Will You Celebrate Jesus Christ's Return?

From http://el-paso.ucg.org/

Will You Celebrate Jesus Christ's Return?
A commentary by Peter Eddington
UCG Media and Communications Services operation manager

A very significant month on the calendar lies just ahead of us. Thousands of Christians around the world are preparing to observe a very important biblical Holy Day in just a couple of weeks. Maybe you've heard of it? It's called the Day, or Feast, of Trumpets.

A prophetic picture
Jesus Christ observed this festival, as did the New Testament Church of God. It pictures the time of Jesus' return to this earth to establish His Father's Kingdom here. His return will be announced by a heavenly trumpet blast, and it will occur on the seventh of seven blasts—the seventh trump. We read about this event, as prophesied by Jesus Himself, in Matthew chapter 24:

"Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other" (Matthew 24:30-31, emphasis added).

We are approaching the observance of this great event on Sept. 9, the Feast of Trumpets. It makes us stop and consider the time when the actual prophesied fulfillment of the Day of Trumpets will occur—when our Lord descends from heaven to the Mount of Olives and establishes the Kingdom of God on earth, beginning at Jerusalem.

The second coming of Jesus Christ
Throughout history there has been much controversy, doubt and misinformation about the return of Jesus Christ. Many thought He would already have returned—some doubt that He will return at all! Many people today scoff at the idea of Jesus ruling from Jerusalem in the not too distant future.

However, the Bible is clear on this. His return will be as unmistakable and as universally visible as a flash of lightning (Matthew 24:27). It will be sudden and quite unexpected to the world (Matthew 24:37-39). It demands constant readiness on our part (Matthew 24:42-44), since none of us knows the exact time of His coming (Matthew 24:36). But we do know the end will come after the gospel of the Kingdom is preached to the world (Matthew 24:14)!

As Jesus commanded us, let us continue to pray, "Your kingdom come" (Matthew 6:10). As thousands of Christians around the world observe the Feast of Trumpets, keep in mind the great significance of what it pictures in God's Holy Day plan for mankind—the return of our Savior. If you're unfamiliar with this important day, you can read all about it in our booklet God's Holy Day Plan: The Promise of Hope for All Mankind. Perhaps you will feel compelled to observe it, too, as you pray for God's Kingdom to come.