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The next event on God's Prophetic Calendar is the coming again of our blessed Lord. We live nearer in time to this blessed event than any other generation of history.
Before He went away He promised, "If I go away, I will come again and receive you to myself . . . ." As He ascended, the mighty angel prophesied . . .
A. Scriptural Promises of The Coming of Christ
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His Coming Foretold
(Hebrews 9:28) So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.
The Time of His Coming Unknown
No one can predict the exact day or hour. That is hidden in the mind of our glorious Lord.
(Matthew 24:36) But of that day and hour knoweth no [man], no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.
(Luke 12:40) Be ye therefore ready also: for the Son of man cometh at an hour when ye think not.
(1 Thessalonians 5:2) For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.
Spoken of as Near at Hand
The early Christians lived with a holy expectancy. They expected the Lord to come at any time. So should we.
(Philippians 4:5) Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord [is] at hand.
(Hebrews 10:37) For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry.
(James 5:8) Be ye also patient; establish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh.
(Revelation 3:11) Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown.
(Revelation 22:7) Behold, I come quickly: blessed [is] he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book.
(Revelation 22:20) He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly.
The Christian's Proper Attitude Concerning Christ's Coming
Readiness
(Matthew 24:44) Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.
We do not know that this day will pass before the Lord comes.
We should live as though His coming may be tomorrow or today.
Blameless Living
(1 Thessalonians 5:23) And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and [I pray God] your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Our Lord has called us to live holy lives, to keep ourselves pure. One motivation for blameless living, is to live with sense of expectancy that He may come any time.
Perfect Obedience
(1 Timothy 6:14) That thou keep [this] commandment without spot, unrebukeable, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ
We should obediently serve the Lord, being true to His commandments. Especially we should love one another and share the good news as He commanded us.
Joyful Expectation
(Titus 2:13) Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ.
What a blessed hope is this great truth. Our Lord and King is coming for us. Lift up your heads! Your redemption draws nigh.
Constant Abiding
(1 John 2:28) And now, little children, abide in him that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming.
The secret of preparing for His return is "Abide in Him." As we yield our lives to His control, seeking His fullness, we draw from His power and person. He makes us like Himself as we yield to His control.
Rewards at The Second Coming, Bestowed upon Believers
Paul wrote that we shall all stand before the "bema," the Judgment Seat of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:10), and receive rewards for things done in our earthly bodies in this life. What a day that will be!
Honour from the King
(Luke 12:37) Blessed [are] those servants, whom the lord when he cometh shall find watching: verily I say unto you, that he shall gird himself, and make them to sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them.
What amazing grace! To think that our Lord, Who deserves all the honor and glory we can give to Him....will honor us.
Beyond imagination? Yes, but wonderfully true.
Likeness to the King
(Philippians 3:20) For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ (21) Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.
We shall resemble our Blessed Lord. For this purpose the Lord saved us: that we might be like our Elder Brother...that we might bear the family resemblence to our glorious God.
(1 John 3:2) Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.
Glory with the King
(Colossians 3:4) When Christ, [who is] our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.
When He comes in all His glory...we shall share that glory.
Glory!(1 Thessalonians 3:13) To the end he may establish your hearts unblameable in holiness before God, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints.
Our task, by His grace, is to grow in holiness until He comes for us. then, we shall be perfectly transformed into His likeness, and be in perfect harmony with our Master.
The Fadeless Crown
(1 Peter 5:4) And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.
Every faithful undershepherd will receive that unfading crown reserved for faithful servants of our Lord and King.
Warnings to the Unsaved concerning
(Matthew 24:30) And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven; and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
(Mark 8:38) Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.
(Luke 21:26) Men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.
When the Lord shall come in all His glory along with His holy angels and His born again ones, it will be glorious to be a Christian. For the unsaved, it will be a sad, sorrowful time.
(2 Thessalonians 1:7) And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, (8)In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.
B. Signs of The Coming of Christ
Scriptures do not leave us in the dark. There are certain signs and prophecies concerning the coming of the Lord. We cannot predict the exact time, but there has never been a time in recorded history that seemed to match the prophetic signs like the time in which we live. Let's examine the signs of the time.
The Regathering of Israel in Her Land. (Amos 9:15) I will plant Israel in their own land, never again to be uprooted from the land I have given them, says the Lord your God.
(Matthew 24:34) I tell you the truth, this GENERATION WILL NOT PASS AWAY until all these things have happened.
