When Jesus comes

An emergency vehicle arrives at the scene of a car crash. Paramedics extract a body from the mass of twisted steel and shattered glass. The family soon will learn that they have lost a precious youth.

Every day such tragedies happen thousands of times around the world. Tearful families are driven to ask the really important questions. Is this all there is to live for? Why are we here? Why do we have to suffer such terrible experiences if there really is a God? Will it always be this way?

People everywhere wrestle with such questions, but the inescapable fact re mains that everyone dies. And what lies beyond death? Some deny the fact of death and call it just a change from one form to another. In their view, all have an essence of everlasting life that recycles itself, so death does not exist. But such explanations offer little comfort.

We need something better than wishful thinking, something solid to trust.

We need Jesus Christ. He sweeps away the guesswork, leaving us with a clear, faith-building grasp on the essentials of life and death. The Jesus we see in Scripture is the answer to our problems. He cares. He saves. And He is coming again to take us home.

Jesus is the answer

The book of Genesis introduces us to God. We follow His steps as He puts in place everything that will be needed for an inhabited world. Finally, He forms humans, not just like everything else, but special, "in His image."

According to the Bible, this Creator God is actually Jesus. Paul tells us, "For in him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible,... all things were created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together" (Col. 1:16, 17).*

How could Christ, born of a virgin some 4,000 years later, have been the Creator? Because the Babe of Bethlehem is, in fact, the eternal One appearing among us. When Jesus told this to the skeptical Pharisees, they lookup stones to kill Him (John 8:58). They knew He was affirming His divinity.

Jesus the Creator. So in the Bible the first thing we learn about Jesus is His creatorship of human existence. Next comes His experiences with people in the Old Testament times. We watch Him patiently teaching His ways, trying to generate hope. Often the public turned away, but always a remnant believed and obeyed their Lord. That hasn't changed today. And He remains endlessly patient with His struggling people, always encouraging us to accept Him.

We know the sad story of how sin entered, spoiling God's beautiful creation and leaving us victims of death. Still, the Lord's promises of a better future provided hope. A Messiah would come to challenge Satan. He would take upon Himself the sins of the world, reconciling lost sinners to full harmony with God as in the beginning.

Jesus the Saviour. So Jesus came, the gentle teacher of truth. He explained the way of the kingdom, described His plan to make all things new for every one who would accept Him. Jesus came as our Redeemer, gave His life in our place so that we might be forgiven, lifted the weight of sin and death, and secured our heavenly citizenship.

So Jesus the Creator is Jesus our Saviour. But that is not all. He ascended to the heavens and took His place as our high priest in the presence of the Father.

Jesus the high priest. In the book of Hebrews we read, "We have such a high priest, one who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven" (Heb. 8:1). And further: "For Christ has entered, not into a sanctuary made with hands, a copy of the true one, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf (Heb. 9:24).

He who by His blood made possible our salvation now stands as our priest, ministering that sacrificial blood on our behalf. We can be absolutely confident placing our fate in His hands. His sacrifice was powerful in sweeping away sin and death, and His intercession for us brings firm assurance of His continuing care. It is all in His hands. Our task is only to receive the gift with all our hearts.

Jesus is coming again. And there is more. Old Testament prophets foresaw the coming "day of the Lord." They described it in two tracks: a day of glory and deliverance, or on the dark side, a day of gloom and dread. Why the dual picture? The difference lies in what we choose to do with God's marvelous grace from Calvary. If we accept Christ wholeheartedly, the day of the Lord will bring us the height of eternal joy, but those who reject or neglect Him will find His appearing a day of dread. So those two options confront us, daily, in fact: accepting Christ and receiving eternity, or turning away to death and destruction.

From the beginning Jesus' disciples looked for a coming kingdom of glory. Clearly, they failed to grasp its meaning. But in time they understood. Jesus told them He would go away but after ward return and usher in His new kingdom of righteousness.

The Bible concludes its message with a panoramic revelation of Jesus coming to establish His eternal kingdom. As the kingdoms of this world fade, all acclaim the returning Lord as King of kings and Lord of lords.

Everywhere in its pages we see the Son of God at work, especially at the three great turning points of human history: Creation, Calvary, and His glorious final return at the end of the age. Given all this special attention to us, could we ever say that He is not really concerned with what happens to us? His provision for life everlasting is evidence in itself of His care for us, and we daily have ample evidence of His continuing inter est in our well-being.

During His earthly ministry Jesus confronted the popular but false idea that God was so great, so distant, that we could never approach Him. While not depreciating God's greatness, Jesus turned this idea on its own head. God takes interest in the smallest details of our lives. So intimate is His care for us that He tells us, "Even the hairs of your head are all numbered" (Matt. 10:30).

