The Christian’s blessed hope is the imminent,personal and returning of the Lord Jesus Christ. The word ” hope ” in the New Testament does not imply uncertainty;it means a joyful and confident expectation;and this hope is joyful and confident because it is based upon the promise of our Lord Jesus Christ Himself ( Jn.14:3 ). This is a thrilling subject,yet many believers are not looking for this blessed hope of Jesus coming again. Let us look at 7 reasons why the believer should be looking for the blessed hope.
I. BECAUSE THIS SUBJECT SO INTIMATELY CONCERNS THE LORD JESUS HIMSELF.
We must beware of becoming more occupied with the event more than the Person who is coming. Scattered throughout the Bible there re scores of details concerning the time,manner and place of His return;but the most thrilling aspect of the whole subject is the HE is coming-our Lord Jesus Himself ! Three special N.T. references emphasise this:-
1. The Saviour’s declaration- John 14:3
2. The angel’s confirmation.- Acts 1:9-11
3. The Apostle’s explanation- 1 Thess. 4:16-18
As it is the Lord Himself who is coming, it behooves us as His followers not only to be familiar with the fact but also to be on the look out for Him.
2. BECAUSE THIS SUBJECT SO DEFINITELY RELATES TO EVERY BELIEVER.
Every Christian going to heaven,but how are we going to get there? The ‘ spirits ‘ of the ‘ dead ‘ in Christ are all ready with Christ, ” which is far better ” (Phil. 1:23 ) ; but we are not going to spend eternity as disembodied spirits ( 2 Cor. 5:3,4 ) ; one day we shall have a new body like His own. But how and when will this take place? ( 1 Thess. 4:16,17 ).
3. BECAUSE THIS SUBJECT COMPLETELY DOMINATES BIBLICAL REVELATION.
A large portion of the prophecies of the O.T. are taken up with the final triumph of Christ’s reign. they were not fulfilled at His first advent, when He came as a baby in weakness and when He suffered and died for us; they await fulfillment at His second coming. How true it is, then,to say that the subject of the second coming of Jesus Christ dominates biblical revelation ! If we acknowledge the authority of the Bible we must be convinced about the glorious fact of His return, and when we come to the N.T. , THE SECOND ADVENT is mentioned 318 times.
More to come