The Second Coming of Jesus
By: Michael Bradley
In this first verse, God says He will allow all the nations of the world to come against Jerusalem. This verse tells us that Jerusalem will be taken, the houses will be "rifled," and the women ravished. Half of the city will actually go into captivity, but the one third remnant will not be killed during this takeover. Remember, two thirds of the Jewish people will be killed, one third will not.
It’s right at this point that Jesus will come forth to fight for His people and put an end to all the bloodshed. His feet will land on the Mount of Olives. Here is the verse!
"Behold, the day of the Lord is coming, and your spoil will be divided in your midst. For I will gather all the nations to battle against Jerusalem; the city shall be taken, the houses rifled, and the women ravished. Half of the city shall go into captivity, but the remnant of the people shall not be cut off from the city.
Then the Lord will go forth and fight against these nations, as He fights in the day of battle. And in that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which faces Jerusalem on the east. And the Mount of Olives shall be split in two, from east to west, making a very large valley; half of the mountain shall move toward the north and half of it toward the south. Then you shall flee through My mountain valley ... Thus the Lord my God will come, and all the saints with you ... and the Lord shall be King over all the earth ... the people dwell in it; and no longer shall there be utter destruction, but Jerusalem shall be safely inhabited.
And this shall be the plague with which the Lord will strike all the people who fought against Jerusalem: Their flesh shall dissolve while they stand on their feet, their eyes shall dissolve in their sockets, and their tongues shall dissolve in their mouths." (Zechariah 4:1-12)
2. Notice the very graphic description of what God is going to do to Israel’s enemies. This will be the wrath of God in full manifestation. Now watch what happens in the next verse. God calls out to the birds in the air and will allow these birds to feed off the flesh of the army that He has just destroyed. The last part of this verse will tell you what He will do with the Antichrist and False Prophet.
"Then I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried out with a loud voice, saying to all the birds in the midst of heaven, "Come and gather together for the supper of the great God, that you may eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and those who sit on them, and the flesh of all people, free and slave, both small and great."
And I saw the beast, the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army. Then the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet, who worked signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image. These two were cast into the lake of fire burning with brimstone, and the rest were killed with the sword which proceeded from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse. And all the birds were filled with their flesh." (Revelations 19:17-21)
3. Now what happens to Satan, the Dragon who orchestrated all the events of the Great Tribulation? Here is what Jesus does with him.
"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 up for one thousand years; and he cast him onto the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal on him, so that he should deceive the nations no more till the one thousand years were finished. But after these things he must be released for a season." (Revelations 20:1-3)
As you will see a little further down, God will let Satan loose for a "season" at the end of the 1000 Millennium to set up one more battle before we finally get the new heaven and new earth.
4. Here is another verse that shows Jesus will come back immediately after the Great Tribulation has run its course.
"IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE TRIBULATION OF THOSE DAYS, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of heaven will be shaken.
THEN THE SIGN OF THE SON OF MAN WILL APPEAR IN HEAVEN, AND ALL THE TRIBES OF THE EARTH WILL MOURN, AND THEY WILL SEE THE SON OF MAN COMING ON THE CLOUDS OF HEAVEN WITH POWER AND GREAT GLORY. And He will send His Angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other." (Matthew 24:29-31)
Here is another verse on Jesus' 2nd coming and Him taking vengeance on the wicked.
"Since it is a righteous thing with God to repay with tribulation those who trouble you, and to give you who are troubled rest with us when the LORD JESUS IS REVEALED FROM HEAVEN WITH HIS MIGHTY ANGELS, IN FLAMING FIRE TAKING VENGEANCE ON THOSE WHO DO NOT KNOW GOD, AND ON THOSE WHO DO NOT OBEY THE GOSPEL OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST. THESE SHALL BE PUNISHED WITH EVERLASTING DESTRUCTION FROM THE PRESENCE OF THE LORD AND FROM THE GLORY OF HIS POWER, WHEN HE COMES IN THAT DAY, TO BE GLORIFIED IN HIS SAINTS AND TO BE ADMIRED AMONG ALL THOSE WHO BELIEVE, BECAUSE OUR
TESTIMONY AMONG YOU WAS BELIEVED." (2 Thessalonians 1:6-9)
5. Now here is the verse that says that Jesus will be setting up a Millennium Kingdom where He will rule this entire earth from the city of Jerusalem.
"And I saw the saints of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. AND THEY LIVED AND REIGNED WITH CHRIST FOR A THOUSAND YEARS." (Revelations 20:4)
6. Now what happens after the 1000 years are up? Two events will occur. Satan is let loose for a "season" to try and set up one last battle. God then finally throws him in the Lake of Fire where He had just thrown the Antichrist and False Prophet 1000 years earlier. And we then get a new heaven and a new earth. Here are the two verses.
"Now when the one thousand years have expired, Satan will be released from his prison and will go out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle ... They went up on the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and it's beloved city. And fire came down from heaven and devoured them. And the devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever." (Revelations 20:7)
Notice in the above verse that Satan once more surrounds what would appear to be Jerusalem. But this time it appears that God will stop him in his tracks before he can even attack God’s people. He is then thrown into the Lake of Fire and that will be the last that we will ever hear from this blasphemous creature ever again!!
Now here is the final chapter to the whole saga. After Satan is permanently taken out for good, the old earth and old heaven will pass away and a new heaven and new earth will be given to God's people. Here is the verse.
"AND I SAW A NEW HEAVEN AND A NEW EARTH, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from 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 will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying; and there shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away. Then He who sat on the throne said, "Behold, I will make all things new."
And He said to me, "Write, for these words are true and faithful." And He said to me, "It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts. He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be His God and he shall be My son. But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death." (Revelations 21:1-8)
Notice that in addition to a new earth and a new heaven, we also get a new city - a New Jerusalem. God the Father will also dwell with us in this new heaven and new earth along with His Son!!! There will be no more death, no more pain and no more sorrow. Now here is another verse telling us what this new heaven and new earth will be like.
"But I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. And the city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God illuminated it, and the Lamb its light. And the nations of those who are saved shall walk in the light, and the kings of the earth bring their glory and honor into it. Its gates shall not be shut at all by day (and there shall be no night there). And they shall bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it. But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles, or causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb's Book of Life." (Revelations 21:22-27)
Here is another verse on this new heaven and new earth.
"And 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. They shall see His face, and His name shall be on their foreheads; and there shall be no night there: they need no lamp nor light of the sun, for the Lord God gives the light. And they shall reign forever and ever." (Revelations 22:3-5)
This verse tells us that the curse of Adam and Eve will finally been broken. We will never die again. No more sickness, disease, hunger, crime, Satan, demons, bad people, aging, etc. We will truly be in paradise in this new heaven and new earth and we will remain in this perfect environment forever and ever! Is that a storybook ending or what!!
The above verse also tells us that both Jesus and God the Father will dwell and live with us in this paradise and we will all have direct access to the both of Them! We will no longer have need of a Jewish Temple because God and Jesus will now be the temple. We will be able to worship Them direct.
Article written by Michael Bradley of Bible Knowledge Ministries. Their website is a resource of Bible Knowledge, articles, commentary and teaching. They currently have over 100 Bible articles. All free of charge.
This article was brought to you by PrayWay Global Prayer Community.
This article does not necessarily reflect the opinions or beliefs of PrayWay. It is provided for informational purposes only. As always, weigh everything with the Word of God, which is the only inerrant source of information.
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