The Second Coming of King Jesus

Second Peter 1:16–18 speaks of the second coming of our King, the Lord Jesus Christ. The Hebrews writer says, “Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him” (Heb. 9:28). Notice, it does not say all people are waiting but many people, indicating limited atonement, particular redemption. The question is, are you waiting for him? Or are you saying, “Jesus, please don’t come. We have great plans for this year and the next. Please don’t come.”

Christ’s first coming was to accomplish our atonement by his death on the cross, so God’s Son took our human nature to himself. He was born of the virgin Mary. He was God/man—one person in two natures. His first coming was in a state of humiliation. Joseph and Mary laid the baby Jesus in a manger. Later, we read that he had no place to lay his head, though he had created all things out of nothing (Matt. 8:20). Still later, people spat on him stripped him, slapped him, and finally crucified him.

God the Father gave Jesus over to death for our sins, the sins of his elect. Paul writes of this: “[Christ], being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a [slave], being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross!” (Phil. 2:6–8).

This Jesus is coming again, a second time, from heaven to earth. This time, he is not coming in a state of humiliation but in his divine glory to save his people and destroy all his enemies eternally.

One out of every twenty-five New Testament verses speaks of Christ’s second coming. To the elect, his coming in glory is our living hope (1 Pet. 1:3), a cause of great joy (1 Pet. 4:13), a blessed hope (Titus 2:13), and a source of great comfort (1 Thess. 4:18). And when he comes again, his enemies will fear and tremble, as we read: “[God] has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man [Jesus] he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead” (Acts 17:31). We also read, “Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied . . . . ‘See, the Lord is coming with thousands upon thousands of his holy ones to judge everyone, and to convict all the ungodly of all the ungodly acts they have done in the ungodly way, and of all the harsh words ungodly sinners have spoken against him’” (Jude 14–15). Jesus is coming to deal with all who do not humble themselves and ask for his mercy.

For the past one hundred and seventy years, churches rarely preached this doctrine of Christ’s second coming. Peter is writing about it in this epistle in order to strengthen God’s people who were suffering. We can be greatly encouraged knowing that:

• Jesus is coming again as King of kings and Lord of lords (Rev. 19:16).
• He shall come in his Father’s glory (Matt. 16:27).
• He shall come suddenly, personally, visibly, bodily. Paul says, “The Lord himself shall come” (1 Thess. 4:16).
• He shall come a second time (Heb. 9:28).
• His coming is at hand (Jas. 5:8).
• He is coming like a thief in the night (2 Pet. 3:10).
• He is coming soon (Rev. 22:20).
• Every eye shall see him (Rev. 1:7).
• He is coming for those who long for his coming (Rev. 22:20).
• He is coming for those who wait for his coming (Tit. 2:12–13).
• He is coming for those who eagerly await his second coming (Phil. 3:20).

What about you? Are you ready to meet him? Jesus said, “You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him” (Matt. 24:44).  Are you holy to meet him? Most people in churches in this country and throughout the world are living sinful lives, and they are given permission to do so by professors and preachers because they know that people want to sin. Why do people want to sin? There is pleasure in sin. But the Hebrews writer exhorts, “Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord” (Heb. 12:14). And Jesus said, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God” (Matt. 5:8). Paul wrote, “Nevertheless, God’s solid foundation stands firm, sealed with this inscription: ‘The Lord knows those who are his,’ and, ‘Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness’” (2 Tim. 2:19). We must be holy and obedient to the one we confessed as Lord.

When is Christ coming again? We do not know. Harold Camping died in shame because he wrongly tried to predict the exact date of Christ’s coming. The Bible says no one knows the time, not even the Son (Matt. 24:36).

Apostolic Denial

So Peter begins, “We did not follow cleverly invented stories” (v. 16). That is a denial. Theological liberalism believes in the absolute authority of pseudo-science, not in the absolute authority of the Holy Scriptures. Liberal theologians reject every miracle in the Bible. So they believe in the demythologization of the Scriptures. They explain away every biblical miracle. They do not believe in the infinite, personal, triune, all-holy, almighty, all-knowing, everywhere-present God of the Bible. To them, the Bible is a book of myths and the gospel is a lie. To them, Jesus was a sinner and the apostles were all sinners. Such people say there is no hell and no heaven. They say that death is the end for every person, and the resurrection is a myth, as is eternal life and the new heaven and new earth where God dwells with his people.

