John 14:3 – See you in Heaven

WAS THE RECENT SOLAR ECLIPSE A SIGN THAT CHRIST’S COMING IS NEAR?

On my bike ride last Monday (April 8, 2024) while I was stopped at a stoplight, a woman walking her dog asked me if I was waiting for the eclipse. I said the coming of Christ is more important to me than the coming of a solar eclipse. [1] She agreed, but then she asked if the solar eclipse was a sign that Christ’s coming is near, citing Jesus’ words from His Olivet Discourse, “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light…” (Matt. 24:29) prior to Christ’s return to earth (Matt. 24:30-31). About three weeks ago while I was driving my wheelchair van at work, a client’s caregiver said her church taught that this solar eclipse was the last chance for people to get right with God because Jesus was coming back to earth at that time.

Is this solar eclipse one of the signs that Jesus spoke of regarding His coming to earth? Well, the solar eclipse has come and gone, but Jesus did not return to earth. Should this surprise us? No. Why do I say this?

Because there are no prophetic signs that must take place before Jesus comes back for His church. Those who conclude that Jesus’ reference to the darkening of the sun prior to His return to earth refers to this recent solar eclipse are confusing two different aspects of Jesus’ Second Coming which Christ alludes to in Matthew 24.

When His disciples ask, “When will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?” (Matt. 24:3), Christ answers the second question (“And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?”) first in Matt. 24:4-35 which describes the seven-year Tribulation period that will contain many “signs” of the nearness of Jesus return to earth. This is designated by the words “the sign” (to semeion) used only in verses 3 and 30. Jesus begins with a survey of the entire seven years (Matt. 24:4-14) followed by a closer look at the last half of the seven-year Tribulation (Matt. 24:15-28).

Then in verse 29 Jesus uses the phrase, “Immediately after the tribulation of those days…” to introduce His description of His Second Coming described in Matthews 24:30-31. Christ explains in Matthew 24:32-35 how the events of the seven-year Tribulation He just described (Matt. 24:5-31) are like the springtime budding of the fig tree. Just as the budding of the fig tree in the spring signals the nearness of summer, so the events that take place during the Tribulation provide clear evidence of the nearness of Christ’s Second Coming. Throughout Matthew 24:5-31 there are many observable “signs” or “warnings” that signal Christ’s future return to earth. In Matthew 24:32-35 Jesus commands His disciples to “learn this parable from the fig tree” and “When you see all these things, know that it [His return to earth] is near.”

But when we come to Matthew 24:36, Jesus says, “But of that day and hour no one knows.” Now Jesus is talking about His coming without any preceding observable signs that signal His return. Jesus is talking about two different aspects of His Second Coming – one that involves observable signs(Matt. 24:4-31) and one that involves no observable signs (Matt. 24:36-44). (see chart)

The Greek phrase “But of” (peri de) that Jesus uses in Matthew 24:36 at the beginning of the sentence marks a new section of thought that looks back to the previous material to answer an unanswered question. Hence, Jesus answers the disciples’ first question (“When will these things be?”) in verse 3 about when the end-time events will begin. Because of this major transitional marker (peri de), “the coming of the Son of Man” (Matt. 24:37) is referring to a different phase of the Lord’s return.

The peri de (“But of”) of verse 36 is followed by the phrase “that day and hour.” In Matthew 24, only the phrase “those days” (plural) had been used (24:19, 22, 29). But in verse 36, Jesus changes to “that day” (singular). Why? Because He is transitioning to talk about the Old Testament “day of the Lord” which was considered an imminent event – it could take place at any moment (Ezek. 30:3, 9; Joel 3:14, 18; Zeph. 1:7-15). The apostle Paul also uses “day” for the imminent day of the Lord in I Thessalonians 5:4 where he is speaking of the sudden removal of the church prior to the wrath of God during the Tribulation period (I Thess. 4:13-5:11; cf. 1:10). Both the pretribulational rapture and day of the Lord are illustrated by the thief in the night imagery which is an imminent event (cf. Matt. 24:43; Luke 12:39-40; I Thess. 5:2; 2 Pet. 3:10).

After Jesus looked at the events of Daniel’s 70^th week of years as a whole (Matt. 24:4-35), He now talks about the beginning of that week (Matt 24:36-44) which will catch everyone by surprise. Jesus explains that the coming of “that day and hour” will be like “the days of Noah” in which people “were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be” (Matt. 24:38-39; cf. Luke 17:27-28 where a similar description of the days of Lot is given). The lifestyles described in the days of Noah and Lot have existed in every generation since the early days of human history. These lifestyles are ones of normalcy and indifference.

