Article: Are we Prepared for the Second Coming of Jesus Christ? | Jacob Varghese

Hebrews 9:28 “so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.”
The context of this verse is the often-quoted verse 27, which indicates that each man experiences a single death and subsequent judgment by God. A major advantage to the new covenant promised by God is the fact that Christ’s sacrifice does not need to be repeated over and over, as the animal sacrifices do. Animal blood can only temporarily atone for sin, and cannot change man from the inside. The sacrifice of Christ, however, completely saves us from sin, as a “once for all” action.
Here, the writer of Hebrews points out that Christ appeared once, and died once, and this death was for the purpose of taking away the sins of many. Now He will appear a second time. This means His Second Coming, which is yet in the future. Christ’s second coming will be for the purpose of “saving” those who have trusted in Him and are waiting for Him. Yes, we all trust Him, but the question is “are we waiting for Him?” His second coming is not to deal with the sin of the people but for the people who are eagerly waiting for His appearance.
Titus 2:13 says “while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.” Yes, the Bible calls this second coming of Christ as the blessed hope of every child of God. The Blessed Hope of the Church is the church’s glorification and departure from the earth. This hope is the appearance of the glory of Christ. The New Testament mentions various “appearing’s” of Jesus. He appeared on earth as a human (2 Timothy 1:10). Jesus also appeared alive after His resurrection (Acts 1:3). There will also be a future appearing, mentioned in this verse, as well as 1 Timothy 6:14, 2 Timothy 4:1 and 8. This future event is the one referred to as the “blessed hope,” a phrase the New Testament uses only here in Titus.
I am not going to prophesy anything about the second coming of Jesus Christ here. But how many of you believe “all Scripture is given by inspiration of God and trust worthy.” If you believe, I want to bring out a few points about the second coming of Jesus Christ for your understanding and meditation.
1 Second coming was promised by Jesus Himself.
The second coming of Jesus Christ is soon. In fact, Jesus promised His disciples that He would come again. John 14:3 says “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.”
These are so much comforting and assuring words to any child of God. Our hearts need not to be troubled. Our Lord has gone ahead of us to prepare a place for us. One day He will come back and take us to be with Him. The return of Jesus Christ is a vital part of God’s redemptive plan for humanity. That’s why the event was foretold by prophets, proclaimed by angels, and taught by Jesus and Paul. In fact, more Old Testament passages are devoted to Christ’s second coming than to His first. To keep our hope alive, He has told us what to expect. We don’t know the day or the hour of the Second Coming. But Jesus Christ’s final biblical prophecy reminds us to live and evangelize with a sense of urgency. He said in Revelation 3:11 “I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown”. Revelation 22:7 & 12 we see, Jesus saying, “Behold, I am coming soon.” In Revelation 22:20, “Yes, I am coming quickly.”
2 Second coming of Jesus was assured by the angels.
In Acts 1:9-11, we read “After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood

beside them. “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”
The disciples were confused and apprehensive that their Lord was being taken away from them. They were anxious about what will happen to them now. Who will guide them? It is at that time of perplexity and anxiety; they heard the assuring words of the angels that their Lord will one day come back to them. How will Jesus come back? What did angels say? Jesus will come back exactly as he was taken up into heaven. He had gone up physically, visibly and on the cloud. He will come back in the same way.
3 No one knows the timing of His second coming.
When is Jesus coming back? No one knows the exact time when Jesus is coming again. In Matthew 24:36 & Mark 13:32 we read, “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.”
Interestingly, the disciples asked Jesus the same question just before He returned to heaven. In Acts 1:7 we read, at that time, Jesus told them it was not for them to know the times or seasons which are in the Father’s authority. Therefore, Jesus may come back tomorrow, next month, next year or 100 years from now. So, what does this mean for you and me? Always be ready for the second coming of Jesus Christ. Watch and focus on Jesus because the devil is seeking to distract mankind from understanding the signs and closeness of Jesus’ coming.
But unwisely, throughout the church history we see different people in different times have prophesized the exact date, month and year of His coming. Then what has happened? Foolishly many believers have believed them only to be disappointed. Let us not be fooled by the false prophets and false teachers. But one thing is sure though we don’t know the exact time of His coming, we know His second coming will be sudden and for sure. He will come like a thief in the night and it is very near. We are living at the last hour. Let us see few references. Matthew 24:37-39 “As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.”, Revelation 16:15 “Look, I come like a thief! Blessed is the one who stays awake and remains clothed, so as not to go naked and be shamefully exposed.” 1 John 2:18 “Dear children, this is the last hour; and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. This is how we know it is the last hour.”
4 Jesus’ second coming will be with power and great glory.
We read it in Matthew 24:30 “Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then all the peoples of the earth will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory.” Revelation 1:7 says “Look, he is coming with the clouds,” and “every eye will see him, even those who pierced him”; and all peoples on earth “will mourn because of him.” Let us see what is written in 1 Thessalonians 4:16 “For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.” His first coming was calm and quiet. But His second coming will be with power and great glory.
5.His second coming will be visible to all. – We should not be misled.
Jesus’ second coming will not be hidden or in secret. Every eye will see Him. Revelation 1:7 says “every eye will see him”. 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.” So, if any one says that Christ is here or there, we should not believe and go with the fake news. Our Lord has warned us, “then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘there He is!’

do not believe it. Let us read what does it say in Matthew 24:23. “At that time if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Messiah!’ or, ‘There he is!’ do not believe it.” Why shouldn’t we believe? Because at the end days, false Christs and false prophets will arise. And what will they do? They perform great signs and wonders so as to lead people astray, if possible, even the elect. See, I have told you beforehand. So, if they tell you, ‘Look, He is in the wilderness’, do not go out looking for Him. If they say, ‘Look, He is in the inner rooms’, do not believe it. (Matthew 24:23-26) So we should not be misled by false prophets prophesying false dates of His coming. The Biblical teaching is quite clear: Jesus will return in glory – visible to all. The whole world will see Him coming down from the sky. Up until the invention of television, we may think, it was impossible anyone to understand how the whole world would see that event. Now with all the technology … yes, the whole world will see it and be glued to their Phones, computers and television sets.
6.His second coming will be to take His people to be with Him.
What does the Bible say about it? Let us read 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18 to understand this. “For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so, we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage one another with these words.” In John chapter 14 we read, “once I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, where I am you may also be.” However, the Lord Jesus Christ is coming again for His bride the Church without spots or wrinkles. But the question is when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth? Therefore, consider carefully how you listen and live. John 5:25 says “Very truly I tell you, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live.”
7.Second coming will be to judge the world.
At the second coming of our Lord, the dead will hear His voice and come back to life for judgement. John 5:28 &29 says “Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and come out—those who have done what is good will rise to live, and those who have done what is evil will rise to be condemned”. Daniel 12:2 says “Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt”. Our Lord will sit on His glorious throne and judge the world at His second coming. The Second Coming of Christ will be a time of relief for believers and punishment for unbelievers. Everyone, both the righteous and unrighteous, will be judged of God. The righteous will go away into eternal life while the unrighteous will be eternally separated from God. Let me conclude here by referring to Matthew 25:31-32 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.” Are we Prepared for His Second Coming?

JACOB VARGHESE

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