Christ and His Second Coming

The Importance of the Life of Christ and How It Relates To His Second
Coming
Today, there are many "ways" provided in which one can obtain everlasting life and
many different gods have been established that present the door by which one can
enter into eternity. For those who hold to the fact that there is an afterlife, all beliefs
and practices can be broken down into two very simple groups: "Do" and "Done".
The group that believes each individual must "work" their way to heaven and merit
the eternal reward of paradise of course falls into the "Do" category. The belief is
that they must "help" God get them to Heaven. Examples of this can be seen all
over the world today. Beliefs in water baptism for salvation, praying the rosary,
buying indulgences for sins, and allegiance to "the church" are all examples of
"working your way" to Heaven. There are also smaller, unnoticeable acts that are
just as dangerous as these above; included are: church membership, mandatory
church attendance, church service, and giving financially to the church. If any of
these are done in hopes of bettering oneself in the sight of God, they, too, are
sinful and misguided. The second group of belief is that of the true Bible believing
Christian. It is the group of "Done". This group rests in the hope and promises of
the eternal God and the ransom for sin paid by His Son, Christ Jesus. This group
holds to nothing more than the blood stained Cross of Calvary for redemption. It is
this group of believers to whom the life and acts of Christ are supremely important.
If Christ has not accomplished what God's Word says He has, all belief and hope
of eternal life is in vain. Therefore, it is of extreme necessity that the Christian
understands and can defend his or her own belief, for it is with this knowledge that
the Gospel is spread and the truth resounds that "Christ died for our sins according
to the scriptures; and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day
according to the scriptures" (I Corinthians 15:4, KJV)1.
There abound numerous prophecies within God's Word concerning Christ and His
life. Perhaps the very foundation of one's belief in Christ should, by simple
organization, begin at the very claims put forth by the Bible. Was Christ prophesied
to come to earth and serve a purpose? In the very early account of Genesis, after
man has fallen and God is speaking with them concerning the consequences of
sin, God gives the promise of a Redeemer and a warning to Satan: "And I will put
enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall
bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel" (Genesis 3:15, KJV). God
establishes that Satan has now begun a battle with God's creation. It is Satan's
seed, the antichrist, which would one day battle with the woman's seed, the
promised Redeemer. It is explained that, while Satan would inflict temporary minor
affliction, the Redeemer would one day render the fatal blow to the head that would
bring about the end of Satan and his reign. For all of this to occur, there must be a
"seed" that is born to fulfill this purpose. What a wonderful line of ancestry is
established at this time! It is from this point that the promise is secured and can be
traced through Abel, Seth, Noah, Shem, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Judah, David, and
finally to Christ. The prophecy of Isaiah states "Therefore the Lord himself shall give
you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name
Immanuel" (Isaiah 4:14, KJV). It is here that God establishes that the Messiah
would be recognized by a miraculous virgin birth. In the book of Matthew the
fulfillment of this prophecy is realized: "Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this
wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came
together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost…now all this was done, that it
might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Behold, a
virgin shall be with child…" (Matthew 1:18, 22-23, KJV). The miraculous virgin birth
of Christ sets Him apart as one who has come for a divine purpose. If the virgin
birth did not literally occur, then all other prophecies and promises of God are null
and void.Not only did the way that birth occurred fulfill Bible prophecy, but also the
event itself fulfilled Scripture. Four Old Testament prophecies were fulfilled by the
birth of Christ. The first prophecy is found in Micah: "But thou, Bethlehem
Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall
he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose going forth have been
from of old, from everlasting" (Micah 5:2, KJV). The Son, who was from everlasting,
was to be born as a child in Bethlehem! This is certainly fulfilled in Luke when
Joseph and Mary make the journey "unto the city of David, which is called
Bethlehem…and so it was, that, while they were there, the days were
accomplished that she should be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn
son…" (Luke 2:4,6-7, KJV). Just as God had ordained, Christ was born in
Bethlehem. The second prophetic event is that God would call His Son out of
Egypt (Hosea 11:1, KJV). This passage realized fulfillment in the book of Matthew
where Joseph is warned in a dream by an angel to "take the young child and his
mother and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word…that it might
be fulfilled which was spoken…Out of Egypt have I called my son" (Matthew
2:13,15, KJV). God's hand of protection is very evident within this prophecy as He
sends His son down into Egypt to prevent an early death by a jealous and greedy
King Herod and, no doubt, Satan himself. The preceding Scripture also
intermingles with the third prophetic teaching in that, because of the murderous
rampage of King Herod, "A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation, and bitter
weeping; Rahel weeping for her children refused to be comforted for her children,
because they were not" (Jeremiah 31:15, KJV). In Herod's attempt to stamp out
any competition to the throne and because he felt mocked of the wise men who
had previously inquired of the new "King of the Jews" and had not retuned to tell
him of the location, Herod "slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all
the coasts thereof, from two years old and under…"(Matthew 2:16, KJV). Rama
was a town of "the coasts thereof" as mentioned. No doubt many mourning families
wept at the sight of their little ones murdered. The fourth prophecy that is seen
fulfilled by Christ's birth is that of Him being called a "Nazarene". This deals with
Christ dwelling in Nazareth, and not of Him taking a Nazarite vow, which would
have prevented him from doing many of the miracles recorded, one of which is the
abstention from being around the dead. Lazarus was dead for four days and Jesus
went to the grave and raised him from the dead (John 11). The Scripture records
"And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth: that it might be fulfilled which
was spoken by the prophets, He shall be called a Nazarene" (Matthew 2:23, KJV).
