Jesus' return was promised by two angels who appeared to his disciples at his ascension, as Luke relates in Acts 1:10–11: “While they looked steadily toward heaven as he ascended, two men dressed in white stood by them and said, ‘You men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up to heaven? This same Jesus, who is taken from you into heaven, shall come back in the same manner as you have seen him taken up.’”

Maranatha

Three New Testament texts refer to “Maranatha”; one in the Aramaic, and the other two in translation. In 1 Corinthians 16:22 the Apostle Paul says, “If any man does not love the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be Anathema Maranatha.” In other words, “let him be accursed; the Lord comes.” Or, more likely, he means the Lord is nearby, as in, “the Lord sees and judges; we do not have to worry about it.” Many Bible scholars see Philippians 4:4–5 as having the same point, though the Aramaic form Maran atha does not appear there: “Rejoice in the Lord always; I repeat, rejoice. Let your moderation be known to all men. The Lord is at hand.”

Jesus Returns

All Christians believe in the Second Coming (among those who hold the Nicene Creed, Apostles Creed, or both as definitive, which all but some liberal and post-Christians do). In the Apostles Creed that belief is expressed: “He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty, whence he shall come to judge the living and the dead.”

In the Nicene Creed, the same belief is stated as follows: “he suffered and was buried; and the third day he rose again, according to the Scriptures; and ascended into heaven, and sits on the right hand of the Father; and he shall come again, with glory, to judge the living and the dead; whose kingdom shall have no end.”

The epistle of James the Lord's brother has a similar teaching in chapter 5:8–9: “Be patient; establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord draws nigh. Don't hold grudges against one another, brethren, lest you be condemned. Behold, the judge stands at the door.”James' take on the Lord's nearness incorporates both the idea that the Lord is always present, watching, and also that his “coming back is drawing near,” ambiguously connecting his omnipresence with his Second Advent.

Ambiguity Is Key

Most references to the Second Advent are widely believed to include this ambiguity. In fact, in Paul's epistles, this ambiguous sense of his presence and his return is thought of as the essence of the Christian's hope, which is a major theme in Paul's writing. The most pointed instance of this in Paul's writings is Titus 2:13–14: “Looking for the blessed hope and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ, that being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.” Here, Paul specifically refers to our hope as the Second Coming, but also ties every other kind of hope we have arising from our faith in him to that event.

Patience Required

One of the most provocative passages about the Second Coming is Hebrews 10:36–39: “You must have patience so that, after you have done the will of God, you might receive what has been promised. For a little while yet, then he who shall come will come, and will not tarry. The just shall live by faith, but if any man draws back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him. But we are not the type who draw back to perdition; but the type who believe to the saving of the soul.”

In other words, it won't be long until the Lord comes, so wait patiently. In fact, as seen in the previous passage, he's already at the door. The writer of Hebrews seems to think Jesus' coming is going to happen at any time in this first generation of the church, but as it did not occur, many Christians think the point that God wants to convey is that we should always live as though Jesus is at the door, but not be anxious about it. Death is, after all, a type of Second Coming also, as God sends his angels to escort home those of his faithful who have believed to the end.