When Jesus
ascended into heaven from the Mount of Olives, near Bethany, his disciples stood watching
as he disappeared behind the clouds. An angel spoke to them and said,
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.
The end of the world will come when Jesus returns. And when he returns he will appear
in the heavens. We can be certain that he will come again. The Bible predicted the first
coming of Jesus with absolute accuracy, so we can expect all prophesies of the second
coming to be fulfilled with the same degree of accuracy. We can be certain that the
promise of the angel will be fulfilled. Jesus will return just as the angel said.
Jesus also promised that he would return again. After telling the disciples that he was
going to prepare a place for them he said,
If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that
you may be where I am. John 14:3.
Jesus would never break his word. We can be certain that he will return to receive his
own at the right time.
The most detailed description of the second coming is found in 1 Thessalonians 4,5,
where Paul begins by encouraging Christians not to be sad about those of their brothers
and sisters who have died. Jesus died and rose again so that we might have hope beyond
death. The Christian hope reaches its climax in the second coming, so Paul describes what
it will be like. His description is based on the Lord’s own word.
For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of
the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.
After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up with them in the clouds
to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. 1 Thes 4:16,17
That great day will begin with a command from heaven. As always God is in control. The
archangel in heaven will sound his trumpet, announcing the end of the age and a time of
restitution (c.f. Lev 25:8-13). The Lord Jesus will come down from heaven. Those who have
died in Christ will rise first, then those who are still alive will ascend with them. We
will all be caught up into the clouds to meet with the Lord in the air. This is the true
rapture. The saints will meet with Jesus in the clouds and be with him forever.