The Splendor of The Second Coming
“But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who
have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus.
For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no
means precede those who are asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an
archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be
caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.
Therefore comfort one another with these words.” 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
I. DAY OF THE LORD: TWO EXTREMES AT THE END-OF-THE-AGE.
The day of the LORD is Great and very Terrible (Joel 2:11; Malachi 4:5)
A. The Day of the Lord refers to the unusual End-Time events related to the Second Coming of Jesus. These events
(positive and negative) will come to fullness in the final 3½ years before Jesus returns and culminate with the 2nd Coming
of Christ. (2 Thessalonians 2:3; Hebrews 10:25; 2 Peter 3:10)
B. The 2nd Coming of Jesus is the culmination of the day of the Lord. Next to the crucifixion of Christ it will be the
most dramatic and most glorious event in human history. The return of Jesus to the planet will the great revealing of the
face of Christ as the Bridegroom, King and Judge
“Your people shall be volunteers In the day of Your power (king); In the beauties of holiness, from the womb of the morning,
You have the dew of Your youth. The LORD has sworn And will not relent, “You are a priest forever According to the
order of Melchizedek.” The Lord is at Your right hand He shall execute kings in the day of His wrath. (judge)”
“Go forth, O daughters of Zion, and see King Solomon with the crown with which his mother crowned him
on the day of his
wedding the day of the gladness of his heart.(bridegroom)” Song of Solomon 3:11
C. The 2nd Coming will openly manifest the height of what was accomplished in the cross of Christ which is the
bringing down of the New Jerusalem, the gathering together of heaven and earth so that in that context fullness of God’s
personality might expressed and Him dwell with redeemed humanity in their resurrected bodies.
“…having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, that in
the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heav
and which are on earth—in Him.” Ephesians 1:9-10
“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. God Himself will be with them and be their God.” Revelation 21:2-3
D. The Day of the Lord is a time period where God’s zeal for righteousness, for His people and against wickedness is
fully and openly manifests.
II. CULTIVATING INSIGHT CONCERNING THE 2ND COMING IS ESSENTIAL
A. We cannot claim ignorance concerning the Day of the Lord. We must give ourselves to searching out the 2nd
Coming events.
“But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who
have no hope. 1 Thessalonians 4:13
“For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery,(salvation of Israel) lest you should be wise in
your own opinion, that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. And so all
Israel will be saved (at the 2nd Coming)…” Romans 11:25-26
B. Studying and meditating on the 2nd Coming we keep us from deception and connect us with truth
“Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be?
And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?” and Jesus answered and said to them: “Take
heed that no one deceives you.” Matthew 24:3-4
“Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you, not to be
soon shaken in mind or troubled, (no need to be confused) either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though
the day of Christ (the 2nd Coming) had come. Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day (the 2nd Coming) will
not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts
himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that
he is God.” 2 Thessalonians 2:1-4
“…so that you come short in no gift, eagerly waiting for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will also confirm you
to the end, that you may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.” 1 Corinthians 1:7-8
C. The second coming motivates us to righteousness
“The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of
light.” Romans 13:12-13
“Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is
revealed, (2nd Coming) we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who has this hope in Him purifie
himself, just as He is pure.” 1 John 3:2-3
III. THE SPLENDOR OF HIS COMING
A. Every eye will see Him at the Second Coming.
Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will
mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen. Revelation 1:7
B. He coming with the cloud of His glory-
“Jesus said, “I am. And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming with the clouds of
heaven” Mark 14:62
“Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And
thus we shall always be with the Lord.” 1 Thessalonians 4:17
C. Jesus will come with the zeal and vengeance of the Father-
“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” 2 Thessalonians 1:7-8
D. The 2nd coming will be filled with brightness, radiant beauty and great power-
“And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with
the brightness of His coming.” 2 Thessalonians 2:8
Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then 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. Matthew 24:30
E. Jesus will come with the all hosts of heaven-
“When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory.”
Matthew 25:31
F. The 2nd Coming will be accompanied with divine lightning. I do not believe that the mention of lightning in the
second coming verse imply and instantaneous event but that it could possibly mean that the lightning of the glory of God
from around the throne of God will accompany the coming of Jesus to the planet. 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17 shows a clear
process.
