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
steadfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold,
two men stood by them in white apparel, which
also said, Ye men of Galilee, Why stand ye gazing
up into heaven? This same Jesus, which is taken
up from you into heaven, shall so come in like
manner as ye have seen him go into heaven. Beloved,
he's coming back to earth again. As surely as
he went away. And he did. He said he would come
back. There were those who promised he would
come back. And he's coming back. And the thrilling
part is, he'll return in the same manner as he
went. And he went in bodily form. He was visible
to the eye. The same Jesus. But remember something.
He will come first in the region of our atmosphere.
And the dead in Christ and the living saints
shall be caught up to meet him in the air. Oh,
my friend, that's going to be glorious. Let me
just take a few minutes and explain something
to you. And be sure that as you are enjoying
this little heart -to -heart talk that you have
your own Bible open. There's nothing like the
Word of God. And I want to remind you again that
if I make one statement that's contrary to the
Word of God, I am wrong and the Bible is right.
If your minister preaches one thing from the
pulpit and the Bible says something else, the
Bible is always right. Know that. Now, when I'm
talking to you about the great catching up, when
I'm talking to you about the return of the Lord
Jesus Christ, I want to be dead sure that I can
back up every statement with the Word of God.
And if you can find where I have said something
that is not in the Word of God, that is not scriptural,
then you tell me about it. Otherwise, you'll
have to accept it if the Word of God says it.
Because the Word of God comes from the highest
authority in heaven and in earth. Jesus himself
said that he was coming back and coming back
in bodily form. He said it. He cannot lie. Remember
that. He is coming back. We have nothing that
assures us that since he went away that he has
ever been back to this earth in bodily form.
For you see, he has been in position of great
high priest, the great mediator between God and
man all this time. Ever since he went away. This
very hour. He is seated at the right hand of
God the Father. In position of great high priest.
Our great intercessor. When we pray he is there.
The last great bequest that he made to man. Before
he went away. was to assure us that he was leaving
us his name to use. Therefore, when we pray,
we have access to the throne of God. We have
a hearing at the throne of God in the name of
Jesus. And God the Father hears our prayer through
the... person of Jesus Christ, the great high
priest. Oh, that's thrilling. That's wonderful.
All right. Now remember, as we talk about the
second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, there
are two stages of the second coming. I'm going
to give you scripture for both. If you will please
turn to Matthew, the 16th chapter. Here is something
that is always so misunderstood, and it's all
because there should not have been a chapter
marking where there is a chapter marking now
in the Bible. Chapter 17 should not begin where
you see it in your Bible. The last verse of chapter
16 must continue with the first verse of the
17th chapter. Let me read it to you as it should
be. And I'm reading now from the 16th chapter
of Matthew, the 28th verse. Verily, and remember
it's Jesus speaking, and we know something that's
most important. because whenever he uses the
word verily, it's sort of a stop, look, and listen
sign. I say unto you, this comes from his own
lips, there be some standing here which shall
not taste of death till they see the Son of Man
coming in his kingdom. Don't stop there. There's
a chapter marking there, but don't stop there.
Continue. Because the next verse begins, and
after six days, in other words, six days later,
Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John, his brother,
and brings them up into a high mountain apart,
and was transfigured, before them and his face
did shine as the sun and his raiment was white
as the light and behold there appeared unto them
moses and elijah talking with him then answered
peter and said unto jesus lord it is good for
us to be here if thou wilt Let us make your three
tabernacles, one for thee and one for Moses and
one for Elijah. Oh, that human aspect, always
enter into it. Always, whenever man has something
to do with it, he spoils the whole thing and
says, come on, let's build something. Why is
it man is still that way? God begins pulling.
worry out of his spirit. Oh, the supernatural
is happening everywhere in God's blessing, and
the first thing that man thinks about, let's
build something. Come on, let's build. And here
enters in the human aspect when it was something
that was so priceless and so holy and so wonderful.
Then answered, Peter. And it was just like Peter
to get the idea of building impetuous. Yeah.
He wanted to put four walls around what he was
experiencing. And he said unto Jesus, Lord, it's
good for us to be here. If thou wilt, let us
make here three tabernacles. He wasn't only going
to be satisfied with one. Let's make three of
them. One for thee and one for Moses and one
for Elijah. And while he yet spake, behold, a
bright cloud overshadowed him. And behold, a
voice out of the cloud which said, This is my
beloved son in whom I am well pleased. Hear ye
him. Do you remember when that same voice spoke
before? Do you remember that again the same person
said the same words regarding his son? Sure.
It was when Jesus came up out of the waters of
baptism and God the Father spoke audibly at that
time and said, This is my beloved Son in whom
I am well pleased. But let's go back now to this
transfiguration scene. In this transfiguration
scene, we have a fulfillment of Jesus' word that
there were some, and the some were only three,
Peter, James, and John. That's all. Only these
three of his disciples who should not taste of
death until they saw the Son of Man coming in
his kingdom. But remember something. The transfiguration
scene was a rehearsal of the second stage of
Christ's second coming. Just as John was transported
across the centuries into the day of the Lord
and had revealed to him in the book of the Revelation
the things that are to come to pass in the latter
days, so Peter and James and John had a preview,
or call it a foreview if you want to, on the
Mount of Transfiguration of the coming of Christ.
in his glory. We're not taking any chance. We
have full assurance. We have proof. And God gave
proof to these three disciples on the Mount of
Transfiguration of that which Jesus had promised.
and that which the Holy Spirit gave in Thessalonians.
