The Coming of the Lord

The Lord has promised that He will return to this earth in “the great and terrible day of the Lord” which we refer to as the Tribulation period. But how will He return? It is extremely important that we understand what the word has to say about this. In Matthew 26: 63-64, the high priest said to Jesus “I adjure you by the living God, that you tell us whether you be the Christ, the Son of God. Jesus said unto him, ‘You have said: nevertheless I say unto you, Hereafter shall you see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.”

The word for hereafter in Greek is interpreted henceforth or from this present time forward. Jesus was saying that “from now on” you will be seeing me coming. If Jesus was referring to His second coming, then His saying that He would be coming from that time on would make no sense. We must discern between the use of literal meanings and figurative meanings. Most of the word is composed of figurative meanings. If we see how figurative meanings are used elsewhere in the bible, then we can better understand the use in the scripture we are seeking to understand. A key here is understanding how the word cloud or clouds is used elsewhere in scripture, since Jesus said He was coming in the clouds of heaven.

And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud, to lead them in the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light; to go by day and night: He took not away the pillar of the cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from before the people” (Exodus 13:21-22). “And it came to pass, as Aaron spoke unto the whole congregation of the children of Israel, that they looked toward the wilderness, and, behold, the glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud” (Exodus 16:10). “And glory of the Lord abode upon Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days: and the seventh day he called unto Moses out of the midst of the cloud” (Exodus 24:16). The Lord met with Moses on the mount in a cloud. When the tabernacle was finished, a cloud covered the tent of congregation and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. When Solomon finished the temple and all the preparations were made, the priests came out of the holy place and “the cloud filled the house of the Lord. So that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud: for the glory of the Lord had filled the house of the Lord” (1 Kings 8:10-11). On the mount of transfiguration God appeared in a cloud and spoke out of the cloud “saying, This is my beloved Son: hear him” (Luke 9:35).

When we see cloud or clouds in scripture we also see the appearing of the Lord and a manifestation of His glory. He was not seen physically, “for there shall no man see me, and live” (Exodus 33:20), but He appears in a physical manifestation. Hebrews 12:1 says “Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which does so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us”. Here we see cloud used in conjunction with describing a group of saints that have already finished their race here on earth. Revelation 1:7 says “Behold, he comes with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him, and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen”. As we compare these uses of the words cloud and clouds we can see a pattern, because the word of God is consistent and has a definite pattern. A cloud is a vessel in which the Lord appears, just as clouds are vessels - plural. And when the Lord appears, His glory is made manifest. Jesus has been coming or appearing for two thousand years. He has been appearing or being made manifest in those vessels who were broken enough, humbled enough, submitted enough, and faithful enough to manifest His glory. “Even the mystery which has been hid from ages, and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints: To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory: Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ” (Colossians 1:26-28).

Jesus will come again in the tribulation period and every eye shall see Him because He will be seen in a large group of believers who have died to self and have become sons of God. “And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of his saints, To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him” (Jude 14-15). Whenever the glory of God is revealed in a person as a result of brokenness, humility, and intimacy of relationship with Jesus - we are seeing His appearing. For now, this is happening in individual believers who are receiving this revelation. These believers are going forth and sharing this message of dying to self so that we may walk in the power and glory of His resurrection and change the world. I believe that soon and very soon these believers and those who embrace this message will manifest the glory of God in a measure not seen before in this earth. These people will bring judgment to the church “For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God, and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?” (I Peter 4:17). The church will be faced with a choice - “choose this day whom you will serve”. There will be no middle road (actually there never was one); it will be a matter of embracing the cross and dying to self thereby receiving life: or choosing to cling to your selfish desires and traveling the broad path to destruction. The church will be separated into two totally separate entities: the Bride and the Harlot. We see these two groups represented in the last two churches to whom Jesus speaks in Revelation 3. The Bride is represented by the church of Philadelphia (love) and the Harlot represented by the church of the Laodiceans. The striking characteristic of the Harlot church is its being lukewarm. The Harlot will not receive the message of dying to self because it prefers and clings to the message of grace - therefore remaining apathetic and seeing no reason to change. Once the Bride has formed and the wedding consummated with the Bridegroom, then Jesus will appear to an unbelieving world in His Bride and every eye will see Him. It will be a time of a tremendous harvest of souls. It will be the fulfillment of the Edenic commandment - the subduing of the earth (carnality) and having dominion in it.

