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THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST

1. THE MANNER IN WHICH THE LORD WILL COME
   1. Some of the points that relate to the manner of the Lord's coming are being reserved until our study of the resurrection, judgment, etc. In this lesson may we now consider together from the scriptures the following points concerning the manner of Christ's second coming.
   2. His coming will be personal.
      1. Christ's "personal" return was emphatically promised in the words of the divine messengers in Acts 1:11, "This same Jesus." In this verse the Greek bears striking force at the point of personal identity.
      2. The personal return of Christ is underscored, too, in 1 Thess. 4:16. "The Lord Himself will descend," is the expression of this passage. In this verse we find the use of the Greek third personal pronoun in the nominative case for striking emphasis: "Himself the Lord" is the one who will descend.
      3. The personal idea may be found in all the promises of the Lord's return. Indeed, the promises of His return apart from the personal element would have had little meaning to the early Christians.
   3. Another New Testament emphasis on the manner of the Lord's coming is that of suddenness.
      1. In the latter verses of Matt. 24 (vs.37-end of chapter). Jesus spoke of the suddenness related to His coming.
      2. Likewise, Jesus emphasized this idea in the stories which He told in Matt. 25 to illustrate the manner of preparedness in relation to His return.
      3. In the illustrations Jesus used in Luke 17:26-30 the idea of startling suddenness is apparent.
      4. Paul stressed the idea of suddenness in 1 Thess. 5:3.
   4. "As a thief in the night...." (2 Pet. 3:9) was an expression used by Peter in presenting the same idea.
   5. The New Testament emphasis on the idea of the suddenness of our Lord's return certainly gives us a hint as to the time of the second coming, which we are to study in the latter part of this lesson. When Jesus' disciples asked for signs that would help them to know of His return He gave them teachings which pinpointed the importance of being ready for it whenever it came.
2. OUR LORD'S RETURN WILL BE TRIUMPHANT.
   1. Jesus' coming is spoken of as a glorious event. Specifically it's mentioned as an event which will mean rest for those who belong to the Lord and punishment for those who have rejected Him (2 Thess. 1:5-10). It is certain that the coming of Christ includes the triumphant completion of God's purpose in this world.
   2. In this triumphant return the Lord will be accompanied by those who have died trusting in Him and obeying His commands. 1 Thess. 4:14 presents this idea as a part of the glorious experience of Christ's return.
3. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION IN THE NEW TESTAMENT RECORDS CONCERNING THE MANNER OF THE LORD'S RETURN.
   1. The Greek of Acts 1:11 can hardly be translated into smooth English. The expression is: "Thus will come what manner you saw Him going into heaven." When the Greek term translated "what manner" is used it speaks of exactness. Here it would mean that the manner in which Jesus will return to the earth will be the same manner in which He went away. How far is this idea to be pressed? Does it refer to the cloud which took Him away? Luke tells us that a could came under Him (literally, the cloud received under Him) so that He could not be seen by His disciples (v. 9). They continued to watch, and when the cloud had disappeared Jesus too, had disappeared. Perhaps the best idea to be gleaned from this thought is this: the clouds veiled His ascension; and the clouds will unveil His return.
   2. We do know that when the Lord returns He will be accompanied by His angels (Matt. 25:31; 2 Thess. 1:7).
   3. The manner of the Lord's coming is said to be "in flaming fire" (2 Thess. 1:8).
   4. Accompanying the Lord's return will be "the voice of the arch angel, and the trump of God" (1 Thess. 4:16).
4. THE TIME OF CHRIST'S SECOND COMING
   1. From the days of the first century to the present there has been no part of the doctrine of the Lord's second coming that has created more interest (and speculation as well) than the question of the time of His second coming. This has been true in spite of the fact that so little can definitely be known about the time of the Lord's return.
   2. The best starting place for this part of our study is a reminder of a statement of Jesus studied in a previous lesson (Matt. 24:36) where Jesus said that the day of the second coming was a thing which was known only to the eternal God. He observed that the knowledge of the time of the Lord's return was a thing which was known neither to man nor to angels. Mark 13, a parallel chapter of Matt. 24, observes that "neither the Son" (vs 32) knew the exact time of the second coming. If Jesus, in the days of His flesh, did not know the exact time, and if the angels had been denied that knowledge, and if no one up to Jesus' time had been given that knowledge, then it is certainly clear that God meant for the exact time to be unknown.