Oh, that's thrilling. A child can understand
it. It's so simple. Why Moses? Why Elijah? All
right, let's go a little deeper. In this transfiguration
scene, Moses was a type. of the first resurrected
saints. And Elijah was the type of those who
would be caught out without dying. For remember,
Moses died a natural death. Mm -hmm. And he was
a type of those who died in the Lord and were
buried. But Elijah had never tasted death to
this very hour. Elijah has never tasted of death.
He just went walking one day and he just kept
right on walking. He never came back. If you
don't believe it, read 2 Kings, the second chapter,
the 11th verse. Elijah was caught out without
dying. And there on the Mount of Transfiguration,
we have the three, Moses, Elijah, and Jesus,
as a sample of the glory of the saints at the
time of the rapture. Now, Peter understood. That
to me is the most amazing thing, how that the
Holy Spirit will open a person's understanding.
He'll not only open their understanding, but
he'll open one's eyes, he'll open one's ears.
And it's true, flesh and blood hath not revealed
us unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.
At the moment when Peter said, Oh, this is so
glorious. This is so wonderful. Let's get busy
and let's build something. But I'll tell you
something. It wasn't long after that, before
his spiritual eyes began to be opened. It's a
shame that some of God's children didn't get
their spiritual eyes opened before they began
building. His spiritual eyes were opened. Flesh
and blood have not revealed this unto thee, but
my Father which is in heaven. How do we know
that Peter finally understood the why of that
which he was seeing with his own eyes? because
he talks about it later. Read 2 Peter, the first
chapter. Mm -hmm. We have his own words. For
we have not followed cunningly devised fables
when we made known unto you the power and the
coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses...
of his majesty. In other words, of his glory.
You see, that was the reason that men and women
didn't understand his first coming. And our first
heart -to -heart talk, we established the truth,
the fact of his first coming. Because... They
couldn't understand that he had not come in glory.
He came born in a manger and they couldn't associate.
They knew that the Old Testament prophets had
told of his coming. But they couldn't associate
the humbleness of a manger with the glory that
the Old Testament prophets spoke of. Because
they... did not have the light regarding his
first coming and his second coming. Now Peter
says, I understand, I see. For we have not followed
cunningly devised fables where we made note unto
you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ,
but were eyewitnesses. We didn't get it secondhand.
Peter says, we were eyewitnesses of what? Of
his majesty, of his glory. For he received from
God the Father honor and glory. When there came
such a voice to him from heaven, saying, this
is my beloved son. in whom I am well pleased.
And this voice, which came from heaven, we heard
when we were with him in the holy mount. That's
it. And they weren't in some kind of a trance.
As surely as there were those, who saw his feet
leave the Mount of Olives, so surely the eyes
of the three disciples, Peter, James, and John,
his brother, see Jesus. They saw him. They heard
the voice of God the Father. They did not see
God the Father. It would have been unscriptural
had they seen God the Father. For no man can
look upon the person of a holy God and live.
Not in these bodies that are still corruption.
These bodies are not geared for the presence
of God. That's the reason we have to have new
bodies resurrected. that bodies before we can
stand in his wonderful presence. Oh, that's thrilling.
I'm going to go one step further, and I want
you to see something that is so familiar to you.
It was Jesus speaking to Martha when he was about
to raise Lazarus from the dead. And this scripture
is used by every minister who ever conducts a
funeral service. John 11, 25 -26 I am the resurrection
and the life. He that believeth in me. Though
he were dead, yet shall he live. There we have
the first resurrection. But don't stop there.
Go on further. Jesus didn't stop there. He continued.
And whosoever liveth. In other words, those who
are alive when I come back to earth. And there
are some. Folk living this very hour who will
never have a shroud put on their body, whose
bodies will never be taken to a mortuary, there'll
never be a casket purchased for them, there'll
never be a funeral service held for them. I'm
not worried about what kind of shroud I'm going
to wear. I mean that. I'm not worried about what
kind of a casket I'm going to have not on your
life, my friend. I'm looking for that glorious
time of catching up. For whosoever liveth is
alive when I come back. And we're so near the
end of this dispensation that there are those
living this very hour. To whom this refers. who
will never taste death in the sense that Moses
tasted death, are those whose bodies have been
laid to rest in the cemetery. And whosoever liveth
and is alive when I come back and believeth in
me shall never die. They shall never taste death.
Hmm? And that's why on the Mount of Transfiguration,
there was Moses who had tasted of death. But
at the time of the great catching up, remember
those who died in the Lord shall be raised first.
And he was the type of those who died in Christ.
Next follows the translation of the living saints.
And there are those who are listening to me this
very moment to whom this applies. Know that.
Who are alive and believeth in me shall never
die. Hallelujah. God bless you.