This in not a rant! This is not even a bible lesson! The information below is simply a range of thought-provoking questions that I want to ask (and answer) as a statement of reflection!
What is it with the clouds? Why do most Christians today think they will meet Jesus in the clouds at the rapture? I'm open to be corrected, but from my understanding, and how I read the scriptures, Jesus only comes in the clouds near the END of the 7-year tribulation. I don't think Jesus is going to come down from heaven and appear in the clouds with a shout and a trumpet blast to rapture the Body of Christ, and then come at the end of the tribulation to appear in the clouds again. No! As far as I can see, Jesus only comes in the clouds ONCE, and that is near the END of the tribulation!
Let's look at some verses that speak about the Lord appearing in the clouds. Can you honestly say that this is in reference to the rapture of the Body of Christ BEFORE to tribulation?
Daniel 7:13-14 I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. 14 And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.
Matthew 24:29-31 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: 30 And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31 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.
Luke 21:25-27 And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; 26 Men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. 27 And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.
Revelation 1:5-7 And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, 6 And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen. 7 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.
The verses above, as I believe you will agree, are clearly aligned with the second coming of Christ near the end of the tribulation. However, the verse below is the one I believe is the cause of this thinking that Jesus is coming on the clouds at the pre-tribulation rapture,
1 Thessalonians 4:16 (Return) For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: 17 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.
Most Christians today interpret this scripture passage of Paul to be the rapture of the church, the Body of Christ, in this dispensation of grace. However, from the other verses above, it probably is not! In addition, Paul even clarifies to the Thessalonians in his 2nd epistle the following,
2 Thessalonians 2:3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day [the event described in 1 Thess.4:16-17 above] shall not come, except [until] there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
So, this is clearly indicating that this event of 'Jesus coming on the clouds' is the 2nd coming of Christ which happens after the tribulation, and after the antichrist is revealed, and also happens to include a 'catching away', or a gathering in from the earth.
If the above is interpreted according to how it naturally reads, then one might ask, but what then about the church, the Body of Christ? Surely we need to be raptured out in order to end the dispensation of grace and reinitiate the Kingdom program. Well, that is true, and that is why there are two references to a 'cloudless/silent' rapture for us.
Colossians 3:3-4 For ye are dead [to this world], and your life is hid with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is our life, shall appear [secretly, as He did with Paul], then shall ye also appear with him in glory.
Philippians 3:20-21 For our conversation [citizenship] is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour [from heaven, not from the clouds], the Lord Jesus Christ: 21 Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.
The interesting thing about these 2 verses is that it is 'secret/silent'. There is no specific visual appearance, no power and glory, no trumpet, no angels, no dead being raised. It's as if we are just snatched away, instantaneously, leaving the world in speculation and confusion (delusion).
Consider the Lord's appearance to Saul on the Damascus road. Although Saul's companions witnessed some obscure physical experience, ONLY Saul saw and heard the words of the Lord. It was a personal and secret appearance.
Acts 9:6-7 And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do. 7 And the men which journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice* [indistinguishable sound], but seeing no man.
Acts 22:7-9 And I fell unto the ground, and heard a voice saying unto me, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? 8 And I answered, Who art thou, Lord? And he said unto me, I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom thou persecutest. 9 And they that were with me saw indeed the light, and were afraid; but they heard not the [discernible] voice* of him that spake to me.
The men with Saul were in a state of confusion. They saw light but didn't see a man; they heard a voice but didn't hear words [that they could understand]! One companion would tell his story and another a different story. Between themselves they all saw something and heard something, but only Saul saw a man and heard an audible and articulated message. (At Sinai, God spoke to Moses, but the people heard thunder. For additional supernatural encounters, see: John 12:29; Daniel 10:7).
Similarly, at the 'silent' rapture of the Body of Christ, there will be a state of confusion (delusion), and many will say this and that, but nobody will really know what happened and most certainly would not have seen the Lord.
The silent rapture ends the grace dispensation and God reactivates the Kingdom program. Our rapture is an instantaneous disappearing of believers around the world, raptured straight into heaven. It is not the one in which the Lord comes on the clouds, in visible glory, with audible voices and trumpets, and with a resurrection of the dead who will be ushered into a glorious kingdom that He will inaugurate. All this will only happens several years after our rapture!
For an in-depth study on the progress and stages of Christ's return, see here.
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