September 8, 2022 | Silver Spring, Maryland, United States | Ted N.C. Wilson, President, General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists
Greetings, friends! Today we will consider the most incredible, life-changing event ever—the Second Coming of Jesus Christ! This is the culmination of all the hopes of believers down through millennia.
In describing that glorious event, the prophet Isaiah wrote, “And it will be said in that day: ‘Behold, this is our God; We have waited for Him, and He will save us. This is the Lord; We have waited for Him; We will be glad and rejoice in His salvation” (Isaiah 25:9). In Psalm 50:3 we read, “Our God shall come, and shall not keep silent; a fire shall devour before Him, and it shall be very tempestuous all around Him.”
While on Earth, Jesus told His disciples, “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). He repeats this promise with urgency in Revelation 22, saying in verse 7: “Behold, I am coming quickly! Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book;” verse 12: “And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to everyone according to his work;” and in verse 20: “Surely I am coming quickly.”
And these are just a few of the verses assuring us that Jesus is coming again! The Bible also tells us how He will come.
When Jesus ascended in a cloud, two angels assured His disciples that “This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven” (Acts 1:11).
And it will be a visible return! Scripture clearly states, “Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him” (Rev. 1:7). While His followers will be overjoyed, Christ noted the response of the wicked, saying, “All the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory (Matt. 24:30).
Jesus will not sneak back to earth quietly, only appearing to some group here or there. The Bible tells us, “The Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God” (1 Thess. 4:16).
That shout will be heard around the world! The next part of the verse tells us it will wake the righteous dead and they will rise to meet Him in the air, along with the righteous living. Oh, what a wonderful day that will be!
Ellen White gives this beautiful description: “Christ is coming with power and great glory. . . . While the wicked flee from His presence, Christ’s followers will rejoice. . . .To His faithful followers Christ has been a daily companion and familiar friend. They have lived in close contact, in constant communion with God . . . They are prepared for the communion of heaven; for they have heaven in their hearts” (Maranatha, p. 98).
Our Seventh-day Adventist Fundamental Belief #25 states:
“The second coming of Christ is the blessed hope of the church, the grand climax of the gospel. The Saviour’s coming will be literal, personal, visible, and worldwide. When He returns, the righteous dead will be resurrected, and together with the righteous living will be glorified and taken to heaven, but the unrighteous will die. The almost complete fulfillment of most lines of prophecy, together with the present condition of the world, indicates that Christ’s coming is near. The time of that event has not been revealed, and we are therefore exhorted to be ready at all times.”
Of course, the question often asked is, “When is He coming?” Christ’s disciples asked Him that question, and Jesus answered by pointing to prophecy, and encouraged them to look for signs of fulfillment. “Now learn this parable from the fig tree,” He said. “When its branch has already become tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near. So you also, when you see all these things, know that it is near–at the doors!” (Matt. 24:32, 33). He then warned, “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only” (vs. 36).
The prophecies of Daniel and Revelation make it clear we are at the end of time. For example, Bible scholars recognize the prophecy of Daniel 2, with its image representing kingdoms of the world, reveals we are living in the very tips of the toes of that image—the next and final event will be the Second Coming of Christ. Other signs indicated in Scripture have also been and are continuing to be fulfilled. You can read more about the Second Coming at the URL shown below [Insert: www.adventist.org/second-coming].
Friends, we are literally on the very doorstep of that great, cataclysmic, earth-shaking day when our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, returns to take us home.
Nevertheless, there are some who doubt the Lord’s coming is near. This should not surprise us, as we read in 2 Peter 3:3-7—”Scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts, and saying, ‘Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation.'”
Peter points out these scoffers “willingly forget” God created the heavens and the earth, and that there was a worldwide flood. He then warns that one day all will be destroyed by fire.
Peter then gives important instruction and encouragement to those who believe:
“. . . beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance” (vss. 8,9).
He then urges us, since the earth and all things in it will be destroyed, to consider what kind of people we ought to be “in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God. . . . Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless” (vs. 14).
What a calling we have, staying close to the Lord and allowing Him to guide us as we eagerly forward to His coming.
The book of Hebrews encourages us: “. . . do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise: ‘For yet a little while, and He who is coming will come and will not tarry. Now the just shall live by faith; but if anyone draws back, my soul has no pleasure in him.’ But we are not of those who draw back to perdition, but of those who believe to the saving of the soul” (Heb. 10:35-39).
Friends, let us claim this promise together as we pray just now. Father in heaven. Thank you for the wonderful saving of our souls through the power of Jesus Christ. Please help us. To lean every day, every moment on Jesus, who is the author and finisher of our faith, the one who is capable to bring us into the kingdom and to be ready for his soon second coming. We rejoice in the fact that Jesus is coming soon. So Lord, come close to us now. Help us to lean on your everlasting arms and to realize that salvation is only through Jesus.