In today’s world of high tech inventions many have played around with the idea of discovering the secret of all secrets – time travel! Is it possible to travel through time? Well, according to the Bible it has already been experienced by the one we know as John the Apostle – and on more than one occasion. It is true, however, that he didn’t invent or discover time travel, just that he was one who had the rare privilege of experiencing it first hand, but only at the will and discretion of the one who created time in the first place. In John’s first journey into the future he was not traveling alone. In a familiar Bible story Peter, James, and John all got a glimpse of the distant future.
1Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, led them up on a high mountain by themselves;
2and He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light.” (Matthew 17:1-2)
The transfiguration story has always intrigued me. I have come to realize that there is a very meaningful reason for this event in relation to better understanding end-time events. It would seem at first glance that the transfiguration story begins in verse one of Matthew chapter seventeen. But when we back up just a few verses into the previous chapter we can see that Jesus actually predicted his own transfiguration about six days before it happened. However, what is so interesting about his prediction is that he gave us an invaluable key to understanding what it was the three disciples were about to see.
27 For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works. 28 Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom. (Matthew 16:27-28)
Just from the plain sense of his words we know that in verse 27 Jesus is referencing the end times and his coming. But then in verse 28 he says something that is very unusual. He looks at his disciples and those around him and says some of them would see him “coming in his kingdom.” In retrospect we know that Jesus was talking about something that would happen only six days later. But we also know that his kingdom didn’t actually appear six days later, in fact, even now almost 2000 years later his kingdom has not yet appeared. But Jesus didn’t say his kingdom would manifest in the earth during the lifetime of some of his disciples, only that they would be allowed to see him “coming in his kingdom” before they died.
What exactly happened on that mountain? What did Peter, James, and John witness only six days after Jesus prediction? Since they did in fact see Jesus coming in his kingdom when he was transformed before them just as Jesus predicted, and his kingdom didn’t actually manifest in the earth at that moment or even now to this day, there is only one logical conclusion. Peter, James, and John were translated into the future, to see the day of the Lord – the day he actually will come in his kingdom. They saw Jesus on the very day of his return to earth . . . in the future. They saw the future!!!
Peter was so profoundly impacted by this experience that he recalled and wrote about it later on in his life. He said,
16 For we did not follow cleverly devised tales when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty. 17 For when He received honor and glory from God the Father, such an utterance as this was made to Him by the Majestic Glory, “This is My beloved Son with whom I am well-pleased”– 18 and we ourselves heard this utterance made from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain. (2 Peter 1:16-18)
Peter himself said he was an eyewitness to the coming of the Lord, an event that wouldn’t happen during his lifetime and still to this day has not yet happened. So how could he have seen the coming of the Lord? The only answer is that he, James, and John were translated along with Jesus into the future to witness the day of the Lord.
John’s second trip into the future
John also recalled and wrote about his time warp experience in his gospel when he said,
“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory . . .” (John 1:14)
John was actually recalling the time when he had witnessed Jesus coming in his kingdom in all his glory on the mount of transfiguration. But there was a second time when John was granted yet another journey into the future. This time he was an old man, exiled on the island of Patmos for his faith. It was there when John found himself witnessing the same Jesus in all of his glory just as he saw him on the mount of transfiguration many years earlier. It was then at the beginning of “The Revelation” when he said the all important words,
“I was in the spirit, on the Lord’s day. . . .” (Revelation 1:10)
What exactly did he mean by this? Some have suggested this to simply be a reference to the day of the week that John received this Revelation experience. It is historically true that the early Gentile Christians met on Sunday due to the fact that Jesus rose from the dead on Sunday, and thus began calling it the Lord’s day. Be that as it may there would seem to be an underlying truth here in regards to the Lord’s day only in that it was the day of resurrection. Sunday happened to be the day the head of the Church was raised from the dead, but I don’t believe there is as much significance to the day of resurrection falling on a Sunday as there is it being the Lord’s day or the “Day of the Lord”. So John’s mention of being, “. . . in the spirit, on the Lord’s day. . . .”, was not to let us know what day of the week he may have had this experience; for what significance could be drawn from that other than it’s connection with the resurrection itself.
The old testament is replete with references to the “day of the Lord”, or “that day”, or “in that day”, but it was always pointing to a future day when the Lord would return in glory and not to the day of Christ’s resurrection. Even in Paul’s second epistle to the Thessalonians he used the phrase, “the day of Christ” (2 Thess.2:2) when speaking of the day Jesus would return in glory to initiate the resurrection of the just, or as stated in v.1 of the same chapter, “our gathering together unto him.”
John’s statement of being, “. . . in the spirit, on the Lord’s day. . . .”, is a direct declaration that he was once again witnessing Jesus himself on the day of his return in which he will resurrect the saints of all ages – on “the Lord’s day”.
Now that we know that John was talking about a “future day” and that he was a witness to it now a second time, being “in the spirit”, can we place this all important day in the timeline of other end-time events? Certainly it is understood that the “day of the Lord”, when Jesus returns, is not just your ordinary day, but arguably the greatest day in all human history. There are many things John saw “in the spirit” on that day, but one of them we find in Revelation chapter 4.