In Matthew 24:41-42, two men are working in a field and two women are grinding at the mill which also focuses on normal, unsuspecting lifestyles. Jesus’ point in Matthew 24:37-39 is that just as normal and unsuspecting lifestyles existed prior to the great worldwide judgment of the flood in Noah’s day, so too normal and unsuspecting lifestyles will exist prior to the sudden beginning of the day-of-the-Lord judgments which begin after the Rapture of the church. The people of Noah’s day “did not know” about the coming worldwide flood “until the flood came and took them all away” (Matt. 24:39). Is it likely that the world will not know about the devastating judgments that have been inflicting it during the past seven-year Tribulation (Matt. 24:5-31; cf. Rev. 6:6-17)? Not likely. It is much better to understand Jesus’ Noah illustration corresponding to the time of the sudden arrival of the day of the Lord and the pretribulation rapture.

The word “taken” in Matthew 24:40-41 refers to believers being taken in the rapture before the Tribulation. While Jesus uses the word airo (“took…away”) in Matthew 24:37 to refer to unbelievers being taken in judgment by the Flood, He uses a different word for “taken” (paralambano) in Matthew 24:40-41. This Greek word, paralambano, has the meaning of “take into close association, take (to oneself), take with/along.[2] It conveys the idea of personal accompaniment. In other words, believers will be taken to be with Christ forever at the rapture of the church (cf. I Thess. 4:15-17). Two days after His teaching in Matthew 24, Jesus used the word paralambano in John 14:3 to describe the taking of believers in a pretribulational rapture – “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive [paralambano] you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also” (John 14:3).

This understanding is substantiated further by the word for “left” (aphiemi) in Matthew 24:40-41 which has the idea of “abandon” when its object is a person (cf. Matt. 4:11, 22; 8:15; 13:36; 19:29; 22:22, 25; 26:56, etc.). God will never abandon believers (Heb. 13:5). Two days after Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 24, He used aphiemi in John 14:18 when He said, “I will not leave [aphiemi] you as orphans; I will come to you” (John 14:18). Rather than referring to unbelievers being taken to judgment and believers being abandoned by the Lord in Matthew 24:40-41, Christ is referring to believers being taken to be with Jesus forever at the rapture of the church and unbelievers being abandoned to face God’s wrath during the seven-year tribulation period on the earth. The judgments of the day of the Lord will come on unbelievers and they will not escape (I Thess. 5:3).

Jesus employs “the thief” imagery in Matthew 24:42-44 to encourage His disciples to “watch” and “be ready” for His any-moment coming for them. This thief imagery is also used in several other prophetic passages dealing with the rapture and day of the Lord, most importantly I Thess. 5:2-4 and 2 Peter 3:10. A thief depends upon the element of surprise. He does not give any forewarning of his coming. Hence, the thief imagery used in Matthew 24:42-44 must refer to the pretribulational rapture of the church which has no observable signs prior to it (Matt. 24:36-44). But the Second Coming of Christ to earth at the end of the tribulation has many observable signs (Matt. 24:5-31).

The use of the word “watch” (gregoreo) in Matthew 24:42-43 in connection with the thief imagery conveys the idea of imminency – it could happen at any moment. Gregoreo occurs several times in prophetic passages taught by Jesus (Matt. 24:42, 43; 25:13; Mark 13:34, 35, 37; Luke 12:37) and the apostles Paul ( I Thess. 5:6, 10) and John (Rev. 3:2, 3; 16:15). Eight of the twelve uses of gregoreo in prophecy take place with the thief imagery (Matt. 24:42-43; Luke 12:37-39; I Thess. 5:2-10; Rev. 3:2-3; Rev. 16:15). Even in non-prophetic passages, imminency is connected to the use of the verb “to watch” (cf. Matt. 26:45; Acts 20:31; I Pet. 5:8). It is most appropriate to understand Jesus’ command to “watch” or be “alert” (gregoreo) in connection with the thief imagery in Matthew 24:42-44, to refer to an imminent, pretribulational return of Christ prior to the tribulation period. Hence, we can be confident that the apostle Paul’s use of the verb “to watch” in I Thessalonians 5:6 and 10 in the context of an imminent pretribulational rapture was derived from Jesus’ use of the same word in Matthew 24:42-44 where He stressed watchfulness in the context of His imminent pretribulational rapture.

