By Steven J. Hogan
~ A Saturday Morning Post #4 ~
Imagine a good friend, a close relative or your dear child coming to visit you. Wouldn’t you be happy, excited, and looking forward to seeing him? Wouldn’t you be getting ready – cleaning your house, fixing up their bedroom, and figuring out what meals to have? And wouldn’t there be this joyful anticipation, where every single day you’d be thinking about his coming, until finally he arrives?
Now imagine God Himself coming to visit you. Wouldn’t you be happy, excited, and looking forward to seeing Him? Wouldn’t you be getting ready for His arrival? I hope you’d say yes. And the truth is, God is coming!!!
Jesus Christ is coming back to earth! Jesus Christ is God and man, and He’s coming back, and He’s not just paying a visit, He’s coming to stay. Over 20 times in the New Testament we read about the coming of Christ; and this word “coming” means “arrival and continued presence.” You see, Jesus Christ came the first time about 2000 years ago and He stayed for only 33 years, and then went back home to heaven. But this time He will arrive and stay for good. Let me explain why Christ’s coming is so, so important.
Jesus Christ is the Savior! Christ died for our sins and rose again, enabling us to be forgiven and receive eternal life. If you have repented of your sins, and trusted in Christ to forgive you, to save you, then He’s your Savior. And over time you learn how much He loves you, and so much more than anyone else. Then you learn that He’s coming back to rapture you and take you home to heaven. I can’t tell you how important it is for you to realize how passionately Christ loves you, and that He can’t wait to see you. Might your soul be charged up by His great love for you, so that you love Him, and are looking forward to His return, His coming for you.
Jesus Christ is the Judge! Yes, here comes the Judge, and there is nothing more serious than this, for after Christ raptures the Christians, then He will judge the unbelievers who remain on earth, and this will be one holy devastation. This is the wrath of God, the Day of the Lord, a judgment of fire, a time when Christ will perfectly judge this earth and the people on it. It is the Trumpet and Bowl judgments spoken of in Revelation 8-9, 16, that describe how dreadful and deadly this will be for the all unbelievers left behind.
Jesus Christ is the Redeemer! God repeatedly promised that He would redeem a remnant of Jewish people, and it is at the very end of Daniel’s 70th week that this will be fulfilled. Then the Jews, along with all the believers, which includes all Christians, will begin to reign with Christ over this world. And by the way, we know we are in the end times because the Jews have been regathering to their land since the 1880’s, all this leading to that climactic moment, the redemption of a remnant of Jews. Romans 11:25-27
Jesus Christ is the King! As you well know, we do not have peace in this world. Throughout the years, many rulers have tried to bring peace, but they have all failed. Only Jesus Christ can and will do this. After the rapture, and after the wrath, is when Christ’s 1000-year reign will begin. I must say, I am really looking forward to this millennial kingdom, and finally seeing true justice, peace and joy all over this world. Psalm 67
Jesus Christ, the Savior, Judge, Redeemer and King, is literally coming back to this earth! This is the truth. This is not folly, fiction or fake news – this is what God has told us again and again in His Word. And this is God’s Word, not man’s word, and you need to believe it and be convinced of it. I personally believe Christ’s coming may take place in your lifetime, and if not in your lifetime, then in your children’s or grandchildren’s. Do you understand how amazing, how wonderful, how dramatic, how climactic, how exciting, how earth-shaking, earth-changing, life-changing, devil-defeating, and God-glorifying this will be??
One more thing – In the last chapter of the last book of the Bible, Jesus says, “Behold, I am coming soon” (Revelation 22:7, 12, 20). He repeats Himself three times. Why? Because He’s trying to wake you up, and alert you to the fact that He is soon returning to earth. He wants you to know that He is super-excited about coming back to take you to be with Himself, and He wants you to be super-excited about being with Him – and with great joy and great feeling say, “COME, LORD JESUS!”
