We do not preach only one coming of Christ, but a second as well, much
more glorious than the first. The first coming was marked by patience; the
second will bring the crown of a divine kingdom.
In general, whatever relates to our Lord Jesus Christ has two aspects.
There is a birth from God before the ages, and a birth from a virgin at the
fullness of time. There is a hidden coming, like that of rain on fleece, and a
coming before all eyes, still in the future.
At the first coming he was wrapped in swaddling clothes in a manger. At
his second coming he will be clothed in light as in a garment. In the first
coming he endured the cross, despising the shame; in the second coming he will
be in glory, escorted by an army of angels.
We look then beyond the first coming and await the second. At the first
coming we said: Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. At the second
we shall say it again; we shall go out with the angels to meet the Lord and cry
out in adoration: Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
The Savior will not come to be judged again, but to judge those by whom
he was judged. At his own judgement he was silent; then he will address those
who committed the outrages against him when they crucified him and will remind
them: You did these things, and I was silent.
His first coming was to fulfil his plan of love, to teach men by gentle
persuasion. This time, whether men like it or not, they will be subjects of his
kingdom by necessity.
The prophet Malachi speaks of the two comings. And the Lord whom you
seek will come suddenly to his temple: that is one coming. Again he says of
another coming: Behold, the Lord almighty will come, and who will endure the
day of his entry, or who will stand in his sight? Because he comes like a
refiner’s fire, a fuller’s herb, and he will sit refining and cleansing.
These two comings are also referred to by Paul in writing to Titus: The
grace of God the Savior has appeared to all men, instructing us to put aside
impiety and worldly desires and live temperately, uprightly, and religiously in
this present age, waiting for the joyful hope, the appearance of the glory of
our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. Notice how he speaks of a first coming
for which he gives thanks, and a second, the one we still await.
That is why the faith we profess has been handed on to you in these words: He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father, and he will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end. Our Lord Jesus Christ will therefore come from heaven. He will come at the end of the world, in glory, at the last day. For there will be an end to this world, and the created world will be made new.
From Instructions to Catechumens by St Cyril of Jerusalem