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The religious leaders during the time of Christ failed to distinguish between the prophecies relating to His “FIRST COMING” and those related to His “SECOND COMING.” This is the reason why they rejected Him. The prophets studied carefully and tried to learn about this salvation. They spoke about the grace that was coming to you. The Spirit of Christ was in those prophets. And the Spirit was telling about the SUFFERINGS that would happen to Christ and about the GLORY that would come after those sufferings. The prophets tried to learn about what the Spirit was showing them--when it would happen and what the world would be like at that time (1 Peter 1:10-11). They did not see between the CROSS (suffering) and the CROWN (glory) that there is a SPACE OF TIME for the CHURCH dispensation. The “cross” is His First Coming and the “glory” is his Second Coming.
Paul classified the coming of Christ as past, present and future appearing (Heb. 9:24-28). Jesus Christ “has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself” (past), “now to appear in the presence of God for us” (present), and “shall appear the second time without sin to salvation” (future). In Titus 2:11-13, Paul presented the roles and purpose of past, present and future appearing of Christ. As a Prophet He died for our JUSTIFICATION, as a Priest He lives at the right hand of God not only as our Advocate but the One to provide us SANCTIFICATION, and as a King when He comes again for our GLORIFICATION.
Biblical Statements about His Second Coming
1. From Jesus Himself
- Matthew 16:27, “For the Son of Man shall come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He shall reward each one according to his works.”
- Mat 25:31-32, “But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He shall sit on the throne of His glory. And all nations shall be gathered before Him. And He shall separate them from one another, as a shepherd divides the sheep from the goats.”
- Joh 14:2-3, “In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, so that where I am, you may be also.”
- John 21:22, “Jesus said to him, If I desire that he remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow Me.”
2. From Heavenly Beings
- Acts 1:10-11, “And while they were looking intently into the heaven, He having gone, even behold, two men in white clothing stood beside them, who also said, Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into the heaven? This same Jesus who is taken up from you into Heaven, will come in the way you have seen Him going into Heaven.
3. From John,
- John 14:1-3, “Let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, so that where I am, you may be also.
3. From Paul
- Philippians 3:20-21, “For our citizenship is in Heaven, from which also we are looking for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall change our body of humiliation so that it may be fashioned like His glorious body, according to the working of His power, even to subdue all things to Himself.”
- Titus 2:13-14, “looking for the blessed hope, and the appearance of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us that He might redeem us from all iniquity and purify to Himself a special people, zealous of good works.”
- 1 Corinthians 11:26, For "as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you show" the Lord's death until He shall come.
4. From James
- James 5:7, “Therefore be patient, brothers, until the coming of the Lord.”
5. From Peter
- 2 Peter 1:16, “For not having followed fables having been cunningly devised, but becoming eyewitnesses of the majesty of Jesus Christ, we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord.”
6. From Jude
- Jude 1:14-15, “And Enoch, the seventh from Adam, also prophesied to these, saying, Behold, the Lord came with myriads of His saints, to do judgment against all, and to rebuke all the ungodly of them concerning all their ungodly works which they ungodly did, and concerning all the hard things ungodly sinners spoke against Him.”
How Is Jesus Coming Back?
And while the disciples were looking intently into the heaven, Jesus Christ having gone, even behold, two men in white clothing stood beside them, who also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into the heaven? This same Jesus who is taken up from you into Heaven, will come in the way you have seen Him going into Heaven” (Acts 1:10-11). Jesus went up bodily and visibly, He will come back in the same manner. “Behold, He comes with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, and those who pierced Him will see Him, and all the kindreds of the earth will wail because of Him (Revelation 1:7).
When Is the Second Coming of Jesus?
But the exact day and hour? No one knows that, not even heaven’s angels, not even the Son. Only the Father. So keep a sharp lookout, for you don’t know the timetable. It’s like a man who takes a trip, leaving home and putting his servants in charge, each assigned a task, and commanding the gatekeeper to stand watch. So, stay at your post, watching. You have no idea when the homeowner is returning, whether evening, midnight, cockcrow, or morning. You don’t want him showing up unannounced, with you asleep on the job. I say it to you, and I’m saying it to all: Stay at your post. Keep watch (Mark 13:32-37).
There are nearly 300 references to Christ’s return in the New Testament. No one knows for sure when He will come (although many have falsely predicted His return, only to be embarrassed). While we do not know the day and hour, God gives us the signs of the times.
Warren W. Wiersbe in Be Dynamic advised, “Regardless of what views different people may take of God’s prophetic program, Christians agree that Jesus is coming again and that He can come at any time. This in itself is a great motivation for faithful Christian service (Luke 12:34-36).”
What to Do during the Waiting Period
While waiting the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, we must spend our time according to the must follow the instructions of the Word of God as follows:
- Watch and pray (Matthew 24:42, 25:13, 26:41; Mark 13:33, 14:38; Luke 21:36)
- Be ready (Matthew 24:44)
- Serve (Matthew 25:31-46)
- Follow peace with all, and holiness (Hebrews 12:14)
- Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together (Hebrews 10:25)
- Be patient (James 5:7-8)
- Abide in Him (1 John 2:28)
Focus on the Second Coming of Jesus Christ
The important thing is not when He is coming, but that we are ready when He comes. To be ready, we must be:
- Believe (Mark 16:16)
- Repent (Acts 2:38)
- Baptized in Jesus’ name (Acts 2:38)
- Filled with the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:11, Colossians 1:27)
- Holy (Hebrews 12:14) and without blemish (Ephesians 5:27)
- Seek things which are above (Colossians 3:1-4)
- Looking for His return (Hebrews 9:28). If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable (1 Corinthians 15:19).