The In-Between-Time

Jesus Ascension to Heaven

Acts 1:8-11

8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

9 And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight.

10 And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel;

11 Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.

Jesus Return From Heaven

Revelation 19:11-14

11 And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.

12 His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself.

13 And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.

14 And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.

Christians are people who have had their sins forgiven and completely absolved by Jesus Christ. Through their faith and belief in Jesus’ death, burial, resurrection, they become members of His church. The church of Jesus Christ exists between the time of Jesus' resurrection from the grave, over 2000 years ago and his return from heaven, which I believe is in the very near future. In the history of the Bible, the church exists as a very unique group from everyone else who is ever lived. Christians live with the knowledge that they are free from sin. They have the gospel of Jesus Christ as a guiding light for encouragement. The Bible, which is the Word of God, helps to explain His nature to everyone and also explain the future. Christians in the church age are unique from the Old Testament Saints because the Old Testament Saints who did not have this perfect sacrifice of Jesus Christ to cleanse them from their sin. The Saints who lived after the rapture can have their sins forgiven but they must experience martyrdom to do so, as described in the Book of Revelation.

We live in a church age which is coming to a close. The Bible has numerous promises for all Christians who during the church age which should encourage us to look forward to Jesus' return

:

• We shall be part of a royal priesthood:

1 Peter 2:9

But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light;

• We will be resurrected:

1 Corinthians 15:51-52

51 Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,

52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

• We will have immortal bodies:

1 Corinthians 15:53-54

53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.

54 So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.

• Well will never experience pain, sorrow, or sickness again:

Revelation 21:4

4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.

• We will live in paradise in Heaven with Jesus Christ:

Revelation 21:2-3

2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.

• Heaven will be so awesome, our words can’t describe it:

1 Corinthians 2:9

9 But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.

There are numerous descriptions of the future for Christians which are an encouragement to all who are suffering and experiencing the trials of life. I believe the reason that the descriptions of the afterlife with Christ are important. They change the perspective of Christians to be more "Christ-like" and. It opens up the reality in our minds that our existence spans far beyond the current life we are experiencing. This reality helps Christians endure persecution, sacrifice for the benefit of others, and forgive what seems unforgivable. In the grand scheme of time, our life is but a short vapor. It comes and it goes quickly. After our life is over we must face eternity. The place where our eternity spent is solely based on our relationship with Jesus Christ.

Once we become saved and except Jesus Christ, our eternal existence in heaven is set and cannot be taken away. But after that point, we must continue to live in this world until our death or the rapture comes. This time is what I call the "In between time". It is the time between accepting the promise of eternal life in heaven and experiencing life in heaven.

There are numerous examples of in-between times in the Bible that describe accepting the promise and receiving it. An example of a person who experienced in-between time would be King David. David was anointed king by the prophet Samuel before he slew the giant Goliath. But even after his famous triumph over Goliath, he still wasn't crowned King for about nine years:

1 Samuel 15:13 (David Anointed King)

13 Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brethren: and the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel rose up and went to Ramah.

2 Samuel 5:4 (David Crowned King)

3 So all the elders of Israel came to the king to Hebron, and King David made a league with them in Hebron before the Lord: and they anointed David king over Israel.

4 David was thirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years.

David was anointed king by Samuel. Shortly afterward he had to fight the giant name, Goliath, then he was pursued by King Saul who made every effort to kill David. David, his family, and followers fled to the wilderness. During that time, he had to make an allegiance with the Philistines who were his enemies. While David was exiled he wrote many of the Psalms we read for encouragement today. He cried out to God in despair. And he also lifted praises to exalt the most high God when he felt overwhelmed. He had to endure the struggle of hardship and adversity while knowing he had been promised to be King during those nine years. I'm sure there were times when things were so bad that David may have forgotten about the promises he was given. David was living in the "In-between-time", the time from promise to fulfillment.

Another example is the nation of Israel. They were promised the land of Canaan after being freed from slavery in Egypt. They reached Canaan, the promised land, but did not enter. Their unfaithfulness to God caused them to wander through the desert for 40 years until all those who lacked the faith to conquer Canaan had died.

Genesis 12: 6,7 (God promised Canaan to Abraham)

5 And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother's son, and all their substance that they had gathered, and the souls that they had gotten in Haran; and they went forth to go into the land of Canaan, and into the land of Canaan, they came.

6 And Abram passed through the land unto the place of Sichem, unto the plain of Moreh. And the Canaanite was then in the land.

7 And the Lord appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land: and there built he an altar unto the Lord, who appeared unto him.

