Finding Jesus in the Bible…So We Can Follow Him in Life
Bible Reading Plans
- Plan One: New Testament Only
- Plan Two: New Testament + Psalms
- Plan Three: New Testament + History
- Plan Four: The Entire Bible – Year 1 of 3, Year 2 of 3, Year 3 of 3
Don’t know which plan? Go to A Christ-Centered Bible Reading Plan: Quick Start.
Extras
Verse of the Day, Audio Capsule, and Video Minute
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(Today’s Reading)
The Implications of the Second Coming as Accomplished Fact
(Book Installment 4)
The Scope of the Second Coming
Chapter 1 – References to the Second Coming
The Biblical Case for the Second Coming as Accomplished Fact settled the Second Coming’s timing. (It was in the 1st century, not somewhere in the indefinite future). That book also settled its nature. (It was a spiritual event, not a physical one). To begin our study of its scope, we now turn to the many different words and phrases that the Bible uses to refer to the Second Coming.
References to the First Coming
The term itself – “Second Coming” – implies there was a first. As obvious as this is, we ought to look at some of the ways the Bible referred to that first coming before we see the ways it referred to the second.
The first coming of Christ was in the flesh – that is, as a human being. This began with His conception by the Holy Spirit in the womb of Mary, then His birth in Bethlehem, then His escape to Egypt, then His growing-up years in Nazareth, then His moving to Capernaum for the sake of ministry, and finally His crucifixion in Jerusalem. All that is called “the sufferings of Christ,” which were followed by “the glories of Christ.” These glories include His resurrection from the dead, ascension into heaven, and more. Therefore, the first coming of Christ was in humility and suffering…with the glories beginning in resurrection and culminating in the Second Coming. The second coming of Christ was in the spirit – that is, as God.
Let’s pay close attention to how John the Baptist spoke of Jesus’ first coming.
Matthew 11:2 Now when John, while imprisoned, heard of the works of Christ, he sent word by his disciples
Matthew 11:3 and said to Him, “Are You the Expected One, or shall we look for someone else?”
(Throughout this book, I’ll use bold print in scripture citations to call your attention to the parts that are the most relevant to the topic at hand.)
The translators’ footnote on this passage indicates that the Greek for “the Expected One” was literally “the Coming One.”
Next, Jesus Himself gives another synonymous phrase for “the Coming One.”
Luke 19:10 “For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”
And there’s this:
John 4:25 The woman said to Him, “I know that Messiah is coming (He who is called Christ); when that One comes, He will declare all things to us.”
John 4:26 Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am He.”
In the following verse from the epistles, we see the summation of the first coming, implying how the second would be different.
1 John 4:2 By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God;
I could show you many more verses like these – some of them using the same terms for the Christ, some of them using synonymous terms. What I have shown you here has been just a sampling to exemplify how the Bible speaks about Jesus’ first coming.
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