Just how close are we to the Apocalypse? No one knows for sure. Many do not even know what the word means. In Greek apocalupsis simply means a revealing; hence, the book of the Bible called Revelation, which reveals Jesus’ glory and authority. In fact, Jesus is the focus of the entire Bible, the goal of history, and the absolute Lord of all creation.
The Apocalypse will be the final unveiling of his true identity to the world for all to see.
And then at last, the sign that the Son of Man is coming will appear in the heavens, and there will be deep mourning among all the peoples of the earth. And they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. Matthew 24:30 (NLT)
His Second Coming will bring about the conclusion of history, the final judgment of everyone who ever lived, and the beginning of the final state of things, which will include a new heaven and earth. This will be the final and most glorious revelation of Jesus’ true identity, but let’s go back in time to see how this unveiling has progressed over the centuries.
Just after the first man and woman fell for the devil’s lie and betrayed their Creator, God told the serpent, who led them astray, that one day in the future a descendant of Eve would crush his head.
And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel." Genesis 3:15 (NIV)
This was the first mention of the coming Messiah King who would defeat Satan and restore the human race and the creation itself to God. Much later God promised the then childless Abraham that through his descendants the entire earth would be blessed. (Genesis 12:1-3) Paul, who encountered the risen Lord Jesus on the road to Damascus, understood that this promise came to pass through one particular descendant.
Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. He does not say, "And to seeds," as referring to many, but rather to one, "And to your seed," that is, Christ. Galatians 3:16 (NASB)
Much later, God revealed something further about his coming One. Not only would he descend from Abraham, more specifically he would be the “seed” of King David and inherit his throne – forever. In other words, he would not only be a blessing: he also would rule over God’s eternal kingdom. (2 Samuel 7:12-13) This was a second major unveiling of God’s plan for the coming Messiah King.
There were others who “saw” by revelation this coming One. King David wrote Psalms about him, Psalm 22 being a prophetic preview of his crucifixion. Job saw by faith his future appearance on the earth to raise the dead. (Job 19:25-27) Isaiah saw his glory (Isaiah 6:1) and predicted his suffering and death (Isaiah 53). Jeremiah revealed that Jesus would be God’s means of bringing righteousness through a new covenant. (Jeremiah 31:31-34) Zechariah saw his glorious appearing to the Jews who would believe in him at the very end. (Zechariah 12:10) All of these people saw something glorious without ever completely knowing what it all meant. That would only be unveiled much later.
This salvation was something even the prophets wanted to know more about when they prophesied about this gracious salvation prepared for you. 11 They wondered what time or situation the Spirit of Christ within them was talking about when he told them in advance about Christ’s suffering and his great glory afterward. 12 They were told that their messages were not for themselves, but for you. And now this Good News has been announced to you by those who preached in the power of the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. It is all so wonderful that even the angels are eagerly watching these things happen. 1 Peter 1:10-12 (NLT)
Let’s skip forward in time to a huge turning point in human history when the angel Gabriel appeared to an unassuming young unmarried woman in Israel with this unprecedented message.
"And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus. 32 "He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; 33 and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end." Luke 1:31-33 (NASB)
God chose Mary to be the mother of the Messiah King. Jesus’ conception and birth initiated a series of remarkable unveilings of the identity of our Lord. Contrary to all expectations, God became a human being, a baby born to relatively poor parents with no apparent prestige or standing in the world. He came inauspiciously, hidden from the view of everyone except those whose spiritual eyes were opened by the Spirit of God: Mary, Elizabeth, Joseph, the shepherds, the magi, as well as Anna and Simeon, who were in the Temple when Jesus was circumcised eight days after his birth. When Simeon saw the baby Jesus, he prophesied:
“Sovereign Lord, now let your servant die in peace, as you have promised. 30 I have seen your salvation, 31 which you have prepared for all people. 32 He is a light to reveal God to the nations, and he is the glory of your people Israel!” 33 Jesus’ parents were amazed at what was being said about him. 34 Then Simeon blessed them, and he said to Mary, the baby’s mother, “This child is destined to cause many in Israel to fall, but he will be a joy to many others. He has been sent as a sign from God, but many will oppose him. 35 As a result, the deepest thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your very soul.” Luke 2:29-35 (NLT)
Imagine being able to see past the Messiah’s humble condition as a little baby into his glorious future role!
