Missing the Coming Messiah: A Day of Darkness & Vexation

BY PASTOR JULIAN EJIKEME OKECHUKWU

There is a day to be desired. That is the Day of days when the Lord Jesus Christ will return in glory to this earth. It is the day of unending joy. ‘This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in
it’(Ps.118:24). In His trip to harvest the saints of the Most High from the air at His Second coming, the glory of
the Lord will lighten up the sky throughout the world at once. And all will see it. ‘For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be’ (Mt.24:27; cf.Dan.7:13; Mt.26:64).

Not all humans alive to see this event will be taken. But beholding the unfolding mystery, without being a par­taker, as the Lord Jesus gloriously gathers the saints in the air will def­initely be a kind of tor­ture itself. It is ‘good’ for such one not to be born than to miss meeting the coming Lord Jesus Christ in the air.
That day the loud trumpet of God will sound by the voice of Archangel and the whole world will hear it at once, even the righteous dead will re­sponsively hear. ‘For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first’ (1Thes.4:16). For who­soever that misses meet­ing the coming God’s Messiah in the air, that day will be a day of gross gloom, bitter vexation and utter confusion.
The date is hidden from angels and humans alike. ‘But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the an­gels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father. Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is’ (Mk.13:32,33).
Christ showed that He will be coming like a thief. ‘But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in
what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be bro­ken up’ (Mt.24:43). The suddenness of Christ’s coming underscores the great need for continual vigilance. ‘Watch there­fore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh’ (Mt.24:42,44).
Meeting the Lord be­gins the primary fulfil­ment of our eternal des­tiny in heaven where we will give God pleasure
for ever, for which we were created. It is the ultimate for every soul dead or alive in the flesh.
To some, it will be in the morning, while it will be midnight to oth­ers and, still to others it is going to be an evening event because the daily rotation of the earth makes the people on the globe to be at different times every moment of the day. ‘Watch ye there­fore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning’ (Mk.13:35).
We must therefore be on our toes, watching at all moments for the return of the Lord irre­spective of the activity
being undertaken. ‘I tell you, in that night there shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left. Two women shall be grinding together; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left’
(Lk.17:34-36).
That day, as the Divine mill of grace grinds to a haunting halt, reality will overtake all argu­ments and unbelief. The door of grace is shut for ever. That day will be a day of anguish, sorrow, disappointment, regret and all such inconven­ient happenstances for those who miss life-time gracious opportunity at ‘rapture’. Daily, they will live on earth with the awareness that to escape from impending hell fire will be by the skin of their teeth. They will bear the brunt of the daily terror of the wick­ed men and spirits who hate God.
The worst hit will be Christians who being selective in what they believed follow their worldly pastors, priests and general overse­ers instead of the Word of God. These Church members may have lauded their pastors for teaching them to serve God as it suits their con­venience; just as they wanted, instead of how God desired. But they will be mistaken and stunned seeing their wrong presumptions fail concerning the com­ing Messiah, the Word of God and the loving Creator. The failed ‘men of God’ will be passion­ately hated by their ‘un-raptured’ disciples.(see Gen.7:21-23; 19:24,25).
Be not deceived, therefore. God is not an idol. He is a Living God, all-wise and immeasura­bly intelligent. The Lord knows all things and knows why you are in the Church: whether for heaven or for miracles or to be counted among the ‘good’. ‘Neverthe­less the foundation of God standeth sure, hav­ing this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniq­uity’ (2Tim.2:19).
Now is not late yet. But now is the right time to enquire from God whether your pas­tor or priest is going to heaven.
Ask God whether the pastor and the doc­trines you follow to­day will help you to be taken at ‘…that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ’ (Tit.2:13).
•Pastor Julian Ejik­eme Okechukwu of Christ Manifest Min­istries writes on The Mystery of Christ from Lagos.