What do the Holy Bible and Church Tradition say about the two comings?

St. Cyril of Jerusalem writes on the second coming of Christ:

“ I beheld till thrones were placed, and one that was ancient of days did sit , and then, I saw in a vision of the night, and behold one like the Son of Man came with the clouds of heaven , etc . (Dan. 7:9, 13).

“We preach not one advent only of Christ, but a second also, far more glorious than the former. For the former gave a view of His patience; but the latter brings with it the crown of a divine kingdom. For all things, for the most part, are twofold in our Lord Jesus Christ: a twofold generation; one, of God, before the ages; and one, of a Virgin, at the close of the ages: His descents twofold; one, the unobserved, like rain on a fleece (Ps. 72:6); and a second His open coming, which is to be. In His former advent, He was wrapped in swaddling clothes in the manger; in His second, He covers Himself with light as with a garment (Ps. 104:2). In His first coming, He endured the Cross, despising shame (Heb. 12:2); in His second, He comes attended by a host of Angels, receiving glory … The Saviour comes, not to be judged again, but to judge them who judged Him; He who before held His peace when judged (Matt. 26:63), shall remind the transgressors who did those daring deeds at the Cross, and shall say, These things have you done, and I kept silence (Ps. 50:21).

1233 See Fr. Tadros Yacoub Malaty, Divine Love (Arabic) Books 1–8, second edition, revised and updated (Sporting, Alexandria: St. George’s Coptic Orthodox Church, 2010): pp. 1157–1158.

“And concerning these two comings, Malachi the Prophet says, And the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple (Mal. 3:1–3); behold one coming. And again of the second coming he says, And the Messenger of the covenant in whom you delight. Behold, He comes, says the Lord Almighty. But who shall abide the day of His coming? or who shall stand when He appears? Because He comes in like a refiner’s fire, and like fullers’ lye; and He shall sit as a refiner and purifier . And immediately after the Saviour Himself says, And I will draw near to you in judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulteresses, and against those who swear falsely in My Name (Mal. 3:5), and the rest …

“Paul also knew these two comings, when writing to Titus and saying, The grace of God has appeared which brings salvation unto all men, instructing us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, and godly, and righteously in this present world; looking for the blessed hope, and appearing of the glory of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ (Titus 2:11). You see how he spoke of a first, for which he gives thanks; and of a second, to which we look forward.”¹²³⁴

The first coming of the Lord Christ for the salvation of the world changed our understanding of The Day of the Lord [the second coming]. For us it has become the day of our joyful eternal wedding. No longer is the day of His second coming a matter of dread — it has become our heart’s desire, to which we look forward with joy and exultation. One of the principal exercises in the lives of the desert Fathers — and also in the lives of those who take their salvation seriously — is the continual remembrance of the last day when the Lord will come, and preparation for the experience of the heavenly glories and the divine embrace.

The martyr St. Cyprian says, “What will be the glory and how great the joy to be admitted to see God, to be honoured to receive with Christ, your Lord God, the joy of eternal salvation and light—to greet Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the patriarchs, and prophets, and apostles, and martyrs—to rejoice with the righteous and the friends of God in the kingdom of heaven, with the pleasure of immortality given to us—to receive there what neither eye has seen, nor ear heard, neither has entered into the heart of man!”¹²³⁵

St. Cyril the Great says, “And that we ought to look for the coming again of Christ from heaven—for He will come in the glory of the Father with the holy angels … For Christ will return as from a feast: by which is plainly shown, that God ever dwells in festivals, such as befit Him. For above, there is no sadness whatsoever.”[1236 ]

In the second coming of the Lord Christ, He will embrace us as a heavenly bride, the creation of His own hands, who will share in eternal glory with Him. St. Cyril the Great says, “ They will go up from the land [Hos 1:11], that is, they, too, will live the life of the saints.

1234 St. Cyril of Jerusalem, Catechetical Lectures 15.1–2 (NPNF II/7:104) amended.

1235 St. Cyprian of Carthage, Letters 55.10 (ANF 5:350) amended.

1236 St. Cyril of Alexandria, A Commentary upon the Gospel According to St. Luke: Part II , trans. R. Payne Smith (Oxford University Press, 1859) 92: pp. 426–427.

Because great will be the day of Jezreel , that is to say, great indeed is the day of Christ, when he will raise all the dead, coming down from heaven and sitting as Scripture says on the throne of his glory, and he will render to everyone according to each one’s works (Matt. 25:31; 16:27) … David also reveals the time of the coming of our Savior in saying, ‘This is the day the Lord has made; let us be glad and rejoice in it’ (Ps. 118:24).”[1237 ]