God stepped out of Heaven
over 2,000 years ago and took upon Himself the flesh of
His creation … mankind.
He was the new Adam, born of a virgin girl, come to provide salvation to all
who would come to Him by faith.
There was no grand entrance upon
this world except for a few souls, but all the signs were there for those who
paid attention to Scripture. In a lowly manger He was christened with gold,
frankincense and myrrh for His life as the Son of Man.
These gifts are not just
coincidence for this child. They tell us that the Son of God (divine) also
became the Son of Man (human) for a purpose. He came willing to satisfy the Law
and die for us. The innocent accepts the death penalty for the guilty to reunite
God with mankind.
·
The gold
symbolized His divinity.
·
The frankincense
symbolized His holiness and righteousness. It showed His willingness to be our
sacrifice.
·
Myrrh was used as
an embalming agent in those days, and symbolized His bitter life ahead from the
suffering and affliction He would endure for you and me and then give His life
on the cross on our behalf.
“Greater love has no one than
this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” (John 15:13)
“Who, being in very nature
God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own
advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a
servant, being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance
as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a
cross!
Therefore God exalted him to
the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the
name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the
earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of
God the Father.” (Philippians 2:6-11)
In Philippians two, notice verses
six through eight are speaking of Jesus as the Son of Man and verses nine
through eleven as the Son of God.
The Scripture says that the
Jews require signs and the Greek (all non-Jews) seek wisdom (1 Corinthians
1:22). According to Bible scholars the Old Testament had at least 300 signs of
Jesus’ First Coming. On top of that, all through His ministry on earth an
abundance of signs were provided for their first-hand witness, but yet, most
did not believe.
Something very important to
understand is that the Jews were very familiar with the Old Testament, unlike
many Christians today who know so very little about the Bible. Sadly, many in
the Church body today don’t even know the first four books of the New Testament
and who wrote each one. This isn’t true with the Jews though. They had heard
the prophecies all their life and most could probably quote them, but yet they
were blind to the fact that the Messiah they had been waiting for had finally come
to earth and standing right in front of them.
If I may say on their behalf,
they were looking for the wrong visitation. Their Messiah spoken of in the
prophecies was coming first as the Suffering Servant and then later, much
later, as the King of kings and Lord of lords. They wanted nothing to do with
the Suffering Servant though. They wanted the King of kings and Lord of lords
to free them from the Romans. Thank God some recognized Jesus as the Messiah
(the Christ to us) and accepted Him as their Suffering Servant. With these,
Jesus set up His Church and we wait for His return today.
Bible scholars tell us there
are over 500 prophecies in the Old Testament about Jesus’ return, the Second Coming.
They say that one out of every 25 verses in the New Testament speak of Jesus
Second Coming. The Lord gave many signs in His Word referring to His return
(Second Coming). They are all around us today, but it seems only a few are
aware.
On the last page of His
earthly life Jesus provided a closing sign to all those of that day … the cross
He hung upon. He finished with a grave that had no corpse. Then He ascended
back to Heaven while those who watched Him go heard the angels say, “Men of
Galilee,” … “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who
has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have
seen him go into heaven.” (Acts 1:11)
Jesus is going to return to
earth. He will not be coming as the Suffering Servant but as the King of kings
and Lord of lords. All eyes will behold Him, and there will be no doubt in the
mind of anyone that He is Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
“Then will appear the sign of
the Son of Man in heaven. And then all the peoples of the earth will mourn when
they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great
glory.” (Matthew 24:30)
This will be the greatest
sign of all. Jesus Himself will be the sign, but it will be too late for all
who have not confessed Him as Savior and Lord.
Before I go any further, let
me briefly state the following for those who might become confused.
1.
When Jesus came
and died on the cross this occurrence is called the First Coming or First
Advent.
2.
The next event to
happen is the Rapture of the Church, and there are no signs for the Rapture.
3.
The Tribulation
of seven years is next.
4.
When the seven
years of the Tribulation is completed, Jesus will come the second time and this
is called the Second Coming or the Second Advent.
5.
The Millennium of
1,000 years follows.
6.
After the
Millennium we enter eternity.
This is purposely an
extremely basic step-by-step explanation. I have omitted some things to keep it
simple.
Right now, we are waiting on
the Rapture of the Church (or the bride of Christ). Jesus will not come to
earth, but call us out from the earth to meet Him in the air and take us back
to Heaven before the Tribulation begins. The purpose of the Rapture is for
Jesus to remove His bride (the Church) from the earth and end the Church age.
It is also to conclude the remaining seven years promised Israel (Daniel
9:20ff)
There is an abundance of
signs today, but they all are pointing to the coming Tribulation. Remember,
there are no signs for the Rapture. It will occur without warning and within
the blink of an eye.
When Jesus came the first
time most of the signs were subtle. They were low-key in many ways, but in
these last days a person would have to be spiritually blind to miss the signs
around us pointing to a coming Tribulation, then Second Coming. The problem for
so many people is that when the greatest sign of all appears, it will be too
late to repent. There will only be judgment.
Today there are signs with
nature, society, technology, world issues, spiritually related signs and
especially those signs concerning Israel that are screaming of an end of the
Church age. Don’t forget, the Rapture is the next event to occur and there will
be no warning. If there is a warning of any kind, it would be that the
Tribulation is drawing closer and closer, and the Rapture occurs BEFORE the
Tribulation.
After Jesus safely removes
His bride (the Church) from the earth He will allow the seven years of
Tribulation to begin, and Jesus says the following about those days:
“If those days had not been
cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will
be shortened.” (Matthew 24:22)
This world is approaching
those days so quickly it reminds me of a movie my wife and watched not long
ago. The movie is called “Unstoppable.” Denzel Washington is the engineer and
Chris Pine the conductor on a runaway train. Our world, just like that train, is
out of control. Unlike the movie where the heroes saved the day, this world is
not going to avoid those seven years of Tribulation. It is quickly approaching.
It is out of control. It is coming.
When the greatest sign of all
appears (Matthew 24:30) all those who are saved by the blood of Jesus Christ
will be with Him. All others will face His judgment.
If the Rapture would occur
today, the Second Coming could only be seven years away. Seven years of hell on
earth and then the Second Coming of the King of kings and Lord of lords. I will
close by repeating Matthew 24:30 and ask, “Will you be with Him, or with those
who mourn?”
“Then will appear the sign of
the Son of Man in heaven. And then all the peoples of the earth will mourn when
they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great
glory.” (Matthew 24:30)
Grant Phillips
Email: Phillip5769@twc.com
Pre-Rapture Commentary: http://grant-phillips.blogspot.com
Rapture Ready: http://www.raptureready.com/featured/phillips/phillips.html
