THE COMING OF THE LORD
Mat 24:29, 30 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: 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.
The antichrist will have rule for three and one-half years. That period we call the Great Tribulation according to Matthew 24:21. However, as we continue to read Matthew chapter 24 we come down to when the Lord will return which is immediately after the tribulation. This is called the Second Advent when the Lord Jesus Himself will descend to the earth, unlike the rapture where He will call us up from the Heavens. Let's look at some of the Scriptures concerning the Second Coming of Christ.
Isa 2:19 - 22 And they shall go into the holes of the rocks, and into the caves of the earth, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth . In that day a man shall cast his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which they made each one for himself to worship, to the moles and to the bats; To go into the clefts of the rocks, and into the tops of the ragged rocks, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth . Cease ye from man, whose breath is in his nostrils: for wherein is he to be accounted of?
Notice also that a great earthquake is associated with His coming. But this is no normal earthquake. Earthquakes are normally localized. This earthquake will literally quake the entire earth!
Isa 24:19 - 23 The earth is utterly broken down, the earth is clean dissolved, the earth is moved exceedingly. The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, and shall be removed like a cottage ; and the transgression thereof shall be heavy upon it; and it shall fall, and not rise again. And it shall come to pass in that day, that the LORD shall punish the host of the high ones that are on high, and the kings of the earth upon the earth. And they shall be gathered together, as prisoners are gathered in the pit, and shall be shut up in the prison, and after many days shall they be visited. Then the moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed , when the LORD of hosts shall reign in mount Zion , and in Jerusalem , and before his ancients gloriously.
Notice the same themes keep showing up in the “Day of the Lord” Scriptures: a great earthquake, judgment upon the nations, and the sun and moon darkened.
Isa 13:6 - 13 Howl ye; for the day of the LORD is at hand ; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty. Therefore shall all hands be faint, and every man's heart shall melt: And they shall be afraid: pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them; they shall be in pain as a woman that travaileth: they shall be amazed one at another; their faces shall be as flames. Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it. For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine. And I will punish the world for their evil , and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogance of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible. I will make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir. Therefore I will shake the heavens, and the earth shall remove out of her place, in the wrath of the LORD of hosts, and in the day of his fierce anger.
The severity of the Lord's wrath will be so great that we cannot even imagine the destruction that will take place. His wrath is due to the fullness of sin in the earth that must be judged and cleansed. The Earth will no longer be in the hands of men but it will be the Lord's. It would seem as if the Lord is going to wipe the slate clean to start over with the Millennial Reign of Christ.
Amo 5:16 - 20 Therefore the LORD, the God of hosts, the Lord, saith thus; Wailing shall be in all streets; and they shall say in all the highways, Alas! alas! and they shall call the husbandman to mourning, and such as are skillful of lamentation to wailing. And in all vineyards shall be wailing: for I will pass through thee, saith the LORD. Woe unto you that desire the day of the LORD! to what end is it for you? the day of the LORD is darkness, and not light. As if a man did flee from a lion, and a bear met him; or went into the house, and leaned his hand on the wall, and a serpent bit him. Shall not the day of the LORD be darkness, and not light? even very dark, and no brightness in it?
Armageddon
Rev 16:12 - 16 And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared. And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty . Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame. And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon .
The word Armageddon is only used in this verse in the book of Revelation. However, it is referring to a place called Meggido in the Old Testament. We often refer to Armageddon as an event, which is fine, but the Bible only describes it as a place. Many talk about Armageddon as the end of the world. In part, that is true; it is the end of the world as we currently know it for it will usher in the reign of the Lord Jesus Christ over the entire earth forever.
We see from the verses above that the kings of the earth, under the influence of the devil, the antichrist, and the false prophet spirits, will gather armies together in the valley of Meggido (Armageddon). It is a place of great slaughter for the wicked. Various battles in the Old Testament took place here like the battle of Barak over Canaan and Gideon over Midian. The purpose of these armies will be to fight against the Lord Jesus Christ. They will be deceived into believing they are doing the right thing.
Joe 3:10 - 16 Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruning hooks into spears: let the weak say, I am strong. Assemble yourselves, and come, all ye heathen, and gather yourselves together round about: thither cause thy mighty ones to come down, O LORD. Let the heathen be wakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat : for there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about. Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe: come, get you down; for the press is full, the fats overflow; for their wickedness is great. Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision. The sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their shining. The LORD also shall roar out of Zion , and utter his voice from Jerusalem ; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the LORD will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel .
Rev 19:19, 21 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….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.
