Day 11 of the 24 Day Prophecy Study
Notes compiled by Steve McAtee and Marty Zide
The second coming of the Lord Jesus was preached and prophesied long before His first coming took place by Enoch who ministered before the flood in Noah’s day. His is the very first prophecy of the second coming.
Jude 14-15 - It was also about these men that Enoch, in the seventh generation from Adam, prophesied, saying, Behold, the Lord came with many thousands of His holy ones, to execute judgment upon all, and to convict all the ungodly of all their ungodly deeds which they have done in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.
Jude uses the past tense to emphasize the certainty of the event. His second coming is going to happen.
Among true believers, the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus should be one of the most anticipated events that we should focus on. From the time that Jesus promised His disciples that He would return for them, His return should produce hope and comfort for all who know Him personally. As we seek to live our life on earth as a believer, we should be continually looking for the return of the Lord Jesus. Our mind should be taken off of the temporal things on earth and fixed on the things in heaven from where the Lord will return. Doing so will help us keep things in proper perspective.
Titus 2:11-13 - For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Messiah Jesus.
Col. 3:2-4 - Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Messiah in God. When Messiah, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.
I Pet. 1:3-6 - Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus the Messiah, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope..., to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you... In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials.
As we can see with these verses, the return of the Lord Jesus ought to be occupying a very large place in our thoughts.
1. What the Return of Jesus Will Be Like
Acts 1:9-11 - And after He had said these things, He was lifted up while they were looking on, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. And as they were gazing intently into the sky while He was going, behold, two men in white clothing stood beside them. They also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven.” The Lord Jesus will return to earth in the same way that He ascended to heaven.
Some Characteristics of His Coming: the Lord Jesus will come personally in great glory - Mt. 24:30 He will come bodily - Rev. 19:11-12 He will come openly - all will see it - Rev. 1:7 He will come in great power - 2 Thes. 2:8
Matt. 24:30 - And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky..., and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory.
Rev. 19:11-12 - And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True... His eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many diadems...
Rev. 1:7 - Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him...
2 Thes. 2:8 - Then that lawless one (Antichrist) will be revealed whom the Lord will slay with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming.
2. The Chronology of the Second Coming of Jesus
* it begins with signs in the skies:
Luke 21:25-26 - There will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth dismay among nations... men fainting from fear and the expectation of the things which are coming upon the world; for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.
Those familiar with the Old Testament prophecies would have been familiar with the teachings of Jesus about certain signs that will proceed His second coming to the earth.
Isa. 13:9-13 - Behold, the day of the Lord is coming... For the stars of heaven and their constellations Will not flash forth their light; The sun will be dark when it rises And the moon will not shed its light... Therefore I will make the heavens tremble, And the earth will be shaken from its place at the fury of the Lord of hosts In the day of His burning anger.
Joel 2:30-31 - I will display wonders in the sky and on the earth... The sun will be turned into darkness And the moon into blood, Before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes.
* in the midst of these signs Jesus returns Matt. 24:30 - And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory.
* Jesus touches down on the Mt. of Olives Zech. 14:2-4 - For I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle... Then the Lord will go forth and fight against those nations... In that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which is in front of Jerusalem on the east; and the Mount of Olives will be split...
* heads off to Bozrah to gather the remnant Isa. 63:1 - Who is this who comes from Edom, With garments of glowing colors from Bozrah, This One who is majestic in His apparel, Marching in the greatness of His strength? It is I who speak in righteousness, mighty to save.
3. When Jesus returns, He will put down all world powers & establish His kingdom.
When the Lord returns He will destroy all of the Gentile world powers that are on earth and establish His millennial kingdom. This is depicted in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream that was interpreted by Daniel.
Dan. 2:44-45 - In the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which will never be destroyed... it will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms, but it will itself endure forever. Inasmuch as you saw that a stone was cut out of the mountain without hands and that it crushed the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver and the gold, the great God has made known to the king what will take place in the future...
During the tribulation period, a one-world government and religious system will be developed by the Antichrist and the false prophet. This will all be under the umbrella of what is known as the revived Roman empire.
4. His return will bring about Israel’s regeneration
Rom. 11:25-26 - For I do not want you, brethren, to be uninformed of this mystery—so that you will not be wise in your own estimation—that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in; and so all Israel will be saved; just as it is written, The Deliverer will come from Zion, He will remove ungodliness from Jacob.
This mystery is designed to clear up any possible misunderstanding about the future of Israel in the plan of God. I believe that those who teach that Israel is completely written off from God’s future program are guilty of the warning in these verses. In accordance with God’s plan, Israel rejected Jesus as the Messiah so God’s blessings could come to the Gentiles. When the times of the Gentiles is about to come to an end at the return of Jesus, a remnant of Jewish people will look upon Jesus and be saved. This is when “all Israel will be saved.”
