Personal Coming of Christ

The church in the apostles’ time did not teach that the world would be converted and that Christ would reign only spiritually. Christians did not generally believe that way until about the beginning of the eighteenth century. This doctrine taught people to look far in the future for the coming of the Lord and prevented them from noticing the signs announcing His approach. It led many to neglect preparing to meet their Lord.LF 136.1

Miller found that the Bible plainly taught the literal, personal coming of Christ. “The Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God.” “They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.” “As the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.” “The Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him.” “And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect.” (1 Thessalonians 4:16; Matthew 24:30, 27; 25:31; 24:31.)LF 136.2

When Jesus comes, the righteous dead will be raised and the righteous living changed. “We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed—in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.” “The dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.” (1 Corinthians 15:51-53; 1 Thessalonians 4:16, 17.)LF 136.3

In our present condition we human beings are mortal and corruptible, but the kingdom of God will be incorruptible. Therefore in our present condition we cannot enter into the kingdom of God. When Jesus comes, He gives immortality to His people, and then He calls them to inherit the kingdom that has been theirs only by promise up to then.LF 136.4