Perhaps the world has forgotten what happened on October 30, 1938. The sun had set. Men had come home from work. The evening meal was finished, and the dishes were washed. Families settled down in the living room to listen to the radio. Suddenly, an announcer’s voice interrupted the program to say that a meteorite had struck the earth near Grover’s Mill, New Jersey. Fifteen hundred were reported dead. The announcer said to stay tuned. for further developments. The regular program resumed, but a few seconds later, it was disrupted again.
This time the announcer’s voice was frantic as he told of a strange metallic cylinder that had landed in a field near Grover’s Mill. Others were landing nearby, and invaders from outer space were training bombs of poisonous gas on the Eastern Seaboard. Already the city of Trenton had fallen to the invaders, who were on their way to New York City and would soon enter Washington, D.C.
Now the announcer was shouting that the world was being invaded by beings from outer space! Nearly hysterical, he continued to report the progress of the invasion.
Police stations, hospitals, and newspaper offices were flooded with phone calls from terrified citizens, asking where to get gas masks or where they could flee to escape destruction. Certainly, the world was coming to an end! There were reports of alien bombings in Chicago, St. Louis, Memphis—invaders coming to this world from outer space!
Well, the scare turned out to be just the radio drama The War of the Worlds by Orson Welles. But for several hours, many people truly believed that the United States was being attacked by an invasion from space. People were terrified. Afterward, a man said, “As soon as we were convinced it was real, how petty and insignificant everything on this earth became. How quickly we put our trust in God.”
Should we laugh?
We chuckle about it now and tell ourselves that we wouldn’t have been so gullible. People scoff at the idea of a cosmic invasion. But maybe we should think again. Will interplanetary forces invade our world? Yes! The Bible actually predicts a cosmic invasion of this world from outer space.
No, it won’t be an invasion of spacecraft carrying alien astronauts or little green men. The invaders won’t use laser weapons or nuclear devices. The cosmic invasion I’m referring to is the grand and glorious invasion from space when Jesus Christ and the angels of heaven come back to this earth.
The Bible assures us that we are standing, not on the edge of humanity conquering space, but on the verge of a heavenly invasion from space! Jesus is coming from heaven back to this earth just as He promised! The biblical facts about this invasion are too clear and too numerous to be ignored. And it’s right at the door!
Why Jesus is coming back
I’d like to share with you six reasons why I believe that Christ’s coming will be a real, literal event that you and I will actually experience.
1. He said He would return
Several times during His sojourn on earth, Jesus promised to return. “The Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels” (Matthew 16:27). “I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am” (John 14:3). And at His ascension, two angels from heaven promised that “this same Jesus . . . will come back” (Acts 1:11). Since Jesus never told a lie, that’s a good reason to believe that He actually is coming—a real, live, literal, visible person.
2. He’s coming to fulfill the gospel hope
For some 2,000 years, Christians have looked forward to Jesus’ return. That event will be the climax of the conflict between Christ and Satan that has been going on ever since Lucifer’s rebellion. Satan, the villain, the adversary, the accuser, will finally be overcome, and Christ’s eternal kingdom will be ushered in. The apostle Paul says that without the hope of a risen, soon-coming Lord, we are, of all people, most miserable (1 Corinthians 15:17–19).
3. He’s coming back to put an end to sin
The prophet Nahum said that sin will never rise again (Nahum 1:9). I’m thankful for that promise. Jesus is going to end this controversy between good and evil. He’s going to destroy sin and sinners forever. Both His justice and His mercy require it. He’s coming back to put an end to sin.
4. He’s coming to judge the entire world
Paul wrote that “we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ” (2 Corinthians 5:10). All of us. Therefore, we must be certain we have the right lawyer—Jesus Christ. If we put our case in His hands, we can be sure of a favorable verdict in the judgment. He has promised to forgive our sins (1 John 1:9), and He’s never lost a case.
5. He’s coming to reward the righteous
Jesus said, “My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done” (Revelation 22:12). Jesus is coming to raise the dead and give them immortality. We’ll never get sick anymore. No cemeteries. No pain, tears, or death!
6. He’s coming to establish His kingdom
Speaking of the end-time nations symbolized by the feet and toes of the statue King Nebuchadnezzar had seen in his dream, Daniel told the king, “In the time of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed” (Daniel 2:44). God’s kingdom is an eternal kingdom. It will never come to an end.
These are six biblical reasons why I believe Jesus is coming back to our world. His return is the climax of the plan of salvation. The conflict between good and evil would be incomplete without it. Christ must reign, or the entire gospel story is meaningless. Do you think that God would redeem this world with His own blood and then leave it for eternity in the hands of His archenemy? Such a thought is incredible!
