The Second Coming of Jesus

The Second Coming1

Anthony L. Norwood

Bible Understanding Made Easy Bible Study Series

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The Second Coming of Jesus

The second coming of Jesus is an exciting and interesting topic. There are many events that will happen on that great day. There will be many highlights presented on this topic as we are blessed to study it together!

First, we know that the second coming will occur from 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17. It reads as follows, according to the New King James Version:

16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.

As you can see, the second coming of Christ will be a noisy event. The dead Christians will get out of the grave. The Christians who are still alive at the second coming of Jesus will be swept up with Jesus in the clouds along with the resurrected Christians. Thus, the entire church of Christ will be with Jesus and taken to the final abode of the soul, which is heaven. In fact, the Bible shows us that these saved Christians will be in the joys of heaven forever more with Jesus (Revelation 21:4).

This also brings to mind another encouraging and inspiring passage of Scripture. That Scripture is John 5:28-29. It also speaks of all the dead hearing the voice of Jesus at His second coming. This passage of Scripture differs from 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17, because the people involved will be both Christians and non-Christians. In John 5:28-29 we are showing that one group, which are the righteous will go on to eternal life, which is another way of saying they will be saved and go to heaven. The other group is the unrighteous. These are those who would not leave a life of sin, those who will not believe that Jesus is the Son of God, and/orChristians who live in hypocrisy (Revelation 21:8; Mark 16:15-16; John 8:24; Matthew 7:21-23). Also, every ear shall hear Jesus’ voice (John 5:28). As a result, there will be no doubt that Jesus is the Son of God to any man or woman that lived due to the fact, His voice will call them from the graves!

With the abovementioned information known, this transitions our thoughts to Matthew 16:27. This passage of Scripture tells us that the second coming of Jesus will reveal two things. One of those things is that He will come in His gloried state. This means that He is not coming back as the suffering servant. Instead, He will be seen by mankind in a majestic state as King of all mankind (1 Timothy 6:14-15). With this status, Matthew 16:27 also tells us that the power of judging mankind’s eternal destiny will also be in His hands. Matthew 16:27 tells us that He will reward every man according to His works. “Works” is the King James Version’s and the New King James Version’s way of describing a person’s deeds. Thus, this verse alone does debunk many false teachings on the topic of mankind’s personal responsibilities for his/her actions in this life, because many false teachers believe that faith alone in Jesus Christ is all that is necessary to be saved. In other words, although mankind is saved by the grace of God, which means His unmerited favor, he/she still must try to live right despite making mistakes (Philippians 2:12-13 ; James 2:20). Grace applies to those who are trying and not those who are purposely rebelling against the Word of God. Grace covers Christians who are sincerely trying to obey God, but fail from time to time (1 John 1:7-10). This is why God gives a fallen Christian the opportunity to change his way (i.e. repent), confess his/her fault to God, and ask for God’s forgiveness in prayer to restore himself/herself to a state of grace (Acts 8:22; 1 John 1:7-10). This is joyful information to know that just because a Christian makes a mistake, God does not give up on him or her unless the person gives up the Christian fight!

Moving on, at the judgment day in front of Jesus, mankind will be classified into two groups and judged on the criteria of compassion for his/her fellow human being. Matthew 25:31-46 talks about the judgment day and two groups being present. One is labeled “sheep” and the other “goats.” Of course, these symbolic names say a lot. A sheep is a docile, obedient animal while goats are stubborn, rebellious ones. The sheep are those who will go on to eternal life, because they acted on their compassion for helping others in need. The goats were guilty of the sin of omission, which means to not do good when the opportunity presents itself (Galatians 6:10). Thus, Christianity in general, is not just a system of beliefs, it is a lifestyle as well. God remembers all of our deeds including the good ones in the end! Thus, there is no such thing as a wasted good deed. The good deeds will be recognized on the great judgment day to come!

In the same chapter of Matthew, there is a story we commonly call “The Parable of the Ten Virgins.” A parable is a fictional story that proves a religious point in a symbolic way. The story is told in Matthew 25:1-13. In this passage of Scripture, a bridegroom, leaves ten women to come back to them later. While he was away and delayed, all of the ten women fell asleep. Five of the women were considered wise, because they had oil in their lamps. The other five were considered foolish, because they did not have any oil for their lamps. Thus, they had no way of seeing where to go when they were led to the marriage at the return of the bridegroom. Now, the five foolish ones tried to get some oil from the wise women, but no one would give of their oil to those who lacked. So when the bridegroom came back, the wise ones were able to get into the marriage feast, but the foolish ones were left behind. This story is symbolic of the judgment day. The wise people of this world will live in faith and obedience to the end of their lives so that at the second coming of Jesus, they will go to the joys of heaven. On the other hand, those who do not have oil in their lamps, which means they either do not continue believing in Jesus or they stopped obeying Him to the end of their lives will be shut out of the heaven (Revelation 2:10). Again, the marriage feast is symbolic of eternal life in heaven. No one knows when Jesus will return (Matthew 25:13). As a result, all mankind must remain in the ready status of faith and obedience at all times. As the parable shows us, just like oil could not be transferred to those who were lacking, no one else’s righteousness can be transferred to another human being. All human beings must establish their own relationship with Jesus to be saved. Everyone will answer for his/her own deeds at the judgment day (Revelation 20:11-15). Thus, one’s mother, father, brother, sister, or even friend who are already Christians cannot save one who does not come to a saving relationship with Jesus for himself/herself.

Moving on, from a spiritual point of view, death is not a sad event for a Christian. As already mentioned, Christians will be caught up in the clouds with Jesus forevermore when He comes back (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17). Also, being with Jesus forever is a joyful occasion as was mentioned, there is no crying, dying, pain, or suffering when Christians are swept up to heaven (Revelation 21:4). Jesus has already risen from the dead and ascended into heaven (Acts 1). What is He doing up there? The Bible says that after He rose from the dead, He went to prepare a place for His followers (John 14:2-3). That way, they can be with Him forever! What a gift and reason to rejoice! He promises to come back for His church (John 14:3). What a beautiful day that will be!

There are many imposters claiming to be Jesus throughout the years and there will be many more to come. Nonetheless, one is an imposter if the dead do not rise when he or she claims to be Jesus! Thus, this is the major proof as to whether someone is a fraud or not. Furthermore, the other aspect of the second coming of Jesus is that all eyes will see him. He will not come in secret. He will be seen by all mankind (Matthew 26:64; Revelation 1:7; Acts 1:1-11). Friend, do not be worried about whether someone is the true Jesus or not. There will be no doubt, because at His appearing, the judgment will start!

In summary, we have studied many aspects of the second coming of Jesus. Of course, this is not a complete teaching, but these highlights should teach many things. One of those things is that He is certainly coming back. When He comes back, He will gather His church to take them on to eternal life and joy in heaven. When He comes back, the dead, both saved and unsaved, will get out of the graves and face the judgment day destined for all mankind. The faithful Christian community does not have to worry, because Jesus has promised them everlasting life (Revelation 2:10). What a wonderful day it will be to see Jesus face-to-face! May God bless you and keep you!