What does the 2nd Coming of Jesus actually mean?

OK. That leads into the last point: about Jesus coming back again.

Verse 9 says,

⁹ Now when He had spoken these things, while they watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. ¹⁰ And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, ¹¹ who also said, “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.”

Acts 1:9-11

OK, so there’s Jesus is speaking to them there. He’s on the Mount of Olives. And as he’s speaking, a cloud comes and takes Him up into heaven. He ascends into heaven.

This is what we call ‘the ascension of Jesus’. He goes up, and as He’s going up, there are two men, in other words, two angels who stand by Him and say to the disciples.

… 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.”

Acts 1:9-11

Otherwise, they say that Jesus was taken up from the Mount of Olives in a cloud, into heaven, and that He is going to come back again. It’s kind of interesting.

Now, if you come to this church regularly, you know that I do believe in a literal Second Coming of Jesus Christ, a bodily return of the same Lord Jesus. Christ will come again, this time not as a suffering servant, but this time as the King of kings and Lord of lords, with all the power of God at His disposal to put right the sin and the wickedness which humans have brought to this earth, and to set up his Messianic Kingdom which, according to Revelation, will be a 1000-year reign in which He reigns from Jerusalem and brings peace and justice to the world.

Notice that he went up in the cloud. What does the cloud represent? Does it mean it was a cloudy day? Or does the cloud actually represent something?

If you look in scripture, you’ll find that there are references to the pillar of cloud, the references to the shekinah, the Glory cloud which filled the Tabernacle when it was dedicated to the Lord, and also which filled the Temple when it was dedicated to the Lord by Solomon.

1 Kings 8 says,

¹⁰ And it came to pass, when the priests came out of the holy place, that the cloud filled the house of the Lord, ¹¹ so that the priests could not continue ministering because of the cloud; for the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord.

¹² Then Solomon spoke:

“The Lord said He would dwell in the dark cloud.
¹³ I have surely built You an exalted house,
And a place for You to dwell in forever.” 1 Kings 8.10-13

So the shekinah which means ‘the dwelling place’ is where God dwells, it represents God coming to dwell with humans. And when you see this shekinah coming, it’s a sign that God is coming, it’s a sign of the presence of the Lord.

Therefore, when Jesus went up in the in the shekinah/cloud, it means that the the cloud, the glory cloud, was taking Jesus up into heaven back into glory where He came from.

And in Matthew 24 Jesus says,

the sign of the son of man will appear.

³⁰ Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, 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.

Matthew 24.30

So when Jesus comes again, He’s going to come again on the cloud, this time with the cloud representing the glory cloud, the power of God, and the presence of the Lord.

Jesus even quoted this before His trial, before the Sanhedrin. He was asked,

⁶⁰ And the high priest stood up in the midst and asked Jesus, saying, “Do You answer nothing? What is it these men testify against You?” ⁶¹ But He kept silent and answered nothing.

Again the high priest asked Him, saying to Him, “Are You the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?”

⁶² Jesus said, “I am. And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.”

Mark 14.61-62

Jesus says this referencing Daniel Chapter 7. When the Chief Priest heard that he said that Jesus was speaking blasphemy and He is worthy of death because He is saying that He is the Son of Man, He is the glory, He is the One who’s coming in the Name of the Lord to bring the end of this present world dispensation, and to bring in His new world order, His new Kingdom, in which He is going to reign on the earth.

Daniel, Chapter 7, verse 13 says,

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

So, Daniel prophecies here about One who’s coming, who is called the Son of Man, who comes before the Ancient of Days, comes before throne of God, and He comes on the clouds of heaven. Daniel says that He is given dominion over the nations, over the peoples and languages who should serve Him, that He is given an eternal dominion. His empire is not going to be like the other empires which Daniel has spoken of, which will rise and fall and which will have their power taken away from them, because His empire, His Kingdom is the One which is going to stand forever and ever.

And, if you’re part of that Kingdom, you have a glorious future in the Kingdom of God. So, no matter what happens on this earth, if you believe in the Lord Jesus, you are one of those who is going to be taken up to meet with Him at the coming rapture of the church, then come back with Him and reign with Him as He comes in the clouds of heaven.

A glorious future for all those who believe in Jesus. And His Kingdom is not going to pass away. Earthly kingdoms rise and fall, but His Kingdom will not pass away.

The second point is that He is taken up from a place called Olivet הַר הַזֵּיתִים [har hazzêtîm] in Hebrew. It’s a mount, it’s high hill. It’s not a mountain like Everest, but it’s a high hill to the east of Jerusalem.

If you’ve seen it, if you’ve been to Jerusalem, you’ve probably been up there, and you have a marvellous view of the old city of Jerusalem. If you haven’t been to Jerusalem but you’ve seen pictures of Jerusalem, they’re almost certainly they’re taken from the Mount of Olives / Olivet because that’s the place where you can get the best view over the old City of Jerusalem.

The Mount of Olives is a place which has significance in the Hebrew scriptures. It’s the place from which the glory of God departed in the days of Ezekiel, and he saw it departing from the Temple to the Mount of Olives and then departing because of the sin which the people were committing then.

In the book of Ezekiel, Chapter 43 says,

Afterward he brought me to the gate, the gate that faces toward the east. ² And behold, the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east. His voice was like the sound of many waters; and the earth shone with His glory. ³ It was like the appearance of the vision which I saw—like the vision which I saw when I came to destroy the city. The visions were like the vision which I saw by the River Chebar; and I fell on my face. ⁴ And the glory of the Lord came into the temple by way of the gate which faces toward the east. ⁵ The Spirit lifted me up and brought me into the inner court; and behold, the glory of the Lord filled the temple.

⁶ Then I heard Him speaking to me from the temple, while a man stood beside me. ⁷ And He said to me, “Son of man, this is the place of My throne and the place of the soles of My feet, where I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel forever. No more shall the house of Israel defile My holy name, they nor their kings, by their harlotry or with the carcasses of their kings on their high places. Ezekiel 43.1-7

The shekinah is going to come back into the Temple, the restored Temple from the east, from the direction of the Mount of Olives Jesus gave his teaching on the last days in Matthew 24, on the Mount of Olives, and from where Jesus ascended into heaven, from Olivet, the Mount of Olives.

According to Zechariah chapter 14, when the nations of the world are gathered together against Jerusalem to battle, then the Lord is going to come and stand on the Mount of Olives and proclaim peace and justice to the world and set up His Messianic Kingdom.

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.
And the Mount of Olives shall be split in two,
From east to west,
Making a very large valley;
Half of the mountain shall move toward the north
And half of it toward the south. Zechariah 14.3-4

So the Mount of Olives is interesting in that Jesus departed from it. Do you want Him to come back to the Mount of Olives? I believe that we’re living in the days which are leading up to that.

How long we have, only God knows, but we can see the events taking place around us, especially what’s happening in Israel and the Middle East, which are preparing the way for the Second Coming of Yeshua / Jesus the Messiah. And when He comes, He is going to resurrect the dead, He is going to rule for 1000 years, and then, in the New Heavens and New Earth for eternity.