What in the World is Going to Happen?
Part 6: The Second Coming of Christ
by Max Frazier, Jr.

From the May 2009 Philogian

It had been an emotional roller-coaster ride the past few weeks.  How well those followers of Jesus remembered those days when their dreams had been dashed – no, crushed seemed like a better word.  They echoed the thoughts of Cleopas and another on the road to Emmaus: we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel (Luke 24:21).  But Jesus had died and had been buried in a borrowed grave.  Life was not at an end; it just seemed that way.  Then, a group of women had hastily entered the room where those followers hid from the hands of the angry Jewish authorities and excitedly announced that Jesus had risen from the dead.  Could it be true?  A few of them began to remember what Jesus had said about being put to death but rising from the dead.  Then, suddenly, Jesus appeared in the room and gave them the benediction of His peace.  Immediately life took on a new significance. 

Now nearly six weeks had elapsed since that dark, yet wonderful weekend.  Slowly they accompanied Jesus up the familiar slopes of the Mount of Olives.  It seemed like old times, yet there was something strangely different.  Jesus commanded them to return to Jerusalem and to tarry until the Holy Spirit would come upon them.  Then He bestowed upon them the privilege of being His witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and then to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8). 

And then something amazing happened.  Let’s allow the text to speak for itself: After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.  They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them.  “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 2:9-11).  Those disciples now had a commission and a hope.  Soon they would have a power that would guide them in the fulfillment of that commission and assure them of that hope.  And what was that hope?  It was the hope of the Second Coming of Christ.

There are at least twenty major passages in the New Testament which deal with the Second Coming of Jesus Christ:
            Matthew 19:28; 23:39; 24:3-25:46
            Mark 13:24-37
            Luke 12:35-48; 17:22-37; 18:8; 21:25-28
            Acts 1:9-11; 15:16-18
            Romans 11:25-27
            1 Corinthians 11:26
            2 Thessalonians 1:7-10
            2 Peter 3:3-4
            Jude 14-15
            Revelation 1:7-8; 2:25-28; 16:15; 19:11-21; 22:20

We shall let these passages, along with many others from the Old Testament, guide us into a deeper understanding of Christ’s Second Coming. 

How Shall He Come?
First, the Bible strongly asserts that Jesus Christ will come PERSONALLY.  Let’s be reminded again of those words of the angels to those disciples who had witnessed Christ’s ascension: “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 1:11, emphasis added).  It will not be a substitute Jesus.  It will not be an angelic being pretending to be Jesus.  No, it will be the very same Jesus.  It will be the same Jesus who broke the bread with them in the Upper Room.  It will be the same Jesus whom they saw raise Lazarus from the dead.  It will be the same Jesus who walked upon those wind-swept waves of Galilee.  It will be the same Jesus into whose nail prints Thomas had thrust his fingers.  How comforting for those disciples, and for us today, to know that it is the very same Jesus who will come.

Second, the Bible declares that Jesus Christ will come BODILY.  Jesus had told His followers: At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn.  They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory (Matthew 24:30).  This will not be an apparition.  Jesus will not return as some mysterious spiritual ethereal being.  No, we will see the prints of the nails in His hands and His feet.  We will see the scars of the thorns on His brow.  We will be embraced by those wonderful arms as He welcomes us to share with Him in His kingdom. 

Third, Jesus Christ will come VISIBLY.  Again, let’s hear the words of Jesus: For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man (Matthew 24:27).  Lightning is one of those very visible weather phenomena.  One can stand on a deck during a summer thunderstorm and watch the lightning as it streaks across the heavens.  To say that lightning cannot be hidden is a statement that needs little qualification.  So it will be with Jesus Christ.  When He returns to claim His kingdom, the world will know of His coming.  It will not be a secretive entrance known only to a few, as was His first entrance into this world.  The Apostle John states it well with these words: Look, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him; and all the people of the earth will mourn because of him (Revelation 1:7, emphasis added). 

Fourth, the Bible affirms that when Jesus comes, He will be SURROUNDED WITH HIS GLORY.  As they walked in the area of Caesarea Philippi, following Peter’s great confession, Jesus shared with His disciples concerning His impending death and resurrection.  He then said: For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done (Matthew 16:27, emphasis added).  This is the glory that many assumed Jesus would present when He came the first time.  It is that glory which He has always had with the Father.  It is that glory that He laid aside in order to redeem sinful humanity.  It is that glory restored to Him by the Father.  It is a glory that will fill the earth and forever change the way things are done. 

Fifth, when Jesus returns, AN ANGELIC HOST will accompany Him.  One of the earliest prophetic passages in the history of mankind, from no less a person than Enoch himself, the one who was translated by God such that he did not see death, records these words: Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men: “See, the Lord is coming with thousands upon thousands of his holy ones to judge everyone, and to convict all the ungodly of all the ungodly acts they had done in the ungodly way, and of all the harsh words ungodly sinners have spoken against him (Jude 14-15, emphasis added).  One simply cannot begin to comprehend the reality of this scene.  Not just a few angels; but millions of them.  Will those upon earth be as frightened as were those shepherds tending sheep upon the hillsides of Bethlehem that first Advent?  Will the angelic host enter into another stirring anthem announcing the entrance of the King into the world?  One can only wonder.

Finally, and perhaps most exciting for those of us who know Christ as our Lord and Savior, the Bible trumpets that He will return WITH HIS SAINTS.  The Apostle John describes it this way: The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean (Revelation 19:14).  From examining verse 8 in that same chapter we come to understand that these armies of heaven are composed of the Bride of the Lamb, or the Church - you and me.  Now I don’t know about you, but this gives me great cause for excitement.  When Jesus came the first time, He entered this world alone; but, when He returns, it seems that all heaven will join Him for His triumphal entry. 

