By the Scripture’s Own Writers
Return of Christ
Definition
Jesus of Nazareth became the Christ of God, the Messiah, the Seed of God’s “woman” (organization), upon His baptism in the Jordan river A.D. 29 and thus His first official presence upon this earth as Jehovah’s faithful witness continued for three and one half years. Before leaving the earth, Christ promised to return again according to God’s purpose to establish His kingdom, to rule amidst His enemies, to judge the nations and to bring salvation and deliverance to faithful mankind. This second presence (par-ou-si’a) of Christ the Messiah was to be invisible and the unmistakable sign He gave shows conclusively that this return of Christ began in the year 1914. Since that time Christ has turned His attention toward earth’s affairs and is dividing the peoples and educating the true Christians in preparation for their survival during the great storm of Armageddon, when all unfaithful mankind will be destroyed from the face of the earth.
Sign of Christ’s First Presence; Pictured by Jonah’s Preaching, His Being Swallowed Up 3 Days, and Restoration
Luke 11:29, 30 “This generation is a wicked generation; it looks for a sign. But no sign will be given it except the sign of Jonah. For just as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, in the same way will the Son of man be also to this generation.”
Jonah 3:2; 1:17; 2:10 “Arise, go unto Nineveh, that great city, and preach the message that I give you.” “And Jehovah prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah; and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.” “And Jehovah spoke unto the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry land.”
Fulfilled in Jesus’ Preaching, His Being 3 Days in the Grave, and His Resurrection
Matthew 12:40 “For just as Jonah was in the belly of the huge fish three days and three nights, so the Son of man will be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights.”
Acts 10:38-41 “Jesus who was from Nazareth, how God anointed Him with holy spirit and power, and He went through the land doing good and healing all those oppressed by the devil, because God was with Him. And we are witnesses of all the things He did, both in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem; but they also did away with Him by hanging Him on a stake. God raised this One up on the third day and granted Him to become visible, not to all the people, but to witnesses appointed beforehand by God, to us, who ate and drank with Him after His rising from the dead.”
Sign of Christ’s Second Presence the Coming in Clouds When Given Kingdom Rule
Daniel 7:13, 14 “I saw in the night-visions, and, behold, there came with the clouds of heaven one like unto a son of man, and he came even to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before Him. And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all the peoples, nations, and languages should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.”
At Jesus’ Trial, A.D. 33, High Priest Asks for This Sign of Christ, but Jesus Testifies It Will Come in the Future
Matthew 26:63, 64 “So the high priest said to Him: ‘By the living God I put You under oath to tell us whether You are the Christ the Son of God!’ Jesus said to him: ‘That was for you to say. Yet I say to you men, From henceforth you will see the Son of man sitting at the right hand of power and coming on the clouds of heaven.’ “
Appearances of Jesus After His Resurrection Made in Different Materialized Bodies
John 20:14-16 “After saying these things, she turned back and viewed Jesus standing, but she did not discern it was Jesus. Jesus said to her: ‘Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?’ She, imagining it was the gardener, said to Him: ‘Sir, if You have carried him off, tell me where You have laid him, and I will take Him away.’ Jesus said to her: ‘Mary!’ Upon turning around, she said to Him, in Hebrew: ‘Rabboni!’ (which means ‘Teacher!’).”
Luke 24:15, 16, 30, 31 “Now as they were conversing and discussing, Jesus Himself approached and began traveling with them; but their eyes were kept from recognizing Him. And as He was reclining with them at the meal, He took the loaf, blessed it, broke it and began to hand it to them. At that their eyes were fully opened and they recognized Him; and He disappeared from them.”
See: Mark 16:12.
All His Appearances After His Resurrection Seen Only by His Disciples, Not by the Public
1 Corinthians 15:4-8 “And that He was buried, yes, that He has been raised up the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. After that He appeared to upward of five hundred brothers at one time, the most of whom remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep in death. After that He appeared to James, then to all the apostles; but last of all He appeared also to me as if to one born prematurely.”