Hence, when people mistakenly refer to the recent solar eclipse as a sign of the nearness of Christ’s return to earth, they are confusing the second aspect of Christ’s coming which will be preceded by observable signs (i.e. the sun darkening, etc.) with the first aspect (i.e. the rapture or removal of the church) which will not be preceded by observable signs (see chart).

Before I left the woman who asked me about the solar eclipse being a sign of the nearness of Christ’s coming, I told her that Jesus’ coming for His church could happen at any moment. There are no prophetic signs that must take place before He comes for those who are His. The key is to be ready for His return.

If you are not certain you have the gift of eternal life from Jesus and that you will go to heaven when Christ comes for His church at any moment, you can receive His gift right now. Jesus said, “He who believes in Me has everlasting life.” (John 6:47). Are you persuaded that Jesus was speaking the truth when He said this, and He is therefore worthy of your trust? If so, then Christ guarantees you now have everlasting life, and you will enter His heaven in the future whether you die first (2 Cor. 5:6-8; Phil. 1:21-23) or He comes back while you are alive (I Thess. 4:15-17).

If you do know you have everlasting life as a result of believing in Jesus (I John 5:13), it is important not to let anything eclipse the light of the Son in your life. The recent solar eclipse occurred when the Moon passed between the Earth and the Sun and blotted out all or some of the Sun’s light, depending on where you live. When we permit someone or something to come between us and the Son that blocks His light from reaching us, we experience broken fellowship with Jesus. The key is for us to remain open and honest before the Son, Who is light (I John 1:5-7). When God reveals sin in our lives, we simply confess that sin to Him, and He is faithful and just to forgive that sin and cleanse us of all our unknown sins or unrighteousness (I John 1:9).

FOOTONOTES:

[1] According to NASA there has been an average of 2-3 solar eclipses of all kinds each year every 1,000 years and about 2 total solar eclipses every 3 years (retrieved on April 12, 2024, from https://science.nasa.gov/eclipses/future-eclipses/eclipse-2024/faq/).

[2] Walter Bauer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 2000 Kindle Edition, pg. 767.

Revelation 21 – Part 9

“The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine, for the very glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light.” Revelation 21:23

Following the descriptions of the exterior of the New Jerusalem (21:1-21), the apostle John now focuses his attention on the interior of the city (21:22-22:5). The first thing John mentions has to do with the absence of the temple. “But I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.” (Revelation 21:22). For hundreds of years the tabernacle and the temple symbolized God’s presence with humankind on the earth (Hebrews 9:9). ¹

“People tend to associate impressive structures with religious activity, such as the massive, ornate buildings of the Vatican or the enormous golden Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem. Even smaller structures, such as our own churches, represent sacred places to us where we learn about and worship our God. The New Jerusalem, however, will have no need for a special building set aside for worship.

“It’s true that in the present age of the church, God redirected the location of worship from the physical temple in Jerusalem to the spiritual ‘temple’ of the church itself – the body of believers (I Corinthians 3:16; Ephesians 2:19-22).” ²

But in the future New Jerusalem, where all the redeemed from the church age will dwell, the center of worship will be God the Father, “the Lord God Almighty,” and God the Son, “the Lamb” (21:22b).In the New Jerusalem, the temple will no longer be necessary because “the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.” “Under the Law of Moses only the high priest could enter the Most Holy Place and only once a year. In eternity, people will live in God’s presence continually.” ³

Heaven’s greatest miracle will be our constant access to God. Christ promised His disciples, “I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.” (John 14:3b). For believers in Jesus, to die is to “be present with the Lord” (2 Corinthians 5:8). The apostle Paul stated, “having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better” (Philippians 1:23b). Paul could have said, “Having a desire to depart and be in heaven,“ but he did not. His focus was on being with the Lord Jesus, which is the most important aspect of being in heaven. ⁴

Samuel Rutherford wrote, “O my Lord Jesus Christ, if I could be in heaven without thee, it would be a hell; and if I could be in hell and have thee still it would be a heaven to me, for thou art all the heaven I want.” ⁵ Martin Luther said, “I had rather be in hell with Christ, than be in heaven without him.” ⁶

What will make heaven so special is not the huge dimensions of the New Jerusalem or the precious materials that comprise the city and its beautiful array of colors. It is the presence of Jesus Christ that makes heaven heaven. Since Jesus paid the penalty for all our sins when He died in our place on the cross and rose from the dead (John 19:30; I Corinthians 15:3-6), we will be forever free from the penalty of our sins or even the fear of sin. We will have no more shameful skeletons in the closet or secrets to keep hidden. All barriers between us and Jesus will be forever removed. ⁷ We will be able to relax in His presence, free from the bondage of sin and shame.

