John 14:1-3
“Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in Me. There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with Me where I am."
1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 For the Lord Himself will come down from Heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the Believers who have died will rise from their graves. Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever."
Revelation 1:8
“I am the Alpha and the Omega—the beginning and the end,” says the LORD God. “I AM the One Who is, Who always was, and Who is still to come—the Almighty One.”
[emphasis mine]
When we know that Jesus “Was” and “Is”, we can look forward to the Jesus “Who is to come”. Let me be very clear, Jesus is coming back. But before Jesus can come back, there had to be His death, His resurrection and His ascension to Heaven, where He actively waits to come for the second time. Masterpieces, this is something that we should be very excited about! But first let's examine that He died, rose and ascended in the first place.
The death, resurrection and ascension of Christ brought great significance, much of which has been debated through the ages, but is conclusively emphasized in the New Testament as substitutionary, forgiving, justifying, redemptive [saved from error/evil] and propitiatory [satisfied wrath of God against sin]. At the core we can determine 1. Christ is a true Prophet [what He said would happen, did happen and it happened just like He said]; 2. These events had to occur to bring forth the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit for all Christians to empower them for critical Kingdom work; and 3. Since, the Gospel is contingent on a Savior that died, rose again and lives, Believers are not left in a state to be pitied as delusional, without witness and without hope of everlasting life as resurrected in Jesus. This cannot be overstated, as removing this very core of the Christian faith, would mean our faith is worthless and we would still be mired in sin.
The prophesied and foretold Resurrection guaranteed that Christ’s work/task/assignment on the cross was completed and is supported by numerous Scriptural [sidebar; and other separate historical] proofs, like: An empty tomb guarded by what was considered impenetrable military and natural forces, the retained body shape of His burial linens and folded headcloth indicating a "temporary pass through" and let us not forget the numerous post-resurrection appearances made by Jesus over a 40-day period. Appearances witnessed in various places and times by women at the tomb, Jesus' followers, Disciples and Apostles, even to the point of 500 Believers at one time. As the Resurrection determined the validity of the Christian faith, it also determined the existence of the church and its early preaching. A beautiful rippling effect of Christ’s resurrection included His new, eternal, though still recognizable, body that radiated glory from His eyes, feet, voice and face. This is what Believers have to look forward to in our resurrected bodies and how we will one day see Christ. All this further served to prove that Jesus is indeed the Son of God, Lord and Messiah who could then step into His subsequent ministries.
All this post-resurrection activity led to Jesus' Heavenly ascension on the side of the Mount of Olives in the vicinity of Bethany, with a promise of His like-minded return, thus signifying His entrance into exaltation and post-ascension ministerial work. Post-ascension ministerial work means presently preparing for His return while seated at the right hand of God the Father. This ascension is outlined in Mark 16:19, Luke 24:51 and Acts 1:9. Its significance should not be lost on Believers, because through it we can appeal for saving to our risen, ascended Lord. By ascending, no longer was Christ in earthly ministry, self-limitation, veiled glory and humiliation but instead was the first Heavenly entrant of resurrected and glorified body humanity with new works and role of Intercessor at hand.
When Christ ascended to Heaven it didn’t mean that all His work was complete, it simply meant He would be operating from a different location in the interim between His Second Coming. These present and continuing ministries are in three capacities. First, He is Head of His Body [the Church], whom He gifts the Holy Spirit and victory over sin and death, while sanctifying and empowering. Secondly, Christ is a High Priest for His people, who sympathizes and empathizes while generously giving grace and interceding for, both proactively and retroactively, to the extent of which we may never fully know. This leads to His third capacity as a Preparer for us. Our permanent Heavenly residence seen in Scripture like John 14 is promised and only accessible via Christ’s death, resurrection and ascension. And while all this is occurring, Jesus is yet producing fruit in the lives of Believers as they are fed, nourished, and matured through their spiritual and deeply rooted union with Him.
