1 Peter 1:3Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you, 5who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. 6In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed
The Lord 'revealed' to me a simple but profound thought today as I was reading the Word.
Luke 17:26“Just as it was in the days of Noah, so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man. 27People were eating, drinking, marrying and being given in marriage up to the day Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed them all.
28“It was the same in the days of Lot. People were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building. 29But the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all.
30“It will be just like this on the day the Son of Man is revealed.
You see all this writing about the Son of Man "revealed." What does Luke 17 say? It will be just like the days of Noah and Lot on the day the Son of Man is revealed. What does "revelation" mean? It means REVEALING. What is being revealed? Jesus Christ. To who? To the world.
What is the book of revelation about (simply)? Revealing Jesus Christ to the world.
Understand that there are two groups in the world, the wicked and those who believe and are "in Christ."
When the Son of Man is revealed (revelation) what is the impact on these two groups?
The wicked wail, moan and mourn at the revealing (revelation) of the Lord
The righteous who are "in Christ" rejoice and are filled with gladness.
So the simple question is, as "revelation" the revealing which is outlined in the last book of the bible plays itself out from chapter one forward, what is the outcome/impact on the two above mentioned groups?
Which rapture view best fits with the righteous rejoicing and being filled with gladness as the book of Revelation-the revealing plays itself out?
1 Corinthians 1:7 Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed.
2 Thessalonians 1:7 and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels.
Romans 1:18 The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness
Luke 1728“It was the same in the days of Lot. People were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building. 29But the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all.
30“It will be just like this on the day the Son of Man is revealed
What is all this ^^? Its Revelation. It is revealing the Lord Jesus. This revealing/revelation process has drastically different impacts and outcomes for the wicked, and those who are "in Christ."
The wicked do this:
Revelation 1:7
| ... He is coming in the clouds, and every eye will see Him, and so will those who pierced Him; and all the nations of the earth will gaze on Him and mourn. |
Contrast that to what happens when the Lord is revealed to the righteous:
2 Thessalonians 1:8He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 9They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of his power 10on the day he comes to be glorified in his holy people and to be marveled at among all those who have believed. This includes you, because you believed our testimony to you.
We who believe will marvel at Him when we see Him. The wicked/the nations will mourn when they see Him.
Revelation or revealing starts with Chapter 1 right? Who is Jesus 'revealed to" first? The CHURCH. What happens between the letters to the Churches in chapters 2-3 and the opening of the seals in chapter 6? The entire focus shifts TO HEAVEN. Redeemed and rewarded men are seen in heaven in Revealtion 5 before a single seal is opened in Revelation 6. How pray tell did these redeemed and rewarded men get into heaven? I remember reading about an open door in Revelation 3 and 4. What are doors used for? People go in and out of them. Either that or the Lord is writing nonsense to us as some would have us believe.
When a door is opened, it is opened so PEOPLE CAN GO THROUGH IT. If a door is opened in Revelation 3 and 4, and men are NOT traveling in the direction from heaven to earth, which other way could they be going? That's right, from earth to heaven. Does that jive with Luke 21:36 which tells us those found worthy will be standing before the Son of Man? Yes, why? Where is the Son of Man and where would men have to be standing in order to be standing before Him? In heaven, that's where the Lord Jesus is seated at the right hand of the Father and that is where those who prevail/overpower/are found worthy will stand when the escape from all (Luke 21:36) happens.
Here's the lexicon for Luke 21:36. The part I wanted to emphasize was cutoff below, its:
| "But keep on the alert | ἀγρυπνεῖτε | agrupneite | 69 | to be sleepless, wakeful | from agreuó and hupnos |
| at all | παντὶ | panti | 3956 | all, every | a prim. word |
| times, | καιρῷ | kairō | 2540 | time, season | a prim. word |
| praying | δεόμενοι | deomenoi | 1189a | to want, entreat | a form of deó |
| that you may have strength | κατισχύσητε | katischusēte | 2729 | to overpower | from kata and ischuó |
| to escape | ἐκφυγεῖν | ekphugein | 1628 | to flee away | from ek and pheugó |
| all | πάντα | panta | 3956 | all, every | a prim. word |
| these things | ταῦτα | tauta | 3778 | this | probably from a redupl. of ho,, used as a demonstrative pronoun |
| that are about | μέλλοντα | mellonta | 3195 | to be about to | a prim. verb |
| to take place, | γίνεσθαι | ginesthai | 1096 | to come into being, to happen, to become | from a prim. root gen- |
| and to stand | σταθῆναι | stathēnai | 2476 | to make to stand, to stand | from a redupl. of the prim. root sta- |
| before | ἔμπροσθεν | emprosthen | 1715 | before, in front of (in place or time) | from en and pros |
| the Son | υἱοῦ | uiou | 5207 | a son | a prim. word |
| of Man." | ἀνθρώπου | anthrōpou | 444 | a man, human, mankind | probably from anér and óps (eye, face) |
The day the son of man is revealed (revelation) will be just exactly precisely like the days of Noah and Lot. The precise day that Noah entered the ark, the flood came and destroyed the world. The exact day that Lot left Sodom fire and brimstone fell and destroyed the city. The righteous leaving, escaping, fleeing away IS THE CUE for destruction to fall according to the Word of the Lord. The wicked will mourn, the righteous will rejoice at the REVELATION, the revealing of the Lord Yeshua/Jesus.
As the book of Revelation appears poised to unfold before us, should we mourn or rejoice?
Think about it...
