The SHALL of Christ's Return

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Acts 1:9-11
   And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight.
   And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel;
   Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.

The promises of God are absolute. God is faithful to His Word and He shall perform that which He has promised in His Word. Jesus Christ ascended into heaven on that day and that SAME Jesus Christ SHALL - ABSOLUTELY come back in the same manner.

Acts 3:19-21
   Repent [change] ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord;
   And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you:
   Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began.

Peter spoke these words to the unsaved people who had witnessed the power of God manifested in the healing of a lame man. The unsaved man or woman must change and be converted. He or she must get born again and receive remission of sins. God has promised that a time of refreshing and restitution SHALL - ABSOLUTELY come and that He SHALL - ABSOLUTELY send Jesus Christ back from the heavens at that time. It will be a time of joy. A time of refreshing. A time when all things will be restored. It will be a glorious day.

Romans 5:8-9
But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.

Christ died for us. He was our substitute and we have an identification with him. We are justified NOW. It is just as if we never sinned, because Jesus Christ paid the price for us. To an even greater degree (much more then), we SHALL - ABSOLUTELY be saved from wrath through him. The wrath to come in the future is not something that believers will face. God has saved us from the wrath to come and made us just in His sight.

Romans 6:4-5, 8
Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life,
For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:
. . . Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him:

Jesus Christ was our complete substitute and we have a perfect identification with the risen Christ. When he was baptized, we were baptized. When he died, we died. When he was raised, we were raised. Just as Jesus Christ was raised to life eternal with a new spiritual body, we also SHALL - ABSOLUTELY be in the likeness of his resurrection and live with him.

Romans 8:16-18
   The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:
   And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.
   For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.

We are God's children. The glory that SHALL - ABSOLUTELY be revealed in us when Christ returns makes the hassles and suffering we may go through at this present time insignificant.

1 Corinthians 13:10-12
   But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.
   When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.
   For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.

Now we are the children of God with His gift of holy spirit in us. We have the Word of God and we can operate manifestations of holy spirit. Still, we only know in part. We have just a glimpse of what we will know when Christ returns. We see things as in a dark mirror or in a riddle. But when he returns we SHALL - ABSOLUTELY see things clearly. Face to face. We SHALL know God in the same way that He knows us. WOW! What a great promise.

1 Corinthians 15:49-54
   And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.
   Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.
   Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,
   In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
   For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.
   So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.

We SHALL - ABSOLUTELY be changed and receive a new incorruptible, spiritual body. Nine times in these few verses God uses the word SHALL. I guess He does not want there to be any question about the surety of His promise.

Philippians 4:20-21
For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ:
Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.

The body that we SHALL - ABSOLUTELY receive when the Lord Jesus Christ returns is going to be a body just like his glorious resurrected body!

Colossians 3:4
When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.

How many times does God have to remind us? We SHALL - ABSOLUTELY be glorified with him.

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
   But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.
   For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.
   For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.
   For the Lord himself shall descend form 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 air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
   Wherefore comfort one another with these words.

The context and emphasis in 1 Corinthians was on the new body that we shall receive. The context and emphasis here, in 1 Thessalonians, is concerning those believers who are asleep. What a comfort to know that those believers who have died SHALL - ABSOLUTELY be raised and SHALL - ABSOLUTELY be gathered together with us to meet the Lord in the air.

2 Timothy 4:8
Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.

How can you not love the appearing of the Lord Jesus Christ when you understand from God's Word all that SHALL - ABSOLUTELY be given us at that day.

There are many many more passages of scripture written regarding the promise of Christ's return and what we shall receive at that day. We do not know all of the greatness that this promise encompasses but there is one thing that is sure - We SHALL - ABSOLUTELY be like him!

1 John 3:2
Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.