So why am I excited as a Christian for Jesus’ Second Coming? In the future, the Messiah will triumphantly return [by way of Jerusalem] as the culmination of all expressed hope in Scripture through His restoration. This will play out as resurrection and reunion for Believers, judgement on unbelievers and Satan and rescue of all God's people, Israel and the commencement of His millennial reign as a benevolent dictator in place of the worldly Sin that used to inhabit the earth. Of course, as we've discussed previously, the Lord of lords/King of kings Christ will have eternal reign.
Jesus was the earthly embodiment of God the Son who only did what His Father did and said what His Father said. His purpose as our Lord and Savior should be revealed in our lives as a construct of God’s omniscience. Part of God’s plan of redemption is to restore the divine qualities man lost in the Fall. Thereby, Jesus entered as the vessel through which to provide salvation and restore man to his rightful place as a co-heir that is in fellowship with God. Though God does share wisdom with man [remember communicable?] and invites us to pursue and attain it, He remains in sole possession of ultimate and perfect wisdom [omniscience --> incommunicable]. Christ’s invitation is to promote something that is required for the successful Believer. He is the promised, revealed Truth of God the Father that would defeat Satan; the prophesied Anointed One and His return will culminate in the reveal of God’s full scope of wisdom and the eternal praise of Him and His glory.
That means no more sin, death and the grave. And that means no more sickness, disease, illness and infirmity. And that means no more suffering, shame and poverty. The Second Coming of Jesus spells perfection in every way for every Believer for eternity. And I say that is something to shout about. Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah to the perfect Lamb of God! Holy, Holy, Holy are You, Lord God Almighty, Who was, and is and is to come! Come Holy Spirit, come! Do you want to celebrate with Jesus? Find out how here.
Takeaways for you to remember:
#1. Trinity/Godhead/Triune God – 3 in 1 equal yet distinct existence of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.
#2. Christology - Study of the person, life, work and ministry of Jesus Christ.
#3. Ascension - Ascent of Jesus Christ into Heaven on the 40th day after His Resurrection.
Yours in Christ!
Dr. Quahana
Want to enjoy some of the Scriptures inspiring this entry? [NLT version unless otherwise noted.]
References:
1) Enns, Paul. The Moody Handbook of Theology. Moody Press. Chicago. 1989.
2) Erickson, Millard. Who’s Tampering with the Trinity? An Assessment of the Subordination Debate. Kregel. Grand Rapids, MI. 2009.
3) Hawthorne, Gerald. The Presence and the Power: The Significance of the Holy Spirit in the Life and Ministry of Jesus. Word. Dallas. 1991.
4) Lewis, C.S. Reflections on the Psalms. New York: Harcourt, Brace & World.1958.
5) Packer, J.I. Knowing God. Intervarsity Press IVP Books. Downers Grove, IL. 1973.
6) Ryrie, Charles. Basic Theology: A Popular Systematic Guide to Understanding Biblical Truth. Moody Press. Chicago. 1999.
7) Shedd, William G.T. Dogmatic Theology, vol. 2, 2nd ed. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, repr. 1980.
8) St. Bonaventure in Excurses VII.
9) Stoner, Peter W. and Newman, Robert C. PhD. Science Speaks. Moody Press Chicago. 1958.
10) Strobel, Lee. The Case for Christ. Zondervan. 2016.
11) Strong, J. Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible. Abingdon Press. 1890.
12) Thayer, J. Thayer’s Greek Lexicon. Hendrickson Publishers. 1995.
13) Thiessen, Henry C, revised by Doerksen, Vernon D. Lectures in Systematic Theology. Eerdmans. Grand Rapids. 1979. pp. 216-217.
14) Walvoord, John F. Jesus Christ Our Lord. Moody Publishers. 1969.
15) Ware, Bruce. The Man Christ Jesus. Theological Reflections on the Humanity of Christ.
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