Rabbi Gary continues to consider the promise of Messiah's coming again. Acts 1:9-11 records the ascension of Messiah into the heavens. As Luke records the event, he focuses attention upon what the disciples saw. In verse 9 we read the phrases, "while they were looking," and "a cloud (the Shekinah glory) took Him up away from their sight."
Then in verse 10 we find the phrase, "while they were staring into the sky," followed by the word "suddenly" which means "something to pay close attention to." And then "two men dressed in white," no doubt angels, ask the disciples a rhetorical question: "Why do you stand looking straight into the sky?" They go on to say that "this Yeshua" will return "in this way in which manner you saw him going into heaven" (vs.11).
With the emphasis on what the disciples saw, coupled with the phrase, "in this way in which manner" which means "in the very same way," there can be no doubt that what is meant is nothing short of a visible and bodily return of Messiah. Not only are we to expect that Messiah will return visibly and bodily, but his return will also be personal.
The Lord's coming will also be in two stages or phases.
The first is his coming to the clouds when the believers "in Messiah" will be "caught up" to "meet the Lord in the air" (I Thessalonians 4:17). In essence this is his coming for his own. This coming of the Lord is popularly referred to as the "rapture" of the believers. The word "rapture" derived from the Latin word for the Greek "to be caught up."
The second stage or phase of Messiah's coming is his coming to the earth to establish his kingdom, fulfill his promises to Israel and reign over the nations of the earth.
Our Messiah is coming again and he's coming soon. Are you ready for him when he comes? If not, you can be. Simply acknowledge your need for him. Your need for the forgiveness of your sin. And receive his atoning sacrifice for your sin, accepting him as Messiah and Savior.
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