The Gospel News

Bro. Ralph Green

(Torquay, UK)

The return of Jesus from heaven is clear from what he said to his disciples nearly 2000 years ago. His words were, "I go and

prepare a place for you...I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also." (John 13:3).

Jesus also spoke about this in his Mount Olivet prophecy warning his disciples to beware of false claims of deceivers; he said,

"For as the lightning cometh out of the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be" (Matt.24:27).

Everyone knows when there is a flash of lightning. With this comparison multitudes will know when the Lord Jesus has returned from heaven, especially those who have believed in his return and have waited for him. In the context of these verses Jesus speaks of mourning because of major disasters overtaking his people at this time; so Jesus says, "and then all the tribes of

the earth (land) will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory" (Matt.

24:30).

The reference to the clouds of ?heaven? must mean the angels: they are referred to as clouds because there will be multitudes of them.

In the next verse Jesus reveals one of the next duties assigned to them, "And He will

send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other." (Matt.24:31).

If the sounding of the trumpet is to be understood literally it would mean that a miraculous heralding of great events is about to be accomplished, the emphasis of this verse is laid on the extent of the

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operation which will be world-wide and will consist of gathering together the elect of the Lord Jesus and will include the resurrection of those sleeping in the dust of the earth. (Genesis 3:19, Dan.12:2).

Many scriptures can be quoted to show that those responsible will be required to appear before the judgement seat of Christ that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad (2 Cor.5:10).

On another occasion Jesus repeated the need for the responsible to be gathered together for judgement. In the opening sentence he said, "When the Son of Man

comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. All the nations will be gathered before Him. And He will separate one from another as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats." (Matt.25:31-32).

It is clear from the above that the Lord Jesus, together with the angels, will be engaged in the judgements of the saints after he returns from heaven and has established himself as King on the throne of his glory.

The location for the judgement must be somewhere in the Holy Land which means that those that have been gathered from other parts of the world will have to be transported, in some cases long distances to the Holy Land. The idea of those to be judged is therefore said to be brought together in clouds (or groups) is what Paul refers to when he writes, "Then we who are

alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord." (1 Thess.4:17).

In this gospel Jesus foresees the situation where those who are called to judgement are singled out so that for example, "Two