SECOND COMING OF JESUS TO THE EARTH
"Not to be confused with the rapture of the church"
The biblical teaching on the return of Jesus to earth is when Jesus returns at the end of the seven year tribulation period and before the thousand year reign of Christ on earth.
Revelation 19:11-21 "Then 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. 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. He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses. 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. And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS. Then I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the birds that fly in the midst of heaven, "Come and gather together for the supper of the great God, 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. 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 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. 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".
THE TIME OF HIS SECOND COMING TO EARTH
No One Knows That Day and Hour. Matthew 24:36-39 "But of that day and hour no one knows, no, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only.
"But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be."For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, "and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be".
We read that the lord is very patient, 2nd Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. However there is a limit to His patience; Genesis 6:3 And the LORD said, "My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, for he is indeed flesh; yet his days shall be one hundred and twenty years."
In the latter portion of His ministry, Jesus told His followers that He would be leaving them but would return again to the earth. This message of the second coming is referred to as the Blessed Hope (Titus 2:13). Jesus warned His followers that they should be prepared to welcome Him back (Matt. 24-25; compare Mark 13). In the upper room with His disciples, Jesus told them He was going away but promised that He would come again one day (John 14:3). At His ascension, the two angels declared that He would return (Acts 1:11). Titus 1:2 and Hebrews 6:18 assure us that it is not possible for God to lie. We can rest assured that the return of Jesus to earth is inevitable.
In the Old Testament the LORD warned that in one hundred and twenty years He would bring a flood that would wipe out all living creature on earth except those safely preserved in the Arch. In the New Testament God warned that seven years after the rapture of the church He will bring devastating judgment on the unbelieving population of the earth. The rapture of the church is the precursor to the second coming of Jesus to the earth. (See the study on the rapture of the church)
Jesus' Form in His Coming
Many who agree about the fact of Jesus' second coming are not sure about the form it will take. Some say He was referring to the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, others that He was referring to His resurrection, others to the fact that He was going to be spiritually present with us (Matt. 28:20), others to an individual's conversion experience (see Rev. 3:20).
All of these are incomplete at best. Jesus warned of misrepresentations (Matt. 24:4-5,11,23-26) and said His appearance would be bodily and unmistakable (Matt. 24:27,30; compare Acts 1:11).
Effects of Christ's Second Coming
The second coming of Jesus will bring to a close the existing sin and corruption that has developed in the world as we know it. After Jesus' victory at the battle of Armageddon, He will usher in one thousand years of utopia on earth. Jesus will rule with an iron rod and Satan and his demons will be cast into the pit and not allowed to tempt mankind again until the end of this period.
REV 20:1-3 Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; and he cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal on him, so that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were finished. But after these things he must be released for a little while.
