A Scriptural Study on Christ’s Second Coming

by Robert Sterbenc

The First Signs of Christ’s Second Coming

In one of the last scenes that John the Revelator saw, Jesus reveals how He will first appear in the heavens, declaring His authority as the Word of God and King of Kings. During this event Jesus does not touch the earth.

Revelation 19: 11-15

11 And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.

12 His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself.

13 And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.

14 And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.

15 And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.

16 And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.

The gospel of Matthew and some Old Testament prophets also show that the tribes of the earth shall mourn when they see the first signs of Christ’s Second Coming!

Matthew 24:30-31

And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

Revelation 6:14-17

"And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?"

Nahum 2:10

10 She is empty, and void, and waste: and the heart melteth, and the knees smite together, and much pain is in all loins, and the faces of them all gather blackness.

Jeremiah 30:6

6 Ask ye now, and see whether a man doth travail with child? wherefore do I see every man with his hands on his loins, as a woman in travail, and all faces are turned into paleness?

What takes place just before Jesus Returns?

Before Jesus returns, false Christs and false prophets will be everywhere. Satan Himself will personate Christ as indicated in Matthew 24:23-24 and 2 Thessalonians 2:8-9 below:

Matt 24:23-26

23Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not.

24For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.

25Behold, I have told you before.

26Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not.

2 Thessalonians 2:8-9

8 And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:

9 Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,

10 And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.

11 And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:

12 That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

Note that Satan is not destroyed yet at Christ’s second coming (see pages 11-12 when he is destroyed).

Do the Wicked Live at Christ’s Coming?

When Jesus returns, the wicked are slain by the brightness of Christ’s coming. All the dead bodies of the wicked are food for worms and birds. Glory, in this case, indicates overwhelming brightness. All references to “fire is not quenched” are discussed from pages 11 onward.

Luke 21:27

27And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.

Mark 9:44

Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.

Isaiah 66:24

24And they shall go forth, and look upon the carcases of the men that have transgressed against me: for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh.

2 Thessalonians 1:7-9

"And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power;"

Revelation 19:17-21

17 And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God;

18 That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great.

19 And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army.

20 And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.

21 And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh.

CHRIST’S SECOND COMING DOES NOT TOUCH THE EARTH

The destruction of the wicked leads to another question: What happens to the righteous? What else takes place at Jesus’s Second Coming? The righteous saints are redeemed from the earth WITHOUT JESUS TOUCHING THE EARTH!

When Jesus returns, the dead in Christ rise first. Jesus receives us to Himself in the air, not on the earth.

John 14:1-3

"Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also."

1 Thess 4:13-18

13 But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.

14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.

15 For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.

16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:

17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

John 5:28

"Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life…

The dead in Christ and those who are alive will be present globally, and God calls His angels to gather His faithful from all over the globe.

Matthew 24:30-31

30And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

31And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

What Do the Saints Do in Heaven after they are Caught Up?

Several scriptures indicate that the resurrected saints and those who have been caught up to meet Jesus in the air will be given rights to JUDGE the wicked angels and the wicked dead during the following thousand years (millennium):

1 Corinthians 6:2-3 King James Version (KJV)

2 Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters?

3 Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life?

Daniel 7:22

Until the Ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the most High; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom.

Revelation 20:4-6

4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.

5 But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.

6 Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.

What happens to Satan during the Millennium?

During this time of judgment for a thousand years, Satan is cast into the bottomless pit. From the following Scriptures, the “bottomless pit” term is used to describe a desolate, dark wasteland of a planet where he has no one left to tempt and destroy.

Revelation 20:1-3

And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. 2And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, 3And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.

Isaiah 24:1-3

24 Behold, the LORD maketh the earth empty, and maketh it waste, and turneth it upside down, and scattereth abroad the inhabitants thereof.2 And it shall be, as with the people, so with the priest; as with the servant, so with his master; as with the maid, so with her mistress; as with the buyer, so with the seller; as with the lender, so with the borrower; as with the taker of usury, so with the giver of usury to him.

