Sometimes
small quirky things in the Bible provide a clue in helping us to understand our
time on earth and our destiny. The Bible
tells us there is a door in heaven.
Jesus told us a few things about that door. If we are aware of what Jesus said, then we
will understand the point of the door in heaven. He also told us about clouds,
and that he was coming back in the clouds; he even testified of that when they
condemned him to death. If that was the last point he was to make while on earth
about what he would do after he was crucified, we should pay close attention.
Rev
4:1-2 After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the
first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which
said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter.2 And
immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and
one sat on the throne.KJV
Doors
open and close, therefore people can walk through the door or be shut outside the
door. John was invited inside the open
door. The door will open again, but when
it closes people will be left outside. When Jesus tells us about the bridegroom,
he says that the foolish virgins will knock on the door.
Matt
25:10-13 And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were
ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut.11 Afterward came
also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us.12 But he answered and
said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not.13 Watch therefore, for ye know
neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.KJV
Jesus
tells us directly that we do not know the day or hour the son of man comes. We
are to be ready to enter through the door. Jesus doesn’t open the door to those
he doesn’t know. This seems to be
inferring something along the lines of “last minute salvations”. As soon as people see Jesus coming in the
clouds calling his own, the unsaved will try to get saved and enter into heaven
too. But because he didn’t know them,
they can’t come in. Jesus tells us again,
this time in Luke, that once the door is shut no one can enter in.
Luke
13:23-30 Then said one unto him, Lord, are there few that be saved? And he said
unto them,24 Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you,
will seek to enter in, and shall not be able.25 When once the master of the
house is risen up, and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without,
and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us; and he shall answer
and say unto you, I know you not whence ye are:26 Then shall ye begin to say,
We have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets.27
But he shall say, I tell you, I know you not whence ye are; depart from me, all
ye workers of iniquity.28 There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye
shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom
of God, and you yourselves thrust out.29 And they shall come from the east, and
from the west, and from the north, and from the south, and shall sit down in
the kingdom of God.30 And, behold, there are last which shall be first, and
there are first which shall be last.KJV
Who
shuts the door? The master of the house.
In the context of how few will be saved, there will be people who hung
around the Lord. He calls them workers
of iniquity. Those outside will weep, and grind their teeth because they are
mad and upset. The people on the outside of the door thought that just by being
near the Lord they could gain access inside. Here we see that Abraham, Isaac,
Jacob, and the prophets are all inside, they all go in together. All those who
are supposed to go in, get in first, then the other people who are outside all
want to get in too. They will “see” the
others inside sitting down.
John
10:1-9 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into
the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a
robber.2 But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.3 To
him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own
sheep by name, and leadeth them out.4 And when he putteth forth his own sheep,
he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice.5 And a
stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the
voice of strangers.6 This parable spake Jesus unto them: but they understood
not what things they were which he spake unto them.7 Then said Jesus unto them
again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep.8 All that
ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them.9
I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in
and out, and find pasture.KJV
Jesus
tells us he is the door that we have to enter through. Jesus is the true pastor of the sheep; anyone
who sneaks into the fold is a thief and robber.
In other words, there are false shepherds that steal or rob the
sheep. However, we will know Jesus’
voice. This tells us that when we hear his voice to come in, we will go. It also means that those who don’t or can’t
hear his voice won’t know to go in through the door until they see others
leaving. This will be when they go to
“buy oil” or try to “get saved” so that they too can enter in. Specifically, to the church of Philadelphia,
Jesus tells them that he opens the door before them.
Rev
3:7-8 And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write; These things saith
he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that
openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth;8 I know thy
works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for
thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my
name.KJV
Jesus
makes a special provision for the missionary church; maybe missionaries in
general, because they are weak yet they kept His word and don’t deny His
name. Here is a great key. Those who keep His words and do not deny His
name have an open door into heaven. What’s
more is that this denotes continued perseverance of the mission. These people hold fast to His words and do
not deny Him unto death. That speaks of
a length of time that these people serve him, rather than a quick fix. These
people are in service to the Lord for a long time, compared to those who try to
“say the magic words” to get in through the door.
