Invasion From Outer Space
For centuries, man has been intrigued
by the thought of extra-terrestial life.
Perhaps because of the sad estate of our own little planet, we've
unconsciously sought to alleviate the misery through such fantasy and speculation. Whatever the reason, we've managed to dream
up some wild and interesting theories and dreams with our vivid imaginations!
But the Bible itself speaks of an
extra-terrestial invasion from outer space!
And this "Blessed Hope" is heralded as the solution to all our
problems!
When Jesus left this planet 2,000 years
ago, where did He go? How and why did He
leave? Has He forgotten this lonely
little planet? Let's read the good news
on the subject.
I WILL
COME AGAIN
1. What
earnest desire did Jesus express to His father in His prayer in John 17:24?
Father, I will that they also, whom thou
hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou
hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world.
Note: He loves us and wants to be with us, personally, and
that we may see His glory.
2. Through
the presence of the Holy Spirit, we can spiritually be with Christ and see His
glory- His character; did Jesus also mean this in a literal sense?
Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe
in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were
not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and
prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that
where I am, there ye may be also. John
14:1-3
Note: Jesus is
preparing a very real place for us right on His Father's "estate"!
3. When
Christ "receives us to Himself," will this be imaginary or spiritual,
or as solid and real as it sounds?
And when he had spoken these things, while
they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight. And
while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood
by them in white apparel; Which also said, Ye men of
Note: Jesus was a
real, physical person, and the crowd of over 500 people physically saw Him
ascend to Heaven, until He rose into the clouds. The two angels assured them they would see
Him return as clearly and literally as they had seen Him leave!
4.
Some people teach that His coming will be invisible or secret. How did Jesus describe His return?
For as the lightning cometh out of the
east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of
man be. Matthew 24:27
When
the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then
shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: Matthew 25:31
Note: There are no secret lightening bolts! They are so bright that you can see them with
your eyelids closed. His coming will be accompanied
by the great glory that He expressed it was His will for us to see.
5. Just
how visible and audible will His coming be?
And cast ye the unprofitable servant into
outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Matthew 25:30
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. Even so, Amen. Revelation 1:7
Our God shall come, and shall not keep
silence: a fire shall devour before him, and it shall be very tempestuous round
about him. He shall call to the heavens from above, and to the earth, that he
may judge his people. Gather my saints together unto me; those that have made a
covenant with me by sacrifice. Psalm
50:3-5
Therefore prophesy thou against them all
these words, and say unto them, The LORD shall roar from on high, and utter his
voice from his holy habitation; he shall mightily roar upon his habitation; he
shall give a shout, as they that tread the grapes, against all the inhabitants
of the earth. A noise shall come even to the ends of the earth; for the LORD
hath a controversy with the nations, he will plead with all flesh; he will give
them that are wicked to the sword, saith the LORD.
Thus saith the LORD of hosts, Behold, evil
shall go forth from nation to nation, and a great whirlwind shall be raised up
from the coasts of the earth. And the slain of the LORD shall be at that day
from one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth: they shall not
be lamented, neither gathered, nor buried; they shall be dung upon the ground. Jeremiah 25:30-33
6. What will the holy angels do when Jesus
sounds the trumpet?
And he shall send his angels with a great
sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four
winds, from one end of heaven to the other. Matthew
24:31
7. What
about those who have died?
Our friends, we want you to know the truth
about those who have died, so that you will not be sad, as are those who have
no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God
will take back with Jesus those who have died believing in him.
What we are teaching you now is the Lord's teaching: we who are alive on the day the Lord
comes will not go ahead of those who have died.
There will be the shout of command, the
archangel's voice, the sound of God's trumpet, and the Lord himself will come
down from heaven. Those who have died believing in Christ will rise to life
first; then we who are living at that time will be gathered up along with them
in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will always be with the
Lord.
So then, encourage one another with these words. I Thessalonians 4:13-18 TEV
Note: The two angels
promised the people who saw Christ leave earth that they would see Him
return. They, along with Paul, the
apostles, and the faithful millions of earth's history will be raised to
immortal life by the voice of Jesus (John
8. What
will happen to the righteous living at that time?
Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a
moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall
sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For
this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on
immortality.
So when this corruptible shall have put on
incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then
shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in
victory. I Corinthians 15:51-54
Then
we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the
clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. I
Thessalonians 4:17
Note: The living
saints will be transformed—given new, incorruptible bodies, radiant with light
and eternal youth, beauty and health!
