The Second Coming

Everyone is acquainted with the biblical doctrine of the Second Coming of Christ. If anyone has not heard of this term they probably never read the Bible, never logged into the internet, never watched tv, and never socialized with anyone. The Second Coming of Christ is common knowledge. What is not common knowledge is the manner of His coming. There are different views on Christ’s second coming which begs to question as to where all these different views come from. Scripture only teaches one view. How is it that there are varying views? Well, to put it simply, only one view is accurate, the rest are a result of people’s freedom to creative license.

Remember the movie “Noah” starring Russel Crowe? The movie may have been entertaining, but how much of it was actually biblical? There was so much creative license taken in this movie, why bother with the Bible? We often prefer fiction over facts because we can express our creativity so much better and oftentimes fiction is so much more interesting and entertaining.

Is there any danger in believing in the second coming of Christ happening one way when in actuality it will happen another way? Suppose our spouse tells us they are coming home around noon and will be coming in the back door. We may have missed that part and waited several hours at the front door and never noticed them coming in the back door. Was there a misunderstanding? Yes, there was. If we are waiting for certain things to take place at the second coming and they don't happen, wouldn’t the second coming take us by surprise?

“For you know quite well that the day of the Lord’s return will come unexpectedly, like a thief in the night.” (1 Thessalonians 5:2)

First of all, why is it called the “Second Coming”? Well, apparently because the “First” already happened. But if this is going to be taken literally, technically, Christ has been on this planet hundreds of times before He lived among us as a human. Say for example, at creation. Nothing was created without Him.

“He existed in the beginning with God. God created everything through him, and nothing was created except through him.” (John 1:2-3)

Remember “The Angel of the Lord”? That was Christ. He has always been actively interacting with us humans for thousands of years before He became a human Himself. He was the “Messenger” of God, the “Messenger of the Covenant”.

He is the “Angel” God sent time and again to speak in His stead. He was given the same authority the Father possesses, even the authority to forgive or not to forgive because His own Father’s name was in Him.

“Behold, I send an Angel before you to keep you in the way and to bring you into the place which I have prepared. Beware of Him and obey His voice; do not provoke Him, for He will not pardon your transgressions; for My name is in Him.” (Exodus 23:20-21)

He is the chief of all angels, the “Archangel”, the one known in heavenly realms as “Michael” and known among humans as Jesus Christ. The very same one who will return to this earth with the commanding voice of the “Archangel” to resurrect the sleeping saints

.

The apostle Paul attests to the fact that this mighty angel who he refers to as “The Spiritual Rock” led the Israelites in the form of a cloud through the wilderness and through the sea. He identifies this entity as being Christ Himself.

“I don’t want you to forget, dear brothers and sisters, about our ancestors in the wilderness long ago. All of them were guided by a cloud that moved ahead of them, and all of them walked through the sea on dry ground. In the cloud and in the sea, all of them were baptized as followers of Moses. All of them ate the same spiritual food, and all of them drank the same spiritual water. For they drank from the spiritual rock that traveled with them, and that rock was Christ.” (1 Corinthians 10:1-4)

So why is it that we refer to this special event as “The Second Coming”? Christ’s first appearance was predicted throughout the years by way of prophecies. Prophecies are easily understood when matched with specific events. This event became a historical fact in the archives of history.

“Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” (Isaiah 7:14)

His first appearance was foretold and it happened just as it was predicted. His second appearance is foretold and it will happen just as predicted.

“I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.” (John 14:2-3)

Christ’s second appearance must occur exactly the way it was prophesied in order to validate scriptural accuracy. So what does Scripture say in regard to the manner of His return?

He will not come alone.

“Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of His saints.” (Jude 1:14)

He will come in the same manner He left.

“Men of Galilee,” they said, “why are you standing here staring into heaven? Jesus has been taken from you into heaven, but someday he will return from heaven in the same way you saw him go!” (Acts 1:11)

In what manner did the disciples see Him go? They saw Him taken up in a cloud. They were looking up until He disappeared. When He comes back, everyone will look up, coming down in a cloud.

“Look! He comes with the clouds of heaven. And everyone will see him, even those who pierced him.” (Revelation 1:7)

“And they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.” (Matthew 24:30)

This is not intended to bash the views of those who believe in the secret rapture version of Christ’s coming, but the truth is that there is nothing secret about the second coming. Scripture does not teach that people will disappear, on the contrary, the redeemed saints will be visibly taken up by angels as they gather them from around the globe.

“And he will send out his angels with the mighty blast of a trumpet, and they will gather his chosen ones from all over the world from the farthest ends of the earth and heaven.” (Matthew 24:31)

Christ's second coming will be very visible. As lightning flashes from east to west. We can't miss it.

“For as the lightning flashes in the east and shines to the west, so it will be when the Son of Man comes.” (Matthew 24:27)

It will also be very noisy.

“For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the believers who have died will rise from their graves.” (1 Thessalonians 4:16)

The second coming of Christ will be an event, unlike any previous historical event. But if we get it wrong, we risk ending up on the wrong side of the receiving end. The reason for that is that many will have certain expectations which will never be realized. Many will be looking for certain events. If the expected events don’t happen and the events not expected do happen, then the actual events are dismissed as some sort of alien invasion having nothing to do with the second coming of Christ. By doing so, we place our faith in false teachings risking our eternal destiny.

It is crucial that we study our spiritual textbook and get the details right. If we think it is not difficult to get this doctrine right, we're in for many surprises. The enemy of our souls is more clever than we give him credit for. How many of us have heard and/or watched documentaries of UFO sightings and reports? The great majority of these reports are kept secret by our government. Do we believe in alien visitations? Well, guess what? Most of these reports are true and the events are 100% accurate. But think about this. If alien beings from other planets actually have been visiting our planet for thousands of years as many claim, how much control do we believe God actually has over His own creation?

“Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will.” (Matthew 10:29)

Friends, there are indeed people living all over the universe on other planets, but God will not allow them to be contaminated by this rebellious and sinful planet. All these UFO sightings and reports are true, but they are Satan’s ploy to confuse our intelligence. Satan is setting the stage so that Christ’s second coming will be perceived as an alien event. As it is already, governments have been hiding the fact that they have made contact with people from other planets with so much more advanced technology than we have, when in actuality, they have only been in contact with devils. Everything must be understood from a biblical perspective. It is our only safeguard.

Back to Top