Wednesday night I finished sharing my heart with the Providence Baptist Church in Trimble County, KY. The congregation had patiently and persistently put up with me since Sunday morning as I was their “guest preacher” at their annual revival. It was an honor to be invited to come and they overflowed with graces to me.
I fear that I scandalized them a little more than I intended…I taught them about sneaky Jesus. Americans (in fact most Westerners) believe that Jesus’ return will be in secret and semi-inexplicable. I believe this is yet another point of our continuing disagreement with Jesus.
We are under recent delusion that we will not have to suffer tribulation as followers of Jesus, or at least the tribulation we do suffer will be of the more generic uncomfortable kind. Jesus said, “Then they will deliver you to tribulation, and will kill you, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name.” (Matthew 24:9, NASB95). We believe the disciples to whom Jesus was referring (the “you”) surely must mean some other disciples other than us. Perhaps the “other sheep”?
We claim as truth the self-deception of salvation through simple declaration without perseverance. I know the idea of the necessity of continuing to follow Jesus offends many American Christians. “But the one who endures to the end, he will be saved.” (Matthew 24:13, NASB95)
Endures what? Jesus already said, “life-threatening tribulation.” So confident was the Savior in the power of his hold on the hearts of men and women, he called his proclamation of the troubles soon to come as good news. “This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.” (Matthew 24:14, NASB95) It is a lazy and self-serving interpretation to redefine the gospel in this context to be a costless “salvation” and not the promise of deliverance through tribulation that Jesus is currently telling his disciples to expect.
Finally we accept the ridiculous notion that somehow Jesus is going to “sneak” back to earth and take up his people without anyone knowing it. How can one arrive at this conclusion when Jesus says, “For just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes even to the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be.” (Matthew 24:27, NASB95) and, “And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory” (Matthew 24:30, NASB95)? I live in an area of the country where lightning storms are part of the normal weather cycle. I can call my friends who live miles away and talk about a celestial electrical discharge that both of us witnessed. Jesus said his return will be easily observable, so much so that all the tribes of the earth will “mourn” and “see.”
Consider this, when a sports team wins a championship do they return in the dead of night, as quietly as possible? Absolutely not! Even if their arrival is after the passing of day’s light the city burns their “torches” and people line the streets and welcome their victorious team. Fans and followers honk horns, scream and shout, wave flags and jump up and down. How can it be that the One who conquered death and hell, the One who won the souls of billions of humans by the shedding of his own blood, the One who is promised to be the judge of the whole world is supposed to come back in any other manner than that which is promised, “And He will send forth His angels with a great trumpet and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other” (Matthew 24:31, NASB95) ?
I don’t know about you, but I want nothing to do with a sneaky Jesus…I am looking and listening for the return in mighty power of the champion of my heart, even if it costs me everything while I wait. I want no disagreement with him.
Even so, come Lord Jesus.
TheNarrowRoadPursued 
The title is a bit irreverent but I like what you say. A dozen years ago I read a book by Van Kampen entitled “The Sign”. It changed my perspective to a pre-wrath view of the rapture. Christians will not undergo the wrath of God but will suffer plenty of wrath from Satan–much of which I think will be dispensed during Daniel’s 70th week. I have a poem on my site called “The Scroll” that teaches this perspective. Christians must be ready to suffer for Christs sake when called upon to so so!!
Would love to read your poem, feel free to leave a link back when you comment. I have long hesitated to do any “end times” posting since the dialogue tends to be rarely Scriptural (normally more about defending a “position.” Thanks for making the first comment a “good start.”
I see several problems with what you have written. First, it disagrees with John’s Revelation. Second, it disagrees with Paul in several areas. Third, it disagrees with the real meaning of the Olivet discourse.
You asked the question: to whom was Jesus speaking? Well, let’s answer that question: He was speaking to Jewish men under the old covenant. The Gentile church (Colossians 1:26-27) was at this time a mystery hidden in the Father (and would continue to be for several years). Jesus was speaking to the Jews about Daniel’s 70th week. We do NOT call this period of time Paul’s 70th week, or the 70th week of the Gentiles. Jesus was not addressing his discourse to the church at all.
When Jesus answered their question about the sign if His coming, He answered of His coming on the white horse, as we see in Rev. 19. Sorry, but we do not find the rapture there in Chapter 19. In fact, in that same chapter 19, we see that the saints are in heaven, for the marriage supper – which takes place in heaven, before we all come down with Jesus.