“And from the throne proceeded lightings, thunderings, and voices. Seven lamps of fire were burning before the throne,
“For as the lightning that flashes out of one part under heaven shines to the other part under heaven, so also the Son of
Man will be in His day”. Luke 17:24
IV. THE SEQUENCE THE SECOND COMING
A. The Lord Himself will descend from heaven –
1. With a shout (voice of an archangel)
2. The trumpet of God
B. And the dead in Christ will rise first
“Your dead shall live; together with my dead body they shall arise. Awake and sing, you who dwell in dust; for your dew is
like the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead.” Isaiah 26:19
C. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them-
1. The transformation of our natural bodies to becoming spiritual bodies is instantaneous.
“Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed— in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye,
at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this
corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.” 1 Corinthians 15:51-53
2. We will join the saints who have gone before us in the clouds of heaven.
V. THE PURPOSE OF THE SECOND COMING
A. Jesus is coming to the planet to destroy the Anti Christ and his kingdom. He will answer the cry of the earth when
the proclaim, “who is able to make war with the beast” (Rev 13:4)
“And then the lawless one will be revealed,(Anti Christ) whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and
destroy with the brightness of His coming.” 2 Thessalonians 2:8
B. Jesus will come back to put an end to the Armageddon Campaign by destroying the Anti Christ, his armies and
casting the Anti Christ and the False Prophet into the Lake of Fire (Ezekiel 38-39, Zechariah 12-14, Zephaniah 2-3,
Psalm 2; 24; 45; 58; 83; 110; 118; 149; Isaiah 9:4; 11:26; 34; 63; Joel 2-3; Revelation 14; 19)
C. The 2nd Coming is setting up of the Throne of Glory in Jerusalem from which Christ will rule the nations of the
earth. (Psalm 2; 24; 110; Isaiah 2; 4;9; 11; 24-27; 60-62; Daniel 2:44; Jeremiah 3:17; 23:5-6; Zechariah 6:12-13;
Ezekiel 40-48.) One of the main purposes of the 2nd Coming is to deliver Jerusalem and save Israel (Romans 11:25-26)
D. Jesus comes back to the earth, physically and personally as to bring all things under His feet and prepare the
earth as a habitation of the Father. (Isaiah 40:3-5; 1 Corinthians 15:23-28)
VI. THE RAPTURE AND THE SECOND COMING PROCESSION
A. He will come from heaven to catch up all His people to meet Him in the clouds.
For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God.
And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the
clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17)
B. He will come from heaven with all His people.
that He may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our…Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all
His saints. (1 Thessalonians 3:13)
Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, "First gather together the tares
and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn." (Matthew 13:30)
C. He will come in flaming fire with His saints.
when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, 8 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. (2 Thessalonians 1:7-8)
D. At His Coming, we will receive resurrected bodies that radiate His light.
There is one glory of the sun, another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for one star differs from another
star in glory. 42 So also is the resurrection of the dead. The body is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption.
(1 Corinthians 15:41-42)
The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who
practice lawlessness, and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then the
righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. (Matthew 13:41-43)
E. Second Coming of Christ – the time Jesus appears in the sky to all the people of the earth at the end of the age to
bring judgment to sinners and vindication to God’s people (Hebrews 9:28). The Second Coming by definition demands
that He come to earth and set up an earthly kingdom not just appear in the sky to catch His people away (rapture) to
Himself.
F. The nature of the Second Coming events: is a 3-stage process that includes many events instead of it being only
one event that happens one afternoon. First, Jesus comes across the entire earth in the sky (Revelation 1:7), Second, He
comes across the land (Isaiah 63:1-6). Third, Jesus enters into Jerusalem (Matthew 23:39; Psalm 24:7-10) using the 7
Bowls to destroy the armies of the Antichrist and thus to win the Armageddon campaign (Revelation 19:11-21) at the
Battle of Jerusalem. Jesus releases the 7 bowls of wrath as Moses released the ten plagues of Egypt.