WHY YOU WANT TO KNOW ABOUT THE SECOND COMING OF JESUS CHRIST

What does Jesus Christ reveal to us about His Second Coming? 

We know from the Bible that Jesus Christ came the first time two thousand years ago. We know that Jesus delivered the Gospel and ministered to many, performing miraculous healing of body, mind, heart, and spirit for three short years as the self-declared Son of Man and Son of God. Then Jesus was crucified. He died on the Cross for our sins, and was buried in a tomb, only to rise three days later as the Resurrected Christ to sit at the right hand of the Father in Heaven. 

Jesus gave as His parting gift the earthly presence of the Holy Spirit, who resides within Christian believers; who woos and convicts individuals throughout the world: the Helper, who along with God the Father and God the Son, are the One God in Three Persons: the Blessed Trinity.

Just how does Jesus Christ return? Why does He return? What happens on Earth and in Heaven as a result? 

The Bible says, and we Christians believe, that Jesus Christ, the Son of Man and Son of God, returns to Earth to judge the living and the dead (Acts 10:42; 2 Timothy 4:1; 1 Peter 4:5). 

Read the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, and see for yourself how Jesus urgently wants us prepared for His Second Coming:

“But understand this" says Jesus: "If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him” (Matthew 24:43-44 NIV).

Did you notice how Jesus describes Himself coming as a ‘thief in the night?’ 

The Apostle Paul adds: “I don’t think, friends, that I need to deal with the question of when all this is going to happen. You know as well as I that the day of the Master’s coming can’t be posted on our calendars. He won’t call ahead and make an appointment any more than a burglar would. About the time everybody’s walking around complacently, congratulating each other—“We’ve sure got it made! Now we can take it easy!”—suddenly everything will fall apart. It’s going to come as suddenly and inescapably as birth pangs to a pregnant woman” (1 Thessalonians 5:1-3 MSG). 

But how do we prepare? Jesus came the first time to show us how: 

JESUS THE GOOD SHEPHERD

Jesus describes Himself as the Good Shepherd who carries a lost sheep home on His shoulder. He is now into 2,000 plus years of gathering His flock, all the while guiding and providing for them.

“My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me” 

(John 10:27).

Do you listen to Jesus' voice? 

Read the Gospel of John. 

You will hear it there.

Jesus adds this directive:

“If you love me, obey my commandments” 

(John 14:15 NLT). 

Why must we obey Jesus' commandments? He tells us quite clearly:

“You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. 

The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide 

for the many who choose that way. 

But the gateway to life is very narrow 

and the road is difficult, 

and only a few ever find it” 

(Matthew 7:13-14 NLT). 

“But"—Jesus adds, giving us hope and the awareness 

we cannot do this on our own—

"with God, all things are possible!” (Matthew 19:26).

As the blind hymn writer Fanny J. Crosby wrote: “Trust and obey, for there’s no other way.” 

Why? Because suddenly, out of nowhere—no one but God the Father knowing the day or the hour, not even Jesus—The Son of Man returns!

MARK 13:32

“But when the Son of Man comes in his glory, 

and all the angels with him, 

then he will sit upon his glorious throne. 

All the nations will be gathered in his presence, 

and he will separate the people 

as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 

He will place the sheep at his right hand 

and the goats at his left” 

(Matthew 25:31-33 NLT).

THE LION OF JUDAH 

We do well to take in now what Jesus declares to us today: 

“Stand up for me among the people you meet and

the Son of Man will stand up for you before all God’s angels. 

But if you pretend you don’t know me, 

do you think I’ll defend you before God’s angels?“ 

(Luke 12:8-9 MSG).

In the Book of Revelation, the Second Coming begins with judgment:

"The Angel swung his sickle, harvested earth’s vintage, 

and heaved it into the winepress, 

the giant winepress of God’s wrath” 

(Revelation 14:19-20 MSG).

There are other Biblical names for Jesus' Second Coming: 
The Day of the Lord 
The Day of Christ
The Day of Judgment 
The Coming of the Son of Man

At the Great White Throne Judgement, Jesus Christ consigns all who have ever lived on Earth as damned to Hell, along with the Devil. Those redeemed by the Blood of the Lamb are saved from perishing and resurrected into Heaven. Earth and Heaven are then transfigured into the New Jerusalem, or the New Heaven/Earth or Peaceable Kingdom.

