The Second Coming of Christ: Where Do You Stand?

Years ago when I was taking a Bachelor of Science degree in biology, my eight professors in this field agreed on several philosophical assumptions. They agreed that homo sapiens evolved out of primeval life organisms over the course of millions of years. They agreed that Darwin wrote the Bible of evolutionary biology in his book On the Origin of Species. They agreed, when I asked each one, that there is no God, no Christ, and no Second Coming.

This was difficult for me to hear as a new Christian. I believed that the Holy Bible possesses far greater wisdom for human living than the Origin of Species does. I experienced Jesus Christ as a Person dear to my heart. And I had faith in the New Testament proclamation, including Jesus' own testimony, that Christ would return at the end of human history to judge the living and the dead (John 5:28-29).

It was even difficult for me to sort out the facts of scientific findings in zoology, embryology, molecular biology, and genetics from the philosophy of scientific materialism, a perspective that says the Earth and the Cosmos will keep evolving forever, even if the human species becomes extinct.

The problem with this secular philosophy is that with no meaningful end to human history, there is no meaning along the way. Contrast this bleak perspective to the biblical witness that Jesus Christ will return to earth and gather those whom he redeemed on the cross. This will be a "royal visit," his "appearing" and "coming" (Greek: parousia).

We can't comprehend the full glory of Christ's return to this world, but Christians know it will bring us greater concreteness to the Holy Spirit's power and the Father's love than we are already experiencing. The Savior's second advent will be personal and physical (Mt 24:44; Acts 1:11; Col 3:4; Heb 9:28). And visible to all people (Mark 8:38; 2 Thess 1:10; Rev 1:7). 

Whereas demons trembled with fear at Jesus' first coming, Christians will tremble with joy at his second coming. In fact, the great watershed between those persons who love Christ's appearing and those who despise it will be whether they bow before Him in loving surrender or cringe in His presence with hateful rejection. 

Either way, Jesus comes to end history as we presently know it, one that is filled with tragedy and adversity. He will raise the dead and judge the world. He will usher in a transfigured Heaven/Earth suited for everlasting life in resurrected bodies like Jesus has. 

Yes, we will be the same persons who lived on Earth, whether in ancient civilizations or in the modern world. For it is the same God who created us in His image who will fill us with His glory. We'll be well-equipped for new personal adventures in Christ, brimming with excitement, new chapters written beyond the reach of sin, pain, and death.

We Christians can view our own eventual death as an appointment for intimacy with God and others that will never end—as real as this world, but infinitely more cherished.

And what of those who would scoff at the Second Coming with a superiority complex born of modern scientific materialism? Their heads will bow in silent deference to the King of Glory whom they must obey, even though they reject Him.

To Die Is To Be In The Presence of The Lord

Compass psychotheology asserts that everything about Christianity is interpersonal. This means that no human being is alone in his or her existence; that every person is born, lives, and dies in an interpersonal relationship with God and others.

To highlight this truth we can look at human death in a new light, and lose our fear about it. The physical death and resurrection of Jesus Christ foretells what will happen to every Christian.

Jesus' resurrection was an interpersonal event involving the love and power of all three Persons of the Trinity (John 10:17-18). Jesus said he had to power to lay down his life and take it up again. We also know that the Spirit of God raised Jesus from the dead (Ro 8:11), according to the Father's plan. The important insight is that although Jesus felt very much alone and filled with dread at the moment he became the atoning sacrifice for our sins, he was not abandoned by the Father and the Holy Spirit.

We, too, may feel alone or helpless at the time of death. We may see it coming through a terminal disease, or it may strike suddenly in a fatal car crash. Either way, we are not alone. If Christ is our personal Savior, the Trinity infuses us with the same resurrection power that raised Christ from the grave. We can feel comfort knowing that Jesus has proceeded us in death and will awaken us to eternal life.

Jesus rose from the dead through the creative renewing of his original body, a body now glorified, deathless, and ascended into heaven until his Second Coming. You will receive a body like Christ's, vital and everlasting, when you die in him, or if he returns during your earthly life (1 Cor 15:50-54). 

“It is the same way with the resurrection of the dead. Our earthly bodies are planted in the ground when we die, but they will be raised to live forever. Our bodies are buried in brokenness, but they will be raised in glory. They are buried in weakness, but they will be raised in strength” (I Cor 15:42-43).

