The Second Coming of Christ
With all the events of the recent past many people are wondering about the second coming or the return of Jesus Christ. We at Watch and Pray don't want you confused on how things will come about. As you read the following scriptures allow the Holy Spirit to minister the truth to you.
II Thessalonians 2:1-12
1. Now, we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him,
2. That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.
3. Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
4. Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.
5. Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?
6. And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time.
7. For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.
8. And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of His mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:
9. Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,
10. And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth that they might be saved.
11. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:
12. That they all might be damned who believe not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
To help understand what was written here you have to know what was written in I Thessalonians. Paul didn't want us to be confused by his first letter so he wrote this second letter. The first letter in chapter 4 verses 15-18 would lead you to believe that Jesus was coming before Satan and that those that were dead who had received Jesus as their savior would raise from the grave and meet Jesus in the air. Paul knew that this would be misleading to some so in II Thessalonians he explained it further.
The truth is; to be absent from this body is to be present with the Lord (II Cor. 5:8). So there is no need to come up out of a grave they are already with Jesus. Also Paul makes very plain in II Thess. that there will be a great falling away when Satan sets up as Jesus. In Revelation we are told that Satan will come at the 6th trump and this puts him here before Jesus' second coming at the 7th trump. We don't want to be mislead and worship the "false Jesus". We want to wait for the "Real Jesus".
Mark 13:4-37 are Jesus own words explaining what to expect when the end of this world age comes.
Vs. 5 warns against being deceived. This lets us know that there is a great danger of being deceived at the end times.
Vs. 6 lets us know that not every person that comes saying they are of Christ or they are Christ are necessarily telling the truth. We have to be aware of false Christians and false Christ's.
Vs. 7 says that there will be unrest in the world and this has to happen before the end of the age.
Vs. 8 talks about how even nature will be shaken and altered when the end of time begins.
Vs's 9-12 says that we will be delivered up before the False Christ when we don't follow him and his false miracles. Our loved ones who believe this False Christ to be the Real Christ will believe that they are helping. They think that they are doing the will of God because of the deceptions of the false one. When the scripture says that they will be turned over to "death" that means they will be turned over to Satan. At that time we won't have to worry about what we will say, we must let the Holy Spirit do the talking thru us.
Vs. 13 warns us that we will be hated for our belief in Christ but when we stay true to the end, all the way through being brought before the false messiah and allow the Holy Spirit to speak through us we will be saved.
In vs's 14-23 the word Desolation should say the Desolator. This helps us to know that when we see the false Christ set up where he shouldn't be (that means in Jesus place), we will know the season of the end is coming. When that time comes we can not start to prepare. We must stay ready. There will be hard times and if the Father hadn't shortened the time to 5 months even the elect would be in danger of deception because of the false signs and false wonders that Satan will be able to do.
Vs's 24-37 let us know that we will be able to recognize these signs and that we won't be taken by surprise. The generation that he is referring to is the Fig Tree generation. This is the generation that began when Israel became a nation in 1948. A 70 generation ends in 2018. All those who lived in 1948 will not pass on before Jesus return. WE NEED TO WATCH AND PRAY FOR THE TIMES DRAWS NEAR. We can't be caught asleep or unaware.
If you are wondering about the rapture doctrine, the bible, although it never mentions the word "rapture' does address the subject.
Ezekiel 13
1 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
2 Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel that prophesy, and say thou unto them that prophesy out of their own hearts, Hear ye the word of the LORD;
3 Thus saith the Lord GOD; Woe unto the foolish prophets, that follow their own spirit, and have seen nothing!
4 O Israel, thy prophets are like the foxes in the deserts.
5 Ye have not gone up into the gaps, neither made up the hedge for the house of Israel to stand in the battle in the day of the LORD.
6 They have seen vanity and lying divination, saying, The LORD saith: and the LORD hath not sent them: and they have made others to hope that they would confirm the word.
7 Have ye not seen a vain vision, and have ye not spoken a lying divination, whereas ye say, The LORD saith it; albeit I have not spoken?
8 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because ye have spoken vanity, and seen lies, therefore, behold, I am against you, saith the Lord GOD.
9 And mine hand shall be upon the prophets that see vanity, and that divine lies: they shall not be in the assembly of my people, neither shall they be written in the writing of the house of Israel, neither shall they enter into the land of Israel; and ye shall know that I am the Lord GOD.
10 Because, even because they have seduced my people, saying, Peace; and there was no peace; and one built up a wall, and, lo, others daubed it with untempered mortar:
11 Say unto them which daub it with untempered mortar, that it shall fall: there shall be an overflowing shower; and ye, O great hailstones, shall fall; and a stormy wind shall rend it.
12 Lo, when the wall is fallen, shall it not be said unto you, Where is the daubing wherewith ye have daubed it?
13 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; I will even rend it with a stormy wind in my fury; and there shall be an overflowing shower in mine anger, and great hailstones in my fury to consume it.
14 So will I break down the wall that ye have daubed with untempered mortar, and bring it down to the ground, so that the foundation thereof shall be discovered, and it shall fall, and ye shall be consumed in the midst thereof: and ye shall know that I am the LORD.
15 Thus will I accomplish my wrath upon the wall, and upon them that have daubed it with untempered mortar, and will say unto you, The wall is no more, neither they that daubed it;
16 To wit, the prophets of Israel which prophesy concerning Jerusalem, and which see visions of peace for her, and there is no peace, saith the Lord GOD.
17 Likewise, thou son of man, set thy face against the daughters of thy people, which prophesy out of their own heart; and prophesy thou against them,
18 And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Woe to the women that sew pillows to all armholes, and make kerchiefs upon the head of every stature to hunt souls! Will ye hunt the souls of my people, and will ye save the souls alive that come unto you?
19 And will ye pollute me among my people for handfuls of barley and for pieces of bread, to slay the souls that should not die, and to save the souls alive that should not live, by your lying to my people that hear your lies?
20 Wherefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against your pillows, wherewith ye there hunt the souls to make them fly, and I will tear them from your arms, and will let the souls go, even the souls that ye hunt to make them fly.
21 Your kerchiefs also will I tear, and deliver my people out of your hand, and they shall be no more in your hand to be hunted; and ye shall know that I am the LORD.
22 Because with lies ye have made the heart of the righteous sad, whom I have not made sad; and strengthened the hands of the wicked, that he should not return from his wicked way, by promising him life:
23 Therefore ye shall see no more vanity, nor divine divinations: for I will deliver my people out of your hand: and ye shall know that I am the LORD.
If you would like to know more about this subject, please read Luke chapter 21 and Matthew chapter 24. When you read these chapters, ask the Father for His wisdom and don't be afraid to check things out in a Strong's Concordance or a Companion Bible. Sometimes old english is just that, old, and had a different meaning than it does today. Also feel free to call the number below if you have any questions about what is meant in these scriptures.
