“For just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes as far as the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be.” (Matthew 24: 27 NASB)
Ever wonder where history is going? Wars, diseases, crime … the world situation is bad and does not seem to be getting any better. People are sincerely looking for answers to the world’s problems. Divergent “experts” espouse differing views as to how the world can be fixed. Humanists say mankind can save himself if world leaders apply rational ideas to mankind’s issues through the U.N. and other international organizations. Marxists assert that, through a revolution of all workers and the destruction of capitalism, inevitably there will be a future age of peace and plenty in the world. Many scientists assert that science can eventually save us when they find scientific solutions to human problems. Many psychologists and psychiatrists say the answer lies in mental engineering and/or psychotropic drugs. Religious cults often declare that their leader(s) has the true answers to all mankind’s needs. And, many naive people are looking for an alien power beyond this world to come and save us (remember Steven Spielberg’s “Close Encounters of Third Kind”)?
As Bible believing Christians we trust in God only to finally fix the world’s complex situation. We assert that the world is in the terrible condition it is because of mankind’s sin and that we are incapable of ultimately solving our problems. Only when Jesus Christ returns will the world find true redemption from the sinful state it now endures.
That being said, naturally, Christians (and some non-Christians) ask sincere questions about Jesus’ Second Coming. In this article we will answer four such common questions. We will look at Jesus’ own words as recorded in Matthew 24 to explore these issues.
Question #1- Is the Second Coming of Christ something we should actually believe in?
When I was a freshman in college I took a required standardized psychological test. I think the results were used in research. Most of the questions were pretty mundane and some were absurd. One particular question I recall was “Do you believe in the Second Coming of Christ?” I don’t know if answering “yes”, as I did, meant they thought a person who believed it was mentally unstable. In any case, I thought it was a strange item to include on a mental health inventory. But it does highlight an important issue: should we believe in the Second Coming of Christ?
Obviously in the above passage, Matthew 24:27, Jesus promised His coming. But the promise is also found in Jesus’ teachings and throughout the New Testament. Here are some examples.
Jesus taught about it in the Gospels (all verses from NASB):
Matthew 24:29-31
“But immediately after the tribulation of those days THE SUN WILL BE DARKENED, AND THE MOON WILL NOT GIVE ITS LIGHT, AND THE STARS WILL FALL from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30 And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the SON OF MAN COMING ON THE CLOUDS OF THE SKY with power and great glory. And He will send forth His angels with A GREAT TRUMPET BLAST, and THEY WILL GATHER TOGETHER His [elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.”
Mark 8:38
“For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.” (see also Mark !3:24-27)
Luke 21:27-28
“And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. But when these things begin to take place, straighten up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”
It is taught in the book of Acts.
Acts 1:9-11
“And after He had said these things, He was lifted up while they were watching, and a cloud took Him up, out of their sight. 10 And as they were gazing intently into the sky while He was going, then behold, two men in white clothing stood beside them, 11 and they said, ‘Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven.’”
The Apostle Paul taught it.
1 Cor. 15:23-27
“But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, after that those who are Christ’s at His coming, 24 then comes the end, when He hands over the kingdom to our God and Father, when He has abolished all rule and all authority and power. 25 For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet. 26 The last enemy that will be abolished is death. 27 For HE HAS PUT ALL THINGS IN SUBJECTION UNDER HIS FEET.
1 Thess. 4:15-17
“For we say this to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive, who remain, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.”
2 Thess. 1:10
“When He comes to be glorified among His saints on that day, and to be marveled at among all who have believed-because our testimony to you was believed.”
See also: 1 Peter 1:3-6; 2 Peter 3:3-13; James 5:8; and all the book of Revelation. All total, there are 318 references in the New Testament to the Second Coming of Christ. As the great theologian W. T. Conner stated: “All classes of writers in the New Testament, early and late, evidently looked forward to the return of Christ and regarded this hope as based on a promise of Christ Himself before he went away.” (W. T. Conner. Christian Doctrine. Nashville: Broadman Press, 1937. p. 308.)
So then, should we believe in the Second Coming? If we consider the Bible and the words of Christ as authoritative and true, then we must believe He is coming again.
Question #2- What is the purpose for the Second Coming of Christ?
It has been nearly seventy-seven years (from 2021) since one of history’s greatest days. On June 6th, 1944, we saw the first of two major steps toward victory in WW2 over the Nazis – D-Day. The second was VE-Day (Victory in Europe) on May 8, 1945. When the allies went ashore at Normandy on that “Longest Day” in 1944, the ultimate defeat of Hitler and Germany was only a matter of time.
In the same way, there are two elements to the completion of Jesus’ saving work: the Cross of Calvary at His First Coming, and His Second Coming. He will then gather His saved people from across the world and from their tombs, He will judge the world, and He will establish the eternal Kingdom of God.
So what is the purpose for the Second Coming of Christ? The basic answer is to complete the work of His First Coming. That is to finish the victory already won at the cross and by His resurrection. At that time God will destroy evil and fulfill His purposes for all Creation.
In the next installment we will answer two more questions about the Second Coming. 1. When is the time of the Second Coming of Christ? 2. (And most important) How should we live in light of Jesus’ Second Coming?
© 2021 Tal Davis