How Christmas Points Us To Christ’s Second Coming

“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,
So that all the peoples, nations and populations of all languages
Might serve Him.
His dominion is an everlasting dominion
Which will not pass away;
And His kingdom is one
Which will not be destroyed.”
Daniel 7:13-14, NASB

At Christmastime, it’s easy to think so much about what God has done in the past that we forget to look toward the future. As wonderful as it was, Jesus’ first coming will pale in comparison to His second.

3 Ways His Second Coming Will Be like the First

When Jesus returns in all his glory, there is one thing that will not have changed. He will still be the Son of Man. He is still the same God who is called Emmanuel, the Word made flesh, the one who walked among us.

Even John recognized that fact when he wrote Revelation 1:13, which says: “In the middle of the lampstands I saw one like a son of man, clothed in a robe reaching to the feet, and wrapped around the chest with a golden sash.” (NASB)

Christ was changed, but John still recognized him.

When He returns we will too.

The second similarity of the second coming of Christ is simply the fact that He will come.

It’s been more than 2,000 years since His feet walked this earth, but He has never failed to fulfill His promises. He said he would return, and you can fully believe he will.

He is not a God who keeps His distance. He came to live among us once; He will return to take us to live with Him as well. That’s what Daniel was writing about; it’s also what Jesus himself said in John 14:2-3:

“In My Father’s house are many rooms; if that were not so, I would have told you, because I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I am coming again and will take you to Myself, so that where I am, there you also will be.” (NASB)

And thirdly, when He does return, He will again be worshipped.

This time, however, instead of just a handful of shepherds and a few wise men, “every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:10-11, NASB)

3 Ways His Second Coming Will Be Different from the First

When Jesus was born, He left the throne room of heaven and took on flesh to walk among us like one of us. He became a “son of man” and was born with all the frailty of every babe who has ever been swaddled.

When Christ first came, He came in weakness. When He returns, He will come in power.

He will arrive not on the earth, but in the clouds, with all the authority and glory that have always been His. There will be no humble lodgings or parents fleeing in fear from jealous kings. He will not come like a child but as the King He is, absolutely ready to reign.

The Emmanuel who walked with us, serving others and washing their feet, will return and be served by all nations and peoples.

His second coming will not be an event witnessed only by a few people and some barnyard animals. Revelation 1:7 says, “every eye will see Him.”

The busy people of Bethlehem may have missed the first coming, but they won’t miss the second.

And, unlike His first coming, there will be no end to His second. He won’t walk among us for 33 years then head back to heaven this time. His kingdom will have come, and it will last forever.

That thought breathes hope into our holidays and life into our bones, just like it did for John who fell “as though dead” at Jesus’ feet in Revelation 1.

Jesus told him, “Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last, and the living One; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore.” (Revelation 1:17-18, NASB)

That’s what Christmas is really about. Yes, we celebrate the fact that Jesus came, but we also rejoice in the fact that He is coming again.

Author: Charlie White from MississippiMom.com