This verse most likely refers back to Isaiah where Jesus Christ is referred to as a
"rod" out of the stem of Jesse (Isaiah 11:1, Isaiah 53:2, KJV). If the birth of Jesus
Christ fulfilled Bible prophecy written hundreds of years prior to His first coming,
then certainly there must be evidence that His life on earth was also different and
with purpose. In the book of Matthew, Jesus is established as being in the line of
royalty and recipient of the promises God had made to David and Abraham: "The
book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham"
(Matthew 1:1, KJV). This one verse connects Christ to the Abrahamic covenant of
land and blessing (Genesis 15:18), as well as the Davidic covenant of Kingship (2
Samuel 7:8-16). Why then, does Christ not set up His Kingdom on earth and reign
as prophesied? Just as God was true to fulfill all earlier prophecies, God will be true
to fulfill those not yet realized. One of those is indeed the setting up of a literal,
physical throne on this earth from which Christ will reign. For this to occur there
must first be the fulfillment of an entire "scroll" of prophecy! So how then, does
Christ's First coming compare to that of His Second coming?The First and Second
advents fulfilled two different duties. In the First advent, Christ came to earth to lay
the groundwork for eternity future by laying down His life as payment for our sins. It
is through this wonderful work of grace that we "…have an advocate with the
Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: and he is the propitiation for our sins: and not
for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world" (I John 2:1-2, KJV). It was
because of the miraculous virgin birth, Christ's perfect life, and His sacrificial death
on the cross of Calvary that Salvation is possible for the believer. Christ had to
come to earth to be the sacrificial lamb for lost man, just as the Old Testament
sacrificial system required blood to be shed to "cover" a person's sins, looking
forward in faith until the day that God would provide "a lamb without blemish and
without spot" (I Peter 1:19, KJV). Christ was to come and "bare our sins in his own
body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by
whose stripes we are healed" (I Peter 2:24, KJV). The First advent encapsulated all
of these events. The Second Advent pictures Christ, not as the humble sacrificial
requirement of God's wrath, but as the King of Kings! The Over comer of death and
Judge of righteousness, because of the power and authority given to Him by His
Father, will return as prophesied to judge the nations and reign from His throne on
earth for one thousand years just as promised to David centuries ago. Events that
were set into motion six thousand years ago will see fruition as Christ will reign in
righteousness and the appointed "day of vengeance of our God" (Isaiah 61:2, KJV)
takes place. Evil will be put down, its ruler, Satan, bound for one thousand years.
An era of peace will begin as nations "beat their swords into plowshares, and their
spears into pruning hooks: nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither
shall they learn war any more" (Micah 4:3, KJV). The earthly life of Christ was
necessary. The prophecies of God's Word are true. There exists within the pages
of the Bible all evidence a soul would ever need to come to the Savior for salvation.
God, in His infinite grace and mercy, has provided the solution to man's dilemma. It
is with this knowledge that man must make the decision of what he will do with
Christ.

Endnotes
1All Scripture quotations are taken from the King James Bible version, Royal,
1971.