The crown jewel of Handel’s entire oratorio, “The Messiah,” is the Hallelujah Chorus. It is taken directly from Revelation 19 and it has specifically to do with the second coming of Christ.
Hallelujah! for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.
The kingdoms of this world is become the kingdoms of our Lord,
and of His Christ: and He shall reign for ever and ever.
King of Kings, and Lord of Lords.
In the entire NT, word “Hallelujah” is only used four times, and they all occur in Revelation 19:1–6 in preparation for the second coming of Jesus.
The second coming is prophesied in the Old Testament (“on that day his feet shall stand on the Mount of Olives,” Zechariah 14:4). Jesus proclaimed it in the Gospels (“I will come again, and receive you to myself,” John 14:2–3). Angels publicized it in Acts 1:11 at his ascension—“this same Jesus shall so come in like manner.” The early church preached it: “Maranatha,” “our Lord come!” (1 Corinthians 16:22). Jesus pronounced it three times in Revelation 22:7, 12, 20— “Behold, I come quickly.”
The second coming is presented in the New Testament. Over 300 verses in the New Testament speak of the second coming of Christ. Thirteen of the twenty-seven NT books speak explicitly of the second coming. The other fourteen speak implicitly of it.
He came the first time with a star in the east; he comes the second time as the bright and morning star. He came the first time as a helpless baby; he comes the second time as a conquering king. He came the first time riding a donkey into Jerusalem; he comes the second time riding a white horse.
From the Mount of Olives he departed in Acts 1:11, and to the Mount of Olives he will return according to Zechariah 14:4.
Of course, we all want to know—when? When is he coming back? Is the current coronavirus pandemic a sign of the second coming of Christ? No, and here’s why. Ask yourself: “Were any of the pandemics of the past a signal that Jesus was about to return to the earth?” No. As of this writing, the death toll from coronavirus worldwide is 171,718. Revelation 9 says that during the Great Tribulation, just before the return of Christ, one-third of the world’s population will die. When you see that happening, turn your eyes to the eastern sky, for your redemption draws nigh! Until then, pandemics like coronavirus are “just the beginning of birth pangs” as Jesus said in Matthew 24. They are little harbingers of things to come.
The disciples wanted to know the time of Jesus’s return in Acts 1:6. Jesus told them that is information they don’t need to know. In fact, no one knows. We know the fact of his coming but not the time of his coming. One thing we do know: his second coming is imminent—it could happen at any moment.
When it comes to the second coming of Christ, Christians are not on the planning committee; we are on the reception committee!
In Acts 1:9–11, the ascension of Jesus back to heaven was literal, visible, and personal. The angels informed the disciples that his return would be the same: “This same Jesus . . . will come in the same way as you have seen him go into heaven.”
Our assignment is to live each day in the light of the second coming of Jesus. This will impel us to heed four calls:
The call to Worship – call to holiness
The call to Witness – call to evangelism
The call to Work – call to service
The call to Wait – call to faithfulness
Even so, come Lord Jesus!
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