When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. Then the king will say to those at his right hand, "Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world ..." Then he will say to those at his left hand, "You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels ..." (Matthew 25:31-34, 41).
The thought of Jesus coming to earth again throws some people into a panic. They associate his return with the end of this world and for many people that's bad news. Maybe that's the reason we don't like to think much about it. Often when some catastrophe strikes, individuals are heard to say, "I thought it was the end of the world." They think of it as the disaster to end all disasters.
Their alarm is caused not only by the prospect that their familiar world will be destroyed, but also by the realization that now they will have to meet face to face a holy God whose commandments they have not obeyed. The coming of Christ brings judgment day. We confess, "He will come again to judge the living and the dead." God will separate the sheep from the goats - the good from the evil - and send them to their destinations.
Paul wrote that on that day "all of us must appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each may receive recompense for what has been done in the body, whether good or evil" (2 Corinthians 5:10). This means, he says, that unbelievers "will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, separated from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might" (2 Thessalonians 1:9).
This is not a comforting scenario for any who realize they are less than perfect. The law "written in their hearts" tells them they deserve punishment and they naturally would like to avoid it. It is not strange if Christians, too, shrink from such a prospect. We know we are guilty of sins of many kinds and we do not relish the idea of being brought before a bar of justice.
But the return of Christ is meant to be good news. The Bible speaks of it so often because it is a message of hope and encouragement. The early Christians understood it in this way. They were eagerly anticipating the return of Jesus, "waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God," as Peter put it (2 Peter 3:12).
They did not fear a future judgment because they knew that for those who believe, the judgment day has already come. We have been before the judge, and because we are united in faith to Christ, the verdict is acquittal. The punishment we deserve has been carried out on Jesus. "He himself bore our sins in his body on the cross" (1 Peter 2:24).
Thus John wrote, "Those who believe in him are not condemned" (John 3:18). Jesus said, "Anyone who hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life, and does not come under judgment, but has passed from death to life" (John 5:24).
At the Second Coming four things are accomplished that make it good news:
+Christ puts an end to all opposition to God.+God's purpose for us is brought to perfection.+God makes all things new.+Christ establishes his rule over all.
Christ puts an end to all opposition to God.
When Christ comes again he will come as conqueror, in striking contrast to his first coming as a helpless infant. In our world we observe that the forces of evil often gain the upper hand and overcome what is good. The Bible warns us that as the history of the world approaches its end evil may appear to get even stronger. But just when the forces opposed to God seem about to annihilate God's people, Christ will come. He will deliver a crushing blow to the enemies of all that is good, utterly defeating them.
Not that the issue was ever in doubt. The victory was won long ago in the first coming to earth of Jesus - in particular by his death and resurrection. Jesus said he saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven when the disciples proclaimed the kingdom of God. The Book of Revelation says that the archangel Michael led the forces of heaven against Satan and his angels and conquered them. It has already been done. The victory was decisive: the devil and all his party were cast out of heaven; the war was won.
But although he has been defeated and cast out of heaven, Satan is allowed to carry on his activities on earth for a time. As sometimes happens in earthly wars, although the conflict has been decided, the fighting continues. We may find it hard to understand why this should be, for it makes our lives more difficult. Perhaps God in his wisdom knows that such opposition is necessary if our faith is to develop and grow. Paul, James and Peter all speak of the blessings that come to us because of our tribulations - that they strengthen our faith.
But when Christ returns, every battle comes to an end. Christ will vanquish all evil forces, including human beings, whether individuals or groups or governments or religions, as well as all spiritual forces. Jesus will destroy "every ruler and every authority and power" (1 Corinthians 15:24). Even the last enemy, death, which has the final word for every human being, is finally defeated. All evil has been destroyed and God's peace is everywhere.
God's purpose for us is brought to perfection.
At the same time that he is vanquishing all opposition, the returning Christ brings to completion his work in us. Because he has disposed of all evil forces, he can now accomplish his purpose for us without hindrance. Although Jesus had previously done all that is necessary to save us, providing eternal life for everyone by his death and resurrection, the continued presence of sin in our human nature and in the world around us has kept us from fulfilling his intentions perfectly. Now he can complete his work. Paul assured the Philippians, "I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work among you will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ" (Philippians 1:6).
Life with the dimensions God intends for us is depicted graphically in Revelation. In contrast to the fate of the unrepentant who have eternal torment marked by weeping and gnashing of teeth, those in Christ's presence will no longer experience any sorrow or crying or pain. The blissful existence intended in God's creation has now come in its completion.
It is necessary that God's salvation be perfected in us. An incomplete or imperfect redemption will not do. The most important fact about the future God has in store for us is that we shall be in God's presence forever. This is not possible for any person or thing that is tainted by sin. God's holiness is so thorough that it cannot stand the presence of the slightest imperfection. It must react to destroy anything unfit that ventures into the divine presence. Thus at the giving of the Ten Commandments at Mount Sinai the Israelites were warned not to venture too close lest "the Lord break out against them" (Exodus 19:22).
