The Return of Christ

The personal and visible return of Jesus Christ to fulfil the purposes of God, who will raise all people to judgement, bring eternal life to the redeemed and eternal condemnation to the lost, and establish a new heaven and new earth - Evangelical Alliance Statement of Faith - Article 11.

“The second coming of Christ, though personal, physical, and visible, will yet be very different from His first coming. He will not return in the body of His humilation, but in a glorified body and in royal apparel, Heb. 9:28. The clouds of heaven will be His chariot, Matt. 24:30, the angels His bodyguard, 2 Thess. 1:7, the archangels His heralds. 1 Thess. 4:16, and the saints of God His glorious retinue, 1 Thess. 3:13; 2 Thess. 1:10. He will come as King of kings and Lord of lords, triumphant over all the forces of evil, having put all His enemies under His feet, 1 Cor. 15:25: Rev. 19:11–16.”(Louis Berkoff)

Our statement refers to that which is plainly stated in the Bible and avoids delcaring on matters which are disputed, namely

whether the Coming of Christ will take place before; during or after the Great tribulation (Rev 7:14) - a period lasting 7 years, according to Daniel 9 - in which the Church will either escape completely; partially or not at all, from the Judgmen that is coming on the world. (so pre; mid or post-tribulation views) and

the nature of the “rapture” (see 1 Thessalonians 4:17.), A latin term translated into English as “caught up” or “snatched up.” which premillennialism says, occurs in conjunction with the “great tribulation” (Dan 9:24–27; Matt 24:21, 29; Rev 7:14) and is connected to the resurrection of believers before the millennial (thousand-year) reign of Christ. or the view of Amillennialists often hold to a figurative or idealist position on the rapture. They believe along with premillennialists that Christians will meet Jesus in the air when he returns, but they argue that a first-century audience would have understood the rapture event in connection with another statement in the same key passage, namely that wqho argue that believers will “meet” Jesus in the air and then escorting him back to the earth and then the view of Postmillennialists who assert that the rapture will happen after the great tribulation, Christ’s second coming, and the resurrection of believers.

“The great doctrine of the second advent has in a sense fallen into disrepute because of…this tendency on the part of some to be more interested in the how and the when of the second coming rather than in the fact of the second coming.” (Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones).

So in stating what is clear, let’s observe that several terms are used to denote this great event, of which the following are the most important:

(i) apocalupsis = unveiling, which points to the removal of that which now obstructs our vision of Christ, 1 Cor. 1:7; 2 Thess. 1:7; 1 Pet. 1:7, 13; 4:13;

(ii) epiphaneia = appearance, manifestatio), a term referring to Christ’s coming forth out of a hidden background with the rich blessings of salvation, 2 Thess. 2:8; 1 Tim. 6:14: 2 Tim. 4:1, 8; Tit. 2:13;

(iii) parousia = presence, which points to the coming that precedes the presence or results in the presence, Matt. 24:3, 27, 37; 1 Cor. 15:23; 1 Thess. 2:19; 3:13; 4:15; 5:23; 2 Thess. 2:1–9; Jas. 5:7, 8; 2 Pet. 1:16; 3:4, 12; 1 John 2:28.

“More than a fourth of the Bible is predictive prophecy. Approximately one-third of it has yet to be fulfilled. Both the Old and New Testaments are full of promises about the return of Jesus Christ. Over 1,800 references appear in the Old Testament, and seventeen Old Testament books give prominence to this theme. Of the 260 chapters in the New Testament, there are more than 300 references to the Lord’s return – one out of every thirty verses. Twenty-three of the twenty-seven New Testament books refer to this great event. Three of the four other books are single-chapter letters written to individuals concerning a particular subject, and the fourth is Galatians, which does imply Christ’s coming again. For every prophecy on the first coming of Christ, there are eight on Christ’s second coming.” (George Sweeting: Who Said That?  Moody Press, 1995, p.  391).

To summarise the teaching here...

1. The Return of Christ:

Our statement of faith speaks of the personal and visible return of Jesus Christ to fulfil the purposes of God:

Jesus has promised to come again to this earth, visibly and physically:

Mt 24:30 “At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory.

