The Second Coming of Jesus

Scripture Reading: 1 Corinthians 15:58; Revelation 20-22

Review: Jesus will return to the earth someday to establish His kingdom physically here on earth. The goal of His Kingdom is to restore the earth as a place where God's rule is fully honored and obeyed. At the end of His Millennial Reign on the earth, Jesus will hand over His Kingdom here on the earth to merge with God's Universal Kingdom. By the time Jesus hands over His Kingdom, He will have defeated all of His enemies, including the last enemy, Death. Speaking of this, Revelation 20:18 tells us: "Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire."

When Jesus returns to establish His Kingdom physically here on the earth, there will be untold blessings. Biblical descriptions of these blessings dazzle our minds. See Isaiah 2:1-4 and 11:1-9 for examples of what life will be like under Jesus' rule.

Jesus is already positioned to return to carry out the endgame of His Kingdom being literally established here on earth. His victory over death has already begun. It began when He rose from the dead. Soon after He ascended and was exalted as Lord at the right of God. His exaltation as Lord means that He is positioned right now as the Victor, so the stage is set for Him to return at any time.

While we wait, it is possible for us to experience and give witness now to to the blessings Christ's kingdom has in store for us. There has always been a very thin veil between the realm of God's Universal Kingdom, with all of its blessings, and the realm we now occupy here on the earth. Jesus is the gateway between the two realms. He has already broken through into our realm in His first coming, bringing many Kingdom blessings with HIm. And He will break through again some day, to fully establish those blessings in His Kingdom here on the earth. In the meantime, as we wait, Jesus brings experiences of Kingdom life to us through His Word, through His Spirit, through worship, through answers to prayer, through triumphs of grace and justice, through Spirit-inspired displays of forgiveness, of mercy, and compassion, through Spirit-controlled displays of stewardship, and through many other examples of God-glorifying acts. By them all, we are enabled to give witness to Kingdom life and to what the return of Christ is all about.

In 1 Corinthians 15:58, Paul wrote: "Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain." The word "vain" literally means "empty". The idea is that our waiting for Christ's return should not be caught up with inactivity or with things that are NOT Kingdom life experiences. That kind of life, it turns out, is a way of collaborating with Death. Rather, what we do matters, blessing us with participation in Kingdom life now, which prepares for its fullest expression someday when Jesus returns.

Even so, come Lord Jesus!

Reflection Questions: What are foretastes of Kingdom life are you experiencing now intentionally? How does Matthew 6:33 motivate you to be more intentional with seeking experiences of life in God's kingdom?