3 The land shall be utterly emptied, and utterly spoiled: for the LORD hath spoken this word.

Jeremiah 25:33

33 And the slain of the LORD shall be at that day from one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth: they shall not be lamented, neither gathered, nor buried; they shall be dung upon the ground.

Isaiah 14:12-19

12How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!

13For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:

14I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.

15Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.

16They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms;

17That made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof; that opened not the house of his prisoners?

18All the kings of the nations, even all of them, lie in glory, every one in his own house.

19But thou art cast out of thy grave like an abominable branch, and as the raiment of those that are slain, thrust through with a sword, that go down to the stones of the pit; as a carcase trodden under feet.

Jeremiah 4:23-28

23 I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was without form, and void; and the heavens, and they had no light.

24 I beheld the mountains, and, lo, they trembled, and all the hills moved lightly.

25 I beheld, and, lo, there was no man, and all the birds of the heavens were fled.

26 I beheld, and, lo, the fruitful place was a wilderness, and all the cities thereof were broken down at the presence of the LORD, and by his fierce anger.

27 For thus hath the LORD said, The whole land shall be desolate; yet will I not make a full end.

28 For this shall the earth mourn, and the heavens above be black; because I have spoken it, I have purposed it, and will not repent, neither will I turn back from it.

TWO RESURRECTIONS

There are two resurrections: one resurrection to eternal life, the other to everlasting contempt or damnation. Revelation 20:5-6 clearly state that the second resurrection occurs AFTER the saints judge the wicked for a thousand years. Other scriptures (next page) support this position:

Revelation 20:5-6

5 But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.

6 Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.

Daniel 12:2

And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.

John 5:28-29

“Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation."

What Happens After the Second Resurrection?

Satan and his hosts, including Gog and Magog, attempt to retake the New Jerusalem after the thousand years are ended.

Revelation 20:7-9 Berean Study Bible

7When the thousand years are complete, Satan will be released from his prison,8and will go out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to assemble them for battle. Their number is like the sand of the seashore. 9And they marched across the broad expanse of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city.

This is followed by the Final Judgment of Revelation 20.

The Final Judgment

After Satan’s failure to retake the New Jerusalem, the camp of the saints, the final judgment takes place.

Revelation 20:11-13

11And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. 12And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. 13And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.

The Destruction of Satan and the Second Death

Satan’s Destruction Precedes that of the Wicked

The sins of Satan are so great and immense that he is set on fire from the midst of himself. And this takes place in the sight of all the wicked who witness his fiery destruction. See Ezekiel 28:13-18 below. An analysis of 2 Thessalonians 2:8-9 follows.

Ezekiel 28:13-19

13Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created.

14Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire.

15Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.

16By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire.

17Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee.

18Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries by the multitude of thine iniquities, by the iniquity of thy traffick; therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee, and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee.

19All they that know thee among the people shall be astonished at thee: thou shalt be a terror, and never shalt thou be any more.

Paul’s second letter to the Thessalonians chapter 2, verse 8 seems to state that the devil gets destroyed at the second coming, immediately. But how can Satan be bound for a thousand years if he is already dead? The answer is that he is not destroyed until after the final judgment when he is cast into the lake of fire, evidenced by the following scriptures. It is at this point when that Wicked (Satan) is destroyed, by the spirit of Christ’s mouth and destroyed by the brightness of His coming.

2 Thessalonians 2:8-9

8 And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:

9 Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,

The spirit of His mouth consists of the words spoken by Him.

John 6:63

It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.

The words spoken by Christ to Satan are those in Ezekiel 28:18. Paul’s scripture is fulfilled by His spoken Word.

Ezekiel 28:18

The brightness, or glory, of His coming is God’s very presence. The Father HIMSELF is a consuming fire. The following scriptures taken together prove this point. It is out of character for God to exercise destructive power. Rather, sin cannot abide the presence of a holy God. Sin is consumed with those who have chosen to cling to their old sins.