So the big question is, when did we get there? John saw the church in heaven, and wrote of it, in chapter 7 of Revelation. He did not see the rapture, but saw the church in heaven, just after the rapture.
So the BIG question is, where is John in his end time narrative when he writes chapter 7? This is the big unknown – that is unknown to most of the church world. Prewrathers would have us believe that the time of great tribulation has already come and gone by chapter 7. But this theory must totally warp Revelation and destroy John’s God given chronology. John does not get to the midpoint of the week until chapter 11. Then, chapter 11 through chapter 15 is all about events happening at the midpoint of the 70th week. For example, in 12:6 we see the woman fleeing into the wilderness: just what Jesus told those in Judea to do, when they see the abomination. So the abomination happens in chapter 11. John did not see it, because he was in heaven. The angels gives his message about not receiving the mark of the beast, in chapter 14. We can be assured then, that at this point in John’s narrative, the beast has not yet set up his mark – but is about to.
So any theory that must re-arrange the chronology of Revelation is immediately suspect, and will be proven wrong.
lyle.cooper@cox.net
I appreciate Lyle’s response. It presses my point far further than I would have dared. “Any theory that must re-arrange the chronology of Revelation is immediately suspect…” I counter any theory that rearranges or even “informs” what Jesus said should be carefully examined as to its veracity. The point of my article was not to enflame my well-read brethren, but to challenge a mindset that seems quite comfortable favoring an understanding of the “end times” through any other lens outside of what Jesus said. How can it be that Paul, or John or Daniel have anything to “add” to Jesus? It seems to be the wiser course to look first to Jesus and then to ask how Paul, John and Daniel agree with him, never in the reverse.
We must remember that what Paul wrote came from the mind of the Father through the Holy Spirit – since He was the author. What Jesus said came from the Holy Spirit and the mind of the Father. What am I saying? The Gospels are the enspired word of God, and the letters of Paul are the enspired word of God.
Therefore, we go back to context – and here context is everything. The rapture is not about the Jews – it is about the Gentile church. Paul said that it had been a mystery hidden in God until it was revealed to him. Therefore, the church was a mystery hidden in God when Jesus was speaking of the end times. Why then, would anyone consider that Jesus was speaking of the church in the Olivet discourse? In truth, he was speaking of the time of Jacob’s trouble, and the time of Daniel’s 70th week. Again I must reiterate, it is not Paul’s 70th week – meaning it has nothing to do with the Gentile church!
Therefore, what Paul said about the rapture was not given to Jesus to speak, for at that time it was a mystery – not yet to be revealed. If we want to learn about the rapture, we MUST go to Paul’s writing.
However, that being said, God in His great mercy and grace allowed John to see the church in heaven, right after the rapture, and write about it. So both Paul’s writing and John’s writing is where we must look to understand the timing of the rapture.
Coop
I appreciate the effort to present one of many opposing views. “Coop’s” comments are posted without edit. I will say nothing more than Jesus told his disciples what to look forward to and how to behave (recorded in the gospels) and it is universally agreed that the Revelation was that of Jesus and not John. So Paul serves as the content between the parenthesis. “Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?” (NKJV, from Paul’s letter to the church at Corinth referencing a division in the church based upon from whom the gospel was given to the church).
You asked for a link (In the first comment) biblepoetry.wordpress.com
Click on the page “The Scroll”
Robert Franklin was indeed kind and left my comments intact. We both read the same texts, but we understand what is written differently. I guess that is the very thing that has happened before, and why we have so many different denominations. I hope one day the church comes together with one mind. Indeed, we are now that many days closer to the Day of the Lord. How interesting that Paul mentioned the Day of the Lord just three verses after the classic rapture verse in 1 Thes. 4:17. Is Paul telling us that the rapture of the church and the Day of the Lord will be “back to back” events? lyle dot cooper7 at cox dot net
I believe the position of keeping the “Day” and the taking up of the Bride (the church) is the strongest Biblical position, as per @Lyle E Cooper. I also believe denominations are formed more around what we want to ignore in the Scripture rather than what we may honestly disagree about. For instance, I have a close friend who holds the position that saving grace may be lost by the Christian through rebellious acts. I think he is nuts, he thinks I am a knucklehead. We both love each other dearly and maintain open fellowship because we both seek to understand the whole of Scripture and the overwhelming truth that we agree on far outweighs those points on which we disagree (plus I know he is wrong :)).