Over two thousand and eighteen years Jesus Christ came and walked physically on the face of the earth. Before this time, there were prophecies about the fact that a saviour was going to be born (Isaiah 7:14, 9:6, 11:1). In Matthew 1:18-23, the prophecies about Jesus’ birth was fulfilled. He was born, lived for thirty three and half years, fulfilling all that He came to do within that space of time. Now, we have read over and over again, on the pages of the Scriptures that Christ will return to the earth a second time.
Acts 1:9-11 tells us “Now when He had spoken these things, while they watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in while apparel, 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 manners as you saw Him go into heaven.”
In John 14:1-3, Jesus Himself talked about His second coming as well. It says “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.” Now, this was Jesus talking Himself here, and not an angel or the apostles’ account. It is like the proverbial saying of hearing from the horse’s mouth. And will know that Jesus cannot lie, He wouldn’t say things He wouldn’t do.
Also, Hebrews 9:28 tells us “So Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation.” In other words, Christ is coming again the second time, not to come and bear the sins of the world as He has done in the first place, but to take away with Him the saints who will be or are eagerly waiting for His second coming. Revelation 22:12 also tells us about His coming as well. “And behold, I am coming quickly, and my reward is with me, to give to everyone according to His work.”
Many generations have come and gone since the Scripture documented this His return. And because many don’t know the exact date or time (even the angels of God are not in the know), a lot of people are giving up and don’t give much heed to Christ’s second coming any longer. Even Apostle Peter documented how certain people will treat with contempt Christ’s return in 2 Peter 3:3-4: “knowing this first: that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts, and saying, “where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continues as they were from the beginning of creation.” I believe we must have seen some of the actions of these scoffers in one or two occasion isn’t it? They will say something like…”you people say Jesus will soon come, and till now, we haven’t seen Him; are you sure He is still coming…”
But despite this, the Bible is replete with examples of what our disposition should be towards Christ second coming as believers. A disposition is an attitude or mood of a person to a particular thing or event. Below are examples:
Listen to Podcast: The Disposition of Believers To The Second Coming of Christ Jesus
- We Should Never be Deceived!
We should never be deceived that Christ is not coming back again. We should never be deceived as there would be many false “Christ” and they will deceive many. Matthew 24:3-6 tells us this. It says: “And Jesus answered and said to them: take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,..’ The devil will, through this means, deceived many people into falsehood, following a person that is not the true Christ. I remember one man in those days they called “Jesu Oyingbo.” The man all of a sudden appeared from the blues and proclaimed himself as the coming Christ. The truth is, many people followed him. Christ warned us of incidents like this in that verse 4-5 of Matthew 24.
- We should Never be Troubled
Now, there are certain events that would precede the appearing of Jesus. Examples of some of these events are being documented in verse 6 of Matthew 24. But Jesus said when we see these events unfolding, we should never be troubled! In other words, don’t panic, as some of these events must surely take place. Matthew 24:6 tells us “And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.”
- We should Watch Continually
It is our responsibility to always be at alert for His second coming, this is why Jesus admonished us in verse 42 to watch continually. Matthew 24:42 tells us “Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming.” We should not be like the five foolish virgins who were caught unawares. Why is it important to watch continually? Because no one knows the exact time of His coming. Mark 13:32-33 tells us “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Take heed, watch and pray; for you do not know when the time is.” As a matter of fact, this should be done religiously and with every sense of alertness.
- We should Continue with the Father’s Business
Matthew 24:46 tells us “Blessed is that servant whom his master, when he comes, will find so doing.” Someone may be wondering: what is the Father’s business? The Father’s Business is the heartbeat of God. It is the reason why Christ came to the world in the first place. This business is documented in Mark 16:15-20. It tells us to go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. This is the Father’s business. 2 Corinthians 5:18-19 tells us that God has committed unto us the ministry of reconciliation, and therefore, we must be steadfast in executing this business. Apostle Paul admonished in 1 Corinthians 15:58 to be steadfast, immovable and always abounding in the work of the Lord. This work is the reason why we are still here!
And many people keep wondering why Christ hasn’t come yet, the answer is in Matthew 24:14. It says “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.”
But the truth is, there are many parts of the world in which the gospel of the kingdom has not reached yet. This is why we must deploy every means possible to making sure that the business of the kingdom is preached throughout the world. Thank God for technology, it is vital means of reaching out to the unsaved yet. As at today, there are 5.5billion people that have access to the internet. We can use this means to also reach out to the rest of the world.
- We must Remain Blameless
In waiting patiently for Christ’s second coming, another of our disposition should be that of blamelessness. The Bible says Christ is coming for a church without spot nor wrinkle. Ephesians 5:27 tells us “That He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.” Did we see that? Anything that would bring about blame or tarnish our image before God should be deliberately avoided. No wonder Apostle Paul admonished us in 1 Thessalonians 5:23 that our spirit, soul and body must be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. This is very important. We must therefore put ourselves in constant check, and make sure that we do not hold on to things that would bring about us not being blameless.
- We must be Diligent
In waiting for Christ’s second coming, we must be diligent. We should not be found to be unstable in our waiting for His coming. You know, many because of their lack of diligence, have even forgotten that Christ would be coming back again. See what 2 Peter 3:14 says about being diligent in waiting for His second coming. It says “Therefore beloved, looking forward to these things…(WHAT ARE THE THINGS HE WAS TALKING ABOUT, READ FROM VERSE 1), be diligent to be found in by Him in peace, without spot and blameless….”
- We Must be Patient
We should never run out of patient and lose track of His return. James 5:7-8 tells us “Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain. You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.” Hallelujah!
I believe you have been blessed!
[Centre for New Dimension Leadership]
