An Insight Into The Return Of Jesus

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Acts 1:6-9

Modern English Version

The Ascension

⁶ So when they had come together, they asked Him, “Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?”

⁷ He said to them, “It is not for you to know the times or the dates, which the Father has fixed by His own authority.

⁸ But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you shall be My witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

⁹ When He had spoken these things, while they looked, He was taken up. And a cloud received Him from their sight.

The Insight: Jesus Returns to Restore Israel

Jesus' Mission to Establish Israel as the International Capital Through War

The phrase "restore the kingdom to Israel" in Acts 1:6 refers to Jesus' future establishment of Israel as the international capital city. While this passage is commonly associated with the rapture, it is important to note that the disciples' inquiry was not concerning the date of Christ's return, but rather the timing of Israel's kingdom restoration.

Jesus' response reveals a crucial distinction: the timing of Israel's restoration as the international capital is not within His authority to disclose, as this date has been determined solely by God the Father.

Furthermore, Jesus indicated that this restoration would not occur during His earthly ministry, but at a divinely appointed time in the future. This truth was immediately confirmed by His ascension into heaven following this declaration.

Therefore, we understand that the restoration of Israel is intrinsically linked to the Second Coming of Christ. When Jesus returns, His purpose will be to fulfill this divine promise and restore Israel to its appointed role.

Zechariah 14, Revelation 19 and 2 Peter 3 tell us that Jesus is returning to restore Israel through war.

Zechariah 14

Modern English Version

The Day of the Lord

1 A day of the Lord is coming when your spoil will be divided in your midst.

² For I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem for battle. The city will be captured and the houses plundered and the women ravished. Half of the city will go to exile, but the remainder of the people will not be cut off from the city.

³ Then the Lord will go out and fight those nations as He fights in the day of war.

⁴ On that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which is to the east of Jerusalem. And from east to west the Mount of Olives will be split in two halves by a very great valley so that one half moves to the north and the other to the south.

⁵ And you will flee to my mountain valley, for the mountain valley will reach to Azal. You will flee just like you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the Lord my God will come and all His holy ones with you.

⁶ And on that day there will be no light. The lights will diminish.

⁷ And there will be one day known to the Lord, neither during the day nor the night, but at the evening time there will be light.

⁸ On that day living water will flow out from Jerusalem, half to the Dead Sea and the other half to the Mediterranean Sea. This will happen for the summer as well as the winter.

⁹ And the Lord will be king over all the earth. In that day it will be—“The Lord is one,” and His name is one.

¹⁰ All the land will be turned into a plain from Geba to Rimmon to the south of Jerusalem. But Jerusalem will rise and dwell in her place from the Benjamin Gate to the place of the Old Gate, to the Corner Gate, and then from the Tower of Hananel to the winepress of the king.

¹¹ And people will live there, and she will never again be devoted for destruction. Jerusalem will reside in security.

¹² And this will be the pestilence with which the Lord will strike all the peoples who go to battle against Jerusalem: Their flesh will rot as they stand on their feet, their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongues will rot in their mouths.

¹³ Then on that day a great tumult from the Lord will come on them as each person will seize the hand of his neighbor, and the hand of one will be raised against the hand of another.

¹⁴ And even Judah will fight with Jerusalem, and the wealth of all the surrounding nations will be gathered, a great abundance of gold, silver, and garments.

¹⁵ So this plague will come to horses, mules, camels, donkeys, and any other animals that are in the camp. So will this plague be.

¹⁶ Then it will be that all the nations who have come against Jerusalem and survived will go up each year to worship the King, the Lord of Hosts, and to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles.

¹⁷ And it will happen that if any of the families of the earth do not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord of Hosts, then there will not be rain for them.

¹⁸ If the family of Egypt does not go up and enter in, they shall have no rain. This will be the plague with which the Lord strikes the nations that do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles.

¹⁹ This will be the punishment of Egypt and the punishment of all the nations who do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles.

²⁰ On that day “HOLY TO THE LORD” will be engraved on the bells of the horses. And the pots in the house of the Lord will be as the basins before the altar.

²¹ And every pot in Jerusalem and Judah will be holy to the Lord of Hosts so that all who come to sacrifice will take from those pots and boil the meat in them. And on that day there will no longer be a Canaanite in the house of the Lord of Hosts.

