Amen. Now returning to the Acts of the Apostles, chapter one, and I want to read again the verses 10 and 11. The word of God says, and while they, that is the apostles and the disciples, while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as he went up, that's the Lord Jesus, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel. which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven. During the course of the week, I've spent a little bit of time refreshing the church's website. It's 99% done. If you want to go and have a look at it, take any feedback and advice and any edits that you might suggest on board, it's kingstonfpc.org. You'll find that on the back of your order of service if you've kept an old one in your Bible. I was preparing all the pages and one of the pages of course was the articles of faith that we believe as a church. One of the articles caught my eye and served as a springboard for today's message. That article was We Believe and the visible and personal return of our Lord Jesus Christ. is one of the fundamental doctrines of our Christian faith. Maybe a word of explanation is in order here. When we talk about a fundamental doctrine, it's one that comprises the very heart of our Christian belief. It's a truth that is so important that not to believe it actually places you outside of the circle of genuine Christianity. Across the centuries, a number of doctrines have been considered to be fundamental to the Christian faith. They fall into three main areas. The Bible as the Word of God, the Lord Jesus Christ as the Son of God, and salvation as the gift of God. So when we think of the inspiration of the scriptures, again, we believe in the absolute authority and the divine verbal inspiration of the Old and New Testaments as the Word of God. We believe this book to be breathed out by God, preserved down through the ages by the Spirit of God, and we can say that we hold this Bible in our hands and we hold the very Word of God to our souls. We believe that. We also have certain beliefs concerning the Lord Jesus Christ and God in general. We believe in a Trinitarian nature of God. There is but one living and true God in the Godhead. If there are three persons equal in power and glory, God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit, Concerning the Lord Jesus, we believe to be fundamental His eternal Sonship, His virgin birth, His deity. his atoning sacrifice, his resurrection from the dead, his ascension to glory, and his coming again, the visible, personal return of the Lord Jesus Christ. These are some of the things that must simply be believed if you are to be counted as a genuine Christian. Otherwise, you simply become a follower of a religion of your own making. Now that might seem like a hard statement, but it's true nonetheless. The Lord Jesus warns us of that in Matthew chapter seven. He tells us of those who come to him confessing Lord, Lord, whom he tells that they will know why he's entered the kingdom of heaven. So here, Acts chapter one, verses 10 and 11 brings us face to face with one of those great fundamental, non-negotiable doctrines of the Christian faith. After the Lord Jesus ascended into heaven, we are told of two men in white, we accept those to be angels, appeared to the disciples telling them not to waste their time looking up into the skies, because this same Jesus will return again to the earth in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven. So the doctrine of Christ's return is fundamental, it's scriptural, and it's cult-reverted. What do we mean by that? Fundamental, every true Christian believes that the Lord Jesus Christ shall return to the earth. It's scriptural. Our faith doesn't rest upon the dreams of man, but on the revelation of God and his word. What do I mean when I say it's controversial? Well, Christians of different stripes have often debated amongst themselves regarding the details pertaining to the return of Christ. It's not that they deny the return of Christ, but they disagree on some of the details concerning it. So this morning I want to ask and answer the question, what will the second coming of Christ be like? And putting the matter that way, I want to make it clear that my interest this morning is not detailing the signs of the times or explaining my own views regarding Bible prophecy. My goal is rather more modest than that and perhaps more crucial. What do we as Christians mean when we say that the Lord Jesus Christ is coming back? So I want to answer three things concerning that question. First of all, when we say that the Lord Jesus Christ is coming back, we believe that his coming is personal. Acts chapter 1 verse 11 makes that clear. The Lord Jesus Christ himself will one day return to the earth. Listen to what it says. This same Jesus. It's this same Jesus who is coming again. Twice in one verse Luke uses this word same. This same Jesus which is taken up from you shall so come in like matters you've seen him go into him. The same Jesus who ascended is coming back the same way. He will return the same way that he left. Now if plain English means anything at all, these words teach us that the Lord Jesus is coming back again personally, literally, visibly, Bodily, this same Jesus that you see ascending to heaven is coming back again in the same manner as you've seen him go into heaven. Now, you've got your Bibles open. Turn back a few pages to the Gospel of Luke and to the chapter 24. And we see in the verses 53 to 52 just exactly what happened that day. Luke 24 verse 50, And he that is