The prophecy of the Second Coming

“Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven.” This is a prophecy of Jesus’ Second Coming. “In just the same way” means that Jesus will return wrapped in a cloud of glory. There are several passages in the Bible where the cloud of glory and the Second Coming are tied together. (1) Daniel 7:13-14: “I kept looking in the night visions, And behold, with the clouds of heaven One like a son of man was coming, And He came up to the Ancient of Days And was presented before Him. And to Him was given dominion, Honor, and a kingdom…” (2) Matthew 24:30: “And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory.” (3) Revelation 1:7: “Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him…”

Unparallel characteristics of Christianity

The unparalleled characteristics of Christianity are as follows: (1) The death on the cross and burial. The Son of God, having become man, underwent a cursed death to redeem the sins of mankind. (2) Resurrection from the dead. The resurrection proves the validity of Jesus’ redemptive death and assures life after death. (3) Ascension. The resurrected Jesus sits at the right hand of God the Father, leading believers’ salvation to completion. This guarantees the completion of salvation for those who believe. The ascension of Jesus has profoundly significant theological implications. The ascension leads directly to Jesus sitting at the right hand of God: (1) Acts 2:33: “Therefore, since He has been exalted at the right hand of God, and has received the promise of the Holy Spirit from the Father, He has poured out this which you both see and hear.” (2) Hebrews 1:3: “And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.” (3) Hebrews 8:1-2: “Now the main point in what has been said is this: we have such a high priest, who has taken His seat at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens, a minister in the sanctuary and in the true tabernacle, which the Lord set up, not man.” (4) Hebrews 12:2: “looking only at Jesus, the originator and perfecter of the faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” We have a high priest who serves in the Most Holy Place in heaven. In Him is our encouragement.