So remember what you have received and heard; and keep it, and repent. Therefore if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come to you.
Be on the alert then, for you do not know the day nor the hour.
The Process
This is part of the process of the Second Coming of Jesus.
In the Book of Jude it says,
“Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of His saints, 15 to execute judgment on all, to convict all who are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have committed in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.”
Jude 1.14-15
This scripture describes the Second Coming of Jesus to the earth, when He comes with the saints to judge the world in righteousness. At this point, He says that the ungodly who are not ready will be judged and be separated eternally from God, and that such will be the point of no return. That’s why people should always be ready for the coming of the Lord.
I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom: 2 preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction. 3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, 4 and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths. 5 But you, be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfil your ministry.
2 Timothy 4.1-5
It says that He’s going to come with the saints, with ten thousands of the saints, which you have also in Deuteronomy (Deuteronomy 33.2),
2 And he said:
“The Lord came from Sinai,
And dawned on them from Seir;
He shone forth from Mount Paran,
And He came with ten thousands of saints;
From His right hand
Came a fiery law for them.
Deuteronomy 33:2
in the Book of Zechariah (Zechariah 14.5),
5 Then you shall flee through My mountain valley,
For the mountain valley shall reach to Azal.
Yes, you shall flee
As you fled from the earthquake
In the days of Uzziah king of Judah.
Thus the Lord my God will come,
And all the saints with You.
Zechariah 14.5
implied also in the Book of Revelation chapter 19 (Revelation 19.8),
8 And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.
Revelation 19.8
and Revelation 20 (Revelation 20.4),
4 And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.
Revelation 20.4
that when Jesus comes back, He doesn’t come back on His own, He comes with the saints, those who’ve died, those who have been taken in the Rapture. He comes back to the earth, and He then judges the world in righteousness and sets up His Messianic Kingdom.
The Event
Of course, the main Bible book which tells you about the Second Coming is the Book of Revelation, and it’s really the whole theme of Revelation from beginning to end.
However, in Revelation chapter 1 verse 7 it says,
7 Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen.
Revelation 1.7
And, in chapter 19, the Second Coming of Jesus is described as,
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. 12 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. 13 He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. 14 And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses. 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. 16 And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.
Revelation 19.11-16
If you read this passage, you can see that Jesus is coming back in a totally different way from the way He came the first time. He’s coming back this time as King of Kings and Lord of Lords, coming back with all power of God at His disposal. He’s coming back with the armies of heaven clothed in fine linen, white and clean, following Him on white horses.
Who are the armies of Heaven?
Well, you could say they’re the angelicos but also, in the previous passage, John has spoken about the saints who attend the Marriage Supper of the Lamb, who are clothed in fine linen, clean and bright, which in turn tells me that He’s coming back with the saints; that’s with you and me.
6 And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude, as the sound of many waters and as the sound of mighty thunderings, saying, “Alleluia! For the Lord God Omnipotent reigns! 7 Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.” 8 And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.
Revelation 19.6-8
That means that if you believe this, you’ve got an incredible future ahead of you.
The Result
Do you think that Christianity is boring? Look at what is in store for you! If you believe this, then you’re going to be part of this event. And, when Jesus comes back, we’re going to come back with Him.
Then it says that Jesus is going to come back, and it says,
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.
Revelation 19.15
What does that mean? That’s what it means; exactly what it says. He’s coming back not to destroy the world but to rule over the world.
If you take the Bible literally, Jesus is going to rule over the world for a thousand years in the event which we call the Millennial Reign of Christ.
Not all Christians believe that. But it’s in the Bible, so, I believe it.
When Jesus comes back, He’s going to come back and put this world to rights. He’s going to rule the world and it won’t be a democracy either. You won’t be able to vote Him out of power. He’s going to rule the world with a rod of iron. He will rule the world with righteousness and with peace. And, a result of His rule, the world which is now in such turmoil and such a state of confusion and utter chaos, and destruction, will be put right and Jesus will reign and bring peace and justice to the world.
Again, this is something to look forward to.
These are just a few of the scriptures I’ve given you from the New Testament.
The abiding Proof
The Second Coming of Christ is also in the Old Testament, in the Hebrew scriptures.
If we look back at the Hebrew scriptures in the Prophecies of the Coming of the Messiah which will be fulfilled at the Second Coming of Jesus / Yeshua, the Old Testament prophets saw the both the First coming and the Second Coming of the Messiah.
Particularly, the Book of Daniel is full of prophecies which relate to the Second Coming of Jesus. One of them, Daniel 7 reads,
13 “I was watching in the night visions, And behold, One like the Son of Man, Coming with the clouds of heaven! He came to the Ancient of Days, And they brought Him near before Him. 14 Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, That all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, Which shall not pass away, And His kingdom the one Which shall not be destroyed.
