Christ Will Return
Introduction – This paper was written by a high school and college
mathematics instructor. It was not written or produced by any particular
church or denomination. It is provided free of charge as an expression of
God’s love for mankind.
Sir Isaac Newton was one of the greatest
scientists and mathematicians of all time. Isaac Newton and Gottfried von
Leibniz are largely credited with the development of the field of Calculus.
Many people are most familiar with Newton’s Laws of Motion. However, his
work in the scientific realm was amazingly extensive. His studies and
publications included laws of temperature change, fluid mechanics and
viscosity, the reflecting telescope, prisms and the visible spectrum of
light, gravity, the motion of planets, the shape of the earth (an oblate
spheroid), the speed of sound, and the trajectory of comets. Perhaps Newton
may have influenced the course of history with his contribution to the
scientific and industrial revolution.
Although it is not frequently
mentioned in scientific context, Sir Isaac Newton was a devoted believer in
Jesus Christ and spent a great amount of time studying the Bible. He was
particularly interested in the return of Christ. His writings and letters
were sold by his heirs at auction in 1936. Newton wrote more than two
million words in articles, books, tracts, and pamphlets concerning his Bible
studies, including, Observations Upon the Prophecies of Daniel and the
Apocalypse of St. John (1733). In summary, Newton calculated the return of
Christ toward the year 2060. Interestingly, Newton’s purpose for
writing this book was “not to assert when the time of the end shall be, but
to put a stop to the rash conjectures of fanciful men who are frequently
predicting the time of the end, and by doing so bring the sacred prophecies
into discredit as often as their predictions fail.” He believed in the
literal return of Christ and did not want false teachers to discredit Bible
prophecy by their sensationalism and speculation.
Let us be clear on
two points. First, Jesus Christ will certainly return to this earth. After
His crucifixion and resurrection, Christ ascended into heaven with the
promise that He would return. Jesus said, “And if I go and prepare a place
for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am,
there ye may be also” (John 14:3 KJV). “9And
when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a
cloud received him out of their sight. 10And
while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men
stood by them in white apparel; 11Which
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” (Acts 1:9-11 KJV).
Second, no
person, denomination, cult, or group knows the exact day or hour of His
return. Since the day of His ascension, people have tried to set a day
for the return of Christ, even though the Bible specifically warns against
all such speculation. “6When
they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt
thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?
7And he said unto them, It is not
for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his
own power” (Acts 1:6-7 KJV). “But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no,
not the angels of heaven, but my Father only” (Matthew 24:36 KJV). Sadly,
the Bible says that many people will be deceived by counterfeit teachers,
“For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive
many” (Matthew 24:5 KJV).
People frequently ask, “Why doesn’t God do
something about all the problems and suffering in the world?” In truth, God
is far more patient than any man. “The Lord is not slack concerning his
promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not
willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (2
Peter 3:9 KJV). In these last days, millions of souls are turning to Christ
throughout the world. Hell was made for the devil and his angels. Man
goes there by choice. In His love and patience, God is allowing time for
mankind to repent and turn to Him. Even where there is little
religious freedom, God’s Spirit is still moving in a powerful way as
believers are sharing the love of Christ and meeting together in spite of
persecution. From a historical view, prosperity has often been more
damaging to the church than persecution. Meanwhile, good and evil grow
together until the end. The disciples asked Jesus to explain the
parable of the wheat and the tares. "37He
answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man;
38The field is the world; the
good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of
the wicked one; 39The enemy
that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the
reapers are the angels. 40As
therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in
the end of this world. 41The
Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his
kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity;
42And shall cast them into a furnace
of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. 43Then
shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father.
Who hath ears to hear, let him hear” (Matthew 13:37-43 KJV).
At
some point, a popular world leader will arise. He is probably living today.
He will seem to bring peace and mislead many. An agreement will be reached
in the middle east, including Israel. The temple in Jerusalem will be
rebuilt and this corrupt leader will desecrate the temple by setting up his
image. “16And he causeth all,
both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in
their right hand, or in their foreheads: 17And
that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the
beast, or the number of his name. 18Here
is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast:
for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and
six” (Revelation 13:16-18 KJV). Many say that 666 can be found in the
alignment bars of the UPC marketing code, while others deny the claim and
say that it is just a coincidence. Nevertheless, any sane person must
recognize that technology has brought an unprecedented global economic
network that has never existed in the history of the world. The network and
data processing are in place, worldwide. It will only be necessary to
change the scanning devices. Billions of dollars are being lost to fraud
and identity theft. Already, there are calls for identification marks or
electronic implants.
However, the return of Christ will not be
doomsday, if your hope is in Christ and you are looking for His appearing.
“27Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world
giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be
afraid. 28Ye have heard how I
said unto you, I go away, and come again unto you. If ye loved me, ye would
rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father: for my Father is greater than
I. 29And now I have told you
before it come to pass, that, when it is come to pass, ye might believe”
(John 14:27-29 KJV).
If the Spirit of God is speaking to you today, then today is your day
of salvation. Second Corinthians 6:2 says that at just the right time,
God heard you. If you cry out to God, He will hear you. On the
day of salvation, He will help you. He will send the Holy Spirit to
guide you and draw you to Him. Certainly, the "right time" is now.
Today is the day of salvation! There is no guarantee of tomorrow.
Your heart may become hard and your ears deaf to His call. Today, if
you are fortunate enough to hear His voice, I urge you to say yes to Christ
and His love.
You can experience a spiritual rebirth today.
Romans 10:9 (KJV) says, “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord
Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the
dead, thou shalt be saved.”
Will you pray today and begin your
journey with Christ? “Lord Jesus, I confess with my mouth today that
You are the only begotten Son of the living God. I repent and turn
from my sins. I believe that You died on the cross to save me from my
punishment and I receive You as Savior and Lord of my life. Please
help me to grow in Your fellowship and serve You all the days of my life.
I ask these things in Jesus’ name. Amen.”
If you prayed that
prayer today from your heart, then you have become a child of God. You
have been born again and your adventure with Christ begins. Read the
Bible each day, beginning with the book of John. Talk to God each day
and ask for His help. Find a church that loves Jesus, loves people,
worships God with enthusiasm, and teaches the Bible. They will help
and encourage you on your journey with Christ.
May God bless you,
Ken Campbell
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