THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST 1. Learn at the outset that the powers of darkness hate this doctrine. a. It was this doctrine that provoked the Jewish council to call for the death of the Son of God (MAT 26:63-66). b. The powers of darkness hate the effect this doctrine has upon believers. 2. During His first coming, the Lord Jesus promised that He would come again (JOH 14:1-3). 3. As Christ s going into heaven was visible and bodily, so will be His coming again from heaven (ACT 1:9-11). a. The Lord himself shall descend from heaven (1TH 4:16). b. Therefore, Christ s second coming will be an appearing (HEB 9:28; 1JO 3:2). i. Appear - To come forth into view, as from a place or state of concealment, or from a distance; to become visible. ii. His coming will not be secret or invisible, but open to view (MAT 24:27; REV 1:7). 4. Jesus Christ will come in the clouds with power and great glory accompanied by all the holy angels (MAT 24:30; 25:31). 5. The following events will be connected with the Second Coming. a. All enemies of Christ and His church will be put under His feet, the last enemy to be destroyed being death (1CO 15:23-26; 2TH 2:8; REV 19:11-21). b. God s elect will be raised in glorified bodies and shall be with the Lord in glory (PHI 3:20-21; COL 3.4; 1TH 4:15-17; 1CO 15:51-52; JOH 14:3). c. The wicked will also be raised at this appearing (ACT 24:15; JOH 5:28-29). d. The present heavens and earth will be destroyed (2PE 3:10; REV 20:11). e. Christ shall judge all men, the quick (the living) and dead (2TI 4:1; MAT 25:31-46; ROM 14:10-12). i. The righteous will be rewarded (2TI 4:8; 1PE 5:4; REV 11:15-18). ii. The wicked will be punished (REV 11:18; 2TH 1:7-9; 2:8; 2PE 2:9). f. This will mark the last day, the end of time (JOH 6:39-40; 12:48; 1CO 15:23-24). 6. The time of the second coming is called: a. The day of the Lord (2PE 3:10 w/ MAT 24:43-44). i. Both the day of the Lord and the coming of the Lord are as a thief in the night. ii. The day of the Lord is the day when He comes. b. The day of Christ (2TH 2:2). c. The day of our Lord Jesus Christ (1CO 1:8).
i. God s people will be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ and also unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ (1TH 5:23). ii. Therefore, the day of our Lord Jesus Christ the day of His coming. d. The day of redemption (EPH 4:30). i. At that day, the body will be redeemed (ROM 8:22-23). ii. At that day approaches, our redemption draweth nigh (LUK 21:27-28). iii. At this time, the prayer of PSA 25:22 will be fully answered: Redeem Israel, O God, out of all his troubles. e. The day of God (2PE 3:12). f. The day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God (ROM 2:5-6). This day judgment occurs at the appearing of Christ (ACT 17:31; 2TI 4:1). g. The day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men (MAT 11:21-24; 2PE 2:9; 3:7). h. The great day (JUD 1:6; REV 6:17). i. The last day (JOH 11:23-24; see 4.f above). j. That day (2TI 1:12, 18; 4:8). 7. The second coming is a tenet of the gospel of Christ. a. According to 1CO 15:1-8 the gospel is the declaration of: i. the person of Christ Himself (ACT 9:20; 18:5). ii. the death of Christ for our sins according to the scriptures. iii. the burial of Christ. iv. the resurrection of Christ according to the scriptures. v. the fact that the resurrection had numerous eyewitnesses. vi. The gospel is the declaration of what God has done about sin and its consequence, death. b. In 1CO 15 Paul reasons from the historical resurrection of Christ to the future resurrection of all God's children (1CO 15:12-23). i. What Christ has done in history has consequences in the end of history. ii. The future resurrection of the dead and the judgment are part of the gospel as necessary conclusions of it (ACT 10:40-42; 17:31; ROM 2:16). iii. He that conquered death has power over death to deliver men from it or to consign them to it (REV 1:18). c. Our faith in the coming resurrection of the saints is founded in the past death and resurrection of Jesus Christ (1TH 4:13-14). d. What Christ accomplished in His first coming, prepared God s elect for the second coming (ROM 5:9; 1TH 1:10; HEB 9:26-29). The Second Coming of Christ Page 2 of 6
e. Therefore, the gospel of what Christ has accomplished is a message of hope for the future (COL 1:5, 23; ACT 26:6-8). 8. In view of the second coming, God commands repentance (ACT 17:30-31). a. Repent - To affect (oneself) with contrition or regret for something done; to change one's mind with regard to past action or conduct through dissatisfaction with it or its results. b. Only by means of repentance can we have assurance that we are the children of God and have escaped the wrath to come. i. If you would flee the wrath to come, then repent and believe the gospel (MAR 1:5). ii. Repentance is demonstrated by good works (LUK 3:7-14; ACT 26:20). A changed mind is reflected in a changed behaviour. iii. Repentance and faith are not the cause of your escaping the wrath to come, but are evidence that you are in Christ and have everlasting life (EPH 2:10; 1JO 3:23-24; JOH 5:24). 1. Those who are in Christ and have everlasting life shall not come into condemnation (ROM 8:1; JOH 10:27-28). 2. The cause of your escaping the wrath to come is God s election of you, Christ s death for you, and the Holy Spirit s regeneration of you (1TH 5:9-10; TIT 3:4-7). c. The wicked who do not repent store up wrath against themselves (ROM 2:4-5). d. This explains why the devil hates the doctrine of the second coming. Those who repent because of it may recover themselves from the snare of the devil (2TI 2:24-26). 