Daily Encounter: A Week-day Devotional by a staff of ACTS International.

Thursday, March 16, 2017

Jesus said, "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am."¹

I have borrowed the title of today's Daily Encounter from Newsmax magazine that, some time ago, wrote an article on this topic and later reported that it drew the largest response from any previous Newsmax offer. This showed that there is a very strong interest in this subject. So the question is: Will Jesus Christ return to earth as he promised he would some 2,000 years ago?

No enlightened person would deny the fact that Jesus Christ was here on earth two thousand years ago any more than they would deny the existence of Julius Caesar. Both were undeniable persons of history. However, Jesus made a claim that no Caesar ever didâ€"or could. Jesus promised that He would come back to earth again. Millions of Christians sincerely believe that He will. But is this fact or just wishful thinking?

According to Bible scholar, Mark Hitchcock, "Jesus' return is explicitly referred to 1,845 times in the Bibleâ€"1,527 times in the Old Testament and 318 times in the New Testament.²

"The second Coming [of Jesus] is mentioned in 23 of 27 New Testament books.

"Out of the New Testament's 260 chapters, there are 318 references to the Second Coming.

"Jesus' Second Coming is mentioned eight times for every reference to his first coming.

"The final prophecy of the bible deals with the Second Coming of Jesus.³

"People are exhorted [encouraged] over fifty times to be ready for the return of Jesus.

"Jesus Christ himself refers to His return twenty-one times."^4,5

Jesus IS Coming Again. As every prophecy written (several hundred years ahead of time) about Jesus' first coming was fulfilled in minutest detail, we can be just as certain regarding His second coming.

What if Jesus should come today? Would you be ready or would you be left behind? As Jesus, referring to himself, said, "So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him."⁶ For help to be sure you are ready for Jesus Christ’s return read "How to Be Sure You're a Real Christian" at: http://tinyurl.com/real-christian.

Suggested prayer: "Dear God, thank you for the promise in Your Word that Jesus is coming again to earth to take all His true followers to be with Him forever in Heaven. Help me to be absolutely sure that I am ready for Jesus' return. Thank You for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully in Jesus' name, amen."

NOTE: For more details on this topic read the article, "The climax of History." at: http://tinyurl.com/climax-history.

1. John 14:1-3 (NIV).
2. See Zechariah 14:3-4 and 2 Thessalonians 1:7.
3. Revelation 22:20.
4. For example see Matthew 24:2-30; 25:31, John 14:3; 21:2-23.
5. 101 Answers to the Most Asked Questions About the End Times, p. 200, Multnomah Publishers, Sisters, Oregon. (c) 2001 by Mark Hitchcock.
6. Matthew 24:44 (NIV).

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