Theophilus to Luke.... In your second story, the Acts of the Apostles, you mention the resurrection of Jesus many times. That is difficult enough for a rational man to believe, but there were many witnesses, and I know you checked their accounts most thoroughly, so I have to believe you. But there is one point that you mention at the beginning which is not mentioned again, and that is the coming again of Jesus, referred to by the angels as the disciples watched Jesus ascend into heaven. Surely He has done all His work on earth and does not need to come back?

Luke to Theophilus.... Your Excellency, you have forgotten some references in my gospel account. In chapter 21 verse 27, I record that Jesus said that the Son of Man would come in a cloud with great power and glory. The Son of Man is a name Jesus often used of Himself.

I took these words from the written record of Jesus's words and they are part of a message which appears to tell of the final punishment of the Jews by God and the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple. This surely must happen because the Christians have taken over from the Jews as God's people on earth. But Jesus appears to refer to a time after this "when the age of the gentiles is ended" which suggests a time will come when the gentiles will also be punished for their rebellion against God. Then Jesus will come back to conquer all and rule the world. The Jewish scriptures imply that the Jews will also be restored to their covenant position with God.

There are other words of Jesus which refer to His 'coming again'. For instance, He prophesied it when the disciples realized He was the Messiah and several of the parables obviously refer to it.

I think Jesus did not give much detail because the disciples could not understand at that time. It was only after they were baptised in the Holy Spirit that they could understand - as it is with all of us - but after Pentecost the Holy Spirit gave further revelations to both Peter and Paul.

Peter wrote about this very recently in his general letters and points out that a thousand years with the Lord is like one day, meaning that what seems a long time to us is only a short time to God. Peter also said that Jesus is delaying His coming to give everyone time to repent. But, says Peter, the day of the Lord will come, using a phrase from the old Jewish prophets and linking Jesus with their prophecies of the Messiah. Peter adds that Jesus will come like a thief in the night, an expression Paul used when writing to the Thessalonians. However Paul points out that this warning is for those who "dwell in darkness", that is for the sinners, and that for the Christians who "dwell in the light" the 'second coming' will be no surprise. We will be warned by the Holy Spirit.

Paul also says in the letter to the Thessalonians that when Jesus comes the Christians, both dead and living, will rise into the air to meet Him; and writing to the Corinthians he adds that our bodies will change from earthly bodies into spiritual bodies. There is much more on this subject in the letters of Peter and Paul and I recommend you read them for yourself. We might not know yet precisely when Jesus will come but we are warned in the letters I have mentioned to prepare for it by living pure and holy lives, getting rid of sin and keeping ourselves very close to our Lord. It will be a very exciting time, with rebellion against God, wars and evils for the world, and only the strength of Jesus will carry us through that time.