The Scriptures reveal that Christ’s coming again is
progressive, culminating in the Final Coming of Christ in glory in the clouds of
heaven with His saints. Before that, many believe, we will witness the Appearing
of Christ and the Rapture.
His Appearing will occur as a manifestation of His glorious presence in His people. Christ’s glory—His honor, splendor and radiance—will shine forth from His people in the same way that Christ’s glory shone forth in His Transfiguration, a similar manifestation of God’s glory in man-flesh and a pattern-setting event for those who truly follow Christ. Our faces will glow with a radiance like the radiance on Moses’ face when he descended Mt. Sinai. His face blazed, lit up with the glory-shine of God within him. When we gaze on the face of God, 2 Corinthians 3:18 tells us, we change into His image, glory from “glory to glory in Christ Jesus.” Colossians 1:27 affirms the hidden presence of “Christ in you, your hope of glory.” God is even now transforming our flesh to become translucent, able to shine forth this God-dazzle.
Christ the Lord will come in power and majesty to dwell in
and express Himself through His people. Unbelievable to some, unprecedented to
all, the imminence of these God-events have heaven astir with joyful expectancy.
Even those who know Him in His glory will be stunned. For "eye
has not seen, nor ear heard, nor has it entered into the heart of man to imagine
what God has prepared for those who love Him." (1 Corinthians 2:9)
A stack of
Scriptures clarify and expand on the reality of His Appearing. One of these many
Bible references, penned by the Apostle Paul in 2 Thessalonians 1:10 and 12 in
the Amplified Version, reads:
10 When
He comes to be glorified in His saints [on that day He will be made more
glorious in His consecrated people] and [He will] be marveled at and admired [in
His glory reflected] in all who have believed [who have adhered to, trusted in
and relied on Him] . . .
12 Thus may the name of our Lord Jesus Christ be glorified and become more
glorious through and in you, and may you also be glorified in Him according to
the grace (favor and blessing) of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ the Messiah,
the Anointed One).
Another reference, Romans 8:14-23, intrigues readers with
an explanation of Christ’s Appearing as ‘the revelation of the sons of
God.” This stirring passage presents the groaning of the earth, so linked to
man’s flesh by God’s creation of man from earth-dust, and the longing of the
earth to experience its own restoration to glory.
The Bible, a
literary masterpiece, abounds in word wealth. The Greek word parousia, translated
“appearing,” literally means “presence.” In the ancient world, the word parousia
referred to the official arrival of a king in a city or region to establish
his reign. Christians adopted the term parousia or appearing to describe
the glorious coming of Christ (see 1 Corinthians 15:23) Also, the Greek word
used for the “revelation” of Christ’s glorious presence in His people is apocalypsis,
which literally means “unveiling.” This word, rendered apocalypse in
English, appears in the title of the Bible’s Book of the Revelation (Apocalypse)
of the Lord Jesus Christ.
On the many
occasions when the word parousia pops up in Scripture, the word carries
with it a thrilling revelation of aspects of Christ’s Appearing. These
characteristics of His manifest presence in His people include:
Glory,
radiance, honor and splendor.
Transfiguration,
similar to that of Jesus
described in Mark 9.
Occurrence on the
much-prophesied Day of the Lord, that is, the Day of the Lord Jesus
Christ, a time period we have now entered.
Sudden
launch of a series of God-events, which taken together, happen with rapid-fire
quickness.
Let’s take a brief look at each of these four characteristics of the Appearing or parousia of Jesus.
Glory: Jesus said of this
day, “Then the righteous will shine
forth like the sun in the kingdom of their Father.”
(Matthew 13:43) The angels watch with awe. All creation is charged with expectancy. His
Appearing is a time like one never before seen, never recorded in human history.
As the splendor and radiance of the Father rested on the Son, so shall the
brilliance, power and majestic glory of the Risen Christ rest upon us, His
people.
Transfiguration:
“And all of us, as with unveiled face, [because we] continue to behold
[in the word of God] as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are constantly being transfigured
into His very own image in ever increasing splendor and from one degree of
glory to another; [for this comes] from the Lord [who is the Spirit].” (2
Corinthians 3:18) Suffering in Christ creates a deposit of glory within the true
believer who has shared deeply in the suffering of Christ. This is what the
Apostle Peter declares in 1 Peter 1:5-7. Soon the revelation of that inward
glory will manifest. The Scripture convincingly states that we will be
transfigured, shining with the glory of the risen Christ.
