The Second Coming of Christ
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ne day as we were traveling a highway that was
several miles across Texas, we went through many towns and cities. Some of
these were large and others very small, but there was one thing that all towns
and cities had in common regardless of their size. They all had cemeteries!
Each one of these burial places had acres and acres of tombstones standing as
silent witnesses that thousands had experienced death.
Then
I was reminded of the fact that thousands who travel this same highway and see
these same stones have never obeyed Jesus to be saved.
And
yet, everyone has an appointment with death. As Paul expressed it, “For as in Adam all die, even so in
Christ all shall be made alive” (1
Corinthians 15:22).
The
Hebrew author wrote, “And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after
this the judgment” (Hebrews 9:27).
Therefore,
all, except those who will be alive when Jesus returns, are on our way to the
grave. And sooner or later we must
give an account for our souls, whether we are saved in Jesus or lost outside of
Him.
God,
through His word, has promised that Jesus will return. No one knows when this
will be.
“But
of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son,
but only the Father” (Mark 13:32).
However,
we do know that it will be at a time when He is least expected.
“For
you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in
the night.” “Therefore you also
be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect” (1 Thes. 5:2; Mt. 24:44).
Therefore,
either during the time of our lives or later, Jesus will return. Please consider
what will happen at His return.
After
Jesus had completed His work on earth, He accompanied His disciples to Bethany,
and after blessing them,“He was parted from them and carried up into heaven” (Luke 24:51). As Jesus ascended, “a cloud
received Him out of their sight”
(Acts 1:9).
How amazed they must have been as they
steadfastly looked toward heaven.
Even though He had disappeared, they continued looking at the cloud that had
received Him.
Finally,
two men dressed in white stood by them and said, who also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing
up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so
come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven” (Acts 1:11).
From
this time forward, those who love, obey, and follow Jesus believe that someday
He will return in the
clouds. Near the close of His ministry, Jesus described how He would
someday appear.
“Then
they will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and glory” (Mark 13:26).
The early Christians lived with the hope of His return. Paul assured
Titus, “looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God
and Savior Jesus Christ” (Titus
2:13).
Therefore,
since the word of God declares that there will be a second coming of Jesus, let
us look at some of the things that will happen when He appears. For, either
during the time of our liver or later, Jesus will return in the clouds.
After Jesus had completed His work on earth, He accompanied His disciples to Bethany, and after blessing them, “He was parted from them and carried up into heaven” (Luke 24:51).
As
Jesus ascended, “a cloud received Him out of their sight” (Acts 1:9).
How
amazed they must have been as they steadfastly looked toward heaven. Even
though He had disappeared, they continued looking at the cloud that had
received Him. Finally, two men dressed in white stood by them and said,
“Men
of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was
taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go
into heaven” (Acts 1:11).
Thus,
Jesus left in a cloud, and He will return in a cloud.
From
this time forward, those who have loved, obeyed, and followed Him have believed
that someday He will return in the clouds. Near the close of His ministry,
Jesus described how He would someday appear.
“Then they will see the Son of Man
coming in the clouds with great power and glory” (Mark 13:26).
The
early Christians lived with the HOPE of His return. Paul assured Titus, that
those who had received the grace that brings salvation were “looking for the
blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:13).
Especially
in the days of heavy persecutions, they must have often looked into the heavens
and cried out, “Lord, come quickly!”
Paul
gave assurance to the Thessalonians who were troubled, that the Lord Jesus
would be “revealed from heaven”
to take vengeance on those who were
disobedient to God and His gospel (2 Thes. 1:7,8).
Thus,
the appearance of Christ in the clouds would bring punishment to the wicked and
joy to the faithful.
Near
the beginning of the book of Revelation, John made this promise:
“Behold,
He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him
. . .” (Rev. 1:7).
This must have been comforting words to the churches that
were being persecuted!
Therefore,
those who have prepared themselves for God, will at His awesome appearance, but
those who have denied Him will experience great anguish, regret, and fear.
It Will Be The End
Of Time
Please observe further that when Jesus
returns, it will also be the end of time. There are those who have said that
Jesus has already returned secretly in the past. When a man told me this, I
replied, “There is one thing of
which you can be sure. That
all who are dead and all who are alive will know when Jesus appears in the clouds.”
