This is the 11th in a series of excerpts from What Every Christian Should Know About the Return of Jesus, released by High Street Press and available at Amazon.com. 

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The second coming of Jesus is implied in hundreds of Old Testament prophecies that center on future judgment of the world and a coming kingdom of righteousness. Jesus and the New Testament writers elevate these ancient prophecies and apply them to the unfinished but guaranteed future work of the Savior.

One challenge of messianic prophecies is their compressed view of the future. We see predictions of a Suffering Servant who is despised, rejected, and sacrificed for our sins (Isa. 53), along with visions of a Davidic king who comes in power, judging the world and setting things right (Ps. 110). 

Are the Suffering Servant and Davidic king separate individuals, or are they one person conducting two major campaigns to redeem a sinful and fallen world?

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