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The most popular views of Bible prophecy confuse the difference between Jesus’ ascension into Heaven and His future return to the earth. Of course, everyone regards them as two separate events. That’s not where the confusion lies.
The mix-up occurs when pastors assign the outcome of Jesus’ Second Coming to that of His ascension. They say the Lord received His inheritance of an earthly kingdom when He left the earth, which makes the church the promised realm of Scripture rather than Jesus’ future rule over the nations.
I first noticed this confusion of Jesus’ going with His coming while listening to a sermon on Acts 1. The pastor claimed that Jesus fulfilled the words of Daniel 7:13-14, quoted below, at His return to heaven when a cloud obscured Him the sight of the disciples.
I saw in the night visions,
and behold, with the clouds of heaven
there came one like a son of man,
and he came to the Ancient of Days
and was presented before him.
And to him was given dominion
and glory and a kingdom,
that all peoples, nations, and languages
should serve him;
his dominion is an everlasting dominion,
which shall not pass away,
and his kingdom one
that shall not be destroyed. (Emphasis added)
Did Jesus fulfill the words of these verses after He ascended into the clouds? Was it at this time He received “dominion” over “all peoples, nations, and languages.” No, it was not! And as we will explore later, the fact that there’s a future fulfillment to the above passage is over-the-top great news for us as New Testament saints.
But first, allow me to clarify why these words of the prophet Daniel refer to Jesus’ coming “with the clouds” rather than His going with “a cloud” (Acts 1:9).
Jesus Establishes His Kingdom at His Coming
Why do we believe Jesus will fulfill the words of Daniel 7:13-14 at His coming rather than at His going?
First, the universal worship of the Lord, depicted in verse 14, did not happen after He left the earth or at any time since that time. There has never been a time when “all peoples, nations, and language” serve the Lord, nor will occur at any time before Jesus returns in glory.
Yes, the Gospel has spread across the planet, but the church age is not the time when all everyone on earth worship and serve Jesus, just the opposite is true. The Lord warned that the hatred and persecuted He experienced would continue to be manifest against His disciples (John 15:18-20).
Please also note that in Daniel 2:44-45, the prophet pictures the arrival of the Lord’s future realm as breaking “in pieces all those kingdoms.” This did not happen after Jesus’ ascension. It did not happen on the Day of Pentecost. It did not happen during the first century AD. It awaits a future fulfillment.
The idea of the Messiah ascending back to Heaven after His work on earth does not in any way fit with Daniel 7. This chapter is all about a succession of earthly kingdoms, the killing of a world leader referred to as “the beast,” and the arrival of God’s kingdom on the earth. The notion of a spiritual realm is totally foreign to God’s revelation of the succession of human kingdoms climaxing with that of the “Son of man.”
Next, consider that Jesus said he would fulfill the words of Daniel 7:13-14 at His “coming on the clouds of heaven” (Matthew 26:64, emphasis added). Notice that He did not say this happen when He left the earth, at His going. Jesus’ words are clear; the fulfillment of Daniel 7:13-14 happens at His “coming.”
Writing in approximately AD 95, the Apostle John confirmed that it’s at His return to the earth that Jesus fulfills the words of Daniel 7:13-14. Pay close attention to the definitive nature of the wording of Revelation 1:7:
“Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen” (Emphasis added).
Just as Jesus said at His trial before the Sanhedrin, John tells us that it is when He comes with the clouds that He fulfills the words of Daniel 7:13-14.
Lastly, the words of Revelation 19:11-20:10 also verify that it is at Hie return to the earth that He crushes the world forces allied against Him (fulfills Daniel 2:44-45) and begins his one-thousand year kingdom rule over the nations.
Our Glorious Inheritance
Scripture does not leave us guessing as to the nature of our inheritance; we learn a lot more about its nature throughout Scripture. What follows is a brief sampling of the wonders of our future inheritance:
The Lord rules with a “rod of iron” signifying that justice will prevail everywhere on the earth (Psalm 2:7-9; Isaiah 11:1-5; 32:1). Injustice ceases to exist on the planet earth during His rule.
An angel places Satan in a “bottomless bit” from which he cannot escape, oppress the saints, or oppose the Lord’s agenda for one-thousand-year years (Revelation 20:1-4).
Wars cease to exist throughout the thousand-year duration of His rule; peace prevails in every corner of the planet (Psalm 46:8-10).
Jesus returns nature to its original pristine condition as evidenced by harmony in the animal kingdom (Isaiah 11:6-9; Romans 8:19-21).
People enjoy long lifespans such that they consider death at age one hundred a premature death and attribute it to sin (Isaiah 65:20-25).
Christ rules over all the nations from Mount Zion (Psalm 48:1-8; Zechariah 14:8, 20-21).
“All peoples, nations, and languages. . . serve” the Lord Jesus (Daniel 7:14).
If you think the kingdom promised throughout the Old Testament is the church, read the above list again.
There’s another reason for rejoicing over this kingdom to which we are coheirs in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:16-18), although at first, it sounds like very bad news.
In 1 Corinthians 15:50, Paul tells us that it is impossible for us to inherit our promised kingdom with “flesh and blood” bodies. In other words, we cannot receive our inheritance in this life, in our current state.
However, the apostle quickly follows the seemingly bad news with the good news that Jesus will solve our dilemma by giving us incorruptible and immortal bodies at His appearing (1 Corinthians 15:51-55; see also Philippians 3:20-21). He will make us fit to be coheirs with Him of the kingdom. Jesus will do the impossible and as a result, we will not only reign with the Lord in His kingdom, but we will do so with sinless imperishable bodies that will never age, suffer, or get sick.
Can you see why this is such over-the-top thrilling news for us? It’s the difference between saying our current experience in a world filled with violence, corruption, certain death for us, and lawlessness is our inheritance from the Lord versus a time when we will reign with Jesus clothed in incorruptible bodies during which time all nations will adore and serve our Savior.
Is it any wonder why we long for the moment we will meet Jesus in the air and our experience of eternity begins (1 Thessalonians 4:15-17)? But can you also imagine the excitement of being with the Savior as He returns with electrifying power and triumphant to a world that rejected Him long ago and has done so ever since? Both events will fill us with more joy than we can imagine.
My book, Invitation to a Lavish Feast – Wisdom’s Path to the Pre-Tribulation Rapture, is available on Amazon or on SkyWatchTV. In it, I take the reader on a journey showing how the words of Scripture verify our beliefs in not only the restoration of Israel, but also our hope in Jesus’ soon appearing to take us home to glory. Jesus’ appearing is the pre-Tribulation Rapture.
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