JESUS’ SECOND COMING: Is He Coming Soon?
Jesus told his Apostles on more than one occasion that he would come again. Several times Jesus made statements which led his hearers to infer that, while he would soon leave this earth and return to his Father, he would presently return to establish the kingdom of heaven. As the conviction grew on his followers that he was going to leave them, and after he had departed from this world, it was only natural for all believers to lay fast hold upon these promises to return. The doctrine of the second coming of Christ thus became early incorporated into the teachings of the Christians, and almost every subsequent generation of followers has devoutly believed this truth and has confidently looked forward to his sometime coming. [UB 176:2:1]
If they were to part with their Master and Teacher, how much more did these first followers grasp at this promise to return, and they lost no time in associating the predicted destruction of Jerusalem with this promised second coming. Jesus took particular pains to prevent this misunderstanding, but to no avail. As his followers awakened to the fact that Jesus was not going to function as a temporal deliverer, and as they listened to his predictions of the overthrow of Jerusalem and the downfall of the Jewish nation, they most naturally began to associate his promised return with these catastrophic events. But when the Roman armies leveled the walls of Jerusalem, destroyed the Temple, and dispersed the Judean Jews, and still the Master did not reveal himself in power and glory, his followers began the formulation of that belief which eventually associated the second coming of Christ with the end of the age, even with the end of the world. [UB 176:2:2] [UB 176:4:2]
Of all the discourses which Jesus gave his Apostles, none ever became so confused in their minds as this one regarding the twofold subject of the destruction of Jerusalem and his own second coming. There was, therefore, little agreement between the subsequent written accounts based on the memories of what the Master said. Consequently, when the records were left blank concerning what Jesus had said, there grew up many traditions. No part of the gospel record ever suffered such confusing misconstruction as the remarks made by Jesus concerning his second coming. But Jesus admonished them that each generation of believers should carry on their work, in view of the possible return of the Son of Man . . . He also told them they should go about the work of the Father’s business, now and henceforth, even forevermore--"carry on until I come." [UB 176:2:8] [UB 176:3:3,6]
Many ages in the future when man has achieved a much higher level of spiritual development and when the holy Temple comes down upon earth, that event in this Temple of unparalleled beauty is always honored by the personal presence of the Paradise bestowal Son of that planet who comes to witness this great day and to participate in the ceremony. Jesus was our Paradise bestowal Son; therefore, the mortals on that day will experience the singular privilege of beholding Jesus in person. [UB 55:1:1-3] [Revelation: 21:2,10]
The authors of Part IV of The Urantia Book conjecture that it is only natural to believe that Jesus of Nazareth, now sovereign ruler of a vast universe, would be interested in coming back, not only once but even many times, to the world whereon he lived such a unique life and finally won for himself the Father’s unlimited bestowal of universe power and authority. [UB 176:4:1]
In
the Book of Revelation at 20:1-7 we read that Jesus will return to earth to
reign for a thousand years. At Luke 1:33 there appears the statement "And he
[Jesus] shall reign over the house of Jacob forever; and of his kingdom there
shall be no end."
The belief that Jesus would come to earth and
reign for a thousand years indicates a lack of knowledge regarding universe organization. In the mid-1930s there were already 3,840,101 inhabited planets in Jesus’ universe with some ten million in prospect for which he is responsible. Is it likely that Jesus would drop
everything and come to reign on earth for a thousand years while he neglects
the remainder of the inhabited planets in his universe? We are told that the
Apostles and many others were thoroughly confused about the circumstances
regarding his return. [UB 32:2:9]
Some of his followers thought his second coming
would occur at the end of the world. The coming world catastrophe [the Day of Armageddon] will surely
end the world as we know it.
Several years ago, about 1998 or 1999, I was told by celestial personnel that a Son of God would appear on this planet within the next few years. At that time I was not told the identity of the Son who would appear. However, I was later told that Elijah, the Old Testament prophet, would appear. According to Malachi 4:5 Elijah will appear before the Day of Armageddon [the great and dreadful day of the Lord]. Whether this is a literal statement I do not know.
Source:
The Urantia Book, Uversa Press.
The King James Study Bible, Thomas Nelson Publishers, Nashville.NOTE: Numerous statements in this paper were quoted verbatim from the source.
Revised February 26 2008