1 After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter. 2 And immediately I was in the spirit . . . (Revelation 4:1-2)
It is probable that this “come up hither” that John heard is a parallel picture of the resurrection of the just, also known as the rapture. The three main elements necessary according to Paul the Apostle are listed: the voice, the trumpet, and a catching up.
“For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first.” (1 Thess. 4:16)
But if this is a picture of the rapture then this would also be the “day of Christ” that Paul talked about in 2 Thessalonians chapter 2:2. So then how do we know when the “day of Christ”, or “the Lord’s day” happens in relation to Daniel’s 70th week (the final 7 years) for example?
Now this is where things get a bit interesting. I never saw what I am about to share with you until not long ago. For a long time, well over a year, I would play the book of Revelation on CD in my bedroom radio on my night stand 24/7. One night just as I was falling asleep something in Rev.4 that I had heard and read many times stood out to me. It really grabbed my attention to the point that I had to get up out of bed and go read it in my Bible again. You see, immediately after John was caught up in the spirit as it says in Rev.4, he goes on to describe what he saw at that moment. First he saw,
“. . .a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne” (Revelation 4:2)
Then he saw,
“. . .round about the throne were four and twenty seats: and upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment; and they had on their heads crowns of gold.” (Revelation 4:4)
It is usually taught that these twenty four elders most likely represent the twelve Patriarchs of the Old Testament and the twelve Apostles of the New Testament. However, it is certain that they are indeed men that have been redeemed because of the use of the word “elders”. In Greek it is translated as presbuteros which is used of men and never of angels. They were also clothed in “white raiment” which the very mention of this is pointing to becoming justified before God as it is a general theme found throughout the scriptures. In addition, these twenty four elders are themselves on thrones, and angels are never seen on thrones in the scriptures. But the most interesting thing of all is the part that stood out to me that night in my bedroom as I was falling asleep,
“. . .and they had on their heads crowns of gold.” (Revelation 4:4)
They were wearing crowns! At first you might think, big deal, but this is a really big deal. You see, the word “crown” here is not the Greek word diadem meaning a rulers crown, it is the Greek word stephenos, which is a victors crown. These are the crowns that were promised to all believers in Christ as a reward. Paul said,
“Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown (stephenos) of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.” (2 Timothy 4:8)
This victors crown is for all believers. But it is a very important thing to realize that this crown is not handed out upon entering heaven. In fact it is safe to say that no one has ever been awarded their crown yet. Paul said Jesus, the judge (speaking of the judgment seat of Christ) would give him his crown “at that day”. Then to clarify exactly what day he was referring to he goes on to mention the day of “his appearing”, which is synonymous with the rapture and consequently the judgment seat which is the appointed time for rewards to be handed out to believers.
Since these twenty four elders are wearing crowns they must have at this point in John’s visit to the future, have already appeared before the Lord Jesus, at the judgment seat of Christ. That is not unusual in itself because the sequence of events is correct up to this point. On the “day of Christ”, first is the resurrection of believers, then we appear before the judgment seat, and then the rewards are given. These are all connected events. One happens right after the other. But, the timing of these events in relation to the last seven years, also known to be Daniel’s 70th week, is what we are trying to determine here. We know John was in the future on the Lord’s day, but when does that day happen?
The answer is found later on in John’s vision at the blowing of the seventh trumpet. It is under the blowing of the seventh trumpet that the kingdoms of this world become the kingdoms of our Lord.
“And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.” (Revelation 11:15)
Jesus gains control over all earthly kingdoms at this time. But there are a number of other things that happen under the seventh trumpet as well. It mentions a few verses later that it is,
“. . . the time of the dead that they should be judged . . .” (Revelation 11:18)
Who are these dead people here, and what is this judgment? Well it can’t be referring to the wicked dead being judged here because that happens at the great white throne judgment mention in Revelation 20:11 which doesn’t take place until the end of the millennial reign of Christ. No, the dead who are to be judged under the seventh trumpet can only be referring to the righteous dead, which would make this the time for the judgment seat of Christ. This is further verified by the very next thing it says,
“. . . the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great” (Revelation 11:18)
So then we can see that if the rewards are given under the seventh trumpet, then this is the time the crowns (stephenos) are distributed to all believers, including the twenty four elders. That means John could not have seen the twenty four elders wearing crowns prior to the blowing of the seventh trumpet. I know this is going to seriously mess up some peoples end-time chronologies and prophecy charts as it did mine when I first saw this, but it is what it is. Now the question that remains is at what point is the blowing of the seventh trumpet, because that would be the day John was, “in the spirit, on the Lord’s day”. By the way, it is entirely fitting that the very same day a throne is set in heaven for Jesus to sit on (Revelation 4:2), and the same day he gains control over all earthly kingdoms, for this to be called “the Lord’s day.”
The seventh trumpet is blown at mid point of Daniel’s 70th week, but the proof of that from scripture will be covered in a future teaching. As for John, he was in the future twice – both times on the day of Jesus coming in all His glory, in the middle of Daniel’s 70th week
by John Wiertzema
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