the Lord Jesus led them out as far as to Bethany, and he lifted up his hands and blessed them. and it came to pass, while he blessed them, he was parted from them and carried up into heaven. And they worshipped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the temple praising and blessing God. Amen. The Lord Jesus reached out his hands to bless his disciples. He began to rise from the face of the earth, evidently without any warning whatsoever, And then, as Luke reminds us, was taken up into heaven. The disciples were awestruck. That's evident by the fact that the angels say to them, ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? They're left with open mouths staring at the scene that has just taken place before them. And so we can assume then that the Lord Jesus is coming back in the same manner in which he left, that his return to earth will be no less astonishing and no less surprising than his exit from the earth. This same Jesus who was born in Bethlehem is coming again. This same Jesus who grew up in Nazareth is coming again. This same Jesus who turned water into wine is coming again. The same Jesus who walked in water. The same Jesus who healed the noble man's son. The same Jesus who raised Lazarus from the dead. The same Jesus who entered into Jerusalem on the back of a donkey in what we call Palm Sunday is coming again. The same Jesus who was betrayed by Judas, who was whipped and beaten by the authorities, scourged and mocked and condemned to die, is coming again. The same Jesus who was led all the way to Mount Calvary, where he suffered and died upon that old cruel cross, The same Jesus who was led into the darkened tomb and who rose again from the dead three days later is coming again. This same Jesus who ascended into heaven shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven. That's what we mean when we say that Jesus is coming again. The actual historical figure who lived some 2,000 years ago on the other side of the world is returning to the earth one more time. One more time. Some time ago I heard of a strange group that met together in Texas in the United States. They had announced that Christ would return on the 31st of March. They had made this announcement that God would make himself known on the 25th of the month by commandeering Channel 18 and announcing his impending arrival the following week. A local newspaper picked up the story and ran about this strange group. It turns out that on the 25th of March then, the street where this little group met together was blocked off with news trucks and their satellite dishes so that they could be there to cover this great event And when the local news director was asked why he was there, did he really expect something to happen? He says, no, not really, but we can't afford to miss in case God should turn up on Channel 18. Obviously Christ didn't return at that time. And that same newspaper editor ran a rather derisive editorial after God failed to show up on time. Well, we've a lot of comments we could make about that whole situation, but I'll make just the one. This group was sorely misguided about many things, but they were right about one thing. The Lord Jesus Christ is coming back again. They were wrong about the time. They were wrong about the place. They were wrong about a whole host of things. But on the central point, they were right on the money. By the way, God won't have to commandeer a television station or broadcast on any channel for the world to know about it. This world is not going to continue on forever and ever. History will come to its climax when the Lord Jesus Christ himself returns to this earth. He's coming back visibly, bodily, personally for his people. The time of that coming It's not for you and I to guess at or to plan or to work out our figures and our numbers and pick a date. But we do believe he's coming again. The same way that he left, he's returning to this earth. Now, let me point out some of the possibilities that people have suggested. a contrast to this view. Some people have suggested that the second coming of Christ refers to his spiritual presence with his people. Seventh-day Adventists, for instance, believe something similar to that. They also believe in a personal return, but they also get mixed up with calling of dates, so when their dates don't come true, they shift it to something else. They say it speaks of the spiritual presence of Christ with his people. Christ is with his people. The Lord is with us. His Holy Spirit dwells within us. That's one of the great comforting truths of Christianity, that God dwells with us. Our bodies become a temple of his Holy Spirit. He does come to empower us for his service and to help us to live. in a way that's pleasing to him. But that's not the same as the literal bodily return of Christ to the earth. He is with us now spiritually, but one day we shall see him face to face. Others have suggested that the descent of the Holy Spirit a little later in the book of Acts fulfills the promise of Christ's coming. And the Holy Spirit did come in great power on the day of Pentecost, baptizing those believers into the body of Christ. And we look upon that day almost like a birthday of the Christian church, but long after Pentecost, The New Testament writers explicitly spoke about the literal, physical, bodily return of the Lord Jesus Christ. So the coming of the Spirit at Pentecost is not a fulfilment of the promise. Others suggest that Christ came spiritually when Jerusalem was destroyed in AD 70. No doubt that was a tragic