What amazes me is that these kings of the earth and men will have the audacity to fight against God…with physical weapons! Do they not realize that physical weapons of war will have no power verses the Almighty God? Of course they will be quickly defeated. Many that are in close proximity to the Lord's coming will die in consuming heat before their bodies even hit the ground. Those that survive His arrival will be slain with the sword.
Zec 14:1 - 3 Behold, the day of the LORD cometh , and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee. For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city. Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle.
When Jesus returns it is often called “The Day of The Lord” in the Bible. Once Jerusalem is attacked and almost completely demolished from the nations under the power of the antichrist, “then” shall the Lord come and destroy those nations that are enemies to God.
Zec 14:4 – 8 And 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. And 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 . And it shall come to pass in that day, that the light shall not be clear, nor dark: But 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. And 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
This Scripture shows us exactly where the Lord will return which will be the Mount of Olives (Act 1:11,12). His very presence will cut the mountain in two. The rift will run east to west causing the mountain to split toward the north and south. Notice when He comes this time ALL saints will be with Him. This is one of many Scriptures which prove that the rapture and the coming of the Lord are two different events. In the rapture, He will call saints up to Heaven. In the Coming of the Lord, all saints will already be with Him.
Zec 14:12 - 15 And this shall be the plague wherewith the LORD will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth . And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great tumult from the LORD shall be among them; and they shall lay hold every one on the hand of his neighbor, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbor. And Judah also shall fight at Jerusalem ; and the wealth of all the heathen round about shall be gathered together, gold, and silver, and apparel, in great abundance. And so shall be the plague of the horse, of the mule, of the camel, and of the ass, and of all the beasts that shall be in these tents, as this plague.
Some say that this sounds like an atomic bomb. However, it seems that only the enemies of God are destroyed while the Jews in Jerusalem are saved. How could God do that? I do not know but possibly they will hide like it says in Isaiah 2:10, “ Enter into the rock, and hide thee in the dust, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of his majesty.”
Psa 97:3 - 8 A fire goeth before him, and burneth up his enemies round about. His lightnings enlightened the world: the earth saw, and trembled. The hills melted like wax at the presence of the LORD, at the presence of the Lord of the whole earth. The heavens declare his righteousness, and all the people see his glory. Confounded be all they that serve graven images, that boast themselves of idols: worship him, all ye gods. Zion heard, and was glad; and the daughters of Judah rejoiced because of thy judgments, O LORD.
The presence of the Lord is a terror to the enemies of God. Judgment is a fearful word to the godless. However, notice that judgment is a very good word to the people of God! Christians and those that love God should never fear judgment because it is the time when all the wrongs on the earth will be made right. All of the injustices will be judged justly. And the servants of God will receive a great reward! The earth will be ours and we will rule and reign with Jesus!
Rev 20:1, 2 And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the pit and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,
2Th 2:8 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:
Rev 19:20 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 worshiped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.
When the armies of men gather to fight God at Armageddon they will be utterly destroyed. The Lord's coming will annihilate all the enemies of God in one instance. Armageddon will be the place where Christ also defeats the devil, the antichrist, and the false prophet. The devil will be bound for 1,000 years. The antichrist and the false prophet will be thrown into the Lake of Fire . Then we look forward to a one thousand year reign of peace on earth through the Lord Jesus Christ in the devil's absence.
The Judgment of the Nations
Mat 25:31 - 34 When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him , then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats : And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
We have pointed out that when the Lord comes He will bring all of His saints. This verse shows us that He will also bring all of His angels as well. After He destroys utterly those men that came to fight Him at Armageddon, Jesus will sit upon His throne and judge the nations of the world. This will not be a judgment against individual people but against nations as a whole. The “sheep nations” will receive reward and the “goat nations” will be destroyed. What determines whether they receive blessings or destruction is how they treated the people of God, whether it was the Christians, the Jews, or the poor and destitute. Just thinking of how many nations hate the Jews currently makes me realize that there will be many “goat nations”.
Other Scriptures concerning the Day of the Lord: Ps 50; Zep 1; Act 2:20; I Thess 5:1-3; II Thess 2:1-8; 2 Pet 3:10-12; Rom 2:5-11; Mic 1:3,4; Nah 1:5,6; Hab 3.
Part 1 - Jews, Nations, and the Church of God
Part 4 - The Tribulation Time Period
Part 6 - The Coming of the Lord
Part 7 - The Millennial Reign of Christ Time Period
Part 8 - The Great White Throne Judgment and a New Beginning