Deborah Pt 5: The 2nd Coming of Christ
The second coming of Christ will be the biggest event in the history of humankind since his first coming. Many Christians are feeling the excitement and anticipation that this will occur in their lifetime. As I study the Bible in depth, I find that almost everywhere in the Bible, just beneath the surface of the Word, there is a message about some aspect of the second coming of Christ. As I looked deeply into the account of Deborah, I saw her as a type of the overcoming church in the end times…specifically as the bride of Christ. There are many New Testament teachings of Jesus that emphasize our need to be ready for this event. The parable of the ten virgins comes to mind. Clearly this emphasizes that there are some who consider themselves Christians that will not be able to enter into this most blessed of all events. It behooves us to understand why some virgins were not prepared so we can make sure we do not fall into that category.
As I studied Deborah’s story in Judges 4, I could see that Jabin and Sisera, the enemies of Israel at that time, were actually types of our own carnality. Sisera represents the carnal mind, and Jabin the outward natural man. During the course of the battle, both of them die. This is a great encouragement in that we can expect the same to take place in these end times as we stand against these enemies. With the coming of Christ, they will be annihilated. I have seen this over and over against in all my studies. To be the bride of Christ without spot is wrinkle is to be free of the carnal nature, a great victory reserved for the church of the end times. This will be part of the second coming of Christ. We cannot do this ourselves. We can only cooperate with him as he does this great work.
It may be difficult for some to grasp what I want to introduce here because of all the books that have been promulgated concerning the second coming of Christ. People have become famous and made fortunes from bestselling books (some fiction and some nonfiction) that give details of what will transpire when Christ returns. When people’s minds have been trained to think a certain way, it is often difficult to receive a different point of view. I would like to share here some of the revelations God has given me regarding this event. I don’t claim to have a full revelation of all the details, but I believe I am seeing some things worthy of consideration.
First of all, is it reasonable to believe God would allow His plans regarding His second coming (something that has been cloaked in mystery since the Fall) to be published and read by millions of people? Would He permit movies to be made to accurately portray what He is about to do? I just can’t believe that. Our God is a God of surprises. His ways are mysterious and past finding out. Those who looked forward to His first coming were totally caught off guard by the manner in which He actually came. Rather than a rich King born in a palace, they found a humble babe lying in a manger in a stable built for animals. Those who thought they knew the most (Pharisees) had the greatest difficulty receiving Christ or His teachings. Based on the studies I have done over many years, I think we will be very surprised at the way Jesus chooses to reveal Himself at His second coming.
When Jesus returns it will be to establish His kingdom on earth. Jesus said many things directly or in parables about the kingdom of God (or the kingdom of heaven). The kingdom of God possesses the quality of being here in this present hour, and yet it is still coming and is ultimately to come in its fullness. At times Jesus said “the kingdom of God is nigh thee.” This Greek word translated “nigh” is eggizo meaning “to make near or (refl.) approach.” Rather than speaking of a spatial location, I believe He meant it as a spiritual reality…that when we are approaching God, the kingdom is coming nearer to us.
In a sense, the Israelites were in the Kingdom in Goshen when they experienced God’s protection from the plagues that came upon Egypt. Goshen means “approaching or drawing near.” We must be approaching or drawing near to Jesus everyday if we are to have His protection should pandemics, weapons of mass destruction, war or natural disasters strike our land.
The following scripture, I believe, holds a major key to our accurately understanding at least one important dynamic regarding His coming: And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you (Luke 17:20, 21). Some translators have rendered “within” as “among,” but in the Greek, it truly is “within.” If we were to examine each passage about the second coming as being about an inward reality, we might find more accuracy than by keeping it outward and physical. We have been on earth learning to become spiritual beings. Why then would the second coming be an outward event not requiring any spirituality? Eventually we will see outward manifestations of the kingdom, but first it must come within us.
Also, there are other passages of scripture that seem to indicate an inward application might be more accurate. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened. Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. Behold, I have told you before. Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not (Matt. 24:22-26). I believe we are being warned here that if we are looking for Him to appear in an outward form, we may wind up being deceived.
