Promises in Receiving ChristSample

Promise 10: You are given the great hope of Christ’s return.

The Lord’s return is a subject that intrigues people and offers the most glorious hope to you as a believer. Christ declared that He was coming again to get those who believe in Him and take them to heaven to live with Him eternally (John 14:1-3; also see John 5:28-29; Phil.3:20-21; Col.3:4; Tit.2:12-13; 1 Pet.5:4).

Christ will come for you at death, and your spirit will immediately be taken to heaven. You will pass from this world into the next world, into heaven itself; and you will pass quickly, never tasting the [agony of eternal separation from God], never losing a moment’s consciousness. One moment you are in this world; the next moment you are in the presence of the Lord. This will be your personal, face-to-face presentation to the Lord, your very first sight of your Savior. Note the following examples…

• Stephen, while being stoned to death, anticipated going immediately to be with the Lord (Acts 7:59).
• Stephen even “saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God” (Acts 7:55).
• Paul said: “to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord” (2 Cor.5:8).
• Paul even said “he had a desire” to depart, and to be with Christ, which is “far better” (Phil.1:23).
• Jesus promised the thief: “today you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43).
• The believers of Thessalonica, who had already died, are said to “sleep in Jesus,” indicating they are finally at rest in the presence of the Lord (1 Thes. 4:14).

Christ will also come for you when He returns at the end of the world. In that day, the bodies of all believers, both dead and alive, will rise to meet Christ in the air. Then we will receive our glorified bodies—dramatically and instantaneously. Christ will gather all His dear followers together and take us home to live in transformed bodies forever. This glorious event will take place as quickly as the blinking of an eye (1 Cor.15:52).

Jesus promises that He will come again, and He will. We must never forget: God promised that His Son would come the first time, and He came. So He will come again.