Israel wandered in the desert 40 years

Numbers 14:33-34 (Israel force to wander 40 years)

33 And your children shall wander in the wilderness forty years, and bear your whoredoms until your carcasses be wasted in the wilderness.

34 After the number of the days in which ye searched the land, even forty days, each day for a year, shall ye bear your iniquities, even forty years, and ye shall know my breach of promise.

Joshua 4:22-24 (Israel enters the Promised Land)

22 Then ye shall let your children know, saying, Israel came over this Jordan on dry land.

23 For the Lord your God dried up the waters of Jordan from before you, until ye were passed over, as the Lord your God did to the Red sea, which he dried up from before us, until we were gone over:

24 That all the people of the earth might know the hand of the Lord, that it is mighty: that ye might fear the Lord your God forever.

Israel was promised a land flowing with milk and honey. But their unfaithfulness and lack of trust in God caused them to endure hardship for 40 years as a nation. The younger generations eventually entered and conquered the land of Canaan. The older generation that was brought out of the land of Egypt by God never got to see the promised land. God kept his promise to the people as a nation.

As Christians today, we live our lives with the faith and knowledge of Jesus resurrection from the dead. We have now arrived at the end times, right before Jesus' promise to return. because we live. During this time., we must endure the struggles of life that everyone experiences. We all experience sickness, sadness, and tragedies that are part of being in this world.

Matthew 5:45

45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.

For Christians, the way we handle the experiences in this world is different. We trust in God to provide for us, heal us, and help to give us strength through all trials and tribulations in this world. Even in death, we find victory through Jesus Christ. As Christians, we make an effort to do good deeds in the name of Jesus Christ. In doing good we a layup blessings and treasures in heaven that we will enjoy forever. It's almost like creating an eternal trust fund in doing good deeds.

Matthew 6:20

20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:

During this in-between time, Christians must live with a different motivation and mentality towards life than the rest of society. Many of the things that society highly values shouldn't mean as much to Christians. It takes time and growth to modify a person's values to become like Jesus Christ. Changing how you think and feel requires becoming a new person inside your heart and spirit. The Holy Spirit is the force within you that causes the dynamic change from being a carnal person to a Christian. The Holy Spirit also increases your faith to believe in God and trust in Him. The longer you know Jesus and become close to Him, the easier it is to become like Him. Our actions and behaviors will bear the fruit of God. And the best way to understand how to behave as a Christian is to study the Bible. The words of the Bible are powerful and life-changing. The actual words of the Scripture are God's spirit. They have the power to keep us from sin.

John 1:1

1 In the beginning, was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

Psalms 119:10-11

10 With my whole heart have I sought thee: O let me not wander from thy commandments.

11 Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.

"No man is an island". It is very difficult to survive in this world alone as a Christian. To be able to endure the and times before Jesus return, we have to stand together, pray for each other, and encourage one another as a church. Jesus wanted the church to be the salt of the earth and reflect the light of Christ to the world until he returns. He doesn't intend for our current situation in this world to go on forever. But because the period between Jesus's ascension and return is over 2000 years, it can seem that things will never change. We can be discouraged by people who can only see the world's current situation. They don't see the condition of the world changing as the Bible has prophesied. People who deny the second coming of Jesus are considered scoffers who mock at the promise of Jesus, return. Many of these people are caught up in the enjoyment and pleasure of this world. They are so carnally blinded that they can't see beyond the material things in front of them. Unfortunately, Christians fall into the same traps and snares as sinners when they lose faith and indulge in the same activities as sinners. Some people lose patience while waiting for Christ's return, and they fall away. There is also the struggle of contending with false doctrines and apostates. They preach things that sound good and feel good, but are misleading. Any doctrine that denies the need for Jesus's forgiveness of sins is an apostate doctrine.

2 Peter 2:2-5

2 That ye may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us the apostles of the Lord and Saviour:

3 Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts,

4 And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.

5 For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water:

Enduring until Jesus returns is the key. Many people well join churches and congregations will grow, but unfortunately, a large number of those people will turn away from the faith. universalism and other doctrines that deny repentance from sin are deadly. teaching that there are many ways to receive salvation is also apostasy. I hope to encourage everyone to fight for your faith and be faithful to Jesus Christ. Your eternity depends on it. Your eternal happiness is based on your relationship with Jesus Christ and how you serve Him. Jesus' promises lie before you. No one can take them away from you. The rewards of heaven lie before you. Staying focused and stubbornly faithful until the end is the way to survive the "In-between-time".

2 Thessalonians 2:2-3

2 That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.

3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;

Revelation 2:10

10…be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.