In John 14:3, Jesus said, “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.” And in Revelation 1:7, it says, “Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen.”
Jesus is coming. Whether it’s today, tomorrow, a thousand years from now, it’s the surest thing in the world. But what will His return entail? What should we expect? And how should we prepare for it?
He will come unexpectedly
No one knows when Jesus will come, no matter how many people claim otherwise. Of all the predictions that have been made, how many have been right? None, of course. Jesus himself said, “But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only” (Matthew 24:36). Only God knows the time and date. If Jesus doesn’t even when he will return, how can we pretend to?
1 Thessalonians 5:1-6: “Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need to have anything written to you. For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, “There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. But you are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief. For you are all children of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness. So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober.” The rest of the world is asleep in lethargy, in ignorance of Jesus’ glory, of his second coming—but we, as Christians and believers in Christ, are awake and keeping watch. We can’t predict when He will come, but we can be ready for that day.
The dead will be raised
There are two categories of dead people in Scripture: those who have fallen asleep in Jesus, and those who are not in Christ. 1 Thessalonians 4:13-14: “But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep.” Revelation 14:13 says, ““Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.” “Blessed indeed,” says the Spirit, “that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow them!” The only way we want to die is in Jesus Christ. But both groups—the dead in Jesus and the hopeless—will be raised on that last day. Jesus said, in John 5:28-29, “Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.” Those who have done good will have eternal life, and those who have done evil will be judged and, ultimately, damned.
In John 11, Jesus resurrected Lazarus from the dead. We’ll be raised in the same way—but instead of waiting for that day to hear the voice of Jesus calling us from the tomb, we should hear Him while we live.
This world will be destroyed
2 Peter 3:5-7: “For they deliberately overlook this fact, that the heavens existed long ago, and the earth was formed out of water and through water by the word of God, and that by means of these the world that then existed was deluged with water and perished. But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly,” and 2 Peter 3:10-13: “But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed. Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn! But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.”
Everything on Earth will be destroyed when the Lord comes. Our homes, cars, jewelry, photos, insurance policies—it’s all going up in flames. The physical creation will be removed, but our relationship with Christ, our spiritual being, will remain.
The saints will meet the Lord in the air
Picture everyone who loved who knew God and has passed on. You’ll meet them again one day. When He comes, all the saints will meet the Lord in the air. 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17: “For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.” If you aren’t a Christian, those words won’t mean much to you. But if Jesus Christ is your Lord and Savior, those ought to be the most wonderful words you’ll ever hear.
Every soul will be judged
God has ordained it so that we seal our destinies by the way we act and conduct ourselves while we are alive on this Earth. Then, when we die, judgment is coming. Jesus Christ who died for us will judge us on that last day. In Acts 17:30-31, Paul wrote, “The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.” And in 2 Corinthians 5:10, “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.” No one will be excused from judgment; in Revelation 20:12, John wrote, “And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne.” Abraham Lincoln will be there, and Ella Fitzgerald, and Eleanor of Aquitaine, and Attila the Hun; everyone you know and all the people you don’t will be there, waiting to give an account of themselves.
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