Let us turn to the Book of Joel and see what our God will do in the closing days of this age.

And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the Lord come. (Joel 2:30,31)

These are the signs that will appear as the announcement of the soon coming of Jesus (Matthew 24:29,30).

Notice the ministry of God's elect to every person who calls on the name of the Lord in the days just before Christ returns:

And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be delivered: for in mount Zion [the Church of Christ] and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the Lord hath said, and in the remnant whom the Lord shall call. (Joel 2:32)

Many persons will be forced to become hot or cold just before the Lord returns:

Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision. (Joel 3:14)

Then the great signs of Christ's coming will appear for all to see:

The sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their shining. (Joel 3:15)

Now comes the climactic act of God Almighty, an action mentioned by many of the prophets of Israel as they envisioned the last days:

The Lord also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the Lord will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel. (Joel 3:16)

We are so accustomed to the gentle Jesus who speaks softly to our hearts that it is difficult to understand that in the closing days of this age He will roar out of the Church.

How can we be sure that "Zion" is the Church of Christ?

But ye are [present tense] come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just [righteous] men made perfect, and to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel. (Hebrews 12:22-24)

We can see from the above that the Christian believer already has come to Mount Zion and that Mount Zion is the heavenly Jerusalem, the Church of the Firstborn, the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ.

At the time of the return of Christ from Heaven, God will rise up in the saints who are in Heaven and on the earth. Antichrist will be confronted by Christ in the saints everywhere he turns. He will be destroyed by the power of God in the saints. He will be crushed under the feet of the saints.

And the God of peace shall bruise [crush] Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen. (Romans 16:20)

In that hour the Lord God will be the protecting, sustaining hope of His people. A thousand shall fall at our side and ten thousand at our right hand, but we shall have no need to fear because God Himself will be our hope and our strength.

Therefore we have no dread of the future. God Himself is our strength and our protection, our joy and our peace. As long as He leaves us on the earth we are perfectly safe in His almighty care.

If we should die and go to Heaven we will return in glory with Jesus. If we should live through part or all of the days of tribulation that are at hand we will discover that God is with us and in us, and that His power and love make us more than conquerors no matter what problems and dangers are before us.

Whether we are alive in the flesh or present with the Lord we shall be very active in the days ahead, as preparation is made for our rulership over the nations of the earth and we receive our inheritance. (from Kingdom Concepts)