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Jesus said, “I go to prepare a place for you . . . I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also” (John 14:2-3). (1)
Jesus is coming again! Then sin will be ultimately defeated. Sickness, sorrow, and death will be no more. Wrongs will be made right, justice will be handed down, and Christ will rule in love and mercy.
Christ’s return is the “blessed hope” of Christians both past and present (Titus 2:13). More than Christian optimism or a feel-good faith, it is our hope for this life and the life to come. “If for this life only we have hoped in Christ we are of all people to be pitied” (1 Corinthians 15:19).
Believing that Christ would return inspired the first Christians to “purify themselves, just as he is pure” (1 John 3:3). Jesus told them, “About that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father” (Matthew 24:36). Because we do not know when Christ will come, the question now, as then, is When?
The gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke record the same answers to these questions: When will this be, and what will be the sign of Your coming? (See Matthew 24:3; Mark 13:3-4; Luke 21:7). Knowing that there would be antichrists and false prophets, Jesus sounded a word of caution: “Beware that no one leads you astray” (Matthew 24:4).
Our hope is not found in false prophets who attempt to interpret prophecy. Our hope is in Christ. Two events must take place before His return:
1. A falling away of the faithful (2 Thessalonians 2:3). “Let no man deceive you in any way; for that day will not come unless the rebellion comes first.”
2. The gospel is preached to the ends of the earth (Matthew 24:14; see also Mark 13). “And this good news of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout all the world, as a testimony to all nations; and then the end will come.”
Being aware of these two events to come, the disciples received the Great Commission to evangelize while there was yet time: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:19-20). Christ’s return will follow the evangelization of the world by the church.
SPECULATION The early church waited expectantly and impatiently for the return of the Lord. Some even expected His return in their own lifetime. History reveals that such speculation can give rise to doubters and religious charlatans. “In the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and indulging their own lusts and saying, 'Where is the promise of His coming? For ever since our ancestors died, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation!” (2 Peter 3:3-4).
We too want specific answers about Christ’s return. Self-styled preachers still exploit the natural disasters, wars, famines, and violence to try to gain credibility as prophets of the end time. Evidence of this is the popularity of the Left Behind fiction series. The writers capitalized on an erroneous teaching referred to as the “rapture” (a term not found in the Bible). “Do not believe it,” Jesus said. “For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and produce great signs and omens, to lead astray, if possible, even the elect” (Matthew 24:23-24).
CLARIFICATION Because of this confusion regarding the return of Christ, every believer needs to know what the Bible teaches about the second coming. End-time fiction tends to have a little truth mixed with much make-believe. Tragically, many of us read more fictional literature than we do the Bible. In so doing, we fail to know what Scripture plainly says about the return of the Lord. It is vital that we know how to share and defend this blessed hope.
“Always be ready to make your defense [give a reason] to anyone who demands [asks] from you an accounting for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and reverence” (1 Peter 3:15-16). Biblical teaching is not be to be stated or shared arrogantly, with a holier-than-thou attitude, but in kindness and love. The Bible says that Christ will return . . .
. . . Suddenly. “As the lightning comes from the east and flashes as far as the west, to will be the coming of the Son of Man” (Matthew 24:7). . . . Unexpectedly. “You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour” (Matthew 24:44). “You yourselves know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night . . . there will be no escape!” (1 Thessalonians 5:2-3). . . . Personally. “This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come again in the same way as you saw Him go into heaven” (Acts 1:11). . . . Visibly. “Look! He is coming with clouds; every eye will see Him . . .” (Revelation 1:7). . . . Audibly. “The Lord himself, with a cry of command [shout], with the archangel’s call and with the sound of God’s trumpet, will descend from heaven (1 Thessalonians 4:16). . . . Victoriously. “Death has been swallowed up in victory . . . thanks be to God, Who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:54, 57). . . . Eternally. We will then “meet the Lord in the air; and so we will be with the Lord forever” (1 Thessalonians 4:17).
These eight references help us see more clearly the truth of the event. There will be no secret rapture, for every eye shall see Him and every ear shall hear Him in that Day of the Lord. Victory has already been won in the struggle against evil, so there needs to be no great military confrontation against evil (i.e., a Battle of Armageddon) before Christ returns (see Ephesians 6:12). There will be one general resurrection of the dead when He comes (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17), which leaves no time for a seven-year tribulation period or an earthly millennial reign.
Christ ushered in His kingdom at His first advent, and at His return, “He hands over the kingdom to God the Father” (1 Corinthians 15:24). This spiritual kingdom is “not food and drink but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit” (Romans 14:17) and is an everlasting kingdom (Luke 1:33).
PREPARATION Knowing these things, the apostle Peter asks, What sort of people ought you to be in leading lives of holiness and godliness as you wait for the second coming (1 Peter 3:10-12)? What kind of lives should we live in preparation for this great and terrible Day of the Lord (2 Corinthians 5:10)?
First, we need to know that we are saved. “Confirm your call and election, for if you do this you will never stumble” (2 Peter 1:10). We can have the assurance of our destiny at the end of the age.
Third, we need to live expectantly. We need to stay spiritually alert and pray (Matthew 26:41), doing God’s will, fulfilling His purpose until He comes.
Finally, we need to wait patiently. By our patient endurance we will be ready when He comes (Luke 21:19).
“It Is Well with My Soul”
And, Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight, The clouds be rolled back as a scroll: The trump shall resound and the Lord shall descend, “Even so” it is well with my soul. --Horatio G. Spafford
1. Copyright 2007 by Church of God Ministries. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
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The early Church writers are agreed that there will be second coming of Christ. Not one questions the certainty of the event. No witnesses are found who doubted the validity of the Christian hope. Some disagreement existed regarding certain details of His coming and of events connected with that coming, but none questioned that Christ would come again some day. It is worthy to note that the two-phase second coming (the rapture of the Church, then seven years later the revelation or unveiling of Christ) has absolutely no support from any of the Church fathers. If that doctrine has any validity, it is strange that the Church knew nothing about for eighteen centuries. Darby and his associates were first to propagate it in the nineteenth century. Everett I. Carver When Jesus Comes Again, 160-161 |