Nazarene Israelite Two House Congregation of Port Elizabeth

Messiah is coming soon!

Yahshua our Messiah warned that there will come a time when people will say that He already came, saying in Matthew 24: 26, ‘If therefore they say to you, ‘Behold, He is in the wilderness, do not go forth, or, ‘Behold, He is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe them.’ In fact we see  from 2 Thessalonians 2: 1 – 2 that false teachers started proclaiming the idea ever since His death and resurrection, as follows: ‘Now we request you, brethren, with regard tothe coming of our Master Yahshua Messiah, and our gathering together to Him, (2) that you may not be quickly shaken from your composure or be disturbed either by a spirit or a message or a letter as if from us, to the effect that the day of the Master has come.”We see further from verse 3 how Rav Shaul refuted this false assumption, saying: ‘Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction.’Reading verse 3 carefully, we realize that Rav Shaul warned that there must yet come a further falling away from the truth, before the return of our Messiah Yahshua.

Yahshua Messiah also spoke about a type of deception to occur before His return in Matthew 24: 5, 11, 24 and Revelation 6: 2, as follows: “For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will mislead many. (11)  And many false prophets will arise, and will mislead many. (24) For false Messiahs and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect. (Revelation 6: 2) And I looked, and behold, a white horse (false horse), and he who sat on it had a bow; and a crown was given to him; and he went out conquering, and to conquer.’ The last verse remindsme about the way the Crusaders use to try and spread Christianity – proclaiming a different gospel to the one Messiah proclaimedand killing those opposed to it!  In addition Yahshua the Revelator (as per Revelation 1: 1), used a symbol of a rider on a white horse to depict false ministers and prophets claiming to represent Messiah or His ecclesia, trying to convert everyone they came across.This is what happened during the middle ages when people were forced into ‘baptism’ to become Christians. In Germany and in Portugal, Jewish people were baptized and given new German or Portuguese sounding names such as Schultz, Schiltz and Scholtz; orFerreira, Perreira and Merreira.

The real Messiah will also come on a white horse, but instead of a bow in His hand, He will be returning with a sword coming from His mouth, as witnessed in Revelation 19: 11 – 15, in this way: ‘And I saw heaven opened; and behold, a white horse, and He who sat upon it is called Faithful and True; and in righteousness He judges and wages war, (12)And His eyes are a flame of fire, and upon His head are many diadems; and He has a name written upon Him which no one knows except Himself. (13) And He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood; and His name is called the Word of Elohim. (14) And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses. (15) And from His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may smite the nations; and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of Elohim, the Almighty.’ The sword coming from Messiah’s mouth will be the word of Elohim (the Scriptures) as recorded in Hebrews 4: 12, as follows: ‘For the word of Elohim is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.’ It is important to understand that the perversion of Elohim’s truth marks only the beginning of a long succession of events covering more than 1900 years, concluding when Messiah returns to establish the Kingdom of Elohim. 

Prior to His resurrection, Yahshua made it clear that His Kingdom was not during  the time thatHe was on earth, nor would ever be ‘of this world’, in John 18: 36, saying: “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, then My servants would be fighting, that I might not be delivered up to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not of this realm.” Therefore could any or all of the churches of the world constitute Elohim’s Kingdom as they claim? History reveals that the churches are very much a part of this age! They are busy in political struggles and caused the shedding of much innocent blood. Therefore if the churches of this world constitute the Kingdom of Elohim, then that kingdom is part of this world, and Yahshua Messiah was a liar! When Yahshua’s disciples asked Him if He is going to restore the Kingdom of Israel in their day in Acts 1: 6, He replied in Acts 1: 7 – 8, saying: “It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority; (8) but you shall receive power when the Set-apart Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even the remotest part of the earth.” We see from Yahshua’s answer that the power His disciples were to receive was not of a political nature, but of a spiritual nature, because the Kingdom of Elohim was also not to be set-up at that time.Whilst Messiah was away in Heaven to receive His crown, He gave them and their successors the Set-apart Spirit, because He promised that He will be with them until the end of this age. We see from first Corinthians 15: 50 that the Kingdom of Elohim could not have been established during this age, in this way: ‘Now I say this, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of Elohim; nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.’