We must be close to these things happening because according to the Jewish calendar, humanity has been in existence for about six thousand years. “But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years and a thousand years as one day.” (2 Peter 3:8). If a thousand years is as a day to the Lord, and almost six thousand years have passed, then we could say that we are nearing the end of the sixth day, as well as nearing the beginning of the seventh day. On the sixth day of creation, God created man. On the seventh day He rested from all His works. This is most significant. “And after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, and brought them up into a high mountain apart. And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light” (Matthew 17:1-2). After six days speaks of the end of the sixth day. A remnant will be chosen (many are called but few are chosen) to ascend the mountain of God where they will be changed and transfigured into the image of Christ. They will see the Lord face to face as did Moses, and their faces will shine as did Moses’ face, and they will receive robes of righteousness that are white as light. I believe this to mean they will receive their glorified bodies. This remnant will then go forth to the church and manifest the appearing of Jesus because they look like Him; they speak only what they hear Him speak, and do only what they see Him do - just as Jesus did by and through the Holy Spirit while here on this earth.

Another significance of the calendar time we are in is that it has been almost two thousand years since the Lord’s crucifixion, meaning that we are nearing the end of the second day. The Lord arose on the third day. He walked in the power of His resurrection. This correlates with what I discussed in the previous paragraph. The remnant that will be the firstfruits, the 144,000, having the seal of the living God, will walk in resurrection power and will hurt the earth and the sea. The earth represents carnality and the sea is humanity or corporate carnality. They will “hurt” or destroy all that is carnal. This does not mean they kill people - they kill that which is not of God in people. The purpose of the tribulation period is to fulfill the plan and purpose of God - Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil. “He that commits sin is of the devil; for the devil sinned from the beginning. For this purpose was the Son of God manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil” (I John 3:8). Sin/carnality/ worldliness/selfishness will be destroyed during the tribulation through those who have overcome the world through the blood of the Lamb, the word of their testimony, and dying to self - the remnant church. During the first half of the tribulation the church will be judged and the Bride will emerge. During the second half of the tribulation the world will be judged and those who call upon the name of the Lord and turn from the world will be given life in the Millennium period.

The seventh day - when God rested from all His works in creation - speaks of the 1,000 years of the Millennium. Chapters 3 and 4 of Hebrews speaks of the rest that God will give His people. He warns us to “harden not your hearts as in the day of provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness: when your fathers tempted me, and proved me, and saw my works forty years. Wherefore I was grieved with that generation, and said, they do always err in their heart; and they have not known my ways. So I swore in my wrath, they shall not enter into my rest. Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief , in departing from the living God. But exhort one another daily while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. For we are made partakers of Christ if we hold our confidence steadfast unto the end.” “And to whom swore he that they should not enter into his rest, but to them that believed not? So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief” (Hebrews 3:8-14, 18-19). Clinging to anything that is carnal, after you have received revelation about what is carnal in you - is unbelief. It is an evil heart of unbelief, departing from the living God that chooses to love the world more than God. “Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know you not that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God” (James 4:4).

Rest/salvation/true intimacy of relationship with the Lord is available only for those who are true disciples of Jesus. “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it. For what is a man advantaged, if he gain the whole world, (be made carnally complete) and lose himself, or be cast away? For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall come in his own glory, and in his Father’s, and of the holy angels” (Luke 9:23-26).

