Following His resurrection, Jesus gathered His disciples together and instructed them to wait in Jerusalem for the Father’s promised Holy Spirit to come upon them, and to give them the power to fulfill their mission – to be witnesses of Jesus Christ. After saying these things, Jesus was taken up into the sky and disappeared in a cloud out of the their sight.
Acts 1 tells us what happens next:
“While he was going, they were gazing into heaven, and suddenly two men in white clothes stood by them. They said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up into heaven? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come in the same way that you have seen him going into heaven.” (Acts 1:10-11 CSB)
Same Jesus, same way.
Just as Jesus ascended into heaven before their eyes following His resurrection, the same Jesus will one day return in the same way and descend from heaven. This is the certain hope of every true follower of Him.
For those who don’t know and follow Jesus, it will not be a good day. It will be a day of vengeance, judgment and wrath, resulting in the penalty of eternal destruction apart from the Lord’s presence. (2 Thessalonians 1:7-9).
But for those who know and follow Jesus, this is where God’s love, mercy and grace are so amazing.
On that day, because I know Jesus, I have nothing to fear. It will be a day of joy instead of judgment. A day of encountering His wonderful presence instead of His wrath. A day of eternal delight instead of destruction.
This is the day that I look forward to with such anticipation.
Come Lord Jesus, come!