But God's intention is that we shall be in the divine presence eternally. This means we must be made completely and permanently holy. This Christ accomplishes in his coming. As Paul told the Corinthians, "When perfection comes, the imperfect disappears" (1 Corinthians 13:9 NIV).
Obviously this means some great changes must take place in us. Paul lists some of them. Rather than being subject to corruption or decay, we shall be imperishable - forever immune to destructive change. Rather than having a nature that may at times bring dishonor to God, we shall only and always give God glory. Rather than being beset by weakness so we are unable to obey, we shall have power to serve God as we should. Rather than being limited to the physical, that is human nature, and thus restricted by the boundaries of flesh, space and time, we shall be spiritual, capable of boundless growth and achievement. Rather than being mortal, subject to death, we shall be immortal. Our inheritance, wrote Peter, is "imperishable, undefiled, and unfading" (1 Peter 1:4).
Paul thus assured the Philippians, "We are expecting a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. He will transform the body of our humiliation that it may be conformed to the body of his glory" (Philippians 3:20-21). John states it more simply: "We will be like him" (1 John 3:2). That is perfection. No wonder Christians await "the blessed hope and the manifestation of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. He it is who gave himself for us that he might redeem us from all iniquity and purify for himself a people of his own who are zealous for good deeds" (Titus 2:13-14).
God makes all things new.
The perfection God achieves in us is not the end result of a process whereby we gradually become better and better until we finally attain the level God wants. God's purpose is not accomplished by tinkering with the old model, adding some new parts or repairing or replacing what is defective. What we are when Christ comes to us is entirely beyond repair. Paul wrote that we were dead through the trespasses and sins in which we once lived (Ephesians 2:1). So Jesus told Nicodemus: we must be born anew.
One might say this creation of a new life takes place at two times or in two ways. When we believe, we are born anew. Our old nature, dead in sin, is sloughed off and we are given a new nature in Christ. Yet on earth this new nature must coexist with our sinful nature - in the same person. This prevents us from being the perfect being God wants. Finally we die - proof that sin is still with us.
But again the Creator works a miracle of life - one might say for a second time, or in another, more complete way. Christ at his coming raises us from death. But although the being who is raised can be identified with the person we were, it is not just an improved version of ourselves. That person died. God makes us new.
This is the resurrection - a central belief in the Christian faith. This is what Christ accomplishes upon his return, making not only new people, but a whole new universe - a new heaven and earth - freed from its bondage to sin.
Christ establishes his rule over all.
Over this new and perfect creation Christ rules. This is the goal toward which all history has been moving. It was promised long before Jesus came and again at his birth: "He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end" (Luke 1:33). This was God's plan from the beginning: "to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ" (Ephesians 1:10 NIV).
Christ is an unusual and remarkable king. He says he will come to serve his people (Luke 12:37), rather than demanding that they serve him. Jesus is eternally that kind of a savior king; he is always the Savior who comes to seek, to save, to serve - to give his life that we might live. At the same time he is King of kings and Lord of lords. The two aspects of his reign go together. For the secret of his glory was precisely his self-sacrifice for us. It showed his glorious love for us more than any other act could have done.
He shares this glory and reign with us. "When Christ who is your life is revealed, then you also will be revealed with him in glory," wrote Paul (Colossians 3:4). The writer to Timothy says, "If we endure, we will also reign with him" (2 Timothy 2:12). Christ was glorified by giving himself for others. That is our glory as well. Although our king says he will serve us, we too shall find our fulfillment in service.
This may suggest what will occupy us in heaven. Of course we cannot say in any detail what life in heaven will be like. But the pictures given in the Bible indicate that worship - praise of God - is an important feature of heavenly life. Does the thought of an endless church service leave us cold? Then there must be something wrong with the way we worship. True worship cannot be boring. To be in God's presence is always exciting; it will always draw forth our praise. Thus the inhabitants of heaven are always giving God glory.
How do we give God glory? Not just by singing songs. More significantly by doing God's will: giving ourselves in service to others. That suggests that we are to be something like angels, who are described as ministering spirits, serving the needs of others. Those who have experienced the blessing of giving themselves for others will not need to be urged to continue to do this in heaven. The nature of such service we cannot describe; it seems unlikely that there will be the kind of needs in heaven that we try to meet for others on earth. But we may be assured that our service will be enjoyable and satisfying.
These are some of the indications of what will happen when Christ returns. It is not strange that the Bible speaks so much about it. For the followers of Jesus it is good news without parallel - a glorious picture of hope. No wonder Christians look forward to the Second Coming and pray "Come, Lord Jesus."