In his apostolic writing, Peter is opposing these lies of the devil and he is defending the gospel. He is affirming that the Scriptures of the Old and New Testament are the very words of God. He writes, “For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit” (2 Pet. 1:21). He also says, “Dear friends, this is now my second letter to you. I have written both of them as reminders to stimulate you to wholesome thinking. I want you to recall the words spoken in the past by the holy prophets and the command given by our Lord and Savior through your apostles” (2 Pet. 3:1–2).

Peter is defending the gospel. He denies that the gospel consists of man-created lies, stories, legends, fables, and myths. Jesus said that lies come from the devil. He said to some people, “You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies” (John 8:44).

Today, false theologians, pastors, and evangelists deny the true gospel by their lies. In doing this, they are sending their followers to eternal hell. Of such false teachers Peter writes, “With eyes full of adultery, they never stop sinning; they seduce the unstable; they are experts in greed—an accursed brood!” (2 Pet. 2:14). And Jude 7 says, “In a similar way, Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns gave themselves up to sexual immorality and perversion. They serve as an example of those who suffer the punishment of eternal fire.” The man who speaks about fire and brimstone is the one who truly cares for us, because the truth will set us free.

Holy Scripture is divinely given. It is rooted in history, deals with facts, and is unquestionably true. Consider, for example, the words of Luke at beginning of his gospel: “Many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us, just as they were handed down to us by those who from the first were eyewitnesses and servants of the word. Therefore, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, it seemed good also to me to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught” (Luke 1:1–4).

Apostolic Preaching

Peter continued, “We told you about the power and coming of the Lord Jesus Christ” (v. 16). Peter, together with the other apostles, preached the gospel that Jesus is the Christ, the God/man who became incarnate to accomplish redemption for every elect sinner by his life, death, and resurrection. Paul writes, “He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification” (Rom. 4:25). Peter says, “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed” (1 Pet. 2:24). It is this Jesus who is coming again in great power to save and to judge.

What did Peter preach? In Acts 3 he said, “You disowned the Holy and Righteous One and asked that a murderer be released to you. You killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead. We are witnesses of this” (Acts 3:14–15). He also said, “[Christ] must remain in heaven until the time comes for God to restore everything, as he promised long ago through his holy prophets” (Acts 3:21).

Jesus spoke much about his second coming. He said, “At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory” (Matt. 24:30). He also said, “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory” (Matt. 25:31). And Paul writes, “Our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body” (Phil. 3:20–21). Paul also preached,

God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels. He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of his power on the day he comes to be glorified in his holy people and to be marveled at among all those who have believed. This includes you, because you believed our testimony to you. (2 Thess. 1:6–10)

The second coming of Jesus is the central theme of Peter’s second epistle. Christ’s second coming will not be in weakness but in glory and power. The elect will be raised up and be given glorified bodies, and Jesus himself will destroy all his enemies in eternal fire. So we read, “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life” (Matt. 25:46). Notice, both heaven and hell are eternal.

When Jesus comes again, he will destroy this world and create a new world without sin and with righteousness. Peter says this: “That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness” (2 Peter 3:12b–13). John says,

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people [covenant-keeping people], and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain [and no more sin], for the old order of things has passed away.” (Rev. 21:1–4)

The apostles preached the truth about the first and second coming of Christ. Jesus is truth; he cannot lie. The devil is a liar; he can only lie. And those who believe the devil are enemies of Christ. They are arrogant; they say Jesus Christ is a liar.

It is the will of the Father that all of us repent and believe in Christ and be saved. In fact, God “commands all people everywhere to repent” (Acts 17:30). God also commands all of us to believe in Jesus and love one another (1 John 3:23).