5. ADDITIONAL PASSAGES RELATED TO THE TIME OF THE LORD'S COMING.
   1. Jesus again emphasized this idea in Acts 1:7 on the occasion of His ascension.
   2. There were two classes of disturbers in New Testament times, as now, who are always stirring up questions about the time of His coming--the skeptic and the speculator. Seeing the danger of such speculations, the apostles warned the church against them. Some examples of these apostolic admonitions should be a deterrent to speculators now.
   3. 2 Thess. 2:1-5
      1. Paul cautioned the church against being deceived by speculators who claimed that the coming of the Lord was imminent. Some had even misrepresented Paul, claiming that he had "by word" or "by letter" taught the imminent return of Jesus. So Paul said to them, "Let no man deceive you." He told them plainly that the coming of the Lord was not imminent and was not at hand, "For that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first." He had warned them of such false teachers publicly and privately when He was there, and He now reminds them of what He said: "Remember ye not that when I was yet with you, I told you these things?" He then added an exhortation which should serve as a reminder to all faithful members of the Lord's church today to avoid the speculations of millennial teachers: "Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle." His oral and written instruction to them was the proof that the things the disturbers were teaching were not according to inspiration. If such teaching was contrary to apostolic teaching then "by word" or "by letter," it is contrary to apostolic teaching now.
      2. 2 Pet. 3. Peter, like Paul, cautioned Christians against deceivers. He said that all along during "the last days," all through the gospel dispensation, on until the end of time, there would be such men to trouble the churches. This entire chapter discusses the second coming and the end of the world, and was written for the purpose of counteracting the influence of both speculators and skeptics, and at the time to instill in the "sincere minds" of Christians a firm hope in the coming of Christ. To be forewarned is to be forearmed. After telling them how to answer both the scoffer and the speculator, Peter concluded by saying: "ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own steadfastness."
6. THE PROPER ATTITUDE OF THE CHRISTIAN TOWARD CHRIST'S SECOND COMING
   1. Preparation
      1. Many of the passages previously discussed reflect the idea of preparedness.
      2. Another example is Luke 12:40, where Jesus concluded a narrative with an exhortation to preparedness. "You keep on becoming prepared because in what hour you are not thinking the Son of Man come." This appears to be a rather abrupt translation, but it is an exact translation of the present imperative verb and the emphatic pronoun which Jesus used. Personal responsibility is found in the emphatic pronoun "you." Continuous action is involved in the present imperative of a verb meaning "to become," and this is followed by an adjective meaning "prepared." Hence, the translation might also be "make a habit of being prepared."
   2. Expectation
      1. Expectation is naturally related to the former idea of preparedness. Jesus' emphasis was to this effect: Because of the certainty of the fact of the Lord's return and because of the uncertainty of the time of His return, Christians should be alert in anticipation of His coming.
      2. 1 Thess. 5:6-8 is a New Testament passage in which Paul said that believers are not to sleep as unbelievers but rather they are to be watchful and level headed as they anticipate the Lord's return.
      3. In Titus 2:13 Paul spoke of looking for the glorious experience of the Lord's return.
      4. In Phil. 3:20,21 Paul spoke of our waiting for the return of the Lord from heaven.
      5. Nowhere in the New Testament does the idea of waiting and watching and expectation involve the element of idleness. Some of the Thessalonian Christians had carried the idea of the expectation of the Lord's return much too far, for they believed that His coming was imminent. In 2 Thess. Paul rebuked those of this persuasion, those who had even quit working and were sitting idly waiting for His return. They were living off the brethren and causing trouble. The idea of the imperative "watch" does not mean that we are to keep our eyes turned to the clouds of heaven to catch the first glimpse of the Lord's return. Such an interpretation misses the spirit of the imperatives relative to watching and waiting. They involve the idea of anticipation, but it is anticipation which marks those who are busy doing the Lord's work as He gave commandment.
   3. Patience
      1. No characteristic is more becoming of the Christian than the characteristic of patience. James 5:7 admonishes us to be patient until the Lord returns. The word means "to bear along" without resorting to un-Christian conduct. Continuing the idea, James spoke of the man who tills the soil waiting for the rains which will make possible the harvest. Steadfast endurance as he looks to the end of his labor at harvest time marks him. Steadfast endurance is to mark the Christian as he looks to the end of his labor at harvest time relative to the Lord's return.
   4. Joy
      1. The thought of our Lord's return should be a thought of joy to the Christian (1 tim. 4:12,13). The Lord's return means ultimate victory, and that ultimate triumph can for the Christian mean only rejoicing.
      2. These thoughts concerning our attitude toward the Lord's return will suffice for now. Additional points will be studied from the view point of practical Christian living in the final lesson of this series "What Manner of Persons Ought We to Be?"

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Last modified: December 07, 2005