It's difficult to imagine the emotions the apostles must have felt the day they watched the resurrected Jesus Christ ascend into the clouds (Acts 1:9). They had watched and waited their whole lives for the Messiah, expecting Him to liberate the Jewish people from the heavy hand of Rome. Instead, they had watched Him die.

But they had also seen Him in His resurrected form, and He spoke with them, taught them and encouraged them over the course of 40 days (verse 3). Now He had disappeared upward into the clouds. Two men, apparently angels, promised them He would return in the same manner He had left.

From that time to the present, Christianity has awaited Christ's second coming.

You've likely heard that Jesus will return to earth. But have you ever asked why? What will He do after He returns? How will His return affect the world? We need to understand the answers to these questions.

Jesus' teaching role

When we look back at Christ's human life on earth nearly 2,000 years ago, perhaps the most important title we could ascribe to Him is that of Teacher. When the Pharisee Nicodemus came to see Jesus, he said, "Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God" (John 3:2). The word rabbi literally means "master"—the title of respect by which teachers were commonly addressed. Nicodemus recognized what Jesus' disciples already knew: He was a wonderfully gifted teacher.

The men who eventually became apostles in the Church Jesus founded were first called to be disciples—that is, students. Jesus called each of them from a trade or craft to learn to do something different. They spent 3 1/2 years with the Master Teacher learning to become "fishers of men" (Matthew 4:19).

The Bible records that Jesus spent considerable time and energy teaching. Not only did He instruct the disciples and occasionally men in leadership positions such as Nicodemus, but He frequently taught crowds of the general public, anyone who came to hear Him. "Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people" (Matthew 9:35).

As we have already seen, after His death and resurrection Jesus repeatedly met with His disciples during the 40 days before His ascension to heaven, still teaching them more about the Kingdom of God and how to take the message of the Kingdom to the rest of the world.

Christ is not yet finished with His role as Teacher. He left behind some important unfinished business and will return to earth —perhaps in the near future—to complete it.

Today's war-torn world

One of the elements most lacking in our world is peace—peace between nations, peace between ethnic groups, peace within families. The words of the prophet Isaiah have never been truer: "The way of peace they have not known ..." (Isaiah 59:8). Lasting peace seems an unreachable goal. Whether we try to gain it by force, alliances, diplomacy or ignoring a problem, peace is elusive—and around the world the body count continues to climb.

According to Christ's own words, the pattern of violence and suffering will only increase until the time of His return. "It [the end time] will be a time of great distress, such as there has never been before since the beginning of the world, and will never be again. If that time of troubles were not cut short, no living thing could survive ..." (Matthew 24:21-22, Revised English Bible).

Jesus Himself foretold a time of violence so intense that, if left unchecked, the human race would eventually release the full horror and fury of its weapons of mass destruction, resulting in total destruction, the annihilation of life on the planet.

It is during this time of world war that Christ will return to take control of world events and stop humanity from destroying itself (Matthew 24:21; Revelation 16:14-16). This He will do quickly and decisively. No weapon or army will be able to overcome the supernatural power of the Creator. Jesus Christ, the very One who brought the universe into existence by His infinite power (Colossians 1:16; Hebrews 1:1-2), will, at this time, intervene to snuff out this horrible war.

In short order the guns of this world's armies will fall silent, and bombs and missiles will cease to fall (Revelation 19:11-21). The massive military forces gathered for a momentous final battle will in moments cease to fight. With that taken care of, Jesus' world-transforming work will begin!

Crucial missing knowledge

God told the prophet Hosea, "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge" (Hosea 4:6). The weight of human experience has proven beyond doubt that the knowledge of how we are to live has been missing. The history of mankind is scarred with hatred, conflict, betrayal and war. Christ will need to introduce to human beings the way to peace and harmony with each other.

It is this knowledge that Jesus, the Master Teacher, will bring to all mankind, and this knowledge will transform the world!