Rev
3:20 Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open
the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.KJV
One
more important point is that Jesus knocks and calls to us to open the
door. But we are on the outside, he’s on
the inside. Yet he will enter into our
side and eat with us. He is willing to
stand at the door knocking, calling out to us.
This is to anybody, anyone who hears his voice; again the sheep know the
voice of the shepherd. Therefore, if he
is calling you and you hear him, simply open the door, you’ve been called by
the shepherd. Don’t wait.
We
have to understand the way Jesus comes and calls us when the door opens. He is coming in the clouds. Again let’s start at the end point and work
our way through the idea that He comes in clouds. From Thessalonians we know that he will
descend from heaven with an announcement, a shout, what will he be shouting?
And besides Jesus’ shout there will be an archangel’s voice, and a trumpet of
God. That is the call. The next thing that happens is the dead in Christ
rise. Obviously everyone sees it, those
dead and alive, as he tells us repeatedly that the ones who don’t get in see
others getting in, like Abraham etc. We
can’t expect people to know what Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob look like today;
therefore some people must know who they are who lived along side of them, yet
are not part of the redeemed. Also if we
remember the rich man knew who Abraham was and spoke to him, even though
Abraham was in a different place in the grave. We will explore this shortly. Remember
we identified the redeemed as those who believed on the Messiah before he came,
those who believed on the Messiah while he was on earth, and those who believed
on the Messiah after he came. This is
not a “Jew and Gentile” issue, it is a Messiah issue. Those who were not Jews, such as Abraham,
Isaac, and Jacob, were redeemed because they believed on and fellowshipped with
the Messiah before he came to earth.
Also, keep in mind the Galileans were technically not Jews, nor were the
Samarians, but they all were able to be redeemed because of their belief in the
Messiah. Really, the only non-redeemed
people are those who do not believe that Jesus was and is the Messiah. That is an easier way to look at things.
1
Thess 4:16-18 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:17 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
ever be with the Lord.18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words.KJV
First,
the announcement, then the dead in Christ rise.
Why is this significant? Remember the story Jesus told of the rich man and
Lazarus? (I am not calling this a
parable as parables don’t use people’s names, instead this story Jesus told is
a true story, not something to philosophize over, but rather something to know
concretely.) We’ve studied this several times.
There is knowledge in the grave, the rich man knew where he was and knew
where Lazarus was. They could see each
other. We have to try to stop thinking in three dimensions and recognize that creation
is multidimensional. The rich man also
knew who Abraham was, yet Abraham had been dead much longer than the rich man
had been alive. As we studied the
different compartments of the grave or hell, we recognize that the occupants
are separated by various means, in this case a chasm. We also know Jesus told us of Paradise on
several occasions. The dead in Christ
rise from paradise, the corrupted put on incorruption; at that very same time
all of those in the grave see them rising. The redeemed that are alive rise as
well, they put on immortality. Everyone
who is redeemed rises together. The
redeemed all meet the Lord in the clouds, in the air. At this point, the mortals and corruptible
all change to be like Jesus. Remember Jesus’ body, he may have had holes in his
hands and sides, but he didn’t leak blood and fluid. The holes didn’t slow him down. Let’s take a brief detour and look at
something else Jesus said.
Mark 9:43-48 And if thy hand offend thee, cut
it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands
to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched:44 Where their worm
dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.45 And if thy foot offend thee, cut it
off: it is better for thee to enter halt into life, than having two feet to be
cast into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched:46 Where their worm
dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.47 And if thine eye offend thee, pluck
it out: it is better for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye,
than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire:48 Where their worm dieth not,
and the fire is not quenched.KJV
Rev
1:7 Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also
which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him.
Even so, Amen.KJV
John
tells us Jesus comes in the clouds and every eye shall see him. Even the people who pierced him, the
soldiers, the religious leaders, the ones who betrayed him, will all see
him. But aren’t they dead? Yes, but they
will see him when he comes in the clouds for the redeemed. Everyone will see Him, which is why the
attempt at last minute conversions. Everyone who doesn’t enter in at this time
will cry and grieve because they know they missed the Messiah.