Rom. 11:11-12 - I say then, they did not stumble so as to fall, did they? May it never be! But by their transgression salvation has come to the Gentiles, to make them jealous. Now if their transgression is riches for the world and their failure is riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their fulfillment be!
Zech. 12:9-10 - And in that day I will set about to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and of supplication, so that they will look on Me whom they have pierced; and they will mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him like the bitter weeping over a firstborn.
After the Lord Jesus returns, there will be a judgment upon the Gentiles and a judgment upon the Jewish people to determine who will enter into the millennium.
5. Some Signs That Accompany the Second Coming
The Word of God contains several signs that accompany the Second Coming of Jesus to the earth. These signs will be full-blown during the tribulation period. But, even now, we can see some of them beginning to happen. As a result, we should be very excited as we eagerly await His return.
*apostasy Matt. 24:3, 10 - As He was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, Tell us, when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age? At that time many will fall away and will betray one another and hate one another.
At this time, those who were false believers will realize that it’s no longer easy to simply profess to be a Christian. Their true colors will surface and they will fall away from the faith, and betray one another, manifesting that they were never true believers, to begin with.
*false Christs & false prophets Matt. 24:5, 23-26 - For many will come in My name, saying, I am the Christ, and will mislead many. Then if anyone says to you, Behold, here is the Christ, or There He is, do not believe him. For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect. Behold, I have told you in advance. So if they say to you, Behold, He is in the wilderness, do not go out, or, Behold, He is in the inner rooms, do not believe them. Although they are already present, as a result of the Antichrist’s and the False Prophet’s activities during the tribulation, there will be an accelerated number of lying individuals who will seek to deceive people.
*wars, famines & earthquakes Matt. 24:7 - For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and in various places there will be famines and earthquakes.
These have always existed, but as we see the return of Jesus drawing closer, they will intensify. *false signs & miracles
2 Thes. 8-9 - Then that lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord will slay with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming; that is, the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders.
*great deception 2 Thes. 10-12 - and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved.
For this reason, God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they will believe what is false, in order that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth but took pleasure in wickedness. All who reject the gospel ministry during the first half of the Tribulation will come under the divine judgment of believing Satan’s lie during the second half. Many believe that Paul was speaking about people who reject the gospel during the present Church Age and when, entering the Tribulation Period, will not be able to believe in Jesus for salvation at that time. But this interpretation of the passage ignores the context. Paul was writing about the career of the Beast while he rules over the earth during the second half of the Tribulation Period. Those who reject the gospel ministry of the 144,000 Jewish missionaries will come under God’s judgment. They will be led to believe “the lie,” propagated by the False Prophet. Those who receive the Beast and his doctrine will forfeit any further opportunity to be saved. Floyd Barackman
Rev. 14:9-11 - Then another angel, a third one, followed them, saying with a loud voice, If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, he also will drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is mixed in full strength in the cup of His anger; and he will be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever; they have no rest day and night, those who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name.
6. The Believers Response Toward the Second Coming
The Bible gives several responses that a true believer should have in regards the second coming of Jesus. There will be some very positive effects as a result of focusing on His return. Our Response to the Second Coming
*we should be alert & watchful Matt. 24:42-44 - Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming. But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what time of the night the thief was coming, he would have been on the alert and would not have allowed his house to be broken into. For this reason you also must be ready; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think He will.
*be motivated to Godly living
1 Pet. 1:13-16 - Therefore, prepare your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; because it is written, You shall be holy, for I am holy.
*it should influence our present life Rom. 13:11-12 - Do this, knowing the time, that it is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep; for now salvation is nearer to us than when we believed. The night is almost gone, and the day is near. Therefore let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.
James 5:7-8 - Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. The farmer waits for the precious produce of the soil, being patient about it.. You too be patient; strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near.
*we should long for it 1 Tim. 4:8 - in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing.
Just these four responses to the coming of the Lord gives ample proof to the tremendous effect it should have in our life.
7. Some Characteristics of the Second Coming
The Scriptures present several illustrations that describe what it will be like when the Lord Jesus returns.
Some Descriptions of His Coming:
*like the days of Lot Luke 17:28-30 - It was the same as happened in the days of Lot: they were eating, they were drinking, they were buying, they were selling, they were planting, they were building; but on the day that Lot went out from Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. It will be just the same on the day that the Son of Man is revealed. They were totally preoccupied with the mundane things of life without any concern or preparedness for their souls. When judgment fell, it was too late.
*like the days of Noah’s flood Matt. 24:37-39 - For the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and they did not understand until the flood came and took them all away; so will the coming of the Son of Man be.
*like a thief in the night 1 Thes. 5:2-3 - For you yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night. While they are saying, Peace and safety! then destruction will come upon them suddenly like labor pains
upon a woman with child, and they will not escape.
*no one except the Father knows the time of the Second Coming Matt. 24:36, 42 - But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone. Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming.
One of the last things Jesus said (Rev. 22:7, 20) was that He was coming soon. Until that day comes, may we be busy serving Him and looking to the skies.