Joel chapter 2 gives us great understanding of what is revealed in the book of Revelation, and follows the very same pattern. “Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the Lord comes, for it is nigh at hand” (verse 1). It is time for the church to be awakened from its slumber with the sound of the trumpet - which is the voice of revelation - a “revealing” of the message of Christ as Lord of all. The holy mountain is the church and the inhabitants are believers. It is time for the church to tremble - to walk in the fear of the Lord - which is to reverence and honor Him, for the time of the end is at hand. “A day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds and of thick darkness, as the morning spread upon the mountains: a great people and a strong; there has not ever been ever the like, neither shall be any more after it, even to the years of many generations” (verse 2). Darkness and gloominess represent judgment; darkness being the result of the light of God’s glory removed and gloominess is the result of God’s glory being dimmed or less of His light available. The light of His truth is separating the wheat from the tares in His kingdom through the clouds of His appearing in the manifest sons of God - who are great and strong and unlike any before them or ever will be again. The light is only available for those who walk in the light, those that reject it will walk in darkness. The morning spread upon the mountains is a new day for the church (mountains are the ministries and organizations that comprise the church) - the third day - for Christ has risen in all His glory and in the power of His resurrection. Either those that are part of the church will embrace the message of the sons of God to become part of the Bride or they will reject their message and align themselves with the Harlot. “A fire devours before them; and behind them a flame burns: the land is as the garden of Eden before them; and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them” (verse 3). Fire cleanses, purges, and purifies. This fire of the judgment of God devours all that is not of God and reveals that which is of God. Man’s carnal works of wood, hay, and stubble will be destroyed while those works of the Holy Spirit will shine forth as gold, silver, and precious stones. This fire will continue destroying carnality and leave a desolate wilderness - an inheritance for the Harlot. Where the remnant walks will be full of life and the blessings of the Lord, for they have been redeemed from the curse of sin - it is as the Garden of Eden. Nothing that is carnal shall escape the destruction brought by these mighty sons of God.

"The appearance of them is as the appearance of horses; and as horsemen, so shall they run" (verse 4). The greek meaning for horses is “vehicles”. They are swift, strong, and valiant “as the horse rushes into the battle“ (Jeremiah 8:6). The Lord “rides” these obedient ones into the battle to conquer His foes. “I saw by night, and behold a man riding upon a red horse, and he stood among the myrtle trees that were in the bottom; and behind him there were red horses, speckled, and white. Then said I, O my lord, what are these? And the angel that talked with me said unto me, I will show you what these be. And the man that stood among the myrtle trees answered and said, these are they whom the Lord has sent to walk to and fro through the earth” (Zechariah 1:8-10). Since the church began, the Lord has been sending His messengers to walk to and fro through the earth. There are three types of horses mentioned here which represent degrees of maturity in Christ: red- immature believers who are covered by the blood of the Lamb, speckled - more mature believers, who are growing in their relationship to Christ and being purged of their carnal nature, shown here as speckled because there is much that has been purged out of their lives (shown by white) but still have darkness/carnality in them to be overcome, and white - representing mature sons, the elect 144,000 sold out vessels clothed in robes of righteousness. They are obedient to every command and fulfill His will.

We see this pattern of threes relating to levels of fruitfulness or maturity in Christ elsewhere in the word of God. In the parable of the sower there were those that produced fruit - some 30, some 60, and some 100 fold. The thirty fold, like the red horses, are immature but they are abiding in Christ and producing fruit. You could say they are 30% spiritual, 70% carnal. They are in the process of dying to self, but have much to go. They are the “little children” to whom John refers in I John. The sixty fold are more mature - more spiritual than carnal - and are the “young men” of I John. The hundred fold are the overcomers - fully matured spiritually - and the “fathers” of I John. We also see this pattern in Revelation 4: 6-7 with the four beasts around the throne. The first beast was like a lion which represents the bride who has become like the Lion of the Tribe of Judah - perfect, without spot or wrinkle. Then we have the next three which follow the pattern above. The second beast was like a calf - representing immature, but fruitful believers who are thirty fold and “little children”. The third beast had a face as a man - representing greater maturity. In I Corinthians 13:11 Paul says “when I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things”. The man represents the sixty fold believer and “young men”. The fourth beast was like a flying eagle representing the “white horses”, the hundred fold believers, and the “fathers”. The flying eagles are the sons of God. Whereas the calf and man are earthbound - still in carnality - the flying eagles are free to soar the heavenlies - no longer limited by the flesh and seek only to do the will of the Father and be about the Father’s business because, as sons of the Most High, that is their heart’s desire.

