The Manner Of Christ’s Return
The consummation of all the hope of the Christian is found in the Second Advent of Jesus.
1 Corinthians 15:19 "If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable."
The Bible calls this the "Blessed Hope" in Titus 2:13. The Christian may not find hope in the present, but when we look at the future with the eye of faith, we have hope.
As the beautiful words in the song composed by Annie Smith said, "O! What can buoy the spirits up? Tis this alone the blessed hope."
It was not any different for the Patriarchs. They "desired a better country…for he (God) hath prepared for them a city.”
Hebrews 11:13 ”These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.”
The disciples asked Jesus about the signs of the end of the world and His second coming.
In His response, Jesus spoke of false prophets and False Christs.
But we need not be deceived; that is why Jesus tells us in Matthew 24:25, “Behold, I have told you before.”
Did you also know that Satan is going to impersonate Jesus? He will counterfeit the second coming of Jesus. We can find that in 2 Thessalonians 2:9.
There are many false teachings concerning the manner of Christ's appearing. Many are deceived and many more will be deceived that don’t give heed to the truth and God’s warnings.
We are going to look at 7 distinctive characteristics of the Second Coming of Jesus found in the Bible and the Writings of Ellen White. We need not be deceived.
1. It will be universal
Matthew 24:26-27 “Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not.
For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be."
We need not be told to go to the desert or the secret chambers for "every eye shall see him." Revelation 1:7
"Satan is not permitted to counterfeit the manner of Christ's advent…This coming there is no possibility of counterfeiting. It will be universally known--witnessed by the whole world." {GC 625.2}
2. It will be a literal and personal return
Acts 1:9-11 “And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, 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;
Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.”
The same Jesus who had resurrected from the grave, who was not a spirit but had flesh and bones that Thomas could touch.
The same way he was taken with the cloud, he will return—not a spiritual return but a literal and personal return.
"The Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the Archangel, and with the trump of God. Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord." 1 Thessalonians 4:16, 17
It will be personal. "The Lord Himself" will meet us in the air. Jesus does not touch the earth until after the 1000 years have expired and New Jerusalem comes down (Zechariah 14:4, Revelation 21:10).
3. It will be visible
Revelation 1:7 “Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.”
Everyone living at that time shall see Jesus.
Notice that the verse also says they “which pierced him.” I believe there will be a special resurrection for the wicked people who have made fun of Jesus.
Matthew 26:64 "Jesus saith unto him, Thou hast said: nevertheless I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven."
Daniel 12:2 "And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt."
Not everyone is resurrected in the “special resurrection”, only “some”.
The people who made fun of Jesus will be resurrected to see him in the clouds as the "KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS." To their “shame and everlasting contempt.”
"There are those who mocked Christ in His humiliation. With thrilling power come to their minds the Sufferer's words, when, adjured by the high priest, He solemnly declared: "Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven." Matthew 26:64. “Now they behold Him in His glory, and they are yet to see Him sitting on the right hand of power. Those who derided His claim to be the Son of God are speechless now. There is the haughty Herod who jeered at His royal title and bade the mocking soldiers crown Him king. There are the very men who with impious hands placed upon His form the purple robe, upon His sacred brow the thorny crown, and in His unresisting hand the mimic scepter, and bowed before Him in blasphemous mockery. The men who smote and spit upon the Prince of life now turn from His piercing gaze and seek to flee from the overpowering glory of His presence. Those who drove the nails through His hands and feet, the soldier who pierced His side, behold these marks with terror and remorse.” {GC 643.2}
With awful distinctness do priests and rulers recall the events of Calvary." {GC 643}
But there is another group of people who are permitted to see their Lord return in the clouds with the class that "pierced" Jesus.
Revelation 14:13 "And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them."
"Graves are opened, and "many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth. . . awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt." Daniel 12:2. All who have died in the faith of the third angel's message come forth from the tomb glorified, to hear God's covenant of peace with those who have kept His law. "They also which pierced Him" (Revelation 1:7), “those that mocked and derided Christ's dying agonies, and the most violent opposers of His truth and His people, are raised to behold Him in His glory and to see the honor placed upon the loyal and obedient." {GC 637.1}
Those who died in faith of the Third Angel's message. Many martyrs who died preaching against the Mark of the Beast and his image will be given the special privilege of their faith becoming sight. They will be resurrected the same time with those that “pierced Jesus.”
4. It will be audible
2Peter 3:10 "But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up."
1Thessalonians 4:16 "For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:"
Matthew 24:31 "And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other."
It will be loud and noisy when Jesus comes back; it is not going to be a secret. He will not be found in "secret chambers."
5. It will be sudden and unexpected
1 Thessalonians 5:2,3 “For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.
For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.”
Matthew 24:36-39 "But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.
But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark,
And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be."
When the Bible mentions Jesus' advent as a thief, it is using only the element of surprise, at a time when it is not expected. It is not using the element of secrecy, because, as mentioned above, Jesus will come back with a "great noise," "with a shout."
6. It will be cataclysmic
Revelation 6:14 “And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.”