Revelation 19

Modern English Version

1 After these things I heard a great sound of many people in heaven, shouting:

“Alleluia! Salvation and glory and honor and power belong to the Lord our God!

² For true and righteous are His judgments, because He has judged the great prostitute    who corrupted the earth with her sexual immorality; and He has avenged on her the blood of His servants.”

³ Again they said:

“Alleluia!Her smoke rises forever and ever.”

⁴ The twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshipped God who sat on the throne, saying:

“Amen! Alleluia!”

The Marriage Supper of the Lamb

⁵ Then a voice came from the throne, saying:

“Praise our God, all you His servants and those who fear Him, both small and great!”

⁶ Then I heard something like the sound like a great multitude, as the sound of many waters and as the sound of mighty thunderings, saying:

“Alleluia! For the Lord God Omnipotent reigns!

⁷ Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.

⁸ It was granted her to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white.”

Fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints.

⁹ Then he said to me, “Write: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These are the true sayings of God.”

¹⁰ I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, “See that you not do that. I am your fellow servant, and of your brothers who hold the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”

The Rider on the White Horse

¹¹ I saw heaven opened. And there was a white horse. He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war.

¹² His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on His head are many crowns. He has a name written, that no one knows but He Himself.

¹³ He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood. His name is called The Word of God.

¹⁴ The armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses.

¹⁵ Out of His mouth proceeds a sharp sword, with which He may strike the nations. “He shall rule them with an iron scepter." {Rev. 19:15/ Ps. 2:9} He treads the winepress of the fury and wrath of God the Almighty.

¹⁶ On His robe and on His thigh He has a name written:

KING OF KINGSAND LORD OF LORDS.

¹⁷ And I saw an angel standing in the sun, and he cried with a loud voice to all the birds flying in the midst of heaven, “Come and gather for the supper of the great God,

¹⁸ to eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of commanders, the flesh of strong men, the flesh of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all men, both free and slave, both small and great!”

¹⁹ Then I saw the beast and the kings of the earth with their armies gathered to wage war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army.

²⁰ But the beast was captured and with him the false prophet who worked signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast and those who worshipped his image. These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with brimstone.

²¹ The remnant were slain with the sword which proceeded out of the mouth of Him who sat on the horse. And all the birds gorged themselves with their flesh.

2 Peter 3

Modern English Version

The Promise of the Lord’s Coming

1 This is now, beloved, the second epistle I am writing to you, in which I am stirring up your sincere minds by way of reminder,

² that you should remember the words that were spoken previously by the holy prophets and the commandment of our Lord and Savior spoken through us, the apostles.

³ Know this first, that there shall come scoffers in the last days who walk after their own lusts,

⁴ and say, “Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things have continued as they were since the beginning of the creation.”

⁵ For they willingly ignore that, by the word of God the heavens existed long ago, and the earth was formed standing out of the water and in the water,

⁶ by which the world that then existed was flooded with water and perished.

⁷ But by the same word, the heavens and the earth that now exist are being reserved for fire, kept for the Day of Judgment and destruction of the ungodly.

⁸ But, beloved, do not be ignorant of this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.

⁹ The Lord is not slow concerning His promise, as some count slowness. But He is patient with us, because He does not want any to perish, but all to come to repentance.

¹⁰ But the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a loud noise, and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat. The earth also and the works that are in it will be burned up.

¹¹ Seeing then that all these things are to be destroyed, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness,

¹² while you are waiting for and desiring the coming of the day of God, in which the heavens will be destroyed by fire and the elements will be consumed by intense heat?

¹³ But, according to His promise, we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells.

¹⁴ Therefore, beloved, since you are waiting for these things, be diligent that you may be found by Him in peace, spotless and blameless.

¹⁵ Keep in mind that the patience of our Lord means salvation, even as our beloved brother Paul has also written to you according to the wisdom given to him.

¹⁶ As in all his letters, he writes about these things, in which some things are hard to understand, which the unlearned and unstable distort, as they also do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction.

¹⁷ You therefore, beloved, since you know these things beforehand, beware lest you also fall from your own firm footing, being led away by the deception of the wicked.

¹⁸ But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be glory, both now and forever. Amen.

How Does the Rapture Tie in With Acts 1:6-9 and the Return of Jesus?

