><>...THE RETURN OF OUR LORD JESUS...><>
Christ's future return to the earth at the end of the present age. Although the Bible explicitly speaks of Christ's appearance as a "second time," the phrase "second coming" occurs nowhere in the New Testament. Many passages, however, speak of His return. In fact, in the New Testament alone it is referred to over 300 times.
The night before His crucifixion, Jesus told His apostles that He would return <John 14:3>. When Jesus ascended into heaven, two angels appeared to His followers, saying that He would return in the same manner as they had seen Him go <Acts 1:11>. The New Testament is filled with expectancy of His coming, even as Christians should be today.
Various opinions exist about what is meant by the Second Coming. Some regard it as the coming of the Holy Spirit on the day of PENTECOST. Others regard it as the coming of Christ into the heart at conversion. Christ's coming for the believer at the time of death is still another view. Careful examination of the New Testament, however, makes it clear that the Second Coming will be a climactic historical event. The Lord will return in the same manner in which He left. His coming will be personal, bodily, and visible.
(from Nelson's Illustrated Bible Dictionary)
(Copyright (C) 1986, Thomas Nelson Publishers) |
