Prophetic Return of Christ: Are We Ready?

The Second Coming of Jesus Christ is the greatest single theme in Scripture. While there are approximately three hundred prophecies in the Old Testament that foretold the first coming of Christ, there are more than eight times as many verses describing the Second Coming. In total, some 2400 verses throughout the Old and New Testaments reveal God's promises about the return of Jesus Christ. The enormous number of prophetic verses about the Second Coming underlines the vital importance of this event in God's plan for Mankind. Consequently, we dare not ignore the prophetic signs pointing to the nearness of His return.


Significantly, the first prophecy in the Bible (Genesis 3:15), which God addressed to Satan after Adam and Eve's sin, predicted three major events in the redemptive plan of God, concluding with the Second Coming of Christ. The first event was the virgin birth of Jesus ("her seed"); the second event was Satan's apparent victory when Jesus was crucified ("thou shalt bruise his heel"); the third event will be fulfilled at the Battle of Armageddon when Jesus Christ will defeat Satan ("thy head") and his seed, the Antichrist ("it [her seed, Jesus] shall bruise thy head"). 


The New Testament book of Jude recalls that the righteous patriarch Enoch was raptured to heaven before the Flood. Jude revealed that Enoch prophesied about the Second Coming, when the Lord would return to earth with millions of His saints. "Enoch, also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying: 'Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, to execute judgment upon all'" (Jude 14­15).


The prophet John recorded our Lord's final prophecy in the final verses of the Book of Revelation: "And, behold, I come quickly; and My reward is with Me, to give every man according as his work shall be" (Revelation 22:12). Jesus Christ's final message to His Church concludes with these words: "He which testifieth these things saith, Surely, I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus" (Revelation 22:20). For thousands of years students of the Bible's ancient prophecies have pondered the question of whether they would live to witness the return of Christ to redeem the earth. Many Christians living in our generation naturally long for the return of Jesus Christ. Skeptics remind us that past generations of believers also longed for the Second Coming but died with the promise still unfulfilled. 


These skeptics naturally ask, "Why should we believe that our generation is the one that will witness the return of Christ when other generations were disappointed in their hopes?" After thirty years of careful Bible study, I am convinced that the overwhelming evidence concerning the fulfillment of these predictions in our generation, points to the return of Jesus Christ in our lifetime. Jesus and the other prophets described a number of specific prophecies that would occur in the lifetime of those who would see Him return with their own eyes. Is ours the generation that will see Christ coming for His Church?  An Article by Grant Jeffrey.