Some modern day Christians believe that Messiah will only return after peace and harmony filled the earth for a thousand years. However, this cannot be true since Messiah Himself said in Matthew 24: 21 & 22 that He will return during a time of the greatest tribulation known to mankind, to come and save us from ourselves, as follows: “For then there will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever shall. (22) And unless those days had been cut short, no life would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect those days shall be cut short.” The earth will be in utter chaos, not at peace, before Messiah’s return. Messiah will come to put an end to mankind’s misrule to establish the Kingdom of Elohim on earth. Even though Messiah’s disciples anticipated that the Kingdom of Elohim would be established in their time, as witnessed from Luke 19: 11,in this way: ‘And while they were listening to these things, He went on to tell a parable, because He was near Jerusalem, and they supposed that the  kingdom of Elohim was going to appear immediately.’ Yahshua answered them in verse 12, saying: “A certain nobleman went to a distant country to receive a kingdom for himself, and then return.” Obviously the nobleman in this parable refers to Messiah Himself and the far country refers to heaven where He returned to after His resurrection.

Yahshua told His disciples clearly that He will only receive the kingdom whilst He is in heaven, as is also depicted in Daniel 7: 13 & 14, in this way: “I kept looking in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven One like a Son of Man was coming, and He came up to the Ancient of Days and was presented before Him. (14) And to Him was given dominion, glory and a kingdom, that all the peoples, nations, and men of every language might serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion which will not pass away; and His kingdom is one which will not be destroyed.” The parable in Luke 19 includes the time from Messiah’s ascension to heaven, until He returns one day on a Feast of Trumpets (Yom Teruah) to rule the world from Jerusalem. We understand from reading the parable that whilst Yahshua is away, His servants must remain profitable using and increasing the talents which He gave them, as witnessed in verse 13 of Luke 19, as follows: “And he called ten of his slaves (the lost ten tribes which He came to bring back to the Father), and gave them ten minas, and said to them, “Do business with this until I come back.”’What business should we be about until Messiah returns? We read the answer in Matthew 24: 14, in this way: “And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world for a witness to all the nations, and then the end shall come.”

A short time prior to Messiah’s ascension to heaven, He made it clear that He would only return after a fixed sequence of events. He outlined these events to His disciples on the Mount of Olives in Matthew 24, Mark 13 and Luke 21. According to Luke 21: 34 & 35 Yahshua told His disciples that Elohim’s intervention in world affairs will come suddenly catching most people unawares, saying: “Be on guard, that your hearts may not be weighted down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of life, and that day come on you suddenly like a trap; (35) for it will come upon all those who dwell on the face of all the earth.”In fact Yahshua compared the time of His return to Noah’s day in Matthew 24: 37, saying: “For the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah.”People before Noah’s day did not expect Elohim’s intervention in their lives, as Yahshua explained further in verses 38 & 39, saying: “For as in those days which were before the flood they were eating and drinking, they were marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, (39) and they did not understand until the flood came and took them all away; so shall the coming of the Son of Man be.” It is clear from this that nobody will know the exact timing of Messiah’s return. Even though we know that His return will be one day on the Feast of Trumpets, but we do not know the year of His return. Since we cannot know the year or the exact hour of His return, Yahshua said we will nevertheless know very close to the actual time of His return in verses 32 & 33 of Matthew 24, saying:  “Now learn the parable from the fig tree: when its branch has already become tender, and put forth its leaves, you know that summer is near; (33) even so you too, when you see all these things  (the things Yahshua mentioned in the preceding verses of Matthew 24), recognize that He is near, right at the door.”

Yahshua will return as a thief in the night, as Rav Shaul wrote in first Thessalonians 5: 2 &3, saying: ‘For you yourselves know full well that the day of Master will come just like a thief in the night. (3) While they are saying, “Peace and safety!” then destruction will come upon them suddenly like birth pangs upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.’However, Rav Shaul indicated that true believers should remain alert, so that it doesn’t catch them unawares in verses 4 – 6, saying: ‘But you, brethren are not in darkness, that the day should overtake you like a thief; (5) for you are all sons of light and sons of day. We are not of night nor of darkness; (6) so then let us not sleep as others do, but let us be alert and sober.’Messiah is also pictured as coming as a thief in Revelation 16: 15, in this way:“Behold, I am coming like a thief. Blessed is the one who stays awake and keeps his garments, lest he walk about naked and men see his shame.” This does not mean that Messiah will come invisibly, but it indicates that He comes at night when the household is asleep and catches the residents off their guard.  People never know when a thief is coming, but if they knew they would be prepared for him.

Messiah’s coming would therefore be similar to that of a thief. He will not come invisibly, but He will come unexpectedly. No one will know exactly when He is going to come! This is why Yahshua explained in Matthews 24: 42 – 44, saying: “Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Master is coming. (43) But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what time of the night the thief was coming, he would have been on the alert and would not have allowed his house to be broken into. (44) For this reason you be ready too; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think He will.” So Messiah compared His coming to that of a thief in respect of the time of His arrival with an element of surprise. But we see from Matthew 24: 30 & 31 that Messiah’s return will definitely not be invisible, as follows: “And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the SON OF MAN COMING ON THE CLOUDS OF THE SKY with power and great glory. (31) And He will send forth His angels with A GREAT TRUMPET and THEY WILL GATHER TOGETHER His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.” From verse 27 of Matthew 24, we see that Messiah’s coming will be like lightning, coming from the east and flashing to the west.

