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I've heard Christians claim that at the Second Coming Christ will return with a physical human body, what is the Bible basis for this belief?
It is clear that he has a physical flesh body once:
And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us
John 1:14
I'm interested in an answer from any mainstream Christian belief that believes Christ will have a physical body at the Second Coming.
Question: Will Christ at the second coming be made of flesh?
Answer: Yes. This is what the Bible says:
It is true that “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14). The Word gave up the glory he had in heaven and became a little lower than the angels in order to do the will of his Father in heaven.
But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honour because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone (Hebrews 2:9).
This is Jesus, who lived, died and then was resurrected with a body of flesh and bones. The resurrected Jesus told his disciples he was not some sort of spirit creature:
A spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I have (Luke 24:39).
Acts 1:9-11 tells us that just as his disciples saw him ascend into heaven, so he will return in the same way:
After He had said these things, He was lifted up while they were watching, and a cloud took Him up, out of their sight. And as they were gazing intently into the sky while He was going, then behold, two men in white clothing stood beside them, and they said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven.
Jesus was resurrected with a glorified body of flesh, an incorruptible body, fit for eternity in heaven. His followers, who look to a heavenly citizenship, await the return of the Lord Jesus Christ who is empowered to
transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body (Philippians 3:20-21).
His glorious body is an incorruptible body, one that will never die. In this way, Jesus' resurrected body is different from his pre-resurrection body. Nonetheless, when he returns, in glory and accompanied by all the heavenly hosts, it will not be as a spirit creature, but as the resurrected Christ - and every eye will see him.
As a response to the comment left by @user47592: Jesus own words prove that the resurrected Jesus was not a spirit creature but had a body of flesh and bones (Luke 24:39). Acts 1:11 informs us that Jesus will return “in the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven.” It was not a spirit creature that ascended into heaven. It was the glorified, resurrected body of Christ Jesus that his disciples saw.
There is nothing invisible about the return of Jesus:
Look, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him; and all the peoples of the earth will mourn because of him. So shall it be! Amen (Revelation 1:7).
Nowhere in the Bible does it say that Christ Jesus will return as a spirit creature.
If you disagree, feel free to down-vote my answer but it would be more honest to post your own answer to the OP’s question and explain to everybody why you disagree with Ken Graham and myself.
Will Christ at the second coming be made of flesh?
According to most Christian denominations the answer is yes.
I assume that you are questioning whether Christ will appear at the Second Coming according to the flesh?
To start of with, at the resurrection of Jesus, he rose from the dead, in body and soul!
On one occasion, St. Thomas actually put his finger into the wounds of his Crucifixion in order to prove he was for real (flesh and blood) and not a ghost! He even ate food before the Apostles. A spiritual being or ghost has no need to eat something to remain alive!
At the Ascension of Our Lord, we see the risen Saviour taken into heaven in bodily form. The Angels make the following pronouncement:
4 On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. 5 For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”
6 Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”
7 He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
9 After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.
10 They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. 11 “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.” - Acts 1:4-10
The flesh is the mortal body that dies. The celestial body is the alien body. The heavenly body is the resurrected body that has physical immortality. The dead (flesh/she'll/mortal/corruptible) body (that is judged) either receives Spiritual/heavenly/immortal/incorruptible body which is put back into the dead body from Holy Spirit and lifts up the body to receive the Promise Land.
The problem with all of the previous answers is that the Ancient Near Eastern and 1st century meaning of 'heaven,' 'earth,' 'body,' 'coming in the clouds,' or 'clouds,' 'sky,' and 'world' is not our own current 21st century meaning, yet millions of people interpret these terms scientifically. They were not interpreted this way in the 1st century. The terms, 'heaven and earth,' and 'world,' are NEVER referring to the planet, just as 'coming in the clouds' is NOT talking about meteorology. Just as the term 'body' when referring to a king is NOT just referring to the physical human body...there are 2 bodies to a king. When you start to study ANE and Eastern Ph'D's interpretation of these terms it NEVER aligns with theologians 'Western' terminology's or ideologies. The Bible is an Ancient Near EASTERN text. Please start researching the definitions, meanings and interpretations of these terms from the ANE and 1st century meaning to understand the Biblical text correctly.
