..
Bye-Bye, Beast and Hello, Heaven!
The world will be shocked by the awesome
sights and sounds that will herald Jesus’ Second Coming. When the greatest sign of
all is revealed, Jesus Himself coming in the clouds, supernaturally beaming God’s
power and might around the world, those who have rejected Him and worshipped the Beast
will suddenly realize how very wrong they’ve been. "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" (Revelation
1:7). |
But for those of us who know and love the Lord,
His return will bring us greater joy and deliverance and freedom than we have ever known!
All God’s children who have died through the ages will be miraculously resurrected in
new supernatural bodies, bursting out of their graves and ascending to meet Jesus in the
air. Those of us still alive on earth will be instantly transformed with new bodies as
well, and we’ll soar into the clouds to meet the Lord! Jesus will snatch His people
out of the reach of their anti-Christ persecutors and whisk them away to the grandest,
most thrilling victory celebration that’s ever been held — an event known as the
Marriage Supper of the Lamb in Heaven! (Revelation 14:14-16; 19:6-9).
Meanwhile, the horrific wrath of God will be
poured out upon the Beast’s forces, a time so terrible that the Bible says, "In
those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death
shall flee from them" (Revelation 9:6).
The superhuman hosts of
Heaven will then return to earth, led by Jesus, to defeat and destroy the Beast and his
wicked one-world empire in the dreaded battle known as Armageddon. The focal point
of this great slaughter will be in and around the valley of Megiddo, near Haifa, Israel
(the Hebrew word Armageddon literally means the height or mount of Megiddo). It will mark
the end of man’s cruel rule on earth, as God Himself, through Jesus Christ, the King
of kings and Lord of lords, and His heavenly forces take over the world to rule and reign
and run it the way it should have been run all along if man had not disobeyed God
and gone his own selfish way! And so begins a period known as the Millennium, a
thousand years of peace, plenty and paradise on earth (Revelation 19:11-21; 20:1-4).
