THE 2ND COMING OF CHRIST
Question: "What is the Second Coming of Jesus Christ?"
Answer: The Second Coming of Jesus Christ is the hope of believers that God is in control of all things and is faithful to the promises and prophecies in His Word. In His first coming, Jesus Christ came to earth as a baby in a manger in Bethlehem, just as prophesied. Jesus fulfilled many of the prophecies of the Messiah during His birth, life, ministry, death, and resurrection. However, there are some prophecies regarding the Messiah that Jesus has not, as of yet, fulfilled. The Second Coming of Christ will be the return of Christ to fulfill these remaining prophecies. In His first coming, Jesus was the suffering Servant. In His Second Coming, Jesus will be the conquering King. In His first coming, Jesus arrived in the most humble of circumstances. In His Second Coming, Jesus will arrive with the armies of Heaven at His side.
The Old Testament prophets did not make this distinction between the two comings. This can be seen in Scriptures such as Isaiah 7:14; 9:6-7; and Zechariah 14:4. As a result of the prophecies seeming to speak of two individuals, many Jewish scholars believed there would be both a suffering Messiah and a conquering Messiah. What they failed to understand is that the same Messiah would fulfill both roles. Jesus fulfilled the role of the suffering Servant (Isaiah chapter 53) in His first coming. Jesus will fulfill the role of Israel’s Deliverer and King in His Second Coming. Zechariah 12:10 and Revelation 1:7, describing the Second Coming, look back to Jesus being pierced. Israel, and the whole world, will mourn for not having accepted the Messiah the first time He came.
After Jesus ascended into Heaven, the angels declared to the apostles, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven” (Acts 1:11). Zechariah 14:4 identifies the location of the Second Coming as the Mount of Olives. Matthew 24:30 declares, “At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory.” Titus 2:13 describes the Second Coming as a “glorious appearing.”
The Second Coming is spoken of in greatest detail in Revelation 19:11-16: “And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war. His eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many diadems; and He has a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself. He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses. From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty. And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, ‘KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.’”Question: "Will the generation that saw Israel re-formed as a nation still be alive for the Second Coming?"
Answer: This concept is usually drawn from Matthew 24:34, “I tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened.” The previous verses, Matthew 24:1-33, describe end-times events in relation to Israel. As a result, some interpreters thought that the end times would begin when Israel was “reconstituted” as a nation (which happened in 1948). However, as more and more time passed from 1948, the time span of a “generation” began to lengthen and lengthen. It has now been nearly 60 years – which is far beyond any standard definition of a generation.
The biggest problem with this teaching is that it completely misunderstands Matthew 24:34. What the context appears to say is that once the end-times events begin to happen, they will happen quickly. Further, Jesus’ prophetic words in Matthew 24 seem to have a “double fulfillment.” Some of the events occurred in A.D. 70 when the Romans destroyed Jerusalem and Israel. Other events (24:29-31, for example) have clearly not yet occurred. Some of Jesus' words occurred shortly after He spoke them (this generation will not pass); others have not yet occurred. To answer your question directly, no, it is not scriptural to teach that the generation that sees Israel become a nation will also see the second coming of Jesus Christ. This may be the case, but Scripture does not specifically say so.Question: "How are we to live our lives in light of Christ's return?"
Answer: We believe that the return of Jesus Christ is imminent; that is, His return could occur at any moment. We, with the Apostle Paul, look for “the blessed hope and the glorious appearing” of Christ (Titus 2:13). Knowing that the Lord could come back today, some are tempted to stop what they’re doing and just “wait” for Him.
However, there is a big difference between knowing that Jesus could return today and knowing that He will return today. Jesus said, “No one knows about that day or hour” (Matthew 24:36). The time of His coming is something God has not revealed to anyone, and so, until He calls us to Himself, we should continue serving Him. In Jesus’ parable of the ten talents, the departing king instructs his servants to “occupy till I come” (Luke 19:13 KJV).
The return of Christ is always presented in scripture as a great motivation to action, not as a reason to cease from action. In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul wraps up his teaching on the rapture by saying, “Therefore . . . always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord” (verse 58). In 1 Thessalonians 5, Paul concludes a lesson on Christ’s coming with these words: “So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be alert and self-controlled” (verse 6). To retreat and “hold the fort” was never Jesus’ intention for us. Instead, we work while we can. “Night is coming, when no one can work” (John 9:4).
The apostles lived and served with the idea that Jesus could return within their lifetime; what if they had ceased from their labors and just “waited”? They would have been in violation of the Great Commission, and the gospel would have not spread. The apostles understood that Jesus’ imminent return meant they must busy themselves with God’s work. They lived life to the fullest, as if every day were their last. We, like they, should view every day as a gift and use it to glorify God.
1 John 3:2-3, "Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure."PAROUSIA