I have heard many reports indicating that technology today is far more advanced than the public is permitted to know. There are top secret things involving advanced technologies that only officials high up in the government and the military are permitted to know. The skies where I live are frequently covered with clouds. Clouds can be natural and clouds can be produced through technology, a fact that probably very few people are aware of. (Alternative news sites prove factually that this is true. The mainstream media won’t mention it.) The Scriptures do say in places that Jesus will come with clouds. Does this mean we will look up in the sky and see Jesus there in the clouds? Remember we were told by Jesus not to look for him to be here or there, and that the Kingdom of God comes not with observation. He warned that there would be great signs and wonders that could deceive even the very elect. It is a technological fact that holograms of Jesus (or anyone else) can be projected onto the clouds. Cell phone towers and other kinds of towers are everywhere. Sounds can be projected from these sources that may be heard by our natural ears or directly into our brain by means of electromagnetic waves of some sort or other. If we expect to see Jesus in the clouds, then we can be deceived.
Some passages of Scripture reveal that a level of holiness will be necessary in order to see the Lord. Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord (Heb 12:14). And, Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God (Matt 5:8). And again in 1 John 3:2,3: 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. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure. For many years this 1 John passage has been one of my favorite passages in the Bible. When we see Christ, we will be like Him! However, in order to be like Him, we have to purify ourselves. We must cooperate with God in becoming pure. It is not something that suddenly happens to us. We are a most vital part of the process. It seems clear that the best way to avoid being deceived is to have a pure heart.
If we must be like Christ in purity and holiness in order to see Him, how do we reconcile this with the following verse? Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him (Rev 1:7). Maybe if we understood more about clouds it would open our understanding of this verse. We know that clouds are merely collections of water vapor in the upper atmosphere. If we want to hold to a spatial, three dimensional view of the second coming, we can look for him up in the literal sky where clouds are, but as I just explained, if this is our understanding we can be deceived. It seems a more spiritual approach based on the Scriptures would be a safer and more accurate way to understand this passage. We need to ask ourselves what do clouds represent throughout the entire Bible?
The word “cloud” or “clouds” appears 156 times in Scripture. Looking up every occurrence would make an interesting study. Clouds can mean different things in Scripture. They can mean the presence of God, for example, because his presence filled the temple like a cloud in II Chronicles 5. God led his people through the wilderness with a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. I feel certain that the presence of God is going to come individually and personally to each sincere follower of Jesus as part of his second coming. Just as his presence filled the temple like a cloud in II Chronicles it will fill the individual temple of each believer. My studies indicate that the second coming will indeed involve the presence of God coming to his bride in a way never before experienced by his people. Each of us will know beyond the shadow of a doubt we are experiencing his presence like never before. This will be a worldwide event and it will be a great comfort when the frightening events of the New World Order takeover hit us full force. We have believed by faith that Jesus would never leave us or forsake us. When his presence comes in the way I am describing, we will know for certain he is with us because his presence will be powerful with each of us.
Every eye shall see him
It will be evident to everyone around us that Jesus is with us and in us in such a way that we are protected and secure in him when others are not. As hearts are failing people for fear, those who have his presence will not fear. Every eye will see Christ in us; they will see Christ in his body. In this way, the scriptures that say we have to be holy to see him can be reconciled with “every eye shall see him.” There are many scriptures that bear this out that would take too long to include here.
And they also that pierced him
If we take this literally it would be referring to those who were at his crucifixion that literally pierced him. Therefore, this must be interpreted spiritually. Those who will receive this coming of his presence will be those who have suffered for righteousness sake. If we stand for Jesus and his truth, we will be persecuted. There is no way to avoid that. Often our persecution has come from those in the church whom we believed to be our friends and also from family members. We have, in other words, been partakers of his suffering. As Paul said in his letter to the Philippians, “That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death; if by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead” (Phil 3:10, 11). Those who have persecuted true believers will recognize that they were wrong and that they missed it themselves. They may very well be those represented by the five virgins with no oil. These are, I believe, those that pierced him. There will be great wailing by those who rejected Jesus.
Getting back to Deborah…Jabin and Sisera are types of our flesh. Jabin and Sisera are both forms of the flesh. Sisera is the carnal mind, and Jabin is the outward natural man. All of us live with Jabin and Sisera even though we don’t like them and want to be free of the bondage they place on our lives. Our flesh is the greatest enemy we face. Many would say the Devil is our greatest enemy, but he can only cause us harm in any area of our life in which we are living according to our own carnality. The way out of this is the way of the cross. As we take up our cross daily, deny ourselves and follow Christ, our carnal nature will die.
