Mirror Image

[Tone]

Suppose the Messiah will gather all of His sheep on an individual basis... dropping in on us right where we're at, doing what we do? Would you recognize Him and call out to Him...will your heart burn inside? Where will He show up, with the poor masses or will He be among the affluent...would He even come to your abode? Or would you miss your visitation and would He pass by unannounced and unrecognized; to your utter loss?

My hope is that I will do a double-take...as if suddenly glimpsing myself in a mirror...

1 John 3:2
"Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is."

 

[EastCoastRemnant]

Well said!! May Christ be found in us at the time of visitation...

 

[St_Worm2]

Suppose the Messiah will gather all of His sheep on an individual basis... dropping in on us right where we're at, doing what we do? Would you recognize Him and call out to Him...will your heart burn inside? Where will He show up, with the poor masses or will He be among the affluent...would He even come to your abode? Or would you miss your visitation and would He pass by unannounced and unrecognized; to your utter loss?

My hope is that I will do a double-take...as if suddenly glimpsing myself in a mirror...

1 John 3:2
"Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is."

Hi Tone, it appears that just like lightning flashing across the sky from east to west, no one is going to need to tell anyone else that the Lord has returned, because we will all know it at the same time.

Matthew 24
26 “If they say to you, ‘Behold, He is in the wilderness,’ do not go out, or, ‘Behold, He is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe them.
27 For just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes even to the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be."​

And here is how Jesus describes His glorious return in the very same Chapter.

Matthew 24
29 “Immediately after the tribulation of those days THE SUN WILL BE DARKENED, AND THE MOON WILL NOT GIVE ITS LIGHT, AND THE STARS WILL FALL from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.
30 And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the SON OF MAN COMING ON THE CLOUDS OF THE SKY with power and great glory.
31 And He will send forth His angels with A GREAT TRUMPET and THEY WILL GATHER TOGETHER His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other."​

There is also this passage from the Apostle Paul concerning the Lord's return and those who died in Christ (as well the elect who are alive at that time). Take particular note of v16-18 in this case.

1 Thessalonians 4
13 We do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope.
14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus.
15 For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep.
16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.
17 Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord.
18 Therefore comfort one another with these words.​

Yours and His,
David

 

[ewq1938]

Hi Tone, it appears that just like lightning flashing across the sky from east to west, no one is going to need to tell anyone else that the Lord has returned, because we will all know it at the same time.

I believe that would be a reference to how fast he arrives, like a flash of lightning, which is the fastest thing people of that day would know of.

Rev_3:11 Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown.
Rev_22:7 Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book.
Rev_22:12 And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.
Rev_22:20 He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.

 

[Presbyterian Continuist]

Suppose the Messiah will gather all of His sheep on an individual basis... dropping in on us right where we're at, doing what we do? Would you recognize Him and call out to Him...will your heart burn inside? Where will He show up, with the poor masses or will He be among the affluent...would He even come to your abode? Or would you miss your visitation and would He pass by unannounced and unrecognized; to your utter loss?

My hope is that I will do a double-take...as if suddenly glimpsing myself in a mirror...

1 John 3:2
"Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is."

In a prayer time when I was younger I got worried that when Jesus comes again I might not recognise Him and miss rising up to meet Him in the air. As I kept praying, I felt pretty unspiritual, and felt the heavens were brass and it seemed that my prayers were not reaching anywhere.

Then suddenly, I broke through, or something broke through inside me and I got really set free in prayer and Jesus was very real to me. He then spoke to me and said, "You recognised Me, didn't you?" I said, "I sure did!" He said, "When I come again, you will recognise me in the same way." I realised that when I see Jesus when He comes again, I will have a very joyful response, because I will know that this is the Person I have been fellowshipping with in the Spirit all my life!

 

[Messerve]

Suppose the Messiah will gather all of His sheep on an individual basis... dropping in on us right where we're at, doing what we do? Would you recognize Him and call out to Him...will your heart burn inside? Where will He show up, with the poor masses or will He be among the affluent...would He even come to your abode? Or would you miss your visitation and would He pass by unannounced and unrecognized; to your utter loss?

My hope is that I will do a double-take...as if suddenly glimpsing myself in a mirror...

1 John 3:2
"Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is."

Well, I really hope it's after my Saturday house cleaning... He wouldn't want to see my stack of dishes.

