The Rapture and the Second Coming
The rapture, the time when Christ comes for the saints, can take place any moment from now, for the saints and can take place right away-now. But Christ needed to tell the church in Sardis that after the rapture, there is a second coming. The second coming of Christ or the Second Advent is the time Christ comes with the saints to the earth. The Second Advent will take place immediately after the great tribulation.
‘Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him… For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. And then shall that wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming’ (2 Thessalonians 2:1; 7-8).
It is a time all saints will gather together with Christ after great tribulation. By that time, Christ will come to the earth with His saints that were raptured. Once the rapture takes place, the great tribulation will start and last for seven years. That is what Paul spoke of as revealing the wicked and consuming him with the spirit of his mouth. It is the judgment of the wicked to give way for the second coming of the Lord with His saints. Christ needed to tell the suffering saints in Sardis His program for them to encourage them to be steadfast.
‘Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee’ (Revelation 3:3).
Christ’s Warning to Sardis and the Need for Steadfastness
They needed to know that their suffering and holding unto the end is not in vain. He told them to watch over their soul and to contend for their faith to the end. Christians must not give the devil any moment of their lives with unrighteousness. The reason given by Christ is that His coming will be like that of a thief at night. It is going to be imminent, unannounced and sudden.
‘But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be’ (Matthew 24:36-39).
The day, the hour of His second coming and the rapture is not known and no man, not even angel knows the time, day and hour. This calls for serious watch every moment without compromise or lose life. God is warning us through this letter to avoid what happened to the people in the days of Noah from being repeated. This letter is filled with love from Christ to every one of us. God used Noah to preach in his days to warn sinners but they rejected his preaching and despised his words.
Today, God is speaking not through Noah or prophets but through his only son. It will be more destructive and woeful to joke with this letter of deliverance. Few days before the flood of Noah’s days, the devil released great wealth on earth. Testimonies of unbelievers increased and every need was released. There was abundant provision of good things of every need. They were mocking Noah when all his life’s savings was invested for the building of the ark of salvation. The devil released money into the ministry of unbelievers and there was prosperity like never before in the land.
The Condition of the Church and the Call to Righteousness
The unbelievers prospered left and right without restriction. Business opportunities increased and the focus was on the evil activities. Things that will distract people from listening to the message of Noah increased. The devil released marriages he was sitting upon. They despised Noah, his ministry and the preaching of righteousness. Everyone was engaged, too busy for God and Noah was alone in his ministry of righteous living.
Maybe that is your picture in the ministry, the village or city where you live. The message of salvation, sanctification and pursuit for godliness, true power has been abandoned. People are running after prophets and ministers with healing power. They despise righteousness, righteous preaching and run after ministers with fake anointing. That was the condition of the church in Sardis, and that is the condition in our churches today.
‘Thine enemies roar in the midst of thy congregations; they set up their ensigns for signs…. They said in their hearts, Let us destroy them together: they have burned up all the synagogues of God in the land. We see not our signs: there is no more any prophet: neither is there among us any that knoweth how long’ (Psalm 74:4; 8-9).
God’s enemies in the name of ministry have taken over the pulpits in our generation. They received fake prophetic power, defiled healings and polluted miracles. Power and prosperity to divert members from hearing and doing God’s will. They changed God’s true miracles, signs and wonders with demonic transfers to deceive the mind of the simple. They burned up the churches in the land with fake fire. They bewitched people to follow them as they distributed defiled blessings to distract people from God.
Marriage is good, eating and drinking is good but any condition attached to it against God’s word is not acceptable. Christ’s letter to the few remaining contending believers in Sardis is to remind them of what happened in the days of Noah. The fake prosperity, defiled blessings, contaminated marriage breakthrough they got took them away from the true gospel. Deliverance focus for healing, prosperity and many blessing that will not touch souls is fake and unprofitable.