Jesus promised to come again for His own. Hello, I’m Phil Sanders, and this is a Bible study “In
Search of the Lord’s Way.” Are you ready for the second coming? Get your Bible and stay tuned.
Welcome to In SEARCH of the Lord’s Way! We’re here to search the Scriptures for God’s will.
People have many strange ideas about what will happen at the end of time, but the Lord has taught us
clearly in Scripture what will happen. The Scriptures are always the measure of spiritual truth, and we
can do no better than to investigate them daily. Since the Bible will one day be our judge, we need to
know what it says and take it seriously. Thanks for taking time with us today. We want to be a part of
your life each week.

 

The Lord Jesus said in John 14:1 to 3, “Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe
also in Me. In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I
go to prepare a place for you. 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.” Jesus went to the Father in heaven to prepare a place
for His followers and will one day return for them. This is a precious promise.

 

When Jesus ascended into heaven after His resurrection, “while they were looking on, and a cloud
received Him out of their sight. And as they were gazing intently into the sky (behold) while He was
going, behold, two men in white clothing stood beside them. They also said, “Men of Galilee, why do
you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in
just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven” (Acts 1 verses 9 to 11). When Jesus comes
again, every eye will see Him (Revelation 1 verse 7). We’ll have no doubt, the Lord keeps His promises!
We offer this study, “Jesus Is Coming Again,” free. If you’d like a printed copy or a CD of our study
and you live in the United States, mail your request to In Search of the Lord’s Way, P.O. Box 371,
Edmond, OK 73083 or send an e-mail to searchtv@searchtv.org. Or, you can call our toll-free
telephone number. That number is 1-800-321-8633. We also have materials free on line at
www.searchtv.org.

 

The Edmond church will now worship in song, we’ll read from 1 Thess. 4:13 to 18, and explore the
fact that Jesus is coming again.

 

Our reading today is 1 Thessalonians chapter 4 verses 13 to 18. And Paul is encouraging the church
at Thessalonica about the second coming of Jesus.

But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, so that you will
not grieve as do the rest who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so
God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus. For this we say to you by the word of the
Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have
fallen asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the
archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and
remain will 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. Therefore comfort one another with these words.

That’s a reading of God’s Holy Word. Let’s pray together. Oh Father, we’re thankful that Your son
Jesus is coming back for us. Help us to be prepared for Him just as He has prepared for us. And may
Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. In Jesus name, Amen.

 

Aren’t you encouraged by these beautiful songs? I appreciate the Edmond church of Christ and all
those who came to sing with us. Thanks to Larry Owsley for directing us. The need to sing praise to God is always important. Hebrews 13:15 says, “Through Him (that is Jesus Christ) then, let us continually
offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name.” One day
God’s people will gather in heaven to worship God in song and to praise His holy name! What joy!
As believers, we live with the knowledge of the Lord Jesus coming again to receive His own. We’ll
meet Him in the air and live with Him there eternally. We meet Him there and stay with Him there. It’s
indeed a precious promise to know that He cares enough to come for us and take us to the place that
He’s been preparing for us in the Father’s house. We have no basis for thinking that the Lord Jesus will
return earth once again, on earth. That was not His promise. Rather His promise was to welcome us to
the place that He has prepared. Why, that’s in heaven. He’s preparing for us, and we need to be
prepared for Him.

 

The Lord Jesus said in Matthew 24:35 to 36 that, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words
will not pass away. But of that day (that is the day heaven and earth passes away) and hour no one
knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.” Mark 13:33 adds, “Take ye
heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is.” No one knows the time when Jesus will
come again; many have prophesied various times, but all have failed. From as early as 70 AD to 2012
AD, men boldly said the Lord would come and the world will end, but they didn’t know and they
proved to be false prophets.

 

1 Thessalonians 5 verses 1 and 2, it says this about the time Jesus will come again: he says, “Now as
to the times and the epochs, brethren, you have no need of anything to be written to you. For you
yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night.” 2 Peter 3 and
verse 10 echoes this statement and gives a little more information. “But the day of the Lord will come
like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with
intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up.”

