The Second Coming
Written by Phil Sanders
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and this is a Bible study “In Search of the Lord’s Way.” Today we’re exploring what will happen when
Jesus comes again.
There’s much confusion about the second coming, and that’s why we turn to the Scriptures for
answers. Thanks for taking time with us today. We want to be a part of your life each week.
assurance! Acts 17:31 says that God “has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness
by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to us by raising him from the
dead.” The resurrection of Jesus Christ assures us of the appointed time when Jesus will judge us all.
“And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and take you to myself, that where I am you
may be also.” The angels said in Acts 1, and verse 11. To the disciples who were watching Jesus ascend,
“Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into
heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.” 1 Thessalonians 4 and verse 16
assures us, “For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an
archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God.” Hebrews 9:28 agrees: “Christ, having been
offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those
who are eagerly waiting for him.”
don’t want to be caught unaware and spiritually unprepared. On that day He will come with all
authority and will judge us all. Are you prepared?
and 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 our website at www.searchtv.org.
Our reading today is from the Acts of the Apostles, chapter 1, verses 9 to11. Jesus has arisen from
the dead, He has spoken to His apostles, and now He is ascending up into the cloud. “And after He had
said these things, He was lifted up while they were looking on, and a cloud received Him out of their
sight. And as they were gazing intently into the sky 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.’” Yes, that’s the promise that we have from God.
He will come again. Help us to be prepared for that coming. This is our prayer in the name of Jesus our
Lord. Amen.”
Since the Lord is coming again, it’s only right to ask what will happen and how will He return. The
Scriptures clearly teach Jesus will come openly, and everyone will know it. He won’t be concealed,
secret, or invisible. As we’ve read, Jesus will come again visibly in the clouds (Acts 1, verse 9 to 11). And
just as He was visible and rose up in the clouds, He will come again visibly in the clouds.
When Jesus appears, He will not come alone. Matthew 16:27 says, “For the Son of Man is going to
come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what
he has done.” Matthew 25:31 to 32 explains, “But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the
angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before Him;
and He will separate them one from another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.”
verse 14 says, “For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those
who have fallen asleep in Jesus.” Now He’s bringing these departed spirits back so that He can raise
them from the dead.
be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire, dealing out retribution to those who do
not know God and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. These will pay the penalty of
eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power.”
the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail
on account of him. Even so. Amen.” When those who have rejected Jesus see Him, they will wail and
mourn. But the Christian who believes and loves Him has a great promise. 1 John 3:2 to 3 says,
“Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that
when he appears that we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. And everyone who has
this hope in him purifies himself as he is pure.”
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. 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, so we shall always be with the
Lord.” Yes, we’ll hear the voice and the trumpet of God. And each of these will call our attention to
what is happening. Did you notice that we will be caught up into the air to meet the Lord? The Lord
Jesus won’t set foot on the earth. Instead, He’ll be in the clouds; and we will meet Him there. When He
comes again, we have to leave this earth for a very good reason.
unexpectedly. The Scriptures teach in 1 Thessalonians 5 and verse 2 and in 2 Peter 3 and verse 10 that
the Lord’s coming will be “like a thief in the night.” Well we simply don’t know when Jesus will come
again. We know that He will come but not when. God has not revealed the time. Deuteronomy 29:29
says, that “The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us
and to our children forever.” The Lord Jesus Himself reveals that the day of His second coming at the
end of the world is a secret. Only the Father knows when He will come again.
The Lord said in Matthew 24, verses 35 to 39, that “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words
will not pass away. But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor
the Son, but the Father only. For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.
For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage,
until the day when Noah entered the ark, and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them
all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.” Sadly, some today deny what the Lord said and
imagine they know exactly when this second coming will happen. They imagine they know more than
Jesus. Many have predicted a specific time and deceived others in the matter; and when the time
passes unchanged, they show themselves to be false prophets, they simply don’t know.