HEAVEN & HELL

In the Peaceable Kingdom, people stream forth alongside the River of Life and the Tree of Life; a place where God is King of Kings and Lord of Lords, and the Prince of Peace reigns with the Father and the Holy Spirit world without end: where at long last, 

"They will be my people, 

and I will be their God” (Jeremiah 32:38).

NEW HEAVEN EARTH

Christ's Compass for Couples

Jesus commands us to love others as we love ourselves (Mark 12:31). 

This is a tall order. How do you do that, especially when it comes to the daily complications of a couples relationship?

But Jesus doesn’t leave you hanging. He gives you clues by the way He lives his life as described in the Gospels. Clues to a healthy personality that help you relate to one another in Christlike ways, yet unique to you as a couple.

How can couples do this in the 21st century? Enter the Self Compass. Based both on Jesus’ personality and modern psychological research, the Self Compass steers couples toward man/woman intimacy. 

The Self Compass

The Self Compass helps reveal what Jesus' personality is like. In the Gospel accounts of his life on Earth, Jesus showed us the model of a perfect personality. Unlike the rest of us, Jesus was perfectly loving—a good friend to Peter and John. But he wasn’t loving all the time. Jesus balanced his Love with Assertion—by standing up against the Pharisees when he saw injustice and unfairness, for example. 

Jesus also revealed healthy Weakness—he was humble of heart, a servant who washed his disciples’ feet. He sweat blood, contemplating his crucifixion. Yet this vulnerability was balanced by Strength—to act according to his Father’s will and a confidence in his identity as the Son of man.

Love in balance with Assertion; Weakness in balance with Strength. Together they form Christ’s Self Compass. A Self Compass: a compass that contains Christ’s LAWS to act as your guide to a healthy and whole marriage.

What does Christ's Self Compass look like? 

Christ's Self Compass

Christ’s various names indicate the balance drawn from his own Self Compass. On the Love compass point, he is known as the Good Shepherd—tender, kind, and nurturing. On the Assertion compass point, he is the Lion of Judah found in the book of Revelation; Christ stands against injustice of every kind, and will judge the quick and dead based on their pursuit of righteousness or lack thereof. On the Weakness compass point, Jesus is the Lamb of God, who willingly laid down his life to redeem all who call upon him. And on the Strength compass point he is the Prince of Peace who died in weakness and was raised from the dead in strength and glory.

The Compass LAWS of a Christ-centered Marriage

Love and Assertion; Weakness and Strength. These are compass points that show the contrasting polarities in your personality. Love isn’t better than assertion, and strength isn’t better than weakness. Healthy people express both tender care and diplomatic assertion. They are competent and strong, yet humbly aware of their weakness. In a well-balanced marriage, couples maintain free and rhythmic access to all four compass points of their Self Compass.

Love is kindness. Thoughtfulness. Forgiveness. Tenderness. Compassion. Fondness. Faithfulness. Friendship. Sacrifice. In the development of healthy personality and relationships, Christ gave priority to loving one’s self, others, and God.

But no one remains loving all the time, nor is it healthy to do so. While love lets you stand with-and-for your partner, Assertion is required so as not to lose yourself.

 

Assertion gives you the courage to express your point of view or challenge what you perceive as unfair in your relationship. Diplomatic assertion preserves your individual differences as a couple and helps you develop the skill of negotiating for your reasonable rights. All couples experience bouts of anger or discontent, when your interests rub against the wishes of your spouse. But when you combine assertion in rhythm with caring, the diplomacy that results will help you reach successful conflict resolution.

Weakness reflects the human experience of uncertainty, vulnerability, and soul-searching. The weakness compass point helps a couple develop humility and empathy for one another. It allows the expression of disappointment, anxiety, depression, or helplessness.

Strength reflects the human need for competence and adequacy. Each partner needs to feel appreciated by the other; to be seen as worthy, capable; to be treated with dignity.

When a couple rhythmically modulates the compass points of Love with Assertion, and Weakness with Strength, their relationship develops the balancing grace of compass virtues: 

• Love brings forth charity. 
• Assertion yields courage. 
• Weakness fosters humility. 
• Strength develops esteem.

Jesus Christ

With the help of the Self Compass, you develop a whole and healthy marriage when you center your marriage in Jesus Christ and on His personality.