Why Jesus Cannot Come Tomorrow

(or the next year)

I constantly run into friends, relatives, and acquaintances that make the statements like “Jesus could come tomorrow,” or  “Jesus will be coming soon, maybe this year.” And I have to admit that most of my life I had envisioned the coming of Jesus to be just waking up one day and being able to see Jesus coming in the clouds of Glory. Being raised a Southern Baptist; I never bought into the lie of a “Secret Rapture.”

Although I had read the Bible, but had never “studied” its pages, it was clear to me that the Second Coming was the separation of the sheep and goats, the wheat and tares, destroying the wicked in the winepress, and receiving our reward. It never made any sense to me that people living at the time received second chances, while those who had died previously were denied the same fair treatment. God is a fair and just God who never shows partiality. He is the same today as yesterday.

The Bible tells us everything we need to know about the second Coming if we allow the Holy Spirit to be our Guide and understand also that Bible prophecy has a consistent pattern where events happen in the order in which they occur. It is self-evident that trumpet number 2 follows trumpet number 1 and seal number 5 follows seal number 4. There is also the H.E.L.L. application. This is what is known as the “Heaven and Earth Linkage Law.” What this means is that, for each and every action done by God, Jesus or angels in the heavenly sanctuary, there occurs a corresponding literal event on Earth We can confirm this with Scripture.

The Second Coming of Jesus is not a “One Day” event like celebrating the 4^th of July. The Second Coming is a series of events, like a parade. It is a campaign by our Savior to reveal to the 7 billion people on this planet whom He is and what He is about to do. The book of Revelation is called that because it is the “Revelation of Jesus, or the Revealing” of Jesus. Many people are not aware of who Jesus really is. Once He was found worthy to become our High Priest and officiate in Heaven’s temple. Jesus began to open the book sealed with 7 seals. (Revelation 5). The breaking of the seven seals is seven campaigns, each having a set of unique disclosures, processes, objectives and results. Think of a political campaign where a politician undertakes a campaign to win recognition and favor for himself. In a similar way, the seven seals are seven unique campaigns that Jesus conducts to resolve the sin problem and to exonerate God’s government. In Revelation, Jesus undertakes seven campaigns that dovetail into one grand climax. During these campaigns, Jesus is seeking recognition. He wants to be seen and heard. He wishes to win the affection of the people of Earth because He alone can save us from the penalty and consequences of sin. Long ago, Jesus traveled to this Earth as the Son of God and made many promises to the human race. He asks us to trust that He will fulfill His promises.

Once He was found worthy to become our High Priest and officiate in Heaven’s temple, He begins to open the book with the seven seals. (Revelation 5). Because this world is in darkness about God. He initiates a campaign to overcome the arrogance and ignorance of this world. These seven campaigns will be to win as many souls as possible. These campaigns will carefully separate the sheep from the goats in every religious body, and in the end, Jesus will exonerate the government and reveal the true love of God. He will remove Lucifer’s reproach on the Father’s character by proving that Lucifer is a liar.

The very first campaign was to offer salvation, and everyone who submits to the terms and conditions of His offer will be gathered up at the Second Coming. The first campaign began the rescue of the sheep of God. We also know there are wicked people living in every religious system of the world. The Bible indicates in Zechariah 13:8,9 the ratio is one-third sheep and two-thirds goats. Human beings cannot accurately read the motives of the heart; therefore they cannot tell the sheep from the goats. (God alone knows our hearts. 1 Kings 8:39).

Jesus began the first campaign that ultimately allows the FINAL generation to determine whether they are sheep or goats. This is interesting because Jesus does not judge who is a sheep and who is a goat during the Great Tribulation. Instead, a series of tests will determine the answer. Jesus received the Book of Life in 1798 and then He broke the first seal at that time. (Revelation 5:5). As each subsequent seal is broken, a new revelation about Jesus is disseminated throughout Heaven and Earth. This process grows in glory and intensity until everyone sees a full disclosure of the Creator. At the end of the 1,000 years, every being who has ever received life from Jesus will be present. (Revelation 20:12). Notice the seven progressive revelations of Jesus:

7 Seals REVEAL Who Jesus Really Is

Seal 1 – The Salvation of Jesus

God prepared a new nation to ensure the growth of Protestantism and provide a sanctuary for religious freedom. Now, the message of Martin Luther could be proclaimed – Salvation came through faith alone and not the church.

