Following is the introduction to my book "THE CLOUDS OF HEAVEN".
It includes a summary of what is in the book. If
you read
the summary in this introduction, you don't need to read my book to get
the message.
What
is this book all about? It's
about listening to Jesus. We
need to listen to His every word because
Jesus never wasted His words. He
never
made casual remarks about anything and that includes the weather and He
was not
just predicting a stormy day when He returns with the clouds of heaven.
If He thought it was
important enough to
mention His coming in or on clouds several different times, they are
not just
normal water vapor clouds. There
is
something special about those clouds of heaven.
The
gospels record Him saying how He will be
coming on the clouds or with the clouds of heaven five or six different
times.
John did not mention
it in his gospel but he
did in his book of Revelation. Why
all
the clouds? What have clouds got to do with anything? Why
are they also mentioned in the Old
Testament scriptures? Even
Daniel
mentioned them, saying, "And
behold, with the clouds of heaven One like a Son
of Man was coming , And He came up to the Ancient of Days And was
presented
before Him"
(Daniel 7:13).
Do
the scriptures say something that might
help us understand what Jesus is telling us? When
we look at those scriptures and put them
together, we can begin to see some interesting things. Why does the scripture
include that statement
about a cloud receiving Jesus when He ascended? If
it was just a normal cloud, He would have
ascended "into a cloud". Scripture says that cloud "received
Him"
(Acts 1:9).
Would a cloud
receiving Him indicate that the
cloud had some ability to accept Him?
Paul
tells us about how Jesus will be
returning. He did
not mention Jesus
returning in clouds or with the clouds of heaven but he did say how He
would be coming with all His
saints (1 Thessalonians
The saints will be coming back with
Jesus and their
bodies will be resurrected. Jesus
will
resurrect their bodies and they will ascend together with the faithful
who are
still living at that time. They
will be
"caught
up together
with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air".
Paul did not mention
Him coming with clouds
but he does say that He will be coming with the saints and they will be
caught
up in the clouds.
Is Paul saying the same thing that Jesus said when He said that He would be returning with the clouds of heaven? Are they both saying that Jesus will be returning with the spirits of the saints? Are they speaking of the same returning?
Some
Christians believe that Paul is speaking
of an event (The caught up) that will take place long before Jesus
returns with
the clouds of heaven to judge the nations. From the
prospective
of our lesson it does not matter. We will see that a little
later.
In
chapter 11, when the Hebrew writer spoke of
the departed faithful, he ended the chapter saying that they could not
have
been made perfect apart from us. He
continued his discussion about them in chapter 12. Remember,
he said, "since
we have so
great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us".
The Greek wording
says cloud, not crowd. The
departed faithful are a cloud around us.
Is
he saying that cloud is made up of the
spirits of the departed faithful? When
he wrote those verses, the faithful of old had long since died and
their bodies
were sleeping in the ground. Was
he not
speaking of a cloud of spirits of those made perfect, surrounding the
brotherhood
of the church? Do
they surround us as a
cloud, cheering us on to victory? Did
they first see Paradise and know by sight the great prize that is
waiting for the faithful. Would
that
make them cheer all the more for
us?
John
wrote of the death of Jesus, saying, "Jesus
knowing that
His hour had come that He would depart out of this world to the Father" (John
13:1). Just
before He died, Jesus said,
"Father,
INTO YOUR
HANDS I COMMIT MY SPIRIT" (Luke
Did
other
spirits also go to the Father that day? Jesus
told the confessing thief on the cross that he would be with Him in
Jesus
told the thief that they were going to
Some
scholars say no. Based
on what Peter said
about Christ’s soul
not having been abandoned to Hades (Acts
Paul spoke of the time
when he was “caught
up into
How could Christ be in two different
places
between the time of His death and His resurrection?
We will see how Christ was actually in three
different places after He died.
There
is no doubt about the fact that Jesus
went to
Paul
seems to be saying that in chapter 5, of
his first letter to the Thessalonians.
He speaks of being hopeful that God will sanctify them
entirely and then
he says, "may
your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete,
without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ". Paul said that our being
consists of our, “spirit
and soul and
body”. We
hope to be
preserved complete in all three when He comes.
Regarding
the resurrection of Jesus from the
dead, Paul says, “But
now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of
those who are asleep.”
(1 Corinthians 15:20)
Paul
says that Jesus had been asleep but He
was then raised up. His
body slept but
not His Soul and Spirit. Christ’s
Body,
Soul and Spirit were separated when He died.
His body was placed in the tomb but His Spirit ascended to
the Father
when His Soul descended into Hades.
The
Father, however, did not abandon His Soul to Hades.
He brought it up when Christ’s Spirit
returned at the resurrection.