 

What will happen when Jesus comes again? While we do not know when He will come, we can be
confident of what He will do when He comes. The Scriptures reveal several things will occur when Jesus
returns. First, a great sound will mark his arrival at the end of time. 1 Thessalonians 4:16 says, “For the
Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the
trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.” Oh, yes the Lord will descend with a shout, with
the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God, we’ll hear Him.

 

Second, when Jesus comes again, He will not be coming alone. He’s coming with all His angels
according to Matthew 25 verse 31. He’s also coming with those who are “in Christ” but have died. 1
Thessalonians 4:13 to 14 says, “But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who
are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus
died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus.”

 

Third, the dead will all be raised! While the “dead in Christ will rise first,” this doesn’t mean they’re
the only ones who will rise on that day. The Lord Jesus promised in John 5:28 to 29, “Do not marvel at
this; for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs will hear His voice, and will come forth;
those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a
resurrection of judgment.” The resurrection of the righteous will take place at the same hour as the
resurrection of the wicked. There’s only one general resurrection hour. Paul said in Acts 24 and verse
15, “there shall certainly be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked.” Some think the
wicked will simply cease to exist, but the Lord says the wicked will face a resurrection of judgment.

 

Fourth, those still alive on earth at his coming will be changed. 1 Corinthians 15:50 to 52 says,
“Now I say this, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be
changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and
the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.” The physical body that you have now
was not designed for heaven but was designed for this earth . We will have an imperishable and
glorified body in heaven. Philippians 3:20 to 21 says, “For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also
we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; who will transform the body of our humble state
(the body we have right now) into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power
that He has even to subject all things to Himself.”

 

Fifth, 1 Thessalonians 4:16 to 17 says, “the dead in Christ will rise first. And then we who are alive
and remain will 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.” Now, some think the Lord will set foot for a thousand years on the
earth when He comes again; but there will be no human life on earth following the return of Christ.
We’ll meet Him in the air and will always be with Him, and a, we’ll be with Him there and nothing will
happen here. This planet will be destroyed by fire. We look for something new, and that is what the
Lord has been preparing for us, this new place. The future life of the saints will be in a totally new
place, unlike this one.

 

1 Peter 1:3 to 4 says, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His
great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ
from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away,
reserved in heaven for you.”

 

Sixth, the final Judgment will occur. This is an appointment that we must all attend. Some will stand
before the judgment seat of Christ with confidence, while others will have great dread, because they
know they have rejected the Lord. 2 Corinthians 5 and verse 10 says, “For we must all appear before
the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according
to what he’s done, whether good or bad.” We cannot escape this appointment.

 

The apostle John in the book of Revelation reveals what will happen at the judgment. Revelation
20:11 to 12 says, “And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth
and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and
great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the
book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according
to their works.” The basis of our judgment will be the written word of God. You see the Scriptures will
outlast culture and popular opinions to judge us on the last day. As we saw in Matthew 24:35 the
words of Jesus will last longer than heaven or earth. The Lord Jesus said in John 12:48, that, “He who
rejects Me and does not receive My sayings, has one who judges him; the word I spoke is what will
judge him (on) at the last day.”

 

Seventh, the righteous and the wicked will be separated and assigned their eternal destinies.
Matthew 25 and verse 32 to 3 says that, “All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will
separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; and He will put
the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left.” Now, some will enter into a resurrection of life, while
others will enter a resurrection of judgment.