Seal 2 – The Teachings of Jesus

Beginning in 1800 with the formation of hundreds of Bible Societies, along with the invention of the printing press, the truth about the teachings of Jesus could be told.

Seal 3 – The Judgment bar of Jesus

The 2,300 day/year prophecy ended in 1844 with the cleansing of the sanctuary, where Jesus began judging the people who had died.

Seal 4 – The Authority of Jesus

The great awakening of the 7 billion people of Earth has yet to be revealed. God sends His deadly judgments upon mankind to begin testing of the living, and beginning the process of separating the sheep from the goats. The event in Heaven is the casting down the censer (Revelation 8:5) cause 5 literal phenomena on the Earth. 1) voices 2) lightening 3) thundering 4) an earthquake and 5) fiery hail (Revelation 8:7) the seven trumpets follow. This is the next prophetic event to happen. There is no historical record of anything like this ever occurring.

Seal 5 – The Faith of Jesus – A campaign of martyrdom demonstrates the faith of Jesus.

Seal 6 – The Glory of Jesus – The Second Coming, His campaign of Victory.

Seal 7 – The Deity of Jesus - The campaign of full knowledge. Great White Throne Judgment. End of 7^th millennium, destruction of the wicked. Jesus proven to be who He is. End of sin. Beginning of a new Heaven and Earth.

We should think of the Second Coming as an inaugural process that takes 1,335 days. (Daniel 12:11-13) This inaugural calendar is divided into two segments. The seven FIRST plagues (7 trumpets) poured out with mercy, and the seven LAST plagues (7 bowls) poured out with no mercy. The timelines found in the book of Revelation, when using the Heaven and Earth Linkage Law show us the events that occur and the order they occur for 1,335 day time period.

A summary chart of Revelation’s Prophecies will be at the end of this segment to view.

The Rebellion and the Grand Delusion

Let’s look at another verse: Paul stated that 2 events MUST happen BEFORE Jesus returns to Earth:

2 Thessalonians 2:3-8 “Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction. He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God. Don’t you remember that when I was with you I used to tell you these things? And now you know what is holding him back, so that he may be revealed at the proper time. For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work; but the one who now holds it back will continue to do so till he is taken out of the way. And then, the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the splendor of his coming.”   

Many people poorly misunderstand the awesome significance of the phrase “until the rebellion occurs”. The rebellion that Paul is referring to is the forthcoming rejection of the gospel by the vast majority of Earth’s inhabitants. When the Great Tribulation begins, God will empower 144,000 men and women in every quadrant of Earth. These will speak for God and proclaim three clarion messages (described in Revelation 14). The 144,000 will proclaim, “Submit to God and comply with His commandments,” Do not submit to the authority of Babylon,” and “If any man submits to the authority of the Antichrist, he will be tortured to death with burning sulfur.” (Revelation 14:10)  Jesus has made it clear. “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nation, and then the end will come.” (Matthew 24:14)

Consider this:

The events associated with the Great Tribulation provide the only scenario in which the gospel can be preached throughout the world as a testimony for salvation. Many church groups are doing their best to broadcast their version of the gospel, but when Jesus was looking 2,000 years into the future, He was not speaking of a denominationally oriented broadcast of the gospel on radio and TV. Instead, He was referring to a penetrating presentation of the gospel that transcends every religious barrier. At this moment in time, three billion people have not heard of Jesus Christ! Even worse, those people who may not have heard of Jesus do not really understand their need for Jesus. For example, the devout Hindu does not thoughtfully consider the gospel presented by a devout Baptist. Nor does a Church of Christ member thoughtfully consider a religious message presented by a devout Moslem. Even among Christians, a devout Catholic does not thoughtfully consider the gospel presented by a Protestant, etc. The problem is that devoutly religious people cannot discuss differing “gospels” because their paradigms about God have little, if anything, in common. So, broadcasting the gospel, in the manner that is being done today, is the best thing that can be done for right now. But, understand that broadcasting the gospel to the whole world (as Trinity Broadcasting Network and many religious groups claim to do) is no substitute for what God is about to do. God will open the heart and the mind of every sincere person with displays of incredible power and authority by sending judgments upon the Earth. God will stop the world in their tracks with a global earthquake, meteoric showers of burning hail, two asteroid impacts and great darkness. This will get everyone’s full attention so that His eternal gospel can be delivered by the 144,000 and thoughtfully considered by all people, regardless of the religious background! In this setting, the rebellion that Paul speaks about comes into sharp focus. As the truth about God’s will (the gospel) is being forcefully and clearly set before every person on Earth, a decision will be required. The forces of Babylon (the crisis one world government that forms in response to God’s judgments) will be aligned against the gospel. Decisions made for God during the Great tribulation will not be easy. Much of the world’s population will reject the truth about God and will stand in direct opposition to the clearest evidences of truth. Notice what Paul says about the wicked: “”And in every sort of evil that deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie and so be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness.” (2 Thessalonians 2:10-12)   

Notice: The wicked will perish because they refused to love the truth and be saved. God does not hold a person accountable for something they do not understand. You cannot refuse something that has not been offered to you.

God Sends a Powerful Delusion

Paul is very specific about the basis for the appearing of the man of sin (the Antichrist). He wrote: “For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion.” What reason is Paul referring to? When a person rejects the Holy Spirit’s strongest influence that can be exerted within the soul to submit to the will of God and rejects the clearest evidences of truth that God has set before him, God can do nothing further to save that person! This is amazing, so pay attention to how this unfolds during the Great Tribulation: The Holy Spirit will be poured out on every person, good and bad, (Joel 2:28) stirring the soul of every person in a manner never seen before. Further, the global devastations of God’s wrath (the first four trumpets of Revelation 8) will cause everyone to consider the presence of the Almighty and the principles that govern His Kingdom during a short period of time. The 144,000 will clearly and powerfully present the terms and conditions of salvation. As Babylon inflicts persecution, everyone will be forced to make a decision to either submit to God’s truth or rebel against it. Unfortunately, most of the world will reject the terms and conditions of salvation, and will crumble under the pressure of persecution and side with Babylon. This wholesale rebellion produces the global rebellion that Paul predicts. When God has done about all He can to save souls, the Antichrist will be released from the spiritual dungeon to accomplish his heart’s desire. God will allow the Antichrist to have great miracle working powers so that those who delight in wickedness will quickly be deceived and thus destroyed.

In conclusion, we know that Jesus cannot come until:

1.   1,335 days AFTER the commencement of the Great Tribulation and the opening of the 4^th seal and the sealing of the 144,000.

2.   The gospel proclaimed to every nation, tongue and people.

3.   The rebellion and falling away after the final gospel message by the 144,000.

4.   The man of sin (Satan, the Antichrist) revealed to all people on Earth.

Five things you can do to prepare for the return of Jesus:

1.   Understand God’s forthcoming actions (patterns of former actions)

2.   Unify God’s forthcoming actions within your belief system so that your faith in God will not be destroyed when He begins to destroy billions of people living on Earth.

3.   Know the Lord. Worship Him in spirit and truth. Study His Word and determine in your heart to obey the light of advancing truth.

4.   Trust in God. Surrender your will to God’s will. Be will to go, to be, and to do all that God would have you to do.

5.      Show and tell. Introduce others to God’s Word. Show them the book of Daniel. Explain why we are living at the time of the end.