“Upon the day when heaven with the clouds will be split asunder, and the angels will be sent down in majesty. The sovereignty on that day will be the true sovereignty belonging to the all-merciful and it will be a hard day for unbelievers” (Qur’an, 25:25).
It is the love and compassion of Allah that make the return of Jesus necessary. As time goes on, foolish, sin-ful man is transforming his once beautiful world into a man-made hell. Allah’s kindness will not permit this to become complete.
He will therefore intervene by sending Jesus, as he has long foretold by the ancient prophets of the Holy Scriptures. Malachi says that he
… shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant . … But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? … He shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver. (Malachi 3.1-3)
God’s promise of rescue by Jesus is not new. It was cherished from the beginning:
Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, to execute judgment upon all. (Jude 14, 15)
The idea of final judgment to come at the end of the world has been emphasized throughout the Scriptures. The inspired writer of the Psalms (Zabur) describes the glory of that day in these words:
Our God shall come, and shall not keep silence: a fire shall devour before him, and it shah be very tempestuous round about him. He shah call to the heavens from above, and to the earth, that he may judge his people. (Psalm 50:3, 4)
The honoured Qur’an says:
What do they look for but that Allah shall come to them in the shadows of the clouds with the angels? Then the case will be already judged. All cases are returned to Allah. (The Qur’an 2:210)
And those who disbelieve will not cease to be in doubt of it until the hour come upon them unawares, or there come unto them the doom of a disastrous day. (The Qur’an, 22:55)
But the return of Jesus is a day of gladness for all who truly believe the word of Allah. He comes to rescue them from oppression under Iblis. The prophet Isaiah tells us that the resurrection from the dead will take place at his coming:
He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the Lord hath spoken it.
And it shall be said in that day . … We have waited for him, and he will save us: this is the Lord; we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation. (Isaiah 25:8, 9)
The book of Al-Bukhari encourages us to look for the return of Jesus: “Says Muhammad, ‘In the name of God who preserves my soul, verily Jesus, the son of Mary, will come soon as the righteous judge.’” If we trust in our own merits and good deeds in order to justify ourselves in that day of Judgment, we may well tremble in fear. No man or woman can do enough good deeds to drown out the whisperings of the deepest convictions from within the human soul that remind us that all our own righteousness is in vain. But if we have learned the lesson of righteousness by faith, from Abraham, and by faith we are his true descendants, then the Day of Judgment will hold no terrors for us. Says the honoured Qur’an:
We set up a just balance for the day of resurrection, so that not one soul shah be wronged anything. Even if it be the weight of one gram of mustard seed, We shah produce it, and We are sufficient for reckoners; and We gave Moses and Aaron the criterion, and a light and a reminder for the God-fearing. Those who fear God in secret and who dread the hour. This is a blessed reminder that we have revealed. Will you then reject it? (The Qur’an, 21:47-50)
No, by Allah’s grace, we shall not reject it! We shall put our trust in that “tremendous Victim” who has ransomed our souls. Such trust is a million times more effective than trusting to our own merits and good deeds which is in reality the old idolatry that Abraham our father taught us to be done with! We cannot worship Allah alone and also trust our own works of merit!
Why the Return of Jesus?
We can more easily understand the reason if we think of a father’s love for his helpless child who is kidnaped and tortured by wicked people. A father may be ever so kind and gentle as a neighbour and friend; but if his little child is being abused, you will see him become angry. History is the story of the great controversy between Allah and Iblis. Satan’s hatred was manifested in the rejection of Jesus; but the book of Revelation declares that the anger of Iblis is now directed against “the inhabiters of the earth” “for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.” (Revelation 12:12) His special anger is against Allah’s true believers, “who keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.” (Revelation 12:17)
In fact, the crowning act of Satan’s murderous hatred will be a universal death decree issued against God’s people. Revelation describes the final issues of this great controversy. The symbols of the “beast” and its “image” represent man’s final rebellion against Allah:
He … causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men … saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast … and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed. (Revelation 13:12-15)
Here is the reason for the return of Christ! He comes on a rescue mission in behalf of those who choose to be loyal to Allah in the face of this final persecution.*
The world is even now moving steadily toward that final climax. As Allah’s message of truth penetrates the entire world, human beings will choose their final allegiance, either to receive Allah’s “seal,” or Satan’s clever but bold counterfeit, “the mark of the beast.”