“Like the noise of chariots on the tops of mountains shall they leap, like the noise of a flame of fire that devours the stubble, as a strong people set in battle array” (verse 5). During the period in which this was written, the chariot was the most formidable weapon used to conquer. This mighty army of the Lord set in battle array shall overcome the defenses of the carnal church reaching to the highest positions (tops of the mountains) and reveal their carnal works (stubble) with the flame of judgment. “Before their face the people shall be much pained: all faces shall gather blackness” (verse 6). As their carnality is revealed, the carnal church will be offended by those that walk in the light, for they themselves think they are the ones that hold the truth. However, their faces will show forth the darkness in which they walk (blackness). “They shall run like mighty men; they shall climb the wall like men of war; and they shall march every one on his ways, and they shall not break their ranks” (verse 7). This is the fulfillment of Ephesians 4:13 - these mighty men have “come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ”. They will follow the Lord perfectly, not breaking ranks, but climbing the walls of division and false doctrine, and exposing every area the enemy has encroached.

“Neither shall one thrust another; they shall walk every one in his path: and when they fall upon the sword, they shall not be wounded” (verse 8). There will be no backbiting or disagreement among this “firstfruits” company of sold out believers. They will walk and carry out their individual instructions and as a group work cohesively as a perfect man. As previously mentioned, these have already died to self and been righteously judged, so that no weapon formed against them shall prosper. They will overcome all carnality they face, and will not be overcome by any means. “They shall run to and fro in the city: they shall climb up upon houses; they shall enter in at the windows like a thief” (verse 9). “For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction comes upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. But you, brethren, are not in darkness that that day should overtake you as a thief” (1Thessalonians 5:2-4). Paul is referring to the carnal church that will suffer destruction because they are not looking for His coming, but are assuming all is well and that they will be “raptured” out or escape judgment because of grace. The carnal church will not realize they are carnal until it is revealed to them. But after it is revealed, woe to those who will not heed the message!

“The earth shall quake before them; the heavens shall tremble: the sun and the moon shall be dark, and the stars shall withdraw their shining” (verse 10). This is not a literal happening involving the heavens, but these heavenly bodies refer to glory. “There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial is one, and glory of the terrestrial is another. There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for one star differs from another star in glory” (1 Corinthians 15:40-41. The sun represents the greatest amount of glory, the moon the next greatest, and the stars the least amount of glory - although there are differing levels of glory among the stars. In this verse the darkening of these entities refers to the glory that each of these ministries and organizations making up the carnal church had by virtue of their own pride and confidence in their ability to build great buildings or flow with a great amount of money by attracting large crowds with ear tickling messages. When the carnal nature of their work is revealed, the glory that looked so appealing is now revealed according to its true state of darkness in light of the truth being made manifest.

“And the Lord shall utter his voice before his army: for his camp is very great: for he is strong that executes his word: for the day of the Lord is great and very terrible: and who can abide it? Therefore also now, says the Lord, turn you even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning: And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the Lord your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repents him of the evil” (verses 11-14). This is the message that the Lord has been trying to bring His people all this time…that the Lord is good and His mercies endure forever, and He will prosper you and not harm you if you will only turn to Him with all your heart. So much of the church, however, has not had ears to hear. So, the Lord will get your attention the hard way if you will not submit the easy way.

“Gather the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the elders, gather the children, and those that suck the breasts: let the bridegroom go forth of his chamber, and the bride out of her closet” (verse 16). In the exact middle of this chapter, verse 16 of 32 verses, the Bride is now formed, just as she will be in the middle of the tribulation period. It is a time of great rejoicing for those that are now married to the King of Kings. “Be glad then, you children of Zion, and rejoice in the Lord your God; for he has given you the former rain moderately, and he will cause to come down for you the rain, the former rain, and the latter rain in the first month. And the floors shall be full of wheat, and the fats shall overflow with wine and oil. And I will restore to you the years that the locust has eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpillar, and the palmerworm, my great army which I sent among you. And you shall eat in plenty, and be satisfied, and praise the name of the Lord your God, that has dealt wondrously with you: and my people shall never be ashamed. And you shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am the Lord your God, and none else: and my people shall never be ashamed” (verses 23-27). This is the restitution of all things spoken of in Acts 3:21. Restitution means: a giving back of what has been lost or taken away, and the act of making good any loss, damage, or injury. This is also the fulfillment of the Edenic commandment - for now the Bride goes forth to subdue the earth and have dominion in it.

