The Second Coming of Christ Will Be… (Luke 17:22-30 and Acts 1:11)

In Luke 17:22-30 lightning is a metaphor for the Second Coming of Christ. Just as lightning is visible, quick, and unexpected, Jesus's Second Coming be too. In Acts 1:11 the angels said Jesus would return from heaven the same way that He ascended to heaven: bodily and physically for all to see.

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00:00 The Second Coming of Christ Will Be…
06:07 Lesson One: Like lightning, the Second Coming of Christ will be (Part One) visible.
13:17 Lesson Two: Preterists believe the future is in the past.
24:19 Lesson One: Like lightning, the Second Coming of Christ will be (Part Two) quick.
35:49 Lesson One: Like lightning, the Second Coming of Christ will be (Part Three) unexpected.
42:03 Lesson Three: Jesus’s first coming was for salvation and His Second Coming is for judgment.

Contrast allows things to stand out. For example, when the moon is out during the day, we can’t see it very well, because it is close to the color of the sky. But we can see the moon very well at night, because its white and gray color stands out so sharply against the black night sky. Similarly, lightning stands out incredibly well against the night sky, because of its bright white color against the black background. Jesus chose lightning as a metaphor for His Second Coming:

Luke 17:22 And he said to the disciples, “The days are coming when you will desire to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it. 23 And they will say to you, ‘Look, there!’ or ‘Look, here!’ Do not go out or follow them. 24 For as the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other, so will the Son of Man be in his day.

Jesus was going to be gone from the disciples and they were going to long to see Him. But he said they would not be able to, because they would not be alive when He returned.

Maranatha was the common greeting among Christians in the early church. It is an Aramaic word that means “the Lord is coming” or “come, O Lord.” The desire the disciples would have to see Christ is the same desire we should have. Many New Testament verses encourage us as believers to have this desire. Here are a few:

1 Corinthians 1:7 As you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ,
1 Thessalonians 1:10 Wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead.
Titus 2:13 Waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ
Jude 20 Waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life.

There were going to be people claiming that Jesus had returned, and he did not want His disciples misled into thinking that He had returned in some secret or mysterious way that was concealed from the world. Because, the truth is, there will be no mistaking when Jesus has returned. There are three reasons it is very fitting to compare Jesus’s Second Coming with lightning.

First, Like Lightning, the Second Coming of Christ Will Be Visible

The disciples would not need to believe people who said, “Look, there!” or “Look, here!” because the Second Coming will be as visible as lightning that lights up the whole sky. In the Amplified Bible, Luke 17:24 reads, “For just like the lightning, when it flashes out of one part of the sky, gives light to the other part of the sky, so [visible] will the Son of Man be in His day.” There will be no mistaking when Jesus returns. It will be universally visible.

Acts 1:6 So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” 7 He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” 9 And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. 10 And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, 11 and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into...

Read the rest of the blog post: https://www.scottlapierre.org/the-second-coming-of-christ/