Christians talk about Jesus’ Second Coming, referring to the idea that Jesus Christ, who came once, (the first time,) into the world as a baby in manger, will come again as the Lord of Lords and King of Kings, supreme ruler of all that is seen and unseen, maker and sustain of both heaven and of Earth. It also refers to the idea that he first came as the Son of Man, but will come again as the Son of God, to rule and reign in righteousness and peace forever. Christians believe that at the time of Jesus' return to Earth there will be no mistake about who this person, Jesus Christ, is or isn't.
Christians believe Jesus Christ was indeed the One awaited for by the Jews... Messiah, and they believe they have been granted such salvation because, by them he was obviously rejected, even by those who should have recognized the time of their visitation, but they didn't. (All have sinned and fall short of the glory of almighty God.) No, the Jews,(who did not believe on the one sent by God to the little town of Bethlehem,) like the rest of the religious world, have stories of their own that they believe in. Like many other religious peoples they still await the "one," the one whom they heard was to come, but evidently, (or so they believe,) didn't.
The world is expecting. You can see this expectation in many religions as they look forward to the coming of a great leader upon the Earth, one hailed as a Messiah. This is probably due to the fact that, since the dawn of time, God has said that he would send the seed of the woman to redeem us from our sin in this fallen world. Some didn't keep the story straight, others simply refused to walk in the light of day; either way the end result is this idea... the idea of a "Messiah," a person who enlightens mankind spiritually and "saves" the world with peace, love and his (or her) great wisdom. It's a universal concept that has definitely made the rounds around the world.
Even scientifically minded atheists, like Carl Sagan, find themselves looking for someone or something to be the savior of the world. They search the sky for extraterrestrial space aliens, complete with whirring wheels, their magnificent flying machines, (aka UFO's,) Even they are expectantly hoping that some such beings will be contacted via computer or satellite dish, or land on planet Earth, even teach us technologically secrets about their advanced spacecraft and “be our friends.” Its a scientific dream, but atheists are not the only ones dreaming, and hoping, to find something or someone that will save us from ourselves; no, there is also the religious. There are many religions. All are waiting, hoping, looking forward to the arrival of someone who will save them, something they can see and touch and feel and finally believe in.
Moslems, for example, generally believe that one called the "leader of the faithful," or Madhi, will appear at the end of earthly time, but they do not believe in Jesus the way that Christians do. They do talk about “Jesus”, ( aka Isa or Essau,) and they say he is the son of a woman named Mary, and they believe that he was taken up to heaven... even believe that he will come, again; but they do not believe that when he came the first time he was anyone of particular importance.. In their belifs he is just another prophet. They even believe Jesus was "virgin born" but do not believe he is "Messiah," nor the "Son of GOd". Jesus, as revered as he may or may not be, is trumped by Muhammad who is to them the true and revered, most Holy messenger of Allah, (God.)
In the Bahai faith, the ultimate goal, and hope for all Bahai believers is to see the ushering in of a Golden Age upomn the Earth where the world will be unified under the “Promised One of all the ages.” According to their religious tradition, this person must be a descendant of King David, (of the Jews,) but they reject basic Christian concepts like how this Promised One was Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Jesus, in the Bahai faith, is viewed as only one of many manifestations of God that has taken place here on our planet. He may even be considered one of the prophets of The Divine, but to them, he is not God incarnate. They prefer to look to the coming of one they call "Baha'u'llah."
The Buddhists expect that an “exalted one,” one called "Maitreya," (“the world unifier,” ) or "Tathagata" (the Buddha who will come and bring "universal brightness" ) will someday arrive via the reincarnation of the Great Buddha on Earth again. They believe that it is this One who will lead the tribes and nations of the world into universal peace. Indians tribes and people like the Native American, Eskimo and Mayan also anticipate one “who is to come” from heaven. This one will be so different from them and so filled with light and brilliancy that he may even be white as snow, which is why so many historical white men encounters among these peoples were such that they believed they were being visited by their gods.
Mankind is pregnant with this "Messiah" idea.
Here we are, stuck here on the earth, making history with no where to go to. We are fighting wars on every front, remembering the great wars of the past, looking around at humanity's propensity for evil and considering the future, wonderding where all of this will lead to in the end. We are pregnant, and we are groaning, (Romans 8:22-26) yearning to be delivered from our plight. We are looking for the next great thing to come along and give us hope for our future and the future of our planet. We are hoping there will be some kind of miracle... a miracle that will give the world a "Messiah."
Humanity believes in the concept of "Messiah"... yes.... but to believe Jesus is the Messiah, is "absurd" to them. It cannot be proven and besides it seems a tad bit, "narrow minded." So professing belief in broadmindedness, they reject the narrow view of salvation from sin and death through Jesus alone; believing instead that everyone who is religious, no matter their beliefs, is really worshiping the same unseen, unapproachable, mysterious and unknowable "God." In fact, some are so broadminded that they spew out hatred for Christianity because Christians not only say that Jesus is the way the truth and the life, but even that Jesus only, is way to God. (John 14:6)
The bible describes the same humanity as spiritually blind, as men, who in utter darkness grope about... trying to understand. It says they stagger like drunkards, (Job 12:25; Deut 29:26-29; ) looking, searching for answers to life... groping at the mysterious, secret things of God. It tells the reader that God did this, (Acts 17:27,) so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him.
In our searching we have unraveled nearly all the universe, even "tasted" the flavors of the tiniest of particles, the neutrino, and we have come up with many theories, even the Theory of Everything, that is, that everything that is, is held together by one great unifying string.
We have uncovered the undeniable truth that every human being of all nations and races has inherited his or her mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), from one human, living person, a person who lived long ago. and even named that person “Eve,” and told us in our textbooks and television shows how this “mtDNA” has been traced back through time, that it has been passed generation to generation from mothers to their offspring, and this as if it was some kind of ovarian seed. We think we can see, even thought was are groping about. We believe we are close to knowing everything there is know about everything, even God.
And as for Christianity's belief about God, Jesus Christ... and the Bible, we like to say, "Is a nice little religious myth, a story. In fact, it's a completely different reality... one we really do not want to have hamper our "scientific" thinking.
But blessed is the blind man who realizes his need for light. Blessed is the one who recognizes he has a beam called sin, before almighty God. Blessed is he because he asks God for healing from his malady of being utterly blind and naked, wretched, and miserable, and poor, doomed to destruction, living in fear of the unknown and despair. Blessed are the meek and humble, who like teachable children, learn of Him and believe in things they do not understand, simply because God has spoken and said it to be so. Blessed is the humble who receive the gift of God, forgiveness of sin and who, clothed with truth, will enter into eternal life, because of Jesus, the savior of the world...
Messiah.
He will come again, he will return with power and great glory. (Luke 21:27; NIV) And, "every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the peoples of the earth will mourn because of Him." (Rev. 1:7)
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