Angels Testified at Jesus’ Ascension as a Spirit that Christ Would Return in Like Manner, Quiet, Unobserved by the Public
Acts 1:9, 11 “And after He had said these things, while they [only the disciples] were looking on, He was lifted up and a cloud caught Him up from their vision. … ‘Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus who was received up from you into heaven will come thus in the same manner as you have beheld Him going into heaven.'”
Disciples Asked for Evidence of Christ’s Second Presence
Matthew 24:3 “While He was sitting upon the mount of Olives, the disciples approached Him privately, saying: ‘Tell us, When will these things be, and what will be the sign of Your presence and of the consummation of the system of things?'”
Also: Mark 13:4; Luke 21:7.
Composite Sign Proves Fulfillment of Second Presence in 1914
Matthew 24:7, 8, 30 “For nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be food shortages and earthquakes in one place after another. All these things are the beginning of sorrow. And then the sign of the Son of man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will go to wailing and they will see the Son of man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.”
Christ’s Return Invisible, as He Testified that Man Would Not See Him Again in Human Form
John 14:19 “A little longer and the world will see Me no more.’
Matthew 23:39 “For I say to you, You will by no means see Me from henceforth until you say, ‘Blessed is He that comes in Jehovah’s Name!'”
Second Presence of Christ Proved Invisible by His “Sheep” Not Being Able to See Him with Their Natural Eyes
Matthew 25:37-40 “Then the righteous ones will answer Him with the words: ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? When did we see You a stranger and receive You hospitably, or naked, and clothe You? When did we see You sick or in prison and go to You?’ And in reply the King will say to them: ‘Truly I say to you, To the extent that you did it to one of the least of these My brothers, you did it to Me.’ “
Christ Also Invisible to His Enemies, the “Goats”
Matthew 25:44, 45 “Then they [the goats] also will answer with the words: ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison and did not minister to You?’ Then He will answer them with the words: ‘Truly I say to you, To the extent that you did not do it to one of these least ones, you did not do it to Me.’ “
No Private Appearances of Christ to Occur, as Claimed by Some False Preachers
Matthew 24:23-26 “Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look! here is the Christ,’ or, ‘There!’ do not believe it. For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will give great signs and wonders so as to mislead, if possible, even the chosen ones. Look! I have forewarned you. Therefore, if people say to you, ‘Look! He is in the wilderness,’ do not go out; ‘Look! He is in the inner chambers,’ do not believe it.”
Evidence of Invisible Second Presence to Be Publicly Discernible in Every Part of the Earth by All Nationalities
Matthew 24:27 “For just as the lightning comes out of eastern parts and shines over to western parts, so the presence of the Son of man will be.”
Matthew 24:31 “And He will send forth His angels with a great trumpet-sound and they will gather His chosen ones together from the four winds, from one extremity of the heavens to their other extremity.”
Early Christians Expected Christ’s Return to Be Invisible. Paul Argued There Was Insufficient Evidence in Their Day
2 Thessalonians 2:1-3 “However, brothers, respecting the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to Him, we request of you not to be quickly shaken from your reason nor to be excited either through an inspired expression or through a verbal message or through a letter as though from us, to the effect that the day of Jehovah is here. Let no one seduce you in any manner, because it will not come unless the falling away comes first and the man of lawlessness gets revealed, the son of destruction.”
Second Presence Purpose of Effecting Salvation Contrasted to First Presence Purpose to Supply the Ransom Price
Hebrews 9:27, 28 “And as it is reserved for men to die once for all time, but after this a judgment, so also the Christ was offered once for all time to bear the sins of many, and the second time that He appears it will be apart from sin and to those earnestly looking for Him for their salvation.”
At Christ’s Second Presence His Kingdom Rule Begins
Revelation 11:15 “And loud voices occurred in heaven saying: ‘The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ, and He will rule as king for ever and ever.’ “
Revelation 12:1, 2, 5, 10 “And a great sign was seen in heaven, a woman arrayed with the sun, and the moon was beneath her feet, and on her head was a crown of twelve stars, and she was pregnant. And she cries out in her pains and in her agony to give birth. And she gave birth to a son, a male, who is destined to shepherd all the nations with an iron rod. And her child was caught away to God and to His throne. And I heard a loud voice in heaven say: ‘Now have come to pass the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ.’ “
Daniel 2:44 “And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.”
