Watching for the Return of Jesus Christ

If you are not paying attention

to what God has revealed in the Bible,

and not walking in faith with Him daily,

then you could very easily be caught off guard

- be surprised - be confused,

about the timing of Jesus' return.

This warning is referenced in many scripture passages.

Luke 12:40 

says,

Therefore

you also be ready, 

for the Son of Man is coming 

at an hour you do not expect.

Luke 21:26-28

says,

And there will be signs in the sun, 

in the moon, and in the stars; 

and on the earth distress of nations,

with perplexity, 

the sea and the waves roaring;

men's hearts failing them 

from fear and the expectation 

of those things 

which are coming on the earth, 

for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.

Then 

they will see the Son of Man 

coming in a cloud

with power and great glory. 

Now 

when these things begin to happen, 

look up 

and lift up your heads, 

because your redemption draws near."

1st Thessalonians 5:2-8

says,

For you yourselves know perfectly 

that the day of the Lord so comes 

as a thief in the night.

For when they say, 

"Peace and safety!"

Then sudden destruction 

comes upon them, 

as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. 

And they 

shall not escape. 

But you, brethren, 

are not in darkness, 

so that this Day should overtake you as a thief. 

You are all sons of light 

and sons of the day. 

We are not of the night 

nor of darkness. 

Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, 

but let us watch and be sober. 

For those who sleep, sleep at night, 

and those who get drunk are drunk at night. 

But let us 

who are of the day 

be sober, 

putting on the breastplate of faith and love,

and as a helmet 

the hope of salvation.

Revelation 3:3

says,

Remember therefore 

how you have received and heard; 

hold fast and repent. 

Therefore 

if you will not watch, 

I will come upon you as a thief, 

and you will not know what hour 

I will come upon you.

Revelation 16:15

says,

Behold, 

I am coming as a thief. 

Blessed is he who watches, 

and keeps his garments, 

lest he walk naked 

and they see his shame.

Until He comes back,

Let's do what it says in 

I Corinthians 16:13-14

Watch, 

stand fast in the faith, 

be brave, 

be strong.

Let all that you do 

be done with love.

Maranatha

--

Saved by Grace,

Andrew Cross

"Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. 

And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, 

not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, 

but exhorting one another, 

and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.

Hebrews 10:23-25

YouTube channel = We belong to the Day

Looking forward to the Rapture and the Return of Jesus

Our life here on earth is hard at times,

and during the Great Tribulation

it will be even more challenging.

If you have trusted in Jesus as your Savior

then you should have hope

and not fear.

This applies to your life now,

and even more so,

should you find yourself living

during the 42 month

reign of the Beast 

as foretold in Revelation.

If you are struggling now,

I'd recommend reading and memorizing

the promises and words of encouragement 

to be found in the Bible.

The books of Psalms and Proverbs

are loaded with them.

Jesus gives us many reassurances 

in the four Gospels.

I love Matthew chapter 10 verses 29-31

where He concludes with,

Do Not Fear therefore;

you are of more value 

than many sparrows.

The apostles repeatedly share

the message of hope and peace

we are to be experiencing right now.

Romans chapter 8

Philippians chapter 4

1st Peter chapter 5

are some of my favorites.

It is these "truths" 

that you will find in the Word,

That will set you free from worry and doubt.

Enabling you to Rejoice in Hope, 

and Rejoice in the Lord each day.

And I'd like to add that our Future

( as the elect, beloved, 

adopted children of God )

should be a major source of encouragement.

Let's read about 

what we are to be looking forward to:

2 Thessalonians chapter 1 verse 7

says,

and to give you who are troubled

rest with us 

when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven 

with His mighty angels,

1 Thessalonians chapter 4 verses 16 and 17

which says,

For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, 

with the voice of an archangel, 

and with the trumpet of God. 

And the dead in Christ will rise first.

Then we who are alive and remain 

shall be caught up together with them

in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. 

And thus 

we shall always be with the Lord.

Philippians chapter 3 verses 20 and 21

says,

For our citizenship is in heaven, 

from which we also 

eagerly wait for the Savior, 

the Lord Jesus Christ, 

who will transform our lowly body 

that it may be conformed 

to His glorious body, 

according to the working by which 

He is able even to subdue 

all things to Himself.

I Corinthians chapter 15 verses 50 through 54

says something similar,

Now this I say, brethren, 

that flesh and blood cannot 

inherit the kingdom of God; 

nor does corruption 

inherit incorruption. 

Behold, I tell you a mystery: 

We shall not all sleep, 

but we shall all be changed— 

in a moment, 

in the twinkling of an eye, 

at the last trumpet. 

For the trumpet will sound, 

and the dead will be raised 

incorruptible, 

and we shall be changed. 

For this corruptible 

must put on incorruption, 

and this mortal 

must put on immortality. 

So when this corruptible 

has 

put on incorruption, 

and this mortal 

has 

put on immortality, 

then shall be brought to pass 

the saying that is written: 

"Death is swallowed up in victory."

Please spend as much time as you can in the Word,

and talking to God about how you feel

He is listening, 

and has promised to help you.

Isaiah chapter 41 verse 13

we read

For I, 

the Lord your God, 

will hold your right hand,
Saying to you, 

'Fear not, 

I will help you.'

To help remind myself,

I had a T-shirt made with this verse on it.

For more words of encouragement

and End Times teaching 

please visit this channel, 

We Belong To The Day.

Until next time,

Maranatha

--

Saved by Grace,

Andrew Cross

"Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. 