When he asked how I could be sure of this, I told him that there are at least
two things that verify this:
(1)
He “will descend
from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet
of God” (1 Thes. 4:16).
(2) This earth and everything in it will be destroyed
with fire. “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in
which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt
with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned
up” (2 Peter 3:10).
Therefore,
I reminded him again that all will know when the Lord comes!
Time
began when God created and made the order of the universe. He so designed
things so that time and seasons could be measured. However, this great system
of measurement will be destroyed at the second coming of Jesus, and all must
face an eternal existence either WITH or WITHOUT God!
The
saved will not need this earth any longer, but will enjoy a new one. Peter
gives the following assurance to Christians:
“Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new
heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells” (2 Peter
3:13). What a great joy this will be!
When
John was permitted to see a preview of all these great things, he wrote,
“Now
I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth
had passed away. Also there was no more sea” (Rev. 21:1).
Therefore,
all who are investing only in this earth will lose the earth. Those who are
refusing to serve God here will lose God there. Only heavenly treasures will
survive when Jesus returns to bring an end to time.
He Will Appear In
The Clouds
Another thing that will happen at the
second coming of Jesus is the dead will be raised. Have you ever wondered how
many bodies over the centuries have died and been buried in the earth or in the
sea? If so, don’t bother, because the number is beyond our imagination.
However,
God knows and has the power to raise them from the dead. How do I know this?
Because the Bible declares it, and I believe it!
The
question might be asked, “Who will be raised?” Jesus answers this question,
“Do
not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves
will hear His voice and come forth—those who have done good, to the
resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of
condemnation” (John 5:28,29).
Therefore,
no one can resist His voice, both the good and evil will respond to His voice.
What power in the voice of Jesus! When He cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth!” and Lazarus came from the grave (John 11:4,44).
Jesus
divides all the dead into two groups:
(1)“those who have done good, to the resurrection of
life, (2) “those who have done evil, to the resurrection of
condemnation.”
Those who want to believe and teach that the lost are
in their graves forever are wrong. The lost must come forth to receive their
punishment.
Another
Question, “Will the saved that are alive have any advantage over the saved that
are in their graves. Paul addresses this question in the following way:
“For this we say to you by the word of
the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by
no means precede those who are asleep.
For
the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an
archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.
Then we who are alive and remain shall
be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And
thus we shall always be with the Lord”
(1 Thes. 4:15-17).
It Will Be The End
Of Time
There
is something else that will happen when the Lord returns. Those who are
faithful children of God will receive a new body. There are those who imagine physical bodies being in heaven.
Jesus had to correct the Sadducees thought of the resurrection associated with
physical marriages. He informed them, “For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in
marriage, but are like angels of God in heaven” (Matthew 22:30).
Paul
imagined someone asking the questions: “How are the dead raised up? And with what body do they
come?” (1 Corinthians 15:35).
In fact, he considered the one who would
ask these questions as being foolish, because they were confused about the
different kinds of bodies (vss. 36-41).
Therefore,
this kept them from understanding the resurrection. Paul explained further
about the bodies and the resurrection: “So also is
the resurrection of the dead. The body is sown in corruption, it is raised in
incorruption. It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. It is sown in
weakness, it is raised in power. It is sown a natural body, it is raised a
spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body” (1
Corinthians 15:42-44).
Thus,
by faith, Christians believe that when Jesus returns and raises the dead, we
will receive a new spiritual body, a body made for heaven.
Paul
further explains, “And as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we
shall also bear the image of the heavenly Man” (1 Corinthians 15:49).
But
someone inquires further, “How can a decayed, corrupted body be changed into a
spiritual body?”
Paul
also addresses this question. “Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we
shall all be changed—in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last
trumpet.
For
the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be
raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
For
this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on
immortality” (1 Corinthians
15:51-53).
It Will Be The
Judgment Day
At
the second coming of the Lord, there will be the Judgment Day. Millions do not
want to accept this fact because
they are not prepared. Some in the
church admit that the Bible teaches about the Judgment Day, but they still
refuse to take it seriously.
