The Testimony of Angels

This is the 10th in a series of excerpts from What Every Christian Should Know About the Return of Jesus, released by High Street Press and available at Amazon.com. 

Angels proclaim the return of Jesus in at least two New Testament passages. In the first, “two men in white clothes” tell the apostles Christ’s return is to be a mirror image of his ascension, which they have just witnessed. In the second, an angel flies high overhead, announcing to the earth’s inhabitants that God’s hour of judgment has come.

Acts 1:10-11 – While he was going, they were gazing into heaven, and suddenly two men in white clothes stood by them. They said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up into heaven? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come in the same way that you have seen him going into heaven.”

Jesus has instructed his apostles to remain in Jerusalem until they receive the Father’s promise of the Holy Spirit. Thus empowered, they are to be Christ’s witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. Then, Jesus ascends into heaven with a cloud taking him out of their sight (Acts 1:4-9). 

In the apostles’ minds, this may harken back to the ascension of Elijah in 2 Kings 2. After the prophet’s dramatic exit in a whirlwind, accompanied by blazing horses and a chariot of fire, Elisha receives a double portion of Elijah’s spirit to carry on the prophetic ministry. 

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Satan: The Consummate Schemer

The following excerpt is taken from What Every Christian Should Know About Satan. Order your copy in print, Kindle, or Audible versions here.

The apostle Paul writes: “Anyone you forgive, I do too. For what I have forgiven ​— ​if I have forgiven anything ​— ​it is for your benefit in the presence of Christ, so that we may not be taken advantage of by Satan. For we are not ignorant of his schemes” (2 Cor. 2:10-11, emphasis added). 

And: “Put on the full armor of God so that you can stand against the schemes of the devil” (Eph. 6:11, emphasis added).

In each of these passages, Paul points to the evil one’s schemes. First, as believers, we are to educate ourselves about Satan’s plots so we may prevent him from gaining an advantage over us. The Greek word translated “schemes” in 2 Corinthians 2:11 is noemata and basically means “thoughts,” “purposes,” or “designs.” No doubt, these are malicious schemes intended to cause harm. 

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The Rider on a White Horse

This is the ninth in a series of excerpts from What Every Christian Should Know About the Return of Jesus, released by High Street Press and available at Amazon.com. 

There is general agreement among Bible commentators that the rider on a white horse in Revelation 19:11-16 is Jesus. The majority view is that John sees the return of Christ, in which he judges the earth and sets things right. 

The white horse is a sign of Jesus coming in triumph. On Palm Sunday, Jesus rides a donkey into Jerusalem, fulfilling Old Testament prophecy. Historically, for a king to enter a city on a donkey signifies peace rather than conquest. But now, Jesus returns as King of kings. 

It was customary for a triumphant Roman general to parade on the Via Sacra, a main thoroughfare of Rome, followed by evidence of his victory in loot and captives. So, the white horse is a symbol of Christ’s triumph over the forces of wickedness in the world. John is describing Jesus’ coming as the Jews expected him the first time – a powerful military leader.

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The Deceiver’s Quiver

The following excerpt is taken from What Every Christian Should Know About Satan. Order your copy in print, Kindle, or Audible versions here.

The Book of Revelation identifies Satan as “the deceiver,” or “the one who leads astray” (ho planon; see Rev. 12:9; 20:10; cf. 20:3, 8). The idea behind this term is to entice someone to wander, like the sheep in Jesus’ parable (Matt. 18:12-13) or the saints of old forced to wander through a world not worthy of them (Heb. 11:38). As Peter Bolt writes, “The title ‘deceiver’ reflects Satan’s endeavors to lead people away from the love and security of our holy God.

Satan’s role as deceiver is grounded in his character as the father of lies (John 8:44; see Chapter 5). His nature – his every tendency – is to distort the truth so that people made as God’s imagers miss the very purpose for which God designed them. But how, exactly, does the evil one accomplish this? He sports a quiver of fiery darts and launches them strategically. Let’s briefly examine eight arrows the evil one hurls to deceive us.

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Peter and the return of Christ

This is the eighth in a series of excerpts from What Every Christian Should Know About the Return of Jesus, released by High Street Press and available at Amazon.com.

Peter employs many terms to describe the return of Jesus, among them: “the time of restoration of all things,” the appearing of the “Chief Shepherd,” and “the day of the Lord.”

Acts 3:19-21 – Therefore repent and turn back, so that your sins may be wiped out, that seasons of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send Jesus, who has been appointed for you as the Messiah. Heaven must receive him until the time of the restoration of all things, which God spoke about through his holy prophets from the beginning.

The Lord has just used Peter to heal a lame man on the steps of the temple – a miracle that attracts a crowd and gives Peter an opportunity to preach about the Jesus in whose name the miracle occurred. 

Having suffered for our sins, Jesus is now at the Father’s right hand, an exalted position from which he rules with all authority and even heals lame men on earth. However, “the time of the restoration of all things” is on the horizon. 

The world is not as God created it, nor as he intends it to be. The whole creation groans beneath the weight of sin (Rom. 8:22), waiting for the return of Jesus, the creator and redeemer, to set things right. God has revealed all this through the Old Testament prophets, and Peter encourages his listeners to see how the Suffering Servant is also the soon-returning King.

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