Day of the Lord: “The Lord has a day of vengeance,
a year of recompense for the cause of Zion.” (Isaiah 34:8)
Old Testament prophets proclaimed the “great and terrible Day of the
Lord” when judgment falls upon the wicked. But judgment implies both
punishment for evil and recompense, even blessing and restoration, for the
parties on the right side of justice. So it is in the Day of the Lord, which is,
correctly, the Day of the Lord of Hosts, who is the Lord Jesus Christ, Judge of
heaven and earth. While wrath wreaks justice on evil structures in the world,
God releases healing, miracles and blessing to His people, a just recompense for
those shown faithful to Him during the testing times of desperate circumstances.
The Day of the Lord Jesus Christ also stands as The Third Day, a term peppered
throughout the Bible and fulfilled in this era. Just as Joshua, Esther, Jesus
and others experienced victory on “the third day,” so God’s own will exert
Christ’s power, at a level higher than ever before, to crush the power of
Satan.
“Suddenly:” All these events unfold at an
accelerated pace once they start. Jesus said, “Behold, I come quickly.”
Malachi 3:1 announces, “And the Lord [the Messiah] whom you seek will suddenly
come to His temple.” Paul in 1 Thessalonians 5 declared that the day of
the return of the Lord will come as unexpectedly and suddenly as a thief
in the night. The full meaning of this word “suddenly” expresses the idea
that once begun, all the happenings in the event-series of His Coming will occur
with startling swiftness.
If we, as the people of God, really believe the Bible
description of His Appearing, and if we, as many now do, sense the imminence of
His Appearing, we must respond. Our response involves four attitudes which
express our belief:
Stay awake, alert and watching. Just waking up from
our lethargy to recognize the reality of His soon coming requires a wrenching
change of gears in our thinking, feeling and actions. We must remain on high
alert to the signs of His coming, detailed in Matthew 24 and Luke 17 and 21. We
must watch. “Blessed are those servants whom the master finds awake,
alert and watching when he comes.” (Luke 12:37)
Be humbled and awed. Some will bow at the feet of
the glorious sons of God, offering money and power to them. Some will
merchandise the glory of God. Some will begin to take miracles for granted. An
attitude of holy reverence and great awe for the presence and power of God must
prevail.
Build radical faith. Jesus asked, “When the Son of
Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?” He asks His people to demonstrate
radical faith, extreme, outrageous faith because He needs that kind of faith to
accomplish the mighty acts He plans and the tide of blessing He yearns to give.
Miracles await but Jesus must build in us faith in the God of Miracles, the kind
of faith Moses exercised, the kind of faith Jesus as a man had. To do this, we
must practice, practice, practice our fait in daily situations and strengthen it
as a body-builder fortifies muscle.
Finally, we need to express this faith. Heaven must
hear a thunderous fountain of praise and rejoicing over His soon Appearing in
order to release the deluge of blessing planned for this Third Day of Christ
Jesus. God’s mighty blessing plan requires our participation.
What He promises in His Appearing (recall that parousia
means presence) is a dimension of His presence so strong that we will not walk
on the earth but float. Just like falling in love, our saturation in His
presence—the presence of I AM WHO IS Life, Light and Love—will yield
ecstasy, a Heaven On Earth experience.
The Lord seeks those who will believe and who will pray
this dream of the Father into earthly reality. He spoke this prayer on
Resurrection Sunday, April 4, 2010:
Great
God among us, arise! Arise in your people now. Show forth your mighty power
through them, says the Lord, the Lord of Hosts and His Spirit together. Arise in
your people, and let Our glory be shown in them.
Let them be like their Lord even as in His Resurrection, that
they rise to new life and power. Let them demonstrate resurrection life to the
peoples and the nations. Let them arise and shine for now, even now, says the
Lord of Hosts, the glory of the Lord is risen upon them. Let it be now that they
who suffered with Him will also share in His resurrection glory.
Let all things come together. Let prophecy and promises be
fulfilled. Let it happen before their very eyes, says the Lord. Let this word be
accomplished in their sight. Amen.
“Arise, shine, for the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.” (Isaiah 60:1)
Note: A full 40-page Prophecy Report, The Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, complete with all scripture references and prophetic messages on the subject of "His Appearing," is also available on this web site. Click on his_appearing full version.htm