We see further from Revelation 1: 14 - 16 why His coming is compared to lightning, in this way: ‘And His head and His hair were white like white wool, like snow; and His eyes were like a flame of fire; (15) and His feet were like burnished bronze, when it has been caused to glow in a furnace, and His voice was like the sound of many waters. (16) And in His hand He held seven stars; and out of His mouth came a sharp two-edged sword; and His face was like the sun shining in its strength.’The phrase ‘those who pierced Him’ as used in Revelation 1: 7 does not mean that the Roman soldier who pierced Yahshua’s side, or the Jews of His day will see Him, but all of humanity alive at His return will – since it was because of the sins of all of humanity that He had to die.  So obviously, nobody will be able to miss his coming. Messiah’s return to earth will be visible for all to see, but there in not a single word mentioning a secret, preliminary rapture of believers to heaven.  Even though some believe that the visible loud coming is a second phase of Messiah’s return. When Yahshua returns on the Feast of Trumpets one day in the near future, the dead in Messiah will be resurrected as described in first Thessalonians 4: 15 & 16, as follows:  ‘For this we say to you by the word of the Master, that we who are alive, and remain until the coming of the Master, shall not precede those who have fallen asleep. (16) For the Master Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of Elohim; and the dead in Messiah shall rise first.’

The trumpet blown here in first Thessalonians 4: 16 is the very same trumpet blown in Revelation 11: 15, where we read: ‘And the seventh angel sounded; and there arose loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Master (YHVH) and His Messiah; and He will reign forever and ever.”’In fact we see from verse 18 of Revelation 11, that Rav Yochanan was inspired to write that the blast of the seventh trumpet will be the time of the first resurrection. Those who believe in the rapture theory claim that the Greek word ‘parousia’ translated as coming in Matthew 24: 27 does not mean ‘coming’ at all. They believe that it refers to Messiah’s ‘secret nearness’ and when His disciples asked him about His coming, they were actually asking for a sign of the ‘rapture’. This brings us to the word ‘parousia’ - which leads to the question: Does it specify a preliminary secret coming after all? The Greek word ‘parousia’ simply means presence or coming and is translated as ‘coming’ in many different scriptures, first Thessalonians being one example. Think for a moment;  if Messiah had gone into such integrate details to answer His disciples’ question in Matthew 24: 3, would He not have mentioned the ‘rapture’ or His ‘invisible presence’ to them? The fact is Messiah is coming to execute judgment at His ‘parousia’ – His visible coming in power and glory to earth!

So far we’ve seen that prior to Messiah’s return, a great tribulation is going to occur on earth. But we see further  from verse 29 of Matthew 24, that His return will also be preceded by heavenly signs, in this way: “But immediately after the tribulation of those days the SUN WILL BE DARKENED, AND THE MOON WILL NOT GIVE ITS LIGHT, AND THE STARS WILL FALL from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.” Yahshua told His disciples in Luke 21: 20 & 21, saying: “But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then recognize that her desolation is at hand. (21) Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, and let those who are in the midst of the city depart, and let not those who are in the country enter the city.”Even though this is what Nazarene believers in Messiah did when Jerusalem was destroyed during 70 CE, the prophecy is also for believers in Judea at the end of the age. If there would be a ‘secret rapture’, Messiah’s followers would not have to be worried about invading armies or anything else for that matter.However, Messiah did promise to keep true believers in His ecclesia safe during the coming tribulation in Revelation 3: 10, saying: “Because you have kept the word of My perseverance, I also will keep you from the hour of testing, that hour which is about to come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell upon the earth.”

A woman symbolizes an ecclesia in the Scriptures. We read accordingly from Revelation 12: 14 – 16, in this way:‘And the two wings of the great eagle were given to the woman, in order that she might fly into the wilderness to her place, where she was nourished for a time and times and half a time, from the presence of the serpent. (15) And the serpent poured water like a river out of his mouth after the woman, so that he might cause her to be swept away with the flood. (16) And the earth helped the woman and the earth opened its mouth and drank up the river which the dragon poured out of his mouth.’ We see that the earth helps the woman, and no mention is made of a secret rapture here. This means the ecclesia of Elohim will be on earth during the great tribulation – not in heaven as supporters  of the secret rapture believe. Even so, when Messiah returns in the same way as He left when He ascended to heaven, His saints – true believers – will come with Him, as recorded in Zechariah 14: 4& 5, as follows: “And in that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which is in front of Jerusalem on the east; and the Mount of Olives will be split in its middle from east to west by a very large valley, so that half of the mountain will move toward the north and the other half toward the south. (5) And you will flee by the valley of My mountains, for the valley of the mountains will reach Azel; yes, you will flee just as you fled before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then YHVH, my Elohim, will come, and all the holy ones with Him!”

