The Second Coming of Christ
The Second
Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ is the
Church's great hope. We, as Christians,
all look forward to this event with
great anticipation. The Second Coming
gives us a striking expectation of the
great and glorious things that will take
place at His appearance. It also
provides us with a faith picture of how
we will be changed in the twinkling of
an eye to be wholly conformed into
Christ’s image. We will be delivered and
freed from the bondage of this flesh, as
the passage below details.
1 Corinthians 15:54 So when
this corruptible has put on
incorruption, and this mortal has put on
immortality, then shall be brought to
pass the saying that is written: “Death
is swallowed up in victory.”
There are
many views amongst Christians as to when
Jesus will return. The objective here is
not to lift one view above another, but
to simply look at the fact that Jesus
will return in the near future and how
we must prepare ourselves for this
momentous event the Church has been
anticipating since the ascension of
Jesus to the Father following His
resurrection from the dead.
Acts
1:9-11 Now when He had spoken
these things, while they watched, He was
taken up, and a cloud received Him out
of their sight. 10And while they looked
steadfastly toward heaven as He went up,
behold, two men stood by them in white
apparel, 11who also said, "Men of
Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into
heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken
up from you into heaven, will so come in
like manner as you saw Him go into
heaven."
Let’s keep
in mind that no one knows the day nor
the hour, but that doesn’t mean we
should be ignorant of the season as
Jesus reminded us, when He said, "But of
that day and hour, no one knows, not
even the angels of heaven, but My Father
only.
Even though
we won’t know the day or the hour of His
return, God expects us to be aware of
our seasons. We see where Jesus rebuked
the Pharisees and the Sadducees for not
being able to discern the signs of the
times.
Matthew 16:2-3 He answered and
said to them, "When it is evening you
say, 'It will be fair weather, for the
sky is red'; 3 "and in the morning, 'It
will be foul weather today, for the sky
is red and threatening.' Hypocrites! You
know how to discern the face of the sky,
but you cannot discern the signs of the
times.
Jesus wants
us to be like the sons of Issachar, who
understood their times, and knew what
Israel should do. There must be those in
the Church today who understand the
times, who also know what the Church
should do to prepare for the second
coming of Christ. Many of the signs
Jesus and other Bible writers said would
precede His coming seem to be apparent
in our current season of time. It could
be that we are now in the season Jesus
spoke of concerning the coming birth
pangs
Mark
13:7-8 "But when you hear of
wars and rumors of wars, do not be
troubled; for such things must happen,
but the end is not yet. 8 "For nation
will rise against nation and kingdom
against kingdom. And there will be
earthquakes in various places, and there
will be famines and troubles. These are
the beginnings of sorrows.
With an
understanding that we are most likely at
the beginning of the birth pangs Jesus
spoke of, we must make sure we prepare
ourselves for His coming, lest we get
caught sleeping. We don’t want to be
caught unprepared like the foolish
virgins Jesus spoke of in His parable.
Luke 21:34 "But take heed to
yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed
down with carousing, drunkenness, and
cares of this life, and that Day come on
you unexpectedly.
Before the
Second Coming of Christ, the great
challenge for the Christian will be to
maintain a state of readiness. Because,
when Jesus returns, He’s coming for a
bride that has made herself ready and is
full of faith.
Revelation
19:7 "Let us be glad and
rejoice and give Him glory, for the
marriage of the Lamb has come, and His
wife has made herself ready."
Matthew 25:10 "And while they
went to buy, the bridegroom came, and
those who were ready went in with him to
the wedding; and the door was shut.
Jesus’
parable of the ten virgins reveals that
the determining factor in being ready is
the amount of oil in our vessels. Oil is
always symbolic of the Holy Spirit in
the Bible. Therefore, we must have an
ongoing vibrant relationship with the
Holy Spirit, keeping ourselves stirred
up in the faith if we want to be among
those who will be ready when the
Bridegroom comes for His bride.
To
View a Complete Version of this
Devotional
Click Here
|
