Bible Verses About The Second Coming
Introduction
The second coming of Jesus Christ is the specific hope that orients the entire New Testament community toward the future that God has promised: the same Jesus who was taken up into heaven will come back in the same way you have seen him go (Acts 1:11). The second coming is not the vague optimism of the religion that hopes for the improvement of the human condition but the specific promise of the personal return of the risen and ascended Jesus who will complete what the first coming began. The first coming addressed the sin and the death that stood between humanity and the life with God. The second coming will complete the renewal of all things that the resurrection inaugurated.
The specific pastoral significance of the second coming is the specific motivation it provides for the present faithfulness: the Titus 2:13's while we wait for the blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ establishes the specific orientation. The waiting is not the passive inactivity of the person who has given up on the present but the active expectation of the person whose hope is oriented toward the specific appearing that changes everything. The 1 John 3:2-3's all who have this hope in him purify themselves just as he is pure establishes the motivational character: the hope of the second coming is the specific motivation of the present purifying.
The honest theological engagement with the second coming requires the honest acknowledgment of the things that the Scripture does not specify: the specific date, the specific sequence of the eschatological events, and the specific resolution of the many passages that the different traditions have interpreted differently. The Matthew 24:36's but about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father establishes the specific limit: the person who claims to know the specific timing has exceeded what the Scripture itself claims to know. The specific ground of the hope is not the certainty of the sequence but the certainty of the promise: the one who has promised is faithful (Hebrews 10:23).
These verses speak to anyone who needs the specific biblical grounding for the second coming as the specific personal return of the risen Jesus, anyone who needs the pastoral motivation that the specific hope of the second coming provides, and anyone who needs the honest engagement with the hard questions that the second coming raises.
What the Bible Means When It Talks About the Second Coming
The Greek word parousia describes the coming or the presence: the specific word used for the return of the king or the arrival of the dignitary, applied to the specific return of the Jesus who is the King of Kings. The Greek word apokalupsis describes the revelation or the unveiling: the specific act of the God who unveils the Christ who has been hidden at the right hand of the Father. The Greek word epiphaneia describes the appearing or the manifestation: the specific word used for the appearing of the glory of the great God and Savior Jesus Christ in the Titus 2:13. The Greek word erchomai describes the coming: the specific verb of the I am coming soon of the Revelation 22:20.
Bible Verses About the Promise of the Second Coming
Acts 1:10-11 — ("They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. 'Men of Galilee,' they said, 'why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.'")
"This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go" establishes the specific promise of the personal return: the same Jesus who ascended is the Jesus who will return. The same way establishes the specific character: the return is the personal, visible, bodily return of the same Jesus rather than the spiritual presence of the risen Lord in the community. The why do you stand looking into the sky establishes the specific reorientation: the promise of the return is the ground of the active waiting rather than the passive staring.
John 14:3 — ("And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.")
"If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me" establishes the specific promise of the return in the relational terms: the return is for the taking of the people to be with the Jesus who has gone to prepare the place. The that you also may be where I am establishes the specific goal: the second coming is the specific act that accomplishes the being with Christ that the relationship has always been moving toward.
Revelation 22:20 — ("He who testifies to these things says, 'Yes, I am coming soon.' Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.")
"Yes, I am coming soon" and "Come, Lord Jesus" establishes the specific promise and the specific prayer of the second coming: the Jesus who promises the coming and the community that prays for the coming are the two voices of the last verses of the canon. The amen establishes the specific agreement: the coming soon is the specific ground of the amen of the community that is waiting. The Come Lord Jesus is the specific prayer of the community whose hope is oriented toward the second coming.
Bible Verses About the Character of the Second Coming
Matthew 24:27 — ("For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.")
"As lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man" establishes the specific visible and universal character of the second coming: the lightning that lights the whole sky is the image of the coming that no one can miss. The visible establishes the specific character: the second coming is not the invisible spiritual event that the spiritually attuned person perceives but the specific visible appearing that the whole earth will see.
1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 — ("For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.")
"The Lord himself will come down from heaven" and "we will be with the Lord forever" establishes the specific character and the specific destination of the second coming: the personal coming of the Lord himself and the being with the Lord forever are the two specific promises of the passage. The dead in Christ will rise first establishes the specific connection to the resurrection: the second coming is the specific event that brings the resurrection of the dead in Christ. The and so we will be with the Lord forever establishes the specific destination: the second coming accomplishes the comprehensive being with the Lord.
Bible Verses About the Unknown Timing
Matthew 24:36 — ("But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.")
"About that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father" establishes the specific limit of the knowledge of the timing: the person who claims to know the specific timing has exceeded what the Scripture itself claims to know. The not even the angels and not even the Son establish the comprehensive character of the not knowing: the knowledge of the timing belongs to the Father alone rather than the person who has assembled the sufficient prophetic calculation. The specific ground of the hope is not the certainty of the sequence but the certainty of the promise.
