Mark 13 Lesson

THE SECOND COMING OF JESUS

Jesus is coming back!  The Bible makes this abundantly clear in the following five scriptures:

1. “So Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him.” - Hebrews 9:28,
2. “Behold, He is comingwith the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him. So it is to be. Amen.” - Revelation 1:7,
3. “For just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes as far as the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be.” - Mathew 24:27,
4. “There will be signs in the sun and moon and stars, and on the earth distress among nations, in perplexity at the roaring of the sea and the waves, people fainting from fear and the expectation of the things that are coming upon the world; for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.  And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.  But when these things begin to take place, straighten up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.” - Luke 21:25-28,
5. “Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to reward each one as his work deserves.” -Revelation 22:12.

ONLY GOD KNOWS WHEN JESUS IS GOING TO RETURN

The Bible is also clear that nobody knows when that will be, except for God.

• “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.” – Mathew 24:36.
• “Be on the alert then, because you do not know the day nor the hour.” - Mathew 25:13.
• “For this reason you must be ready as well; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think He will.” -Mathew 24:44.

Since we do not know when Jesus is going to return, we need to get prepared now.  We cannot afford to wait.What if Jesus comes tomorrow?  Next week?  Or next year? Will we be prepared?  Or do we have some work to do? 

TAKING A SPIRITUAL INVENTORY

The best way to determine if we are prepared for the second coming of Jesus is by taking a spiritual inventory.  This analysis will help us to determine if we have done everything that we need to do with respect to the five matters of salvation identified in the Bible.

Different denominations have differing opinions about what is necessary to go to Heaven. In the end, what matters is what God says is important through His inspired Word.

FIVE MATTERS OF SALVATION

Listed below are five things the Bible teaches us that are necessary for salvation along with the corresponding scriptures.

1. Believe in Jesus. “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved.” – Acts 16:31, 
2. Confess our belief in Him. “For with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.” – Romans 10:10, 
3. Repent (turn away from) of our sins. “Unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.” – Luke 13:3, 
4. Be baptized. “Baptism now saves you—not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for a good conscience—through the resurrection of Jesus Christ .” – 1 Peter 3:21 and “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.” – Mark 16:16, 
5. Obey God’s commandments. “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter.” – Mathew 7:21. 

SEVEN THINGS WE CAN DO TO PREPARE FOR THE RETURN OF JESUS

In addition to taking our spiritual inventory and checking our progress against the five matters of salvation, there are seven things we can do to prepare for the return, or second coming, of Jesus.

1. We can study God’s worddaily so that we will be able to rightly divide the Word of God.  We also increase in faith the more we read the Bible (Romans 10:17),
2. We can ask for help when we have questions,
3. We canprayto God often,
4. We canremove the stumbling blocksin our lives that tempt us to sin ,
5. We can surround ourselves with people that help us to become more like Christ,
6. We canlove God with all our heart, mind, and soul,
7. And finally, we canlove our neighbor.

CONCLUSION

None of us know when Jesus is going to return.  He promised us that He would return, and Jesus always keeps His promises.  Therefore, the time to prepare for his return is now!

Preparation begins with a self-assessment.  Taking our spiritual inventory allows us to evaluate the parts of our lives that need attention.   When we take our spiritual inventory, we want to start with the five matters of salvation and quickly complete any of those requirements that we have not yet completed.

Additionally, our lesson identified seven things that we can do to get ready for the return of Jesus:

1. We can study God’s worddailyso that we will be able to rightly divide the Word of God.  We also increase in faith the more we read the Bible (Romans 10:17),
2. We can ask for help when we have questions,
3. We canprayto God often,
4. We canremove the stumbling blocksin our lives that tempt us to sin ,
5. We can surround ourselves with people that help us to become more like Christ,
6. We canlove God with all our heart, mind, and soul,
7. And finally, we canlove our neighbor.

We will conclude today’s lesson with these beautiful words written by the Apostle John in his first epistle:

• “Beloved, let us love one another, for loveis from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.  The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love.  By this, the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him.  In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.  Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.” – 1 John 4:7-21.