It sounds silly, but I would hope Jesus would walk into the room and hold out his arms for a hug. I do think our hearts would burn inside us if we're really His. It would be like catching up with an old friend you haven't seen in years and you both have a thousand stories to tell. Like you could sit down and talk on and on and still have more to talk about and not even realize so much time has passed.

Of course, his return won't be quite so personal as that, from what Revelations says. But I wouldn't be surprised if He pays a special visit to each of our homes at some point in eternity.

 

[Presbyterian Continuist]

Well, I really hope it's after my Saturday house cleaning... He wouldn't want to see my stack of dishes.

It sounds silly, but I would hope Jesus would walk into the room and hold out his arms for a hug. I do think our hearts would burn inside us if we're really His. It would be like catching up with an old friend you haven't seen in years and you both have a thousand stories to tell. Like you could sit down and talk on and on and still have more to talk about and not even realize so much time has passed.

Of course, his return won't be quite so personal as that, from what Revelations says. But I wouldn't be surprised if He pays a special visit to each of our homes at some point in eternity.

The Scripture says that we will rise to meet Him in the air. That's when the the wonderful meeting will be taking place. We don't know how long it will take between us rising to meet Him and Him coming in full view of the inhabitants of the world. We don't know what will happen in the intervening period.

But I think when all the formal judgment stuff is over and done with, and this might take about 20,000 years (actually, no one is going anywhere, are they?), then when we are installed in our mansions in heaven we will have an eternity to fellowship with Jesus and get as many hugs as we want!

 

[St_Worm2]

I believe that would be a reference to how fast he arrives, like a flash of lightning, which is the fastest thing people of that day would know of.

Rev_3:11 Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown.
Rev_22:7 Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book.
Rev_22:12 And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.
Rev_22:20 He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.

Hi EWQ, while that's possible and may be true, I still believe that the description or word picture of His return being "like lightning, flashing across the sky from east to west", must be in reference to the immediate context of Matthew 24 first and foremost.

A lot of Chapter 24 describes some of the confusing things that happen and/or that will be said prior to His return, so I believe that it was His intention (in Matt 24) to make the events surrounding His 'actual' return as clear as possible to us (so that those of us who are His will neither be fooled nor need to worry about the things that others say .. or worry that we might miss His return somehow). For instance:

Matthew 24
3 As He was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?”
4 And Jesus answered and said to them, “See to it that no one misleads you.
5 For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will mislead many.
6 You will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not frightened, for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end.
7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and in various places there will be famines and earthquakes.
8 But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs.

23 "If anyone says to you, ‘Behold, here is the Christ,’ or ‘There He is,’ do not believe him.
24 For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect.
25 Behold, I have told you in advance.
26 So if they say to you, ‘Behold, He is in the wilderness,’ do not go out, or, ‘Behold, He is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe them.
27 For just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes even to the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be."

--David

 

[Tone]

we will all know it at the same time

Being Who He Is, yeah, I agree, He may appear to us all at the same time (He's omnipresent)...I mean, don't we all have His Spirit now?

1 Corinthians 3:16
"Do you not know that you are the Temple of God, and that The Spirit of God dwells within you?"

 

[Tone]

even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus.

 

[St_Worm2]

Being Who He Is, yeah, I agree, He may appear to us all at the same time (He's omnipresent)...I mean, don't we all have His Spirit now?

1 Corinthians 3:16
"Do you not know that you are the Temple of God, and that The Spirit of God dwells within you?"

Hi again Tone, if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, then they do not belong to Him .. Romans 8:9, so all who claim the name, "Christian", MUST have His Spirit, or they cannot be regarded, presently anyway, as anything more than CINO (Christians in name only ).

I believe that Matthew 24 tells us that His return will be known to all, IOW, both saint and reprobate* alike, though the latter will not be rejoicing over the fact of His return like we will, of course .. cf Matthew 24:30; Revelation 1:7*.

As the Apostle tells us in 1 Thessalonians 4:18, these things that are taught about the end times are not only meant to inform us, but to assure and comfort those of us who are His, as well

--David

 

[Tone]

St_Worm2 said: ↑
"even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus."

Sorry, I had to do something before I could finish this post (#10).

I see what you're saying here. Since we will arrive with Him and He will be in His bodily form...it will unfold as foretold in Scripture. Thank you for reminding us of these things.

Yes, to us, it will be a long awaited encounter, but for those others...they will only see terror...

 

[Tone]

1 Corinthians 13:12
"For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known."

Unknown to this "Vale of tears", yet fully known to Him...