Matthew 24:44 — ("So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.")
"You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him" establishes the specific practical consequence of the unknown timing: the readiness is the specific practice of the person who does not know the hour. The at an hour when you do not expect him establishes the specific character of the timing: the unexpectedness is the specific feature that the readiness addresses. The readiness is not the passive waiting of the person who has stopped living but the active faithfulness of the person who is ready at any moment.
Bible Verses About Living in Light of the Second Coming
Titus 2:12-13 — ("It teaches us to say 'No' to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope — the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.")
"While we wait for the blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ" establishes the specific orientation of the present life: the waiting for the blessed hope is the specific orientation that shapes the self-controlled and upright and godly life in the present age. The blessed hope establishes the specific character of the second coming as the hope: the second coming is the specific blessing that the hope is oriented toward. The appearing of the glory establishes the specific revelation: the second coming is the specific unveiling of the glory of the one who is the great God and Savior.
1 John 3:2-3 — ("Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.")
"All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure" establishes the specific motivational connection between the hope of the second coming and the present purifying: the hope of the appearing is the specific motivation of the present sanctification. The we shall be like him for we shall see him establishes the specific eschatological destination: the seeing of the Christ as he is is the specific act that completes the likeness. The just as he is pure establishes the standard: the purifying is the purifying toward the purity of the Christ who will appear.
A Simple Way to Pray These Verses
The second coming is most honestly prayed from the honest receiving of the specific hope and the specific orientation of the present life toward the one who is coming.
Revelation 22:20 — ("Come, Lord Jesus.") Response: "Come, Lord Jesus. I am praying the prayer of the last page of the canon. I am orienting my hope toward the coming rather than the comfortable settling into the permanent present. Come. The amen of the community that is waiting. Come, Lord Jesus."
Titus 2:13 — ("While we wait for the blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior.") Response: "I am waiting for the blessed hope. Let the waiting be the active faithfulness rather than the passive staring into the sky. Let the appearing of your glory be the specific orientation that shapes the self-controlled and upright and godly life of today. While I wait, let me live."
1 John 3:3 — ("All who have this hope in him purify themselves.") Response: "I have this hope. Let the having of this hope be the specific motivation of the present purifying rather than the vague optimism that produces no specific change. We shall be like him for we shall see him as he is. Let the shall be like him be the specific destination that shapes the purifying of today."
Frequently Asked Questions
What does the Bible say about the second coming? The Bible presents the second coming as the specific personal return of the risen and ascended Jesus who will complete the renewal of all things. Acts 1:11's this same Jesus will come back in the same way establishes the personal and visible character. Matthew 24:27's as lightning visible from east to west establishes the universal character. 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17's the Lord himself will come down from heaven establishes the specific events. Matthew 24:36's about that day or hour no one knows establishes the specific limit on the timing. And Titus 2:13's while we wait for the blessed hope establishes the present orientation.
When will Jesus return according to the Bible? The Matthew 24:36's about that day or hour no one knows not even the angels nor the Son but only the Father establishes the honest answer: the specific timing belongs to the Father alone. The Acts 1:7's it is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority establishes the same limit. The specific ground of the hope is not the certainty of the sequence but the certainty of the promise: the one who has promised is faithful (Hebrews 10:23). The Matthew 24:44's be ready because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him establishes the specific practical consequence of the unknown timing.
What will happen when Jesus returns? The 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17's the dead in Christ will rise first and then those who are still alive will be caught up together with them establishes the resurrection connection. The Matthew 25:31-32's the Son of Man will come in his glory and all the nations will be gathered before him establishes the judgment connection. The Revelation 21:1-5's the new heaven and the new earth and God making everything new establishes the new creation connection. And the 1 Corinthians 15:24-26's then the end will come when he hands over the kingdom to the Father and the last enemy destroyed is death establishes the comprehensive completion.
How should Christians live in light of the second coming? The Titus 2:12-13's live self-controlled and upright and godly lives while we wait for the blessed hope establishes the specific character of the present life. The 1 John 3:3's all who have this hope purify themselves establishes the specific motivational connection. The Matthew 24:44's be ready because he will come at an hour you do not expect establishes the specific practice of the readiness. And the 2 Peter 3:11-12's what kind of people ought you to be and speed its coming establishes the comprehensive character: the second coming shapes the holy and godly living of the present.
What does the Bible say about the signs of the second coming? The Matthew 24's wars and rumors of wars and famines and earthquakes are the beginning of birth pains rather than the specific signs of the imminent return: the Jesus who says these things must happen but the end is still to come establishes the specific caution against the premature reading of the specific events as the certain signs. The Matthew 24:14's the gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations and then the end will come establishes the specific sign: the preaching of the gospel to all nations is the specific precondition that the Jesus identifies. The Matthew 24:36's no one knows the day or the hour establishes the specific limit on the certainty of the interpretation of the signs.
