Life is an unfinished drama, "This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back...".1 The Return of Jesus to the earth to claim His followers is known as the Second Coming.
Jesus Himself said, "I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also". 2 Christians eagerly look forward to the return of Jesus. "O Lord Come", Paul prays. 3 In fact, God says through Paul that the whole creation is eagerly awaiting the Return of Christ because it will mean that this world will end and a new world, free from sin, sorrow, and pain will begin.4
When will it happen? No one knows except God the Father.5 The believer’s time is to be spent not speculating on when Jesus will return, but in godly, self-controlled living which will allow him to be ready at any time for Jesus to come back.6 The thought that Jesus may return at any moment should not cause fear or anxiety, but great hope.
One might ask, ‘How can I be sure this is going to happen? Hasn’t the world gone on for thousands of years with no end in sight?’ People have thought this way from the earliest years of the Christian movement. Peter spoke to this very attitude, "and saying, ‘Where is this coming he promised? Ever since our fathers died everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation... But do not forget this one thing, dear friends; with the Lord a day is like a thousand years and a thousand years is like day. The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise (to return), as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance".7
"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. Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.8
Jesus is coming back! The end of the world will not be decided by nations or individuals, but by God the Father. When Jesus returns, His followers who have already died will rise from the dead and will meet Jesus in the air along with His followers who are still alive. Then all other people will be raised from the dead and the final judgment will take place. John describes it in Revelation 20:11-15.9
If you are a follower of Jesus, his Second Coming will be a time of great rejoicing. If you are not a follower of Jesus, it will bring anguish and sorrow. Your response to the Lord Jesus is the crucial factor in where you will spend eternity. The final judgment will actually be a pronouncement of the judgment that is decided when we accept or reject Jesus. "Whoever believes in Him (Jesus) is not condemned, but whoever does not believe in Him is condemned already because he has not believed in the Name of God’s Son".10 Are you ready for Jesus to come back?
1. Acts 1:11
2. John 14:2-3
3. 1 Corinthians 16:22
4. Revelation 21:3-4
5. Matthew 24:36
6. Titus 2:12-14
7. 2 Peter 3:3-9
8. 2 Peter 3:10-13
9. Revelation 20:11-15
10. John 3:18
