August 9, 2026

We live our lives by clocks, alarms, and calendar notifications.  We wait in traffic lines, countdown the days until vacation, and, at my age, watch the years fly by ever more rapidly.  Can you remember being twelve-years-old and waiting to become a teenager?  That was the slowest year of your young life, and then the “longest year in eternity” repeated itself at age fifteen as you anxiously waited to get your driver’s license, and again at age seventeen as you could hardly wait to become an adult.  Deep down, humanity is always waiting for something, but what are we waiting for ultimately?  As followers of Jesus Christ, we are not merely waiting for the weekend, a retirement date, or a change in the political climate.  Instead, we are waiting for a Person; we are waiting for the glorious, personal, visible return of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  In our Scripture for today, writing to one of his protégés, the Apostle Paul called this “the blessed hope” [Titus 2:13].  This is not a wishful, fingers-crossed kind of hope such as we hope our favorite team wins, or that it does not rain out our picnic.  In the Bible, hope means a confident expectation based on the unchanging promise of God. It is an anchor for the soul in a stormy world.

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Today, I want us to explore three profound truths about the return of Christ that give us an unshakable, eternal hope.  The first thing we must understand about Christ’s return is that it is an absolute certainty.  The Second Coming is not a minor footnote in the Bible; it is a dominant theme.  For every one prophecy about Christ’s first coming or advent; that is, His birth, and there are more than three hundred of those, there are eight prophecies about His Second Coming, meaning that there are more than twenty-four hundred prophecies about the Lord’s return.  The New Testament alone mentions Jesus’ return more than three-hundred times.  Jesus Himself promised it clearly in John 14:3, when He said, “After I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me so that you may be where I am.” [NCV]

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In 1942, during World War II, the overwhelming advance of enemy forces necessitated General Douglas MacArthur to evacuate the Philippines.  As he left the shores, on March 20, 1942, he made a famous, historic declaration to the Filipino people: “I shall return.”  For two and-a-half long, grueling years, the people of the Philippines suffered under brutal occupation.  Conditions were harsh, resources were scarce, and lives were lost, but they clung to those three words from the general.  They whispered them in secret.  They wrote them on hidden walls.  They knew the character of the man who said it, so they believed.  On October 20, 1944, General MacArthur waded ashore at Leyte Island.  He stepped onto the beach and announced, “People of the Philippines, I have returned.”  He kept his word.

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If an American military officer can keep a promise to return and bring liberation, how much more will all-powerful King of Kings and Lord of lords keep His word?  Upon His ascent back into heaven following His resurrection, Jesus did not leave us stranded.  He said, “I will come again,” and every tick of the cosmic clock brings us closer to that moment.  When Jesus came the first time, He came in humility and modesty.  As you recall, He was born in a borrowed manger and wrapped in swaddling clothes.  At His first advent, Jesus allowed sinful humanity to judge Him, then He willingly suffered on the cross of Calvary and died to ransom us from our sins, but when He returns, it will be completely different.

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Jesus will not return in weakness, but in absolute power and grandeur. Revelation 1:7 says, “Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes (nations) of the earth will mourn over Him [realizing their sin and guilt, and anticipating the coming wrath].  So it is to be.  Amen.” [AMP]  According to verses such as Second Timothy 4:1, Jesus will return, not in humility as the judged, but in full authority to judge the living and the dead.  Furthermore, in passages such as Revelation 21:4-5, He will come to right every wrong, to destroy evil once and for all, and to establish His perfect, eternal kingdom.

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I will readily admit that, outside of the old Road Runner cartoon, I am not a big classical music fan; perhaps you are not either.  Nonetheless, imagine going to a prestigious concert hall to hear a world-renowned orchestra perform a massive symphony.  The music rises, building incredible tension, dealing with dark, minor chords that represent sorrow, grief, and conflict.  The tension becomes almost unbearable.  Then, right at the peak of the movement, the conductor suddenly drops his baton, steps off the podium, and walks off the stage and out of the building.  The music stops on a dissonant, unresolved note.  The audience sits in stunned, uncomfortable silence.  The story of the music is incomplete.

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Our world today feels like that unfinished, discordant symphony.  We look around and see cancer victims, broken families, human trafficking, war, and sudden death.  It feels unresolved, but the return of Jesus is the Conductor stepping back onto the podium.  When His feet touch the Mount of Olives, He will strike the final chord; He will resolve the tension.  He will wipe away every tear, banish death forever, and make all things new.  The return of Christ is the grand finale that brings ultimate justice and cosmic restoration.

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The absolute certainty of Christ’s return is not a passive theological concept, but one of the greatest driving forces for daily choices, character development, and spiritual focus.  This assurance is not an invitation to calculate dates, build bunkers, or withdraw from society; instead, it is a call to urgent, holy, and hopeful living.  In First John 3:3, the Bible tells us “This hope makes us keep ourselves holy, just as Christ is holy.” [CEV] Rather than causing fear, the reality of the Lord’s imminent return provides a deep sense of purpose, hope, and urgency for believers.

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As I just indicated, knowing that we will one day stand face-to-face with Jesus motivates us to live holy, honorable lives; that is, to turn away from worldly temptations and self-destructive habits.  We do that by staying active in prayer and the study of Scripture rather than becoming spiritually lazy, and by making choices today that we would be happy for Jesus to see if He returned tonight.  Because the exact timing of Christ’s return is unknown, we are inspired to maximize our time on earth rather than putting off important work.  This manifests itself in sharing our faith persistently so that others can experience salvation.  The brokenness of the world can easily breed despair.  The certainty of the Second Coming serves as a powerful emotional and spiritual anchor; realizing that current suffering is only temporary and will be completely undone when Christ restores the earth.  Being confident that God guarantees the final victory allows us to experience internal peace despite chaotic external circumstances.

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When we truly believe Jesus could return at any moment, it changes both our outlook on life and our priorities.  Imagine you are renting a beautiful house.  The owner of the house lives overseas, but he sends a message saying, “I am coming back to inspect the property.  I cannot tell you the exact day or hour I will return, but I am on my way.”  Knowing of the owner’s impending return, how do you live?  Do you let the trash pile up from the floor to the ceiling?  Do you knock holes in the walls?  Do you neglect the lawn?  Not if you respect the owner; instead, you keep the house clean, the lights on, and the front porch inviting.  You live in a constant state of eager readiness, waiting to welcome the returning owner home.  Jesus is the Owner of the house.  We are the managers of His creation and His Church. Living in light of His return means we want Him to find us doing His work when He arrives.  We want Him to find us loving our neighbors, sharing the Gospel, serving the poor, and living holy lives.

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The world offers us many counterfeit hopes.  It tells us that we will find fulfillment in the next purchase, the next promotion, or the next political cycle, but those things are shifting sand.  They cannot sustain the weight of your soul.  Our ultimate hope is vertical—it is eternal—it is Jesus Christ.  If the pain of this world has left you exhausted, look up.  If you are grieving the loss of a loved one who died in Christ, look up.  If your body is breaking down and your heart is heavy, look up.  The clouds will one day part; the trumpet will sound; the King will appear and we will be with Him forever.  Let us close with the final prayer of the entire Bible, recorded in Revelation 22:20: “‘. . . Even so, come, Lord Jesus!’” [NKJV]