Spring 2003
The Closing Out of the Church Age
Luther Cronrath

The “coming” of the Lord is two fold in nature. He will first reveal Himself to His people. After this He will be manifested to the entire world as the King of all kings.

Between these two appearances are the end-time judgments of God, which will lead into the third day, the Millennial Kingdom. This is a part of the restoration of mankind to the original intention of the Lord, when He formed Adam and gave him dominion over all that was created upon the earth.

The first day began with the transgression of Adam, and ended when Jesus came on the scene. The second day includes all that Jesus said and did, and the ministry of the Church, until the day when He returns in all His glory.

During the second day, the Church age, Jesus is in the mist of His Church.

“And I turned to see the voice that spoke with me. And having
turned, I saw seven golden lamp stands; And in the midst of
the seven lamp stands I saw one like the Son of man, clothed
with a garment down to the feet, and tied around the breast
with a golden band.” Rev 1:12-13.

After His resurrection, Jesus appeared to His people, but no one else saw Him. In II Thess 1:10 we read that He will first be glorified in His saints, during the time of His return.

“When He shall come to be glorified in His saints and
to be admired in all those who believe.” II Thess 1:10a.

The primary purpose for Jesus coming to His Church first, is to prepare overcomers within the Church for their part in the judgments of God upon the earth.

The second reason for His coming to His Church first is to cleanse, purify, and prepare a Bride for Himself from within the Church.

Following this is the revelation of the Son of Man to the entire world for the final judgments which will lead to the establishing of the Kingdom of God. It is important for us to understand that the second coming of Jesus cannot be separated from the establishment of the Kingdom.

This fulfills the word concerning dominion, which the Lord spoke to Adam when He created him. Adam was to have dominion over the earth, and all that exists on it. This dominion was forfeited to Satan and the principalities who presently rule from their usurped place in the heavens.

Thus, the purpose of the end-time appearances of Jesus to His Church is the preparation of those within the Church, who as overcomers, will reign with Him as the King of all kings.

“And preaching the gospel to that city … calling on them
to continue in the faith, and that through much tribulation
we must enter into the kingdom of God.” Act 14:21-22.

It is through “tribulation” that we are prepared for the Kingdom of God. This word means “to put pressure on,” as in being tested and proven. This is more than the many daily pressures (tribulations) that we face in our lives. There is a “great tribulation” in which an intense pressure from the enemy will come against us. If we are not presently feeling a measure of this pressure, then we may be less than fully committed to the Lord.

Therefore, there is a positive confession that each of us should make - “Lord, no matter what you may allow in order to perfect my life for Your purposes, I totally submit myself to You, and to these things.”

It is very important that we understand that these pressures are not the result of the Lord being angry with us; nor are they punishment. Rather, He is seeking to produce a quality within us that will enable us to stand and endure in that day.

“And immediately after the tribulation of those days,
the sun shall be darkened and the moon shall not give
her light, and the stars shall fall from the heaven, and
the powers of the heavens shall be shaken.” Matt 24:29.

This does not mean that the sun will no longer give light, or that the moon will cease to shine at night. Rather, this refers to a change in the authorities of the spiritual world.

Revelation 12:3-4 tells us that these stars which fell from the sky are fallen angels; the principalities, powers, and rulers of the darkness, in this present age. They will loose their authority and power in the time of the second coming, which authority and power will be given to the overcomers.

This is a prelude to the judgments of God, which are about to take place.

“And then the sign of the Son of man shall appear in the
heavens. And then all the tribes of the earth shall
mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the
clouds of heaven with power and great glory.” Matt 24:30.

After the Lord removes this usurped authority from these fallen angels, His sign will appear in the sky. When the Son of Man appears, all the tribes of the earth will mourn as a result of seeing Him. That which they had chosen to not believe will have become a reality, and now they must face the consequences of their rejection of Him.

Before this appearance, the demonic forces will have had their authority suddenly taken from them. Thus, when Jesus is seen by all the world, the ungodly will have been stripped of the authority which they had while under the control of Satan. They had denied and maligned Jesus; now they will mourn, for they will see Him for who He really is.

“But of that day and hour no one knows, no, not the
angels of heaven, but only My Father.” Matt 24:36.

There is a wisdom as to why God did not reveal a time or date when Jesus will return. Had He done so, we could put off getting ready until almost that time. The disciples had asked when this would take place. The answer Jesus gave was to explain the circumstances that would exist at that time.

“But as the days of Noah were, so shall be the
coming of the Son of Man.” Matt 24:37.

Thus, His return will be in a time that is similar to the days in which Noah lived.

“For as in the days before the flood, they were eating
and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until
the day Noah entered into the ark.” Matt 24:38.

They were occupied with the every day things of life, and laughed at Noah for building a boat on dry land. When Noah entered the ark, it was God who shut the door of protection. The people did not understand until it was too late, when the flood came and took them away. It will be this way again, at the coming of the Lord.

“Then two shall be in the field; the one shall
be taken, and the other left.” Matt 24:40.

The meaning of the word “be taken” is “to be taken hold of, embraced, and become associated with someone (Jesus).” The word for “left” is a word which means “to be forsaken.” It is very important that our understanding of these words is correct.

There will be another holocaust. But this time it will not be a flood, but rather, a fire. This fire will result in the complete destruction of all that the greed of man, through the deception of the devil, has accomplished upon the earth. It will be wiped clean by fire.

During this time, the Son of God will embrace His people. Just as those eight people were spared in the universal destruction of all mankind by water, the Lord will save the redeemed in the midst of the fire, but He will forsake the rest. It is those who have rejected Him that will be gone, or destroyed in this fire.

Matthew chapter twenty five compares the Kingdom of Heaven to ten virgins who went out to meet their Bridegroom. Of these, five were wise and five were foolish. Those who were wise did not know the time of His coming, but were ready. The foolish put off becoming ready, until it was too late.

Then when the Lord came at an unexpected time, the foolish asked the wise for some of their oil, but were told to go and buy for themselves. In so doing, they missed the time of entrance into His Kingdom. Thus, the important thing at this present time is for us to become ready, in anticipation of His return.

Jesus is about to return to establish His Kingdom on the earth, and those who are overcomers will reign with Him as instruments of His judgments, which will lead to our ruling with Him in the Millennial Kingdom.

Regardless of our view of these things, there is one thing on which we all agree; Jesus is coming soon.