“There are many rooms in my Father’s house,” the Lord Jesus Himself declared as He neared the end of His earthly ministry. Would I have informed you that I was going to set up a space for you if that weren’t the case? According to John 14:2-3, “And if I go and make a place for you, I will come again and take you to myself, that where I am, you may also be.”
This promise helps us realize that believers should look forward to Jesus’ second coming rather than be terrified of it. The Bible even closes with a prayer pleading for Jesus’ quick arrival: “Come, Lord Jesus!” (Verse 22:20). We look forward to the happy expectation of being with Jesus eternally upon His return.
His second coming
In His second coming the Lord Jesus will come on the clouds and everybody will see Him (Luke 21:27, Revelation 1:7). While this is a time of rejoicing for all God’s children, it will be a time of judgment for all who have not put their faith in Jesus: “This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels. He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of his power on the day he comes to be glorified in his holy people and to be marveled at among all those who have believed” (2 Thessalonians 1:7-10).
The day of the second coming of the Lord Jesus is also called the last day (see John 6:39-54), because it is the end of this world. “The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare” (2 Peter 3:10). But God will make a new heaven and a new earth. All believers in Christ will be raised from the death, and will enjoy this new earth where there will be no more death, no more mourning, no more crying, no more pain. And best of all: “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God” (Revelation 21:3).
Repent and believe
The time leading up to Jesus’ second coming is now. We still have time to turn from our sins and put our faith in the Lord Jesus. Then, rather than being among those who will suffer eternal punishment, we will be among those who will spend eternity with Jesus on the new planet that He is preparing for us.
