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| Section: Basic Christian Living:
courses for new Christians |
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Growing in God |
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12. Graduation Day: |
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The Return of Jesus |
Acts
1:11
'Men of Galilee…why do you stand here looking into the sky?
This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven,
will come back in the same way you have seen him go into
heaven.'
It's a
fact
Yes, Jesus is coming back!
The New Testament is full of this glorious truth. Not only did
the angels at the ascension announce it to the disciples (Acts
1:11 above), but Jesus himself promised it:
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John
14:2-3
'In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would
have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And
if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back
and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.'
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For the apostles who gave us
the New Testament letters, too, Christ's return was a major theme.
Paul, for instance, said to some fellow-Christians:
Philippians
3:20
'Our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Saviour
from there, the Lord Jesus Christ.'
From these and other scriptures
we can conclude that Jesus' return will be:
 | Personal. It's Jesus himself who will come back,
not some substitute or representative.
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| Physical. He'll come, not in some spiritual
way, but 'in the same way you have seen him go into heaven' (Acts
1:11), that is, physically. You'll actually see him and be with
him!
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| Public. It won't be a secret affair. People
saw him go; people will see him return. It will be as public
as the lightning in a thunder-storm (Matthew 24:27). |
The
great event
A major Bible passage on the
subject will answer a lot of your questions about the order of
events:
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1 Thessalonians
4:13-18
'Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who
fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope.
We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that
God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him.
According to the Lord's own word, we tell you that we who are
still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly
not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself
will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice
of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead
in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive
and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds
to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord
forever. Therefore encourage each other with these words.'
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| Jesus will suddenly descend from heaven.
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| Those Christians who have died prior
to his coming will be resurrected. Their bodies will be reconstituted
(Philippians 3:20-21) to join with their spirits, which in the meantime
have enjoyed Jesus' presence in glory.
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| They and the still-living
Christians will together be caught up, or raptured, to meet Jesus
in the air.
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| We will be 'with the Lord for ever'! |
Creation renewed
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Instantly, the created order will undergo a
radical renewal as the fire of God's presence removes all traces of sin and
its grim effects. Those who rejected Christ will be punished by being shut
out from his presence. Then will appear 'a new heaven and a new earth, the
home of righteousness' (see 2 Peter 3:10-13).
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Paul describes this in great excitement,
which as Christians we should all share:
Romans
8:19-23
'The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God
to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration,
not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected
it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its
bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the
children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning
as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not
only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit,
groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the
redemption of our bodies.'
Both you as a Christian, and
the whole of creation, will enjoy 'the glorious freedom of the
children of God'. What a time that will be!
Rewards
While every Christian will
enjoy the Lord's presence and salvation from the very presence
of sin, not every one will have the same reward. Rewards will
vary according to the way we have served the Lord from the time
we became Christians.
The criterion will be not how
long you've served him, nor how public your service has been,
nor whether or not you were in full-time Christian work, but
the degree to which you've been 'good' and 'faithful', and the
use you have made of the talents God gave you (Matthew 25:21).
The last thing you want when you stand before our Lord is to
be ashamed because you wasted your time and put your energies
into activities that didn't serve his purpose:
1 Corinthians
3:11-15 'No
one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which
is Jesus Christ. If any man builds on this foundation using gold,
silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown
for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will
be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of
each man's work. If what he has built survives, he will receive
his reward. If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself
will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames.'
In the meantime…
1. Christ's
kingdom keeps growing
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the extent of his kingdom—his rule—is on the increase as people throughout
the world come to know him and submit to his rule in their lives.
While we don't expect to see everyone become Christians, we
do expect to see a substantial number turn to him. The 'mustard seed' of the
twelve disciples is growing into the 'largest…tree' of the worldwide church
(Matthew 13:31-32). Like yeast in a batch of dough, Christian influence is
spreading (Matthew 13:33).
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Yeast pervades a batch of dough |
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Revival is coming—to both Gentiles and Jews
The growth of the kingdom is
mostly slow and gradual. But from time to time God sends revival,
when the process moves up a gear and happens fast. We expect
to see this happen on a big scale before Jesus comes (Isaiah
2:2-4).
Revival will touch the Jewish
people, too, as they see the blessing of God in the Gentile church
(Romans 11:13-14, 25-26).
No surprise
to us
Jesus' return will be 'like
a thief in the night', that is, unexpected (Matthew 24:43; 2
Peter 3:10; 1 Thessalonians 5:2)—but only to sinners who
care nothing for the things of the Lord. To believers like you,
who are not 'in the dark' regarding God's purpose, Paul says:
1 Thessalonians
5:4
'But you, brothers, are not in darkness so that this day should
surprise you like a thief.'
You don't need to fear Christ's
return; instead, welcome it and pray that it will come
soon!
How Christ's
coming affects you now
The fact that Jesus is coming
back is meant to be an incentive to godly living.
When he comes, your likeness
to him will be complete. John says: 'When he appears, we shall
be like him, for we shall see him as he is' (1 John 3:2). But
we want to see much of that process take place before
he comes, in readiness. That's why John completes his statement
by saying: 'Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself,
just as he [Jesus] is pure.'
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| The prospect
of his return is your 'living hope' (1 Peter 1:3). This hope
will help keep you on track with him. It will also:
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| Give you stability
in tough times: 'We have this hope as an anchor for the soul'
(Hebrews 6:19).
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| Keep your thinking
clear in the midst of godless modern ideas: 'Putting on…the
hope of salvation as a helmet' (1 Thessalonians 5:8).
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| Stop you becoming
idle: Trade with your talents and so have something to show
for it when Jesus comes (Matthew 25:14-30). |
At
home: the Father's family
We could say that God is 'a
family man'. He has always planned to have a great family of
children who, like their 'elder brother' the Lord Jesus, would
enjoy unbroken fellowship with him.
At Christ's return that family
will be complete. You'll enjoy Father's loving care and protective
presence for ever in that great eternal home—the 'Father's
house' (John 14:2). And Jesus himself will be there. He promised:
'I will take you to be with me that you also may be where
I am' (John 14:3). What a wonderful prospect!
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Learn by
heart |
John 14:2-3
'In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not
so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And
if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be
with me that you also may be where I am.'
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That's the end of the Growing in God
course. If you have any comments on the course please feel free to email me;
click the link at the bottom of this page.
One more thing: I live by the gospel and am
grateful for any financial recognition of my written ministry. Cheques (in
pounds sterling or US dollars) can be made out to David Matthew and
sent to me at 24 Broomhill, Castleford, West Yorkshire WF10 4QP, U.K.
Thanks! |
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