When Will Jesus Come Again?

As we prepare for Christmas during this season of Advent, I felt the need to spend some time looking at the second coming of our Lord.  The term “second coming” is never mentioned in the Bible, but the reference to our Lord’s return occurs over 300 times in the New Testament.  Jesus told his disciples that he would return in the same manner that they had seen him go.

Jesus talks about the end times in Matthew 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21.  He repeatedly warns us to watch and be on guard.  In Matthew 24:4 Jesus says, “Watch out that no one deceives you.”  Paul follows in 2 Timothy 4:3 and says, “For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine.  Instead to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.”  Again the words of Jesus, “Watch out that no one deceives you.”  Jesus also says in Matthew 24:36, “No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, not the Son, but only the Father.”  Again Jesus’ words, “Be on guard.”

So how can we prepare for this second coming?  What can we do, since Jesus clearly says that it could happen today, next year, or at some other time in the future.  What should we do?

2 Peter 3:9-13 gives us some very good advice in this area.  Here Peter says, “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness.  He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.  But the day of the Lord will come like a thief.  The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare.  Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be:  You ought to live holy and Godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming.  That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat.  But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness.”

While we do not know when our Lord will return, as Christians we are assured that He will come again in all power and glory and we look forward to that glorious day, just as people 2000 years ago watched and waited for that baby born in a manger in Bethlehem.