In 1948, Israel became a nation, and in the 1967 war, Israel got Jerusalem back as their capital. It must be remembered that Jerusalem was destroyed in 70 AD. From 70 AD until 1948, there was no official Israel. Until 1967, the Jews had no capitol. It has happened in this generation. Jews are still to this day returning to their land from all over the world. Jesus said the parable of the fig tree (Matthew 24:32) would indicate that he was at the door ready to return. Then he said: This generation will not pass away until all these things have happened. We are that generation!
Like the homing pigeon that returns to its home, the Jews are magnetically attracted to their home land. All the major prophets and most of the minor prophets predicted this return of the Jews before the end of time.
The increase of lawlessness.
(2 TIMOTHY 3:13) While evil men and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.
This is certainly happening today! Because of false teaching in religious institutions and leaving God and His commandments out of the teaching of schools we are reaping the results. Crime and violence have made our streets unsafe. The influence of the media have opened the minds of the people to violence and immorality.
The interest in the Spirit world. (spiritism) (1 Timothy 4:1) The Spirit clearly says that in LATER TIMES some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons.
Today we have on our televisions psychics who fit this description. Paul said the false teachers were hypocritical liars who encouraged people to follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. Satan deceives people by offering a clever imitation of the real thing.
There is an increased interest, especially among our youth, in satanism. Investigators into the recent shootings in schools by teenagers indicate that some of the shooters were involved in the occult and satanism. It is poisoning the mind of our people.
An increase in natural catastrophes
(Matthew 24:7) Nations will rise against kingdoms. There will be FAMINES and EARTHQUAKES in various places.
(Luke 21:26) Men will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken.
We have more earthquakes and other natural catastrophes in this generation than in any other generations in the past -- plus in places where earthquakes are unheard! We have had all kinds of flooding in the last few years. We have had monsoons in the Indian Ocean and southern Asia. We have had hurricanes in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. These make landfall, causing severe damage. Thousands of people have been killed due to these natural catastrophes.
False Christs
(Matthew 24:3) Many shall come in my name saying I AM THE CHRIST, and shall deceive many.
Since the year 1900, over 1,100 people claiming to be CHRIST have appeared on the scene. Just recently, David Koresh, in the Waco Texas incident, claimed he was the CHRIST!
Increase in Travel and Knowledge
(Daniel 12:4) But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words and seal the book even to the time of the end; many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.
The mighty angel Michael instructed Daniel to seal up the scroll about the end of time (for the earth). He said at the end of time people will be travelling to and fro and knowledge will mightily increase.
Examine our day:
Travel
No one has been able to travel as has this generation. We board a jet and in a little while we are on the other side of the continent. In a few hours we can be on the other side of the world. Wouldn't Daniel have been amazed to see how we go to and fro?
What about knowledge?
Because of the computer, knowledge is doubling, tripling every several months. Unbelievable amounts of knowledge are at the disposal of the common people of our generation. We have the resources of a public library in our homes via electronic media. Who would have ever believed that we would be exposed to so much information as we have in our time.
This is predicted in the Word of God. It is one of the signs of the times. We need to be ready. The time is ripe!
C. Stages In The Coming of Christ
Coming For His People, The Church
(1 Thessalonians 4:16) For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first, (17) then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
Many Christians call this the Rapture, the catching away of the saints of all ages. I believe born again believers will be caught up to meet the Lord before the judgment begins against a Christ rejecting world. This is our blessed hope, Jesus is coming first for His people. That will be glory!
Coming With His People To Judge The Earth
(2 Thessalonians 1:7) And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels (8) In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ (9) Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power.
This is what the Lord referred to in His discourse:
(Matthew 24:30) And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven; and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
(Mark 8:38) Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.
(Luke 21:26) Men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.
Which Stage of His Coming is For You?
Are you among those born again Christians who look forward to the coming of the Lord to receive His own people, to open wide His arms to receive you and share His glory and rewards with you? I hope so. If so . . . Just praise the Lord and pass on to others the good news of our wonderful Savior and His love for them.
If there is a question mark in your mind . . .you're really not sure --
I have hope for you
If you will
- acknowledge your need for salvation;
- admit to the Lord and yourself that you have sinned; and
- are truly sorry and ready to turn from your old ways and surrender your life to Him
If you will just call on the name of the Lord Jesus, asking Him to pardon you, surrendering to His control, He will come right into your life. Then, not only will you be prepared for the future . . . whatever it holds -- you will discover the sweetest life this side of heaven.
E-mail me and let me know how the Lord has touched your life
I would love to be your PRAYER PARTNER & BROTHER-IN-CHRIST
