“At Christmas time, it’s easy to think so much about what God has done in the past that we forget to look toward the future. As wonderful as it was, Jesus’s first coming will pale in comparison to His second.
3 Ways His Second Coming Will Be Like the First
1. When Jesus returns in all His glory, one thing will not have changed. He will still be the Son of Man. He might be full of power and authority, but He is still the same God who is called Emmanuel, the Word made flesh, the One who walked among us.
2. The second similarity of the second coming of Christ to the first is simply the fact that He will come. It’s been more than 2,000 years since His feet walked this earth, but He has never failed to fulfill His promises. He said He would return, and you can fully believe He will. He is not a God who keeps His distance. He came to live among us once; He will return to take us to live with Him as well
3. And when He does return, He will again be worshipped. This time, however, instead of a just a handful of shepherds and a few wise men, “every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father..” (Philippians 2:10-11)
3 Ways His Second Coming Will Be Different From The First
1. When Jesus was born, He left the throne room of heaven and took on flesh to walk among us like one of us. He became a “Son of man” and was born with all the frailty of every babe who has ever been swaddled. When Christ first came, He came in weakness. When He returns, He will come in power.
He will arrive not on the earth, but in the clouds, with all the authority and glory that have always been His. There will be no humble lodgings or parents fleeing in fear from jealous kings. He will not come like a child but as the King He is, absolutely ready to reign. The Emmanuel who walked with us, serving others and washing their feet, will return and be served by all nations and peoples.
2. His second coming will not be an event witnessed only by a few people and some barnyard animals. Revelation 1:7 says, “every eye will see Him.” The busy people of Bethlehem may have missed the first coming, but they won’t miss the second.
3. And, unlike His first coming, there will be no end to His second. He won’t walk among us for 33 years then head back to heaven this time. His Kingdom will have come, and it will last forever.
That thought breathes hope and life into our bones, just like it did for the Apostle John who fell “as though dead” at Jesus’ feet in Revelation Chapter 1. Jesus told him, “Don’t be afraid! I am the First and the Last. I am the living One. I died, but look—I am alive forever and ever!” (Revelation 1:17-18)
That’s what Christmas is really about. Yes, we celebrate the fact that Jesus came, but we also rejoice in the fact that He is coming again. (CHARLIE WHITE)