Next John writes, “The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine, for the very glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light.” (Revelation 21:23). This verse does not say there will be no sun or moon, but that there will be “no need of the sun or of the moon to shine.” Why? Because “the very glory of God illuminated it.” Our sun is ninety-three million miles away from us, yet its power is sufficient to illumine the entire earth. God’s presence can replace the sun with ease because the Lord possesses an even greater degree of power and radiance. ⁸

The New Jerusalem will be the heavenly version of “the city that never sleeps” because “The Lamb is its light” (cf. I Timothy 6:16; I John 1:5). ⁹The glory of the Lord Jesus will illuminate the Celestial City.

“It truly will be the Jesus Christ Light and Power Company then.” ¹⁰

We will not need to sleep because we will have glorified bodes that never grow tired (I Corinthians 15:35-58; Philippians 3:20-21). There will be no need for Monster or Red Bull energy drinks!

When Jesus prayed to His heavenly Father that we may be with Him in heaven He explains why in John 17:24: “Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.” When Jesus prays for believers to “be with Me where I am,” it is so “they may behold” His “glory” illuminating the New Jerusalem and the new earth.

When we accomplish something, we want to share it with those closest to us. Likewise, Jesus wants to share His accomplishments with us. He wants to share His glory with us. ¹¹Christ is saying in John 17:24, “Here is My family. All who have believed in Me. They know about the cross and they know how I was born in a manger in Bethlehem. But there are some things they don’t know about Me. They don’t know some of the best parts of Me. They don’t know what it is like for Me to be glorified, sitting on My throne in glory as King of kings and Lord of lords. I want them to be there. I want them to see that. I want them to know what great lengths I have gone to, at such sacrifice, to prepare a place for them to behold and participate in My glory. When I am sitting on My throne in My eternal kingdom, I want them to see My glory illuminating the New Jerusalem on the new earth.”

What a wonderful day it will be when we behold the glory of the Lamb illuminating the entire New Jerusalem. No more darkness. No more crime. No more shadows. No more night. No more fatigue.

God wants those of us who believe in Christ to walk in His light now. The Bible says, “But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.” (I John 1:7). Notice John says to walk “in” the light, not “according” to the light. Walking “according” to the light would refer to sinless perfection as a condition for fellowship with God. But the preposition “in” refers to walking in the sphere of God’s light where there is no darkness or dishonesty. In other words, to have fellowship with God we must be open and honest with Him, not sinless, as we walk in the light with Him.

Like a man walking in the sphere of light produced by a streetlamp at night where he can see any stains on his clothing, so believers are to walk in the sphere of light that God gives us through His Word and His presence. As we walk in the light in which God dwells (“as He is in the light”), His light will reveal any unconfessed sin in our lives. We then have a choice to make. We can either agree with God and confess our sins (I John 1:9) or we can disagree with God and deny our sins. Denying our sins will cast us into the darkness of broken fellowship with God. Confessing our sins will enable us to maintain close fellowship with God.

When we are open and honest with God, the Bible says we will “have fellowship with one another.” The “one another” refers to God and us in the context. How can sinful believers enjoy fellowship with a holy God? The last part of the verse explains. “And the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.” Right now, you and I are not aware of all the sin that is in our lives. But God knows about it. And being the gracious and merciful God that He is, He does not reveal all our sin at once. If He did, we would be so overwhelmed by all our sin it would probably kill us on the spot. But the reason we can enjoy closeness with our holy God even though we have all this unknown sin in our lives is because the blood of Christ cleanses us of “all” that sin. So, no matter how badly or often we have sinned, the blood of Jesus is sufficient to cleanse us of all our sins.

