Sunday, November 2, 2025

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.

So, while we watch and wait,
Let us do as it says in Romans 12:12

rejoicing in hope, 
patient in tribulation, 
continuing steadfastly in prayer;

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


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 says,

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 the "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
which 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
which 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
we read,

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.'

I even had a couple T-shirts made with this verse on it
just to help remind myself.

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


Second Coming Revealed In These Scriptures

Let's look at what the Bible says about
the Second coming of Jesus Christ,
to see what we should be expecting.

We see a mention in the book of Daniel
that sounds similar to what we find in the New Testament.
Daniel Chapter 7 and verses 13 and 14
says

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 Jesus was asked by the high priest
in chapter 26 at end of verse 63,

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.
Matthew chapter 24 verse 27 
we read,

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 - 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 years ( 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,

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 - 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
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 4:15-17
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,
as something you've not heard taught this way 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