Back to: The End Times
The Second Coming of Christ
“A Time of Vengeance, A Time of End”
Both the Old and New Testaments are saturated with the promises of the Second Coming of Christ. In fact, this event is mentioned in the majority of the books of the Bible.
In the Old Testament alone there are over 1,500 specific references to the Second Coming of Christ.
And in New Testament, there are over 300 references to the Second Coming. It is mentioned in almost every New Testament book. This works out to be around 1 out of every 30 New Testament verses!
As profound, prophetic, and proven as the First Coming of Christ was, for every one verse on the First Coming, there are multiple verses on Christ’s Second Coming. It’s that important to God, so it should be that importance to us.
Here’s three quick points we should keep in mind on this subject:
- God wants us to know about His second return!
- If we truly believe that He is returning, we will not live a life focused on the pleasures of sin. Believing that the Lord may return at any moment should motivate us to continually serve Him and aim to live holy. It’s the hope in His promises, that motivates us to live a pure life.
(1 John 3:1-3), Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.
- The promise of His return fills our hearts with a hope that is found nowhere else!
The Lord’s Return will be in two parts:
- For His Church (those who trust & love Him), He comes down as far as the clouds. Only those who are truly born again and saved, will rapture up and join Him in the clouds.
(1 Thessalonians 4:15-18), For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words.
- There will be seven years of Great Tribulation. At the end of these seven years, Christ will return with a huge and very grand display, as He brings His wrath to those left behind.
(Revelation 19:11-16), Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself. He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses. Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.
A Time of Vengeance will occur for the Lord, and also for His people.
Vengeance for the Lord
Consider our history of disobedience against God, and the warnings given in this verse.
(Isaiah 34:1-8), Come near, you nations, to hear; And heed, you people! Let the earth hear, and all that is in it, The world and all things that come forth from it. For the indignation of the Lord is against all nations, And His fury against all their armies; He has utterly destroyed them, He has given them over to the slaughter. Also their slain shall be thrown out; Their stench shall rise from their corpses, And the mountains shall be melted with their blood. All the host of heaven shall be dissolved, And the heavens shall be rolled up like a scroll; All their host shall fall down As the leaf falls from the vine, And as fruit falling from a fig tree… For it is the day of the Lord’s vengeance
His wrath is mighty, and His reasons righteous.
- The Lord gave mankind 6,000 years… Mankind gives very little time to the Lord
- The Lord gave mankind mercy… Mankind has taken advantage
- The Lord gave mankind provision… Mankind is unthankful
- The Lord gave mankind His Law… Mankind violated it and chose sin
- The Lord gave mankind His Son… Mankind rejected and murdered Him
No one can blame God of His coming judgment. His wrath is justified!
(Revelation 19:11), Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war.
Notice that it says, “in righteousness” He judges and makes war. In other words, mankind deserves the punishment and judgment that mankind will receive.
Vengeance for the Lord’s people
Consider the violence against the people of God, and the justices that demands be served.
(Revelation 6:9-11), When He opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held. And they cried with a loud voice, saying, ‘How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?’ Then a white robe was given to each of them; and it was said to them that they should rest a little while longer, until both the number of their fellow servants and their brethren, who would be killed as they were, was completed.
Notice the response God delivers, in this warning made thousands of years in advance.
(Joel 2:1-11), Blow the trumpet in Zion, And sound an alarm in My holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble; For the day of the Lord is coming, For it is at hand: A day of darkness and gloominess, A day of clouds and thick darkness, Like the morning clouds spread over the mountains. A people come, great and strong, The like of whom has never been; Nor will there ever be any such after them, Even for many successive generations. A fire devours before them, And behind them a flame burns; The land is like the Garden of Eden before them, And behind them a desolate wilderness; Surely nothing shall escape them. Their appearance is like the appearance of horses; And like swift steeds, so they run. With a noise like chariots Over mountaintops they leap, Like the noise of a flaming fire that devours the stubble, Like a strong people set in battle array. Before them the people writhe in pain; All faces are drained of color. They run like mighty men, They climb the wall like men of war; Every one marches in formation, And they do not break ranks. They do not push one another; Every one marches in his own column. Though they lunge between the weapons, They are not cut down. They run to and fro in the city, They run on the wall; They climb into the houses, They enter at the windows like a thief. The earth quakes before them, The heavens tremble; The sun and moon grow dark, And the stars diminish their brightness. The Lord gives voice before His army, For His camp is very great; For strong is the One who executes His word. For the day of the Lord is great and very terrible; Who can endure it?
Regardless of the love and care that Christians have shown to a lost world over the centuries, mankind has mocked, beaten, imprisoned, persecuted, crucified, tortured, and put them to death because of their love for the Lord Jesus Christ and His Word. Their spouses and children have been taken from them and killed. They have been thrown into Roman coliseums to be eaten by wild animals. They have been brutally subjected to hideous religious inquisitions and have been tormented and martyred at the hands of religious terrorists. Through all this, these Christ followers have “turned the other cheek.” But the time is coming when that will end, and with the Lord they will fight and be avenged.
A Time of an Ends will occur.
The End of Governments Ruled by Man, without God
(Revelation 11:15), And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.
- No more ‘Hitlers’
- No more taking morals, prayer, and God out of schools
- No more closing Christian churches in places like Russia and China
- No more taking God and the Bible out of government. In fact, God and His Word will be the government!
(Isaiah 9:6-7), For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.
No more rule of man, and no more rejection of God and His law, and of His morality
(Revelation 19:15), Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.
The End of the Wicked having Their Way
- The wicked who bullied their way to possessions
- The wicked who have ‘puffed’ their way to popularity
- The wicked who have pushed their way into power
(Psalm 73:1-19), A Psalm of Asaph. Truly God is good to Israel, To such as are pure in heart. But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled; My steps had nearly slipped. For I was envious of the boastful, When I saw the prosperity of the wicked. For there are no pangs in their death, But their strength is firm. They are not in trouble as other men, Nor are they plagued like other men. Therefore pride serves as their necklace; Violence covers them like a garment. Their eyes bulge with abundance; They have more than heart could wish. They scoff and speak wickedly concerning oppression; They speak loftily. They set their mouth against the heavens, And their tongue walks through the earth. Therefore his people return here, And waters of a full cup are drained by them. And they say, “How does God know? And is there knowledge in the Most High?” Behold, these are the ungodly, Who are always at ease; They increase in riches. Surely I have cleansed my heart in vain, And washed my hands in innocence. For all day long I have been plagued, And chastened every morning. If I had said, “I will speak thus,” Behold, I would have been untrue to the generation of Your children. When I thought how to understand this, It was too painful for me– Until I went into the sanctuary of God; Then I understood their end. Surely You set them in slippery places; You cast them down to destruction. Oh, how they are brought to desolation, as in a moment! They are utterly consumed with terrors.
The second coming is a time of an end for those who have oppressed the weak and have taken advantage of the poor. Figuratively and literally, Heavon on Earth. Those who have hungered and thirst after righteousness are the ones that shall be blessed and filled;
(Matthew 5:7), “Blessed are the merciful, For they shall obtain mercy.”
(to be continued in our next lesson)