An earthquake marked the hour when Christ laid down His life, and another earthquake witnessed the moment when He took it up in triumph. He who had vanquished death and the grave came forth from the tomb with the tread of a conqueror, amid the reeling of the earth, the flashing of lightning, and the roaring of thunder. When He shall come to the earth again, He will shake "not the earth only, but also heaven." "The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, and shall be removed like a cottage." "The heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll;" "the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up." But "the Lord will be the hope of His people, and the strength of the children of Israel." Hebrews 12:26; Isaiah 24:20; 34:4; 2 Peter 3:10; Joel 3:16 {DA 780.1}
7. It will be glorious
Matthew 16:27 “For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works.”
Matthew 25:31 "When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:"
The clouds will roll back like a scroll and, in the clear heavens, we shall behold a small cloud, at first the size of a man's fist but then getting bigger as it gets closer.
Finally, the entire heavens are covered by the glory of God. The angels fill the heavens and sing their melodious songs.
Jesus with his beautiful subdued voice calls the dead to awake from their sleep. (John 5:25) "Awake! awake! awake! ye that sleep in the dust, and arise." {CET 59.1}
There is a mighty earthquake and all the faithful throughout the ages since the fall of Adam "come forth from their graves the same in stature as when they entered the tomb."
In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, they are changed from mortal to immortal (1 Corinthians 15:52).
"Adam, who stands among the risen throng, is of lofty height and majestic form, in stature but little below the Son of God. He presents a marked contrast to the people of later generations. But all arise with the freshness and vigor of eternal youth." {GC 644.3}.
Families, friends, and loved ones are reunited, "little children are borne by holy angels to their mothers' arms." {GC 645.1}
We meet the Lord in the air (1 Thessalonians 4:17) and travel to heaven together with God, the angels, and the redeemed.
Before I conclude, I want to address the final deception of Satan before Christ returns.
It is the strong and "almost overmastering" delusion. It is so powerful that “if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.”
The elect are not deceived because they have acquainted themselves with the Bible. The elect are those who "receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved." These will be shielded from the powerful delusion that will take the whole world captive.
The reason it is "almost overmastering" is because it will involve all our senses. To every soul will come the heart-searching questions, "Do I yield to the evidence of my senses?" or "Do I cling to the Bible and the Bible only?"
What is this "almost overmastering delusion?" it is the counterfeit appearing of Satan as Jesus.
Did you know that Satan will counterfeit the Advent of Jesus? This will be his "crowning act in the great drama of deception."
In 2 Thessalonians 2:9-12, we are told that God will give the unrighteous who have despised the truth and loved lies to the delusion of Satan. And what is that delusion? It is the counterfeiting of the second coming of Christ.
"As the crowning act in the great drama of deception, Satan himself will personate Christ. The church has long professed to look to the Saviour's advent as the consummation of her hopes. Now the great deceiver will make it appear that Christ has come. In different parts of the earth, Satan will manifest himself among men as a majestic being of dazzling brightness, resembling the description of the Son of God given by John in the Revelation….This is the strong, almost overmastering delusion." {GC 624.2}
"The glory that surrounds him (Satan) is unsurpassed by anything that mortal eyes have yet beheld." {GC 624.2}
It will take the whole world by surprise, be something that the world has never seen. It will take place just before the Advent of Jesus.
Let me try to illustrate how convincing this will be to the person who doesn't study his Bible.
We know that in the end time, one of the greatest means of deception will be Spiritualism.
1 Timothy 4:1 “Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;”
Rev 16:13-15 ”And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet.
For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.
Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.”
The devil has the power to perform some miracles according to Revelation 13:14, but there is a limit beyond which he cannot go. Here, he uses deception.
I can imagine Satan counterfeiting resurrections, making it appear that the saints have resurrected. How convincing that would be to the nominal Christian, especially the worldling.
For those who walk by sight and not by faith, this will be the strong delusion.
It shouldn't be a surprise to us because the Bible has warned us that “Satan himself is transformed into and angel of light.” 2 Corinthians 11:14.
But we need not fear if we love the truth. It is not possible for the elect to be deceived (Matthew 24:24), for they have acquainted themselves with the Bible.
"Only those who have been diligent students of the Scriptures and who have received the love of the truth will be shielded from the powerful delusion that takes the world captive. By the Bible testimony these will detect the deceiver in his disguise. To all the testing time will come." {GC 625.3}
"But the people of God will not be misled. The teachings of this false christ are not in accordance with the Scriptures. His blessing is pronounced upon the worshipers of the beast and his image, the very class upon whom the Bible declares that God's unmingled wrath shall be poured out." {GC 625.1}
"And, furthermore, Satan is not permitted to counterfeit the manner of Christ's advent…This coming there is no possibility of counterfeiting. It will be universally known--witnessed by the whole world." {GC 625.2}
The scriptural account we have of Jesus is that we meet him in the air. But this deceiver walks on the earth, doing many wonders.
In his assumed character of Christ, he heals the people and blesses them, and even quotes some of the words of Jesus.
But the most significant work he does in his deception is that "he claims to have changed the Sabbath to Sunday, and commands all to hallow the day which he has blessed. He declares that those who persist in keeping holy the seventh day are blaspheming his name by refusing to listen to his angels sent to them with light and truth." {GC 624.2}
If we heed the word of God, we will be shielded from deceptions, especially the "almost overmastering delusion."
We would do well to study the Bible for ourselves and start building on a firm foundation so that when the storms come, we will stand still because we are founded on the word of God.
Only those who receive the love of the truth will be shielded from the deception.
May God help us! Amen.