How will Jesus Return?
Hope in the Old Testament
The second coming of Jesus to put and end to sin and Satan and to establish His everlasting kingdom of peace and righteousness has been the hope of the ages. Abraham looked for a city whose maker and builder was God (Hebrews 11:10) and later on, David proclaimed, “Our God shall come, and shall not keep silence: a fire shall devour before him, and it shall be very tempestuous round about him (Psalm 50:3). Even Daniel prophesied that God will set up His kingdom which shall never be destroyed (Daniel 2:44).
Jesus’ promise to His church
In the New Testament, Jesus Himself promised His disciples that He will come back to this earth for His people. “Let not your heart be troubled” He says, “ye 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 unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also (John 14:1-3).
Even when Jesus was leaving this earth, the angels reassured the disciples that He will return: “Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven (Acts 1:11).
Signs of His coming
Jesus, while on this earth, gave us many signs of His second coming. But these signs were not for us to calculate the exact time of His return, but to remind us that He will fulfil His promise to come back and take us to His heavenly home.
In Matthew chapter 24, Jesus mentioned many signs which will precede His soon return and certainly we can see them being fulfilled each day. Disasters, illnesses, wars, earthquakes, famines and false prophets abound. On every hand we see death and destruction resulting in people becoming fearful and hopeless.
But the signs of Jesus’ coming are not to instil fear and distrust in God, but to encourage us to lift up our heads because our redemption draws near (Luke 21:28). We are to look away from the distractions and challenges of life and focus on our Saviour who will return for us one day soon.
The church of God must play its part in pointing men and women to Jesus and exercising faith in Him. This can only be done as God’s people fulfil His command to preach the good news of salvation into all the world (Matthew 28:19, 20). Thus, the preaching of the gospel is one of the signs of the nearness of Jesus’ coming.
Each day, faithful servants of God utilize the various channels, be it social media, tv, radio, newspaper or print, to ignite hope and faith in this world and to help people to be ready for Jesus’ soon return.
The manner of His coming
The Bible tells us how exactly how Jesus will appear so that we will not be deceived by false prophets and their lies.
Visible return
When Jesus comes, every eye will see Him coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory (Revelation 1:7; Matthew 24:30). The righteous will look up and say, “Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us: this is the LORD; we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation” while the wicked will run to the rocks and mountains crying, “Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb” ((Isaiah 25:9; Revelation 6:16).
Audible return
The coming of Christ will not be a secret event. Paul tells us Jesus will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trump of God (1 Thessalonians 4:16). That powerful voice will call the dead to life as loved ones reunite and meet their Saviour (John 5:28, 29).
Purpose of His coming
The following are some of the reasons why Jesus will come back to this earth:
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To put an end to sin and Satan (Revelation 20:10)
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To recreate a new heaven and a new earth (Revelation 21:1)
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To live with His people (Revelation 21:3)
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To set up His everlasting kingdom (Daniel 2:44)
Just imagine a world without pain, sickness, disasters, heartaches, death and all the other challenges that we face each day. This is the new world that God will create and most importantly, He wants us to be there! He has made it possible that whoever believes in Him will have eternal life.
May we trust in God and keep the hope of His soon return alive in our hearts so when He appears, we will be like Him for we shall see Him as He is.
