Tagged: return of Jesus
Your Kingdom Come
This is the 19th 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.
In previous columns, we looked at the nature of Christ’s return. He’s coming personally, physically, victoriously, powerfully, and suddenly. Now, we turn our attention to the reasons for his return. First, Christ returns to establish his kingdom in fullness.
So, what is the kingdom of God? Simply stated, the kingdom is God’s reign, his authority to rule over all. Jesus taught primarily about the nature of the kingdom so he followers would understand that in his first coming, he inaugurated God’s kingdom. Through the Holy Spirit, he’s expanding the kingdom. And one day, he returns to bring the complete and final consummation of the kingdom, at which time he judges all people, creates new heavens and a new earth, and eradicates sin and its stain.
The king’s agenda
As we look for the return of the king, it may help to briefly survey his unfinished business.
1. The king returns in glory.
In his ascension, Jesus reclaims the glory he shared with the Father before the world existed (John 17:5). His coronation takes place as he ascends to the throne and sits at the Father’s right hand, with all authority given to him in heaven and earth (Matt. 28:18; Mark 16:19; Acts 2:33; Rom. 8:34; Heb. 12:2). When he returns, he bears that same divine glory as “King of Kings and Lord of Lords” (Rev. 19:16).
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You Don’t Know the Day or the Hour
This is the 19th 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.
In the previous column, we looked at a first-century Galilean wedding as the context for Jesus’ parable of the 10 virgins. Jesus tells the parable to prepare his followers for what’s ahead. After his imminent suffering, death, and resurrection, Jesus returns to his Father, prepares a place in heaven for believers, and then calls his bride to meet him at his return.
Many who hold a dispensational premillennial view of the end times point to this event as the rapture, inwhich followers of Jesus are “caught up” to meet him in the air (1 Cor. 15:50-57; 1 Thess. 4:13-18).
According to this view, the seven-day honeymoon depicts seven years the church is in heaven while tribulation takes place on earth. And the departure from the father’s house after the honeymoon pictures the glorious appearing of Christ when he returns to earth with the saints, sits on the throne of David, and rules the earth with his queen.
For historical premillennialists and amillennialists, this parable foretells a general resurrection of all people at Christ’s second coming. Glorified believers go up to meet Jesus in the air – like ancient citizens going out from their city to welcome a visiting king – and accompany him in his victorious return to earth. Meanwhile, unbelievers – the foolish virgins – are denied entrance into the kingdom.
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Behold, the Bridegroom Comes!
This is the 18th 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.
There are well over a hundred parables in the Bible, but the most beloved are the 30-plus parables Jesus shares with us. While he’s not the first to use this form of teaching, Jesus endows his parables with unparalleled originality and spiritual depth. In fact, more than one-third of all his recorded sayings are parables.
Several of Jesus’ parables address the suddenness of his future return in glory. One of these is the parable of the 10 virgins in Matthew 25:1-13.
The central theme of this parable is readiness for the return of Christ. Like the bridegroom in first-century Galilean society, Jesus most assuredly is coming, but he’s coming suddenly and catches the unprepared by surprise.
The central character in this parable is the bridegroom (Christ), who is delayed in coming for his bride (the church). Scripture often refers to the church as the bride and Christ as the bridegroom (Matt. 9:15; Mark 2:19-20; Luke 5:34-35; John 3:29). Believers are “betrothed” to Jesus, who promises to come one day and take them to his Father’s house (John 14:1-3).
A general understanding of first-century Jewish wedding customs is helpful in navigating this parable.
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His Name is Called the Word of God
This is the 17th 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.
In the previous column, we examined key features of the returning Christ that John reveals in Revelation 19:11-16. Now, we complete our review.
7. His name is called the Word of God.
In his Gospel account, John tells us of the person and work of Jesus as the Incarnate Word (John 1:1-18). He is eternal, divine, distinct from the Father and yet equal with him. He is the creator of everything. He added sinless humanity to his deity in the Incarnation and thus pitched his tent with sinful and fallen people. Though rejected by his own, he is the true source of light and life. And to those who trust in him, he grants the right to be God’s adopted children. He is God revealed in human flesh.
And now, in Revelation 19, the Word of God again appears – not to create, suffer, or die, but to gloriously claim the prize he won through his sinless life and sacrificial death on the cross. He comes for us – the redeemed he has purchased with his own blood. He reverses the curse that Adam’s sin wrought on mankind and his environment. He judges the wicked, casts them out, purges the physical realm of sin and its stain, and creates new heavens and a new earth. Put simply, the Word restores Eden.
Continue reading King of kings and Lord of lords
This is the 16th 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.
John’s vision of the returning Christ in Revelation 19:11-16 reveals marvelous truths about the Lord’s conquest of sin and his restoration of righteousness. John captures many details that show how Christ’s glorious return sets in motion his final battle with sin, thus paving the way for a restored Eden. We examine a few of these features in this column and the next one.
1. Jesus rides a white horse from heaven.
This is in stark contrast to Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem, in which the Son of Man rides a borrowed donkey. A horse is used for war; a donkey, for peace. A horse is a symbol of conquest; a donkey, a vehicle of humility.
Jesus comes humbly the first time as the Suffering Servant, but he rides with the clouds of heaven victoriously as the conquering king in his return to earth. This illustrates that Jesus has won complete victory over Satan, sin, and death. The pristine Garden of Eden is about to be restored as the last Adam regains what the first Adam lost – dominion over the earth, and immortality.
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