9. The gospel ordinances of baptism and the Lord s Supper direct us to the second coming. a. Baptism, the figure of the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ, points us to our future resurrection (ROM 6:3-8). b. In the Lord s Supper we shew the Lord s death till he come (1CO 11:26). 10. The second coming is the hope of the believers (1TH 2:19; TIT 2:13). a. Our hope is not fully realized in this present life. b. Think of the pleasures we enjoy in this world as foretastes of that which is to come. i. Earthly pleasures are an important link to heaven itself. If we have no grounding in the pleasures God has given us here on earth, our minds can t connect with the analogies he s given us for heaven. If you have never been awed by a pearl, you won t in any way be inspired the by the phrase pearly gates Ted Dekker, The Slumber of Christianity, p. 172. ii. But know that these present joys are only foretastes and not the full course meal. Hence, they cannot bring the ultimate satisfaction. iii. In our race to glory, are we more enamoured with the finish line or with the little cups of water along the way? The Second Coming of Christ Page 3 of 6
c. It is the wicked, which have their portion in this life, whereas the righteous shall be satisfied when they awake with the likeness of the Saviour (PSA 17:14-15). 11. Looking for the second coming is an effect of God s saving grace (TIT 2:11-13). 12. Looking for the second coming is an effect of a true conversion (1TH 1:9-10). 13. This hope has a purifying effect upon those who have it (1JO 3:2-3). a. Hoping to be like Christ at His coming will produce Christ-likeness now. b. Whenever one strongly aspires to a goal, that aspiration influences his present behaviour so that his life reflects the goal he hopes to achieve. 14. The hope of the second coming has a saving effect (ROM 8:18-25). a. It puts our present sufferings into perspective. b. It produces patience. We can bear our present troubles with greater composure when we know that they will end in everlasting bliss (PRO 23:17-18). c. It causes joy (ROM 12:12). i. Hope impacts our sense of well-being (PRO 13:12). ii. Think of how happy you are when you are hoping for something, and how disappointed you become when that hope is dashed. iii. The hope of the second coming will not be dashed (HEB 10:35-37; REV 2:7). d. We have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us (HEB 6:18-20). i. Refuge Shelter or protection from danger or trouble; succour (help) sought by, or rendered to, a person. ii. There is protection and help to be found in laying hold of this hope. iii. Consolation Alleviation of sorrow or mental distress. 1. Alleviation The action of lightening weight, gravity, severity, or pain; relief, mitigation. 2. By this hope they are saved from being overwhelmed of sorrow and distress. 3. As Paul focused on this hope, it made his present afflictions seem light in comparison (2CO 4:17-18). e. This hope saved David from slipping when he was envious at the foolish (PSA 73). 15. In view of the second coming, we are called upon to watch and be sober (1TH 5:1-8). a. We should always be watching since we do not know when the Lord is coming (MAR 13:33-37; LUK 12:35-40). b. In order to be watchful we must also to be sober. i. Soberness goes with watchfulness or vigilance (1TI 3:2; 1PE 4:7; 5:8). The Second Coming of Christ Page 4 of 6
ii. Sober - Moderate, temperate, avoiding excess, in respect of the use of food or drink; not given to the indulgence of appetite. iii. Temperate Of persons, their conduct, practices, etc.: Keeping due measure, self-restrained, moderate. iv. This explains why Paul before Felix reasoned of temperance when he also reasoned of judgment to come (ACT 24:24-25). c. Guard against being overcharged with anything in this world so that day come upon you unawares (LUK 21:34-36). d. The man whom the day of the Lord takes unawares is described as a man asleep and drunken. i. Those who are asleep are unaware. ii. A drunken man is deceived and insensitive (PRO 20:1; 23:29-35). iii. Christ describes those who are not watching for His coming as drunken (LUK 12:45-46). e. Soberness is described as putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation. i. Faith, love, and hope dispose the Christian to the coming of the Lord: we believe Christ will come. We love His appearing. His coming is our hope. ii. By contrast, drunkenness would be laying aside faith, love, and hope. iii. Not trusting the Lord (no faith), hating one s brethren (no love), and thinking nothing will ever get better (no hope) do not characterize those who are ready for the coming of the Lord. f. The same armour that braces one for the coming of the Lord is the same armour that enables one to resist Satan (EPH 6:14, 17). i. Such is the case because Satan is ever seeking to turn the Christian s attention away from the coming of Lord. ii. When the Christian is distracted from his hope, he loses the joy of that hope. 1. When we lose the joy of the Lord, we lose strength (NEH 8:10). 2. When we lose strength, we become more vulnerable to Satan s attacks since we need strength to resist Satan (EPH 6:10-11). iii. Therefore, we need to resist the devil in order to hold fast the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end (HEB 3:6). g. 1PE 1:13 Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 16. We need to put this world behind us and look ahead to the coming of our Lord (PHI 3:13-14; LUK 17:26-36). The Second Coming of Christ Page 5 of 6
17. The approach of the second coming should spur us so much the more to assemble with those of like precious faith and to exhort them (HEB 10:23-25). 18. Let us so live that we may not be ashamed in that day, but rather hear our Lord say: Well done, thou good and faithful servant (1JO 2:28; MAT 25:14-23). 19. Scripture closes with a prayer for the second coming (REV 22:20). The Second Coming of Christ Page 6 of 6