Every human being will make his final choice when the principles of both loyalty and rebellion are made clear to his understanding. Allah’s compassion will see to it that “the earth” is to be “lightened” with the “glory” of his last-day message of glad tidings, for a “voice from heaven” will call his true believers to “come out” of “Babylon, “ “that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues. For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities.” (Revelation 18:1-5) The Injil says that when “this gospel [good news] of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations,” “then shall the end come.” (Matthew 24:14)
*For a more complete explanation of the prophecies of the book or Revelation, see the author’s book, The Revelation of Things to Come, a verse-by-verse study; available from the publishers and sellers of this book.
Allah’s people will not be afraid in that dreadful day. An inspired prophet spoke beautiful, eloquent words:
The Name of the Lord comes from afar, with burning anger and dense clouds of smoke: his lips are full of wrath, and his tongue is a consuming fire … He shakes the nations in the sieve of destruction …
And you will sing as on the night you celebrate a holy festival; your hearts will rejoice as when people go up with flutes to the mountain of the Lord. (Isaiah 30:27-29)
Praise be to Allah for his faithfulness to those who revere him! “He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. … He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler. … Because thou hast made … the most High, thy habitation; there shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling. For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.” (Psalm 91:1-11)
How Abraham’s Hopes Will Finally Be Realized
The honoured Qur’an reminds us to look forward to that greatest day of all human history:
And remind them of the day when the trumpet will be blown, and all who are in the heavens and the earth will start in fear save him whom Allah willeth. And all come to him humbled. (The Qur’an, 27:87)
And remember when Allah said, O Jesus, Lo I am gathering thee and causing thee to ascend unto Me and am cleansing thee of those who disbelieve until the day of resurrection. Then unto Me ye will all return, and I shall judge between you as to that wherein ye used to differ. (The Qur’an, 3:54)
The Scriptures give us many more details, to describe the return of Jesus:
“Unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.” (Hebrews 9:28) He will appear to all, for “he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him.” (Revelation 1:7) But those who believe Allah’s holy Word will find him a welcome guest “unto salvation.”
His coming will be personal and literal, for when he ascended to heaven, two angels told his followers, “This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.” (Acts 1:11) Jesus himself promised, “I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.” (John 14:3) His coming is called “the blessed hope,” (Titus 2:13) a hope that produces joy.
He will resurrect those who have died in faith: “The Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first.” (1 Thessalonians 4:16)
Abraham’s true descendants who have chosen to be loyal to Allah in the face of the final onslaught of Satan will be caught up to meet the Lord. “Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.” (Verses 17, 18)
Those who have chosen final rebellion against Allah will not be able to endure the glorious sight of the coming of Jesus in judgment:
As the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. (Matthew 24:27)
The heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.
And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains and the mighty men … said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: for the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand? (Revelation 6:14-17)
God is just: he will pay back trouble to those who trouble you and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well.
This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels. He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. (2 Thessalonians 1:6-8)
The book of Revelation reveals a grand secret: God has separated the resurrection of the righteous from that of the wicked by 1,000 years, during which time Iblis is to be “bound” so that he can deceive the nations no more until those 1,000 years are ended. (Revelation 20:1-7) Since the Scriptures make plain that the resurrected righteous and the living believers will be caught up with Jesus at his return, this means that the wicked will be slain by the brightness of his return, and will await their resurrection to take place at the end of the 1,000 years. Satan can do nothing to annoy the saints of Allah who are taken away, and of course he can do nothing to the wicked unbelievers who are slain. Thus he is “bound” during this period. The final judgment will be stupendous in scope, beyond our imagination!
