I want to read from Acts 1:9-11. The Lord has already died, on the third day He was resurrected, and He has been on the planet now for 40 days. He is talking to His disciples, teaching them, and now He is getting ready to go back to the Father.

“Now when Jesus had spoken these things, while they watched, He was taken up.” Jesus’ body is now lifting up off the planet. His resurrected body is ascending up to Heaven.

These disciples are in awe, and their eyes are transfixed on their Savior. He is leaving the ground, and the Bible says we will be like Him. Gravity will not contain our resurrected bodies. Isn’t that awesome? He is on the Mount of Olives, and His body is leaving the ground. “He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight.” That means He disappeared in the clouds.

Verse 10: “And while they looked steadfastly toward Heaven as He went up.” They are not moving. “Behold, two men stood by them in white apparel.” They were angels. They were being manifested there in order to get these disciples off that mountain, and to get them to the upper room to be filled with the Holy Spirit.

Verse 11: “Who also said, ‘Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into Heaven? This same Jesus.’” You need to get hold of something right there. In these last days, there are all kinds of people saying they are Jesus. “This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into Heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into Heaven.” It is saying that He will be back.

We not only have a resurrected Lord, but we have a returning Lord. I know ministers will get in pulpits and debate it, but as sure as death could not hold Him, the devil cannot keep Him back! If you know one thing about predestination, He is predestinated to return. He will be back! I believe that.

Turn to John 14 where we will see where the Savior announced it. While Jesus was still on the planet, He was still ministering; and in John 14:2-3, He announces that He will be back. He hasn’t left yet, but He is telling them that He will be back.

Listen to what He says in Verse 2. “In My Father’s house are many mansions.” There are lots of rooms in God’s house. It literally says, “In My Father’s house there are lots of rooms.” Hallelujah! That means, as He was speaking on this planet, there were already lots of rooms in the Father’s house. Then He says something He is going to do.

“In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.” That meant that He was going to leave them, and His purpose in leaving them was to build more rooms for the saved. Can you imagine how many rooms He has been building in the last 2,000 years?

Verse 3: “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.” What He is saying here is that He is going to come and receive us. Remember how He left, and get a glimpse of Him coming back. Before He died, before He was resurrected, before He ascended, He tells His disciples that He is going to go away, prepare a place, and when it is all prepared, “I am going to come again and receive you to Myself.”

It does not say that He is going to come and plant His feet on the Mount of Olives. No, no, no. He said, “I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.” Where He receives us is in the air.

If the Savior announced it, surely you will be able to go into the Scriptures and have it affirmed. Turn to 1 Thessalonians 4:13. He says, “But I do not want you to be ignorant.” Isn’t it amazing that, in the church, we talk about a lot of things but have people in the pews that are ignorant about the Lord’s return?

Verse 13 says, “But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep (those who have died).” Their bodies have died, not their spirits. “Lest you sorrow as others who have no hope.”

I want to ask a question to those of you who don’t know Christ. What do you have hope in? Nothing! You have no hope beyond this life, and our time on this earth is brief when compared to eternity.

Verse 14: “For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again.” Does anybody at Maranatha believe that Jesus died? What did He die for? He died for your sins and my sins. Does anybody believe He was resurrected? Because HE was resurrected, all the dead in Christ are going to be resurrected. If we have a dead Savior, then we are all men most miserable, but MY Savior is alive! He literally came back to life. That’s supernatural.

“Even so (with those two facts that Jesus died and rose again) God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus.” He will bring their spirit body back with Him, and the reason the saints are coming back is for their new physical bodies. Some of this may not mean much to those of you who are young, but the older you get and the more family members and friends you bury, His return becomes important. He is coming for the saints, and it speaks of the resurrection.

His coming will be soon. James 5:8 says, “Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.” His coming is drawing near. He is closer to returning today than He was yesterday. So, Verse 16 tells us that those who died in Christ are coming back for their physical bodies.

Verse 15: “For this we say to you, by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive.” When He comes back, the spirits of the born-again saints are coming with Him; but we who are alive will still be in a physical body. This speaks of the rapture. We haven’t been buried, because we are still alive, so we aren’t going to be resurrected. “For this we say to you, by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep (or dead).”

Verse 16: “For the Lord Himself will descend from Heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.” That means the bodies of those who have died in Christ come up out of their graves, meet their spirits, and now the spirit and the body is joined back together. The Bible says that it all takes place in the twinkling of an eye. It will be swift.

Remember, Jesus is only coming for the saints. It mentions nothing about the lost being resurrected. It says nothing about the unsaved. Yawn if you will, but He is coming soon!

Verse 17: “Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up.” This speaks of the rapture, and the word rapture is not found in the Scriptures. In Latin, the word “rapture” means “caught up.” Verse 17 says that those saints of God that are alive when He comes will be caught up, and caught up means it will happen automatically.

America is populated by a lot of born-again people, but can you imagine the chaos that will transpire in America when the saints are caught up? You may not believe that will happen, but you’re wrong. This is my own personal opinion. The news media is going to have to figure out some secular reason why millions of people are gone. You know they will! My opinion is they will say that we were abducted by aliens.

Where do most young adults today get most of the things they believe? From movies and television, not classrooms; and for years and years and years people have been talking about flying saucers. I can see CNN saying, “Well, we have had an invasion and millions are gone.” Well, excuse me, but how come they are all church folk?

