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Second Coming of Christ
Return of Christ
The Second Coming is a term applied to the return of Christ. If there is a second coming, it follows that there must have been a first. The first coming of Christ was His incarnation when He was born. At the second coming of Christ every eye will see Him (Rev. 1:7) as He descends from heavens in the clouds (Matt. 24:30; Mark 14:62).
Christ’s return at the end of the world to establish God’s kingdom (1 Cor. 15:23-25). The New Testament does not use this expression; it refers simply to “the coming” (parousia), also called a “reveal(ing)” of Jesus (1 Cor. 1:7), or an “appearing” (Titus 2:13). There is dispute about the relationship of Christ’s second coming to the thousand years, or millennium (Rev. 20:4), but none as to the fact that it will be God’s decisive and indispensable intervention. Christ’s coming to destroy all evil will be the culmination of his redemptive work.
The Shaw Pocket Bible Handbook, Walter A. Elwell, Editor, (Harold Shaw Publ., Wheaton , IL; 1984), p. 358
Christ’s Return
There’s a man in yonder glory I have loved for many years,
He has cleared my guilty conscience and has banished all my fears.
He is coming in a moment in the twinkling of an eye,
And no time will be allotted for you to utter one good-bye.
No time to kiss the husband or embrace the loving wife,
If they are but united in the bonds of holy life.
Are you ready, Christian, ready, for shout and trump and voice?
Will His coming make you tremble or cause you to rejoice?
Are you walking, talking with Him daily, taking Him your care,
Do you live so close to heaven that a breath would waft you there?
Quoted in Fairest of All, Herbert Lockyer, Eerdmans, 1936, p. 71
Descriptions of the Second Advent
The expressions used by St. Paul as descriptive of the Second Advent are worth collecting:
1. he hemera tou Kuriou at 1 Thess. 5:2; 1 Cor. 1:8, 5:5; cp. Phil. 1:10; 2 Tim. 1:12.
2. he apokalypsis tou kuriou at 2 Thess. 1:7; 1 Cor. 1:7.
3. he parousia at 1 Thess. 2:19, 3:13, 4:15, 5:23; 2 Thess. 2:1, 9.
4. he epiphaneia tes parousias autou at 2 Thess. 2:8.
5. he epiphaneia autou at 1 Tim 6:14; 2 Tim 4:1, 8 (it is applied to the Lord’s First Coming in 2 Tim. 1:10).
6. he epiphaneia tes doxes tou megalou Theou kai soteros hemon Christou Iesou (Tit. 2:13).
Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges, The Pastoral Epistles, J. H. Bernard, 1906, p. 100.
Gallup Poll
- The belief that Jesus Christ will return to earth someday is held by 62 percent of all Americans.
George Gallup, “Religion in America,” Leadership, Fall, 1987
Fearing the Coming of the Lord
During his 1960 presidential campaign, John F. Kennedy often closed his speeches with the story of Colonel Davenport, the Speaker of the Connecticut House of Representatives.
One day in 1789, the sky of Hartford darkened ominously, and some of the representatives, glancing out the windows, feared the end was at hand. Quelling a clamor for immediate adjournment, Davenport rose and said, “The Day of Judgment is either approaching or it is not. If it is not, there is no cause for adjournment. If it is, I choose to be found doing my duty. Therefore, I wish that candles be brought.”
Rather than fearing what is to come, we are to be faithful till Christ returns. Instead of fearing the dark, we’re to be lights as we watch and wait.
Harry Heintz
Biblical Prophecy
Biblical prophecy provides some of the greatest encouragement and hope available to us today. Just as the Old Testament is saturated with prophecies concerning Christ’s first advent, so both testaments are filled with references to the second coming of Christ. One scholar has estimated that there are 1,845 references to Christ’s second coming in the Old Testament, where 17 books give it prominence. In the 260 chapters of the New Testament, there are 318 references to the second advent of Christ—an amazing 1 out of every 30 verses. Twenty-three of the 27 New Testament books refer to this great event. For every prophecy in the Bible concerning Christ’s first advent, there are 8 which look forward to His second!
Today in the Word, April, 1989, p. 27
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