Hebrews 12:29

For our God is a consuming fire.

Psalm 97:3

Fire goes before Him and consumes His foes on every side.

Exodus 24:17

And the sight of the glory of the LORD was like a consuming fire on the mountaintop in the eyes of the Israelites.

Revelation 21:3

3And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.

So, to sum up, Jesus (the Word) speaks to Satan the words of Ezekiel 28:18. The Father approaches His New Jerusalem tabernacle to dwell with redeemed humanity forever.

But sin cannot survive in the presence of God. Therefore, the glory of the Father sets Satan ablaze first, then the wicked perish later in the lake of fire, or second death, explained in the section below. All that is toxic and radioactive in the earth is set on fire, melted and incinerated.

What is the Second Death?

The second death refers to the destruction of wicked by fire, annihilating and therefore separating them from the presence of God for all eternity.

“Forever and ever” means a complete and utter destruction, not an eternal state of constant burning. The wicked, and Satan (Lucifer, formerly) are reduced to ashes; ashes do not burn for ever. The second death is final; no further punishment is necessary. See the following scriptures:

Revelation 20:10, 14-15

10And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.14And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. 15And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

Malachi 4:1

For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.

Ezekiel 28:18

18Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries by the multitude of thine iniquities, by the iniquity of thy traffick; therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee, and I will bring THEE TO ASHES upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee.

Revelation 20:5-6

5 But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.

6 Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.

Revelation 20:14

14And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.

Revelation 21:8

But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.

The heat of the lake of fire will be so intense that even the very atmosphere will be like a nuclear fire. Only the earth under the surface will keep its integrity as a planet (Eccl 1:4). The apostle Peter testifies to this intense heat:

2 Peter 3:10

10But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.

After the earth is cleansed by fire, the earth is made new. The next section describes this glorious event!

The Earth is Made New

The earth must be made new for Jesus’ heavenly kingdom to be established on the earth. Jesus’ kingdom is NOT of THIS world, but it will be in the NEW EARTH. See the Scriptures below:

John 18:36

Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence.

The New Jerusalem descends from heaven in the next verses:

Revelation 21:1-6

1And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. 2And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. 4And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.

5And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new.

Zechariah 14:4-11 describes the THIRD COMING OF JESUS, this time to earth. Pay attention to verse 8 where LIVING WATERS go out from Jerusalem. No physical living waters exist on this sin-cursed earth but in the New Jerusalem, they will exist forever:

4And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south.

5And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal: yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah: and the LORD my God shall come, and all the saints with thee.

6And it shall come to pass in that day, that the light shall not be clear, nor dark:

7But it shall be one day which shall be known to the LORD, not day, nor night: but it shall come to pass, that at evening time it shall be light.

8And it shall be in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem; half of them toward the former sea, and half of them toward the hinder sea: in summer and in winter shall it be.

9And the LORD shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one LORD, and his name one.

10All the land shall be turned as a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem: and it shall be lifted up, and inhabited in her place, from Benjamin's gate unto the place of the first gate, unto the corner gate, and from the tower of Hananeel unto the king's winepresses.

11And men shall dwell in it, and there shall be no more utter destruction; but Jerusalem shall be safely inhabited.

This scene is supported by beautiful Revelation 22!

Revelation 22:1-5

1And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.

2In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, andyielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.

3And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him:

4And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads.

5And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever.

God is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him (Hebrews 11:6) and Jesus affirms His deity here, as well as giving the overcomers His reward!

Revelation 22:12-14

12And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.

13I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.

14Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.

Isaiah 66:22-23

22For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the LORD, so shall your seed and your name remain.

23And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the LORD.

What a glorious time it will be when there will be no more sin!

This concludes this Bible study. May God bless your study of this vital and serious topic.

Maranatha! Come Lord Jesus!

Rob Sterbenc