Eschatology
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22. Is it true that one day Jesus will come back? |
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Yes, it
is, because Jesus Himself spoke about His coming again. Here are some of His
words: “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in
me. In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have
told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place
for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am,
there ye may be also” (John 14:1-3); “Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of
me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also
shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father
with the holy angels” (Mark 8:38); “But as the days of Noe were, so shall
also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the
flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until
the day that Noe entered into the ark, And knew not until the flood came, and
took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. Then shall
two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Two women
shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. But know
this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief
would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to
be broken up. Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not
the Son of man cometh” (Matthew 24:37-44); “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: 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” (Matthew
24:29-30). |
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His future
return from heaven was confirmed by the angels who appeared to His disciples
when a cloud received Him out of their sight and He was taken up into heaven,
for those angels 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 1:11). |
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The
apostles of the Lord Jesus confirmed that Jesus will return from heaven. For
instance, Paul said to the Philippians: “For our citizenship is in heaven,
from which we also eagerly wait for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, who
will transform out lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body,
according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to
Himself” (Philippians 3:20-21 – NKJV), and to the Thessalonians: “Seeing it
is a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble
you; And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be
revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, In flaming fire taking vengeance
on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus
Christ: Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence
of the Lord, and from the glory of his power; When he shall come to be
glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe (because
our testimony among you was believed) in that day” (2 Thessalonians 1:6-10),
and again: “Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus
Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, That ye be not soon shaken in
mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from
us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. Let no man deceive you by any
means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first,
and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; Who opposeth and
exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that
he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.
Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things? And
now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. For the
mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let,
until he be taken out of the way. And then shall that Wicked be revealed,
whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy
with the brightness of his coming” (2 Thessalonians 2:1-8); and he said to
Timothy: “That thou keep this commandment without spot, unrebukeable, until
the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ: Which in his times he shall shew, who
is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords” (1
Timothy 6:14-15). |
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Peter
said: “Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to
try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: But rejoice,
inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory
shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy” (1 Peter 4:12-13),
and also: “And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown
of glory that fadeth not away” (1 Peter 5:4). |
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James
said: “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. Be ye also
patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh”
(James 5:7-8). |
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The writer
of the epistle to the Hebrews said: “And as it is appointed unto men once to
die, but after this the judgment: So Christ was once offered to bear the sins
of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time
without sin unto salvation” (Hebrews |
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John said:
“And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him
was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make
war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and
he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. And he was clothed
with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. And
the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in
fine linen, white and clean. And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that
with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of
iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty
God. And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF
KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS” (Revelation |
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Therefore,
as you can see, the return of Jesus Christ from heaven (which is called also
‘coming’, ‘appearing’, and “the day when His glory is revealed”) is a future
event foretold by the Word of God very clearly, and know this, that it will
come to pass at God’s appointed time. As the first coming of the Messiah
(which was foretold by the Scripture, that is, the Writings of the Old
Testament) was fulfilled at God’s appointed time, for sure His second coming
also will be fulfilled at God’s appointed time, which was predicted not only
by Jesus Christ and the apostles but also by the prophets under the Old
Testament (for Isaiah said: “For, behold, the LORD will come with fire, and
with his chariots like a whirlwind, to render his anger with fury, and his
rebuke with flames of fire. For by fire and by his sword will the LORD plead
with all flesh: and the slain of the LORD shall be many” [Isaiah 66:15-16],
and the prophet Zechariah said: “Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, and thy
spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee. For I will gather all nations
against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses
rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into
captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city.
Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he
fought in the day of battle. And his feet shall stand in that day upon the
mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of
Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west,
and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove
toward the north, and half of it toward the south. And ye shall flee to the
valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto
Azal: yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the
days of Uzziah king of |
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Let those
who love the Lord Jesus say, ‘Yes, Come Lord Jesus!’ |