Lesson 4 of 5
The Second Coming of Christ
The King Returns
The second coming of Jesus Christ is the most anticipated event in all of Biblical prophecy — the moment when the rejected King of Israel, the crucified Lamb of God, returns to earth in visible, physical, overwhelming glory to judge His enemies and establish His kingdom. It is the event toward which all of history moves and all of Scripture points.
John describes the scene in Revelation 19:11-16: "And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS."
This is not the gentle Jesus of the manger or the suffering servant of Calvary. This is the warrior King, returning in the fullness of His divine power and authority. His eyes blaze with holy fire. His robe is stained with the blood of judgment. From His mouth proceeds a sword — the word of God by which He spoke the universe into existence and by which He will now unmake the kingdom of Antichrist. He comes not to negotiate, not to appeal, not to offer terms — He comes to conquer.
And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.
Revelation 19:11-16
Every Eye Shall See Him
Unlike the rapture, which is a private event between Christ and His church, the second coming is the most public event in the history of the world. Jesus Himself declared: "For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be" (Matthew 24:27). There will be no secret about it. No one will miss it. No one will need to be told it has happened.
Matthew records Christ's own description: "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" (Matthew 24:30). The response of the nations is not joy but mourning — because the One they have rejected, blasphemed, and waged war against is now coming in irresistible power. The very tribes of the earth that celebrated the Antichrist and took his mark will see their conqueror descending from heaven.
Revelation 1:7 adds: "Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him." The phrase "they also which pierced him" points specifically to Israel's recognition of their Messiah. Zechariah prophesied this moment: "And they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him" (Zechariah 12:10). At the second coming, the nation of Israel will finally recognize that Jesus of Nazareth — the One their forefathers crucified — is indeed the promised Christ, the Son of the living God.
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.
Matthew 24:30
His Feet on the Mount of Olives
The second coming is not merely a spiritual or visionary event — it is a physical, geographical, bodily return. Christ will set His feet on a specific location on planet earth. The prophet Zechariah pinpoints the exact spot: "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" (Zechariah 14:4).
The Mount of Olives was the last place Christ's feet touched the earth before His ascension. Acts 1:11 records the angelic promise given to the stunned disciples: "Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven." He ascended bodily and visibly from the Mount of Olives; He will return bodily and visibly to the Mount of Olives. The symmetry is deliberate and precise.
When His feet touch the mountain, it will split in two, creating a great valley running east to west. This is not figurative language — it is a specific geological prediction. The geological fault line that runs through the Mount of Olives has been confirmed by modern surveys. At the appointed time, the return of the Creator will reshape the very landscape of the land He promised to Abraham. Jerusalem will be elevated, living waters will flow from the city, and the topography of the entire region will be transformed in preparation for the millennial kingdom (Zechariah 14:8-10).
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.
Zechariah 14:4
The Battle of Armageddon
The second coming occurs at the climax of the most terrible military confrontation in human history — the Battle of Armageddon. The name comes from the Hebrew Har-Megiddo, the hill of Megiddo, a strategic location in the Jezreel Valley of northern Israel that has been the site of countless battles throughout history.
During the final phase of the tribulation, the Antichrist will gather the armies of the world to Israel for a massive military campaign. Revelation 16:13-16 describes demonic spirits going forth to "the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty" to a place called "Armageddon." Joel 3:2 records God's declaration: "I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel." The armies of the Antichrist will converge on Israel from all directions — the kings of the east crossing the dried-up Euphrates (Revelation 16:12), the northern confederacy, and the forces of the western empire.
The Antichrist's armies will lay siege to Jerusalem. Zechariah 14:2 describes the city being taken, houses rifled, and half the city going into captivity. In Israel's darkest hour, when all seems lost and the annihilation of the Jewish people appears certain, the heavens will open. Christ returns — not to a battle, but to an execution. The sword from His mouth — the word of God — annihilates the armies arrayed against Him. "And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him... 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" (Revelation 19:20-21). The battle ends before it begins. No army in the universe can stand against the word of the Almighty.
Satan Bound
With the Antichrist and false prophet consigned to the lake of fire, one member of the unholy trinity remains — Satan himself. Revelation 20:1-3 describes his fate: "And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless 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, And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season."
Note the deliberate accumulation of names: dragon, old serpent, Devil, Satan. There is no ambiguity about who this is. The being who deceived Eve in Eden, who accused Job before God's throne, who tempted Christ in the wilderness, who empowered the Antichrist, and who has been the invisible architect of every false religion, every persecution, and every corruption of truth throughout human history — this being is seized by a single angel and imprisoned for a thousand years.
The binding of Satan is essential to what follows. For the first time since the fall of man, the earth will exist without satanic influence. No temptation from the evil one. No demonic deception. No false religions. No spiritual blindness cast over the nations. The millennial kingdom of Christ will demonstrate what human civilization looks like under the perfect rule of the Son of God, with Satan removed from the equation entirely. Every excuse humanity has ever offered — "the devil made me do it" — will be stripped away.
And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless 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, And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.
Revelation 20:1-3
The Judgment of the Nations
Following the second coming and before the millennium begins, Christ will judge the surviving Gentile nations. This judgment is described in Matthew 25:31-46, the parable of the sheep and the goats: "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" (Matthew 25:31-32).
This is not the Great White Throne judgment of Revelation 20 (which occurs after the millennium) and it is not the judgment seat of Christ for believers (which occurs in heaven during the tribulation). This is a judgment of living Gentiles who have survived the tribulation, based on how they treated Christ's "brethren" — the Jewish people and tribulation saints — during the seven years of persecution. The "sheep" — those who sheltered, fed, and aided the persecuted — are welcomed into the millennial kingdom. The "goats" — those who refused — are cast into everlasting fire.
This judgment determines who among the surviving nations will enter the millennium in their natural, mortal bodies. These survivors will repopulate the earth during the thousand-year reign of Christ. They will live, marry, bear children, and experience the blessings of Christ's perfect rule — though they will still possess a sin nature, a fact that becomes significant when Satan is loosed at the end of the millennium.
The second coming is thus not merely the end of the tribulation — it is the beginning of a new era. Christ's return inaugurates His kingdom, fulfills the covenant promises to Israel, and establishes the righteous rule that every prophet foretold and every saint has longed for. The prayer "Thy kingdom come" will finally be answered.
Scripture References
Revelation 19:11-16Zechariah 14:4Matthew 24:30Revelation 19:19-21Revelation 20:1-3