He Shall Come Again Chapter 31

A Timeline of Jesus’ Life The Mysteries of the Holy Rosary—

The Second Coming When Jesus Ascended into heaven, two angels stood by the disciples and said to them, “Men of Galilee, why are you standing there looking at the sky? This Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven will return in the same way as you have seen him going into heaven.” (Acts 1: 11) The return of Jesus at the end of time is called the Second Coming.

Bible Teachings About the Second Coming Luke 21: 8-36 and Mark 13:5-37 –signs of the time Wars and Tumult Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom Great earthquakes Famine and pestilence Terrors and great signs from heaven They will persecute you This will be a time for you to bear testimony 2 Peter 3:10 It will be immediate, loud, and the earth will be consumed Revelation 21-22 There will be a new heaven and a new earth

General Judgment At this Second Coming, the trumpets will sound, the dead will rise, and the whole human race will be assembled before the judgment seat of Christ. It is then that all will be made clear to everyone: the wisdom, knowledge, graciousness, mercy, patience, loving kindness, and justice of the God. The just will be rewarded, and the unjust will be damned. Purgatory will not be needed after the General Judgment.

General Judgment Second Coming At the General Judgment, every man’s deeds, even the most secret, will be made known.  Everyone will see and appreciate the holiness of the just-whether they had hardly ever sinned or were great sinners that overcame their sins.  Everyone will see and appreciate the justice of God in banishing the unrepentant from his sight into hell forever. Knowing all of this, how do you feel knowing that everyone will know all of our sins? We might be embarrassed when we think about our sins being revealed before everyone, but at that same time, we will not mind for it will give great glory to God in showing his mercy and grace to help us overcome our sins. With General Judgment comes the resurrection of the body (see the Creed). Every man is a body-soul unity, and the body of each person will be raised up and reunited with the soul.

Resurrection of the Body Man was not made to be a disembodied spirit; he is a creature composed of body and soul. To be complete, body and soul must be brought together again. This will happen at the Second Coming. Every body will be resurrected and united with the soul- even those of the condemned.  For the condemned, spiritual suffering will also become physical suffering for eternity. The glorified resurrected body is our own and will be like Jesus’: Lucid:  It is beautiful and perfect. Agile:  It can move through space at the speed of thought. Immortal:  It will not die again. Impassible:  It is incapable of suffering. Spiritual:  The will rules the body perfectly.

Assumption of Mary It can be hard for us to understand what glorified bodies means, but we have an example to look to in Mary: She was human like us, but she was immaculate. Therefore, we can see in her some of what we will one day have. When the course of her earthly life was finished, she went to heaven, body and soul. In the same way, we will one day live in heaven and our souls will be reunited with our bodies. Mary is our example, our intercessor, and a sign of our hope.

Jesus Above all, at the Second Coming, Jesus Christ the Savior, who suffered such humiliations, will be fully vindicated, exalted, glorified, and honored. Revelation 5:11-13  Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels surrounding the throne and the living creatures and the elders; they numbered myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, 12 singing with full voice, “Worthy is the Lamb that was slaughtered to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!”  Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, singing, “To the one seated on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!”

Preparations We are all striving towards the goal of heaven. We should work to live our lives in anticipation of the truths of the Last Days. May we say with St. Paul: I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing. 2 Timothy 4:7-8