End Time Insights

The return of Jesus at the end of the age will be an event of great glory, victory, and finality .  In the New Testament, the return of Jesus at the “ end of the age ” is an event of great finality. His “ arrival ” in glory will be accompanied by celestial and terrestrial upheaval, the New Creation, the resurrection of the righteous, the judgment of the ungodly, the “ gathering of his elect ,” and the cessation of death. Nothing will ever be the same again!

Paul responded to concerns about the dead in Christ by pointing to the resurrection that will occur when Jesus arrives from Heaven .  In his first Letter to the Thessalonians, Paul reassured the congregation concerning the participation of saints who die before the ‘ Parousia ’ in the glories of that day. According to him,  BOTH  dead and living saints will assemble and “ meet ” the Lord as he descends from Heaven. Thereafter, they will be with Jesus “ forevermore .” He wrote these words in response to believers who were sorrowing over the deaths of fellow saints.

In the first chapter of  First Thessalonians , Paul anticipates the Letter’s main subjects, including the tribulation of believers, Christian hope, and the “ arrival ” of Jesus when, as God did for the three Jewish exiles in the  Book of Daniel , he will rescue his people from “ wrath .” Moreover, he will resurrect the righteous dead, and “ meet ” his assembled saints as he descends from Heaven. On that day, his disciples, both the living and the dead, will “ obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ .”

According to the Apostle Paul, the “ Revelation ” of Jesus “ from Heaven ” will result in vindication and reward for his faithful followers, but it will also bring about everlasting loss for all men and women who reject the Gospel, especially for the persecutors of the Body of Christ. The same event will generate the dispensing of “ just judgment ” for the righteous and the wicked.

The “ day of the Lord ” will not commence until the “ Lawless One ” is “ revealed in the sanctuary of God .” His arrival coincides with the “ apostasy ,” and he will be characterized by his ability to deceive, especially with “ lying signs and wonders .” Satan himself will equip him to destroy as many saints as possible.