Now let’s look at this pattern in Revelation 11. Remember, we must see the figurative language used to see the truth being revealed. Verse 3: “And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days (1,260), clothed in sackcloth”. Who are these “two witnesses”? John 4:23 says “But the hour comes, and now is, when the true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeks such to worship him”. The true worshipers are those that are of the true church, the Bride church, the New Jerusalem. And they minister in spirit and truth - which are the two witnesses. For the first three and a half years of the tribulation period (1,260 days) the true church will be formed. The true church is ministering to the body of Christ the message of dying to self which is the path to life. They are clothed in sackcloth (humility) and speak (prophesy) truth in the power of the spirit. In verse 5, the words that proceed out of their mouths are like fire (judgment unto righteousness) which devours their enemies (that which is worldly, carnal). In verse 6 they have the power over waters (people of the church) to turn them to blood (life - the life is in the blood). In verse 7, when they have finished their testimony (the true church - the Bride - has now formed), the Beast (carnality - which is that which the apostate church, the Harlot, or Babylon, rides or is moved by) makes war against them, overcomes them, and kills them. The church has now separated into two groups. The chaff has been separated from the wheat; the goats from the sheep. The Harlot church has been fighting the Bride church, refusing to accept their message of truth. The Harlot loves her system of being made comfortable in her sins, thinking that she is the one who walks in truth. The Bride church, with her message of embracing the cross with its pain and suffering to produce death to self and life in the spirit, is detestable to the Harlot. The Harlot now, seemingly, wins the battle, but all she has done by “killing” the Bride (bringing all to death to self) is to perfect her. In verse 10, the Harlot (they that dwell upon the earth - carnality) rejoices because she thinks she is now justified and has overcome those that have tormented her.

What has really occurred and is now taking place is unknown to the Harlot. While she rejoices, a marvelous event is taking place. A voice from heaven (verse 12) has said “come up here”. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud. I Thessalonians 4:16-17 says “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord”. So the Lord descends from heaven and the Bride ascends to meet the Lord in the air. The air is the second heaven, which is the spiritual realm located just above the earth. The air is where I believe the garden of Eden is located. Satan being the “prince of the power of the air” is about to be thrust out to make room for the marriage of the Bridegroom and the Bride. For three and a half days there will be the greatest wedding celebration there ever was or will be again. Jesus and His Bride are now one - and so shall we ever be with the Lord. But the work isn’t finished. Now it is time for Jesus to return to earth to finish His ministry - and He returns to finish His earthly ministry in and through His bride.

Revelation 21:2 “And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband”. The Bride now comes down out of heaven and the Harlot witnesses it in Revelation 11:11 - and great fear fell upon them which saw it. The Harlot now sees the true Jesus - but it is too late. In Revelation 14:8 Babylon (the Harlot) is fallen. The Harlot is the one who has worshipped the Beast and his image, and received his mark (carnality) in his forehead (mind) or hand (action). Revelation 16:10-11 describes their inheritance for the remainder of the Tribulation period. “And the fifth angelpoured out his vial upon the seat of the beast; and his kingdom was full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues for pain. And blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and repented not of their deeds.” Their eternal inheritance is seen in Revelation 14:11 - “And the smoke of their torment ascends up forever and ever: and they have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receives the mark of his name.”

Now begins the second dispensation of the Tribulation period - the last 42 months. Forty-two is the number of His appearing. Verse 13: “And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, says the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors; and their works do follow them“. The second dispensation focuses on the world, those who have not been born again, those who were not part of the church. The “great winepress of the wrath of God” now squeezes out all life that may be reaped from the world. Keep in mind, this is judgment for the purpose of bringing forth life (blood) from all those who will receive it. Those that receive it will go on into the Millenium period, and there have the opportunity to learn and grow in the Lord.