The ability to see what is true about Jesus, which is hidden to most people, is called revelation, which comes via the Holy Spirit. Only those who had eyes to see and ears to hear the Spirit were able to discern his true identity. The same is true today.
The next key person to whom God revealed the Messiah was John the Baptist, Jesus’ cousin and Elizabeth’s son. God’s choice of John was even more significant because we usually are unable to accept that someone in our own family is especially called and gifted by God. Nevertheless, God used John to reveal to the world Jesus’ true identity as the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. (John 1:29) God also showed to John that Jesus is the Baptizer in the Holy Spirit, the one who empowers the church to fulfill the Great Commission. In addition, John identified Jesus as the Son of God, which was the same as calling him the Messiah and Lord. John the Baptist saw by revelation Jesus’ entire earthly ministry – Savior, Lord, and Baptizer in the Spirit.
John testified saying, "I have seen the Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven, and He remained upon Him. 33 "I did not recognize Him, but He who sent me to baptize in water said to me, 'He upon whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining upon Him, this is the One who baptizes in the Holy Spirit.' 34 "I myself have seen, and have testified that this is the Son of God." John 1:32-34 (NASB)
When John’s followers heard these pronouncements, some of them elected to follow Jesus as disciples. They saw something in our Lord that pulled them toward him. Eventually, Jesus asked his followers a very important question: “Who do you say that I am?” He wanted to know what had the Spirit shown them. Peter spoke up.
...“You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” 17 Jesus replied, “You are blessed, Simon son of John, because my Father in heaven has revealed this to you. You did not learn this from any human being. Matthew 16:16-17 (NLT)
The Bible makes it clear that it is impossible for us to recognize Jesus’ true identity as God’s chosen Messianic King and Lord without our spiritual understanding being opened by the Holy Spirit.
The nature of revelation is that it depends on God. We play a part by responding to the inner working of the Spirit, but we cannot open our own sin-blinded eyes. Until we receive this divine impartation of revelation from God, we cannot see as we should.
But the people’s minds were hardened, and to this day whenever the old covenant is being read, the same veil covers their minds so they cannot understand the truth. And this veil can be removed only by believing in Christ. 15 Yes, even today when they read Moses’ writings, their hearts are covered with that veil, and they do not understand. 16 But whenever someone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. 17 For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18 So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image. 2 Corinthians 3:14-18 (NLT)
Most of the people in Israel in Jesus’ day did not know his real identity. Some said he was a good man, a prophet, a teacher, or even a blasphemer. Only those whose eyes were opened were able to see that he was and is the Messiah.
God revealed Jesus’ identity a little more on the mount of transfiguration, where three disciples saw him glorified beyond anything seen before by men. (Matthew 17:1-8) His face shined like the sun and his clothes were a dazzling white like light itself. This brief encounter with Jesus’ glory awakened those three disciples to a heavenly reality not before experienced, but they still did not understand. In their minds, Jesus was on a par with Moses and Elijah, not in a class by himself. That would all change at the resurrection.
After Jesus suffered and died as God’s Lamb to expiate our sins, he was buried and after three days rose from the dead. Paul wrote the following summation.
The Good News is about his Son, Jesus. In his earthly life he was born into King David’s family line, 4 and he was shown to be the Son of God when he was raised from the dead by the power of the Holy Spirit. He is Jesus Christ our Lord. 5 Through Christ, God has given us the privilege and authority as apostles to tell Gentiles everywhere what God has done for them, so that they will believe and obey him, bringing glory to his name. Romans 1:3-5 (NLT)
When God the Father raised Jesus from the dead through the power of the Holy Spirit, Jesus came out of the grave as the glorified Lord of Lords, to whom all authority in heaven and earth has been given. (Matthew 28:18)
The only proper response to the gloriously risen Jesus is to acknowledge his supreme authority and lordship and to follow and obey him. That is what God wants us to do.