Where Will He Return?
Once again the Bible is crystal clear as to the exact location of Jesus Christ’s return to this earth.  The Old Testament prophet Zechariah is very specific with these words: On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will split in two from east to west, forming a great valley, with half of the mountain moving north and half moving south (Zechariah 14:4, emphasis added).  You will quickly remember that it was from this same Mount of Olives that Jesus ascended into heaven.  Just as the angels announced that day to those disciples that that very same Jesus would return, so He will return to that very same place. 

Now why the Mount of Olives?  I think there might be a couple of reasons.  First, Jesus will retrace the steps of His entrance into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday.  Then He rode upon a donkey; now He rides a white charger.  Then a crowd that soon became disillusioned proclaimed Him with hosannas; now the world will fall at His feet in worship.  But, the second reason for appearing on the Mount of Olives has a more logical and biblical foundation.  As I have been reading and studying the Book of Ezekiel I have been intrigued by the fact that, when God’s glory was removed from the Temple of Solomon before it was to be destroyed, it stopped upon the Mount of Olives (Ezekiel 11:23).  Nowhere do we read in Scripture of God’s glory physically reappearing either within the temple constructed by Zerubbabel or expanded later by King Herod.  It is almost as if God’s glory is awaiting that day when the Son bears it Himself into a temple that will bring honor and glory to the Father. 

What Names Will He Bear When He Returns?
In John’s account of the Second Coming of Christ, recorded in Revelation 19, four titles are given to Christ.  Each one has a special significance.  First, He is called Faithful and True (Revelation 19:11).  This title denotes that God is faithful to His promises.  Everything God does is based upon two premises: 1) His truth – God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope offered to us may be greatly encouraged (Hebrews 6:18); and 2) His faithfulness to Himself – If we are faithless, he will remain faithful, for he cannot disown himself (2 Timothy 2:13). 

The second title is a very interesting one.  John writes: He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself (Revelation 19:12).  Bible scholars have wrestled with what this means.  I am convinced it means that there remains a mystery about Christ.  I believe that there will always be aspects of Christ that we will never fully understand for all of eternity.  Just as we will never fully comprehend the magnitude of the person of God, so we will never fully comprehend that of Jesus Christ.  Oh there is going to be so much to learn in glory.  I am not going to have time to sit around and strum a harp.

In verse 13 John writes: …and his name is the Word of God.  This is a title used only by John.  It speaks of the incarnation of Christ.  In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God.  He was with God in the beginning (John 1:1-2).  Oh the specialness of that name!

And finally, John states, I think with a voice of triumph: On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: King of kings and Lord of lords (Revelation 19:16).  This phrase denotes His ultimate sovereignty.  Remember these words of the Apostle Paul to Timothy: I charge you to keep this command without spot or blame until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, which God will bring about in his own time – God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see.  To him be honor and might forever.  Amen (1 Timothy 6:14-16, emphasis added).

Why Will He Return?
The Second Coming of Christ will accomplish two significant events.  First, He will come to judge the earth and to destroy the forces of those who oppose Him.  Psalm 96 echoes the words of King David as he proclaims: Then all the trees of the forest will sing for joy; they will sing before the LORD, for he comes, he comes to judge the earth.  He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples in his truth (Psalm 96:12-13, emphasis added).  The Apostle Paul expressed it with these words: This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels.  He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.  They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of his power (2 Thessalonians 1:7-9). 

When Jesus Christ returns, the nations of the world, under the leadership of the Antichrist, will gather together on the plains of Israel and surround the city of Jerusalem.  Their intention is the final destruction of the city of God and of the people of God.  The Apostle John describes it this way: Then I saw the beast (the Antichrist) and the kings of the earth and their armies gathered together to make war against the rider on the horse (Jesus Christ) and his army (Revelation 19:19).  John then goes on to state that the beast and the false prophet were taken alive and then cast into the lake of fire.  But, John adds, the rest of them were killed with the sword that came out of the mouth of the rider on the horse, and all the birds gorged themselves on their flesh (Revelation 19:21).  The scene at Armageddon is one that is difficult for us to comprehend.  The prophet Zechariah states that the flesh of those fighting against Christ will rot while they are still standing on their feet and their eyes will rot in their sockets and their tongues will rot in their mouths (Zechariah 14:12).  The Scriptures also declare that the carnage will be so great that God will invite the birds of the air to come and to scavenge the battlefields.  When Jesus Christ returns, His judgment against sin will be total and complete. 

But there is a second reason why Jesus returns.  He comes to establish His kingdom.  We know it as the Millennium – one thousand years when righteousness, justice, and peace will prevail upon the earth.  [Note: The Millennium will be the subject of our next article appearing in the August 2009 Philogian].  Oh what a day that will be when the King of kings and the Lord of lords is seated upon the throne of David there in the city of Jerusalem.  It will be a time such as the world has not seen since the Garden of Eden. 

Conclusion
Friends, the most prophesied event in the Bible is this Second Advent of Jesus Christ.  It is for this return that creation groans.  It is for this return that Satan and his forces dread.  It is for this return that the Bride of Christ anticipates with joy. 

I would like to close with the words of one of the great hymns of the Church.  It resonates with the profound truths of this great day of coronation which will be the culmination of the present events God is orchestrating.  Perhaps you will want to join me in singing:
Crown Him with many crowns, The Lamb upon His throne:
Hark! How the heav’nly anthem drowns All music but its own!
Awake, my soul, and sing Of Him who died for thee,
And hail Him as they matchless King Thru all eternity.

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