05 "SIGNS IN SCRIPTURE"
The Home Place Mission had a former site and the time came where we had to switch web site hosts. Our email had to be changed as well. In transferring the articles over, every effort was made to correct any inferences to the old email address (the new one is on the home page). Also, all articles containing hyper links were needing updated too. Please forgive us if some things may have been overlooked. Because this page is in a blog format, the date we transferred each article over is what shows under the title when opened. The correct date each article was written is beside the title under the category column. We apologize for the blog format, as it is not as "user-friendly" as our old site but we do hope you find the articles encouraging and are blessed by the insights shared! Thank you for reading!