I believe I John 1:7 speaks to the process of healing that God wants all of us to experience. When we experience trauma in our childhood which may be intense (e.g., physical, or sexual abuse, parents divorce, etc.) or less intense (e.g., frequent moves, a hurtful word on the playground, etc.), we may retreat into the darkness of fear and shame, blaming ourselves for what happened to us. We don’t trust anyone, nor do we believe anyone could love us. Often, we pick up where our abusers left off and we abuse ourselves with critical self-talk and/or addictions. We may feel engulfed in a sea of darkness and hopelessness.

But Jesus wants to shine His light of love and truth into the darkness that engulfs our wounds. He wants us to understand that when trauma took place in our childhood,He was there with us with tears in His eyes. And He is saying to us, “It was not your fault. I love you and I am so proud of you.” And even though we may abuse ourselves as adults, Jesus is still with us, waiting for us to welcome Him into the darkness where we have been hiding under the weight of our fear and shame. Jesus wants to shine His light of love and truth into the broken and wounded areas of our souls – not to condemn or shame us, but to heal us. And the more we permit Him to shine His light in the depths of our wounded souls, the more eager we will be to walk in the light of His love and truth, being open and honest with Him.

Prayer: Lord God, thank You for giving us a glimpse of the magnificent glory of the Lord Jesus Christ which will illuminate the entire New Jerusalem on the new earth. Lord Jesus, You are light. You are all that is pure, holy, gracious, love, merciful, and true. There is no darkness or deceit in You. As we grow in our understanding of Who You are, we want to choose to be open and honest with You, Lord, because You are a good, good God Who is eager to forgive us and cleanse us, not forsake us or condemn us. When we focus on our sin and shame, we retreat into the darkness where You are not. We shut You out of our lives because we perceive ourselves to be too bad for You to love us. But the truth is Lord, You know us better than we do, and You still love us and cherish Your time with us. Knowing we are deeply surrounded and filled with Your love for us, frees us to release our sin and shame to You. Please help us to say “good-bye” to the lies that isolate us from You and Your family. Please cleanse us of those lies and hold us in Your everlasting arms of love and mercy. Thank You for letting us be open and vulnerable with You. Thank You for listening to us and loving us as we are. Oh, how we appreciate Your gentleness and graciousness with us. We love You Lord Jesus. Thank You for loving us far more than we deserve or can comprehend. In Your matchless name we pray, Lord Jesus. Amen.

ENDNOTES:

1. Bob Vacendak; Robert Wilkin; J. Bond; Gary Derickson; Brad Doskocil; Zane Hodges; Dwight Hunt; Shawn Leach; The Grace New Testament Commentary: Revised Edition (Grace Evangelical Society, Kindle Edition, 2019), pg. 1586.

2. Charles Swindoll, Insights on Revelation (Swindoll’s Living Insights New Testament Commentary Book 15, Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 2014 Kindle Edition), pg. 391.

3. Vacendak, pg. 1586.

4. Randy Alcorn, Heaven: A Comprehensive Guide to Everything the Bible Says About Our Eternal Home (Tyndale House Publishers, 2004 Kindle Edition), pg. 272.

5. Alcorn, pg. 272 cites Samuel Rutherford, quoted in Charles H. Spurgeon, Morning and Evening, January 17, morning reading.

6. Ibid., cites Martin Luther, quoted in James M Campbell, Heaven Opened: A Book of Comfort and Hope (New York: Revell, 1924), pg. 148.

7. Ibid., pg. 273.

8. Tony Evans, CSB Bible by Holman, The Tony Evans Study Commentary (B & H Publishing Group, Kindle Edition 2019), pg. 2422.

9. Vacendak, pg. 1586.

10. Constable, pg. 245 quotes J. Vernon McGee, Thru the Bible with J. Vernon McGee, Vol. 5 (Pasadena, CA: Thru The Bible Radio; and Nashville: Thomas Nelson, Inc., 1983), pg. 1072.

11. Adapted from Alcorn, pp. 273-274.

A Look into the Future – Part 5 (Video)

This is the fifth in a series of videos about the future as recorded in the last book of the Bible, the book of Revelation. This video focuses on the 1000-year reign of Jesus Christ on the earth.

The Revelation Art is used by permission of Pat Marvenko Smith, copyright 1992. To order art prints visit her “Revelation Illustrated” site, http://www.revelationillustrated.com. Millennial Kingdom pictures are used by permission of GoodSalt at www.goodsalt.com. The music and video scene in this video is used with permission from the producers of the video entitled “The Free Gift.”