The Old Testament, or Jewish TeNaCH, which (apart from poetic speech) so assiduously asserts God's absolute transcendence, presents GOD Himself as coming and placing His feet on the Mount of Olives (Zechariah 14:4).

His name here is Yahweh, God's special covenant name; traditionally pronounced 'Jehovah' from an accident of history.

Against the background of this prophetic expectation of Israel, the resurrected Jesus came back from Galilee to Jerusalem (even though Judea was such a dangerous area for them). He led His Galilean disciples up this same mountain to visibly ascend to His Father before them.

And so, as the angels told these disciples after Jesus had left, to this very same place Christ will return in fulfillment of Zechariah's awesome prophecy.

Old Testament

"Then the LORD, my GOD, will come, and all the holy ones with Him!"

(Zechariah 14:5)

"God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus."

(1 Thessalonians 4:14)

"THE LORD (YHWH) WILL GO FORTH ...on that day His feet shall stand on the Mount of Olives ..."

(Zechariah 14:3-4).

"For THE LORD HIMSELF will descend from Heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God"

(1 Thessalonians 4:16)

(Isaiah 26:19).

(1 Thessalonians 4:16-18).

the figures of speech used in Scripture to describe this reunion cannot adequately portray the unbridled joy and wonder of this event. A focus on accompanying signs, both on and off-planet, is also inadequate to reflect this awesome event.

This is not the inadequacy of Scripture but the limitation of human language and comprehension.

of this shortcoming, we can approach the metaphors of Scripture without tripping over absurd mental images. For instance, the concept of celebration and fellowship are combined in the following metaphor of a banquet, which is further developed in the New Testament as the marital banquet; a celebration of the most intense form of togetherness and sharing.

(Isaiah 25:6-8).

(Revelation 19:7).

(Revelation 19:9).

Jesus' purpose in our redemption is not simply a reaction to our lost condition - to save, heal, restore. His salvation is much more than a mission to rescue the damned. The Bible says:

"He sanctified her ...

His purpose is our glorious union with Him – a union in which, as His Bride, all that is His becomes ours!

We shall all give an account for the things we have done in the body (Rom. 14:10; II Cor. 5:10). This judgment directly affects the eternal appearance of our resurrection body. We are predestined to be like Jesus! (Rom. 8:29). We are meant to like Him in all things (I Cor. 15:49) but the degree to which this is fulfilled physically in the resurrection depends upon our behaviour now!

At His coming – our whole being is born into His newness. Our bodies will now be enlivened by His Spirit alone. It is a physical resurrection into an explosive expansion of awareness, for then "I shall know even as I am known" (I Cor. 13:12); that is, total knowledge. Then it will be impossible for my spirit to speak in tongues and my mind not understand (1 Cor. 14:13). And so, tongues and other spirituals cease by being swallowed up in the indescribably greater. The words of prayer, "Thy will be done in earth, as it is in Heaven", are at last fulfilled! In her resurrection Christ glorifies His Bride before all the earth. He then brings every part of the whole, all that He has made, into this new liberty of His people.

The Kingdom of God is come! (Rom. 8:21).

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let's not forget the world situation into which this transforming newness comes. It is Armageddon! Israel is facing total extermination and the human race's existence has begun an irreversible slide to absolute oblivion ... then ...

Isaiah prophesied of this as – a nation will be "born in a moment", spiritually born-again!

The Holy Spirit through Paul refers to this by contrasting the beginning and ending of this gospel age as –

"If Israel's rejection [of Christ] means the reconciliation of the world [i.e. the gospel to all],

what will their acceptance [of Christ] mean but life from the dead [i.e. the resurrection]."

statement – that what we call 'nature' was "subjected to futility, not of its own will" – simply lets us know that nature is currently not natural! It is not in the condition for which it was originally designed. It cannot now function as it was intended to function. It is not simply human abuse that has marred nature, although that has worsened this. It is the LORD Himself who has done this, as part of His restriction of humanity's opportunities to sin.

The shock effect, however, of the LORD's arrival destroys attacking armies and shakes the earth as never before, restructuring the topography of Palestine. Where His feet touch splits in two, opening a valley for the refugees of Jerusalem. The hills around are reduced to a plain and Jerusalem is lifted, with a perennial spring that heals the Dead Sea (Zech.14:4-10).

Rain will not fall on those nations that do not submit to His worship in Jerusalem. And so, the knowledge of the LORD will cover the earth as the waters cover the sea (Isaiah 11:9).