Second Coming
of Christ - No One Knows When
The Second Coming of Christ is plagued by many false teachings.
Prediction books have even been written picking the exact day of Jesus'
return. These books may sell many copies, but they mislead their
readers. There's one guarantee: As soon as someone predicts the day or
time of Jesus Christ's second coming, that prediction is wrong. Why?
Simply, only God the Father knows when it will be -- Jesus
doesn't even know. Jesus told His disciples:
"No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor
the Son, but only the Father." "Two men will be in the field; one will
be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding with the hand
mill; one will be taken and the other left." "Therefore keep watch,
because you do not know on what day your Lord will come." (Matthew
24:36, 40 & 42)
Second Coming of Christ - Signs for Keeping Watch
We could just shrug our shoulders and casually wait for the Second
Coming of Christ. However, Jesus wants us to "keep watch." A great way
to keep watch is to know what the Bible reveals about upcoming events
and compare those to what we see happening today. There are nearly 100
biblical passages discussing the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. The key
events can be summarized with the acrostic: S - E - C - O - N - D.
S…Sudden. As we saw above, no one but the Father knows when.
However, we do know it will take place "as lightning." Matthew 24:27
says, "For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the
west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man."
E…Essential. One of the foundations of the Christian faith is
Jesus' second coming. It is spoken of by Jesus and many others in the
Bible. Jesus will physically come again for all His believers and for
His final judgment. Unfortunately, some Christian cults teach that
Christ "secretly" returned already. As you read what the Bible says
about the Second Coming of Jesus, it will be obvious that it hasn't
happened yet.
C…Christ's Final Judgment. The Bible declares that Jesus will be
the final judge of the world (John 5:22, Acts 10:42 and 2Timothy 4:1).
Some of the additional verses describing the second coming, resurrection
of the dead, millennium, and final judgment are located in Acts 17:31,
1Thessalonians 4:13-5:11 and Hebrews 10:27.
O…Obvious. There are over 6 billion people on the planet. God
only knows what percentage are truly Christians, but let's use a
conservative number like 10%. If this is true, over 600,000,000 people
will vanish from the earth simultaneously according to Matthew 24:40.
There will be no mistaking when Christ comes back for His Church!
N…No One Knows When. In Matthew 24:36, Jesus said only God the
Father knows when. God is outside time. God already knows every
prediction regarding Jesus' return that has ever been or will ever be
made. Since Jesus said that no one knows about that day but the Father,
NO ONE KNOWS!
Second Coming of Christ - The "D" is for "Doubters"
As we get closer and closer to the Second Coming of Christ, there will
be increasing and widespread doubt about whether Jesus even existed.
People will also start wondering if God really exists and believers will
leave the Christian faith (2 Thessalonians 2:1-4, 1 Timothy 4:1-2, and 2
Peter 2:1-3). Do you think we're already seeing these signs?