What will happen when Christ returns? In particular, what will happen to his people?
John says, “we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is” (1 Jn. 3:2).
Seeing him in glory will be transformational—“We shall be like him.”
This parallels Paul’s statement in Colossians 3: “When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory” (v. 4).
Christ will appear in glory and we will appear in glory with him.
Take a moment and let this sink in: we will be like Christ and we will appear with him in glory.
Why?
Because we were “predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son” (Rom. 8:29). And even now, as we look at Christ in faith, we are “being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory” (2 Cor. 3:18).
But how will we be like Christ when he appears? Paul writes,
But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body. (Phil. 3:20-21)
Our bodies will be changed from lowly to glorious like his powerful resurrected body. And this transformation will be instantaneous.
Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed—in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”
“Where, O death, is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting?”
The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. (vv. 51-57)
We will see Christ, then, in a flash, we will become immortal. This is the hope in which we were saved.
We ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently. (Rom. 8:23-25)
Moreover, this physical redemption will transform the entire planet and even the whole universe.
Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord, and that he may send the Messiah, who has been appointed for you—even Jesus. Heaven must receive him until the time comes for God to restore everything, as he promised long ago through his holy prophets. (Acts 3:19-21)
For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God. (Rom. 8:20-21)
Consequently, we are looking forward to new bodies and “a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells” (2 Pet. 3:13). This hope is beyond imagination, but it has deep roots in history because the transformation of the universe began two thousand years ago with the resurrection of Christ.
After graduating from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, I served as a high school Bible teacher in Asia. I enjoy traveling, writing, and playing the drums. For a deep dive into church history and the character of God, see my book Surprised by Hell.