A small, three-paragraph statement that I read caused me to remember what the word of God says about the things that the gentleman wrote. I can see by the way he writes that he is intelligent. And I have no reason to believe that he is not sincere in what he said. I have many friends and loved ones who say the same thing, but not quite as well as our writer did.

He wrote, “Even if we don’t know when, we know someone is going to come. That someone is Jesus Christ, of course.”

But could it be that those who are still looking for his appearing are missing something important that the Lord’s word teaches? The answer is yes, there is much written that we must consider. Should we set our mind only on the future, or should we let the word of God show us the here and now? The choice is easy, isn’t it? We know the written word contains the promise of life with Christ our Lord.

God’s prophet Jeremiah knew perfectly how the Lord will appear to all that look for him. And he shows us what is required to find him.

“And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart. And I will be found of you, saith the LORD.” (Jeremiah 29:13-14)

To search for him with all our heart, we must first search our heart and be sure it’s clean. If we know that we should study the scriptures and don’t do it, we are found lacking.

And all sin must be put aside. Because, “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.” (Psalm 66:18) Each of us know the secret desires of our heart. And if we hunger and thirst for righteousness, we will obey the commandments of the Lord, which will cleanse us.

“Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.” (John 14:23).

The apostle Paul wrote, “So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.” (Hebrews 9:28)

Multitudes of well-meaning people are “Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ.” (Titus 2:13)

And they are looking for his return to be in a body of flesh and bone. And they believe that he will establish his kingdom at that time and sit on an earthly throne. But friend, go slow and consider all that the word of God reveals.

The faithful apostle Paul made a very easy to understand statement. “Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more.” (2 Corinthians 5:16)

Paul said that from this time forward we will not see Christ in the flesh. How then does he appear to us?

By looking at the verse our writer used, let’s think a little deeper about what the word said. “And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming.” (2 Thessalonians 2:8)

Before we make a final decision about what Paul is saying to us, we need to hear what he said concerning his preaching and writing.

He said, “But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory.” (1 Corinthians 2:7)

Before we can hear and understand the written word of God, that wicked spirit of Satan must be revealed. The one who continually casts stumbling blocks in the path of hungry seekers by the voice of his ministers who oppose and confuse the gospel of Christ. They are “transformed as the ministers of righteousness.” (2 Corinthians 11:15)

This wickedness must be revealed by the brightness of the spirit of his mouth, which is “the Spirit of truth.” (John 14:17) The brightness of his coming, the light of truth and understanding that reveals the hidden things of darkness. And they are many who attempt to take the kingdom of God by force.

Where is the kingdom of God? Let the highest authority in heaven and earth answer. Jesus said, “The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.” (Luke 17:20-21)

But the false teachers try to take away the words of Jesus and replace them with their own words, saying “the kingdom of God is in your midst,” instead of “within you.”

A ranking church member was with me here at home and we were discussing the kingdom of God and its coming. When I repeated what Jesus said, my visitor said, “No, that just means, in your midst.” I said no sir, that’s not what it means. You are in my midst, but you are not within me. If you will notice in the reference column of most bibles, it says the same thing, “in your midst.” That wicked spirit of Satan opposes the truth of the word at every opportunity.

The writer of the three-paragraph statement made one last statement that identifies a lot of people. He wrote, “The only revelation from God which Christians still await is the revelation of Jesus Christ at His second coming.”

“At the revelation of Jesus Christ” is not all there is to say about this great event. Jesus said, “But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.” (Luke 17:29-30)

Again, the words of Jesus take us a little further in understanding the revelation of himself. He offers us comfort when the enemies of our Lord and his deceivers would take away the hope that is in Christ. But those who trust his word will receive a blessing that the world will never know.

Jesus said, “Fear them not therefore: for there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; and hid, that shall not be known.” (Matt 10:26)

How will the mysteries of his word be made known to us? According to his promise. He said, “He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.” (John 14:21)

We will see the revelation of Jesus Christ the same way it came to the apostle Paul and others. The gospel of Jesus Christ revealed and understood.

“But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man. For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ.” (Galatians 1:11-12) Jesus revealed, at his coming, when he came to Paul and others in “the Spirit of truth.”

And then Paul had this testimony, “Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son.” (Colossians 1:13) Remember what Jesus said about the kingdom of God? It comes not by observation, but it is within you.

Jesus said, “It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.” (John 6:63)

Seeing that the words of Jesus are spirit, is it not reasonable then to understand that they must be spiritually discerned? As the apostle said, “But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God.” The understanding of the earthly man profits nothing, but the spiritual revelation of the word of God is life. As Paul said, “because they are spiritually discerned.” (1 Corinthians 2:14)

Let’s look again at the words of Jesus that are life when spiritually discerned. “But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all.” (Luke 17:29)

Not only Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed because of their ungodly deeds, which they continually committed, but it was as Moses said. “Then the LORD rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven; And he overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground.” (Gen 19:24-25)

And Jesus said, “Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.” (Luke 17:30)

We know that the natural destruction of those cities and their inhabitants took place as Jesus said, but can you see the spiritual warning of his words to you? The understanding that appears when he is revealed? Remember, Jesus said to those who love him and keep his commandments, I “will manifest myself to him.”

Do you not hear what Paul said? Christ came the first time to bear our sins. He appears the second time to those who look for him, when he is revealed to you.

Can you see the spiritual destruction of earth’s wicked inhabitants today? The destruction that the prophet Nahum spoke of. “Who can stand before his indignation? and who can abide in the fierceness of his anger? his fury is poured out like fire, and the rocks are thrown down by him.” (Nahum 1:6)

Notice, “his fury is poured out like fire.” Not like the natural fire in Lots day but the raging fire in our day that Isaiah described.

“For wickedness burneth as the fire: it shall devour the briers and thorns, and shall kindle in the thickets of the forest, and they shall mount up like the lifting up of smoke.” (Isaiah 9:18)

Wickedness destroys the souls of mankind, and it spreads more and more and the flames burn higher. If you have seen the revelation of Jesus Christ, then you understand “the day of the Lord” that Malachi spoke of.

“For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up.” (Malachi 4:1) The day that Jesus told us of, the day “when the Son of man is revealed.”

Although the apostle John is speaking about God’s two witnesses, he offers a few words of spiritual teaching that show us the mental state of mankind today.

“And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.” (Revelation 11:8)

We know that our Lord was crucified outside the wall of Jerusalem, but the mental state of those evildoers was equal to Sodom and Egypt. They crucified the son of God on a cross then, and they crucify him in their mind today saying, “away with this Jesus.” And wickedness burns higher, “For our God is a consuming fire.” (Hebrews 12:29)