Great question you raise! That preacher was not confused or mixed up. He was actually quoting 1 Thessalonians 4:16-16, which reads, “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.”
When Jesus returns, all who died prior to Jesus’ Second Coming, who have accepted Him as their Lord and Savior, their physical bodies will be resurrected. Remember, we have a spiritual body (our souls) and a physical body. When we die, our spiritual bodies instantly go to Heaven but our physical bodies are still here. Anytime the Bible speaks of a resurrection, it is a physical event involving a physical body. So, those who area dead in Christ will receive resurrected bodies.
Don’t ask me how this works because it is one of the mysteries God chose not to reveal. However, we can be assured that those who died before Christ’s return will be first to ascend then those who are alive will go up to meet them. All of the believers will receive resurrected, “glorified” bodies.
Showing posts with label return. Show all posts
Showing posts with label return. Show all posts
Monday, 20 February 2012
Thursday, 28 October 2010
Why is Jesus waiting to come back?
Wow! That is a great question! The truth is because of His great mercy. Jesus is giving us all a chance to be rescued from our sin and to come to Him before He returns.
You see, when sin came into this world through the act of disobedience by Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden when they ate the forbidden fruit, it opened up the door for Satan to enter and create all sorts of chaos and to try and disrupt God’s unstoppable plan. Satan has tried so hard, and for a long time, to get us all to turn away from God by tempting us with all sorts of bad things! And, because God gave us all free will, we’ve made a mess of this world. The world is full of bad people, terrible situations and evil temptations.
The good news is that, in order for us to have eternal life with Jesus, we have to admit our sins, believe that Jesus is who He says He is and then choose to follow Him. We have to turn from all those bad things and bad people and accept Jesus’ gift of grace. If we don’t, we’re not going to enjoy the salvation that Jesus gives us and the eternal life He promises.
But, make no mistake. Jesus will someday come back and He will defeat Satan once and for all. But, He loves us and wants to give us every opportunity to come to repentance and to choose Him as our Savior before He does return. That’s why He is waiting.
You see, when sin came into this world through the act of disobedience by Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden when they ate the forbidden fruit, it opened up the door for Satan to enter and create all sorts of chaos and to try and disrupt God’s unstoppable plan. Satan has tried so hard, and for a long time, to get us all to turn away from God by tempting us with all sorts of bad things! And, because God gave us all free will, we’ve made a mess of this world. The world is full of bad people, terrible situations and evil temptations.
The good news is that, in order for us to have eternal life with Jesus, we have to admit our sins, believe that Jesus is who He says He is and then choose to follow Him. We have to turn from all those bad things and bad people and accept Jesus’ gift of grace. If we don’t, we’re not going to enjoy the salvation that Jesus gives us and the eternal life He promises.
But, make no mistake. Jesus will someday come back and He will defeat Satan once and for all. But, He loves us and wants to give us every opportunity to come to repentance and to choose Him as our Savior before He does return. That’s why He is waiting.
Thursday, 19 August 2010
Will the world end in 2012?
Wow, what an awesome question! So, I think I know where you came up with that 2012 number. There are a lot of people who study numbers and number patterns and then come up with these formulas to “predict” events. In fact, there are many people who try and do this with the Bible. Somehow, based on this numerical formula theory, someone came up with 2012 as the year that the world is going to end.
But, here’s the truth: no one knows when the world is going to end. In fact, even Jesus says in Matthew 24:36-42:
“No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left. Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come.”
The one thing I do know is that every Biblical prophecy that needed to be fulfilled prior to the second coming of Jesus has been fulfilled. That’s another reason so many people are thinking the end is soon. The key is that we need to be ready for that day, whenever it is.
That means that we should have a relationship with Jesus and have accepted Him as our Lord and Savior. We need to choose to follow Jesus’ ways and confess our sins and accept His gift of salvation. Then, we’ll be ready and not have to worry about when the world will end.
But, here’s the truth: no one knows when the world is going to end. In fact, even Jesus says in Matthew 24:36-42:
“No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left. Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come.”
The one thing I do know is that every Biblical prophecy that needed to be fulfilled prior to the second coming of Jesus has been fulfilled. That’s another reason so many people are thinking the end is soon. The key is that we need to be ready for that day, whenever it is.