event. that was spoken of even in the words of Christ in Matthew 24 and Luke 17 and other places. But when you look closely, you discover that what happened in AD 70 with the sacking of Jerusalem and the destruction of the temple, it's only a partial fulfilment, a prefiguring, if you like, of the events that will come upon the earth prior to Christ's return. Christ did not return in AD 70, but he is coming at the end of this age. One last thing that people have offered by way of substitution, that the coming of Christ is for the believer at the moment of death. And again, that's true, but it's not the same as the literal coming of the return of Christ. He does come for us. He is there with us as we walk through the dark valley of the shadow of death. And we do sing his praises of Christ who has redeemed us from sin. Millions have found comfort in the promise that the Lord himself escorts his children to their heavenly home. But again, the fact that the Savior's with us even at the moment of death is not his return. There awaits for us in the future an event more marvellous, more startling, more amazing, more blessed than anything that has happened in the last 2,000 years. The same Lord Jesus Christ who walked amongst men and ministered to them and taught them and died for them and rose again, the same Jesus that you saw going into heaven shall so come in like manners you have seen him go into heaven. There is no event more certain. in all of inspired scripture that the Lord Jesus Christ returned. He said to his disciples there in the upper room in John chapter 14, I go to prepare a place for you, but I will come again and receive you unto myself. To this day, those words have not yet been fulfilled, but one day they will be. His coming will be personal. He is personally coming back. We can also say, secondly, that his coming will be glorious. Acts chapter 1 tells us that the Lord Jesus was caught up in a cloud and taken to heaven. You learn that between the accounts of the Gospels and the account in Acts. Caught up into a cloud and carried up into heaven. The cloud, I believe, that carried our Saviour to heaven was no ordinary cloud. In fact, I'm going to suggest that it was the same cloud that led the children of Israel through the wilderness, through the years of their wandering. The same cloud that descended upon the tabernacle of the temple to demonstrate the visible presence of God amongst his people. I believe that's the same cloud that the Lord Jesus ascended to heaven. Luke 21 and verse 27, tells us something wonderful. And again, if you've got your Bible open, it's good to look up these verses. Luke chapter 21 and verse 27. And then shall they see the son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. Perhaps the best way to understand that statement is to compare the circumstances surrounding the first and the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. The first time that he came, he came virtually unnoticed by the world. The second time that he comes, we are told that every eye shall see him. At his first coming, he humbled himself, being born in the stable in Bethlehem. that he returns. He's not coming back as a babe to be wrapped in swaddling clothes. He's coming back as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. At his first coming to this world, he endured the mockery of men who despised him for his goodness. And although he was the son of God, he allowed them to crucify, to beat, to mock, to scourge, And he did that that he might provide salvation for his people. But when he comes again, the mockery will cease, for he will rule the nations with a rod of iron. He came before as the Lamb of God to be offered a sacrifice, but he comes again as the Lion of the tribe of Judah. 2,000 years ago, the religious leaders shouted and scorned. He saved others himself. He cannot save, but the day is coming when the whole world will see the Lord Jesus as he really is. He's coming back in that cloud of glory and every eye shall see him. And when that happens, we're told that every knee shall bow before him and every tongue confess unto him that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. When we think of his first coming, we speak of his humiliation, his condescension. the laying aside of the glory that he had with the Father from all eternity, to take upon himself a body of flesh and to live amongst men. His time here upon earth was one of humility for him. Despised, rejected, crucified, put to death. When he comes again, we'll exchange that word for glory. He's coming in the glory of His person and every eye shall see Him. And at the very brightness of His glory, we were told of how men will call upon the mountains to fall upon them and to hide them from His gaze. Nothing could be more natural than the triumphant return of our victorious Lord. Though he was once despised and rejected, one day he will return in power and great glory, heralded by the angels, accompanied by the saints of every age. What's going to happen when Christ returns? What will happen when he comes in glory? Well, there are certain scriptures we could turn to that give us a little bit of help. 1 Thessalonians 4 being one of those scriptures. 