The Imminent Return of Jesus Christ

Our Lord Jesus Christ is returning very soon!   His return is imminent, it could happen today.   It could happen tomorrow, next month or next year.   The Second Coming is the hope of the Christian, it is the expectation of the believer.   It is one of the most important doctrines of the faith, in my opinion second only to Jesus’ death and resurrection.   ALL Christians should be anticipating His second coming. 

Jesus talks about His return:

Matthew 24
23. Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. 
24. For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. 
25. Behold, I have told you before. 
26. 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. 
27. 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. 
28. For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together. 
29. Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: 
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.

Jesus wasn’t the only New Testament figure who talked about His return.   The NT writers also mentioned it often.   Here are a handful of verses from several different books mentioning the second coming of Christ:

For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming? 1 Thessalonians 2:19

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.   1 Thessalonians 5:23

7 . Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain.
8 . Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh.   James 5:7,8

. . .waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ:   1 Corinthians 1:7

20. But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept. 
21. For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. 
22. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. 
23. But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.   1 Corinthians 15:20-23

For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.   1 Thessalonians 4:15

No one knows when Jesus will return.   Not even Jesus Himself knows, only God the Father knows.   “But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.”   (Matt 24:36)  Jesus will arrive in the clouds , visible to everyone, everywhere at once, “…as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west… ” (Matt 24:27) and all who have rejected Him will mourn (Matt 24:30).  He will descend in the clouds in a similar manner to His ascension.

9. And when he [Jesus] had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight. 
10. And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; 
11. 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

Christ warned that many false Christs would come in His name, even claiming to be Him.   Since He will appear everywhere at once, we should not run after the false christs who can only be in one place at once.  Furthermore, we should expose the false christs so others won’t follow them in their ways.   Also, since ”no man knoweth the day nor the hour,“ we should avoid all those who claim to know the date of His return or have figured it out by various means.   All of their prophecies will fail, and the Bible says that any prophet who prophecies wrong is a false prophet:

20. But the prophet, which shall presume to speak a word in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of other gods, even that prophet shall die. 
21. And if thou say in thine heart, How shall we know the word which the Lord hath not spoken? 
22. When a prophet speaketh in the name of the Lord, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the Lord hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him.

Deut 18:20-22

Beware! Scoffers and evil servants say the Lord delays His coming:

3. Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, 
4. And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.

2 Peter 3:3-4

Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh. Matt 24:44

48. But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; 
49. And shall begin to smite his fellowservants, and to eat and drink with the drunken; 
50. The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of, 
51. And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Matt 24:48-51

Jesus said that He would come at a time that they would think that He is not coming, so ignore those who say He isn’t coming anytime soon.

“But why so long of a wait?   It’s been 2000+ years!   I thought He said He was coming quickly!!!”

“[W]here is the promise of his coming?…The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”   (2 Peter 3:3, 9)   Now lets take a look at the preceding verse:   But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.   (2 Peter 3:8)   A thousand years to us might just be a day to the Lord, which means that to God, the past two thousand years might just have been a couple days.   A couple days can be described as ‘quickly’, but what about a couple thousand years?   This may not seem like a short period of time, but when compared to eternity, two thousand years is indeed quite short. 

Jesus is returning to do three things:

1. Defeat the beast, the Antichrist, and his world government.
2. Resurrect the saved to live eternally with Him.
3. Set up His millennial kingdom on earth.

At the end of the tribulation, all survivors will follow the Antichrist and false prophet to Armageddon to try to defeat Jesus as He returns through the clouds.   Their attempts are in vain, however, for no man-made weapon has a chance against God.   Jesus takes their leaders, the Antichrist and false prophet, and casts them alive into the lake of fire.   Then, He slays all the followers of the beast with the sword of His mouth, His very words.

19. And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army. 
20. And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. 
21. And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh.

Rev. 19:19-21

Next, the believers in Christ will be resurrected to live forever with the Lord:   These will be resurrected first, then those Christians who survived the wrath of man during the tribulation will be caught up together with them:

4. And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. 
5. But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. 
6. Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.

Rev. 12:4-6

15. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. 
16. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump 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.

1 Thess 4:15-17

(Note there are only TWO resurrections, the resurrection of the saved, and the resurrection of the damned (Rev 20:5, 12).   There aren’t two resurrections and two raptures of the saved, one before the tribulation, and one after the tribulation, like some would have you believe.   The resurrection mentioned in Rev. 20:5 will happen after the tribulation.   Notice how the tribulation martyrs are among those risen from the dead.

Now, Christ will set up His millennial kingdom here on earth, and all the saints (saved people) will rule as kings and priests over the world (Rev. 20:6).   The unsaved will wait in hell for a thousand years, then they will be judged and cast into the lake of fire.   Make sure you are in the first group and not the second.

Conclusion

Jesus Christ is coming very soon!   But are you ready?   Are you living your life in a way that would please Him?   Are you a Christian on Sunday only, or every day of the week?   If you would die today, would Jesus tell you “Well done, thou good and faithful servant?”

1. Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. 
2. And five of them were wise, and five were foolish. 
3. They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them: 
4. But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. 
5. While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. 
6. And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him. 
7. Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps. 
8. And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out. 
9. But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves. 
10. And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut. 
11. Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. 
12. But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not. 
13. Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.

Matt 25:1-13

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