His Two Comings

His Two Comings

The LORD has sent this message to every land: “Tell the people of Israel, ‘Look, your Savior is coming. See, he brings his reward with him as he comes.’”

Isaiah 62:11

The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel (which means “God is with us”).

Isaiah 7:14

The woman said, “I know the Messiah is coming—the one who is called Christ. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.”

John 4:25

Throughout Old Testament times, God spoke through the prophets, giving the people of Israel details about what to look for in the coming Messiah. These previews were given so people would long for his coming and recognize him when he arrived. In light of the prophecies, the people looked forward to one great day of the Lord when the Messiah would come, defeat his enemies, save his people, establish his Kingdom, and rule in peace and righteousness forever. As the Israelites saw it, the coming of the Messiah meant the end of this age and the beginning of the age to come. It meant the establishment of the eternal Kingdom of God on earth. And it meant the fulfillment of all God’s promises.

What the people didn’t expect was that the fulfillment of the prophecies would be split into two comings of the Messiah—once as a Lamb to give himself as a sacrifice for sin, and again as a Lion to defeat his enemies and establish his eternal Kingdom. Many of the Old Testament prophecies about the Messiah are still awaiting fulfillment. So just as the people of Israel longed for the Messiah to come, we long for him to come again. And because we can see that all the prophecies related to his first coming were fulfilled exactly, we have confidence that all the remaining promises about Jesus will be fulfilled when he comes again.

DISCUSSION STARTERS

Look up the following prophecies and discuss whether they refer to Jesus’ first coming, his second coming, or both.

• Genesis 3:15
• Isaiah 9:1-7
• Isaiah 52:13–53:12
• Jeremiah 23:5-6
• Daniel 7:13-14
• Zechariah 9:9