THE COMING OF THE LORD

THE COMING OF THE LORD  
By Irene Belyeu
           Jesus warned: "Take heed that no man deceive you, For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many…. For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.” Matthew 24:4-5, 24.
            Christians, "Jews," and Muslims are all expecting their Messiah. A prominent “Jewish” Rabbi has prophesied that their Messiah would come after the death of Ariel Sharon.* He prophesied that the Messiah’s name would be Yeshua, that is the Hebrew word for Jesus. This Rabbi was steeped in the practices and teachings of Kabbala, the doctrines of magic and witchcraft, and had made some prophesies that literally came to pass, thereby gaining great credibility with the “Jewish” world. He claimed to have met the Messiah in a vision. Let us hope that his soul was saved, for he died on January 28, 2006 and an estimated 300,000 attended his funeral.
          Christians have been taught that we are to expect Christ’s “second coming” at any time. It is possible, however, that the “Jews” can present to the world a false Messiah, and thereby deceive many. By modern technology they can create an image on the clouds and pretend that their “Messiah” has come, deceiving the Christian world which has become accustomed to pictures and videos and movies depicting Christ. By magic and witchcraft they can perform what would seem to be “signs and wonders.” By this means many Christians will worship that image, supposing it to be Christ. The stage is set for many to be deceived.
          We must understand what Jesus taught about His “second coming.” In John 14:2-3 Jesus tells them He is going away, but will come again. In context of this passage Jesus was preparing them for His crucifixion and resurrection. The crucifixion was His going away; the resurrection was His coming again in fulfillment of this promise. He prepared a place for them by His resurrected and glorified Body in which He could "receive you unto myself that where I am there ye may be also." When we are born again we become members of His resurrected and glorified body, 1Corinthians 12:27. There is no way anyone can be closer to our Lord Jesus Christ.
          He promised that He would not leave them comfortless, John 14:18, but would come to them, verse 19. "I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you. Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also." He was only gone for three days and nights, "a little while." His second coming was fulfilled in His resurrection and the subsequent baptism in the Holy Spirit.
          He is even now present with those of us who worship Him in Spirit and in Truth: "For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them," Matthew 18:20. 
          Jesus prayed for us: "That they all may be one as Thou, Father, art in me and I in Thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that Thou hast sent Me. And the glory which Thou gavest me I have given them that they may be one, even as we are one; I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that Thou hast sent Me, and hast loved them as Thou hast loved me. Father, I will that they also, whom Thou hast given Me, be with Me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which Thou hast given me: for Thou lovedst Me before the foundation of the world." John 17:21-24. Our unity "in Him"will convince the world that He has come and that He loves them.
          What about the promise of His return when He ascended, Acts 1:11: “… this same Jesus which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.” Jesus had foretold this coming: “And then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven, and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory…. Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled,” Matthew 24:30, 34.
          Jesus also told the High Priest this same message in Matthew 26:64. Josephus, the historian, records just such an appearing during the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD, (Wars 6.5.3). He came in the clouds in judgment against that wicked city. The Book of Revelation is a record of that event and Revelation 1:7 states: “Behold, He is coming with the clouds and every eye will see Him, everyone who pierced Him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of Him. Even so, Amen,” RSV.  It happened, like He said, in that generation.
          Jesus came according to His promises. We are not left without a Comforter. Practice His presence with you now. Worship Him, pray, feed upon His Word. A physical future coming could not possibly be more real than His abiding presence with you now. If you know Him intimately by abiding in Him now you will not be deceived by some staged and false coming of a purported “Messiah.”
*Gallups, Carl. The Rabbi Who Found Messiah. WND Books, Washington, D.C. 2013. 

My book, Revelation In Context, is available at the Living Word Bookstore in Shawnee, Oklahoma and also available online at www.amazon.com or www.xulonpress.com. Free downloads are available at www.revelationincontext.sermon.net.