Who will return Christ incarnate or Christ Himself?

Christ Himself, the central figure in Christianity, is believed by adherents to be the incarnation of God and the savior of humanity. According to Christian teachings, Jesus Christ was crucified, died, and then resurrected. The concept of His return is a significant aspect of Christian eschatology.

“Incarnate” is a funny word. We hear it tossed around in sermons and Bible studies all the time, but what does it mean to call Jesus God incarnate? How does that idea affect the way we see him and understand his role in our lives? Here’s a basic look at what the incarnation is:

The incarnation means that Jesus, who was God already as part of the biblical understanding , became human and stepped into the world we know. Some theologians argue that when Genesis 18 describes God appearing to Abraham and Sarah to tell them that they will have a son, this is a “pre-incarnate Christ” speaking with Abraham.

Their point seems to be that if God the Father is all spirit then the few times in the Old Testament where God appears in human form, it must be God the Son. Therefore, we might say that the Incarnation is not just God appearing on earth as a human, it’s when God specifically came to Earth as Jesus of Nazareth, born in Bethlehem.

When that happened, something strange and wonderful occurred. God, all-knowing and infinite, appeared in the flesh (1 Timothy 3:16) as a finite human being.

Because the Bible talks about Jesus being God, not an angel who God sent to earth or a being that God created, this begs the question how was Jesus divine and also human? Throughout the early church period, scholars tried to explain this idea in terms that honored the Bible’s descriptions of Jesus.

Was Jesus a human being with a drop of divine substance in him? Was he basically a spirit wearing a skin suit?

Ultimately, the Athanasian Creed settled the matter by describing Jesus as “fully God, fully human,” two natures in one being. The technical term that theologians use for this is a “hypostatic union.”

The creed also helped to established that while Jesus was God’s begotten son, but uncreated in the same way that God the Father and the Holy Spirit the power of God and not a trinity are uncreated.

From a comparative religions’ perspective, saying that someone is the son of a god isn’t particularly special. Many religions feature warriors, heroes, and kings who are describe as the offspring of gods. Christianity goes beyond that and says that Jesus was also God himself in human form.

The Bible is full of often-overlooked keys that can resolve many of our misunderstandings about God and His Word. In reading the Scriptures, one may vaguely sense these things but somehow never clearly see them because of misleading misconceptions about Scripture.

When every eye sees him in his second coming, he will return fully God and fully man (Acts 1:11). The physical and bodily resurrection of Christ and his physical and bodily ascension to heaven affirms that he is incarnate still, even at the Father’s right hand in heaven. Fully God and fully man shall he remain forever.

The word incarnation means “the act of being made flesh.” It comes from the Latin version of John 1:14, which in English reads, “The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us.” Because of the near-exclusive use of the Latin Vulgate in the church through the Middle Ages, the Latin term became standard.

Biblical support for Jesus’ humanity is extensive. The Gospels report Jesus’ human needs including sleep (Luke 8:23), food (Matthew 4:2; 21:18), and physical protection (Matthew 2:13-15; John 10:39). Other indications of His humanity are that He perspired (Luke 22:43-44) and bled (John 19:34). Jesus also expressed emotions including joy (John 15:11), sorrow (Matthew 26:37), and anger (Mark 3:5). During His life, Jesus referred to Himself as a man (John 8:40), and after His resurrection His humanity was still recognized (Acts 2:22).

But the purpose of the Incarnation was not to taste food or to feel sorrow. The Son of God came in the flesh in order to be the Savior of mankind. First, it was necessary to be born “under the law” (Galatians 4:4). All of us have failed to fulfill God’s Law. Christ came in the flesh, under the Law, to fulfill the Law on our behalf (Matthew 5:17; Galatians 4:5).

Second, it was necessary for the Savior to shed His blood for the forgiveness of sins (Hebrews 9:22). A blood sacrifice, of course, requires a body of flesh and blood. And this was God’s plan for the Incarnation: “When Christ came into the world, he said: ‘Sacrifice and offering [under the Old Covenant] you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me’” (Hebrews 10:5). Without the Incarnation, Christ could not really die, and the cross is meaningless.

God did an incredible work in sending His only begotten Son into the world and providing us with a salvation we do not deserve. Praise the Lord for that moment in which “the Word became flesh.” We are now redeemed “with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect” (1 Peter 1:19).

According to the bible , we believe in the personal, visible, premillennial return of the Lord Jesus Christ. He will come to rule the nations on earth as King of Kings and continue His priestly office as Lord of Lords. During His 1,000-year reign, He will restore all things and establish the Kingdom of God forever .

His return will not happen in secret; everyone alive will see Him. Great supernatural sounds will accompany that event: “For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God” . Kings of the earth will attempt to make war against Him, but He will swiftly overcome them to at last bring peace.

Leading up to this event will be the worst period of calamity ever. Jesus said there would be “great tribulation, such as has not been seen since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be” . The earth itself will then be rocked with cataclysmic upheaval during the period of God’s judgment on all mankind referred to in many scriptural passages as “the day of the Lord”. It will culminate with Christ’s return and reign .

Christ Himself will return, not merely incarnate, to establish His reign and bring about the fulfillment of God’s plan for humanity.

Philippians 2:6-7

Phillips renders this, "For he, who had always been God by nature, did not cling to his privileges as God's equal, but stripped Himself of every advantage by consenting to be a slave by nature and being born a man." Moffatt translates, "Though he was divine by nature, he did not set store upon equality with God, but emptied himself by taking the nature of a servant; born in human guise and appearing in human form." As in other scriptures, He was God, divine by nature, with—beside, accompanying—a different personality also called God!

Hebrews 1:10-12

In Psalm 102, these words apply simply to the eternality of God, but here they are applied directly to Christ without qualification. By God's Spirit in us, He has also made us understand that Jesus was the God of the Old Testament. As far as we know, not many Jews grasped this reality, but the passage presupposes this fact. The writer of Hebrews uses it as another opportunity to exalt Jesus Christ above angels. Unlike them, He lives eternally.

The author's remark about clothing helps as it addresses the subject of created things in contrast to the eternal God who created all physical things. The quotation's mention of clothing that will be rolled up and disposed of illustrates an eternal truth. All of the physical creation is slowly but constantly wearing down. It is absolutely, relentlessly perishing. From this, we extract a fundamental truth of life: Jesus Christ, the Creator God, began the universe, and He will end it. A new heaven and a new earth will be established (Revelation 21:1), but through it all, He remains the same (Hebrews 13:8).

The Second Coming of Christ is anticipated by Christians as a future event. It is described in various biblical passages, including the Book of Revelation. According to these texts, Christ will return to judge the living and the dead, establish His eternal kingdom, and bring about the ultimate fulfillment of God’s plan.

While interpretations of these prophecies vary among different Christian denominations, the belief in Christ’s return remains a fundamental tenet of the faith. Whether one views this event as imminent or symbolic, the hope of Christ’s return continues to inspire believers worldwide.

The concept of Christ’s return holds immense spiritual significance for Christians, symbolizing hope, redemption, and the fulfillment of divine promises.