Acts
1:9-11 And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up;
and a cloud received him out of their sight.10 And while they looked stedfastly
toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel;11
Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this
same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like
manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.KJV
While
the disciples were hanging out with him he was taken up. There wasn’t a warning, or a fanfare, or an
announcement like when he comes back in the clouds, he simply went into the sky
and a cloud covered him up and they couldn’t see him any longer. Two angels said he’d come back in like
manner, he’ll come down from heaven, a cloud will open up and there he will be,
and everyone dead and alive will see him. The next section we should look at we
have to take apart bit by bit as there is a lot of information.
Matt
24:14-31 And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for
a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.15 When ye therefore
shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand
in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)16 Then let them which
be in Judaea flee into the mountains:17 Let him which is on the housetop not
come down to take any thing out of his house:18 Neither let him which is in the
field return back to take his clothes.19 And woe unto them that are with child,
and to them that give suck in those days!20 But pray ye that your flight be not
in the winter, neither on the sabbath day:21 For then shall be great
tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no,
nor ever shall be.22 And except those days should be shortened, there should no
flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened.
First,
the gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all nations, and then the end
comes. But in the phrase: “… when you
see”, who is you? The you are those he was speaking to at the
time. Those people lived through some
unbearable tribulations. Something we
might forget from history is how many times Jerusalem has been abominated and
decimated. Desolation is like killing
one in ten people, or destroying a large portion of people, animals, buildings,
and crops.
Melchisedek
established Jerusalem, Salem, and started a school there for learning about
God. Isaac went there after Sara died.
Melchisedek was Shem, the son of Noah, and Abraham knew him well. Abraham grew up and was raised by Noah and
Shem as Nimrod tried to kill Abraham when he was born. Abraham lived with them until he was 40 years
old. David established Jerusalem by
getting rid of the Canaanites, which Joshua was supposed to do but didn’t. The Canaanites were descended from Ham and
were not supposed to be in that area, as per the curse Noah pronounced on
anyone who would go into a land that was not theirs. That portion was Shem’s allotment and the
sons of Ham should not have been there. Yet, remember that Abraham married
Keturah after Sarah died and had six sons with her. He told them to move south as that area of
Canaan was going to be destroyed by God.
The Babylonians came along and destroyed Jerusalem, taking many into
captivity. Then there was Shishak, Antiochus,
Pompay, Sossius and Herod, then Vespasian (Titus) according to Josephus.
THE WARS OF THE JEWS CHAPTER 10.
THAT WHEREAS THE CITY OF JERUSALEM HAD
BEEN FIVE TIMES TAKEN FORMERLY, THIS WAS THE SECOND TIME OF ITS DESOLATION. A
BRIEF ACCOUNT OF ITS HISTORY.
1. AND thus was Jerusalem taken, in the second year of the reign
of Vespasian, on the eighth day of the month Gorpeius [Elul]. It had been taken
five (34) times before, though this was the
second time of its desolation; for Shishak, the king of Egypt, and after him
Antiochus, and after him Pompey, and after them Sosius and Herod, took the
city, but still preserved it; but before all these, the king of Babylon
conquered it, and made it desolate, one thousand four hundred and sixty-eight
years and six months after it was built. But he who first built it. Was a
potent man among the Canaanites, and is in our own tongue called [Melchisedek],
the Righteous King, for such he really was; on which account he was [there] the
first priest of God, and first built a temple [there], and called the city
Jerusalem, which was formerly called Salem. However, David, the king of the
Jews, ejected the Canaanites, and set-tied his own people therein. It was demolished
entirely by the Babylonians, four hundred and seventy-seven years and six
months after him. And from king David, who was the first of the Jews who
reigned therein, to this destruction under Titus, were one thousand one hundred
and seventy-nine years; but from its first building, till this last
destruction, were two thousand one hundred and seventy-seven years; yet hath
not its great antiquity, nor its vast riches, nor the diffusion of its nation
over all the habitable earth, nor the greatness of the veneration paid to it on
a religious account, been sufficient to preserve it from being destroyed. And
thus ended the siege of Jerusalem.
Interestingly,
if we keep history in mind we find that there were those very early Christians
who heeded the warning and escaped, some went to Pella. The Christians had
already been persecuted by the Jews, so as soon as they saw Titus’ armies
entering Galilee they were smart enough to heed Jesus’ words.
After
fleeing, if anyone was to say Christ was somewhere, they were not to believe
it. Jospephus’ accounts of other people
who claimed they were the Messiah are interesting. Let’s go on.
