Jesus is the beginning of all history (the Creator) and also the goal for whom all things are made (all history is moving toward glorifying him).
The following is a scripture in Revelation, taken from my NIV Study Bible that I always go back and look at every now and then. How exciting!
“Behold, he cometh 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” (Revelation 1:7).
“I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty” (Revelation 1:8).
I am focusing only on the “coming of the Lord” here and not the rest of the content of these verses or the book of Revelation.
Title for this commentary on these two verses is “Announcement of the Coming King.”
That should be exhilarating to us to say the least.
This will be the heralding of the Coming of the Son of man in all his glory and splendor that day when every eye will see this prophecy come to reality. But people will see it differently. They will see it as wailing and terror of Who he is that is appearing in the sky. Everyone will automatically know who this is that breaks through the sky and clouds whether it’s day or night. Did you notice the word “all?”
Jesus will come as the Son of man with universal dominion. “I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed” (Daniel 7:13-14).
If you want to get inspired and encouraged, read the first chapter of Revelation. Our King is coming back.
We believers get excited as we read the “living word” from the scriptures. Some Bibles have scriptural commentaries on a lot of the passages, explaining them a bit further with the correct principles of biblical interpretation. Most of us are not learned theologians or seminary professors, but God’s word is not that hard to understand once you become a believer. Some of it contains figurative language and some is symbolic, but most all of it is literal. While we can’t understand all of it completely (no one person can), Bible scholars give us some help with interpreting the passages.
Note: scriptural commentaries in some Bibles are man’s words and opinions, and they are subject to error.
But when one commentary stands out, it’s worth writing about and sharing; thus, the reason for this article. Whatever we can do here at RR in writing inspiring articles that will bring souls to Jesus Christ is well worth the time and effort. These articles inspire and lift us, also (the writers), as we read them ourselves. We are encouraged and continue to learn and grow from other believers with the different subjects that they write about.
This commentary really states the whole theme of the Bible: that the most important event that will ever happen on earth is the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, God’s only begotten Son (Acts 13:33, Hebrews 1:5).
All of history from the beginning, Genesis 1:1 to Revelation 22:21, is about the Jesus, the Son of God.
The end point, the end result, the final word: Jesus is coming back, and the entire population on earth is going to see him. There will be no darkness anywhere; the brightness of his appearance will be so apparent and prevalent, everyone will know.
No, it’s not the end of the world or end of the age. As we say, that’s an article for another time. The only event that has equaled this is the resurrection of Christ when he came out of the tomb by his own power on that Sunday morning, what some call Easter. With that, he conquered death, hell, and the grave. He conquered sin for us (and defeated the devil also), because there was no one else ever fitting to attain that position. I’m sure glad he did that for you and me.
Therefore: We know who, but why?
Jesus came once approximately 2,000 years ago as prophesied in the Old Testament to die for us so that we could live eternally with him. He desires a relationship with us, and all who would place their trust and faith in him alone, by acknowledging who he was and is, gains an entrance into his heavenly Kingdom. He was the only one who died and shed his blood on Calvary for our sins.
“What then? Are we better than the others? No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin; As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one” (Romans 3:9-12).
“The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is long-suffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9).
Don’t put your salvation off, my friend. He is waiting for you. Call upon him while he is near. The King of kings and the Lord of lords is coming back to fulfill his Father’s will and usher in his heavenly kingdom where we will be with him. That’s a promise that is in God’s Word.
We know who, but when?
Soon; very soon. Before the Second Coming of Jesus, he is coming to get his bride, the Church. That is us, the believers, who have called on him and trusted him as our Saviour. He is coming to deliver us in what’s called the “Rapture” from the wrath that’s coming upon the earth for seven years. Note: the word rapture is not found in the Bible. The Greek meaning is “caught up or snatched away.”
“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” (1Thessalonians 4:16-17).
Soon; very soon. But no one knows when. It’s been almost 2,000 years, and He still hasn’t come.
“Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation” (2Peter 3:3-4).
This will be after the seven years of the Tribulation period mentioned in the scriptures. Jesus is coming back to reign from Jerusalem for one thousand years after that here on earth.
We know who, but where?
Right at the end of the seven-year Tribulation period, Jesus comes back to annihilate his enemies with the sword “Word” from his mouth, and cast Satan into the pit for 1,000 years. He will reign from his established Kingdom in Jerusalem, Israel, for the thousand years as King of kings and Lord of lords.
“And I will bring them, and they shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God, in truth and righteousness” (Zechariah 8:8).
“Yea, many people and strong nations shall come to seek the Lord of hosts in Jerusalem, and to pray before the Lord” (Zechariah 8:22).
“And the Lord shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one Lord, and his name one” (Zechariah 14:9).
Right now we are in the end times. We’re already seeing many calamities that will increase dramatically in intensity and frequency after Christ comes for his believers, the Saints. There are so many scriptural references to this; they are given in detail in other articles. We are really close, so I hope you are saved and know him.
By the way:
Do you know that there is a world of difference between “knowing him and knowing of him?” That gap word “of” is the difference between heaven and the eternal lake of fire. Notice the word eternal; forever. I didn’t put “hell” there, because hell or “hades/torment” is the temporary holding place where the unsaved dead go when they die. After judgment, they are cast into the eternal lake of fire. Why would you want to risk going there when you don’t have to? A metaphor would be “jumping into the middle of an active volcano.” Dumb idea.
You might have heard these are the “last days.” That is true; because when Jesus was resurrected on that Sunday morning, which began the last days in this dispensation. Time is almost up.
Do this for me. Take a Bible and place your left hand on the front page of the book of Genesis and your right hand on the page in Revelation Ch. 4. Between your hands, much of this has taken place except for scriptures that relate to the coming events in the Tribulation.
With all this you can see that the focus is about the King coming back in all His Glory to establish his reigning Kingdom on earth for those thousand years. After that, he creates a “new heavens and earth” where we will be with him in Glory forever.
Wouldn’t you want that? I hope you do.
“Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for a new heavens and a new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness” (2 Peter 3:13).
Shalom and Blessings to you.
Clay Smith
All Scripture is from the King James Version