Devotion 9 - Christ Coming For The Jews

Devotion 9 - Christ Coming For The Jews

At the first phase of Christ’s second coming, He comes in the air to receive His bride, the Church.  However, at the second phase, when He comes for the nation of Israel, He comes to the earth and will appear in all His glory as He descends on the Mount of Olives. 

Zech.14:1-5 – “Behold, the day of the Lord is coming… And in that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which faces Jerusalem on the east. And the Mount of Olives shall be split in two, From east to west, making a very large valley; half of the mountain shall move toward the north and half of it toward the south…Thus the Lord my God will come,
And all the saints with You…”

This also marks the beginning of the Great Tribulation whereby Jesus will come not as a bridegroom but as a warrior and a judge for all the earth.

We believe the picture of Christ as a Lamb and Lion refers to His first and second comings. He first came as a “sacrificial lamb” for our sins, but will come as a Lion at the second coming, to judge and destroy all the works of the enemy. “The lion from the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has won the victory!” (Rev.5:5). Another thing to note is that the scripture says that He comes with the “saints”.  Who are these saints?

The apostle John describes the event with the Lord Jesus making a majestic entrance into battle.  Astride on a white horse, the Lord will come against His enemies with blazing eyes.  The antichrist will rally the armies of earth to attack Him, but they will be crushed in defeat as the Lord rescues His beloved Israel.   The Lord will also capture the antichrist and the evil armies together with him.

Rev.19:11-21 – “Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war.  His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns…He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses…. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.  And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: King of Kings and Lord of Lords. And I saw the beast, the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army.  Then the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who worked signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image. These two were cast alive into the lake of fire burning with brimstone.  And the rest were killed with the sword which proceeded from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse.”

 

If we cross reference this scripture with the below scripture, we see that the armies of heaven has the same description as the bride.

 

Rev.19:7-8 – “For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready. And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.”

 

This seems to infer that the bride was taken to be with Him first during the ‘rapture’ and she will return with Him to deal with Israel and to judge the unbelievers in the world. This could also be the ‘saints” that was mentioned in Zech.14:5- “Thus the Lord my God will come,
And all the saints with You…”

 

Worthy of His Calling

 

2 Thess.1:7-9 - “When the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power…”

 

Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians warns us to be ready as the day of the Lord will come like a “thief in the night”.  Here in 2 Thessalonians, he gives us further details on what the judgment will look like. The Lord is going to return in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and those who do not obey the gospel of Jesus Christ. For that reason, Paul prays that God would make us worthy of His calling. Our faith must be tested and grown so that we can be found ready for His coming.

2 Thess.1:11-12 – “Therefore we also pray always for you that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfil all the good pleasure of His goodness and the work of faith with power,  that the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.”

In other words, in order to be ready for His second coming, we need to live lives worthy of our calling. We need to remain faithful, steadfast and obedient amid trials and afflictions, knowing that God will be just, and He will bring relief when He returns.

God is a God of justice, and justice requires judgment. Having our eyes on eternity and the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ should change how we live in this world. We must resolve to be steadfast in the faith, abide in His love and continue in our ‘acts of righteousness’ (Rev.19:8). We must make ourselves ready for His Coming for we are being prepared for eternity with God.