In our study of Revelation 1:7–8, we’ve considered the unparalleled importance of the Second Coming of Christ. This week, we’ll look at its undeniable reality.
“BEHOLD, HE IS COMING WITH THE CLOUDS, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him. So it is to be. Amen. ‘I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.’” [Rev. 1:7–8]
The evidence of the undeniable reality of Christ’s return is seen in verse 7a: “He is coming.” The pronoun “He” refers back to Jesus Christ in verse 5. In the Old Testament, the Messiah is often referred to as the Coming One. In fact, in Matthew 11:3, John the Baptist’s disciples asked Jesus, “Are You the Expected One?” Literally the text says, “Are You the Coming One, or shall we look for someone else?”.
The Greek word translated “He is coming” is used of the Lord nine times in Revelation; seven times Christ uses it of Himself: “I am coming.” As we’ve discovered, Christ’s return is the theme of the book of Revelation. However, the Second Coming doesn’t actually happen until Revelation 19:11. But Jesus’ coming also includes the preliminary phases of His return, even when He comes in judgment against the world in Revelation 6–18. It is important to understand that Jesus is coming in judgment during the tribulation, and He will return to the earth physically and visibly at the end of the tribulation..
The New Testament drives home the undeniable reality that Christ is coming:
- Matthew 24:44, “the Son of Man is coming.”
- Acts 1:11, “The angels said, ‘Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven.’”
- 1 Corinthians 1:7, “[believers are] awaiting eagerly the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
- Philippians 3:20, “our [every believer] citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.”
- 1 Thessalonians 2:19, “For who is our hope or joy or crown of exultation? Is it not even you, in the presence of our Lord Jesus at His coming?”.
- Titus 2:13, “[Christians live] looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus.”
- Hebrews 9:28, “Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him.”
- Revelation 22:12, “‘Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me to render to every man according to what he has done.’”
- Revelation 22:20, “He who testifies to these things says, ‘Yes, I am coming quickly.’ Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.”
Those references encapsulate Christ’s coming for His church at the beginning of the tribulation—the rapture. And they mark the Second Coming of Christ at the end of the tribulation. Jesus Christ is coming back and it is an undeniable reality.