Mark 14:61b-63 - Again the high priest asked him, “Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?”

“I am,” said Jesus. “And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.”

The high priest tore his clothes. “Why do we need any more witnesses?” he asked. “You have heard the blasphemy. What do you think?” They all condemned him as worthy of death.

As the final hours of Jesus’ first coming wound down, he pointed to the final hours of the earth and his Second Coming.

Most of us don’t consider Jesus’ return very often. Even for many of the faithful, there’s an aspect of far-fetchedness to it. We’ve never seen anything like this in our lives. It’s hard to imagine.

But people hope for things all the time that are hard to imagine and tons of them come to pass. What about a rocket launching to the moon? A heart transplant? Self-driving cars? Artificial General Intelligence?

“These are just scientific, technological advancements,” someone may object.

True. But consider:

  1. All of them were once considered pipe dreams - hence the genre science fiction.
  2. Humans have accomplished (or are on the brink of accomplishing) these things in our finitude.

If there is an infinitely knowing and powerful God, what scientific technology does he possess that would allow for a spectacular final scene of this world? It would be peanuts to him. What is now maligned as “religious fiction” could easily come to pass.

Christ’s first coming was, in one way, very understated - he came as a baby in a poor place and lived a humble life. His Second Coming will be a blowout with a banquet:

Isaiah 25:6 - On this mountain the LORD of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine.

And who will be the guests at this feast?

Isaiah 25:9 - It will be said on that day, “Behold, this is our God; we have waited for him, that he might save us. This is the LORD; we have waited for him; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.”

The guests will be those who hope in him.

1 Corinthians 13:13 - And now these three remain: faith, hope and love.

May we fight for faith and hope and love. May God allay our doubts and strengthen our faith by allowing us to see him more clearly as he is.

Jesus the Innocent was condemned to die. God himself will have the final condemnation. It won’t just be food that’s consumed at this party:

Isaiah 25:8 - He will swallow up death forever.