Now, I also believe there will be a lot of church folk left behind; but my opinion is that the world will come up with a reason why millions have left. America will be in total chaos, and I don’t see America anywhere in prophecy. At this point in time, I believe the Word of God tells me that there is nothing that stands in the way of Jesus coming back. What about the antichrist? He doesn’t stand in the way.

There were only two prophecies that had to be fulfilled in order for Christ to immediately come. The first one is that Israel had to become a nation, and that happened in May 1948. That was God. It was a supernatural miracle of prophecy, because Jesus said, “When the fig tree blossoms you had better be watching,” and Israel represents the fig tree.

The second prophecy is when Jerusalem was reunited and controlled by Israel. In 1948, Jerusalem had been divided; but in 1967, Israel took Jerusalem back, and now they control it.

Most of Europe wants Israel to give half of Jerusalem back to the Arabs. All the Arab nations want Jerusalem divided, and even our own government is putting pressure on Israel to divide Jerusalem. Don’t ever give back anything God gave you! So, with those two prophecies already fulfilled, nothing else needs to be fulfilled in order for Christ to come for His church. Nothing! The imminent return of Christ will be like a thief in the night. When Jesus comes and takes the church out, watch out!

Let’s look at 1 Corinthians 15:51. “Behold, I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed.” Those that have died in Christ, their bodies will be resurrected, but the saints that are alive will be changed. How quickly? In a moment; swiftly, suddenly, and selectively; and selectively means only the saints. Swiftly means in a moment. Then I have to tell you how fast this moment is. Verse 52 says, “In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye.” This dying body then becomes a resurrected body.

Go back to 1 Thessalonians 4:17. “Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air; and thus we shall always be with the Lord.” That’s a reunion. In that wonderful meeting in the air, you are going to know everybody. The Bible says, “You shall be known as you were known.” That means you are going to know everybody. Can you imagine that?

It’s also going to be a sad day, because it will be a day of separation. Again, Jesus is coming for the saints. He isn’t coming for the sinners. If you look at Matthew 24:40, it says, “Then two men will be in the field.” That means they’re working. “One will be taken (that’s the saved one) and the other left (that’s the unsaved one).”

Can you imagine the sadness and the sorrow, because those that are left behind are going to be in trouble. The church is what holds this world together. The church that is filled with God’s Spirit is what holds this world together, and when the church is removed, there will be chaos. That is when the antichrist appears. You may not believe that, but I do. So there will be sadness and sorrow because of separation.

The church is called His bride. He is coming to get His bride. Jesus is going to sweep us away. When we leave here, when He comes again, guess where we are going? We are going to a wedding, and when we get there we are going to eat a supper. It’s called the marriage supper of the Lamb. He is coming for His bride, those that have prepared themselves, and He is coming for a church without spot and without wrinkle.

If you look at the church today, we are getting more and more casual. We’ve got our coffee and snack foods in church. We’re not ready for a marriage. You had better clean yourself up! The Savior announces it, the Scriptures affirm it, and the saints are anticipating it. What are YOU anticipating?

Turn to Titus 2:13. “Looking for the blessed hope.” Do you know the Scriptures call His coming “the blessed hope?” I just read to you from Thessalonians where He is coming back and gathering His church in the air.

Turn to Revelation 19:11. “Now I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse, and He who sat on the white horse was called Faithful and True.” We know who that is, don’t we? “And in righteousness He judges and makes war.”

In Thessalonians, He is not coming to make war. He is coming to take His church out; but in Revelation 19, He is coming to make war. Verse 12 says, “His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself.”

Verse 13: “He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God.” It’s Jesus! Verse 14: “And the armies in Heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses.” In Thessalonians, He is coming to GET His church. He is coming in Revelation 19 WITH His church! He is coming for a bride, but in Revelation 19, He is coming with an army!

What is He coming to do? Verse 15: “Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations, and He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.”

Revelation 19 tells me that my Lord and Savior is coming back with an army, the army is the saints of God, and He is going to rule and reign on this planet. He is going to put one foot on the Mount of Olives, the other foot on the Mediterranean Sea, and you are going to see what real government is when it gets on HIS shoulders! That is what I believe.

Back to Titus 2:13. “Looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.” We are looking for the Christ, not the antichrist. I’m looking for Christ. Hebrews 9:28 [KJV] says, “Unto them that look for Him shall He appear the second time.”

We’re not only looking for Christ, we are looking for a city whose builder and maker is God. This is not your home. You’re a pilgrim, a sojourner just passing through. I do, however, believe that you are going to live forever on this earth, because it will be a new earth; and that city we are looking for, the New Jerusalem, will be on this planet.

It says that, in that city, in Revelation 21:4, “God will wipe away every tear from every eye, there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.”  Let me tell you what we are going to leave behind. We will leave Satan, sin, sorrow, and suffering behind.

I’ve got one question. Why hasn’t He come? I believe there is nothing blocking His imminent return, and this is the reason why He hasn’t come? Look at 2 Peter 3:9. “The Lord is not slack (is not lazy) concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but (our God) is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” That is why I believe He is waiting one more day.

The world is trying to explain everything away. They have explanations for the earthquake in Haiti and the earthquake in Chili. There was an earthquake this morning in Oklahoma. They explain it away, but let me tell you what the earth is doing. The earth is groaning. The earth is speaking to us. It’s telling us that He will be back. The earth, the creation of God, is cursed and it’s groaning and telling us that He will be back.

God allowed you to have one more service in order to let you know that He loves you, cares for you, and wants to see you saved.