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Max Lucado tells how, in 1989, a terrible earthquake in Armenia killed 30,000 people. Among those uninjured were a man and his wife. Their son, Armon, was in an elementary school that collapsed. The father rushed to the school. He had always told Armon that he would come for him if he was ever in trouble. He worked intensely removing debris trying to find Armon. After thirty-eight hours he heard his child\'s voice and with the help of other workers freed Armon and the other children.

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Armon said, \"I told them you would come because you had promised. I told them you would always be there for me. I knew you would come.\"¹

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As we approach the Christmas season, we are again reminded of Christmas, Act I, when God showed his eternal love for mankind by sending his son, Jesus Christ, to earth to be born as a babe in Bethlehem so that, some thirty-three years later, he would give his life as a ransom to die in our place on a cruel Roman cross. This was to pay the just penalty for all our sins so we could be freely forgiven by God and live with him in heaven forever after life here on earth.
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Just as Armon\'s father promised his son he would always come for him, before Jesus returned to heaven he made the same promise to his disciples and followers assuring them that he would come again to take them to be with him forever.²

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Immediately following Jesus’ return to heaven, two angels appeared to the disciples and affirmed Christ’s promise saying, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”³

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I told them you would come
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As inspiring and wonderful as was Armon’s father’s promise to his son, it pales in significance compared to the promise made by Jesus to his disciples and followers.

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Christmas, Act II
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First of all, Christ’s first coming is an indisputable fact of history. This event was repeatedly promised and prophesied about in the Old Testament over a period of several hundred years.

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For instance, 700 years before Christ was born in Bethlehem, Micah wrote, \"But you, Bethlehem...though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel.”⁴

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A thousand years before Christ\'s death David, the psalmist, predicted how Jesus would die. “They have pierced my hands and my feet,” he wrote.⁵ This happened at Christ\'s crucifixion. This is even more remarkable when considering that in David\'s time, death by crucifixion was unknown. This inhumane, torturous death was first used by the Persians centuries later.

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David also predicted that Christ would be betrayed by a friend, that people would “throw dice” for his clothes, and that he would die with criminals.⁶ He also predicted the dying Savior\'s cry: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”⁷ All of these predictions came true.

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Six hundred years prior to Christ\'s coming Daniel predicted when it would be. One hundred years later Zechariah told how Christ would enter Jerusalem riding on a donkey; how he would be betrayed for 30 pieces of silver; and how this money would be used to buy a potter\'s field.⁸

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Just as all these prophecies in the Old Testament section of the Bible—written hundreds of years before Christ’s first coming—were fulfilled in minutest detail, we can be just as certain that all the prophecies concerning Christ’s second coming written in the New Testament will also be fulfilled in minutest detail.

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The exact day of Jesus’ return is known only to God.⁹ However, God’s Word does give us some indication as to the nearness of that time. As Jesus said, “As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left. Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come.”¹⁰
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According to some Bible scholars it may have taken Noah about 100 years to build the ark. However, long before the flood happened, the people of Noah’s day had a continual warning that the flood was coming. Tragically, all but Noah’s family disregarded the warning and believed only when the flood came—and then it was too late.

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Today’s world has had 2000 years since Jesus promised that he would come again. He warned, “For you yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night. While they are saying, ‘Peace and safety!’ then destruction will come upon them suddenly like labor pains upon a woman with child, and they will not escape.¹¹

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Every eye will see him.

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The way today’s world is under threat of terrorism, nuclear expansion and worldwide political and financial upheaval, don’t be surprised if a charismatic powerful political leader arises and promises world peace and safety. This will be another sign of the nearness of Christ’s return.

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Jesus also said, “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.”¹² With today’s revolution in modern communications we are getting closer every day to seeing this prophecy fulfilled.

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Furthermore, from the Old Testament God’s Word predicted, “But as for you, Daniel, conceal these words and seal up the book until the end of time; many will go back and forth, and knowledge will increase.”¹³ Ours is certainly a day of people going back and forth all over the world. And we are certainly living in a time of an incredible explosion of information and knowledge especially with the computer, the Internet, and all of today’s electronic means of communication.

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The beginning of the end of time as we know it will be marked by Christ\'s return to earth. When this happens, Jesus said that every eye will see him.¹⁴ TV, the Internet, and modern technology has made this possible.

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Jesus IS coming again. He promised he would. The angles of God promised he would. And God in his Word, the Bible, promised that Jesus would come again

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Christmas, Act II, may be much closer than we think. The important thing is to be ready for Christ’s return. As Jesus said, \"So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man [Jesus] will come at an hour when you do not expect him.\"¹⁵

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To be sure you are ready for Christ\'s return be sure to read the article, “How to Be Sure You’re a Real Christian (without having to be religious” online at: http://tinyurl.com/8glq9.

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1. Adapted from Max Lucado, San Antonio, TX. 2. John 14:3. 3. Acts 1:11 (NIV). 4. Micah 5:2 (NIV). 5. Psalm 22:16 (NIV). 6. Psalm 41:9; 22:18. 7. Psalm 22:1 (NIV). 8. Daniel 9:25-26; Zechariah 9:9-10; 11:12. 9. Matthew 24:36. 10. Matthew 24:37-42 (NIV). 11. 1 Thessalonians 5:2-3 (NASB). 12. Matthew 24:14 (NIV). 13. Daniel 12:4 (NASB). 14. Revelation 1:7 (NIV). 15. Matthew 24:44 (NIV).

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