 

Matthew 25:34 says, and “Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed
of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.’” You see they
cared for others and were obedient to the Lord. Then Matthew 25:41 says, “Then He will also say to
those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels.’” And those on His left will enter the same place that God prepared for the
devil and his angels. The Lord Jesus Himself simply said in Matthew 25:46, “These will go away into
eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

Eighth, on Judgment Day the righteous will enter heaven to live with God eternally. Revelation 21:3
to 4 says that God Himself will dwell among His people; “and He will wipe away every tear from their
eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain;
the first things have passed away.” Only the righteous will dwell in heaven. God promised in Revelation
21 and verse 7 that, “He who overcomes will inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be
My son.” The apostle Paul showed confidence in 2 Timothy 4 verses 7 to 8. He said, “I have fought the
good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith; in the future there is laid up for me the
crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not
only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing.” I hope that you can say the same! That the
Lord will award to you on that day.

 

Those who are unrighteous will enter a place of outer darkness, a place of weeping and gnashing of
teeth. Revelation 21:8 says, “But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and
immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with
fire and brimstone, which is the second death.” This is nothing to doubt or ignore. The Lord Jesus said
in Matthew 10:28, “Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear
Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.”

The Lord doesn’t want anyone to be lost and face eternal punishment. 1 Timothy 2:3 to 4 says,
“This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to
come to the knowledge of the truth.” Again, 2 Peter 3 and verse 9 says, “The Lord is not slow about His
promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to
come to repentance.” You don’t have to be lost; instead you can put your faith in the Lord and follow
Jesus. Hebrews 5 verses 8 to 9 says, “Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from the things
which He suffered. And having been made perfect, He became to all those who obey Him the source of
eternal salvation.” My friend is He your Savior? Have you obeyed Him? Are you right with Him? And
when He comes again will He be coming for you? To bless you. Or when He comes again will He come
to raise you up to judgment.

Let’s pray. Father we pray that we may be prepared for Your, the coming of Your Son Jesus. That
we may love Him and serve Him all the days of our lives. And be able to live with You forever. And
Father help us to do Your will each day. In Jesus name we pray, Amen.

2 Peter 3:11 to 13 warns and encourages us, “Since all these things (speaking of heaven and earth)
are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness,
looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be
destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat! But according to His promise we
are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells.” Since we have this hope;
we ought to live godly and righteously. We watch and pray, so that we do not enter temptation. We
stay busy doing the will of God.

What sort of person are you? Do you take God seriously? If the Lord is coming one day to bless the
sheep and punish the goats, which are you? John 3:36 says, “He who believes in the Son has eternal
life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.” Do you
believe? And have you obeyed the Lord?

To become a Christian, one must believe, if he wishes to please God (Hebrews 11:6). He must
repent of his sins (Luke 13:3). He must confess Jesus Christ is the Son of God and Lord (Romans 10 and
verse 10); and he must be baptized into Christ for the forgiveness of his sins, just as Peter said in Acts
2:38. Now, baptism is an immersion in water; but baptism into Christ is a baptism into His death
(Romans 6:3 to 4). In baptism the blood of Jesus washes away sin (Acts 2:38 and 22:16) and it also gives
us newness of life. Become a Christian today and begin worshipping regularly with a church of Christ
near you.

 

We hope that today’s study revealing the second coming has stirred you to consider your soul. If
you live in the United States and want a free printed copy or a CD of this message, mail your request to
In Search of the Lord’s Way, P.O. Box 371, Edmond, OK 73083 or send an e-mail to
searchtv@searchtv.org. Or, you can call the Search office toll-free at 1-800-321-8633. Now you can
download these lessons or a newsletter at: www.searchtv.org. There’s also a schedule of our programs
and a map with the location of churches in your area. You can watch SEARCH anytime on YouTube!
Subscribe to our channel, “SearchTVMinistry.” We also offer free Bible Correspondence courses. Now
don’t worry, we’re not here to get your money. We’re here to help you get to heaven.

 

There’s no better day than today than to go worship at church. There’s probably a church of Christ
in your area. Why not worship with them today? If you’re looking for a healthy, Biblical church home,
we’ll be happy to help you find one. We’ll be back next week, Lord willing. So keep searching God’s
Word with us and tell a friend about this program. God bless you and we love you from all of us at In
Search of the Lord’s Way.