If you do not believe, we are not here to beg you. We command you. John writes, “Anyone who does not believe God has made him out to be a liar, because he has not believed the testimony God has given about his Son. And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son” (1 John 5:10–11). No one else can save us from our sins and eternal hell. The gospel preaching declares to all people the absolute power of our Lord Jesus Christ both to save and to destroy.

The Apostolic Eyewitness of Christ’s Glory

Peter then says, “We were eyewitnesses of his majesty” (v. 16). The apostles were eyewitnesses of many miracles of Jesus. They were eyewitnesses of the risen Christ and his ascension. But, additionally, Peter, James, and John also witnessed the transfiguration of Jesus, which was a foreshadowing of Jesus’ second coming in power and glory. It was a fulfillment of Christ’s own prophecy: “For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done. I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom” (Matt. 16:27–28). This is what Peter, James, and John witnessed.

In the transfiguration, Jesus was revealing to these chosen apostles that Jesus was not only a man but also God—one person in two natures. (PGM) These apostles were eyewitnesses of Christ’s majesty, Christ’s deity, Christ’s glory. So, as Peter said, they were not preaching lies. They were preaching facts that they themselves witnessed.

We read about the transfiguration in Matthew 17: “After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light” (Matt. 17:1–2). Later, John wrote about Christ, “In his right hand he held seven stars, and out of his mouth came a sharp double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance” (Rev. 1:16). Both passages tell us that his face shone like the sun and his clothes became as white as light. Why? Because Jesus is God. He is God and man, as we read throughout the Bible:

• John 1:1: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”
• John 1:14: “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
• John 10:30: “I and the Father are one.”
• Hebrews 1:3: “The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.” He is God/man.

Unbelievers say that there is no resurrection, no second coming, no hell, and no heaven. They say these things are all myths. They say there will be no end of history and that the world will continue forever as it is. They also say that there is no infinite, eternal, personal, holy, Creator, Redeemer God. Such people will die, and Christ himself will come to judge them.

They also do not believe Jesus is coming again to establish his kingdom in its final ultimate form. The reason they do not believe is that they are not born again. Paul writes, “The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually [interpreted]” (1 Cor. 2:14). Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again” (John 3:3). 

The Father’s Witness to His Son’s Glory

Peter continues, “For he received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, ‘This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased’” (v. 17). On the mountain, Peter, John, and James heard a voice from heaven. Not only did the transfiguration of Jesus witnessed by the apostles testify to the deity of Jesus, but the Father’s witness from heaven, from the Majestic Glory, also testified to his Son’s deity. So we read, “While [Peter] was still speaking, a bright cloud enveloped them, and a voice from the cloud said, ‘This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!’” (Matt. 17:5). It is time for us to listen to Jesus Christ and to the preacher who preaches the word of God to us. Listen!

The Father said, “This is my Son, my beloved, in whom I am well pleased.” Unlike Adam, God/man Jesus pleased his Father by his perfect obedience. So we read,

• Isaiah 42:1: “Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him and he will bring justice to the nations.”
• John 8:29: “The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases him.”
• John 17:4: “I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do.”
• John 19:30: “When he had received the drink, Jesus said, ‘It is finished.’ With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.” The last word he said was, “Tetelestai” – “It is finished.” What was finished? The work God gave him to do, to accomplish our redemption.

This message from God the Father, this witness of the Father, gave Jesus honor and glory in his state of humiliation. But now he is in his state of glory. So we must ask: What you are doing about him? The Father honored his Son, Jesus Christ. Do you honor him? If you do not believe in him, you are calling God a liar.

This Jesus, the virgin Mary’s son, is the only begotten Son of God. He is God’s eternal Son, the second Person of the Trinity, co-equal with God the Father and God the Holy Spirit. And in the eternal council, this Jesus agreed with the Father to become incarnate in the fullness of time. He did so to accomplish redemption by his life, death, and resurrection for those given to him. He said, “The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again” (John 10:17).

At the transfiguration, the Father spoke of Jesus from heaven, bearing witness to his Son’s glory. The Father also spoke of his Son at his baptism: “And a voice from heaven said, ‘This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased’” (Matt. 3:17). The Father also heard the Son’s prayer before his crucifixion and responded to it, as we read: “[Jesus prayed,] ‘Now my heart is troubled, and what shall I say? “Father, save me from this hour”? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour.  Father, glorify your name!’ Then a voice came from heaven, ‘I have glorified it, and will glorify it again’” (John 12:27–28).

