“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” Acts 1:11

On the office desk of my late father-in-law there was a card which said, Perhaps Today. That little phrase says a lot. It’s a reminder of the greatest thing that is yet to happen. Something far better than world peace. Something superior to the provision of shelter, clothing and food for the millions who live in poverty. And something that surpasses the finding of a cure for AIDS, cancer or other diseases.

For the greatest thing that is yet to happen is the second coming of Jesus Christ. Yes, my father-in-law knew that the second coming is the one event that will make everything else pale into insignificance.

This is how it will be when Christ returns. People will be going about business as usual. They will be “eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage” Matthew 24:38. Then, at a time known only to the Father, when we least expect it, Christ is going to return personally and bodily (cf. Matthew 24:36, 44; Mark 13:26, 32; Acts 1:11). His return will be spectacularly visible and unmistakable. He will be seen “coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory” Matthew 24:30. And there will be “a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air” 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17.

The Bible says a whole lot more about the second coming of Christ. Just read the New Testament and this great truth will leap out at you from nearly every page. For there are 318 references to Christ’s return in the New Testament. That’s one out of every thirty verses. And it’s mentioned in 23 of the 27 books. Furthermore, for every prophecy in the Bible on the first coming of Christ, there are eight on Christ’s second coming.

So be prepared for Christ to return at any time. Be on the lookout. “Be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him” Matthew 24:44. Which, when boiled down, simply means you must “be on guard! Be alert!” For “you do not know when that time will come” Mark 13:33.

As my Dad said, Perhaps Today!