Scripture Text – Matthew 24:3-14

The Order – Continued

From last lesson: He bore our sin and shame—the sin that hid God’s face from us—the sin that deserved eternal death. He bore it there. He paid it there for me—for you. Now we are redeemed and saved from hell and damnation because He loved us so.

It was this same Jesus who found me when I was lost and condemned in sin, hating God, reviling His Word, cursing His Son, murdering the Prince of Life. It was He who loved me enough to take my guilt and to make it His responsibility; to save me and to make me a son of God; to put a song in my heart, a testimony on my lips and the assurance of eternal life in my soul. That same Lord Himself will descend from heaven one of these days—that precious, adorable Lord—my Lord and my God—my Savior and my King. I shall look upon Him. I shall see the Lord Himself. O friend, that is for you, too, if you have believed on Him. Can you begin to imagine the thrill that will sweep over us when for the first time we behold Him, see Him, the One who died for us to save our poor, hell-bound, sin-smitten souls from eternal destruction? Yes, the Lord Himself will descend.

Notice that while we ascend—the Lord descends. However, He does not come to the earth at this stage of His coming. It is definitely stated that we shall meet Him in the air. He descends and we ascend, but we meet above the earth. It is important to note this carefully, as there is a time when the Lord shall descend to the earth.

The Prophet Zechariah tells us that when the Lord descends to the earth, “His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives” (Zechariah 14:4). He will march into Jerusalem with His saints, who have previously ascended in the Rapture, to meet Him in the air. In this prophecy we are told about the second stage of the coming of the Lord. It describes the actual coming again of the Lord Jesus to the earth—with His saints.

The first phase of this coming is the “Thief Aspect” and the other is the “Judgment Aspect” of the coming again of our Lord.

We read in Titus 2:13, “Looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.” The “Blessed Hope” is His coming in the air for His saints; His glorious appearing is His coming with His saints to the earth. Between these two, we have the time spoken of as “the day of the Lord”—the seven years of judgment and tribulation.

To Be Continued

Adapted and modified excerpts from M. R. De Haan, The Second Coming of Jesus.
Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from the New King James Version®, NKJV © 1982 by Thomas Nelson.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.