Often said to be Christian’s greatest hope, they remember the second coming of Christ Bible verses often read in church. The greatest promise of God. And they think about what heaven will be like during hard times.
These verses are about the ultimate prophecy and promise of the second coming of Christ based on a chain of verses that are referenced in a specific order to help give clarity and context.* It has very minimal commentary so that you can do your own self-reflection and discovery of the verses. Many times the Bible explains itself if you just know where to look.
With each group of verses, there are probing questions to help you consider what is being said. Each verse in the study is linked to an online Bible, should you want to check the context of the verses around it. Also, allowing verification of what scripture says, as well as purity of a study based only on the Bible.
Does the Bible say positively that Jesus will appear the second time?
- Hebrews 9:28 (KJV) — “So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.”
“Christ’s second coming is referred to 380 times in the New Testament. One verse in every twenty-five, on the average, speaks of it.”
Time Prophecies of the Lord’s Return
- The Four World Empires. Daniel 2
- The Work of Antichrist. Daniel 7
- The Sanctuary and 2300 Days. Daniel 8-9
- A Great Prophetic Forecast. Daniel 11-12
- The Seven Churches. Revelation 1-3
- The Seven Seals. Revelation 5-6
- The Seven Trumpets. Revelation 8-9
- The Two Witnesses. Revelation 11
- The Work of the Dragon and the 1260 Days. Revelation 12
- The Two-Horned Beast. Revelation 13-14
Did Christ promise to come again?
- John 14:1-3 (KJV) — “1 Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. 2 In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.”
Did Christ go away?
- Acts 1:1-2 (KJV) — “1 The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach, 2 Until the day in which he was taken up, after that he through the Holy Ghost had given commandments unto the apostles whom he had chosen:”
Where to?
- Hebrews 9:24 (KJV) — “For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us:”
When did He go?
- Acts 1:3 (KJV) — “To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God:”
How did He go?
- Acts 1:9 (KJV) — “And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight.”
Did He ascend with the same body that was laid in the tomb?
- John 2:19-21 (KJV) — “19 Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. 20 Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days? 21 But he spake of the temple of his body.”
- Luke 24:36 (KJV) — “And as they thus spake, Jesus himself stood in the midst of them, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you.“
- Luke 24:42 (KJV) — “And they gave him a piece of a broiled fish, and of an honeycomb.”
- Luke 24:50-51 (KJV) — “50 And he led them out as far as to Bethany, and he lifted up his hands, and blessed them. 51 And it came to pass, while he blessed them, he was parted from them, and carried up into heaven.”
Will this same Jesus return?
- Acts 1:9-11 (KJV) — “9 And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight. 10 And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; 11 Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.”
Why is He to come again?
- John 14:3 (KJV) — “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.“
- 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 (KJV) —
“13 But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.
14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.
15 For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.
16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words.” - Matthew 16:27 (KJV) — “For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works.“
What will be His appearance?
- Revelation 14:14 (KJV) — “And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle.”
How many will see Him?
- Revelation 1:7 (KJV) — “Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.”
What will be the manner of Christ’s return?
- Psalm 50:3 (KJV) — “Our God shall come, and shall not keep silence: a fire shall devour before him, and it shall be very tempestuous round about him.”
- Matthew 24:27 (KJV) — “For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.“
- Matthew 24:30-31 (KJV) — “30 And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31 And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.”
- Matthew 25:31 (KJV) — “When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:“
How many angels are there?
- Revelation 5:11 (KJV) — “And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands;”
What has been the effect upon human beings of the appearance of an angel?
- Matthew 28:2-3 (KJV) — “2 And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it. 3 His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow:”
- Daniel 10:5-7 (KJV) — “5 Then I lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and behold a certain man clothed in linen, whose loins were girded with fine gold of Uphaz: 6 His body also was like the beryl, and his face as the appearance of lightning, and his eyes as lamps of fire, and his arms and his feet like in colour to polished brass, and the voice of his words like the voice of a multitude. 7 And I Daniel alone saw the vision: for the men that were with me saw not the vision; but a great quaking fell upon them, so that they fled to hide themselves.”
How will Christ’s coming affect the wicked?
- Revelation 6:15-17 (KJV) — “15 And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; 16 And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: 17 For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?”
What will be the attitude of the righteous?
- Isaiah 25:9 (KJV) — “And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us: this is the LORD; we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation.”
- 1 John 2:28 (KJV) — “And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming.”
How may we be prepared to meet Him in peace?
- Luke 21:34-36 (KJV) — “34 And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares. 35 For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth. 36 Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.”
- 1 John 3:2-3 (KJV) — “2 Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. 3 And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.”
This study guide was based on Reading No. 3, pages 86-87 from Brief Bible Readings for Busy People,
prepared by the Home Missionary Department
of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists.
Review and Herald Publishing. Published originally in 1930.
View the original study guide, which this guide is based on, as a scanned PDF. Full credit to them.
*A Bible chain reference is a system of cross-referencing between different passages or verses of the Bible to connect and relate different concepts, themes, or topics mentioned in different parts of the Bible. It helps readers gain a deeper understanding of the overall message and meaning of the text. To use it, readers start with a particular topic or theme and then look up the corresponding list of verses, paying attention to the connections and relationships between them. Studying them in a particular order, helps one understand the topic from beginning to end. Just like peeling the layers off of an onion. It’s a useful tool for anyone looking to deepen their understanding of the Bible and its teachings.
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Home Missionary Department
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