I Believe He Will Return To Judge The Living And The Dead

“I Believe He Will Come Again to Judge the Living and the Dead” John 14:1-3; II Peter 3:3-10 II Timothy 3:1-5 In the Apostles’ Creed we affirm that we believe “He will come again to judge the living and the dead.” These simple words consist of two complementary truths: 1) Jesus is coming again. 2) Jesus is coming again to judge the living and the dead. The New Testament refers to the second coming of Christ in over 300 verses. That means one of every 13 verses deals with some aspect of our Lord’s return to the earth. It is so central to the New Testament that Christians everywhere have always believed that Jesus will return someday. Though we differ (and argue!) over the details, Christians of all varieties unite in believing that Christ himself will return to the earth. Jesus said in John 14:3, “I will come again.” Here are five words that help us understand what that means. His second coming will be … Personal (It will be Jesus and not some substitute) Literal (Not a vision or a dream) Visible (“Every eye will see him”) Sudden (Not a gradual return) Unexpected (Like a thief in the night). Acts 1:11 makes it clear that Jesus himself will one day return to the earth. It will be “this same Jesus” who is coming again. Twice in one verse Luke uses the word “same” to tell us something crucial about the Second Coming. The same Jesus who left will one day return. And he will return the same way that he left. If plain English can have any meaning at all, those words teach us that Jesus is coming back personally, literally, visibly and bodily. We might also add that his coming will be sudden and unexpected. Luke 24:50-52 informs us that as Jesus reached out his hands to bless his disciples, he began to rise from the face of the earth—evidently without any warning whatsoever. We can assume that his return to the earth will be no less astonishing and no less surprising.