The time of the Lord’s secret coming is unknown (3:3; Matt. 24:36, 42; 25:13). When Christ comes again, He will come as a Sent One. Because of this, in Revelation He is called the Angel, One who is sent by God. In His second coming, as in His first, Christ will come as One who has been sent by God. This is the reason that only the Father knows the time of Christ’s secret coming (Matt. 24:36; Mark 13:32). The Father is the Sender and the Son is the Sent One. Only the Sender, not even the Sent One, knows the time.
Some people, seeming to know more than the Lord Jesus, have predicted the time of the Lord’s coming. During the past century and a half, there have been many predictions, none of which has been fulfilled. Some predicted that the Lord Jesus would come on a certain date and charged people to prepare themselves by taking a bath and by putting on clean, white clothing. Others have climbed to a mountaintop to await the Lord’s coming back. After World War I, many teachers published books about prophecy, especially concerning the Lord’s coming back. Some of these writers also predicted the time of the Lord’s coming. All these predictions about the time of the Lord’s coming have been proved false. Be careful not to predict anything. According to the Bible, the time of the Lord’s secret coming is unknown.
The place of the Lord’s secret coming will be in the cloud to the air (10:1; 1 Thes. 4:17). The cloud is related to the Lord’s coming back. Christ went to heaven on a cloud, and He will come back to earth in the same way (Acts 1:9, 11; Matt. 26:64; Rev. 14:14). In Matthew 26:64, the Lord Jesus said to the high priest, “Henceforth you shall see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of power and coming on the clouds of heaven.” Even with the Lord’s coming in the cloud there are two aspects. Firstly, the Lord will come in the cloud. This means that He will be concealed by the cloud. Secondly, He will come upon the cloud. When He comes in the cloud, He will not come to the earth but to the air. Revelation 10:1 reveals that the Lord will come down out of heaven clothed with a cloud, indicating that He will be wrapped up with the cloud. Do not think that He will suddenly descend from the heavens to the earth. Christ is now on the throne in the third heaven. When the proper time comes, the Father will send Him from the throne in the heavens to the cloud in the air. As we shall see in later messages, before He leaves the throne in the heavens, some overcomers will have been raptured to the throne. Revelation 12 shows that the man-child will be raptured, not to the air but to the throne of God. This indicates that some overcomers will have been raptured even before the time of the secret coming of the Lord Jesus. In Revelation 14 we see the firstfruits on Mount Zion in the heavens. Mount Zion in the heavens is where God is in the third heaven; it is not in the air. That the firstfruits will be on Mount Zion in the heavens proves that some of the early overcomers will be raptured to the third heaven before Christ’s secret coming. After these early overcomers have been raptured, Christ will descend from the throne to the air in the cloud secretly.
While He is in the air, the Lord Jesus will do many things. Mainly, He will take up all the believers who have not yet been raptured. After Christ comes to the air in the cloud, many saints will still not have been raptured. Thus, while He is in the air, He will rapture the Christians who have had to pass through the great tribulation. First Thessalonians 4:17 says that they who are alive and remain will be caught up to meet the Lord in the air. Then, in the air, Christ will set up His judgment seat. This judgment will not be for sinners but for all the saved ones, and it will not be concerned with salvation or perdition but with reward or punishment. After this judgment has been executed, some of the saints will be chosen to receive a positive reward.
According to the Bible, God has had two selections concerning us. Firstly, He selected us before the foundation of the world in eternity past (Eph. 1:4); secondly, after the Lord comes to the air and has raptured all the saints to the air, He will make a second selection. While the first selection in eternity past was for salvation, the second selection in the air at the judgment seat of Christ will be for reward. We all have been selected for salvation, but whether or not we receive a reward will depend upon the second selection at Christ’s judgment seat. Those saved ones who do not pass this judgment will be put somewhere to suffer discipline. Christ will then bring the positive ones with Him to the earth as His army. At that time, He will no longer be in the cloud but upon the cloud. Thus, there will be at least two steps to the Lord’s coming. In the first step, Christ will leave the throne in the heavens, come down to the air wrapped in the cloud, and remain there for a time. Then, from the air, He will take the second step of coming to the earth upon the cloud. This will be the second aspect of His coming back.