a. Luke 9:26-31
What was Jesus saying about His Second Coming in Matthew, Mark, Luke and John? The answers to this question we will see just from one book namely the gospel of Luke. The very word of Jesus concerning His coming we find in Luke 9:26-27 when he says, “For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall come in his own glory, and in his Father’s and of the Holy angels. But I tell you of a truth, there be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the kingdom of God.” What does it mean when Jesus says He will come with the glory of the Father and of the Holy angels? And what does it mean also when the Lord Jesus says that “there be some standing here, which shall not of death, till they see the kingdom of God?” The answers are found in the following verses. “And it came to pass about an eight days after these sayings, he took Peter and John and James, and went up into a mountain to pray. And as he prayed, the fashion of his countenance was altered and his raiment was white and glistering. And, behold, there talked with him two men, which were Moses and Elijah: Who appeared in glory, and spake of his decease which he should accomplish at Jerusalem” (Luke 9:28-31). This was regarding His crucifixion, which He will accomplish in Jerusalem. Three of the disciples saw the transfiguration of Christ which the preview of His Second Coming. This is the advance indication to the three disciples what Christ looks like to see him in the glory. This was the preview because the two dead men came and the voice of the father from heaven saying, “this is my beloved son in which I am pleased.”
b. Luke 12:36-40
Another passage that recorded by Luke the teaching of the Lord Jesus Christ concerning His Second Coming to this earth is found in Luke 12:36. It says, “And ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their lord, when he will return from the wedding; that when he cometh and knocketh, they may open unto him immediately.” In this verse, Jesus describes Himself as the bridegroom who is going to bring His bride. And Jesus continued to say, “Blessed are those servants, whom the lord when he cometh shall find watching: verily I say unto you, that he shall gird himself, and make them to sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them. And if he shall come in the second watch, or come in the third watch, and find them so, blessed are those servants. And this know, that if the goodman of the house had known what hour the thief would come, have suffered his house to be broken through” (Luke 12:37-39). This is to say that no one knows when the coming of the Lord Jesus except God the Father. We need to be ready at all times as we continue to read in Luke 12:40 “Be ye therefore ready also: for the Son of man cometh at an hour when ye think not.” We should not think that He will not come and then we do our own things and not of the Lord. In this short passage we see the constant reminder for every true believer in the Lord Jesus Christ that we need to prepare ourselves for the coming of the Lord and be ready at any time.
c. Luke 13:24-30
Luke 13:24-27 “Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able. When once the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us; and he shall answer and say unto you, I know you not whence ye are: Then shall ye begin to say, We have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets. But he shall say, I tell you, I know you not whence ye are; depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity.” Hearing this word from the Lord Jesus Christ we are reminded that it is not the wonderful and dramatic works that the Lord expect from all of us but the faithfulness of us to what He has commanded us to do. We think of those who are just professing Christians, they may claim to the Lord for what they have been doing as so-called Christians but at the end the Lord does not count their works. The judgement will be given to those people.
Furthermore the Lord Jesus continued to say what the things will happen in His Second Coming as we see in Luke 13:29-30. He says, “And they shall come from the east, and from the south, and shall sit down in the kingdom of God. And behold, there are last which shall be first, and there are first which shall be last.” There will be a great joy for those who know the Lord Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour. All believers in the world will be gathered together in the kingdom of God. The question we ask, what about those who are just merely pretenders as Christians? The answer is given in Luke 13:28 that “There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out.” How horrible it is for those who do not believe in the Lord Jesus Christ! Knowing this great judgement from the Lord the unbelievers may say that they do not want to enter such situation but when they are urged to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, it is absolutely rejected. This is the situation of many people that they do not want to go to hell but their attitude and behaviour never bother about the reality of hell. If in this life a man does not come to know the Lord Jesus Christ, then there is no opportunity anymore after his death as the writer of Hebrews said “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgement” (Hebrews 9:27).
d. Luke 17:20-24
When Jesus Christ was with the Pharisees, they asked a question of when the kingdom of God is coming. As we read in Lukas 17:20-21 we see the clear answer from the Lord Jesus Christ to those unbelieving Jews. Luke 17:20-21 saying, “And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: Neither shall they say, Lo here! Or, lo there! For, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.” In other word, Jesus was saying “I am the King and I am in the midst of you and I am here.” However the Lord Jesus said to His disciples not to the Pharisees concerning the coming of the Lord. We read in Luke 17:22-24 “And he said unto the disciples, The days will come, when ye shall desire to see one of the days of the Son of man, and ye shall not see it. And they shall say to you, See here; or, see there: go not after them, nor follow them. (Why?) For as the lightning, that lighteneth out of the one part under heaven, shineth unto the other part under heaven; so shall also the Son of man be in his day.” These are the things that will happen just before the Second Coming of the Lord because of the apostasy of the church and the growing numbers of the apostates, the great deception will occur. If there are people who claim as the King we should know one thing that Christ is the King. We do not have to wonder whether He is coming or not, because everybody will see Him. There is nothing secret but it will be visible.
e. Luke 18:8
Luke 18:8 “I tell you that he will avenge them speedily, Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?” It implies that the situation at the Second Coming of Christ in the world will be so terrible. The Antichrist will absolutely control the world with his power because it is the final program of the Antichrist. However the Lord will show His mercy to His people and Israel will be saved despite of the horrible things happen in this world.
f. Luke 19:12
In Luke 19:12 Jesus gives the parables saying, “A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and to return.” The context of this passage tells that this nobleman gave certain responsibility to each of his servants while he was not around that when he came back he would find his servants doing what he had commanded. However this parable tells that some have done much, some have done little but one man has done nothing because he is a disobedient servant. Whatever the Lord gives to us, we must do it wholeheartedly to please our God. We need to do what He has commanded us in His Holy Scripture.
g. Luke 21:7
In Luke 21:7, we notice that the more Jesus spoke about His Second Coming, the more anxious the disciples were. In this occasion the disciples were asking Jesus concerning His Second Coming. As we read, “And they asked him, saying, Master, but when shall these things be? And what sign will there be when these things shall come to pass?” To answer this question, the Lord Jesus in the whole chapter of Luke 21 explained all the details that will happen in the coming of the Lord.
h. Luke 22:16-18
Luke 22:16 “For I say unto you, I will not any more eat thereof, until it be fulfilled in the kingdom of God. And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, Take this, and divide it among yourselves: For I say unto you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine, until the kingdom of God shall come.” When Jesus said this word to His disciples in the upper room, He was telling them the nearest of His crucifixion and death. In 1 Corinthians 11 reminded the Christians in the church of Corinth concerning what the Lord Jesus said in Luke 22:16. Paul wrote this revelation of God by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit saying, “For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do show the Lord’s death till he come” (1 Corinthians 11:26). This is the Holy Communion that every church of the Lord Jesus Christ must do because in so doing, the believers in the Lord will remember what Jesus has done for us and anticipate for His coming when we will see Him face to face. There is no greater comfort then knowing the coming of the Lord Jesus. He right now is preparing a mansion for us and He will take us there. This is the tremendous assurance for those who believe in Him.
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