Daniel 7.13-14
If you look in the New Testament, you find that Jesus quotes this passage twice in Matthew 24 describing the events leading up to a second coming.
29 “But immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30 And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory. 31 And He will send forth His angels with a great trumpet and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.
Matthew 24.29-31
In chapter Matthew 26, at the time of His trial before Caiaphas in which He applies this prophecy to Himself, the chief priest then says,
62 … “Do You answer nothing? What is it these men testify against You?” 63 But Jesus kept silent. And the high priest answered and said to Him, “I put You under oath by the living God: Tell us if You are the Christ, the Son of God!”
64 Jesus said to him, “It is as you said. Nevertheless, I say to you, hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven.”
65 Then the high priest tore his clothes, saying, “He has spoken blasphemy! What further need do we have of witnesses? Look, now you have heard His blasphemy! 66 What do you think?”
Matthew 26.62-66
The high priest says that’s blasphemy and sentences Jesus to death on the basis that, if Jesus applies this prophecy to Himself as He does, He is then saying that ‘He is the Messiah who’s going to come a second time with power and glory and take dominion over the nations’.
Notice it also says that His Kingdom is the one which will not be destroyed. When you look through the Book of Daniel, he described various Empires represented by Babylon, Persia, Greece, and Rome. Empires which rise and fall, and which are destroyed.
But this Kingdom, the Kingdom of God will be instituted by Jesus as the Kingdom which will not be destroyed. And, if you want to be in a Kingdom which is going to go on forever, then believe in the Lord Jesus Christ because you have a future and a hope.
If, on the other hand, you want to be in the kingdom that is going to be destroyed, carry on in this world, because the kingdoms of this world will be destroyed and become the Kingdom is our God of His Christ and He shall reign forever and ever.
So, that’s the choice people must make. They’re either going to be on the side of the winners or that of the losers.
Continuing with the Old Testament, in Zechariah, you have a prophecy which speaks about the last battle and says that the last battle is going to be over Jerusalem, and that the nations of the world will gather to confront Israel in the war against Jerusalem. Then, the Messiah, the Lord will come. It says,
3 Then the Lord will go forth And fight against those nations, As He fights in the day of battle. 4 And in that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, Which faces Jerusalem on the east.
Then,
Thus the Lord my God will come, And all the saints with You.
Zechariah 14.5
And,
9 And the Lord shall be King over all the earth. In that day it shall be— “The Lord is one,” And His name one.
Zechariah 14.9
Notice that Zechariah tells you the place to which the Messiah is going to come: to the Mount of Olives which is on the east of Jerusalem.
Where did Jesus ascend to Heaven? From the Mount of Olives which is on the east of Jerusalem.
What did the angel say to the disciples that day?
“Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.” 12 Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey.
Acts 1.10-12
‘As you saw Him go into heaven when He went up in the clouds, He’s coming back in the clouds He went up on from the Mount of Olives – coming back to the Mount of Olives.’
And when He comes back to the Mount, He is going to put an end to the battle raging over Jerusalem. A battle which is not just against Jerusalem, it’s against the Messiah returning.
If you research the Book of Revelation, it’s all there in the scriptures. It says He will rule over the nations. The Lord will be King over all the earth. In that day, it will be the Lord is One and His name One.
Therefore, Jesus is coming to set up a Kingdom, a Kingdom which you read about in other passages in the Hebrew scriptures particularly in Isaiah chapter 2 where it says,
2 Now it shall come to pass in the latter days That the mountain of the Lord’s house Shall be established on the top of the mountains, And shall be exalted above the hills; And all nations shall flow to it. 3 Many people shall come and say, “Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, To the house of the God of Jacob; He will teach us His ways, And we shall walk in His paths.” For out of Zion shall go forth the law, And the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. 4 He shall judge between the nations, And rebuke many people; They shall beat their swords into plowshares, And their spears into pruning hooks; Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, Neither shall they learn war anymore.
Isaiah 2.2-4
This prophecy, which speaks about the Messiah reigning, literally, from Jerusalem, of nations going up to Jerusalem to hear the Word of the Lord, for Him. And, as a result of this, they beat their swords into plowshares which means that their tanks also, their missiles, their nuclear bombs, and whatever they’ve created will be obsolete and destroyed. And they won’t study war anymore. This is the time of peace and justice which the prophet says is going to come.
And one of the reasons why many rabbis and Jewish people say that Jesus can’t be the Messiah is because, if the Messiah comes, this is what’s going to happen, and it hasn’t happened since Jesus came.
Yet, we say that it will happen when Jesus comes the second time. When He came the first time, as we saw, He came to suffer and to die.
When Jesus comes a second time, He comes to rule and to reign, and to judge the world in righteousness according to how we have responded to His message of the Gospel.