And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, 

not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, 

but exhorting one another, 

and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.

Hebrews 10:23-25

YouTube channel = We belong to the Day

Second Coming Revealed In These Scriptures

Youtube version = https://youtu.be/YlJbQdH_qF8

Today I'd like to share with you

what the Bible says about

the Second coming of Jesus Christ,

to give you an idea of what to expect.

Let's start in book of Daniel

where we find a passage

that sounds similar to what 

we find in the New Testament.

Daniel Chapter 7 verses 13 and 14

say

I was watching in the night visions,
And behold, 

One like the Son of Man,
Coming with the clouds of heaven!
He came to the Ancient of Days,
And they brought Him 

near before Him.
Then to Him was given 

dominion and glory and a kingdom,
That all peoples, nations, and languages 

should serve Him.
His dominion is an everlasting dominion,
Which shall not pass away,
And His kingdom the one
Which shall not be destroyed.

Another passage from the Old Testament

commonly referenced as referring to the return of Jesus,

can be found in Zechariah chapter 14 

the end of verse 5 

which says

Thus the Lord my God will come,
And all the saints with You.

In Matthew 26: 63

Jesus was asked by the high priest

Tell us if 

You are the Christ, the Son of God!

To which Jesus responds

in verse 64

It is as you said. 

Nevertheless, I say to you, 

hereafter 

you will see the Son of Man 

sitting at the right hand of the Power, 

and coming on the clouds of heaven.

Jesus spoke of His coming many times.

You'll find Matthew chapters 24 and 25 

full of End Times teaching.

He clearly tells us His Coming

is to be Visible to Everyone.

In Matthew chapter 24 verse 27 

it says,

For as the lightning comes from the east 

and flashes to the west, 

so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.

Followed by verses 29 through 31 in the same chapter,

which says,

Immediately after the tribulation of those days 

the sun will be darkened, 

and the moon will not give its light; 

the stars will fall from heaven, 

and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.

Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, 

and then 

all the tribes of the earth will mourn, 

and they will see the Son of Man 

coming on the clouds of heaven 

with power and great glory. 

And He will send His angels 

with a great sound 

of a trumpet, 

and they will gather together 

His elect from the four winds, 

from one end of heaven to the other.

I would like to note here, 

that some teach there are multiple returns of Jesus.

But I've yet to see a scripture that teaches this.

His return is very clear.

One visible return at the end of the 3 1/2 year

( 42 month ) 

kingdom of the Beast.

At the last day, the dead are raised, 

and the believers who remain alive on earth

are transformed - 

joining them in the air with Christ 

on His way back down 

to rule on the earth.

Let's look at a few more scriptures 

on the subject of the Second Coming.

Angels spoke of His visible return,

and the location in Acts chapter 1 

Verse 11 reads

who also said,

"Men of Galilee, 

why do you stand gazing up into heaven? 

This same Jesus, 

who was taken up from you into heaven, 

will so come in like manner 

as you saw Him go into heaven." 

Another mention of this visible return 

can be found in Revelation chapter 1 verse 7

which says

Behold, 

He is coming with clouds, 

and every eye will see Him, 

even they 

who pierced Him. 

And all the tribes of the earth will mourn

because of Him.

Even so, Amen.

Paul tells the Thessalonians what to look for

in 2nd Thessalonians chapter 2.

Verses 1 through 3

Now, brethren, 

concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ 

and our gathering together to Him,

we ask you, 

not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, 

either by spirit or by word or by letter, 

as if from us, 

as though the day of Christ had come. 

Let no one deceive you by any means; 

for that Day will not come 

unless the falling away comes first, 

and the man of sin is revealed, 

the son of perdition,

and verse 8

it says

And then the lawless one will be revealed, 

whom the Lord will consume 

with the breath of His mouth 

and destroy 

with the brightness of His coming.

We see this destruction of the lawless one 

in Revelation chapter 19 verses 11 through 21

upon the return of the King of Kings,

and Lord of Lords.

What should we be expecting

on this last day?

In 1 Thessalonians chapter 4, verses 15 through 17

we read

For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, 

that we who are alive and remain 

until the coming of the Lord 

will by no means precede those who are asleep. 

For the Lord Himself 

will descend from heaven with a shout, 

with the voice of an archangel, 

and with the trumpet of God. 

And the dead in Christ will rise first. 

Then we who are alive and remain 

shall be caught up together with them 

in the clouds 

to meet the Lord in the air. 

And thus we shall always be with the Lord.

If this seems confusing to you,

or different from what you've heard before,

I'd encourage you to check out some of the other

posts you'll find on this channel.

Or leave your questions in the comments section.

Until next time,

Maranatha!

--

Saved by Grace,

Andrew Cross

"Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. 

And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, 

not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, 

but exhorting one another, 

and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.

Hebrews 10:23-25

YouTube channel = We belong to the Day

A believer is no longer a slave but a son, and an heir of God through Christ.

Do you know who you really are in God's reality?

One clear passage on this subject 

can be found in Galatians chapter 4 verses 4-7  

"But when the fullness of the time had come, 

God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, 

born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, 

that we might receive the adoption as sons. 

And because you are sons, 

God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son 

into your hearts, 

crying out, 'Abba, Father!' 

Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, 

and if a son, 

then an heir of God through Christ."

--

Saved by Grace,

Andrew Cross

"Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. 

And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, 

not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, 

but exhorting one another, 

and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.

Hebrews 10:23-25

YouTube channel = We belong to the Day