The Coming of Jesus

Summary: The Coming of the Lord, in a few words

The so-called "second coming of Jesus" is an expression absent from the Scriptures, although widely accepted by Christian tradition.
The Bible, however, speaks of the parousia, the manifest presence of Christ, as a process that has already begun, and that is fulfilled in us, not only outside of us.

Jesus promised to return, and He returned, as Spirit.
Since Pentecost, He dwells in those who believe.
The true hope is not to see Him returning in the skies, but to see Him being formed within the children of God.

Yes, there will be a final manifestation. But it will not be a surprise to those who already live in the light.

The coming of the Lord is not chronological.
It is spiritual. And it has already begun.

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The Coming of the Lord: what if it is not as they expect?

The hope of the coming of the Lord has always been a central theme for many Christians. Over the centuries, it was shaped by doctrines, sermons, films and traditions that built a very specific picture of what would happen: a sky opening, a glorious Christ descending visibly, the world being judged and, at last, the "end times."

But is this really what the Scriptures reveal?

What if what we have called the "second coming" is not exactly as it was taught?

What if this expectation, so deeply rooted in tradition, is making us look at the sky, when we should be looking within?

Perhaps it is worth pausing, with reverence, and asking: what did Jesus really say about his coming?
What did the apostles understand? What do the sacred texts reveal when we read them without filters?

This article does not intend to deconstruct anyone's faith, but to open space for a more attentive listening.
I do not bring absolute certainties here, but a sincere invitation: let us look together at the Bible, without hurry, without fear, without tradition.

After all, if He has already come in us... are we prepared to recognize Him?

What tradition taught us

From early on, many of us heard that Jesus would come a second time, this time not as a servant, but as King, with power and glory, "in the clouds," before the whole world. The picture was clear: a visible, physical, triumphant return, which would end human history and inaugurate a new time.

Sermons, films, books and songs reinforced this idea with intensity. Passages such as Matthew 24, Acts 1, 1 Thessalonians 4 and Revelation 19 were read as a literal script of future events. In many churches, this theme became a synonym for hope, and also for fear. The coming of the Lord came to be awaited with anxiety by some, and with dread by others.

This construction was called "the second coming of Christ," although, as we saw, the Bible itself never uses that expression.
The term arose in the history of theology, especially after the second century, when the first systematizations of the Christian faith began to be organized.
Later, in the nineteenth century, with the rise of dispensationalism, this view crystallized into a detailed eschatological script, with timetables, prophetic maps and even dates being calculated.

However sincere this expectation may be, we need to ask with humility: did tradition correctly grasp what the Scriptures are saying?

Could it be that we interpreted as literal what was symbolic?
Could it be that we transferred to the future and to heaven something that was already promised for now and for within?

Tradition taught us to wait for an event in the sky.
But what if the Bible is calling us to recognize a presence already among us?

What Jesus really said

When the disciples asked Jesus about the "end," they were impressed by the grandeur of the temple.
Then Jesus said:

"Do you see all this? I assure you, not one stone will be left here on another; all will be thrown down." (Matthew 24:2)

They then asked:

"Tell us, when will these things happen? And what will be the sign of your coming (parousia) and of the end of the age (aion)?" (Matthew 24:3)

This verse, often used to speak of the "end of the world," is in fact more precise than it seems:

The Greek word "parousia" does not mean "return," but manifest presence.
It was used at the time to describe the arrival of a king or authority in a city. It is not merely about "coming again," but about being revealed with glory.

The word translated as "world" (end of the age) is "aion," which means age, cycle, system.
Jesus, therefore, was not speaking of the end of the planet, but of the end of an age, in this case, the age of the Jewish religious system, centered on the temple.

Furthermore, Jesus warns against illusory expectations:

"If anyone says to you: 'Look! Here is the Christ!' or 'There he is!', do not believe it... For the Kingdom of God does not come in a visible way. Nor will they say: 'Here he is,' or 'There he is'; because the Kingdom of God is among you." (Matthew 24:23 / Luke 17:20-21)

And he promised:

"I will not leave you orphans. I will come back to you." (John 14:18)

This promise is fulfilled in Acts 2, with the outpouring of the Spirit.
The same Jesus who ascended to heaven is the one who returns as a life-giving Spirit (1 Corinthians 15:45), dwelling in us.

"On that day you will understand that I am in my Father, you in me, and I in you." (John 14:20)

This is not a future wait, but a present reality for those who believe.

Has He already come?

