Jesus is Coming Back
1 Thessalonians 4:16
“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.”
Jesus is Coming Back
We have discussed the person and works of our Lord Jesus Christ within the last few weeks. We can affectionately call it God’s Adoption Process as we who believe in Jesus rightly are called children of God.
Many gospel presentations are present with the information of the life, death, burial, resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ. All of this is true and amazing. There is one piece of information that is very important that we tend to leave out, the second coming of Jesus Christ. He is coming back and the New Testament authors mentioned the return of Jesus in almost every letter they wrote. Here are some interesting statistics from www.jesus.org.
“One out of every 30 verses in the Bible mentions the subject of Christ’s return or the end of time. Of the 216 chapters in the New Testament, there are well over 300 references to the return of Christ. 23 of the 27 New Testament books mention Christ’s return.”
This week’s SALT devotion is made up of mainly verses. These are 16 verses that mention Christ’s return.
Acts 1:11 – “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.””
1 Corinthians 4:5 – “Therefore do not go on passing judgment before the time, but wait until the Lord comes who will both bring to light the things hidden in the darkness and disclose the motives of men’s hearts; and then each man’s praise will come to him from God.”
Philippians 3:20 – “For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ”
Colossians 3:4 – “When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.”
1 Thessalonians 2:19-20 – “For who is our hope or joy or crown of exultation? Is it not even you, in the presence of our Lord Jesus at His coming? For you are our glory and joy.”
2 Thessalonians 1:6-7 – “For after all it is only just for God to repay with affliction those who afflict you, and to give relief to you who are afflicted and to us as well when the Lord Jesus will be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire”
1 Timothy 6:13-16 – “I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who testified the good confession before Pontius Pilate, that you keep the commandment without stain or reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, which He will bring about at the proper time—He who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone possesses immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see. To Him be honor and eternal dominion! Amen.”
2 Timothy 4:8 – “ 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.”
Titus 2:12-14 – “instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus, who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds.”
Hebrews 9:28 – “so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him.”
James 5:7 – “Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. The farmer waits for the precious produce of the soil, being patient about it, until it gets the early and late rains.”
1 Peter 1:13 – “Therefore, prepare your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”
2 Peter 3:10 – “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.”
1 John 2:28 – “ Now, little children, abide in Him, so that when He appears, we may have confidence and not shrink away from Him in shame at His coming.”
Jude 1:21 – “keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting anxiously for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life.”
Revelation 22:20-21 – “He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming quickly.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus. The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. Amen.”
The authors of the New Testament wrote as if Jesus could come back at any time. Christians of the first century believed in the return of Jesus in their lifetime. We could see Jesus in our lifetime as well. This truth remains and should be at the forefront of our minds and within our gospel presentation. Be encouraged that He is coming back. Come Lord Jesus, come! Amen.