1 Thessalonians 4 and verse 16 tells us what will happen upon the return of Christ. First thing that we notice is this, he will raise the dead in Christ from their graves. Verse 16, for the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God, and the dead in Christ shall rise first. We know that upon the moment of death, that the soul and the body are separated one from the other. Our spirits go to be with God. Our bodies are laid into the ground, but we're told that when Christ shall return, there shall be a reuniting of body and soul. The dead bodies of believers will return to life in a moment in a twinkling of an eye. They'll be raised immortal and incorruptible with a glorified body like unto our saviors when he rose on that resurrection morning. How will such a great miracle happen? I can't answer that for you. But I know that if God can raise his own son from the dead, he can also raise those who follow him. For the dead in Christ shall rise, those bodies incorruptible. to be reunited with departed spirits. What happens next? Verse 17 tells us then, we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the earth. Those believers that are still alive at the return of Christ They'll witness the resurrection of the dead in Christ. They're reuniting with the Savior, and then those that are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the earth. We're going to be lifted off the earth, chains forever. Our mortal bodies will put on immortalities, transformed by the power of God, and we will never die. We're told in Philippians 3 in verse 21 that the Lord Jesus Christ will change our vile body that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body. Some people say there's nothing more certain as death and taxes, but I know one thing's surer than that. Some Christians will never die. One generation, the final one, will be alive when Christ returns and that generation of believers will never taste death but will be caught up to be with Christ in the air. Now what happens next? Well then Christ will reward his servants when he comes again. Sometimes we say departed loved ones who die in faith that they have gone to their reward Of course, in one sense that's true, but in the fullest sense, the reward still awaits one for that moment when we stand before Christ as his people to receive his evaluation of what we have done upon this earth, to receive our rewards for service. We also note that when Christ comes again, that he will establish his kingdom and rule over the nations of this world. You see, at this present time, the devil is described as the prince of the power of the earth. He seeks to usurp the position and the rightful place of Christ as the king of all things. Of course, he's only an usurper. But that's why the Apostle John tells us that the whole world lieth in wickedness, literally under the control of the wicked one. You only have to read the headlines every day to know that to be true. Why else can you, or how else can you explain a 13 year old opening fire in a classroom? How else can you explain the greed that causes men to destroy one another? How else can we account for the broken homes, the abortion, the sodomy, the adultery, the theft, the flood of immorality that pollutes The Bible offers us the only explanation. Sin has entered the world. The devil has sought to hijack this planet. He's not willing to let it go without a fight. For thousands of years, God has been moving to wrest the earth and its people out of the grip of the wicked one. 2,000 years ago, the Lord Jesus Christ defeated Satan when he rose from the dead and ascended to the right hand of God. But that evil spirit in his death throes still fights as though he has something to accomplish, but his doom is certain. When Christ returns, the devil will be defeated once and for all. He'll be cast into that bottomless pit. And when the Savior returns, everyone will know that he is Lord from the least to the greatest, from the youngest to the oldest. Nations will no longer go to war against nation. Men will beat their swords into plowshares. At such an age, the poets have sung, the philosophers have dreamed, the politicians have waxed eloquent in their promises, and it will finally come true when Christ returns in glory. His coming will be personal. His coming will be glorious. We also say, thirdly, his coming will be or is imminent. The Bible tells us that the coming of Christ is imminent. It does not simply mean that it could happen at any moment. No matter what else might be said about the writers of the New Testament and about Christians in general, there is no doubt that they all believe that Christ might return in their own generation. And I think that's been the normal attitude of Christians in every generation. It's certainly true in our generation too. Again and again, the New Testament exhorts the believer to watch and be ready, waiting for the return of Christ. You'll notice even in the words that we read in 1 Thessalonians 4 when Paul writes to the Thessalonian church about the coming of Christ. He speaks about the dead in Christ that shall rise first. And then he says, we which are alive. There was an anticipation by Paul even in his day that he would be alive to see the return of Christ. And obviously that wasn't the case. But every generation of believers from Paul to today has come to the conclusion that perhaps Christ could come in our time. Paul used the phrase, we who are alive. The Christian life is best lived in the future tense. In other words, that expectation that at any moment that Christ could return. Now it's been 2,000 years or so since these promises have been made and the Lord Jesus still hasn't come back. There's people that use that, of course, to try and sow discord and doubt. They say, perhaps he's forgotten us, or maybe he's made other plans, or maybe, well, maybe you've missed it. Well, if you feel like