The justice and compassion of Allah are seen again in the grand events to take place at the close of the thousand years. The wicked are resurrected to face their judgment, and Iblis resumes with them his evil work of deception, being “loosed out of his prison.” He goes forth “to deceive the nations, … to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.” He persuades them one last time to join him in an orgy of rebellion against Allah, motivated by murderous intent. Allah’s final judgment is made manifest to the legions of men and angels who watch the spectacle. The wicked have pronounced their own final, tragic judgment; they have demonstrated fully that they have made their ultimate choice to join in high treason against Allah’s righteous government of love and justice. Since to prolong their lives in rebellion would only be to prolong their abject misery, Allah mercifully permits “fire … [to come down] out of heaven” to “devour them.” “And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.” (Revelation 20:7-15)
Rebels who will not surrender to justice must be punished with “the second death.” Otherwise, the peace and security of Allah’s great universe will be in danger. Sin and its offspring, death, must come to a final end. No eternally burning hell full of condemned people’s blasphemies will pollute a happy Paradise. “The wicked shall not be: yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be.” (Psalm 37:10) “The day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.” (Malachi 4:1) The “eternal fire” is eternal in its consequences — there will be no resurrection following this “second death.” It is a libel on the character of a holy and just Allah to picture him as roasting and torturing the lost for endless ages as though he were some Mafia-like monster of sadistic cruelty. The Holy Book does not teach such a slanderous view of Allah’s character.
For long ages, Allah has comforted his faithful people with the promise that he will “create new heavens and a new earth: and the former [with its tears and sorrows] shall not be remembered, nor come into mind.” (Isaiah 65:17) After the destruction of Iblis and his evil angels and the wicked who have joined them, Allah will cleanse this cursed old earth with fire, and then create a “new heaven and a new earth”:
The day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. …
Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens, and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.(2 Peter 3:10-13)
The Glorious New Heavens and New Earth
Pain, sickness, funerals, corruption, bribery, cruelty, war, starvation, disappointment, poverty, homelessness — all these evils will be gone forever. No wonder the return of Jesus is called “the blessed hope.” Allah has manifested himself as a mighty Saviour. His enemies are no more. He has shown that love is stronger than hatred, and light is stronger than darkness. He has wrestled Iblis down to death and hell itself, and put an end to sin. The redeemed sing his praises to all eternity.
The joy of the redeemed will not be childish, selfish enjoyment of sensual pleasures. Hazrat Abraham was called “the friend of God” as well as “the father of the faithful.” And the redeemed will be, like him, friends of Allah. Their joy is not self-centred, for self-centredness is the essence of sin and idolatry. But they will share with Abraham the final fulfilment of Allah’s promise that he should be “the heir of the world,” not cursed by sin as it is now, but made as perfect as the “new earth.” (Isaiah 41:10; Romans 4:13)
They have found something to be concerned about that is vastly greater than their own personal security and reward. Like a true bride who is concerned for her husband’s honour, they are caught up in the most thrilling motivation that human hearts can ever know — sympathy with Allah is his grand plan of redemption and his victory over Satan. They appreciate his love “that passeth knowledge,” love that was revealed in the sacrifice of that “tremendous Victim” who died for our sins upon a cross on Mt. Moriah.
How Allah Today Manifests His Love to Each Person
Meanwhile, as we wait for that glad day to come, we are not left alone like orphans in this dark world. Allah’s continuing love and compassion are infinite, for he himself is infinite; and even though those who believe in him may number many millions, his grace is given to each one in a measure as full as if that individual were the only person on earth.
The means by which Allah thus blesses every believer in him is the Holy Spirit. The Scriptures exalt the love of Allah, the glory and grandeur of his character. One of his names is “Immanuel, God with us” — with us in the sense of his being a Comforter. Speaking through the ancient prophet Isaiah, Allah says:
Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed, for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.
How can the infinite, glorious Allah, “the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity,” (Isaiah 57:15) be “with us” and hold our hand? Is he not too great to notice us poor creatures of the dust? He says further: “I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit. “ “To this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word.” (Isaiah 57:15; 66:2) The great Allah of eternity does indeed condescend to notice the weakest mortal who believes in him!
