Jesus_In_The_MangerBefore He was born, the prophet Malachi discussed the first coming of the Lord:

  For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.
But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall.

Malachi 4:1-2

 

Book after book and prophet after prophet all came by the inspiration of God. Their purposes were each as unique as the authors who penned them and the audience who first received them, but they all have one thing in common: they all point (either explicitly or figuratively) to the day when the Savior would come.

Malachi writes mere centuries away from Jesus’ birth, and He tells His people to get right with God in advance of the Messiah’s arrival. He offers a fitting, final prophesy in the Old Testament, describing the coming Christ as the sunrise after a long, dark night. To those that reject Him: punishment (Malachi 4:1); to those that embrace Him: healing (Malachi 4:2).

The same message is carried to the world today.

second coming

 

For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
Wherefore comfort one another with these words.

1 Thessalonians 4:16-18

The Lord has come, He has died, risen again and ascended into Heaven, leaving behind the promise that He will return. While we await that wonderful day we take with us the promise that He will come back.

For those who have rejected Him, they will be punished; for those who have embraced Him, they will be healed for all Heavenly eternity.

His first coming is described as the sunrise, bringing with it hope for a relationship with God.

His second coming is not an ascension but a descent; the Son will come down from His Heavenly perch and the faithful will be brought back with Him for ever.

Are you ready?  If not, get ready!

Have a great day