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THE EPIPHANY OF JESUS CHRIST
by Jeremiah opusunju Many people have said that they could not see where the rapture of the body of Christ took place in the book of Revelation; this is either because they are ignorant, did not understand or is deliberately overlooking what John stated in the fifth chapter of the book of Revelation. Writing to the Ephesians, Paul said: "grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption" (Ephesians 4:30). This means that God has appointed a day for the redemption (rapture) of the body of Christ. This redemption haven taken place, between the third and the fifth chapter, John wrote: "And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints. And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth" (Revelation 5:8-10). These saints (the royal priesthood or the body of Christ) redeemed from all nations of the earth (by the blood of the Lamb), to be with God in heaven (who will return to reign on earth) sang a new sung in heaven. Note that only the redeemed from the earth sing new sung in heaven (Revelation 5:9 cp. 14:3). As if to frustrate the attempt at concealing the truth that the body of Christ have been redeemed (rapture) from the earth, and that the church age (the dispensation of grace) has ended as a result of this redemption, immediately after the above sung, the entire inhabitants of heaven followed in the worship of the Lamb, then the universal epiphany (the universal unveiling of the Lordship) of Jesus Christ took place. Just like Stephen who: "looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God, and said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God" (Acts 7:55-56); so shall the entire universe look up to heaven and behold the Lamb of God and worship him, after the worship by the body of Christ in heaven. Proclaiming this glorious epiphany, John said: "And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands; Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing. And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb forever and ever" (Revelation 5:11-13). Indeed: "at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father" (Philippians 2:10-11); however this will only happen after the church has been redeemed and the dispensation of grace (redemption by the blood of the Lamb) has been fulfilled. Just as the manna did not cease until the Jews (the church in the wilderness Acts 7:38), got to the Promised Land (Joshua 5:12), so also grace will not cease on earth until the body of Christ has been redeemed to be with God in heaven. After the redemption by the blood of the Lamb, salvation ceases to be of grace and becomes entirely of works, bringing to a close the era of God inhabiting human bodies (1 John 4:15), God will then dwell in the Jewish temple in Jerusalem (Revelation 11:1-3). Therefore, John clearly revealed that the redemption of the body of Christ will precede the epiphany of Christ as well as the unveiling of the seven seals by the Lamb of God. A Nigerian aged 44; Holds a BSc and an MBA degrees in social sciences. A devout christian and a scholar of the scriptures; an anointed teacher of the gospel of Christ. Married with two children Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com |