M-G: 9.1.17 // Waiting Up for Jesus, Part 2 of 2

Let me offer a few verses related to the imminent return of Christ for the purpose of demonstrating that it is not an isolated, obscured, and esoteric doctrine: Lk 12:36; Rom 8:23; 1 Cor 11:26; 2 Cor 5:2; Gal 5:5; Php 3:20; 4:5; 1 Thess 1:10; Titus 2:13; Heb 9:28; Jas 5:7-9; 1 Pet 4:7; 1 Jn 3:3; Jude 1:21; Rev 3:11; 22:7, 12, 20. I am of the opinion that the pre-tribulation rapture position is more aligned with preserving the imminent nature of Christ’s return for His Church than all other eschatological models in circulation, bar none.  

I used to look at the impending rapture as a phase of the second coming but that was unintentionally misleading because it was distinctive of the advents as well as in between the two. He is coming at any time alright but only in the clouds; this is what makes the rapture different from the first and second advents in the air versus on the ground or in the order of on the ground – in the air – on the ground.

If the rapture and the second coming are considered the same event, then the rapture is not imminent, and believers will go through the tribulation period, contradicting 1 Thes 5:9; Rev 3:10. It is worthy to note that in John's description of the tribulation period (Rev 6-19), nowhere does he mention the Church (because the Church is in glory!).

Truly, the next eschatological event is the rapture of the Church. There are no prophecies needing to be fulfilled prior to His coming in the air (1 Thes 4:17), no natural or man-made calamities, or some non-biblical prediction, such as a “spiritual awakening,” taking place before the rapture can happen. The glide path has remained open for the rapture to happen at any moment for nearly two millennia. Anyone who suggests that there is something barring the rapture is usurping the authority of Scripture. God knows precisely when the rapture will take place. Since God looks at time differently than we do (cf. 2 Pet 3:8), it may appear as if He is delaying, but His attribute of omniscience or being all-knowing would argue against that notion.

Let’s talk about one of those pre-trib rapture passages from First Thessalonians as it relates to us. First Thessalonians was the first of two letters written by Paul from Corinth to the Thessalonicans around 51 A.D.  The believers in Thessalonica, who once served deaf, dumb, and dead idols, turned “to serve the living and true God” (1 Thes 1:9). they were spreading the Gospel message (“For from you the word of the Lord has sounded forth…in every place,” 1 Thes 1:8.) in spite of persecution (“in much affliction,” 1 Thes 1:6), but notice something else said of them,

“And to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come” (1 Thes 1:10).

The verb “wait” [Gk, anamenein] is in the Greek present infinitive here, meaning a continuous action or linear, to keep on waiting for. They were waiting for His Son from heaven or kept on waiting for Jesus to come from heaven while they were serving the living and true God and being afflicted for it. Persecution is not to be a deterrent in serving God. I love how Paul described their faith, “Your faith toward God has gone out.” Nothing further needs to be said of it (1 Thess 1:8).

This one leading theologian gave an illustration of the literal meaning of “wait” as “to wait up for.” He illustrated; that suppose you have some relatives coming to visit you, and they are arriving sometime after midnight. You don’t know the exact time they will show up; so you simply wait up for them knowing that any moment they will be here. This is the practical implication of the imminent return of Christ – to wait up for. The analogy fails at one point in that the date is known, but you get the idea. We know Jesus is coming, but we are not sure when.

We keep on waiting for Him to return any moment of every day without knowing a date or time. we know it is going to happen, but no one doesn’t know the when (day or time) of it. So, you stay ready, watching, waiting, and working faithfully until that moment arrives because that is precisely what Jesus wants for us to do.

This waiting is based on three truths (1) the promise of His return – “wait for His Son from heaven” (1Thes 1:10a; cf. Jn 14:3), (2) Jesus’ physical resurrection – “whom He raised from the dead” (1 Thes 1:10b; cf. Lk 24:6; Acts 1:9; 9:5; 1 Cor 15:17)); A.T. Robertson indicated that the resurrection was the cornerstone of Pauline theology, and (3) ultimate salvation – “Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come” (1 Thes 1:10c; cf. 1 Thes 5:9; Rev 3:10).

For brevity’s sake, this “wrath” can be applied in two ways, temporal wrath (the seven years of tribulation) and eternal wrath (the second death, eternal separation from God in the lake of fire). From both, we have been delivered because of salvation (1 Thes 5:9). Glory to God we are spared by the grace of God from the terrifying seven years of tribulation. We will be off this terrestrial ball!

In keeping it real, the rapture could take place before I finish this article, or after I am in the grave, or for instance, 150 years from now. How is the imminent return of Christ affecting your life in personal holiness and treatment of others: loving God and loving your neighbor in the here and now? We would all get our act together if we knew Christ was coming back tomorrow say at 4:13 PM EDT; wouldn’t we? My pastor once said, “If we knew when Christ would return, many would sin themselves silly!” This flies in the face of 1 Jn 3:2-3, yes?

It is apparent why God has not allowed us to know the exact day-hour-minute-second given our human proclivities. But since we don’t know the when factor, what is our sense of urgency to be holy as He is holy or to give Him all that we got or to love our neighbor as ourselves right now?

We need to stay spiritually awake in our waking hours and simply, “wait up for” Him! The time is now in letting Him have preeminence in our lives every moment of every day while His return is hanging over our heads!

1 Cor 15:51 Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed –

1 Cor 15:52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

1 Thes 4:16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.

1 Thes 4:17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.

1 Thes 4:18 Therefore comfort one another with these words. 

Are we waiting up for Christ as His return is looming overhead? If we are stressing out over it, there is probably sin in the camp that needs to be repented of. If the imminent return of Christ does not give us a sense of urgency to live for Him with joyous anticipation, nothing will. Again, there is probably some dogging sin that needs to be addressed.

Every believer living, who is part of the body of Christ, is to be constantly ready for the most life-changing event since salvation, ultimate sanctification – glorification! * <><

End of Series

*Various extractions are from https://michael-gram.blogspot.com/2014/01/m-g-12714-1-thessalonians-110-hanging.html. Since I have full control over this article, I chose not to rain down on it with asterisks, which would prove to be too distracting.  : )-