If I took a poll asking how many of you are longing for the second coming of Jesus, I think it would be unanimous. It is the event that all history has been moving toward, the grand finale at the end of the seven-year tribulation. This event was predicted as far back as the garden of Eden when God said the Seed of the woman would crush the head of the Serpent, Satan (see Genesis 3:15).
In Revelation 19:10 and 22:9, when John knelt before an angel, he was rebuked and instructed to worship God. All I can ascertain is that John was so amped up by all the visions he was being shown that he was ready to go face down. But look at Revelation 22:20. Jesus said, “Surely I am coming quickly.” John wrote, “Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus!” He got it right in the end.
The second coming has always produced a longing in the hearts of God’s people. In the twelfth century, a Jewish rabbi named Maimonides wrote thirteen principles of faith. One was a prayer that every orthodox, pious Jew prays to this day: “I believe with complete faith in the coming of the Messiah, and even though He tarry, yet I will wait for Him every coming day.”
We know that Christ has already come—and that He’s coming back. Jesus told us to pray a very similar prayer: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:9-10). That’s a prayer for His coming.
Some of the greatest songs of the church express that longing. “How Great Thou Art” proclaims, “When Christ shall come with shouts of acclamation and take me home, what joy shall fill my heart.” “The Battle Hymn of the Republic” includes these lyrics: “Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord.” Charles Wesley wrote this one: “Come, Thou long expected Jesus…born to reign in us forever, now Thy gracious kingdom bring.”
My point is that when John said, “Even so, come, Lord Jesus,” he was voicing a longing that we all have as believers. We long for Jesus to get the worship He deserves as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords (see Revelation 19:16). The anthem of heaven is “worthy is the Lamb” (Revelation 5:12). So if Jesus is your Lord and King, then you’ll echo John’s prayer, “Come, Lord Jesus.”
Now, many people are happy with their earthly home. They think this is all there is. But they still have a longing in their hearts for something more. Well, there is more—and it’s so much better. It will get you through this life. Jesus said, “In my Father’s house are many mansions [or, rooms]; if it were not so, I would have told you” (John 14:2).
Living on this earth is like living in a little dinky room. What you really want is the Father’s house. That’s why you were made. God put that longing in you. The Bible says that God “has put eternity in [our] hearts” (Ecclesiastes 3:11). That’s what you want. It’s the only thing that will satisfy you.
What the world has always longed for and what Jesus said to pray for—”Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven”—hasn’t been answered yet. It will be answered on that day when Jesus returns.