Matt
24:23 Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe
it not.24 For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall
shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall
deceive the very elect.25 Behold, I have told you before.26 Wherefore if they
shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in
the secret chambers; believe it not.27 For as the lightning cometh out of the
east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of
man be. 28 For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered
together
Here,
Jesus says in essence, “You’ll know when I come; it will be as evident as
lightning”. As we saw before, the dead
and the ones who are alive will both see him come. Let’s consider this
expression of the eagles, or vultures.
Whenever there is a dead body, the vultures will feed on it. When you
have been gathered, there will be people scavenging your remains, not
necessarily your body but whatever you have left behind. The gathering is a HUGE judgment against the
people left on the earth. This is going to
be a time of tribulation. As we have
looked at previously, when we looked at the number of Christians on the earth
and how many will leave from each country, we saw a very interesting picture.
The Middle East will not be affected by the rapture; but other nations, such as
the America’s, will suffer greatly as they will lose close to 75% of their
population. Russia will also suffer great loss. And if the
Psalm 83 war takes place at that time or just prior, Israel will have the
necessary infrastructure to become the world’s superpower. That will cause the mid-east nations to
become more hostile towards Israel.
For further details see:
http://musingsofawinsomeheart.blogspot.com/2013/03/benchmarks-for-end-two-witnesses.html
This
is such an interesting sentence we have to look at it closely.
Matt
24:29 Immediately [Soon] after the tribulation [trouble] of those days shall
the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall
fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:
Matt 24:29
29
|
Eu)qe/w$
Immediately 2112 Euthéœs |
de\
1161 dé |
meta\
after 3326 metá |
th\n
the 3588 t¢¡n |
qli=yin
tribulation 2347 thlípsin |
tw=n
3588 tœ¡n |
h(merw=n
of 2250 h¢merœ¡n |
e)kei/nwn
those 1565 ekeínœn |
o(
the 3588 ho |
h%lio$
sun 2246 h¢¡lios |
skotisqh/setai
shall 4654 skotisth¢¡setai |
kai\
and 2532 kaí |
h( the 3588 h¢ |
selh/nh
moon 4582 sel¢¡n¢ |
ou)
not 3756 ou |
dw/sei
shall 1325 dœ¡sei |
to\
3588 tó |
fe/ggo$
light 5338 phéngos |
au)th=$
her 846 aut¢¡s |
kai\
and 2532 kaí |
oi(
the 3588 hoi |
a)ste/re$
stars 792 astéres |
pesou=ntai
shall fall 4098 pesoúntai |
a)po\
from 575 apó |
tou=
3588 toú |
ou)ranou=
heaven 3772 ouranoú |
kai\ and 2532 kaí |
ai(
the 3588 hai |
duna/mei$
powers 1411 dunámeis |
tw=n
of the 3588 tœ¡n |
ou)ranw=n
heavens 3772 ouranœ¡n |
saleuqh/sontai
shall be shaken 4531 saleuth¢¡sontai |
(Interlinear Transliterated Bible (TR Edition). Copyright © 2011 by Biblesoft, Inc. All rights reserved. [For more detail see the full copyright page.])
Here
are the definitions that correspond to the Greek words as follows.
Immediately NT:2112 eutheos
(yoo-theh'-oce); adverb from NT:2117; directly, i.e. at once or soon: KJV -
anon, as soon as, forthwith, immediately, shortly, straightway.
Tribulation NT:2347 thlipsis (thlip'-sis); from NT:2346; pressure
(literally or figuratively):KJV - afflicted (-tion), anguish, burdened,
persecution, tribulation, trouble.
Of NT:2250 hemera
(hay-mer'-ah); feminine (with NT:5610 implied) of a derivative of hemai (to
sit; akin to the base of NT:1476) meaning tame, i.e. gentle; day, i.e.
(literally) the time space between dawn and dark, or the whole 24 hours (but
several days were usually reckoned by the Jews as inclusive of the parts of
both extremes); figuratively, a period (always defined more or less clearly by
the context):KJV - age, alway, (mid-)
day (by day, [-ly]), for ever, judgment,
(day) time, while, years.
Shall NT:4654 skotizo
(skot-id-zo); from NT:4655; to obscure (literally or figuratively):KJV -
darken.
