THE APPEARANCE OF CHRIST

Friday 21 February

When Christ, who is our life, shall APPEAR, then shall ye also APPEAR with him in glory. Colossians 3:4 (KJV)

Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet APPEAR what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall APPEAR, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. 1 John 3:2 (KJV)

And when the chief Shepherd shall APPEAR, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away. 1 Peter 5:4 (KJV)

The appearance of Christ. This is a subject hardly mentioned in the Body of Christ today. Whenever people talk about Jesus appearance there is always a conjecture on what He looked like physically but this is not what we are focusing on in this devotion. I’m not sure if some of you are ready for this one; but here we go!

There is a lot of talk about the rapture and the second coming of Christ. We need to examine a few thoughts to have a clearer understanding on these matters. Firstly, the rapture. There is no word ‘rapture’ in the entirety of the Bible. We get the word from ‘raptura’ in Latin. In the Greek we have the word ‘harpazo’ which means to in essence to ‘catch away’ or to be ‘caught up’ which is less accurate. Why?

1 Thessalonians 4:17 says ‘They which are alive and remain shall be caught up together to meet the Lord in the air.’ Caught up into where? Most say the clouds. What clouds? White fluffy ones? No, a cloud of witnesses of those saints who have gone before. ‘Caught up together to meet the Lord in the air’ The English word is air, but the Greek word is ‘pneuma’ which means spirit. So we are not caught up directionally but spiritually. Caught away into the realm of the spirit. This is where we drop our old flesh and blood body and are clothed with our new spiritual body.

Next, the second coming. Question: did Jesus come back to earth on for 40 days in the book of Acts after His resurrection? Yes.

‘to whom He also presented Himself alive after His suffering by many infallible proofs, being seen by them during forty days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God.’ Acts 1:3

So what happened when the Holy Spirit came? Don’t miss this.

‘I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.’ Who said this? Jesus. Question: did Jesus come back after his ascension? Yes, in the Holy Spirit. Where is He seated now? In the believer. He sat down. We’ll come to that in a moment.

He also said ‘I will never leave you or forsake you. I will be with you even until the end of the age’.

So why does there need to a second coming when Jesus came back and never left according the the Master Himself?

This brings us back to the appearance of Christ. To help you picture it, think of a bride wearing white who just got married. Now think of that same bride leaving the reception in a travel outfit. It’s the same woman but she is appearing in a different fashion.

So rather than rapture or second coming, think appearance. This means that the concept of a pre, mid or post tribulation needs to no longer be a big argument. No one is going to be ‘left behind’ with a chance to go on the next train to heaven. Heaven is a state of being anyway, not a geographical location.

Based on the scriptures, here is the two things that will happen at the end of the world. We will receive the redemption of our bodies. This is why it says ‘when He appears in His glorified body in the Spirit, we will be like Him because we will also be in the realm of the Spirit with Him.

Colossians 3:4 confirms this which is why it says ‘when He appears, we will appear with Him in glory’, which is the Spirit. What about heaven? That’s easy. Wherever Jesus is, heaven is. Where does He live? In the believer. Jesus ‘sat down on the right hand of the majesty on high in the believer. You are the heaven and earth of God that Moses wrote about in Genesis 1:1.

When the second trumpet sounds there will be no more time left in this age. When Jesus appears in all his power and glory, I believe the Bible shows, this will mark the end of the world.

What about the Millenium? That will have to be another day’s topic.

Apostle Paul speaking to Timothy says; ‘Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.’

‘Phaneroo’ in Greek means to make manifest. This is precisely what Jesus will do; make Himself manifest. Those who are in Christ have nothing to fear about the appearance of Jesus. We look forward to it. Remember the gospel of grace is good news and we have to keep telling it because ‘he wants all men to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth.’

APPLICATION

Study and meditate on all the scriptures that mention the appearance of Christ and remember that when we see Him in all His glory we will be like Him.