There are some Christian Church groups who believe that the time is right for the second coming of Jesus Christ. How they are aware of this, is known only to them. But, before I speculate on how the second coming of Jesus will come to pass, I thought I would have another look at the first coming of Jesus, which appears to have triggered a rather complex chain of events.

For some reason, God decided he needed to have a son on Earth who could help save the human race from sin. To achieve this, God had to find a suitable woman who was still a virgin. God chose a Jewish woman named Mary to be the mother of his child and made her pregnant. How God did this is still a mystery. Also, Mary was betrothed to a man named Joseph who accepted Mary’s pregnancy as the will of God and kept his promise to marry her so the child would not be born out of wedlock.

During Mary’s late pregnancy, the Romans decided to conduct a population census so Joseph and Mary had to travel from Nazareth to Bethlehem, a distance of over 60 miles. It seems that Bethlehem was Joseph’s ancestral home town so he needed to be there to register for the census. This would have been quite a journey for Mary during her late pregnancy and she would have needed to travel slow and easy to avoid the possibility of a miscarriage.

On their arrival in Bethlehem, Joseph discovered that all available accommodation had been booked out because of the census.  Because Mary’s child was due any day, someone offered to let them stay in his stable where they would be under cover and have privacy for the birth.

The minute Jesus was born, an angel came down from Heaven and appeared before some shepherd boys minding sheep in a field and told them the good news that a Savior and Messiah had been born in Bethlehem. Then suddenly, a group of angels appeared chanting Glory be to God In the Highest and peace on Earth to all men. The shepherd boys then left their flock and went to visit Jesus in Bethlehem. I hope they left one boy behind to tend the sheep while they were gone.

In the meantime, three wise men from the East had been following a bright star which heralded the birth of a new king. It is not written from where these three men came. If they were travelling due West, they may have come from Saudi Arabia. If they were travelling in a South Westerly direction, they may have come from Jordan or Iraq. This is more probable because they reached Jerusalem before Bethlehem, which is about eight miles South of Jerusalem.

As these wise men passed though Jerusalem on their journey, they came to the notice of King Herod of Judea who asked them where they were travelling to and why. When the wise men told Herod the reason for their journey was to pay homage to a new king who has been born in his (Herod’s) Kingdom, Herod must have gasped in disbelief.

After Herod recovered himself, he would have realized that he must locate the birth place of this king and kill him to prevent the possibility of a future uprising in his Kingdom.

Herod’s best option would have been to ask the wise men if he could accompany them on the last leg or their journey so he too could pay homage to this new king. Alternatively, because the wise men were carrying gold, frankincense and myrrh, as gifts for the new king, Herod could have offered to send an escort with the wise men to ensure they arrived at their destination safely. Another option would have been to have the wise men discreetly followed to their destination so Herod would be able to find where this new king was born and have him killed.

Why didn’t Herod consider any of these options? Was Herod stupid as well as insecure and cruel? What Herod did was ask the wise men to call in and visit him on their return journey in the hope they would disclose the location of the new King. However, being suspicious of Herod’s motives, the wise men skirted around Jerusalem on their return journey.

If the wise men did not tell Herod where Jesus was born, who did? Someone must have told Herod because he sent his soldiers to Bethlehem with orders to kill all children under two years of age hoping Jesus would be one of the children killed.

However, before Herod’s soldiers arrived in Bethlehem God came to Joseph in a dream and told him to flee to Egypt with his family. It is not written how or where Joseph was able to find enough provisions for the journey or where in Egypt they settled. But once they crossed the border into Egypt, they were safe.

But the big question here is why would God allow the slaughter of innocent children and the grief the parents would suffer?  Why didn’t God prevent Herod’s men from committing such a horrendous crime when God knew Jesus was already safe? It just does not make sense.

It is written that Joseph and Mary did not return to Nazareth until after the death of King Herod which is reported to be about two(?) years later.   

This then is a brief description of the first coming of Jesus.

So, what will the second coming of Jesus look like?

Will God send a 2,020+ years old Jesus back down to Earth to finish his mission to free the world from sin? What will Jesus look like? Will Jesus look like he is still in his mid-thirties? Will Jesus still bear the scars of his crucifixion?  

If God does this, where will Jesus appear? Will it be at or near the spot on the Mount of Olives from where he ascended into Heaven? Where will Jesus go from there? Will he walk to what is left of the Temple of Jerusalem and declare that he is Jesus of Nazareth and has returned to complete the mission his Father (God) sent him to do all those years ago? But, because of the continuing conflicts in the Middle East, this would not be a good idea. So where should Jesus go?

Perhaps Jesus will choose to appear in the Vatican. After all, this is the church that was founded by his Apostle Peter. Will God appear to the Pope in a dream and tell him to gather the Cardinals and go to the Sistine Chapel where Jesus will appear before them. As they wait, will two Angles descend from Heaven and hover over the Altar singing Glory be to God in the Highest. As they do so, will a misty cloud form in front of the Altar from which Jesus will appear before them. 

If this comes to pass, how will the Pope and Cardinals react? Will the Pope and Cardinals accept the person standing before them is the son of God and drop to their knees and worship him? Will the Pope then order the bells in the Vatican to ring out in joyful celebration.

Will the Pope take Jesus to the balcony overlooking St Peter’s Square as the crowd gathers to see why all the Vatican bells are ringing? 

Can you imagine how Christians will celebrate when the Pope introduces Jesus to the crowd and proclaims that, as prophesied, Jesus has returned to Earth to save us all from sin? How will the many other Christian Church denominations react to this news?

How will Jesus go about the task God the Father has imposed upon him to save the human race from sin? In a world where Satan and sin have ruled ever since Eve tempted Adam to eat the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden, it will be no easy task.

But, according to some Christian Church groups, the second coming of Jesus is imminent so we will not have long to wait to find out where and when Jesus will arrive.

We will just have to wait and see.    

aquarianmist