Should
not the same thing happen for the
brothers of Christ? If
Jesus was raised
as the first fruits of those who are asleep, then, there are later
fruits. Christians
are the later fruits. They
have also become sons of God. Will
they not be made complete in spirit and soul
and body when He returns? Between
the
time of their death and His coming, however, their bodies will be
asleep in the
tomb and their souls will be in Hades.
Will their spirits not have seen
Did it not happen to Stephen when he died? He was brought before the council to answer for preaching against Moses (Acts, chapter 6). When he spoke of seeing the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God, they drug him out and stoned him. Just before his body fell asleep, he called on the Lord and said, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!" His spirit went to be with Jesus when his body fell asleep. Will it not happen for all of the faithful?
If
Christ's Spirit and Soul and Body were separated
at His death, but were reunited at His resurrection, will not the same
thing
happen with the later fruits, the other sons of God?
If so, they will be made complete when He
comes. Our goal is
to be made complete
and without blame, in spirit and soul and body, when He comes.
The
perfect Spirit of Christ went to the
Father when He died. Were
the ancient
faithful, who had died previously, also made perfect and were their
spirits
allowed to go with Jesus into
We said previously that, from the prospective of our discussion, it did not matter whether or not the "caught up" will take place on the last day or many years before that. That is true because the "caught up" has not happened and the faithful dead have not been raised. If their bodies are still in the tomb and their souls are resting in Hades, their spirits are with Jesus.
His
Spirit is in heaven but it is also out with us in His tabernacle, the
church on earth. Paul tells us that we are sons of God and
that “God
has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts,
crying, "Abba! Father!"
(Galatians
4:6) His Spirit is within us and
it will still be with our spirit after we depart this life.
In chapter 10, the Hebrew writer will say how, "the Law, since it has only a shadow of the good things to come and not the very form of things, can never, by the same sacrifices which they offer continually year by year, make perfect those who draw near". God demands perfection (without blame). Those ancient faithful ones could not be made perfect by those sacrifices. At the cross, they have been made perfect with us by His blood.
If we have been made perfect and blameless (When He comes) by faith in Jesus, we will be allowed to draw near into the Father's home and we will be allowed to see His face.
The
Psalmist
spoke of his being allowed to see God’s face when he is raised. He said, "As
for me, I shall
behold Your face in righteousness; I will be satisfied with Your
likeness when
I awake"
(Psalms
The
old covenant and its Law could never
provide perfection. The
Law of Moses
only had the shadow; it did not have the true form of reality. Their old covenant
tabernacle worship was a
part of the shadow. That
writer tells us
how those priests were serving a copy and shadow of the heavenly
(Hebrews 8:5).
They worshipped at a
tabernacle that was the copy. We worship at the
true tabernacle.
The
body of Christ is the church and it is
God's new covenant dwelling place. The
Hebrew writer tells us (chapter 9) that Christ entered through a more
perfect
tabernacle, not made with hands and not of this creation. He will also say
how the old tabernacle holy
place made with hands was a
"mere
copy"
of
the true one
(Hebrews
Christ
is our High Priest and He is now seated at the right hand of the Father
in the true tabernacle Holy of Holies (Hebrews 8:1). The
church on earth is the true tabernacle
outer room. Christ
went through the
outer tabernacle room of His flesh on earth and now serves in the inner
room by
the Father. Jesus
is seated by the
Father, serving as High Priest in the inner room Holy of Holies as we
serve in
the outer room holy place.
If the old tabernacle and its worship were caused to come about as an earthly copy, did the glory cloud on that old tabernacle foretell a glory cloud on our tabernacle? The Spirit of the LORD was in that old covenant cloud. His Spirit has been poured out on those in our outer room. If our tabernacle has its glory cloud does it contain all of the departed spirits of those made perfect by His blood?
If
the departed faithful have been made perfect and have become one spirit
with
Christ (1 Corinthians
They
have been made one with Him and brought into the glory of Christ.
We
read from Hebrews 12:1, how the departed
faithful are a cloud of witnesses around us (the church). When we look at what the
Hebrew writer says
later (In that chapter), he will speak of those who are present in our
church
assembly. He tells
us that we have come
"to
the general
assembly and church of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven". He listed those who are
present and they
include God, the Judge, and Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant and
angels
and "the
spirits of the righteous made perfect".
The
spirits of the righteous made perfect are
present with us in the assembly of the church.
Would it not include the spirits of those departed
faithful that he
wrote of as not having been made perfect apart from us (chapter 11)? Are they not the same ones
who are in the
cloud of witnesses that now surround us (Hebrews 12:1)?
Does that cloud include the Spirits of the
faithful of the new covenant? If
they
are a cloud around us, are they not the glory cloud on our new covenant
tabernacle?
