Revelation Chapter One, His Soon Return

Revelation 1:7 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.

Scripture speaks of a bodily, glorious return of the Lord Jesus Christ when the Second Coming occurs. Now the Second Coming should not be confused with the Rapture, which is an event that precedes it. The Rapture, which Paul refers to in 1 Thessalonians 4:14-17 and 2 Thessalonians 2:3, is the event in which the Lord summons the living saints and the bodies of the dead saints to Him in the air for a glorious meeting.

Yes, I realize that 2 Thessalonians 2:3 is rendered “falling away,” in the KJV and NKJV, but I have become convinced that the term itself has nothing to do with apostasy, or falling away. There has always been an apostate church since the time of the apostles. Neither did Paul speak about an apostate church in his first letter to Thessalonica. An event framed as the “falling away,” seems strangely out of context in this passage and without any antecedent in either letter. However, Paul spoke extensively about the Rapture of the church, and if we logically take this phrase (which in the Greek can mean to stand away) to refer to this, then the coming of the Lawless One afterward makes sense. The removal of the Holy Spirit in His unique capacity within the indwelt church makes the arrival of Antichrist more poignant. Furthermore, since it is historically demonstrable that apostasy is, without exception, generational since the beginning, it is peculiar for Paul to state that the Antichrist will come only when some great and final apostasy occurs. 2 Thessalonians 2:6, 7 corroborates this concept, since we have Paul telling us that someone withholds the appearance of Antichrist, and only by their departure will that restraining force be removed, permitting the man of sin to come forth.

The Rapture, as an event, comes without any warning or precedent, Matthew 24:36-44. Its timing cannot be known and it is global in its nature, likened to Noah’s Flood which drowned the earth while only eight escaped. In this passage in Matthew we find men in the field during the day, women grinding in the early morning, and in Luke’s account, men sleeping at night, Luke 17:34, though the event happens in an instant and not over a long span of time. Revelation 4:1 actually seems to demonstrate the Rapture occurring, as John is translated bodily from earth to Heaven and into God’s presence, being told that he would bear witness to what would happen, “after this,” or after the church age and its conclusion with the Rapture of the saints.

The Second Coming of Christ, however, will be visible to all. The angels made it clear when they explained to the apostles, “This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven,” Acts 1:11. So on the testimony of the holy angels we have a statement proclaiming that Jesus will return to the earth bodily and visibly. It is not an esotericl or mystical experience; the Second Coming is a genuine historical event that will occur in earth’s future. Zechariah attests, “And in that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which faces Jerusalem on the east, and the Mount of Olives shall be split in two, from east to west, making a very large valley,” Zechariah 14:4. Who will stand on the Mount of Olives in that day? The same One Israel rejected. “Then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn,” Zechariah 12:10. Scripture records that it was Christ our Lord that ascended from Olivet, or the Mount of Olives, Acts 1:12. We also know from the unanimous agreement of the gospel writers that it was our Lord the Jews and Romans pierced, see John chapter 19.

Seizing Zechariah’s statement, John emphasizes the grief that not just Israel but the entire world will experience when Jesus returns in glory from Heaven. We are told that every eye will see Him. If His descent is in fact localized, it would have once upon a time been difficult to imagine a scenario allowing this statement to reach fruition. But today in our environment of technological advancement I can pull up my browser and see what’s happening halfway across the globe in mere seconds. Apart from a supernatural agency permitting this (which may in fact be the case) there is a simple, natural explanation in terms of cell phones and satellites. The world, which would without doubt be focused on the Antichrist’s military campaign to eradicate Israel, would suddenly bear witness to the glorious return of the Lord in power, 2 Thessalonians 2:8. Of course none of us are innocent regarding Jesus’ death. When we reject Him and spurn His offer of salvation we remain guilty, we remain children of wrath, we remain unsaved and under judgment. John informs us that all the earth will grieve because of the enormity of this revelation. His presence, starkly displaying that God’s word is true and we have rejected and resisted it to our eternal detriment will cause us to mourn. The world system with its revolting and convoluted belief systems poisoning all thought and wisdom will be revealed as fraudulent and demonic. Despite this, John encourages his Lord’s soon arrival. Even so, he says, Amen, or may it be so. Let the earth grieve; just come soon, Lord Jesus, and make right all the immense wrong we have inflicted on ourselves.