Sermon Tone Analysis

I believe in God, the Father Almighty,

maker of heaven and earth;

And in Jesus Christ his only Son, our Lord; who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary,

suffered under Pontius Pilate,

was crucified, dead, and buried;

the third day he rose from the dead;

he ascended into heaven,

and sitteth at the right hand of God the Father Almighty;

from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,

the holy catholic church,

the communion of saints,

the forgiveness of sins,

the resurrection of the body,

and the life everlasting.

Amen.

Second coming of Jesus Christ

What is it?

Jesus Christ will return visibly and in glory at the end of history to raise the dead, judge the world, destroy all evil and opposition to God and consummate his kingdom.

Believers are encouraged to be prepared for his return, waiting with eagerness and joy.

A foretold event

In the OT

(NRSV) — 13 As I watched in the night visions, I saw one like a human being coming with the clouds of heaven.

And he came to the Ancient One and was presented before him.

14 To him was given dominion and glory and kingship, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him.

His dominion is an everlasting dominion that shall not pass away, and his kingship is one that shall never be destroyed.

See also ; ; ;

(NRSV) — 2 In days to come the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be raised above the hills; all the nations shall stream to it.

3 Many peoples shall come and say, “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths.”

For out of Zion shall go forth instruction, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.

4 He shall judge between the nations, and shall arbitrate for many peoples; they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.

(NRSV) — 4 but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked.

5 Righteousness shall be the belt around his waist, and faithfulness the belt around his loins.

6 The wolf shall live with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the kid, the calf and the lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them.

7 The cow and the bear shall graze, their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.

8 The nursing child shall play over the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put its hand on the adder’s den. 9 They will not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain; for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.

By Jesus Christ

(NRSV) — 30 Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see ‘the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven’ with power and great glory.

See also ; ; ; ; ;

(NRSV) — 27 “For the Son of Man is to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay everyone for what has been done.

(NRSV) — 31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory.

(NRSV) — 62 Jesus said, “I am; and ‘you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of the Power,’ and ‘coming with the clouds of heaven.’

”

(NRSV) — 40 You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour.”

(NRSV) — 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also.

By the angels at Jesus Christ’s ascension

(NRSV) — 11 They said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up toward heaven?

This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”

By the apostles

(NRSV) — 20 But our citizenship is in heaven, and it is from there that we are expecting a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.

See also ; ; ; ; ; ; ;

(NRSV) — 20 so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Messiah appointed for you, that is, Jesus, 21 who must remain in heaven until the time of universal restoration that God announced long ago through his holy prophets.

(NRSV) — 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.

(NRSV) — 13 And may he so strengthen your hearts in holiness that you may be blameless before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints.

(NRSV) — 16 For the Lord himself, with a cry of command, with the archangel’s call and with the sound of God’s trumpet, will descend from heaven, and the dead in Christ will rise first.

(NRSV) — 7 and to give relief to the afflicted as well as to us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels 8 in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.

9 These will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, separated from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might, 10 when he comes to be glorified by his saints and to be marveled at on that day among all who have believed, because our testimony to you was believed.

(NRSV) — 28 so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin, but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.

NT terms for the second coming

“Parousia”

Meaning literally “presence” or “coming”, the term was used in the NT world of a royal visit:

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(NRSV) — 3 When he was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will this be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”

(NRSV) — 7 Be patient, therefore, beloved, until the coming of the Lord.

The farmer waits for the precious crop from the earth, being patient with it until it receives the early and the late rains.

8 You also must be patient.

Strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near.

(NRSV) — 4 and saying, “Where is the promise of his coming?

For ever since our ancestors died, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation!”

(NRSV) — 28 And now, little children, abide in him, so that when he is revealed we may have confidence and not be put to shame before him at his coming.

“Apocalypsis”

Meaning literally “unveiling”, “apocalypsis” suggests that the second coming will make visible that which is already true of Jesus Christ but presently hidden from human sight:

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(NRSV) — 30 —it will be like that on the day that the Son of Man is revealed.

(NRSV) — 7 so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ.

(NRSV) — 7 and to give relief to the afflicted as well as to us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels

(NRSV) — 7 so that the genuineness of your faith—being more precious than gold that, though perishable, is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.

(NRSV) — 13 But rejoice insofar as you are sharing Christ’s sufferings, so that you may also be glad and shout for joy when his glory is revealed.

“Epiphaneia”

Meaning literally “appearing” or “manifestation”, the term suggests coming out into view from a hidden background:

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(NRSV) — 8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will destroy with the breath of his mouth, annihilating him by the manifestation of his coming.

(NRSV) — 14 to keep the commandment without spot or blame until the manifestation of our Lord Jesus Christ,

(NRSV) — 1 In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I solemnly urge you:

(NRSV) — 13 while we wait for the blessed hope and the manifestation of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.

When is it?

(some events that have to take place first)

The universal preaching of the gospel

The persecution of believers

See also ;

(NRSV) — 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you.

And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

(NRSV) — 7 He replied, “It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority.

8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

The persecution of believers

Apostasy, nominal religion and godlessness

See also ; ; ; ;

(NRSV) — 21 For at that time there will be great suffering, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be.

(NRSV) — 22 And if those days had not been cut short, no one would be saved; but for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short.

(NRSV) — 12 Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death; 13 and you will be hated by all because of my name.

But the one who endures to the end will be saved.

(NRSV) — 1 You must understand this, that in the last days distressing times will come.

(NRSV) — 14 I said to him, “Sir, you are the one that knows.”

Then he said to me, “These are they who have come out of the great ordeal; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.