The Stages of Christ's Ascension and Return (Part 9)

Verses often do not provide timeline context

I'd like to draw your attention to an important concept before we get into the next stage of Christ's return. This concept will become relevant as we continue in this study.

It is crucial to understand that verses often do not provide timeline context. As we study and piece multiple scripture together, one would gain the information necessary to discover if there is, and if any, what the timeline is between verses. Let's have a look at what I'm referring to in our key verses,

1 Thess.4:16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:  

1 Cor.15:51-52 Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed [raptured], 52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump:

As already discussed in previous posts, the 'shout' and the 'moment' in the above verses relate to the Body of Christ and define the event of the instantaneous secret rapture before the Tribulation. As part of the next stage of Christ's return, we have the 'voice' and the 'twinkling of an eye'. This is the visible and resurrection-based rapture event of the 144000 and possibly the tribulation saints at the mid-point of the Tribulation. However, what one does not see in this verse is the hidden period of time between these two events. There will be 3 1⁄2 years spanning the 'shout/moment' and the 'voice/twinkling', and another 3 1⁄2 years between the 'voice/twinkling' and the trumpet sound. Yet, if one does not study the scriptures and know about the timing of the three rapture/resurrections and the Tribulations between them, one will never know the timeline context.

Does the Bible present this 'hidden timeline' in other verses? Absolutely YES! There are many other scriptures that can be misunderstood if one does not read it in the proper context and have knowledge of supporting verses that can bring fuller detail and understanding to the underlying topic. Let me present you with another example. Read this verse and see if you can identify any hidden timeline within it.

John 5:28 Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, 29 And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.

We have two verses in the above passage, but there is a huge amount of time spanning between the two resurrections in verse 29. If you do are not familiar with the doctrine of the resurrections and have no insights into when they occur, you will never realize that there is a huge gap of time in this passage. The passage should actually be understood in this light,

John 5:28 Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice [at the 2nd Coming of Christ at the end of the Tribulation], 29 And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life [at the end of the Tribulation]; [ <--- then a 1000-year gap ---> ] and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation [at the end of the the Millennial Kingdom].

Green dots represent resurrection of life and damnation,
with 1000-years of Millennial Kingdom living between them.

Rev.20:4 …and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. 5 But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished.

Reading the Bible without a deeper understanding of what the verses actually mean can cause one to lose a lot of context. This is why it is so important to study the Bible and become familiar with the general overview of Gods great redemption plan. It is often times necessary to piece together multiple scriptures in order to really understand the full context of these time sensitive passages. Of course this concept applies to many other scenarios and events in the Bible too.

As we progress through the return of Christ, one will see more scriptures of this nature; scriptures that in a single verse can span many years. It is imperative that we see these verses based on their true context, else you miss the truth or you skew the verses and end up in confusion or misinterpretation.

In our next post, we will continue with the stage of Jesus' return when He appears in the clouds at the end of the Tribulation.