One of things everyone knows with regard to end-times and Prophecy, is that there is much controversy when it comes to what is termed as, “The Second Coming”.

It has been said by some that when Jesus came as a Babe wrapped in swaddling clothes and laid in a manger, and when He comes again according to Verse 7 of Revelation Chapter 1 and Revelation 19, is the only two “comings” Jesus is going to do – and they go one step further and add that there is NO SUCH THING AS A RAPTURE!

Well, they are right and wrong according to the scriptures, and I want to address that today in light of Revelation 1:7

“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.”

Here’s where they are correct. When the Rapture takes place according to Revelation chapter 4, there will be no “coming of Christ”; at least not in the way they are seeing it. Remember they are going off the premise that, “every eye shall see Him”.

But in Revelation Chapter 4 verse 1, we see that he does come “in the clouds”, but no one sees Him, and would not recognize Him because in Revelation 4:1 He is “the door”. Let’s quickly take a look at that verse there in the 4th chapter of the book of Revelation and see what it does say.

“After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter.”

What did he see? He saw “...a door was opened”. Where? In heaven; which would be figuratively… “in the clouds”. We know that because the voice that, “was as it were of a trumpet talking with me;” tells us that it was.

So what or who was this door? We know it to be Jesus for a couple of reasons.

First, the verse itself speaking of the voice which “was as it were of a trumpet talking with me;” tells us that it was Christ. It is the same reference given in verse 10 and 11 of Revelation chapter 1 where it says:

“I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet, Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last:”

Second, The symbolism of a door was announced in the heavens which “the voice” who invited him to “Come Up hither” was used. Who do we know in the Word of God that is considered to be “the door”? We know that Jesus Himself was considered to be The Door, The Truth, The Life, and The Way. (ref., John 10:2-9; John 14:6)

By those scriptures we see that throughout the Word of God, Jesus was “The door”. If you want to do a study on something that will excite you and ignite your faith, do a word study on the word “door” in the Bible and see all of the places where Jesus was the door.

Go all the way back to the Ark and you see that in order to be saved, people had to believe that God was going to destroy the world, and enter the Ark through “the door.” When the time was come that the earth should be destroyed, “the door” was shut. (add to the fact that the door went with them that believed).

When the Israelites were still in captivity in Egypt, Moses was trying to FREE them at the leading and behest of God the Father Himself. The Plague of death came upon the first born of every house-hold and Moses was commanded to smear the door posts with the blood to keep the inhabitants therein safe. Who was that descriptive of? Again, Jesus.

When Abraham was in the plains of Mamre (ref., Gen 18) he was visited by God. He did not know Him to be God until he went through the tent door and came up to Him. His eyes were opened as he passed through the tent door to see God and he went back inside and told Sarah to prepare a meal for the Heavenly guests. Remember this was the time when Abraham and Sarah were told they would conceive a son, and Sarah stood at the tent door and laughed because of their ages. Had she gone through the tent door, and received the understanding of Christ (the WORD) we might have read a different story perhaps on her knees crying out, “My Lord and My God”. But she didn’t go through the door.

But watch this: this is important in light of the Easter season coming up and I think it is awesome how Jesus is "revealing Himself" to John as to WHO He was. At the time of the crucifixion, there was a great stone placed at the door of the tomb where they buried Jesus. We know that great stone to be the great burden of sin and the grave. It was the final power of this earth that could keep intruders out, and the dead inside. Oh I don't think you heard that. This STONE was humanities last chance at defeating Jesus - to keep Him DEAD so to speak, and Herod believed that if he placed Soldiers at the tomb entrance with a seal on the door... it would finalize the life and story of Jesus. But what Herod and Pilate didn't know was that Jesus the Christ was “the door”; He was the Life and The Way of all mankind, and the burden and entrapment of sin was no match for “the door.” He rolled the stone away and once again opened “the door” for the “whosoever will”. I could go on and on with this study on the door – and I hope you will. It will truly build your faith in Christ! He truly was (is) “there . . . all the time”.

So, in conclusion, we see that when Jesus came as a baby in Matthew, The Heavens heralded His coming! Through the subsequent years, He walked this earth; He was seen at the temple at the age of 12 and then began his ministry in His 30’s. He was known as a carpenter’s son. In other words He was “known” and “seen”. He was here. That was His first coming.

At the Rapture of the Church in Revelation Chapter 4:1, He “catches the Christians away” into the Heavens in a quiet disappearance of the Church. Jesus never steps foot on the ground; and no “one sees Him”, giving us an entirely different description of the “Second Coming” in Revelation 19 – (spoken of in our text here today: Revelation 1:7) where it says that “every eye shall see Him”. We will be speaking of this more when we get to Revelation Chapter 4.

The “Second Coming”, once again, will NOT be the Rapture of the Saints because Jesus does not come to earth. That will come later on – “after” the tribulation period.

Tomorrow we will continue with Verse 8 of Revelation Chapter 1. I hope you will join us.

-- God bless you --