However, the same Jesus who declared Himself to be the Savior of the world, also taught that He would be
the Judge of the world. He described exactly what would happen when He returns.
“When the Son of Man comes in
His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of
His glory.
All
the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from
another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats.
And He will set the sheep on His right
hand, but the goats on the left” (Matthew
25:31-33).
Jesus
did not appoint Himself to judge the world, but was appointed by His Father.
Jesus said, “For the Father
judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son” (John 5:22).
When
Paul declared who the true God was to the Athenians, he also taught them about
the Day of Judgment. He said of God, “because He has appointed a day on
which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained.
He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead” (Acts 17:31).
How
sure can we be that there will be a Judgment Day? Just as sure as believing
that Jesus was raised from the
dead. Therefore, God appointed this day.
The Hebrew writer verifies that Judgment Day will come after we die.
“And
as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment” (Hebrews 9:27).
Thus,
all human beings have an appointment, and this appointment cannot be canceled.
The
ungodly will have to pay for their sins, and must face the Lord in judgment.
Someone may say, “But God is too good to deliver punishment.” However, Peter teaches otherwise.
He writes, “then
the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations and to reserve the
unjust under punishment for the day of judgment” (2 Peter 2:9).
This
leads us to ask, “What is the purpose of the final Judgment Day? Some may think
of this day as a universal court trial to try all who have lived upon this
earth so that their sentence can be determined.
However, this is not the purpose of the
Judgment Day. For our relationship to God has already determined whether we are
saved or lost. Because those without Jesus will die in their sins and are lost.
Jesus
said to some unbelievers, “I am
going away, and you will seek Me, and will die in your sin. Where I go you
cannot come” (John 8:21). Then He
explained why they could not come to Him. “Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for
if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins” (John
8:24).
The
purpose of the Judgment Day is to deliver the final rewards to both the saved
and the lost. Jesus described the Judgment Day scene as the time when “All the nations will be gathered before
Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his
sheep from the goats. And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the
goats on the left” (Matthew
25:32-33).
Some
who are lost will oppose their reward and will make an effort to justify their
past lives, but this will not change the reward for the evil. Jesus said of
them,
“And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but
the righteous into eternal life” (Matthew 25:46).
Paul
summed up the purpose of the Day of Judgment Day in the following references: “For we must all appear before the
judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body,
according to what he has done, whether good or bad” (2 Corinthians 5:10).
“Do not be deceived, God is not mocked;
for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh
will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the
Spirit reap everlasting life”
(Galatians 6:7-8).
Who
should fear the Judgment Day? Only those who have not prepared for it. This
would be those who have not obeyed Jesus, the author of eternal salvation.
(Heb. 5:9), and those who have not obeyed the gospel, “the power of God to
salvation” (Romans 1:16).
Paul
describes vividly to the Thessalonians what will be given to those lost in sin
when Jesus returns. He says that the Lord Jesus will be “revealed from heaven with His mighty
angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on
those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Thessalonians 1:7,8). These are the ones who will
receive the reward of eternal punishment.
However,
to the saved, the Judgment Day will be a joyful and happy occasion. Paul
rejoiced in the very thought of being at home with God. When he thought of
death, he had mixed feelings. To the brethren whom he dearly loved at Philippi,
he wrote,
“For
I am hard pressed between the two, having a desire to depart and be with
Christ, which is far better. Nevertheless to remain in the flesh is more
needful for you” (Philippians 1:23-24).
When it finally came time for Paul to be offered in death, due to his faithfulness in the faith, he must have rejoiced deeply in the thought,
“Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing” (2 Timothy 4:8).
It
is a fact that the Lord will appear in the clouds, and whether or not He
returns during our lifetime will not make any difference if we are prepared.
For
those prepared will be invited to spend eternity with God. This is a joy beyond
anything that can be imagined. Paul quotes from Isaiah these beautiful words:
“Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor
have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those
who love Him” (1 Corinthians 2:9).
All
of us should ask the question of a hymn that has been sung over the years,
Are you ready for that Day to come?”
—BBBristow