That means that we should have a relationship with Jesus and have accepted Him as our Lord and Savior. We need to choose to follow Jesus’ ways and confess our sins and accept His gift of salvation. Then, we’ll be ready and not have to worry about when the world will end.
Saturday, 7 November 2009
If God and Jesus are the same, then how does God only know when Jesus is returning?
This is a very thought provoking question and it’s been debated by Biblical scholars a lot. First, there is absolutely no doubt that Jesus and God are one in the same. That is important to remember. The Holy Spirit is also God. So, there is one God but He reveals Himself in three ways: God, the Father; God, the Son; and God, the Holy Spirit.
So, Jesus may very well know when He is returning but He is referring to the greatness of the Father when He says "No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.” (Mark 13:32) Also, Jesus is likely not trying to act independently from the Father. It’s like He’s saying, “The Father is in charge, just as I can’t do anything that the Father doesn’t have me do, so it’s up to the Father when this day will occur.
Another widely accepted interpretation is that what Jesus what really saying is that no one will “make known” the hour of the coming of Jesus except God, the Father. God will have the full authority to announce Jesus’ second returning. This theory is based on scholars doing a word study on the ancient texts and breaking down the Greek word “eido” which we’ve translated as “know.”
These Biblical scholars believe also that Jesus, being God, knew when he was coming again but that He was leaving the announcement to God, the Father, to make. That only the Father will “make known” the return of the Son.
Okay, so is that a little confusing? It’s okay. It confuses me too but I believe it is the best way to interpret that passage.
So, Jesus may very well know when He is returning but He is referring to the greatness of the Father when He says "No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.” (Mark 13:32) Also, Jesus is likely not trying to act independently from the Father. It’s like He’s saying, “The Father is in charge, just as I can’t do anything that the Father doesn’t have me do, so it’s up to the Father when this day will occur.
Another widely accepted interpretation is that what Jesus what really saying is that no one will “make known” the hour of the coming of Jesus except God, the Father. God will have the full authority to announce Jesus’ second returning. This theory is based on scholars doing a word study on the ancient texts and breaking down the Greek word “eido” which we’ve translated as “know.”
These Biblical scholars believe also that Jesus, being God, knew when he was coming again but that He was leaving the announcement to God, the Father, to make. That only the Father will “make known” the return of the Son.
Okay, so is that a little confusing? It’s okay. It confuses me too but I believe it is the best way to interpret that passage.
Tuesday, 9 June 2009
Is it OK to be afraid of the rapture?
The short answer is – as a Christ-follower, you don’t have to be!
Let’s get to my answer together. Go get your Bible and read Acts 1:1-11 once before you finish reading this any further.
.......
In the section you just read, Luke the doctor is writing his introduction, and he reminds his reader of what Jesus said about His second coming. Carefully read vs 7 again. What does Jesus say? (He says, “Don’t worry about it.”) Why does Jesus say that? Carefully read vs 8 again. What does Jesus say there? (I’ve given you plenty to do. I want you to spread the gospel throughout Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria – in other words, the world – so get busy and stop worrying about what you can’t know anyway. That’s just for the Father to know!”)
One very simple reason you don’t need to be afraid of the rapture is because Jesus instructs us to focus on the business He has given His followers to do – sharing the gospel! He clearly tells us not to stand around staring at the sky and fearing His return. Those are Jesus’ words.
OK, now I want to challenge you. You ready? Here we go …
Even though Jesus has told us in Acts 1:7-8 not to focus on trying to figure out exactly what the second coming of Jesus will be like, we are curious, aren’t we? God made us curious, so that’s OK. And we’re curious about Jesus’ second coming for many reason. Some people are hopeful, some are scared, some just love knowing stuff, and there are many other reasons why we have been trying to figure out the second coming. The funny thing is, we are not going to know, plain and simple, because Jesus said we weren’t.
But people try anyway. People read the Bible carefully and then they interpret what they read differently. By “interpret” I mean to explain or to understand or to shed light on. Answer this question – if you are trying to explain to an alien (OK, stick with me …) how our alphabet works but you only have some of the letters, do you think your explanation will be very good? Do you think the alien (even if it is really intelligent and really wants to learn) can understand? Both times the answer is nope!