The old covenant story had God's people being brought out of slavery to be led to their land of promise. They were led through that wilderness with the Spirit of the LORD in His cloud of glory leading them. We have been brought out of slavery (to sin) to be led to our spiritual land. The Spirit of the LORD is leading us. Is He not in us (The true tabernacle) and in our glory cloud?
If
we die before we get
there, will our spirit
see Paradise first but return to continue to travel along with our
tabernacle in our cloud of glory (If
we have
been faithful)? Remember,
Jesus said
that believers will never die (John
Under
the old covenant, the ones who fell in
the wilderness never arrived at their land because they were not
faithful. If we are
not faithful, will we be left behind
in our wilderness? If
we remain
faithful, will we not continue to travel along with our tabernacle
toward our
land (After we see
Jesus
will be revealed to the world when He
comes in clouds of glory. Will
the
departed faithful be revealed with Him in those clouds? Paul spoke of that day of
His return. He
wrote saying,
"when
the Lord
Jesus will be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming
fire"
(2
Thessalonians 1:7). Paul
spoke, again,
of that day, saying, "When
Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you
also will be revealed with Him in glory"
(Colossians
3:4). We will be
revealed when He is revealed in
glory. Will it take
place when He comes
with the clouds of heaven?
In the meantime, will those who have been born again of water and the Spirit be set free to blow where they wish after their departure? Remember, Jesus spoke of those born of the Spirit, saying, "The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit" (John 3:8).
We
who have been born again of the spirit will
enter the kingdom but we can't blow where we wish; at least not while
in the
flesh. Is He
speaking of the departed
spirits that are in the cloud around us? Can
they blow like the wind where they wish? Have
the spirits of the departed faithful been
blowing about to the four winds and surrounding God's people wherever
they have
been scattered over this earth? Are
they
blowing around among the scattered assembly of the church?
Some day, Christ will send forth His angels "with A GREAT TRUMPET and THEY WILL GATHER TOGETHER His elect from the four winds, "from one end of the sky to the other" (Matthew 24:31). Was He not speaking of those born of the Spirit? Will they have been blowing about like the wind?
Was Jesus saying the same thing through Ezekiel when he had seen that valley of dry bones become assembled into dead bodies? He was commanded to prophesy to the breath and tell the breath to "Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they come to life" (Ezekiel 37:9). He went on to say "I will put My Spirit within you and you will come to life, and I will place you on your own land".
When
we look at the
Hebrew wording and Strongs Definitions, we see the Hebrew word for
breath is
the same word as the word for Spirit. There
is something else to remember. The
one
who has been joined to the Lord is one Spirit with Him (1 Corinthians
Did not the Old Testament prophets show us the same picture that we read about in the New Testament? Does not Jesus speak to us from the Old Testament scriptures, telling us of the cross and its resulting glory? Peter said, "the prophets who prophesied of the grace that would come to you made careful searches and inquiries, seeking to know what person or time the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating as He predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow" (1 Peter 1:10-11).
When
the
prophets spoke of the cross and the glory to follow, it was really
Christ
speaking. When
Ezekiel spoke of that
valley of bodies being raised up and of God calling the breath from the
four
winds to breathe life into them and then of His bringing them into the
land of
promise, Christ was speaking and He is telling us about the glories to
come. He spoke
through the prophets what He would
later speak in the flesh and through the inspired writers of the New
Testament.
When Ezekiel spoke of how he was commanded to prophesy to the breath and tell the breath to "Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they come to life", was he saying the same thing that Paul said when he spoke of Jesus returning (In 1 Thessalonians, chapter 4)? Paul said He will return, bringing with Him those who had fallen asleep (In Jesus) and then He will resurrect their bodies and they will rise to meet Him. Will that not be the day when Jesus will lead them to their own land?
Will
Jesus not
be returning with the clouds of heaven?
Will
He be bringing the breath from the four
winds when He comes? Remember,
Paul told
the Thessalonians, "may
your spirit and soul and body be preserved
complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ".
Did not Ezekiel, show us the same picture in chapter 1 of his book? Ezekiel saw, a storm wind coming with a great cloud and bright light and continuous flashing fire. Ezekiel will say, "As the appearance of the rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day" and "Such was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD". Was Ezekiel foretelling the Lord's return in His glory clouds?
Could
the appearance
of the likeness of the LORD'S glory that Ezekiel saw be the same as
what Jesus
described about His return? Could
fire
flashing forth be,
"For
just like the lightning, when it flashes out of one part
of the sky, shines to the other part of the sky, so will the Son of Man
be in
His day"
(Luke 17:24). Is
Ezekiel
seeing Jesus sending forth His angels to gather His elect from the four
winds?
