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.
The Arnold Journey 