It seems to me that one could easily draw a parallel between that time of Christ's burial and his resurrection three days later with where we stand today! Though they had been told, they remembered not they were to expect His resurrection. They had invested everything in following Him, and now they had been abandoned. Even Mary Magdelane doesn't recognize Christ outside the tomb in His resurrected form ,but for the grief and loss she bears! So to, it has been two thousand years since His departure and His rapture! And we have been told that He would come back in the clouds just as when He left this Earth! Since then the Earth has resounded with the cry, He Lives! So too we have felt abandoned. Though many in the Church have also forgotten the promise of His return, some have remembered! Standing now on the far side of His resurrection our cry is again, He lives! Though time has not stood still, it seemingly has held it's breathe for two thousand years, by reason of the Blessed Hope! Soon those without faith will be taken by surprise. But our expectation will be made complete! We will then recognize His resurrected body when we meet Him with our resurrected bodies, in the air! For in the event of His first coming, the Church first died when He died, but was then birthed. In the event of His coming in the clouds, His bride birthed on Earth is taken to Heaven. And in the event of His second coming, the Church is made complete and also taken off this Earth! Seems to me that emotionally, we don't stand that far apart from the time of the Apostles! For time itself shall release the breath of God, to the calling of the saints by name into His presence forever! Just as like then, the early Church did not understand God's timing. So also, we struggle with His timing today! Or so it seems to me. TR
