The certainty of thr Lord's return was continued in the preaching of the apostles and in the written literature which came to be the New Testament. The first example is recorded in Acts 1:11. When Jesus had disappeared from the sight of the disciples, they became conscious of the presence of two men who stood beside them in gleaming apparel and said, "Galilean men, why have you taken your stand gazing into heaven? This Jesus, the One who has been received up from you into heaven, so shall come in the same manner in which you have seen him going into heaven." The passage gives information about the manner of the Lord's return, but the emphasis here is on the ringing certainty of the promise in immediate relationship to the Lord's ascenssion until that day when he will fulfill his promise to return.
The same emphasis is reflected in Acts 3:20 in Peter's sermon following the healing of the lame man. Peter stressed the fact that Jesus was the annointed One of God, that he had been put to death, that he had been raised from the dead, and that through faith in him this miracle of healing had been brought about. He challenged his hearers to repent of what they had done in bringing Jesus to his death and told them that the time was coming when God would send Jesus Christ back to the earth to bring a consummation to his purposes.
This same theme is also reflected in Peter's epistles. In 1 Peter 1:13 he wrote of the grace that will be brought at the revelation of Jesus Christ. In 2 Peter 3:1-7 he wrote that there were those who deny the coming of Christ, they rather mocked at the idea. Many years had passed since the Lord's death, resurrection, ascension, and the promise of his return. He had not returned, so the enemies of the Christians were scoffing and asking when he would come. Peter, however, noted that God is not limited by concepts as men are. The delay of the Lord's return is not to be interpreted as negligence on God's part but as a challenge for bringing others to know him while there is time for repentance. Finally, he affirmed the certainty of the Lord's return.
This idea of the Lord's return is reflected in other passages also. In Hebrews 9:28 there is the statement that Christ will appear a second time. In Hebrews 10:37 a word of encouragement is given: "Yet in a little while he who comes will come."
James reflects the certainty of the Lord's return and calls for patience in the light of the Lord's return. In verse 8 and 9 he speaks of it in terms of present reality as he says, "The judge stands at the door."
The certainty of the Lord's return is frequently found in his earlier as well as in his later epistles. There are several in 1 Thessalonians, one of the earliest writings. In 1:9-10 Paul referred to the way the Christian people of Thessalonica had returned from the worship of false gods to serve the living and genuine God and "to wait for his Son from heaven." In 2:19 he spoke of them as his hope and joy in both the presence and the coming of Jesus Christ, and in 3:13 and 5:23 he prayed that God would established their hearts, that they might be blameless before God at the coming of the Lord Jesus. In 4:13-18 Paul spoke of the certainty of the second coming in relation to the Christian hope of resurrection.
In later writings the same emphasis may be noted. For instance, in Philippians 1:6 there is the assurance that since God has started a good work in the Philippians, he will bring it to completion in the day of Jesus Christ. In Philippians 3:20 he spoke of waiting for the coming of the Lord from heaven. In Colossians 3:1-4 Paul spoke of the union of the believer with Christ in this life to union with him in his second coming. All these references speak specifically of the certainty of the Lord's return as a basic part of Christian faith in the earliest years of Christian history.
Blessings...
Lets have a coffee
Hari