Our task as Adventists. According to the Bible, human history extends as one great line of events, beginning with Creation, proceeding to Calvary with its resolution of the problem of sin, and concluding with the return of Jesus in power and glory. Through all this time we have had a single assignment: to share with the world the wonders of Jesus, inviting all who will to join us in preparation for His return. Belief in this final event provides an identity for us as Adventists.

His coming is in the near future, according to what He told us: "And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world, as a testimony to all nations; and then the end will come" (Matt. 24:14). The task of carrying this message throughout the world appears almost hopeless, but through the eye of faith, as Jesus fore saw, the task will be accomplished.

We are ambassadors of the kingdom of Christ, bearers of the best news the world could ever hear. This same Jesus, the One who trudged the steps to Calvary and arose on the third day, will return in great power and glory. He comes for His saints, all who accept Him by faith, being thus qualified for the kingdom.

Our privilege as His family. In a sense we are already participants in God's kingdom. Not only is the figure that of citizens in a kingdom; we be come literally members of His family. As John wrote, "But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God" (John 1:12). At the Last Supper Jesus told His disciples, "In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And when I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also" (John 14:2, 3).

All this means that we do not have to wait to be a part of the family of God. "Beloved, we are God's children now; it does not yet appear what we shall be, but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is" (1 John 3:2). Dedicated, born-again believers already enjoy belonging to the family of God, and the joy we have here is only a down payment of what He has in mind for our future.

Unfortunately, we humans have short memories. At first we are excited to learn these great truths, but all too often distractions displace the things of God, suffocating our zeal. Excitement diminishes and becomes commonplace. Our interests drift, and for some, faith shrivels to a mere relic of what it once was. We cling to a fossil orthodoxy but deny the power of the gospel. This describes the Laodicean condition, from which Christ calls us to awaken.

Thank God, today we are witnessing new life among His people, with renewed zeal to see the gospel pro claimed in every corner of the earth. Ahead of us lies reunion with our Creator and eternal life with Him. What could be more thrilling?

Jesus is coming again

Jesus spoke repeatedly of His return at the end of the world and of the things that will take place then. It was a major theme of the apostles as well. Virtually every book of the New Testament speaks of Jesus' return, and the book of Revelation describes final events on earth. The entire Bible, from beginning to end, bears testimony to the coming climax of history, the return of Jesus.

The predictions in Daniel. One of the grandest places to see this is in the prophecies of Daniel. In four great majestic prophetic sweeps through history, the prophet foresees earthly events, and in every case the prophecy climaxes in the establishment of the kingdom. Through whichever prophetic window we peer, we see Christ.

In Daniel 2 the prophecy moves us through the kingdoms to the feet of iron and clay, when suddenly a great stone falls upon all, and there the stone be comes the mountain that fills the earth. This clearly is Christ's kingdom.

In the second prophecy we find a series of nations portrayed as beasts. Then we come to a great judgment scene in Daniel 7, where the Son of man comes before the Father. "And to him was given dominion and glory and kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed" (Dan. 7:14).

At the moment that dominion passes to Christ, in that same moment God's people come into their inheritance. Listen to the prophet again: "And the kingdom and the dominion and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High; their kingdom shall be an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey them" (verse 27). To be in Christ's family means eternal glory with Him, which He shares in grace with all who love Him unreservedly. These are the saints, His people, called to everlasting life.

What does the Bible teach will take place in connection with the coming of Jesus? Understanding this will not only protect us from false ideas, but will fill us with anticipation of that glorious event. Repeatedly the prophets of the Old Testament spoke of the coming of the great day of the Lord. At that time everything of earthly importance will be shoved aside, for once more God takes control of His world, to set it aright after 6,000 years of sin.

Again we look at Daniel's description. "At that time shall arise Michael, the great prince who has charge of your people. And there shall be a time of trouble, such as never has been since there was a nation till that time; but at that time your people shall be delivered, every one whose name shall be found written in the book. And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting con tempt" (Dan. 12:1,2).

The prediction of Jesus. With this mighty framework in the background, let us notice the predictions of Jesus about this climactic event of the ages. We find His fullest explanation of that Second Coming in Matthew 24, where He answers His disciples' question about what will mark the time of His return. After warning them that there would be a series of unfortunate events— including wars, persecutions, and natural disasters—He supplied the final sign of His approaching return. "And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world, as a testimony to all nations; and then the end will come" (verse 14).

He explicitly warned against false teachers and prophets who would arise, claiming special knowledge or power. The believers were not to be deceived. In the plainest language He emphasized that the exact time of His coming is not revealed to humans (see verse 36). A series of signs in the heavens would mark the end of a long tribulation and beginning of the time of the end. But it is the finishing of the gospel that would provide the final sign.

