Mark 13:26-27
Have
you noticed the rise of ‘Tele’ this and that. Telemarketing has been around for
years. You remember, those annoying phone calls around dinner time. I am so
glad that they started the “Do Not Call” Register. Those calls have almost
stopped for me. But that isn’t the only ‘Tele’ around.
You
can attend a teleconference. You sign up, then at the appropriate time you
click the link on your computer and presto, you are attending a conference. You
can watch, listen, and even interact with other participants. This saves time
and money. You can get continuing education credits for professional credentialing
without having to take large amounts of time away from your practice.
You
can go to a telemeeting. You can meet with staff across many states, or even
across the globe. It provides at least some level of connection that would
otherwise be cost prohibitive. Everyone is sitting around a virtual conference
table. Computer screens can be shared so that everyone is able to see exactly
what is being discussed. Documents can be sent back and forth, revised and
edited.
You
can telecommute. You work from home, rather than having to get in your car and
travel to an office, you connect to your work from home, usually by computer
and phone. You are on the clock, and your productivity is checked. You still do
your normal work, but you can do it in shorts and T-shirt.
Telemedicine
is on the rise. Meet your doctor without having to leave the house. They are
even experimenting with doing some laparoscopic surgeries this way. The doctor
is one hospital and the patient is in another. The patient is prepped and
ready. They are placed under a remotely controlled set of laparoscopic devices.
The surgeon moves the equipment and watches from their hospital while the
machine does the operation on the patient at the other.
There
is one thing that will never be ‘tele’, the return of Jesus. It will be personal,
visible, and bodily. We won’t see it on the evening news, or on a simulcast
from around the world. Jesus will actually return in the same way He left
earth. He was actually taken up into the clouds as His disciples watched, and
He will actually return this same way.
There
will be witnesses of this future event. Not everyone everywhere will see Jesus
return in power and great glory. It will be localized. But people on the ground
in that place will see Him return. It won’t be a vision. It won’t be seen only
by a select few, a chosen set of true believers. It won’t happen as the result
of a prayer meeting or a secret conclave. It won’t be seen appearing on a wall
or in a potato chip.
I
know it won’t be a somewhat secret event because it comes in two parts. The
first part is the personal, visible, bodily return of Jesus. The second part is
the sending of the angels and their gathering of God’s people from across the
globe and from eternity. Wherever God’s people are, they will be gathered from
that place. When the angels are sent they will gather. They won’t take their
time and sit around for years waiting. They will accomplish their mission. The
time for waiting is over. Those who have responded in faith to the Good News
will be gathered.
Jesus
returns and gathers His own. The two are connected and simultaneous. This event
is often called the Rapture. The question is not if this happens, but when.
This is the same question the disciples asked. When? I don’t know, but I do
know we must be ready, watching, prepared, praying.