Encore Post: They were ordinary days. The seaside resort of Pompeii was bustling with the daily activities of the luxurious retreat for the richest of Romans, escaping the pressures of the imperial capital of ancient Rome. That is until Mount Vesuvius buried it in ash for 1700 years. It was a lazy Sunday morning in Hawaii, slower than normal for a navy base — until Japanese bombs shattered Pearl Harbor that December 7, 1941. On a bright, lovely September morning, a pastor drove from downtown Fort Wayne, practicing a sermon for chapel on the first regular day of classes for Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne — a sermon he rewrote on the ride in as he learned airplanes had destroyed the Twin Towers in New York City that September 11, 2001. Life was normal — until the world changed.
On another ordinary day, when people will go about daily life as usual, eating, drinking, marrying, working in the field and in businesses, Jesus will return from Heaven. (Matthew 24:37-41) He will appear in the sky with the angel armies of Heaven and the souls of his people with him. Every eye will see him. He will send his angels to gather both those who are saved to meet him and the damned to be judged. ( Matthew 13:41, 49, Matthew 24:30-31) There will be no rapture, where Christ appears secretly to claim his own and leave the world in tribulation. This notion comes from a misunderstanding of the dispensationalists.
At that time, Jesus will break the seal of the grave forever. All people will rise from the dead in the great resurrection of the dead. All souls will be reunited with their bodies and Christ’s own will be transformed to be just like him. (1 Thessalonians 4:14-17) As much as great dread has been put in this day, it is for Christians, the most joyful day of all, even with the next event — the Last Judgment — coming. For the goal of the suffering, death and resurrection of our Lord is this day — when all is made right, we are restored to his image and we will shine like the stars in his kingdom. So, the Church has always prayed: Come, Lord Jesus, Come!
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This is a great comfort to me. Thank-you.
I have thoroughly enjoyed these “What Does This Mean” sermonettes. As a teen in Confirmation classes, these were difficult to comprehend. Thank you so much for clearing everything up!
Thank you! It is why we wrote them.