Isaiah wrote of this future world: "Many people shall come and say, 'Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; He will teach us His ways, and we shall walk in His paths.' For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem" (Isaiah 2:3).

Men, women, boys and girls will realize, perhaps for the first time, their need to understand how to live in peace and harmony. They will realize that the source of that knowledge, the Teacher who can help them, is the now-returned Jesus Christ!

What will Jesus teach? Isaiah, we've seen, told us He would teach "the law" and "the word of the Lord." But what law? The law Jesus will teach is none other than the law God gave Israel, the law He summarized in what we know as the Ten Commandments.

These commandments, which form the foundation for all the statutes and judgments God issued, show us how to express love for God and our fellow man. If we study and follow these laws, they will show us how to live and will guide us into peace and harmony.

A world transformed

Just imagine how many family problems would be eliminated if no one committed adultery—or if parents and children treated each other with respect and dignity, rather than with anger and dishonor. What if every husband and every wife responded with love and the deepest of respect to every family-relations problem, rather than with cruel words and abuse?

How would your life change if you no longer spent so much time, energy and financial resources trying to secure your home and possessions because no one coveted or tried to steal them?

What if nations no longer had to worry about national security because no one tried to steal another nation's territory or resources? How much could be accomplished if the energy and resources poured into military buildups and intelligence gathering could be channeled into peaceful projects?

How many of history's wars rooted in a clash of religions would never have happened if everyone worshiped the same God—the one true God—with the same understanding and religious practices and learned to love others with the same care and concern with which they loved themselves?

Isaiah paints a picture of just such a world. After describing God's law going forth to all nations, he writes: "He [Jesus, the Messiah] shall judge between the nations, and rebuke many people; they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore" (verse 4).

Part of the job of a teacher is to correct wrong behavior. Some nations and their citizens will apparently need a little more correction than others. But soon all peoples everywhere will turn their weapons of death and destruction into useful implements for agriculture and industry. Rather than destroying, these tools will be used to build.

Utopian peace

When respect, honor and love are the standards for human conduct, the world will see an unprecedented time of peace and prosperity. No longer will a person's retirement account be wiped out by the greed of unscrupulous corporate officers. Never again will a widow's meager life savings be taken by a con artist. Rather, to a good old age men and women will enjoy the fruit of their labors and watch their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren grow up in peace and safety (Isaiah 65:20-23).

In this utopian world, God will even supernaturally change the nature of the animal kingdom to reflect the peace and harmony extant among men. "'The wolf and
the lamb shall feed together, the lion shall eat straw like the ox, and dust shall be the serpent's food. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain,' says the Lord" (verse 25).

Even the city of Jerusalem, which today is a center of violence and conflict, will enjoy peace and security. "Thus says the Lord of hosts: 'Old men and old women shall again sit in the streets of Jerusalem, each one with his staff in his hand because of great age. The streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing ...'" (Zechariah 8:4-5).

The present-day conflict between Jews and Arabs will be but a distant and fading memory because all will live together with respect and dignity. No nation or league of nations on earth today can bring about this peace. It will take the power and wisdom of the returning Jesus Christ!

Closer than ever

When Christ returns, we will have much work to do. Mankind will be on the brink of self-destruction, with no hope in sight. The Messiah will directly intervene to stop that titanic war and begin the work of reeducating the human beings He already gave His life to save.

The laws of God, recorded but ignored for centuries, will be widely taught as the law of the land; everyone will live by them. Ultimately "God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away" (Revelation 21:4). This is the incredible future Jesus will usher in.

We are closer than ever to these wonderful events. God's promises are certain, and this future is coming as surely as the sun rises and sets. Every day brings us closer.

It's difficult to imagine the emotions the apostles must have felt as they watched the resurrected Christ ascend into the clouds. But they knew He would return—and their faith was unwavering. They looked forward to a world without misery, a world led and taught by the same Master Teacher from whom they themselves had learned. The future does have a wonderful hope—God speed that glorious day! GN