The Second Coming of Christ #100

The Second Coming of Christ is the Christian teaching that Jesus, who ascended to heaven after his resurrection, will return to earth in glory to judge the living and the dead and to bring God’s kingdom to completion. It is affirmed in the Apostles’ Creed and the Nicene Creed and appears throughout the New Testament.

Biblical Account

The promise is first given at the ascension, when two men in white told the disciples watching Jesus rise that “this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven” (Acts 1:9-11). Jesus himself spoke of his return in the Olivet Discourse, describing the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory and sending his angels to gather his elect (Matthew 24:29-31). He also said that no one knows the day or hour, not even the angels or the Son, but only the Father, and told his followers to keep watch (Matthew 24:36-44). Earlier, he had promised to come again and take his disciples to himself (John 14:1-3).

Paul comforts the Thessalonian church concerning believers who have died, writing that the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, the dead in Christ will rise first, and then the living will be caught up together with them to meet the Lord in the air (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18). He describes a change of the body “in the twinkling of an eye” at the last trumpet (1 Corinthians 15:51-52), and calls believers to live sober and godly lives as they wait for “that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:11-14). The book of Revelation portrays Christ as a rider on a white horse called Faithful and True, who judges and makes war in righteousness (Revelation 19:11-16).

Theological Significance

Christians agree that Christ will return, that the return will be personal and visible, and that it will bring resurrection, judgment, and the renewal of creation. They differ on the timing and sequence of related events. Amillennialists, postmillennialists, and premillennialists disagree about the nature of the “thousand years” in Revelation 20, and those who expect a rapture differ over whether it occurs before, during, or after a period of tribulation. Many of these questions rest on how apocalyptic language is read, and the questions are treated further in the entries on the rapture and the signs of the end times.

Whatever the details, the New Testament uses the hope of Christ’s return chiefly to encourage faithfulness, holiness, and comfort in suffering. Because the day is unknown, believers are called to be ready and to serve, not to speculate. The doctrine expresses the conviction that history is moving toward the final vindication of Christ and the fulfillment of God’s promises.