Shall Fall NT:4098 pipto
(pip'-to); a reduplicated and contracted form of peto (pet'-o); (which occurs
only as an alternate in certain tenses); probably akin to NT:4072 through the
idea of alighting; to fall (literally or figuratively):KJV - fail, fall (down),
light on.
Heaven NT:3772 ouranos
(oo-ran-os'); perhaps from the same as NT:3735 (through the idea of elevation);
the sky; by extension, heaven (as the abode of God); by implication, happiness,
power, eternity; specifically, the Gospel (Christianity):KJV - air, heaven
([-ly]), sky.
Powers NT:1411 dunamis
(doo'-nam-is); from NT:1410; force (literally or figuratively); specially,
miraculous power (usually by implication, a miracle itself):KJV - ability,
abundance, meaning, might (-ily, -y, -y deed), (worker of) miracle (-s), power,
strength, violence, mighty (wonderful) work.
Shall be shaken NT:4531 saleuo
(sal-yoo'-o); from NT:4535; to waver, i.e. agitate, rock, topple or (by
implication) destroy; figuratively, to disturb, incite:KJV - move, shake
(together), which can [-not] be shaken, stir up.(Biblesoft's New Exhaustive
Strong's Numbers and Concordance with Expanded Greek-Hebrew Dictionary.
Copyright © 1994, 2003, 2006 Biblesoft, Inc. and International Bible
Translators, Inc.)
Firstly,
we have to remember the trouble of Israel’s desolations continues through today. Israel wasn’t even significant until after
WWII. Finally, Israel became a nation
amidst so much controversy; however, it still resides in uncertainty. It is not a peaceful place to live with the
threat of war from enemies on all sides.
However, once the Psalm 83 war happens, there will be a short time of
peace and safety in Israel. Just because we see people living in Israel does
not mean they are not under the burdens of trouble or anguish. In Israel the military presence is
everywhere. Those in service carry
machine guns, which is probably why they do not have mass shootings there;
because too many skilled gunmen/women are around. Yet, they still suffer suicide bombings and
random violence on a daily basis. It is
not a peaceful place to live unless you consider the military presence the
instrument of peace. I visited Israel 14
years ago, and was a little unsettled as we saw so many young people in the
military patrolling, rubble from bombed buildings, and barbwire coils around
boarders. Once, about six or seven years ago, the government of Israel was
trying to get different Christians groups to use a hotel on the north end of
Galilee as a world prayer center.
However, when one Christian Pastor went to check it out, missiles kept
flying over head from Syria and the idea lost its appeal very quickly. The
people in Israel live under constant treat and tribulation, there isn’t any
peace there yet.
Soon
after the trouble of those days, something else will happen that will signal
the coming of Christ, a lunar eclipse, a solar eclipse, and shooting stars. Or
maybe a volcano that causes a large cloud of ash that blocks the sun and moon
and meteors. Or possibly a meteor could
hit the earth causing a dust cloud along with a shower of other meteors. Or there is the threat of a nuclear device
that disrupts the view of the sun and moon and disrupts the view of the
stars. There are several scenarios that
could take place. There is truly too much to speculate about. Truly, it is a
waste of time to try and “predict” unless we are looking for a way to slack off
until Jesus comes. Here is what we do know however; when this happens, then
Jesus will come in the clouds. The first
big judgment of the start of the tribulation is the gathering of the redeemed.
Matt
24:30 And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then
shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man
coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.31 And he shall send
his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his
elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.KJV
After
the time when there is no more anguish in Israel, just like lightning, Jesus
will be seen, by the living and the dead, and the angels will gather the elect
to the clouds. Some people try to make
this the coming of Jesus with his army, but here we see the elect are being
taken to Him, not going out from Him.
There are those who try to make this the Day of the Lord, that say the
elect must be Israel; however, the elect are many different groups according to
the Bible. The elect are going to be
taken to Jesus. Currently, the Jews do
not believe Jesus is the Messiah; therefore the elect are not the Jews. After the day of the Lord, when the Lord
comes back with his army from heaven, the Jews will live on earth with Jesus as
King. We have to remember, Jesus comes
to gather his redeemed, he shouts, the archangels say something, and there is a
trumpet from God. Here it says the
angels go out with a sound of a trumpet.
