“Thank You, Lord Jesus, that You have shown us various aspects of how Your return will be. We are to be faithful to the task that You have entrusted to us. We thank You that when You return, You will set up Your eternal kingdom, where we will be with You always. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.”
Acts 1:9-11 Now when He had spoken these things, while they watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. (10) And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, (11) 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”. These were encouraging words for the disciples. They now knew that the ministry of the Lord, on earth, was over and the ministry was now beginning for them, to be His witnesses, in the enablement of the Holy Spirit.
We are now in the age of the church of Jesus Christ, in the enablement of the Holy Spirit. We await a new age, where Jesus will reign as King and we will be in His kingdom, with benefits as well as responsibilities. What are some of the other pictures that have been presented to us regarding the return of our Lord? Revelation 1:7-8 Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen. (8) “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,” says the Lord, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.” He is the Alpha and He is the Omega. He is the Lord Almighty. We have our rest and our habitat in Him. What else do we need in life? When He returns, every eye will see Him and all the tribes of the earth will mourn for they have rejected the King.
Matthew 25:31-32 “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. (32) All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats”. When the Lord returns, He will sit as the judge and all the nations will be gathered before the Judge and King, to be judged. It will be a frightening day for the people of the earth. The Lord will separate His sheep from the goats.
II Thessalonians 1:7-10 and to give you who are troubled rest with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, (8) in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. (9) These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power, (10) when He comes, in that Day, to be glorified in His saints and to be admired among all those who believe, because our testimony among you was believed.
Today, we are experiencing persecution all over the world. Not only in contexts which are openly hostile to Jesus, but also in nations, which claim to be Christian. Everywhere, the persecution against the church is of different kinds. The Lord will take vengeance on those who have troubled us. Those, who have persecuted the church, in different ways, will be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord. This is frightening because it will be destruction that will not come to an end but will be everlasting. Since we know that this is what awaits those who are persecuting the church and rejecting the Lord, we must reach out to our persecutors, in love. The devil has blinded their eyes, so that they are doing what they are doing, in ignorance. The prayer of our Lord becomes valid. “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do”. We must not be afraid of our persecutors. They may kill our bodies but God’s truth remains. We will be witnesses to Jesus, till the very end.
Daniel 7:13-14 “I was watching in the night visions, And behold, One like the Son of Man, Coming with the clouds of heaven! He came to the Ancient of Days, And they brought Him near before Him. (14) Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, That all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, Which shall not pass away, And His kingdom the one Which shall not be destroyed. Jesus will set up His kingdom, which is an everlasting kingdom. This picture must be seen in contrast to what will happen to those who reject Christ. Those who reject Christ will experience everlasting destruction, whereas those who belong to Jesus, will experience everlasting dominion. In Jesus, we find our rest for He is the Alpha and He is Omega. Who is, who was and who is to come. We share the good news of Jesus with people so that they too would come into the habitat of God and find rest.
“Lord Jesus, I give myself to You, to be faithful to You, till the very end.”