The Once and Future King
Why the return of Jesus is the climax of everything.
Part 1 of 4: What the Bible promises about the end of everything.
We don’t live under a monarchy in the US, but our hearts still long for a good king**,** one with nobility and justice and strength.
We think of England’s King Arthur, that “once and future king” who drew the sword from the stone and ruled with courage, justice, and virtue in a kingdom called Camelot. His reign was not only a treasured past but also a future hope. The problem, though, is that neither Arthur nor Camelot ever existed. They are Christ-haunted longings of a good king who rules a glorious kingdom rather than realities.
But where legend fails, the Bible does not. That longing for a good King is there for a reason, to be satisfied fully in Jesus, who is the true and better Arthur. His kingdom is the true Camelot, marked by justice, righteousness, and peace. He is the once and future King.
Two thousand years ago, Jesus came to live the life we should have lived and die the guilty death we should have died. He rose from the grave to defeat death for us. And he ascended into heaven and now reigns as the King of kings and Lord of lords at the right hand of the Father, waiting for the time when he will return to consummate his kingdom. Our king came once; he’s coming again.
Jesus’s second coming won’t be like his first. The Bible says that in his first coming, Jesus “emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, humbling himself to death on a cross” (Phil. 2:7). In his second coming, he will come “on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory” (Matt. 24:30). It will be a universal, public, and undeniable acknowledgment of his Kingship.
Jesus’s return will be personal, glorious, and bodily. The same Jesus who came in humility will come again in glory. 1 Thessalonians 4:16 says, “The Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God.” His return is not metaphorical or symbolic; it will be real, visible, and bodily. “Every eye will see him” (Rev. 1:7).
Jesus’s return is the climax of the Bible. If Jesus came only once and will never come again, then the gospel is only partially finished. The gospel doesn’t end with the death, resurrection, and ascension of Christ. It goes on to the return of Christ and the restoration of all things. It goes on to satisfy the deepest longings of our hearts for all things to be set right, for a king and a kingdom where the life we want is an ever-present reality.
Of course, to get there, the King must do what a king does. He must establish his sovereign rule, drive out all that doesn’t belong, and purify all that does. The Bible calls this the final judgment.
In John 5:22, Jesus says the Father has given all judgment to the Son. For the unbeliever, the final judgment will be a day of unmitigated disaster. Even the goodness they trusted in will testify against them because they rejected Christ.
But for those who have trusted in Christ and believed the gospel, there is nothing to fear, because all condemnation was already taken by Christ on the cross. Judgment day will be the public unveiling of what is already true: “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 8:1).
How we live still matters. Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5:10 that “we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.” Everything will be brought into the open before Jesus Christ, the King**:** hidden sins, secret prayers, deeds done for applause, and quiet acts of love no one else saw. Nothing will be overlooked.
And that is a great comfort. It means there will be nothing in our lives left unresolved in eternity. On that day, we will stand before the Lamb who was slain for our sins and cry out with the angels in Revelation 5:12, “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain!” Our works that flowed from genuine faith will endure and receive reward. We will be vindicated and welcomed into eternal life.
After that final judgment, Jesus will consummate his kingdom. He will deliver the earth from sin’s curse, glorify his people, and establish his sovereign rule forever. That day, for all who trust Christ, is the day our hearts long for. Camelot is coming. Our once and future King will make it so.