Whatever
Ezekiel saw it was not just some
prophet rambling on. This
was not just
Old Testament poetry. It
was Jesus
speaking and He is telling of that day when He will return in glory. Jesus is speaking through
Ezekiel. Ezekiel
was seeing Jesus coming on the clouds
of the sky. He is
seeing Him being
"revealed
from
heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire" - - "when He comes to
be glorified in His saints on that day, and to be marveled at among all
who
have believed"
(2
Thessalonians
Ezekiel foretold it all again in chapter 34. In verse 12, he said, "I will care for My sheep and will deliver them from all the places to which they were scattered on a cloudy and gloomy day". It will be a cloudy and gloomy day for most but a day of glory for those who are called from the four winds to be revealed in clouds of glory.
Those
departed faithful are
there in the
clouds now but they can only be seen by faith. Some
day they will be revealed with Him in
glory. When it
happens, every eye will
see Him coming with the clouds of heaven ("BEHOLD,
HE IS COMING WITH THE
CLOUDS, and every eye will see Him , even those who pierced Him ; and
all the
tribes of the earth will mourn over Him"
- Revelation 1:7) .
Was that old covenant story of that Hebrew nation telling us about our story and our journey? Is their earthly journey with their tabernacle telling us an earthly copy of our story? Paul said that whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction (Romans 15:4). It was written so that we might have hope. We can have hope to live with Jesus in eternal glory but as our earthly tabernacle is still traveling toward our land can we hope to continue to travel with it after we depart this life? After our bodies fall asleep can we travel along in a spiritual glory cloud on our tabernacle like the old cloud was on their old tabernacle?
Remember
what Moses said of that old covenant
cloud; "throughout
all their journeys, the cloud of the LORD was on
the tabernacle by day, and there was fire in it by night, in the sight
of all
the house of
The true house of Israel is the Israel of faith. Those of faith will be able to see that cloud and know it is on the LORD'S tabernacle. We are the LORD'S tabernacle. The spirits of the righteous made perfect are with us in the assembly.
Jesus
will
keep His promise; He truly will be
with us to the end of the age. He will not leave us alone,
even
after
our
bodies fall asleep. He is with those who are serving in the
tabernacle outer room and He is with those departed ones who are in the
cloud around us.
So, how is it that the spirits of the departed saints are now in the clouds around us but Judgment Day is yet to come? How are the departed saints with Jesus, in a cloud of glory if they have not yet been judged? Is it possible that they have been judged?
We
don't know all of the answers but
everything God wanted us to know is in the scriptures. We
do know that all scripture is God breathed
and we know that JESUS IS LORD and He is the Word spoken in the Holy
Scriptures. We know
that all will be
judged and we know that when He returns in clouds of glory, all bodies
will be
raised and the saints will ascend to meet Him in the air. We also know that Jesus will
judge the
nations. He will
judge the nations in
body and soul and the bodies and souls of the damned will be condemned
and cast into
hell.
Will
the saints be judged before the
unbelieving nations are judged? Will
it
happen when we depart this life (Except for those who will still be
living when
He returns)? Was
Peter speaking of that
when he wrote, "For
it is time for judgment to begin with the household of
God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the outcome for those
who do
not obey the gospel of God"
(1
Peter
Peter
included himself
and he said that we, who
are of God's household, will be judged first, before unbelievers are
judged. He also
said the time had come for judgment of
the saints to begin. He made that statement nearly two
thousand years ago.
Did
judgment of the saints begin two thousand
years ago, as the first century saints fell asleep? Were
their souls judged and separated in Hades?
Does the story of
the rich man and
Lazarus tell us that (Luke
A judgment had happened to separate the souls of those two men and it happened before Jesus will come in glory and judge the nations. A judgment of the saints who are still living and serving will happen on that last day but the souls of the departed saints may be judged first to determine where they will dwell until the final resurrection and judgment takes place.
If
the departed faithful have already been judged and selected, then they
have
obtained
eternal life and will not
"come
into judgment but has already passed
out of death into life" (John
I have written this book so that we can listen to Jesus speak from His holy word as He tells us of His return in the clouds of heaven. We must be careful not to go beyond what is written and for fifty years I have tried to meet that requirement but I may have been cutting some scriptures short and not have believed they meant what they said.
Those,
way-out, scriptures are not, way-out, they are right on. Some are hard to understand
and we may not be
able to find answers to all of our questions but we must continue to
search the
scriptures. All
scripture is true and it
will happen, just as Jesus said it will happen.
I
must tell you that I am not from one of the
schools of theology. I
am a retired
engineer and have been a Christian most of my life. It
has only been within the last few
years that I have come to realize how God caused the old covenant
tabernacle
and its worship to happen to show us some things about our spiritual
worship
and our tabernacle.
You
will notice that I have used the New
American Standard translation for the copied scriptures in this book. You may wish to also read
the same scriptures
from the translation that you normally use.
Johnny
Rogers
Revised
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of the cross is from FreeFoto.com
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