Psalm 145:13 Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom. Your dominion endures throughout all generations.
He Comes Again to Receive His Fellow Kingdom Heirs into Heaven
John 14:2-4 “In the house of My Father there are many abodes. Otherwise, I would have told you, because I am going My way to prepare a place for you. Also, if I go My way and prepare a place for you, I am coming again and will receive you home to Myself, that where I am you also may be. And where I am going you know the way.”
At Christ’s Second Presence Resurrection of the 144,000 Begins
2 Timothy 4:7, 8 “I have fought the right fight, I have run the course to the finish, I have observed the faith. From this time on there is reserved for Me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me as a reward in that day, yet not only to me, but also to all those who have loved His manifestation.”
1 Thessalonians 4:15-17 “For this is what we tell you by Jehovah’s Word, that we the living who survive to the presence of the Lord shall in no way precede those who have fallen asleep in death, because the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a commanding call, with an archangel’s voice and with God’s trumpet, and those who are dead in union with Christ will rise first. Afterward we the living who are surviving will together with them be caught away in clouds to meet the Lord in the air; and thus we shall always be with the Lord.”
At Christ’s Second Presence He Will Rule Nations as with a Rod of Iron, to Their Grief
Revelation 1:7 “Look! He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, and those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will beat themselves in grief because of Him. Yes, Amen.”
Psalm 2:8. 9 “Ask of Me, and I will give You [Christ Jesus] the nations for Your inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for Your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron; You shall dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.”
Time of Fear and Day of Fearful Sights, but the Righteous to Be Delivered
Luke 21:25-28 “Also there will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth anguish of nations, not knowing the way out because of the roaring of the sea and its agitation, while men become faint out of fear and expectation of the things coming upon the inhabited earth; for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. And then they will see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. But as these things start to occur, raise yourselves erect and lift your heads up, because your deliverance is getting near.”
Christ’s Second Presence Begins Transition Period of Warning Notice to the People
Matthew 24:14 “And this good news of the Kingdom will be preached in all the inhabited earth for the purpose of a witness to all the nations, and then the accomplished end will come.”
Likened to Noah’s Day Before the Deluge
Matthew 24:37-39 “For just as the days of Noah were, so the presence of the Son of man will be. For as people were in those days before the flood, eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark; and they took no note until the flood came and swept them all away, so the presence of the Son of man will be.”
At Christ’s Second Presence He Separates Good and Bad People as Sheep and Goats, as Time of Judgment Sets In
Matthew 25:31-33 “When the Son of man arrives in His glory and all the angels with Him, then He will sit down on His glorious throne. And all the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate people one from another, just as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And He will put the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on His left.”
Righteous Flee to God’s Mountain-like Organization
Matthew 24:16 “Then let those in Judea begin fleeing to the mountains.”
Angels Assist in This Sifting Work
Matthew 13:49 “That is how it will be in the consummation of the system of things: the angels will go out and separate the wicked from among the righteous.”
Also: Matthew 24:31; 25:31.
Righteous Ones Taken Along to Safety at Christ’s Second Presence
Matthew 24:40-42 “Then two men will be in the field: one will be taken along and the other be abandoned; two women will be grinding at the hand-mill: one will be taken along and the other be abandoned. Keep on the watch, therefore, because you do not know on what day your Master is coming.”
Also: Luke 17:32-36.
Destiny-fixing Time for Salvation
Matthew 24:11-13 “And many false prophets will arise and mislead many; and because of the increasing of lawlessness the love of the greater number will cool off. But he that has endured to the finish is the one that will be saved.”
Christ’s Second Presence Is a Time to Keep Awake
Luke 21:34-36 “But pay attention to yourselves that your hearts never become weighted down with overeating and heavy drinking and anxieties of life, and suddenly that day be instantly upon you as a snare. For it will come in upon all those dwelling upon the face of all the earth. Keep awake, then, all the time making supplication that you may succeed in escaping all these things that are destined to occur, and to hold your position before the Son of man.”
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