Today we are in the last hour of Jesus' prophecy. The great time prophecies have been fulfilled. We have seen the signs in the heavens. Now the gospel is beginning to penetrate even the farthest corners of the earth. We see all around us Jesus' portrayal of the final generation: obsessed with material things of life, occupied in secular activities, and little interested in the things of God.

Matthew 24 ends with a series of messages addressed to us, His people in these final days. Be watchful, He warns. Do not be caught up in the mentality that says "My Master is delayed," with its temptation to live by the world's standards.

In the several parables Jesus told about His return, He built in a period of delay. People would need to wait, ready for His coming, and not grow weary in waiting. The parable of the 10 virgins is a classic example. The question for us today is Are we listening to what Jesus said? Or are we growing weary? One evidence of healthy faith is the willingness to wait and work for His return.

Often we ask the question Why did God not reveal the time of Christ's return? No prophecy gives us this date. In fact, Jesus tells us it is known only by the Father. But we can be certain that when the right time arrives, Jesus will return. It is His solemn promise.

When Jesus comes

The first resurrection. Jesus' return brings the final answer to the problem of death. Paul assured the Thessalonians, "For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the archangel's call, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first; then we who are alive, who are left, shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air; and so we shall always be with the Lord" (I Thess. 4:16, 17).

Christians no longer fear death, for Jesus has triumphed over this last enemy. After bearing the sins of the world, He came forth from the tomb into the glory of eternity, and by His resurrection we too have confidence.

What a privilege is ours, to stand on the brink of eternity, knowing what the future will bring. Let's look at the coming events previewed for us in the book of Revelation. With Jesus' return in power and majesty, we have seen that the dead in Christ will come to life in the first resurrection, and His waiting people will be changed in a moment from mortal to immortal. Then they are taken from the earth to join Christ in the air (1 Cor. 15:51-54).

Two thousand years ago the angels who received the ascending Jesus from the Mount of Olives told the amazed disciples, "This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven" (Acts 1:11). We are the people now looking for that grand second coming.

And what will happen to God's people when He comes? The Bible says those who are dead will be resurrected and join those who are alive to be caught up to meet Him in the air (see 1 Thess. 4:16-18). This resurrection is explained further: "This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and they shall reign with him a thousand years" (Rev. 20:6).

The millennium. On the other hand, those who choose to follow Satan are slain at the coming of Jesus, leaving the earth devoid of population. Here Satan is confined: "And he seized the dragon [Satan]. . . and threw him into the pit, and shut it and sealed it over him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years were ended. After that he must be loosed for a little while" (Rev. 20:3). So the saints will spend 1,000 years in heaven, where a work of investigation will be theirs (verse 4).

What happens after 1,000 years? "And when the thousand years are end ed, Satan will be loosed from his prison and will come out to deceive the nations which are at the four corners of the earth ... to gather them for battle" (verse 7). The new heavens and the new earth. Just at that time, the apostle John tells us, "fire came down from heaven and consumed them, and the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur" (verses 9, 10). The apostle Peter picks up the story from here, saying, "And then the heavens will pass away with a loud noise, and the elements will be dissolved with fire, and the earth and the works that are upon it will be burned up.... But according to his promise we wait for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells" (2 Peter 3:10-13).

On this newly re-created planet Christ will establish His eternal kingdom. The final two chapters of Revelation tantalize our imagination with the wonders of what will be there. Death is gone; eternal life is ours. A glorious capital city, the New Jerusalem, is in the midst of this grand new world, surrounded with all the beauty of the Master Planner. Here at last those who love the Lord will be restored to be with Him.

Home at last

But even beyond the glories of that new world, the grandest of all realities will be that we are home at last. Hear the words of the apostle: "But the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and his servants shall worship him; they shall see his face, and his name shall be on their foreheads" (Rev. 22:3, 4).

Thus the Word of God traces the story of Christ and His people to their glorious triumph. From the point where He called us into existence, to the cross of Calvary where by His shed blood He restores every believer to harmony with God, to the final glory when we stand at the throne of God. Everywhere we find Jesus: Creator, Saviour, Lord. And this is the destiny of His people.

The beauty of it all is that eternal life is open to every one of us. "Whosoever will," the Spirit calls, "let him take the water of life freely" (verse 17, KJV). Again and again the Saviour extends His invitation, calling us to receive His gift of salvation. Whoever receives Him passes from death to life, from pointless wandering into the fold of God, safe and secure.

And even more, He fills us with the Holy Spirit to transform our whole per sons, to give power to stand up against sin, and to remake everything that is important to us.

This is what He wants for you. Will you give Him first place in your life today in preparation to meet Him when He returns? Nothing else can compare to the new life you will have, both here and in God's coming kingdom. Make Him your Lord today.