that, take heart. It may seem like a long time from our point of view, but don't forget we see things differently than God sees them. 2 Peter 3 verse 8, one day is with the Lord is a thousand years and a thousand years is one day. He said he would come back. He will come back. We don't have to fear or doubt. We just have to keep belief. We don't have to be concerned that he's forgotten about us or that we have somehow missed the schedule and the arrangement. We believe that the coming of Christ is imminent, something that we're waiting for. And we can sing with the hymn writers soon and very soon we're going to see the King. See, this is the hope that we have when we lay our loved ones to rest. This is the hope that meets with us new and fresh each morning as we look upon the sun as it rises, perhaps today. Every true Christian believes that the Lord Jesus Christ will come back someday and the hope is perhaps, perhaps today. He will not forget his promise. Now, Are we to be like the men of Galilee, standing looking up into the skies, waiting for his return? Of course not. The disciples were chided about that by the angels. Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? Please note that the term imminent does not mean immediate. They're not the same. Paul was not mistaken in the least when he says, we which are alive and remain. He expected to see Christ return in his lifetime, and he says, when we speak of the imminent return of Christ, we mean that there is an uncertainty as to its timing, but there's also the possibility of its nearness. Take heed, watch and pray, for you know not when that time is, the Savior. That should warn us against the danger of setting dates and reading too much into the signs of the times. I once heard of an old couple who were lying in bed one night and each night before they would go to sleep they would count off the chimes of an old grandfather clock that sat in the hallway. One night as they were lying in bed, the old fellow counted the chimes of the clock. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14. He jumped out of bed, shaking his wife and saying, wake up dear, it's later than it's ever been before. 14 o'clock. Well, we might say the same. about the coming of Christ. It's later than it's ever been before. We're closer than we've ever been before. I've said already that Christians differ concerning the details surrounding the second coming. Some questions will not be resolved until Christ returns, but I would press upon you this morning that our points of agreement are far greater than our points of disagreement. All true believers unite together in proclaiming that the Lord Jesus Christ will one day return to the earth. He's coming for his people. He's coming to bring us to glory. And I remind you again of the words of the angels, he made of Galilee, why stand he gazing up at the heaven? In other words, don't spend your days looking at the clouds, aimlessly dreaming and drifting along. What were they to do instead? The work that he had set for them to do. Before he was taken away from them, he gave them a great commission. Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. We are to be witnesses for Christ unto the ends of the earth. 2,000 years have passed and that job is not yet completed. That means there is enough work for us to be doing to keep busy until the return of Christ. And while we do not know the timing, the day, the date, the season, or whatever it might be, I can guarantee that each and every one of us here, if we're asked about the return of Christ and what we want to be doing in that day when he comes back again, busy for God, working for the master. I want to be in the fields of service with my sleeves rolled up and a sweat upon my brow, laboring for God and the service that he's given me to do, whatever that might be. So while we work and we pray, let us take heart in that blessed hope of the Church that Christ is returning. May it motivate us in our service. May it give us zeal and a desire for holiness and compassion and purity in the knowledge that Christ is coming again, that we will be brought unto him, our service evaluated. May the coming King make us ready for his return. May we be strengthened by this hope. May we continue to press forward with a passion and zeal in the service that the master has given us to do. May we seek to carry the good news of the gospel to the ends of the earth so that all might hear. That's our job as Christians, not to stand looking up into the clouds, trying to determine the times and the seasons and mark a day and date on our calendar. Don't do that. Be busy in the work that the Lord has given you to do. I have one last thing to say before we finish this morning, one final word. If the Lord Jesus Christ were to come back today, would you be ready to meet him? Would you be ready to meet him? If your answer is, I hope so, or I'm not sure, then you're not ready at all. But you can be. You can be by trusting in Him as your Saviour and coming to Him by faith. And to look to the work accomplished upon Calvary. I urge you to run to the cross. Lay hold upon the Saviour who died for the sins of men. Put your trust in Him. And when you do that, then you too can have hope that when Christ returns that you shall be with him. The Lord Jesus Christ is coming again, visibly, personally, gloriously. He's coming for his people to bring them to the heaven of God. He's coming to judge the nations and those who remain in their unbelief. Are you ready for his return? The Lord helps us to be ready.