Jesus’ second coming will be a revelation. He will appear. We shall see him as he is for we too shall be made like him (1 John 3:2). He will reveal His person in the full majesty of His glory. He shall descend in the same way that He ascended—visibly and upon clouds of glory and majesty.

As heirs of the Reformation, we rightly champion salvation by grace alone. If God was not gracious to us we would have no hope. The simplest definition of grace is: favor extended where wrath is deserved. Others have made the definition in the form of an acronym:

God’s
Riches
At
Christ’s
Expense

Grace is a present position of every believer in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Rom. 5:2 Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

As we turn to 1 Peter chapter one, we notice that grace is both something that we presently possess but also something that is fully brought to us in the return of the Lord Jesus Christ. Peter articulates it this way precisely because it is both the first and the second coming of Christ that brings grace to us. Grace is accomplished in Christ alone.

Notice these juxtaposed in 1 Peter:

1Pet. 1:10 Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yourssearched and inquired carefully,

1Pet. 1:13 Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

The Old Testament prophets, being given the Holy Spirit, prophesied concerning Christ and the grace that would come to the church. The prophets were so enamored by this that they longed to know the person and time of the Messiah. Similar to Simeon waiting in the temple, the prophets waited anxiously wishing they could see the person and time of the Messiah. Imagine the anticipation.

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