This takes us back to the Garden of Eden where Adam refused to recognize, honor, and obey his Creator God, causing humanity to plunge into the abyss of rebellion against our Maker. Mankind in general continues to choose slavery to the devil over submission to the Creator. By so doing, humanity has embraced tyranny, evil, destruction, poverty, sickness, and death. By dying in our place and rising again, Jesus conquered the prince of darkness, paid the penalty for our rebellion, and made it possible for us to return to God’s benevolent rule. We do this by turning from our wicked rebellious ways and the wicked one’s rule and by declaring allegiance to the risen Lord. In other words, we switch kingdoms. Paul said it this way.
For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son, 14 who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins. Colossians 1:13-14 (NLT)
Those first disciples were given the glorious privilege of personally seeing, touching, and conversing with the risen Lord. Thomas was famous for saying that he would not believe that Jesus rose again unless he personally put his fingers into the nail holes in his hands. Jesus granted this request, at which point Thomas exclaimed, “My lord and my God!” Jesus replied:
..."You believe because you have seen me. Blessed are those who believe without seeing me.” John 20:29 (NLT)
Even when we cannot see with our natural eyes because Jesus has ascended into heaven, we can see with spiritual eyes.
Paul prayed:
[I] do not cease giving thanks for you, while making mention of you in my prayers; 17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him. 18 I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might Ephesians 1:16-19 (NASB)
All who are granted the ability to see who Jesus is by revelation and who put their faith and allegiance in him will be saved.
Those who eyes still are blinded by sin will not see, receive, or submit to his benevolent rule. They will suffer the condemnation and punishment that all traitors deserve.
There is soon coming a point in history for the final and most glorious revelation of Christ to the world – the Apocalypse. This time every eye shall see him for who he really is, the glorious Son of Man, the judge of all the earth.
According to prophecy (Daniel 7:13-14) and Jesus’ own words, already quoted above, he will come in the clouds with great glory. His authority to judge and rule will at that time be apparent to all. The Bible says that every knee will bow and every tongue confess that he is Lord.( Philippians 2:9-11) For us who have already acknowledged his lordship, it will be a joyous day! For the rest, it will be the acknowledgement of the condemned that they deserve judgment for rejecting his rightful kingship.
Which camp will we be in, those who rejoice to see his coming or those who are terrified?
Now is the time to join the first party, if you have not already. The Bible says that, if we confess that he is the Lord and believe in our heart that God raised him from the dead, we will be saved. (Romans 10:9-10) God is more than ready to help us in this matter. Fifty-one years ago this Spring, I made the decision to invite this King into my life. I was not yet convinced that he had really risen from the dead, but I knew that, if he had, it was the most important event to date in the history of the world. I asked him to reveal himself to me, if he were truly the risen Son of God. As you have no doubt figured out, the Holy Spirit soon opened my eyes to that glorious reality. Faith filled my heart, and I experienced God’s presence all around me. As God gave me a new birth, spiritually speaking, everything became new. (2 Corinthians 5:17) I was filled with an amazing joy and a desire to tell everyone about this God who can be known. I want you to know him, too.
Prayer
Jesus, I have heard about you and realize that I have been living as my own little god, calling the shots in my life without regard to you. I have changed my mind and want you to be my Lord from now on. Please come into my life as my Source, my Life, my Peace, and my Lord. I believe that you died on the cross for my sins and rose from the dead to make me right with Father God. I profess allegiance to you as my Lord and Savior. Fill me with your Holy Spirit. Empower me to be your witness to the world. Amen.
If you prayed this sincerely, God will do his part. Find a disciple making church where you can publicly announce your allegiance and faith in Christ to the world through being water baptized. Start reading your Bible, praying, worshiping, and regularly attending meetings with other disciples who can help you grow in the Lord. Be sure to tell others that they can know him, too.