Because the Rapture Happens When Jesus Returns

At the End of the Great Tribulation

Matthew 24:15-44

Modern English Version

The Great Tribulation

¹⁵ “So when you see the ‘abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand),

¹⁶ then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.

¹⁷ Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take anything out of his house.

¹⁸ Let him who is in the field not return to take his clothes.

¹⁹ Woe to those who are with child and to those who nurse in those days!

²⁰ Pray that your escape will not be in the winter or on the Sabbath.

²¹ For then will be great tribulation, such as has not happened since the beginning of the world until now, no, nor ever shall be.

²² “Unless those days were shortened, no one would be saved. But for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened.

²³ Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ,’ or ‘There He is,’ do not believe it.

²⁴ For false christs and false prophets will arise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.

²⁵ Listen, I have told you beforehand.

²⁶ “So, if they say to you, ‘Look, He is in the desert,’ do not go there; or, ‘Look, He is in the private chambers,’ do not believe it.

²⁷ For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.

²⁸ Wherever the carcass is, there the eagles will be gathered together.

The Coming of the Son of Man

²⁹ “Immediately after the tribulation of those days ‘the sun will be darkened, the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.

³⁰ “Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

³¹ And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather His elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.

The Lesson of the Fig Tree

³² “Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: When its branch becomes tender and grows leaves, you know that summer is near.

³³ So also, when you shall see all these things, you know that it is near, even at the doors.

³⁴ Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place.

³⁵ Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away.

The Unknown Day and Hour

³⁶ “Concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only. ³⁷ As were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.

³⁸ For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark,

³⁹ and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.

⁴⁰ Two will be in the field; one will be taken, and the other left.

⁴¹ Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken, and the other left.

⁴² “Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord will come.

⁴³ But know this, that if the owner of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not have let his house be broken into.

⁴⁴ Therefore you also must be ready, for in an hour when you least expect, the Son of Man is coming.

The Rapture Occurs After the Great Tribulation, Coinciding with Christ's Return

Matthew 24:29-31 provides clear evidence regarding the timing of the rapture in relation to Christ's return. Verse 29 establishes that Jesus returns to earth after the great tribulation to gather His bride. Following the tribulation described in verse 29, verse 30 depicts the beginning of Christ's descent to earth, during which all the tribes of the earth will mourn, recognizing Him as the Messiah whom they crucified. Subsequently, verse 31 describes the commencement of the rapture while Christ remains in the clouds, as His bride is brought to meet Him in the air.

Verse 31 specifies that Jesus dispatches His angels to execute the rapture. These angelic beings will transport believers to meet God in the air, gathering Christ's bride through both the first resurrection and the rapture. Christ's return serves the purpose of claiming His bride, accomplishing this through the first resurrection of deceased believers and the rapture of living believers, thereby delivering them from the impending warfare that will occur upon His return to earth.

This deliverance takes place before Christ completes His descent to earth, accompanied by the angels and the resurrected and raptured church.

The Sequential Restoration: From Israel's Deliverance to Jerusalem's Establishment

As the International Capital

Following Christ's restoration of Israel through warfare as described in Revelation 19, an additional period of conflict will be required to establish Jerusalem as the international capital city of the earth. This subsequent phase, described in Revelation 20 as lasting one day of war—or prophetically, 1,000 years—will culminate in the fulfillment recorded in Revelation 21, where Jerusalem assumes its divinely appointed role as the global capital.

Revelation 20

Modern English Version

The Thousand Years

1 And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.

² He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years.

³ He cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal on him, that he should deceive the nations no more, until the thousand years were ended. After that he must be set free for a little while.

⁴ I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and the authority to judge was given to them. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness of Jesus and for the word of God. They had not worshipped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.

⁵ The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended. This is the first resurrection.

⁶ Blessed and holy is he who takes part in the first resurrection. Over these the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ and shall reign with Him a thousand years.

The Defeat of Satan

⁷ When the thousand years are ended, Satan will be set free from his prison

⁸ and will go out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them for battle. Their number is like the sand of the sea.

⁹ They traveled the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city. But fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them.

¹⁰ The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet were. They will be tormented day and night forever and ever.

The Great White Throne Judgment

¹¹ Then I saw a great white throne and Him who was seated on it. From His face the earth and the heavens fled away, and no place was found for them.