This agrees with what Rav Shaul wrote in first Thessalonians 3:  12 & 13, saying: ‘And may the Master cause you to increase and abound in love for one another, and for all men, just as we also do for you;  (13) so that He may establish your hearts unblamable in holiness before our Elohim and Father at the coming of our Master Yahshua with all His saints.’  But reading from first Thessalonians 4: 13 & 14, we see that Rav Shaul wrote about Messiah’s saints who are sleeping in death, in this way: ‘But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve, as do the rest who have no hope. (14) For if we believe that Yahshua died and rose again, even so Elohim will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Yahshua.’ As we’ve read before from verses 15 & 16, those who have fallen asleep in Messiah will be resurrected with the voice of the archangel and the trumpet of Elohim.  Continuing in verse 17, we read: ‘Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Master in the air, and thus we shall always be with the Master.’Both the resurrected dead and those alive (changed to immortal beings) will meet Messiah in the air, but will like Messiah who went up in a cloud when He was resurrected will descend in the same way on the Mount of Olives, as the two angels said in Acts 1: 11, in this way: “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Yahshua, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven.” We see from Mark 8: 38 that Messiah will also be accompanied by His angels when He returns, as follows: “For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.” So not only will Messiah’s saints accompany Him when He returns, but He will also be accompanied by a great army of angels.

When Messiah came almost 2,000 years ago, He came as a lamb to be slain for the sins of the world. But when He comes again, He will be angry and wrathful against all evil, as witnessed in Revelation 6: 15 – 17, in this way: ‘And the kings of the earth and the great men and the commanders and the rich and the strong and every slave and free man, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains; (16) and they said to the mountains and to the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the presence of Him who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the lamb; (17) for the great day of their wrath has come; and who is able to stand.”’  For almost 6,000 years Elohim has given mankind a chance to repent and turn to Him and His ways of peace and happiness. But, even though many say they believe in Messiah, they have refused to follow the perfect example that the Father gave us to follow. Instead men waxed worse and continued to devise forces which are now threatening to destroy all life on earth. As a result, in a similar way as a parent punishes his children that will not obey him, so Elohim is going to punish the world to bring it back to its senses. We read from Zechariah 14: 1 – 3 that Messiah will fight the world’s hate-filled armies when He returns and stand upon the Mount of Olives opposite Jerusalem, as follows: ‘Behold, a day is coming for YHVH when the spoil taken from you will be divided among you. (2) For I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city will be captured, the houses plundered, the woman ravished, and half of the city exiled, but the rest of the people will not be cut off from the city. (3) Then YHVH will go forth and fight against those nations, as when He fights on a day of battle.’

We see further from Revelation 14: 14 - 20 that much blood will be spilled on this day of battle, in this way: ‘And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and sitting on the cloud was one like a son of man having a golden crown on His head, and a sharp sickle in His hand. (15) And another angel came out of the temple, crying out with a loud voice to Him who sat on the cloud, “Put in your sickle and reap, because the hour to reap has come, because the harvest of the earth is ripe.” (16) And He who sat on the cloud swung His sickle over the earth; and the earth was reaped. (17) And another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, and he also had a sharp sickle. (18) And another angel, the one who has power over fire, came out from the altar; and he called with a loud voice to him who had the sharp sickle, put in your sharp sickle, and gather the clusters from the vine of the earth, because her grapes are ripe,” (19) And the angel swung his sickle to the earth, and gathered the clusters from the vine of the earth, and threw them into the great wine press of the wrath of Elohim. (20)And the wine press was trodden outside the city, and blood came out from the wine press, up to the horses’ bridles, for a distance of two hundred miles.’

The Scriptures show clearly that Messiah will come back for all those alive at that time to see. Yes, He is coming back with great power to a world that have rejected Elohim’s way of life, to save them from themselves. His spectacular return to earth will usher in the beginning of His millennial rule on earth. Mankind will finally learn to lead happy, abundant lives under Messiah’s righteous rule. That will be the time when the entire world will receive Elohim’s plentiful blessings. Halleluyah!