Many people apply things found earlier in Matthew 24 to the second coming. People frequently
speak of things that actually apply to the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD, and that includes the
destruction of the temple. The passage, Matthew 24, clearly speaks of what is to happen to Jerusalem
and in Jerusalem, and not what’s to happen worldwide. Jesus prior to verse 35 reveals numerous
things to happen to people that were alive at that time and the need to escape Jerusalem. On the
other hand verse 36, speaking of the destruction of the heavens and earth begins with the word “but,”
and is followed by an uncertainty of time. The destruction of Jerusalem is not the destruction of the
world.
evil, from the grave. John 5:28 to 29 says, “Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who
are in the tombs will hear his voice and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of
life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.” Now the resurrection mattered to
Paul, and he spoke of its importance before the governor Felix. He said in Acts 24 verses 14-16, “But
this I admit to you, that according to the Way which they (that is the Jews) call a sect I do serve the
God of our fathers, believing everything that is in accordance with the Law and that is written in the
Prophets; having a hope in God, which these men (that is the Pharisees) cherish themselves, that there
shall certainly be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked. In view of this, I also do my best
to maintain always a blameless conscience both before God and before men.” You see Paul wanted to
be right with God at the resurrection.
the Lord will raise the dead, after which He will give them a new body. 1 Corinthians 15 verses 50 to 52
explains, “I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the
perishable inherit the imperishable. Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall 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 shall be changed.” At the resurrection, we’ll receive
bodies designed for eternity.
earth, because God has decided to destroy it. 2 Peter 3 and verse 7 says, “But by the same word the
heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and
destruction of the ungodly.” Again in verse 12 Peter notes, “the heavens will be destroyed by burning,
and the elements will melt with intense heat!” As we noted from 2 Thessalonians 1:7 to 9, Jesus will
come in flaming fire, taking vengeance on those that do not know God and those who do not obey the
gospel. Revelation 21 and verse 1 speaks of John’s vision, “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth,
for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.” All that we know of
the present heaven and earth will have vanished, destroyed by fire and intense heat.
Third, when Jesus comes again, He will make a final judgment on all people, the good and the bad.
2 Corinthians 5 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.” Now the Lord Jesus Himself taught in Matthew 25:31 and 32, “That when the Son of Man comes
in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He’ll sit on His glorious throne. And 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’ll put the sheep on His right, and the goats on His left.” Now in verse 46
he clearly shows their eternal destiny: “These (goats who failed to serve the Lord) will go away into
eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
The Lord Jesus proclaimed in John 12 and verse 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 at the last day.” You and I
won’t be judged by our culture, by the creeds of men, or by human traditions. We will be judged by the
words of Jesus found in the New Testament. Now some think the words of Jesus only appear in red
letters, but we can consider all the words of the New Testament as God’s teaching. Paul said in 1
Corinthians 14 verse 37, “That if anyone thinks he’s a prophet or spiritual, let him recognize that the
things which I write to you are the Lord’s commandment.” You see, the written word will be found at
the Judgment. Revelation 20 and verse 12 says, “And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing
before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life;
and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds.”
Shouldn’t we think about the destruction of the world and of our eternal destiny? 2 Peter 3 and verse
11 says, “Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in
holy conduct and godliness?” Do you look forward to the coming of Jesus or would you mourn at his
coming? Revelation 1:7 says, “Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even
those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him. So it is to be. Amen.” Now
people who don’t know Him, people who don’t believe in Him, and people who don’t love Him will
mourn at His coming.
out (that is he is close to the time when he would die, I’m already being poured out as a drink offering,
and the time of my departure has come. I’ve fought the good fight (have you), I’ve finished the course
(have you), I’ve kept the faith (have you); 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.” Will you love His appearing? Will you receive that
crown?
know that You are coming for Your own people to be glorified in them and for them to glorify You, but
we also know that the second coming will be a time of wrath against those who are disobedient.
Father help us to be prepared, help us to love You and to serve You always, and to stand fast in our
faith. In Jesus name, Amen.”
confidence and not shrink away from Him in shame at His coming.” The Lord Jesus said in Luke 9:26,
“For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when He
comes in His glory, and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.” If we wish to enter the kingdom
of heaven we cannot be ashamed of Him or of His words. We must love Him, obey Him, and abide in
Him.
or quit believing in Christ Jesus. Others have bought into a false gospel and failed to follow the
Scriptures. Such people will be surprised on judgment day when they won’t be allowed to enter
heaven. The wise hear the words of Jesus and do them; the foolish hear the words of Jesus but fail to
do them. The wise will stand, but the foolish will fall (Matthew 7 verses 24 to 27).
coming. By God’s grace through the blood of Jesus Christ you can be right with God. Believe in the Lord
Jesus Christ, repent of your sins, confess Jesus Christ as the Son of God, and be baptized into Christ Jesus. Galatians 3:26 to 27 says, “For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For all of you
who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.” To be children of God we must be
baptized into Christ, immersed in water for the forgiveness of our sins. Then we must be faithful to the
Lord till the end. If you’ve quit the Lord, or maybe you’ve quit His church, it’s time to come back, to
return.
prepared for his coming. If you live in the United States and want a free printed copy of this message,
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