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
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.
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