C5 – When the Lord Jesus comes again
In our past lesson, we have learnt amazing facts about the Bible. There is yet another wonder about the Bible; it tells us the future! God knows the future and in His word, He has told us a lot about things that will happen in the future.
Maybe you have been wondering, “Will the Lord Jesus come again?”
The answer is YES! The Lord Jesus Christ is coming again.
He said in His word,
“I go to prepare a place for you, and if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again.” John 14 vs. 2-3.
While He was on earth the first time, the Lord Jesus performed many wonderful miracles and signs. But His main reason for coming to earth was to die for our sins. He was crucified on the cross at around 9 o’clock in the morning. A man called Joseph of Arimathea and his friend called Nicodemus prepared the body of our Lord Jesus Christ for burial per the Jewish tradition. They anointed Jesus’ body with a mixture of aloes and spices before they wrapped it with strips of linen cloth. They then laid Jesus’ body in a cave-like grave. A large stone was then rolled onto the mouth of the cave to cover the entrance into the grave.
The death of the Lord Jesus Christ had brought grief upon His disciples. They could not believe that He would be raised from the dead even though He had told them at least three times before He was crucified.
The Bible tells us that on the third day after the Lord Jesus had been crucified, He rose from the dead. When Mary Magdalene and the other two women arrived at the tomb to anoint the body of the Lord with more spices they were told by the angel to their amazement that He had risen from the dead.
“Don’t be afraid,” he said; “for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for He is risen as He said.” Matthew 28 vs. 5-6.
With great fear, they ran back to tell the disciples what they had seen and heard. Upon hearing this, two of the disciples namely Peter and John, ran to the tomb to see for themselves and they discovered that it was true just as the women had reported. There was no body in the tomb. Only the strips of linen cloth remained where Jesus’ body was laid.
That night the disciples were gathered together. Terror and confusion had gripped them. One of the disciples named Thomas was missing. Wherever he was, he probably had not yet heard the news of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. We read in the Bible that the doors to the room the disciples were in, was closed. But Jesus appeared suddenly in the middle of them. He said to them, “Peace be with you.” They were so terrified, thinking they may be seeing a ghost.
The Lord Jesus said to them, “Why are you troubled? And why do doubts arise in your hearts? Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself. Handle me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I have. Luke 24 vs. 38-39. Jesus Christ rose physically with bones and flesh! How did the disciples know this? They had seen Him, they spoke to Him, and they touched Him and ate real food with Him.
Jesus was alive! They could not wait to tell Thomas who was not present at the time. As soon as they met Thomas, they told Him that they had seen Jesus. But Thomas would not believe such a story. He was adamant that,
“Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails ….. and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.” John 20 vs. 25.
After eight days, the disciples were together again in the same room with the doors all closed. The Lord Jesus appeared as before and said, “Peace be to you.” Then He said to Thomas,
“Reach your finger here, and look at my hands; and reach your hand here and put it into my side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing.” John 20 vs. 26, 27
Thomas fell to his knees and worshipped the Lord Jesus. He said, “My Lord and my God.” He could no longer doubt the resurrection of the Lord.
After His resurrection from the dead, the Lord appeared to many believers for forty days. More than five hundred believers saw Him on one occasion. He told his disciples before He was taken back to heaven:
“All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.” Matthew 28 vs. 18
On the fortieth day after His resurrection, the Lord Jesus took His disciples to the Mount of Olives where He ascended to Heaven; a cloud received Him out of their sight.
While the disciples stood looking up as Jesus ascended to heaven, two angels appeared to them and said,
“Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.” Acts 1 vs. 11
What does this verse mean?
It means that the Lord Jesus Christ will come again the same way He ascended to Heaven! The disciples had seen Jesus ascending to heaven, similarly the believers will see Jesus when He returns. In the meantime, the Lord Jesus is preparing a beautiful home for us in Heaven. One day He will come and take us to Heaven:
“I go to prepare a place for you, and if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again.” John 14 vs. 2-3.
The Lord is coming again. We know this because He promised. He said, “I will come again.”
For those of us who have accepted the Lord Jesus as their personal Savior, the returning of the Lord will be a time of joy. He is coming to take us to be with Him. This is what the Bible tells us of that glorious day:
“For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus, we shall always be with the Lord.” 1 Thessalonians 4: 16-17
When Jesus comes again, all God’s children will be taken up to meet Him in the air. First, those who believed in Christ before they died will be resurrected. Secondly, Christians who will still be alive when He returns will be changed. Our bodies will be transformed to be like that of the resurrection body of Jesus Christ.
What is going to happen to those who will be left behind?
Those who will be left behind are those who have not accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as their personal Savior. They will face a time of great trouble on earth. This period is called the “Tribulation”. It will be the most terrible period ever on the universe. We must pray for others and tell them about Jesus so that they can believe in Him and be preserved from having to go through the tribulation.
After all these things, the Lord Jesus will return to earth. This time He will be accompanied by the believers whom He took to be with in Heaven on His first return. This may be a bit difficult for you to understand. We believe that the coming of the Lord will be in two stages:
1. The first coming is called the “Rapture” when He will come to take those who believed in Him whether they are already dead or yet alive as we have already noticed. He will be coming to the air and the believers will meet Him in the air. All Christians will be taken up to heaven. Meanwhile, there will be a time of trouble for remaining earth citizens called the “Tribulation”.
2. The Lord Jesus will then come again with the same believers He took to be with Him on His first coming. He will be coming to reign. He will touch down on earth and His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives. He will establish a new kingdom on earth when He makes all things new. He will be the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
When is Jesus coming again?
No one can know when Jesus is coming. The Bible says,
“But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven but my Father only. “ We read these words in Matthew 24 vs. 36.
He can come at any time. Because of that, we must always be ready for His coming. We can prepare for His coming by: (1) Loving Him (2) Obeying Him (3) Serving Him and (4) Waiting for His return. If we do so, we will not be ashamed when He returns. The Bible says,
“And now little children, abide in Him, that when He appears, we may have confidence and not be ashamed before Him at His coming.” 1 John 2 vs. 28
If we truly love the Lord Jesus, we would want Him to return soon. May our prayer be this:
“Even so, come Lord Jesus!” Revelation 22 vs. 20
What happens when a Christian dies?
The Bible tells us that our physical bodies are like ‘houses’ in which our souls live. The human body itself is not who we are. The person lives inside the body and each person has an immortal soul. When a Christian dies, his or her soul leaves the human body and goes to Heaven to be with the Lord.
The Apostle Paul said,
“For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.” Philippians 1 vs. 21.
Why did he say that to die is gain?
To die is gain or profitable because then he will be with Christ in heaven which is far better than being alive on earth.
When a Christian dies, we feel sad because we miss them. That is normal. But we need to remember that they are with the Lord and are in safe hands, much better than those of us who are still alive on earth. If only we knew how beautiful heaven is, we would not wish for them to come back.
We do not have to fear death because the Bible tells us that we are going to be with the Lord. The Lord Himself spoke comforting words to us in John 11 vs. 25,
“I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live.”
So, when Jesus comes again, He will raise the bodies of all those who died believing in Him and will give them new bodies which will never die. The Bible says,
“For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.” (2 Corinthians 5 vs 1)
What are we going to be like?
We are going to be like the Lord Jesus! The Bible says,
“…but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.” 1 John 3 vs. 2
Next Steps
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