Many times the Holy Spirit, the Author of our Bible, inspired men to write about the return of Christ. We began to document these occasions in a previous post. Now, we return to see more. Below, I list some of the many occasions and give an excerpt or a full quote of each reference. You are encouraged to read these passages in their context.

• Phil. 3:20: “Our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.”
• Col. 3:4: “When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.”
• Heb. 9:28: “To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation.”
• James 5:7-8 “Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain. You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.”
• 1 Pet. 1:13: “Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”
• 1 Pet. 5:4: “When the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away.”
• 1John 3:2: “Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.”

Jesus said the Holy Spirit is our Helper, our Comforter, and our Guide who would lead us into all truth. The Holy Spirit is God and therefore cannot lie. We can be confident in our Lord’s return because He inspired men to write about His return.

Take note: The verse-by-verse study through the book of Revelation begins this Sunday evening: Here are the particulars:

Rejoice Church
7540 Davidson Rd
Olive Branch, MS
Time: 5:30 p.m.

In the previous post, I began a larger answer to our current question. The answer is: “Because the Holy Spirit said He would.” We will come back to that and include other occasions where He inspired men to write about the return of Christ.

Today, let’s expand further the item from yesterday. In 1 Thess. 4:13-18 the Holy Spirit inspired Paul to write about the details of our Lord’s first return. He will return in two phases. In this return of Jesus, He does not return to the earth but does return.

Paul begins this explanation by telling us why he wrote this; because he did not want people to be ignorant or unaware or uninformed as to the details of His return. Then He shares a confession that he received this by the word of the Lord. Next, Paul gives the threefold details:

1. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven

Remember what the angels said in Acts 1:9-11? The angels said the Lord Himself would return. Paul reaffirms that truth here. Then he writes that His return will include three facets. He will come …with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God.

2. The dead in Christ will rise first

In a powerful demonstration difficult for us to comprehend, the bodies of the departed saints will be resurrected from the grave or from the place where they lost their life. That “body” will reunite with the person returning with the Lord. The dynamics are more than we can comprehend but once again we are reminded that all things are possible with the Lord.

3. The living saints will be raptured

Paul writes, “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.” This is where we get the understanding of the rapture. The word “rapture” does not appear in the English Bible but is the meaning of the phrase “caught up.” This means to snatch up, grab up, or take up. You can see “rapture” is the accurate way to describe this action.

Then, Paul closed with the personal reason why he shared all this. So the Thessalonians [and us] could be comforted and so we could comfort other people with these words. Earlier he stated lost people have no hope. They have no hope because Jesus is not returning for them. But, we need not sorrow as lost people sorrow because He is coming back for us.

Have a great day. Keep living for Him. His return could be today.

Take note: The verse-by-verse study through the book of Revelation begins this Sunday evening: Here are the particulars:

Rejoice Church
7540 Davidson Rd
Olive Branch, MS
Time: 5:30 p.m.

Many times throughout the New Testament, the Holy Spirit inspired men to write about the return of Christ. One of the earliest, if not the first letter from the apostle Paul, is First Thessalonians.

One of the unique items about this letter to the Thessalonians is, every chapter ends with a reference to the return of our Lord.

1. “and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.” (1:10)
2. “For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Is it not even you in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at His coming?” (2:9)
3. “So that He may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all His saints.” (3:13)
4. “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.” (4:16)
5. “Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (5:23)

Here we have a most important account of the Holy Spirit prompting and inspiring Paul to write about the return of our Lord. Tomorrow, I will unpack the chapter four account even further. Then, in the next few days, we will see other places the Holy Spirit inspired others to write about our Lord’s return.

Have a great day!

Note: See the Events page for information about the verse-by-verse study through the book of Revelation.

In Acts 1, we have the account of Jesus speaking and exhorting the disciples just before He ascended to be with the Father. As He spoke with them, here is what Luke recorded of the next event. “Now when He had spoken these things, while they watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, who also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? 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 1:9-11)

Picture that event and what that must have been like. Jesus is talking to the men and all of the sudden He is taken up into the clouds. The eyes of the disciples would have been fixed and focused on Him as He ascended. While they are giving His ascent their undivided attention, they hear voices; the voices of two angels. Did they speak this in unison or did they take turns speaking? Luke did not tell us. But here is what we can glean from what the angels said:

1. He actually came the first time; He will actually come again
2. He came to earth the first time; He will come to earth again
3. He came personally the first time; He will come personally again
4. He was taken up into the clouds; He will come back through the clouds

There is one more truth we can glean from what the angels said: Our job, our task on earth, is not to be staring into the skies looking for His return, but we have other tasks we are to be doing while we maintain readiness for His return.

Be ready and have a great day!

Note: See the Events page for information about the verse-by-verse study through the book of Revelation.

As I said in the previous post, the Christian life is build on the solid foundation of …

• The Word of God,
• The Plans of God, and
• The Promises of God

One of the promises Jesus made to His disciples was, He would return. If this promise is not fulfilled then what confidence do we have in any of the other promises He made. Even so, we carefully ask

• When?
• How long will it be?
• What is it going to take for His return to happen?

Over the next several days we will examine other reasons why we can be confident in His return. All this is in preparation for a verse-by-verse study that begins Sunday night, June 7, 2015. See the Events link for the time and place.

Several years ago, I heard John MacArthur speak on why Jesus must return to the earth. With those words as a seed thought, we come to the first reasons – because He said He would.

On the night Jesus was betrayed by Judas Iscariot, Jesus had some very important, intimate, and inspirational time with the eleven disciples who remained. As He spoke of His own death and departure, the men became broken in their spirit. As He disclosed the details of His death I can just imagine Him making contact with each one of these men one by one and after He did He said, “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. 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.”

There it is. There is the promise. He promised He would return. How and when and the dynamics surrounding His return are all debated by theologians, pastors, and teachers. We do not have to agree on the details but one truth we must agree on is – He will return, because He said He would. Reason #2 tomorrow.

Have a great day!

Will Jesus return? Many are beginning to doubt if this will ever actually happen. These are perilous times; danger looms everywhere. The devaluing of life and people killing people is the norm. Will Jesus return? When will Jesus return? When will He return and make all things right? These are all legitimate and important questions. The Christian life is build on the solid foundation of …

• The Word of God,
• The Promises of God, and
• The Plans of God

The Plan of God for our salvation has many components; let’s look at a few.

1. The Virgin Birth of Christ: Jesus, the second person of the trinity came to earth in the form of a baby. Never before or since has this happened. He is the only begotten Son of God.
2. The Death of Christ: On the cross Jesus was the perfect sacrifice for our sins. His perfect sacrifice continues to be effectual for us and for all who call upon Him for salvation.
3. The Resurrection of Christ: His death without His resurrection would provide temporal relief at best. God has put it in the heart of every person to live forever. Through Jesus and His resurrection, He provided the way for that desire to be fulfilled.
4. The Ascension of Christ: Having finished all He came to do and leaving His marching orders for His disciples, Jesus ascended to the Father with the promise to return.
5. The Return of Christ: Jesus will return. We may disagree on when and how He will return but He will return. We will document that further over the next few days.

Over the next few days we will document why we can be confident in the return of Christ. All this is in preparation for His glorious return and a verse-by-verse study through The Revelation of Jesus Christ set to begin Sunday night June 7, 2015.