The Father honored his Son, as Daniel tells us: “In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days [the Father] and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed” (Dan. 7:13–14).

Do you honor this Lord Jesus Christ? Paul also tells us how the Father honored him: “Therefore God exalted [Jesus] to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Phil. 2:9–11).

Notice, every tongue will confess. Do you say you do not want to believe in him? He will come and raise you up. Then you will bow your knee and confess him as Lord, and he will send you to eternal hell.

Apostolic Witness to Father’s Witness

Finally, Peter says, “We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the holy mountain” (v. 18). Peter, James, and John heard the Father’s witness to his Son who shared his Father’s glory. They understood the message, enabling them to give apostolic ear-witness to Christ’s glory.

They were with Jesus on the holy mountain. The mountain became holy because Jesus the God/man was there. Holy God/man Jesus made the mountain holy by his presence, just as God made the ground holy when he spoke to Moses out of the burning bush: “Do not come any closer. . . . Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground” (Exod. 3:5). Jesus is God and man, and in the Bible, he is speaking to us. He obeyed his Father, and we are to obey him.

So the Father spoke from heaven. Heaven is a place where God dwells, where Christ dwells with his holy angels and with the spirits of just men made perfect, as the Hebrews writer tells us:

But you have come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the judge of all men, to the spirits of righteous men made perfect, to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel. (Heb. 12:22–24)

John also speaks about heaven: “After this I looked, and there before me was a door standing open in heaven. And the voice I had first heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, ‘Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.’ At once I was in the Spirit, and there before me was a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it” (Rev. 4:1-2). There is a heaven and there is a hell. Jesus said so. He spoke more times about hell than anyone else.

Jesus also said, “No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man” (John 3:13). And after Jesus ascended into heaven, two men appeared to the disciples and said, “‘Men of Galilee, . . . 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’” (Acts 1:11).

Our Response

The Father honored the Son, and Christ himself witnessed to his glory by his transfiguration. Christ witnessed, the Father witnessed, and the apostles witnessed to Jesus. What have you done with that witness? Either you will repent and believe as a result of regeneration, or you will not.

As we said before, if you do not believe in Jesus, you are making God out to be a liar (1 John 5:10b-11). Jesus himself said, “Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son, that all may honor the Son.” The one who declares, “I am an atheist,” is making Jesus, the Father, and the apostles all to be liars.  But the atheist is the real liar and is governed by the devil. “Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks” (Luke 6:45). The whole world is under the control of the evil one (1 John 5:19).  Jesus said such people “will go away to eternal punishment but the righteous to eternal life” (Matt. 25:46).

All other religions are false and demonic. Paul says four times in the following passage that pagan worship and pagan sacrifices are from demons:

Consider the people of Israel: Do not those who eat the sacrifices participate in the altar? Do I mean then that a sacrifice offered to an idol is anything, or that an idol is anything? No, but the sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons, not to God, and I do not want you to be participants with demons. You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons too; you cannot have a part in both the Lord’s table and the table of demons. Are we trying to arouse the Lord’s jealousy? Are we stronger than he? (1 Cor. 10:18–22)

The world is full of people who worship demons; they worship many gods by the millions. But salvation is found only in Jesus Christ; there is no other savior.

If the Father honored his Son, and if the Son revealed himself as God’s man, and if the apostles gave us their eyewitness and ear-witness, what are we doing with Jesus Christ?  There is no other savior, no other person who could accomplish our redemption. Either he will come again soon, or we will go from this world soon, through death.

God will deal with all people. We are interested in only one thing: your eternal salvation. If you are not born again, if you are still arrogant, I pray that you will humble yourself today, cry out to God, and be saved. And if you have trusted in him, rejoice! Your destiny is glory. The moment you die, you will go to paradise. The thief prayed to Jesus on the cross, “Remember me when you come in your glory.” And Jesus answered, “Today you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:40–43). May God help us all to believe in Jesus Christ and be saved.