During the first part of 1986, the famous comet named for the English astronomer, Edmund Halley, will be visible on Earth once again. This once-a-lifetime phenomenon occurs about every 76 years, with the present appearance being the 29th consecutive occasion that Halley's Comet will have been gazed upon by human beings since its first recorded sighting by the Babylonians about 2,200 years ago. This visit the comet is expected to be nearest the sun on February 9, 1986, but the best chances for observing it with binoculars or the naked eye will be in January and then again in March and April. According to astronomers, the last appearance in 1910 was more spectacular than what we can hope for this time due to the alignment of the earth and sun in relation to the comet. The first sighting of this apparition of Halley's Comet was made in 1982 with the giant 200-inch telescope at Mount Palomar, California.

A comet is believed to be a huge snowball of frozen gases mixed with dust moving in an elongated orbit around the sun. As it approaches the sun, the frozen gases of the nucleus return to gaseous form and expand outward, carrying dust with them to form the head of the comet. The effects of sunlight and solar wind blow this material away from the head to form tails, sometimes millions of miles long, making it look like a "hairy star."

There are possibly millions of comets, with more being discovered each year. The orbits of almost 900 have been computed, with Halley's being the most celebrated of all. Edmund Halley was the first man to prove that comets moved around the sun. In 1705 he predicted the comet of 1682 would return in 1758, which it did, thirteen years after his death. It was then named Halley's Comet.

The coming again of Halley's Comet reminds us of another coming again predicted almost 2,000 years ago. In the Bible we read that Jesus said, "Let not your heart be troubled . . . I will come again and receive you unto Myself; that where I am there ye may be also" (John 14:1-3). JESUS IS COMING AGAIN! Think about this statement, my friend. Let it sink into your soul, that Jesus is coming again.

He came once to earth "to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself" (Heb. 9:26) on the Cross of Calvary. Having thus died for sinners, finishing the work of redemption, He satisfied every claim of God against sin and defeated the powers of evil. This was proved in His resurrection from among the dead the third day, followed by His ascension to glory forty days later. At that time a voice from heaven declared to the disciples as they watched, "This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into heaven" (Acts. 1:11). Later, it was revealed to the apostle Paul that "The Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord" (1 Thess. 4:16,17).

Unlike the return of Halley's Comet which could be seen by most everyone on earth, this return of the Lord Jesus Christ from heaven will be a secret one, to whisk away all true believers form this wicked world which is ripe for the judgment of God. "Unto them that look for Him, shall He appear the second time without sin unto salvation" (Heb. 9:28). Every born-again believer looks for His return and will hear His shout and be raptured to glory to be forever with the Lord.

The unbeliever will be left behind to pass through the fury of God's judgment to fall upon the earth, and seen years later (if still alive) will behold Christ coming as the King of kings to judge the world and reign over the earth. "Behold He cometh with clouds and every eye shall see Him . . . and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of Him" (Rev. 1:7).

As these Scriptures emphasize the importance of being ready for Christ's coming by being saved by God's grace, we would kindly ask each reader, Will His coming mean "salvation" (Heb. 9:28) or "wailing" (Rev. 1:7) for you? It is reported that for centuries the coming of Halley's Comet struck fear into men's hearts thinking it was a messenger from God or a harbinger of destruction. Today, because of increased knowledge, we don't fear Halley's Comet. For a similar reason, though, (the knowledge of the Truth from God's Word) we should fear the imminent coming of the Lord and flee to Him now in repentance of sin and trust Him as our personal Saviour. To neglect to do this is to be unprepared for His return, and will result in being left behind for judgment, and finally be forever banished from His presence in the lake of fire (2 Thess. 1:7-9; Rev. 20:11-15).

Jesus is coming again! He is the same One who created Halley's Comet and placed it and maintains it in the more than six billion mile orbit around the sun so that modern man can accurately compute and predict its coming. The Scriptures quoted are just as true and accurate and will come to pass. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ now and be ready for His coming. "For yet a very little while, and He that shall come will come, and will not tarry" (Heb. 10:37). "Surely I come quickly" (Rev. 22:7,12,20). "Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour" (Matt. 25:13).

—Timothy D. Johnson