THE RETURN 

        On May 31, 2020, two American astronauts boarded the International Space Station from their spacecraft called the “Endeavor”.  Two months later they returned to Earth, landing off the coast of Pensacola, Florida, after they deployed their parachutes. This dramatic return from space by these two American astronauts was the first splashdown from space for many years.

        “Words from Above” in the Bible tell us that over 2,000 years ago, Jesus, the Son of God, left this earth as He was taken up in the clouds of heaven.  Two angels told them that Jesus would return in the same way He left.  Jesus did not ascend to heaven in any kind of a spacecraft, but instead traveled through time and space in a special body that He assumed after His resurrection from the dead.  That body is called in the Bible a glorified body, assumed at the time of His resurrection, and one which we will also assume on a special day called the Rapture.

        Jesus had arrived on Earth in a very miraculous way, being conceived by the Holy Spirit of God and born of a virgin in a small town which was called Bethlehem.  He spent a little over thirty years on the earth, the last three of which He ministered to the people of His day who needed physical and spiritual help.  He healed people from all kinds of sicknesses and all kinds of diseases, including incurable diseases, and He also raised some people from the dead.  He taught about the kingdom of God, and invited people to become a part of that kingdom. 

 The ministry of Jesus ended when He voluntarily sacrificed His life to be crucified on a Roman cross.  He died in order to pay the penalty for the sins of the entire population of the world, and also to provide forgiveness for those sins.  When Jesus returns on the day called the Rapture, He will gather all His followers up out of the earth and take them back with Him to heaven.  He will not only gather His followers out of their graves, but in addition He will also gather up His followers who are alive at the time of the Rapture.

When the American astronauts left for the International Space Station on may 31, they were fully aware that they would be returning in about two months.  However, when Jesus left the earth to ascend up into heaven, He did not know when He would be returning.  Jesus told His disciples that only His heavenly Father knew the date of His return.  What that means is we must be ready for Him to return at any time.