¹² And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God. Books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. The dead were judged according to their works as recorded in the books.

¹³ The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one by his works.

¹⁴ Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.

¹⁵ Anyone whose name was not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.

The Unbelief of Israel and the Necessity of Christ's Visible Return

The majority of Israel will not participate in the rapture alongside Gentile believers and converted Israelites, as most of the nation does not presently believe in Jesus as the Messiah.

Similar to the account of doubting Thomas in John 20:24-29, the nation of Israel will require a visible manifestation of Christ's return before acknowledging Him as their Messiah. Only upon witnessing His return will widespread belief among the Jewish people be realized (See also Revelation 1:7).

Romans 11

Modern English Version

The Remnant of Israel

1 I say then, has God rejected His people? God forbid! For I also am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin.

² God has not rejected His people whom He foreknew. Do you not know what the Scripture says of Elijah? How he pleads with God against Israel, saying,

³ “Lord, they have killed Your prophets and destroyed Your altars. I alone am left, and they seek my life”? {1 Kgs. 19:10}

⁴ But what is the divine reply to him? “I have kept for Myself seven thousand men, who have not bowed the knee to Baal." {1 Kgs. 19:18}

⁵ So then at this present time there is a remnant according to the election of grace.

⁶ And if by grace, then it is no longer by works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace. But if it is by works, then is it no longer by grace; otherwise work would no longer be work.

⁷ What then? Israel has not obtained what it was seeking. But the elect obtained it, and the rest were hardened.

⁸ As it is written:

“God has given them a spirit of slumber, eyes that would not see and ears that would not hear, to this very day." {Isa. 29:10}

⁹ And David says:

“Let their table become a snare and a trap, a stumbling block and a retribution to them.

¹⁰ Let their eyes be darkened, so that they may not see, and always bow down their backs." {Ps. 69:22, 23}

The Salvation of the Gentiles

¹¹ I say then, have they stumbled that they should fall? God forbid! But through their transgression salvation has come to the Gentiles, to make them jealous.

¹² Now if their transgression means riches for the world, and their failure means riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their fullness mean?

¹³ For I am speaking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch as I am the apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry,

¹⁴ if somehow I may make my kinsmen jealous and may save some of them.

¹⁵ For if their rejection means the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance mean but life from the dead?

¹⁶ If the first portion of the dough is holy, the batch is also holy. And if the root is holy, so are the branches.

¹⁷ But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among them and became a partaker with them of the root and richness of the olive tree,

¹⁸ do not boast against the branches. If you boast, remember you do not sustain the root, but the root sustains you.

¹⁹ You will say then, “The branches were broken off, so that I might be grafted in.”

²⁰ This is correct. They were broken off because of unbelief, but you stand by faith. Do not be arrogant, but fear.

²¹ For if God did not spare the natural branches, neither will He spare you.

²² Therefore consider the goodness and severity of God—severity toward those who fell, but goodness toward you, if you continue in His goodness. Otherwise, you also will be cut off.

²³ And these also, if they do not remain in unbelief, will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again.

²⁴ For if you were cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and were grafted contrary to nature into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these, who are the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree?

The Restoration of Israel

²⁵ For I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers, lest you be wise in your own estimation, for a partial hardening has come upon Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.

²⁶ And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written:

“The Deliverer will come out of Zion, and He will remove ungodliness from Jacob": {Isa. 59:20}

²⁷ “for this is My covenant with them, when I shall take away their sins." {Isa. 59:20, 21/Jer. 31:31-34}

²⁸ As concerning the gospel, they are enemies for your sake, but as regarding the election, they are beloved for the sake of the patriarchs.

²⁹ For the gifts and calling of God are irrevocable.

³⁰ For just as you once were disobedient to God, but have now received mercy through their disobedience,

³¹ so these also have now been disobedient, that they also may receive mercy by the mercy shown to you.

³² For God has imprisoned them all in disobedience, so that He might be merciful to all.

³³ O the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments    and unfathomable are His ways!

³⁴ “For who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has become His counselor?" {Isa. 40:13}

³⁵ “Or who has first given to Him, and it shall be repaid to him?" {Job 35:7; 41:11}

³⁶ For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be glory forever! Amen.

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World without end. Amen.