9. What
will the wicked do at the 2nd coming?
And the heaven departed as a scroll when it
is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.
And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief
captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid
themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; And said to the
mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth
on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb! Revelation 6:14-16
Note: The wicked and the righteous will be separated from
each other as each person receives the results of their choice of righteousness
or sin. (The chronology of these events
will be detailed in a further lesson.)
10.
What historical event did Jesus use to
illustrate this separation?
But of that day and hour knoweth no man,
no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. But as the days of Noe were,
so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were
before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in
marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, And knew not until the
flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man
be.
Then shall two be in the field; the one
shall be taken, and the other left. Two women shall be grinding at the mill;
the one shall be taken, and the other left. Matthew
24:36-41
Note: In this separation, those who were taken were taken
away in death by the flood (verse 39), and the others were left alive in the
ark. So will it be at Jesus' second
coming.
While
people are living lives with no concern for God or righteousness, Jesus will
come suddenly, as the flood did. Does
Jesus come down to earth, or remain in the air at the 2nd coming? See I Thessalonians
4:17, I Corinthians 15:51-54 above
WHEN WILL
HE COME?
11.
Does anyone currently know the exact day
and hour of Christ's return?
But of that day and hour knoweth no man,
no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. Matthew 24:36
Note: Although we
will not know the day and hour until God announces it, we can know when it is
near, "even at the door"—Matthew
24:33.
12.
What signs did Jesus say would indicate
His return's nearness?
And as he sat upon the mount
of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall
these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy
coming, and of the end of the world?
And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take
heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am
Christ; and shall deceive many. And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars:
see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the
end is not yet.
For nation shall rise against nation, and
kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and
earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the
beginning of sorrows.
Then shall they deliver you up to be
afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my
name's sake. And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and
shall hate one another. And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive
many. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. But
he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.
And this gospel of the kingdom shall be
preached in all the world for a witness unto all
nations; and then shall the end come. Matthew
24:3-14
Immediately after the tribulation of those
days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the
stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: So
likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at
the doors.
But as the days of Noe were, so shall also
the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood
they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day
that Noe entered into the ark, And knew not until the flood came, and took them
all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. Watch therefore: for
ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.
But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would
come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken
up. Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as
ye think not the Son of man cometh. Matthew
24:29, 33, 37-39, 42-44
Note: The Bible's description
of the "last days" before Jesus comes fit the time we are living in
now:
a)
When people could actually be capable of destroying the earth, Revelation 11:18
b)
When life all around is corrupt,
c)
When there is social injustice, James 5:3-9
d)
When terror of the future is common, Luke
e)
When the gospel is reaching every nation, Matthew 24:14
13. Should
these things worry us?
And when these things begin to come to pass, then look
up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh. Luke 21:28
14.
What will the political thrust be at
this time?
For when they shall say, Peace and safety;
then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child;
and they shall not escape. I
Thessalonians 5:3
Note: We have seen the collapse of the Communist bloc, and
many people are saying that the world is heading toward a "New World
Order" in which there will be "peace and safety"! This is yet another dramatic sign of the soon
return of Jesus Christ!
WARNING!
15.
What warning did Christ give in Matthew
24:23-27?
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 shew 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. For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and
shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
Note: Suppose that a glorious being suddenly appeared in
16.
How will we know when the real Christ
has come?
And this is the condemnation, that light is
come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their
deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh
to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh
to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in
God. John 3:19-21
Note: Counterfeits may look and act like Christ, even
performing great miracles (Revelation
17.
How should we view the return of our
Lord?
Looking for that blessed hope, and the
glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; Titus
Note: Christ guarantees us a place in His kingdom if we
follow where He leads.
18.
If God were the kind of Person many
teach He is, perhaps it would be better if He never came back. What makes the second coming good news?
And while they looked stedfastly toward
heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; Which also said, Ye men of
Note: The best news of all is that Jesus doesn't
change! He will be the same kind, loving, gentle King He was while He lived on earth!
CONCLUSION
"'Surely
I am coming soon!' Amen! Come, Lord Jesus!" Revelation
Jesus wants to take you on that
fabulous space journey from earth to Heaven!
He says that He has prepared a place specially
for you. Will you decide now to follow
where He leads and plan to be there, so He can schedule you for that trip?
My response
to Christ is:______________________________