Acts 1:11 ““Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”

Philippians 2

1 Th 4:15-17 “According to the Lord’s own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.

Rev 1:7 “Look, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him; and all the peoples of the earth will mourn because of him. So shall it be! Amen.”

“As surely as men standing in Jerusalem once saw Him slowly descending the Mount of Olives and then ascending the opposite hill into the city, so surely shall the world one day see the Son of Man descending the heavens. Not then shall He come as the meek and lowly: He shall come with power and great glory. Not then shall He come riding on an ass: He shall come in a cloud, the emblematic carriage of deity. Not then shall he have to borrow a donkey: then His advance preparations shall be the roaring of the sea and the shaking of the powers of the heavens.” (David Gooding - Commentary on Luke’s Gospel. IVP).

The time of the Second Coming is unknown and even though it gives a number of “signs” such as the gospel of the Kingdom being preached to all nations before the return of the Lord, Matt. 24:14; Mark 13:10; Rom. 11:25 before His coming but these are not so much “time indicators” but “condition indicators” and indeed Jesus warns us that only the Father knew the time - Matt 24:36:

Jesus urged His disciples to be watchful and ready - Matt 24:29-45;Matt 25:1-12;Mark 13:33-37.

The Apostle Paul did the same - 1 Thess. 5:2, 3.

As did Peter - 2 Pet 3:1-11

As did John - Rev 3:3; Rev 16:15.

Our concern is not to be sky-gazers but to actively share the gospel message until He returns - Acts 1:8–11.

2. The Results of Christ’s Return:

There are a number of comcommitant results that arise from the return of Jesus to earth. Our basis of faith lists some of these...

a. Jesus will “raise all people to judgement”:

The church teaches that there will be different kinds of judgments at the end of time that all creatures will endure so all people are raised to Judgment - Matt. 13:49, 50; 16:27; 24:3; 25:14–46; Luke 9:26; 19:15, 26, 27; John 5:25–29; Acts 17:31; Rom. 2:3–16; 1 Cor. 4:5; 15:23; Phil. 3:20, 21; 1 Thess. 4:13–17; 2 Thess. 1:7–10; 2:7, 8; 2 Tim. 4:1, 8; 2 Pet. 3:10–13,

Everyone will be raised from the dead and judged according to their works. Unbelievers will stand before God before the “Great White throne”(Rev 20:11-15). see Rev 21:8

Believers will “appear before the judgment seat of Christ to give account of things done in the body, whether good or bad”(2 Cor 5:10) - Rev 22:12. ” For believers this does not mean they will be saved by works but rather their rewards in Heaven will be determined by their works. Salvation is always by grace - as disciples of Christ those who enter the vineyard at the eleventh hour will receive the same reward as those who have been there all day, because it is the gift of his grace and not the wages they have earned by their own efforts (Matt 20:1–16).

The Bible also intimates that at some point there will also be a judgment of angels in which Christians will participate (1 Cor 6:3). This judgment will likely occur after the judgment of mankind, since otherwise it is hard to see how human participation in angelic judgment would be possible. This will include the judgment of Satan and his demonic allies - Rev 20:10.

b. Jesus will “bring eternal life to the redeemed.”

The writer to the Hebrews speaks of the benefits of the death of Christ in this way: “For Christ did not enter a man-made sanctuary that was only a copy of the true one; he entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God’s presence. Nor did he enter heaven to offer himself again and again, the way the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood that is not his own. Then Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world. But now he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself. Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.”(Hebrews 9:24-28).

Eternal redemption speaks of our salvation from a state fo sin and death to a state of redemption; forgiveness and eternal life - a physical, non-dying state of consciousness in a Paradise State - Matt. 5:5; Rev. 21:1–3.

This remidns s of the ALREADY-NOT YET of our salvation - Jesus has “redeemed us from the curse of the law, by becoming a curse for us.” In “Him we have redemption in HIs blood the forgiveness of sins”(Col 1:14) but currently “the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.” (Romans 8:23)

This is not merely an endless life, but life in all its fulness, without any of the imperfections and disturbances of the present, Matt. 25:46; Rom. 2:7. The fulness of this life is enjoyed in communion with God, which is really the essence of eternal life, Rev. 21:3 in an abode described as the house of our Father with many rooms - John 14:1.

