HE'S COMING BACK!

Jesus made an important promise to us on His last night before the crucifixion. He said, "If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to myself" (John 14:3).  This wonderful promise has comforted believers through many trials throughout history. What exactly did Jesus mean by His promise?

Christians have understood this promise in a number of ways. (1) Jesus promises a spiritual coming at every trial ... but when did He ever leave them spiritually?  (2) Jesus promises to come to them in the resurrection ... but how does He receive them to Himself at the resurrection?  (3) Jesus promises to come to them in the coming of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost .. but how is this a coming "again" and how does He receive them to Himself at that time? (4) Jesus promises to come to believers - including us - when we die ... but that is usually presented in the Bible as our going to Him (Phil. 1:23; 2 Cor. 5:8).  None of these views satisfactorily explains what Jesus promises.

Jesus promises us (believers down through history) that He will come again to earth from heaven.  This is the hope of every Christian and the correct understanding of His promise for the following reasons. (1) The use of "again" (παλιν) points back to a first coming. The first coming was bodily not spiritually and on earth not in heaven, so the second coming must be the same.  (2) The coming and receiving are grammatically parallel to the going and preparing. If "I go" then "I will come again"! He is leaving them bodily not spiritually, so the coming must be bodily not spiritually.  "If I prepare a place for you" then "I will receive you to myself."  The prepared place is heaven so the reception must be in heaven.  (3) Jesus speaks elsewhere of coming again with reference to His bodily return (John 14:28; 21:22).

Jesus uses a present tense form of the verb to describe His return (ερχομαι) to make the promise more vivid and exciting.  It is a futurist present (Blass/Debrunner, Grammar, p. 168) because the receiving is in the future tense (παραλημψομαι). "I am coming again and I will receive you to myself." Jesus promises to come to us on earth to receive us in heaven - His prepared place.  His coming again is to escort us back to heaven with Him. We call this event the "Rapture" and we are to comfort each other with His promise (1 Thessalonians 4:16-18).