ise from their graves!Scripture outlines God’s end-time plan. It also says an enemy will try to sabotage that plan. Speakingabout the appearance of false christs, Jesus warned in Luke 17:23,24, NIV: “Men will tell you, ‘There he is!’or ‘Here he is!’ Do not go running off after them. For the Son of Man in His day will be like the lightning,which flashes and lights up the sky from one end to the other.” Charismatic figures will arise in the last daysand claim to be Christ. Their miracle-working powers will seduce many people. They’ll gain large follow- . . .2ings, and people will come to you excitedly, with glowing faces, and say, “We’ve seen Christ face-to-face!There He is! Come and see Him.” And what are we told to do? “Don’t go running off after them.” Christwon’t suddenly appear on a talk-show in New York or as a miracle-worker on the streets of Paris. He won’trise up from somewhere down here—He’ll be coming down from up there.People can fake miracles; people can claim to be Christ. Even Satan himself, who can masquerade asan angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14) may try to impersonate Christ. But no one can counterfeit theSecond Coming as the Bible describes it. It will be unmistakably real. When the heavens above us explodeand ten thousand angels lift their voices, and the unspeakable glory of God Almighty breaks through theclouds, no one will wonder who has come calling!Some have misinterpreted a few Scripture texts and built up the picture of a Secret Rapture, whereindividuals are whisked away to heaven while others go about their business. The Secret Rapture theory reliesprimarily on a few texts that speak of Christ coming like a thief in the night. We’re told to watch and be readyfor the unexpected event. On the surface this seems to imply a secret, perhaps invisible, event. But all theBible passages which discuss Jes...