If you were the only human being on earth, you could not get more sunshine that you get now as one of more than four thousand million people on the globe. A mother may have many children, but she does not divide her love among them; she loves each one with all her love.
The Close Fellowship of the Holy Spirit
Jesus promised the gift of the Holy Spirit to “abide” with all who believe. This is the secret of their endless joy. They are never lonely!
I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it teeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you. (John 14:16-18)
The word “Comforter” in the original language is parakletos, from two words, para meaning “alongside of,” as two railroad tracks are always parallel; and kletos, meaning “called.” Documentary evidence dating from the time of the Roman Emperor Hadrian, about A.D. 125, confirms the Gospel of John; and very early translations of John’s Gospel demonstrate that he did indeed write the word parakletos, which can refer only to the Holy Spirit. No Greek manuscript from the early centuries has a different word. Jesus’ context makes it clear that “Comforter” cannot refer to any mortal man.
The enemy of God and man hates the truth of the divine Comforter promised to every sincere believer, for if Iblis can succeed in breaking that connection of “Immanuel, God with us,” he can alienate our souls from the close fellowship with Allah that he wants to establish. Jesus declared the Holy Spirit to be his vicar, his representative; how blasphemous for any mere man to arrogate to himself that position! This is why the book of Revelation attributes to such the word “blasphemy.” (Revelation 13:6.) No mortal man can claim such a divine honour.
The “good news” of the Injil is that through the Holy Spirit, Allah will lead our footsteps to that glorious “new heaven and new earth” that he will create. The prophet Isaiah rightly deserves the honoured title, “the Good News prophet.” He explains how near Allah is to all believers:
he Lord is compassionate, and when you cry to him for help, he will answer you. … He himself will be there to teach you, and you will not have to search for him any more. If you wander off the road to the right or the left, you will hear his voice behind you saying, “Here is the road. Follow it.” (Isaiah 30:19-21)
Of course, God is one, so when we read “the Lord” we know it means Allah, “Immanuel, God with us.” There is no possibility of our losing the path if we will only listen to his voice, for he stays beside us all the way.
What it all means is that the “good news” of Allah’s love and compassion is far better than most people have imagined. The picture is clear: Allah loves us, and he is a Saviour! He is preparing believers to enter Paradise; he is not trying to find some way to keep them out. If we will believe his holy Word, his Holy Spirit will cleanse and sanctify our human hearts.
The reality of the Holy Spirit is a treasure that Allah wants us to appreciate. Says the honoured Qur’an:
And those messengers, some of whom We have caused to excel others; some there are to whom God spoke, and some of them He exalted in degree, and We gave Jesus, son of Mary, clear proofs, and We confirmed him with the Holy Spirit. (The Qur’an, 2:253)
We indeed created man and We know what his soul whispers within him, and We are nearer to him than his jugular vein. (The Qur’an, 50:16)
Allah is the light of the heavens and the earth. The likeness of His light is as a niche wherein is a lamp; the lamp is in a glass; the glass is, as it were, a glittering star kindled from a blessed tree, an olive that is neither of the East nor of the West, whose oil would almost glow forth of itself, though no fire touched it. Light upon light; Allah guides to His light whom He will, and Allah speaks to mankind in allegories, for Allah is Knower of all things. (The Qur’an, 24:35)
The Glorious Song of True Believers
As Abraham was a “stranger and a pilgrim” on this earth, so we are pilgrims journeying to Paradise. Allah’s “Good News” comforts us every step of the way. Will you not choose to walk in that way?
The holy prophet John saw and heard in heavenly vision the eternal joy that will inspire the most beautiful song ever heard in the new heavens and new earth that Allah will create:
I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne, … the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands; saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing.
And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever. (Revelation 5:11-13)
Human hearts can begin to sing that lovely song even today, for their thrill of gratitude to Allah for his great sacrifice of love is “ the faith of Abraham,” the faith of one who is truly surrendered to Allah.
Such faith is true religion. Does your heart respond with that faith? Do you choose to join those “ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands” who, like Abraham, say “Amen!”?