Has the second coming of Christ occurred?
The following scriptural proof will be discussed clearly showing that the First Resurrection of the dead and the Rapture of believers still living at the time it happens has not as yet occurred.
This whole subject of the return of Christ for His Church started with a promise that Jesus made that is recorded in the fourteenth chapter of the Gospel of John.
Jesus said: “In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there you may be also.” (John 14:2-3)
This was the promise that Jesus made and will come to pass when He returns at the beginning of the Millennium to receive those who have been baptized into the Body of Christ. Both those who have already died and those who are still alive at His return will be carried away to spend eternity with Him.
The Apostle Paul addressed this in his letter to the Church at Thessalonica as he attempted to explain to them about what would happen when Jesus returns.
Paul said: “But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep (dead) that you sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring forth.) (1 Thess 4:13-14)
Paul explains that even though some believers have already died, the Spirit of God will resurrect them out of the grave.
For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we forever be with the Lord. (1 Thess 4: 15-17)
Then in Paul’s letter to the Church at Corinth, goes into a little more detail about why and how this translation will take place.
Paul said: “Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither does corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I show you a mystery; we shall not all sleep (die), but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. (1 Cor 15: 50-53)
Paul makes it clear that our present physical bodies cannot enter into the Kingdom of God, but they must be changed into incorruptible, immortal, spiritual bodies and God will make this happen at the instant of our translation. Just to emphasize, our physical bodies will not be left lying on the Earth or in the grave, but will be completely changed into immortal bodies.
In the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Church at Thessalonica he spoke about a great falling away that is sometimes misunderstood by Bible teachers and I just wanted to touch on this subject of the “falling away” to be sure about what this refers to. Let’s start by reading about what Paul said.
Paul said: “Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, That you be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, unless there comes a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; Who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sits in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. (2 Thess 2: 1-4)
Some preach that this speaks about a falling away from the Christian faith, but that is not what is being said here. When that man of sin is revealed, which is satan who has been deceiving the people for ages, the falling away will be the people leaving the Churches who have been teaching their false doctrines. These people come to the realization that they have been taught in error by their false teachers and will seek places where the truth of God’s Kingdom is being taught.
At the time Christ returns to catch away His Church, another very important thing occurs. The Bible tells us about this in the twentieth chapter of Revelations as follows.
And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: (Rev 20:1-3)
So it is written that satan is prevented from continuing to deceive the people for the thousand years after Christ takes His Bride into Heaven. Satan started his deception when he convinced Eve in the Garden of Eden that God’s Word was not true about them dying if they ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Since that time, satan has been doing the same thing down through the ages with all of the Churches. But now, after he is bound the deception will end for one thousand years during the period of time know as the Millennium.
The Lord has removed His select Bride from the Earth and the people left on the Earth will learn nothing but the complete truth of God’s Word and the Bible. These people who have been left behind will be aware that many believers have been taken. They will know this, not because they witnessed them being taken up, but because there will be much evidence on the Earth of their disappearance.
Now has the second coming of Christ occurred? Have you witnessed the disappearance of many believers at the same time? I hope your answer to this is no, or you have been left behind.
Is satan continuing to deceive the people by influencing our Preachers to deviate from the truth of the Bible? If your answer to this question is no, then you have not been taught the truth or you are not aware of having been deceived.
There is only one truth. That truth was the original writings by the Lord’s Prophets and Apostles and is not clearly defined in our Bibles today and is causing false doctrines to be taught in our Churches.
No comments:
Post a Comment