The Daily Word of Righteousness

Coming to the Disciple and Coming to the World, #5

I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. (I Corinthians 15:50-53—NIV)

The above is a third passage concerning the great historic coming of the Lord to establish His Kingdom on the earth. The emphasis here is on the resurrection and the change in the body. The catching up of the resurrected and living elect is not mentioned. However, Paul is saying here that before we are caught up we will be changed into immortality.

A fourth passage:

God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you 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. He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. (II Thessalonians 1:6-8—NIV)

This is the same historic coming. The emphasis is the deliverance of the saints from persecution. Now the shoe is on the other foot. Those who have harmed the saints will themselves be harmed, at the coming of the Lord.

A fifth passage:

And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the splendor of his coming. (II Thessalonians 2:8—NIV)

The Lord Jesus Christ will overthrow Antichrist at His appearing. His saints, those who have experienced the personal coming to the disciple, will be with Him and assist with this total victory.

They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of his power on 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. (II Thessalonians 1:9,10—NIV)

We see this victorious attack on Antichrist, in the Old Testament.

You will flee by my mountain valley, for it will extend to Azel. You will flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the LORD my God will come, and all the holy ones with him. (Zechariah 14:5—NIV)

When the Lord Jesus appears we shall appear with Him, riding on the white stallions of war. We shall descend with Him to the Mount of Olives and go to the rescue of the nation of Israel. We shall be with Him when He is crowned on the Temple Mount. From there we shall go to our assigned places of rulership over the saved nations of the earth.

Then I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies gathered together to make war against the rider on the horse and his army. (Revelation 19:19—NIV)

To be continued.