And this is what has happened in our understanding of Jesus’ second coming. God has not given us all the answers in the Bible, and so our interpretations – our understanding – can be different. Just like the alien might not figure out the difference between “rant” “runt” and “rent,” we also can’t figure out the second coming when we’re missing some letters (some information.)
Do you wonder why I am saying all this? Here is the challenge – in our attempts to understand the second coming of Christ, of the rapture, of the final judgment, of the new heaven and new earth, and of the last days and the end of time – there are many different ideas, by many bright people who love Jesus, of what might happen!
I say this is challenging because there may not even be a rapture! Some people think there will be a rapture to lift God’s people off of the earth before a period of great suffering. Another group of people thinks that the rapture will happen after all the suffering (which means Christians will have to suffer, too!) Others think there will not even be a period of great suffering. And the ideas go on and on and on and on.
I want to challenge you to follow Jesus with your whole heart, while at the same time knowing that Jesus has asked us to focus on spreading the good news about Him. Trust Him, even though you will not know all the details of the rapture (or no rapture) and His coming again.
No matter what happens, eternity with Jesus is a magnificent eternity. For that reason, those of us who have given our hearts to Jesus have no need at all to fear the rapture!!
I want to leave you with one more verse – it’s Proverbs 3:5-6.
Let’s get to my answer together. Go get your Bible and read Acts 1:1-11 once before you finish reading this any further.
.......
In the section you just read, Luke the doctor is writing his introduction, and he reminds his reader of what Jesus said about His second coming. Carefully read vs 7 again. What does Jesus say? (He says, “Don’t worry about it.”) Why does Jesus say that? Carefully read vs 8 again. What does Jesus say there? (I’ve given you plenty to do. I want you to spread the gospel throughout Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria – in other words, the world – so get busy and stop worrying about what you can’t know anyway. That’s just for the Father to know!”)
One very simple reason you don’t need to be afraid of the rapture is because Jesus instructs us to focus on the business He has given His followers to do – sharing the gospel! He clearly tells us not to stand around staring at the sky and fearing His return. Those are Jesus’ words.
OK, now I want to challenge you. You ready? Here we go …
Even though Jesus has told us in Acts 1:7-8 not to focus on trying to figure out exactly what the second coming of Jesus will be like, we are curious, aren’t we? God made us curious, so that’s OK. And we’re curious about Jesus’ second coming for many reason. Some people are hopeful, some are scared, some just love knowing stuff, and there are many other reasons why we have been trying to figure out the second coming. The funny thing is, we are not going to know, plain and simple, because Jesus said we weren’t.
But people try anyway. People read the Bible carefully and then they interpret what they read differently. By “interpret” I mean to explain or to understand or to shed light on. Answer this question – if you are trying to explain to an alien (OK, stick with me …) how our alphabet works but you only have some of the letters, do you think your explanation will be very good? Do you think the alien (even if it is really intelligent and really wants to learn) can understand? Both times the answer is nope!
And this is what has happened in our understanding of Jesus’ second coming. God has not given us all the answers in the Bible, and so our interpretations – our understanding – can be different. Just like the alien might not figure out the difference between “rant” “runt” and “rent,” we also can’t figure out the second coming when we’re missing some letters (some information.)
Do you wonder why I am saying all this? Here is the challenge – in our attempts to understand the second coming of Christ, of the rapture, of the final judgment, of the new heaven and new earth, and of the last days and the end of time – there are many different ideas, by many bright people who love Jesus, of what might happen!
I say this is challenging because there may not even be a rapture! Some people think there will be a rapture to lift God’s people off of the earth before a period of great suffering. Another group of people thinks that the rapture will happen after all the suffering (which means Christians will have to suffer, too!) Others think there will not even be a period of great suffering. And the ideas go on and on and on and on.
I want to challenge you to follow Jesus with your whole heart, while at the same time knowing that Jesus has asked us to focus on spreading the good news about Him. Trust Him, even though you will not know all the details of the rapture (or no rapture) and His coming again.
No matter what happens, eternity with Jesus is a magnificent eternity. For that reason, those of us who have given our hearts to Jesus have no need at all to fear the rapture!!
I want to leave you with one more verse – it’s Proverbs 3:5-6.
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