Maybe the command of the archangel and the trumpet looses the angels to
collect the elect. Jesus even testifies
of himself coming in the clouds.
Matt
26:64-65 Jesus saith unto him, Thou hast said: nevertheless I say unto you,
Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and
coming in the clouds of heaven.65 Then the high priest rent his clothes,
saying, He hath spoken blasphemy; what further need have we of witnesses?
behold, now ye have heard his blasphemy.KJV
Jesus
told the high priest that he will see him, Jesus, sitting on the right had of
power. Remember Steven, when he was being
stoned, he saw Jesus standing on the right hand of the Father? It seems that
when we shed our earthly bodies we can “see” what we cannot “see” now. Remember dimensionality. We will have the ability to know and see more
than we can now once we are in the grave. Again a celestial event occurs to
kick off Jesus’ coming in the clouds.
Mark
13:24-27 But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun shall be darkened,
and the moon shall not give her light,25 And the stars of heaven shall fall,
and the powers that are in heaven shall be shaken.26 And then shall they see
the Son of man coming in the clouds with great power and glory.27 And then
shall he send his angels, and shall gather together his elect from the four
winds, from the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost part of heaven.KJV
And
again, Jesus sends angels out to gather the elect from the earth and to
heaven. Recorded again is Jesus
testifying of coming in the clouds.
Mark
14:62-64 And Jesus said, I am: and ye shall see the Son of man sitting on the
right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.63 Then the high priest
rent his clothes, and saith, What need we any further witnesses?64 Ye have
heard the blasphemy: what think ye? And they all condemned him to be guilty of
death.KJV
Here
Luke gives us more information, he clarifies the times of the Gentiles are the
times when the Gentiles are in leadership.
Today, worldwide it is still the time of the Gentiles, but one day
Israel will be in control, a world superpower as per Psalm 83.
Luke
21:24-28 And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away
captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles,
until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.
Keeping
in mind Paul’s words of Romans 11:25, he says we are living in a time where we are
adding people to the church. There is a number of Gentiles coming into faith of
the Messiah, which makes this still the time of the Gentiles.
Luke
21:25 And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars;
and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves
roaring; 26 Men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those
things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.
Luke
adds to the celestial events, the sea churning, and nations in distress. He adds that people will be in fear because
of something happening on the earth.
Truly, today no one is fearful of natural eclipses but rather of
incoming meteors or volcanoes exploding, or cyclones, or hurricanes. Something has to happen with the sea, which
could be multiple meteors that hit the ocean and the land which causes darkness
over all the earth. We simply don’t know for sure, but whatever powers are in
heaven, they will be shaken. Here is the thing though, we do not have to worry
about what will happen with the sun, moon, stars, and oceans, because it will
simply signal the start of the gathering. Then Jesus comes in the clouds.
Luke
21:27 And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and
great glory.28 And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and
lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.KJV
Before
the Day of the Lord, the earth’s armies will gather to make war with the Lord
and His armies. This cannot be at this
time that Luke is describing, as the last part of the verse says to “look up”
because, “redemption draws nigh”.
Redemption comes to the redeemed, and the redeemed are singing about
being redeemed in Revelation 5. That is the second to last time the redeemed
are referenced. The last time the
redeemed are observed is the 144,000, which we know are Jewish men who have not
been with a women, as we have studied previously. Therefore, this is not the Day of the Lord;
redemption is during the gathering, the episunagoge, the above congregation at
the start of the tribulation and for the 144,000 at the middle of the
tribulation.
For
in depth study of Revelation 5: http://musingsofawinsomeheart.blogspot.com/2013/03/when-we-get-to-heaven-revelation-5_11.html
Jesus
testified of himself coming in the clouds, sending the angels with shouts and
commands and trumpets to gather his people to heaven, and everyone sees, the
dead and the living, and the tribes of earth mourn, because they are not among
the gathered. There will be a door that
opens, and people will try a quick “salvation” to get into heaven, however the
master closes the door and tells those on the outside he never knew them. The oddity of doors and clouds clears up entire sections of scripture regarding
the door of heaven and Jesus coming in clouds.
It makes the Bible clear concerning our time on earth and our departure
to heaven.
