The second coming of the Lord will be more important than His first coming. Micah prophesized that “In the last days the mountain of the Lord’s temple will be established as the highest of the mountains; it will be exalted above the hills, and peoples will stream to it”(Micah 4: 1). This is the hope of a huge nation. During this Advent Season we are meditating on the advent of Jesus. We, as a Church, through the Apostles Creed and the Nicene Creed reiterate that Jesus Christ will come again. Not only the New Testament but the Old Testament also contains prophesies about the second coming of Christ. In the New Testament, in every 25 verses there is one verse that portray the second coming of Jesus. In the New Testament, the second coming is mentioned 320 times. The records related to this can be categorized as given below.
• The testimony that Christ told (Matt. 24, 25; Mark 13; Luke 21; John 14: 1 -3; 16: 1-5)
• The testimony of the angels (Acts 1: 11)
• The testimony of the Apostles
o Peter (1 Peter 5: 4; 2 Peter 3: 10- 13, etc.)
o Paul (1 Thess.4: 16, 17; 5: 2, etc.)
o Jude (14, 15)
o James (James 5: 7,8)
o John (1 John 2: 28)
• The Testimony at the Lord’s Supper (1 Cor. 11: 26)
• The Church’s prayer (Revelation 22: 20)
• The Creed (The Apostles Creed and the Nicene Creed)
Even though the Church literally believes in the second coming of Christ, the Bible does not give pointed evidence of the time (Matt. 24: 36; 1 Thess. 5:2). Therefore the Church is advised to be ready.
1. The Church should be prepared for Lord’s Coming (Micah 4: 1-5)
Micah 4: 1- 5 talks about the end times sign in Israel. The prophecy that there will be a time when every nation and tribe rely on God. Since the time and date is unknown the New Testament believers should also be prepared for Jesus’ coming.
2. Talk about Lord’s Coming (John 4: 21- 37)
A change came about the thoughts of the Samaritan woman about Christ. She understood Christ as a Jew, Master, Prophet and Messiah. Later the Samaritan woman who found the Messiah told about the Messiah to everybody (Luke 4: 39- 42). The Church should tell about the Messiah who is coming. Jesus says about this thus- “Even now the one who reaps draws a wage and harvests a crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together”.
3. We must be prepared for the Lord’s Coming (1 John 4: 7- 21)
We should obey the Lord’s commandments and be prepared for his coming. The greatest commandment for this is ‘love one another’. Whoever does not love the brother whom they can see cannot love God whom they have not seen (1 John 4: 20). It is not that we loved God but God loved us. Therefore we must love one another and obey Christ’s commandment.