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The Second Coming Of
Jesus Christ
CompellingTruth.org
The "second coming" is the term used to refer to the
future event when Jesus will return to Earth, conquer His enemies, and reign as
King of the world.
Jesus described His return in Matthew 24:30: "Then will appear in heaven the sign of the
Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see
the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory."
John saw Jesus as a mighty warrior in Revelation 19:11-16: "Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a
white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in
righteousness he judges and makes war.
“His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are
many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. He is
clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The
Word of God.
“And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white
and pure, were following him on white horses.
“From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to
strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron.
“He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath
of God the Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King
of kings and Lord of lords."
The concept of Jesus' second coming was a mystery to Jews and Jesus'
followers until He ascended into heaven after His crucifixion and resurrection.
The Jews knew of the suffering Servant (Isaiah 53) and the conquering King,
but they didn't understand that the work of the Servant and the work of the
King would occur at two different times (Isaiah 7:14, 9:6-7; Zechariah 14:4).
People laid down their coats and palm branches for Jesus during His
triumphal entry into Jerusalem because they expected a military leader to save
them from Roman rule.
Even after Jesus' death and resurrection, the disciples didn't
understand He had to leave and return.
After Jesus ascended to heaven, the angels explained to
the confused disciples, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into
heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the
same way as you saw him go into heaven" (Acts 1:11).
People today still confuse Jesus' second coming with the rapture of the
church, which occurs prior to Jesus' second coming.
The rapture is described in I Thessalonians 4:16-17: "For the Lord himself will descend from
heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the
sound of the trumpet of God.
“And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who
are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to
meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord."
During the rapture, Jesus will come down to the skies to collect His
followers, but He will not set foot on the Earth; He will remain in the air.
Zechariah 14:4 says that Jesus' feet will "stand on the
Mount of Olives."
When Jesus returns, He will fulfill prophecy, destroy His enemies (Zechariah 12:1-9; Revelation 19:15-16), gather and bless His
people (Isaiah 11:11; Zechariah 12:10), and reign as King (Isaiah 11).
We cannot know when Jesus' second coming will occur (Matthew 24:36; 2 Thessalonians 2:1-2), although we can look for
signs — events that must occur beforehand (Matthew 24:4-29; 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12; Revelation 6–18).
Like the other prophecies about the end times, the promise of Jesus'
return is to give us encouragement (Titus 2:13) and to exhort us to
continue to trust and obey Him (Matthew 25:19-21).
CompellingTruth.org is an outreach
of www.GotQuestions.org.
The purpose statement of CompellingTruth.org is: "Presenting the truth of the Christian faith in a compelling, relevant, and practical way."
Our mission is to take the questions, issues, struggles, and disagreements that exist within the Christian faith and shine the truth of God's Word on them. We believe the truth of God's Word is compelling. If we would all truly and fully submit ourselves to the truth of God's Word, most of our questions, issues, struggles, and disagreements would disappear. God's Word does not directly address every situation we face in life, but it does contain truth that can apply to anything and everything we deal with.
Whether it is theology, apologetics, or the practical Christian life - we want to present the compelling truth of God's Word. Whether it is about God, Jesus, salvation, the Bible, sin, or eternity - we want to present the compelling truth of God's Word.
The purpose statement of CompellingTruth.org is: "Presenting the truth of the Christian faith in a compelling, relevant, and practical way."
Our mission is to take the questions, issues, struggles, and disagreements that exist within the Christian faith and shine the truth of God's Word on them. We believe the truth of God's Word is compelling. If we would all truly and fully submit ourselves to the truth of God's Word, most of our questions, issues, struggles, and disagreements would disappear. God's Word does not directly address every situation we face in life, but it does contain truth that can apply to anything and everything we deal with.
Whether it is theology, apologetics, or the practical Christian life - we want to present the compelling truth of God's Word. Whether it is about God, Jesus, salvation, the Bible, sin, or eternity - we want to present the compelling truth of God's Word.
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