It won't have mattered if you died in an airplane crash, were incinerated in a fire, or drowned in the ocean. It won't have mattered even if you suffered the pain of cancer or passed away quietly in your own bed. To die is to be in the presence of the Lord. And to be in the presence of the Lord brings joy unspeakable and full of glory (1 Peter 1:8). Indeed, "Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints" (Psalms 116:15).

What have I learned as a psychologist about dying? I've learned to lose my fear of dying by intensifying my trust in Christ's resurrection and the Spirit of God's power to resurrect me. It has proved helpful to reflect on my mortality. I have often imagined myself dying and waking up seeing Jesus. Though I have never seen his face, I will see it then. And though his human eyes first looked into the eyes of his disciples, they will then look directly into mine.

The interpersonal significance of the resurrection lies in how our unique personalities are preserved through death and brought forward into eternal life with God and the community of the redeemed. Our original selves in Christ, seeing him face to face for the first time, will answer all of our earthly questions, and lead to a fascinating and never-ending life in Heaven.

Why God Wants A Humble Mind From You

Here is a Bible verse that has seen me through sixty years of Christian faith, and challenges me to this day: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take” (Proverbs 3:5-6).

All who walk with the Lord -- you and me included -- are challenged to open our minds to His mysterious ways. Abraham opened his mind to God's strange promise that his ninety-year-old wife, Sarah would conceive a child. His humble mind allowed him to believe the impossible dream. 

Moses shook in his sandals when he thought of confronting Pharoah, the most powerful man on earth. God told him to give Pharoah an ultimatum to deliver the Hebrew people out of Egypt. Albeit reluctantly, Moses opened his mind to God's direct guidance. Moses' flexibility allowed him to obey God's unusual commands.

An angel appeared to Mary and announced that the Holy Spirit would mysteriously impregnate her with the Son of God. The angel praised Mary for her humble and receptive mind.

After Christ's ascension into heaven, the apostle Peter made up his mind that only Jews could be saved. The Holy Spirit gave him an inspired dream that contradicted his rigid bias: “Do not call something unclean if God has made it clean” (Acts 10:15). Peter opened his mind and responded to God's new directions. He preached the Gospel in the Gentile household of Cornelius. After all gathered had received the Holy Spirit, Peter said, “I see very clearly that God shows no favoritism. In every nation he accepts those who fear him and do what is right” (Acts 10:34-35).

 Scripture refers to the importance of a humble mind in Isaiah 55:9:

For just as the heavens are higher than the earth,
    so my ways are higher than your ways
    and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.

 NEW WINESKINS

Sometimes we think we've figured out God. We judge everyone according to what we think are God's standards. Occasionally, God has to dash our prideful thinking to pieces.

Compass Psychotheology reveals ten different ways that people from all cultures and every age can close their minds and hearts to God. This is why your personality matters so much to Christ. Every rigid personality pattern embodies represents a set of inflexible attitudes captured by in name of the pattern: Narcissistic Boaster; Compulsive Controller; Antisocial Rule-breaker; Paranoid Arguer; Dependent Pleaser; Histrionic Storyteller; Schizoid Loner, and Avoidant Worriers.

We all hold one or more of these unconscious mindsets. It is part of the sin that burdens us and sets us at odds with one another. We even resist and grieve the Holy Spirit when He would otherwise guide us to health and wholeness. As long as these mindsets are intact, our thinking is intractable. We unknowingly resist the grand adventure of God's will for us. 

Following the Lord on a daily basis requires a maximum openness so that we can keep revising our narrow assumptions into more complete versions of the Way, the Life, and the Truth in Jesus Christ.

Remember Jesus' metaphor about wineskins? The new wine of the Spirit-led life must continuously be put into fresh wineskins of new attitudes, perceptions. and values. Humble minds are constantly renewed, while rigid minds get stuck in a God-resistant rut.

The more obedient to Christ's Spirit we become, the more our minds are humbled. We are responsive to the genius of God in daily living. Giving up our rigid personality patterns and underlying attitudes brings us liberty -- a sense of creative living that is fresh and original -- in the Holy Spirit. “For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom” (2 Corinthians 3:17).