“The best we can hope for in this life is a knothole peek at the shining realities ahead. Yet a glimpse is enough. It's enough to convince our hearts that whatever sufferings and sorrows currently assail us aren't worthy of comparison to that which waits over the horizon.” - Joni Eareckson Tada

In this state we will see God in Jesus Christ face to face. We will find full satisfaction in Him, will rejoice in Him, and will glorify Him. We will be with one another and engage in physical, social activity. There will be nothing impure; hurtful or damaging in Heaven. No tears; no regret; no disease; no death! - Rev 21:1-10

“The apostolic church thought more about the Second Coming of Jesus Christ than about death and heaven. The early Christians were looking, not for a cleft in the ground called a grave but for a cleavage in the sky called Glory.” - Alexander MacLaren

Question 1 - How does the belief in Second Coming of Jesus encourage us to think about our future? What excites or scares you about it?

c. Jesus will declare “eternal condemnation to the lost “

The Bible is equally clear on this and if it is rejected it is not because it is unclear, it is because it is disliked! - 2 Thes 1:3-10;Rev 20:1-15

This state is a physical; non-daying state of consciousness in torment - Matt. 8:12; 13:50; Mark 9:43, 44, 47, 48; Luke 16:23, 28; Rev. 14:10; 21:8.

There can be no reasonable doubt as to the fact that the Bible teaches the continued existence of the wicked, Matt 25:30, 46; Luke 16:19–31. The Bible uses local terms such as gehenna, from the Hebrew ge (land, or valley) and hinnom a valley southwest of Jerusalem where wicked idolators sacrificed their children to Moloch by causing them to pass through the fire. It was considered impure and was called in later days “the valley of tophet (spittle), as an utterly despised region. Fires were constantly burning there to consume the offal of Jerusalem. As a result it became a symbol of the place of eternal torment. Matt. 18:9 speaks of ten geennan tou puros, the gehenna of fire, and this strong expression is used synonymously with to pur to aionion, the eternal fire, in the previous verse.

The Bible also speaks of a “furnace of fire,” Matt. 13:42, and of a “lake of fire,” Rev. 20:14, 15, which forms a contrast with the “sea of glass like unto crystal,” Rev. 4:6. The terms “prison,” 1 Pet. 3:19, “abyss,” Luke 8:31, and “tartarus,” 2 Pet. 2:4 are also used. From the fact that the preceding terms are all local designations, we may infer that hell is a place.

“Those who go to Heaven ride on a pass and enter into blessings that they never earned, but all who go to hell pay their own way.” - - John R. Rice

“If then, you will be damned, let me have this one thing as a consolation for your misery, that you are not damned for the lack of calling after; you are not lost for the lack of weeping after, and not lost for the lack of praying after.” - Charles Spurgeon

Question 2 - How does the Bible’s teaching about Judgment influence the way you live your life? What questions does it leave you with?

d. Jesus will “establish a new heaven and new earth.”

This is what sometimes is referred to as the restoration of all things - Acts 3:21.

It relates back to the Fall and speaks of its reversal.

Peter says: “But according to His promise, we look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness,” 2 Pet. 3:13, cf. vs. 12; and John saw this new creation in a vision as recorded in Rev. 21:1 when the new Jerusalem descends out of heaven from God, that the tabernacle of God is pitched among men, and that the righteous enter upon their eternal joy.

“The second coming of Christ will be so revolutionary that it will change every aspect of life on this planet. Christ will reign in righteousness. Disease will be arrested. Death will be modified. War will be abolished. Nature will be changed. Man will live as it was originally intended he should live.” ― Billy Graham.

“Let us consider this settled: that no one who has made progress in the school of Christ who does not joyfully await the day of death and final resurrection… Let us not hesitate to await the Lord’s coming, not only with longing, but also with groaning and sighs, as the happiest thing of all. He will come to us as Redeemer.’ (John Calvin).

Question 3 - How does the description of Heaven encourage you? What quetions does it still raise in your mind?