Christ returning in glory is the hope of the Church. Jesus said, “I will come again” (John 14:3). This promise will be fulfilled. The return of Christ is the event that will finally release the people who love God and seek to honor Him from Satan's earthly rule:
To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation (Hebrews 9:28 NKJV).
Although Jesus did not tell us every detail about His Second Coming, His Word does give us some clues about how He will return. When Jesus left to go back to heaven after His resurrection, two angels stood by the disciples and gave them important information about Christ’s Second Coming:
…while [the disciples] beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight. And while they look stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; Which also said, 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 1:9-11 emphasis added).
We can glean three vital pieces of information from the Scriptures:
1. Christ will come in the clouds with His angels.
Jesus was taken up into heaven by a cloud, and He will return in the clouds. The clouds symbolize the angels of God that will surround Him, as can be seen in Hebrew parallelism:
The chariots of God are twenty thousand, even thousands of angels: the Lord is among them, as is Sinai, in the holy place (Psalm 68:17).
…who maketh the clouds his chariots; who walketh upon the wings of the wind (Psalm 104:3).
Jesus Himself promised that He would return with the clouds:
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 (Matthew 24:30).
The glory of Christ's coming will surpass anything we can imagine. He will return in the glory of His angels, and the Godhead: “when he shall come in his own glory, and in his Father's, and of the holy angels” (Luke 9:26).
For further information see Matthew 25:31 and 26:64; Mark 13:26 and 14:62; Revelation 1:7; and 2 Thessalonians 1:7.
2. The Second Coming will be audible and universally visible.
And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other (Matthew 24:31).
For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God (1 Thessalonians 4:16).
Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him (Revelation 1:7).
When Christ returns, every person in every nation will see Him. In fact, Christ warned against false comings of Christ that would not be universally visible:
Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not. For as the lightning cometh out of the east and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be (Matthew 24:26-27).
3. The Lord will not come down to the earth, but will await the redeemed in the sky.
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 (1 Thessalonians 4:17).
And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other (Matthew 24:31 NIV).
At the Second Coming, Christ will call forth the dead and send forth His angels to gather the elect, and together they will meet Him in the air. Christ Himself will not come down to the earth—His feet will not touch the earth. He commands His angels, “Gather my saints together unto me; those that have made a covenant with me by sacrifice” (Psalm 50:5).
See the next article to discover what will happen when Christ returns.
|
This article is adapted from Truth Matters by Professor Walter J. Veith, an international speaker who has studied Biblical issues in-depth in his quest for truth. His popular series Genesis Conflict brings the debate between Creation and evolution to a new climax as he dissects the arguments with a scientific eye. His highly-acclaimed series Total Onslaught sheds light on the state of the world today as we move to a one-world government and an anticipated apocalypse.
|
Creation and Evolution: Is Compromise Possible?
How Can We See Stars That Are Billions Of Light Years Away?
Understanding the Creation Week
The Rise of Evolutionary Thinking
Geocentricity: It's Time to Face the Facts
Earth's History: Conflicting Paradigms
Lamarck Proposes Natural Selection
Age Of The Earth Is Carbon-Dating Accurate?
Flood Chronology
Read several authors' thoughts on papal Rome's history.
This article highlights quotes from historical and Catholic sources proving the Papacy's aggressive nature.
Persecution in the First Centuries
An Era of Spiritual Darkness The Waldenses
John Wycliffe Huss and Jerome
Luther's Separation From Rome
Luther Before the Diet The Swiss Reformer
Progress of Reform in Germany
Protest of the Princes The French Reformation
The Netherlands and Scandinavia
Later English Reformers
The Bible and the French Revolution
The Pilgrim Fathers Heralds of the Morning
An American Reformer Light Through Darkness
A Great Religious Awakening A Warning Rejected
Prophecies Fulfilled What is the Sanctuary?
In the Holy of Holies God's Law Immutable
A Work of Reform Modern Revivals
Facing Life's Record The Origin of Evil
Enmity Between Man and Satan
Agency of Evil Spirits Snares of Satan
The First Great Deception
Can Our Dead Speak to Us?
Liberty of Conscience Threatened
The Impending Conflict
The Scriptures a Safeguard The Final Warning
The Time of Trouble God's People Delivered
Desolation of the Earth The Controversy Ended
Is Revelation a Sealed Book?
Revelation 1: Jesus, The Heart of Revelation
Revelation 1 Commentary: The Revelation of Jesus
Revelation 2-3: Letters to Seven Churches
Revelation 2 Commentary: Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamos, Thyatira
Revelation 3 Commentary: Sardis, Philadelphia, Laodicea
Revelation 4 Commentary: The Throne in Heaven
The Lamb and the Sealed Book
Revelation 5 Commentary: The Scroll and the Lamb
Revelation 6 Commentary: The Vision of Seven Seals
Revelation 7 Commentary: The 144,000
Revelation 8 Commentary: Seven Trumpets
Revelation 9 Commentary: The Bottomless Pit
Revelation 10 Commentary: A Little Book
Revelation 11 Commentary: Two Witnesses
Revelation 12 Commentary: The Woman and the Dragon
Revelation 13 Commentary: Two Beasts
Revelation 14 Commentary: Three Angels' Messages
Revelation 15 Commentary: Seven Angels, Seven Plagues
Revelation 16 Commentary: Seven Bowls of God's Anger
Revelation 17 Commentary: A Woman Rides the Beast
Revelation 18 Commentary: Babylon Falls
Revelation 19 Commentary: The Rider on the White Horse
Revelation 20 Commentary: Millennium and the Judgment
Revelation 21 Commentary: The New Jerusalem
Revelation 22 Commentary: Invitation and Warning