If we look carefully at the Gospels and the apostolic letters, we notice something surprising: the promise of the coming of the Lord has already begun to be fulfilled, and not in a spectacular or visible way, as many expected, but in a deep, spiritual and transforming way.

The resurrection was not the end, but the beginning of a new kind of presence.
Jesus did not merely appear again after having been crucified: He began to be recognized in another way.

He appeared to the disciples with a different body.
Some recognized him by his voice, others in the breaking of bread.
Many, at first, did not know who He was.

"But their eyes were kept from recognizing him" (Luke 24:16)

Something had changed. The presence now required discernment.

"I will not leave you orphans. I will come back to you." (John 14:18)

This "return" promised by Jesus was not postponed to a future event.
It happened in Acts 2, when the Holy Spirit was poured out on everyone:

"Suddenly a sound came from heaven, like a very strong wind... All were filled with the Holy Spirit..." (Acts 2:2-4)

There was Christ in Spirit, coming to dwell in his own.
The "coming" of Jesus now happens not outside of us, but in us.

Paul was not waiting for Jesus to return in glory in the skies to begin his mission.
On the contrary: Christ revealed himself to him on the road to Damascus, in a personal and spiritual way.

After that, the apostle began to preach something revolutionary:

"Christ in you, the hope of glory." (Colossians 1:27)
"It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me." (Galatians 2:20)

The center of the Christian faith is not a waiting, but a living presence, dwelling now.
It is not about a chronological return, but about a spiritual recognition.

Whoever waits only for a "return" in the sky has perhaps not yet realized that He has already come in Spirit, and that what the Father desires is for Christ to be formed within us.

So... how does He come?

If the promise of the coming of the Lord has already begun to be fulfilled, and continues to be fulfilled in us, how should we understand the passages that speak of a glorious manifestation, of a Son of Man coming on the clouds, and of "every eye will see him"?

These texts exist, and they are precious. But they need to be read with the same care with which one reads poetry or prophecy: with spiritual discernment, and not with the eyes of the flesh.

"Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and all the nations of the earth will mourn and will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory." (Matthew 24:30)

At first glance, this seems to describe a literal scene in the sky.

But, in biblical language, "cloud" is not merely an atmospheric phenomenon. It is a symbol of the divine presence.

God came in a cloud on Sinai (Exodus 19:9)
The cloud covered the tabernacle in the desert (Exodus 40:34)
The glory of the Lord filled the temple in the form of a cloud (1 Kings 8:10)
At the transfiguration, a cloud enveloped them (Luke 9:34)
Jesus was hidden by a cloud as he ascended (Acts 1:9)

In all these cases, the cloud does not hide, it reveals.
It represents the glory of God, his presence invisible, but real.

"He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him" (Revelation 1:7)

Here, the glory is revealed, and everyone will see, not necessarily with natural eyes, but with a heart awakened by the light.

To see, in the Scriptures, often means: to recognize, to discern, to understand spiritually.

"No one can see the Kingdom of God unless they are born again" (John 3:3)

"Paul's prayer: that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened" (Ephesians 1:18)

To see, then, is inner revelation.

The coming of the Lord is linked to glory and also to judgment.
But even judgment is not only destruction, it is light. It is exposure. It is separation between what is and what pretends to be.

"When the Lord comes, he will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will reveal the purposes of the hearts" (1 Corinthians 4:5)

The coming of the Lord does not merely happen, it reveals.
That is why many "mourn," as Matthew 24:30 says.
Not because He comes to punish, but because His presence unmasks the false and reveals what is true.

Jesus comes as a glorious presence in Spirit, discernible to those who have open eyes.
And He will come, yes, in a full and irreversible way, not as an external novelty, but as the total revelation of what already dwells among us.

Christ in us: the hope of glory

At the center of the Christian faith there is not a waiting.
There is a presence. A life planted in us. A glory that will not come, but that has already come, and is being revealed.

The greatest promise of the Scriptures is not Jesus returning from outside, but Christ being formed within.

It is true: He came in flesh.
But He was rejected.

Then He came in Spirit.
And many still have not recognized him.

But God's promise, since the prophets, was this: no longer to dwell in temples made by human hands, but in the hearts of people.

