Jesus' Return Part 2

 

    There are many questions about Jesus' return.  We need to focus on what we do know, so that we do not get lost in the unknown.  We do not know when, but we do know that he will return one day when we least expect it.  We believe that his return will happen in two stages.  The first stage will the when the church is raptured.  The second stage will be when Jesus returns with his saints.

    It is thought that the great tribulation is when it becomes clear who are Jesus' people.  They are separated from the rest of the world.  Another option is that this is when God's people are unified with the dead to go to Heaven together.

    There are many observations and thoughts about Revelations.  John was in a dream state seeing a far off future.  He say and experienced things that he had no way to describe.  He did the best he could, but it left a lot of mystery.  Plus, he only recorded what he was told to record.  That means he probably left out portions.

    Your faith is your testimony.  It comes after something that pushed you toward Jesus.  For some people the testimony comes after persecution.  John was in a prison colony in Pathos when he experienced and wrote Revelations.  His focus was on meeting Jesus face to face.  That is where his hope stayed.  It makes the book attention grabbing because it is personal and true.  

    John was not prepared for what he encountered, but he embraced it.  Are you prepared?  One day, dead or alive, you will face the rapture.  You will experience some part of revelations.  Are you ready?  What church do you fall into out of the seven churches listed?  You have to make yourself knowledgeable to be able to answer these questions honestly.  You will have a role in the end, but what will that be?

    John was ordered to record what he saw, felt, and experienced in that dream.  He wrote it in a letter, but it did become the book of Revelations in time.  It is prophetic and the true apocalyptic book.  John was moved by the Holy Spirit in how he wrote the last book of God's Word.  It may be mysterious, but it is true.  It all has meaning.

Matthew 24:29-31, John 14:1-4, Acts 1:9-11, 1 Thessalonians 4:15-18, & Revelations 1:9-20