"I will dwell with them and among them. I will be their God, and they will be my people." (2 Corinthians 6:16)

"This is the mystery that was hidden for centuries and generations, but has now been revealed: Christ in you, the hope of glory." (Colossians 1:26-27)

Paul, who before had zealously awaited the Messiah, had his vision transformed on the road to Damascus.
From then on, he stopped waiting for someone from outside, and began to suffer birth pains until Christ was formed within:

"My little children, for whom I am again suffering birth pains, until Christ is formed in you." (Galatians 4:19)

This is the true coming: not a visit, but a gestation.
Not a spectacle, but a birth.
Not an intervention from above, but an inner transformation.

The "hope of glory" is not to see Jesus returning with the eyes.
It is to see Christ being revealed in us, through the Spirit, with his visible fruit: love, joy, peace, patience... self-control.

The glory that will come is already being generated.
And those who believe do not live looking at the sky, they live with eyes open to the invisible, attentive to the voice of the Spirit, willing to cooperate and be transformed.

To wait for the coming of the Lord is not merely to await a day.
It is to allow Him to come today, and tomorrow as well, until every shadow dissipates, and what is perfect is manifested.

Is there still a judgment?

Yes. The Bible speaks of judgment, and it is important not to run from this.
But biblical judgment is not like a human court, nor like traditional religious punishment.
God's judgment is light. It is truth that reveals. It is fire that burns away what cannot remain.

And this process has already begun.

Jesus promised that, upon sending the Spirit, He would convict the world of three things, and He himself explained the meaning of each one:

"When he comes, he will convict the world of sin, of righteousness and of judgment:
of sin, because people do not believe in me;
of righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you will see me no more;
and of judgment, because the prince of this world is already condemned." (John 16:8-11)

See how profound this is:

Sin is not the list of bad deeds, but unbelief in Christ.
Righteousness is not the reward of behavior, but the exaltation of Jesus at the right hand of the Father.
Judgment is not the condemnation of the human being, but the defeat of the evil system that enslaved him.

Judgment is not against people, it is against the prince of this world.

"This is the condemnation: the light has come into the world, but people loved darkness more than light." (John 3:19)

The light does not condemn, it only shows what is hidden.

Therefore, judgment is not only future. It already happens every time the light of the Spirit reaches us and reveals who we are.

"For it is time for judgment to begin with the house of God." (1 Peter 4:17)

Those who believe do not escape judgment, on the contrary: they are the first to go through it, because they are the first to be visited by the light.

"The fire will test the quality of each one's work." (1 Corinthians 3:13)

Judgment is the separation between weeds and wheat, between what is of God and what is of the flesh.
It is the sword that divides soul and spirit.
It is the sieve that shakes us, so that only what is eternal remains.

"His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gather his wheat into the barn, but burn the chaff with fire that never goes out." (Matthew 3:12)

The fire of judgment does not destroy the wheat, it only removes the chaff.

Whoever walks in the Spirit does not fear judgment, he desires to be judged by the light.
Because he knows that God's judgment is for correction, not for condemnation.

"If we judged ourselves, we would not be judged. But when we are judged by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be condemned with the world." (1 Corinthians 11:31-32)

Judgment is not a final fright, it is a process of separation that has already begun.
It does not come against us, it comes in favor of the truth.
And whoever loves the light receives judgment as liberation.

The true hope

Tradition taught us to wait for a day.
The Bible calls us to recognize a today.

To wait for the coming of the Lord is not simply to await an event in the sky, but to live in such a way that He can be revealed now, in us.

Jesus did not go away leaving a void.
He promised to return, and He returned as Spirit.
He promised to be with us, and He is in us.

"On that day you will understand that I am in my Father, you in me, and I in you." (John 14:20)

This promise does not point to a future spectacle, but to a present spiritual reality: Christ in us, formed in us, living in us.

When he says: "Keep watch, for you do not know the day or the hour," Jesus was not calling us to live tense, but attentive.
It is not a vigil of fear, but of light.

The Spirit is the one who reveals the hour.
The Spirit is the one who convicts us.
The Spirit is the one who prepares us, and He is already here.

Yes, there will be a moment when everything will be revealed.
A last manifestation, glorious and unstoppable.
But it will not be a surprise to those who already live in the light.
Because, for them, the glory has already begun.

The true hope is not a Christ returning from afar
it is a Christ growing within.

The coming of the Lord will not be a fright for those who have already received Him.
It will simply be the day when the invisible becomes visible.

Perhaps the question is not "When will He come?"
But rather:
"Are we letting Him come now?"
"Are we being formed by this presence?"

The coming of the Lord is not a matter of chronology.
It is a matter of recognition, transformation, surrender.