The Second Coming of Christ, Part 5

We have been studying the second coming of Christ and the events of the end times, especially as we read about these things in the Olivet Discourse (Matthew 24-25). The Olivet Discourse deals with two questions: the proximate destruction of the temple and the remote coming of Christ at the end of the age. We already noted that signs relating to both were given by Jesus Christ in this discourse and that the destruction of Jerusalem prefigures the tribulation of the end times. We saw that the phrase, “abomination of desolation,” which had a manifestation during the destruction of the temple in A.D. 70, also indicates an abomination of desolation, even a personal Antichrist, at the end times.

During our study we noted that the blessed hope of the church is the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. His coming will be visible, public, glorious, powerful, sudden, audible, and personal. Jesus Christ will come with a shout, with a loud command, as the Sovereign King of the universe, with the voice of the archangel and the trumpet call of God. He will be coming personally and particularly for his bride, the church of Jesus Christ. At Christ’s coming the believers who died in faith in Christ, including, of course, the martyrs of the tribulation period, will rise first and be given powerful, glorious bodies. Then those who are living at that time will undergo a glorious change, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet, and together both groups will be caught up to meet the Lord in the air. Although the air is the place of demons and wicked spiritual powers (Ephesians 2), Jesus Christ, the King of kings and Lord of lords, will come there because he is sovereign Lord of all.

We learned that these new bodies will be imperishable, immortal, and, unlike our present bodies, powerful and glorious. They will be spiritual bodies. That does not mean they consist of spirit, although some people think that. Rather, they will be engineered by the Holy Spirit so that we may dwell in our bodies in the presence of God. They will be physical bodies, just as Christ’s resurrected body was physical. As the bride of Christ, then, we will have bodies like unto Christ’s glorious body.

All these things will happen at the coming of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. Three Greek words describe this coming: epiphania, manifestation; apokalupsis, revelation; and parousia, coming.

Destruction of Antichrist and His Followers

What else will happen at Christ’s second coming? There will be the destruction of the Antichrist, as mentioned in 2 Thessalonians 2 and Revelation 19, and all his followers, including kings and generals, slave and free–every wicked person in this planet who joined with the Antichrist. Before we look in the New Testament, let us consider some scriptures from the Old Testament to gain further understanding of the great events that are going to happen. In Isaiah 63, the prophet Isaiah speaks of Christ destroying, defeating and pouring out his wrath upon those who refuse to believe in him.

“Who is this coming from Edom, from Bozrah, with his garments stained crimson? Who is this, robed in splendor, striving forward in the greatness of his strength? ‘It is I, speaking in righteousness, mighty to save.’ Why are your garments red, like those of one treading the winepress?” ‘I have trodden the winepress alone; from the nations no one was with me. I trampled them in my anger and trod them down in my wrath; their blood spattered my garments, and I stained all my clothing. For the day of vengeance was in my heart and the year of my redemption has come. I looked but there was no one to help; I was appalled that no one gave support; so my own arm worked salvation for me, and my own wrath sustained me. I trampled the nations in my anger; in my wrath I made them drunk and poured their blood on the ground.'” Isaiah 63:1-6

We need to note that this reference has nothing to do with the blood of Christ that is shed on the cross; rather, this blood symbolizes the destruction of his enemies. People have the conception that Jesus Christ is exclusively loving, compassionate, and nothing else, but that is a false understanding of who Jesus is. Jesus is loving, compassionate, gracious, and one who saves his people who repent and trust in him, but he also is a God of wrath and anger. You see him in that way in this particular chapter.

In Daniel 2:31-35 we read about the metallic image of a human being. In my judgment this also describes what will happen at the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. “You looked, O king, and there before you stood a large statue–an enormous, dazzling statue, awesome in appearance. The head of the statue was made of pure gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze, its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and party of baked clay,” speaking about world kingdoms–Babylon, Medo-Persian, Greece and Rome and so on. “While you were watching, a rock was cut out but not by human hands. It struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and smashed them. Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver and the gold were broken to pieces at the same time, and became like chaff like the threshing floor in the summer. The wind swept them away without leaving a trace,” meaning total destruction of the enemies, enemy powers, enemy kingdoms and enemy authority. “But the rock that struck the statue became a huge mountain,” speaking about the kingdom of God in its visible aspect, “and filled the whole earth.” What Daniel prophesied is going to happen, and the rock he spoke of is the kingdom of God.

We must realize that people, even those who are considered “nice,” hate Jesus Christ. The world is filled with such nice people. If you say to them that Jesus saves, they do not get too concerned. But what happens when you say that Jesus alone saves? Then those nice, civilized, powerful, educated, cultured people become extremely angry. Why? Because unless a person is born again, he or she is an enemy of God. When you say that Jesus alone saves, the varnish of nicety disappears, and you see people as they truly are–enemies of Jesus Christ and Christianity.

But we read here in Isaiah 63 and Daniel 2 that all people, even those who hate Jesus Christ, will have to reckon with him. They will not have to deal with Mohammed or any other religious leader. No, there is only one true and living God existing in three Persons–the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit–and this Christ is going to come. When he comes, there is going to be a contact with people, but that contact will not be one of salvation. It will be one of judgment, of God pouring out his just wrath upon the enemies of Christ.

Who Is the Antichrist?

Second Thessalonians 2 speaks about the unveiling of the lawless one. I believe this is not describing a system of unbelief or secularism, but a person. We are told about the emergence of this person in 2 Thessalonians 2:3: “Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come,” meaning the coming of Christ, “until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction.” That is speaking about the Antichrist.

In this passage we are told about the nature and end of this Antichrist. He will be lawless–the incarnation of autonomy. He will hate the Ten Commandments and the God of the Ten Commandments. He will be doomed to destruction. Verse 4: “He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God.” Verse 7: “For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work; but the one who now holds it back will continue to do so till he is taken out of the way.” Something is restraining the full manifestation of this Antichrist, and I would say it is the principle of human government, which is God’s institution. But a government will come that will be utterly and totally lawless when God removes his restraint.

At that time, the lawless one will be revealed in all his wickedness and all his fury will be unleashed against true Christianity. Now we must realize that the vast majority of Christianity will join with the Antichrist, but I am speaking about true Christianity that confesses that Jesus Christ alone is God and Lord and Savior. The fury of the Antichrist will be unleashed against such Christianity and Christians.

“The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with the work of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders. . . ” Read verse 8: “. . . whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the splendor of his coming.” Remember how the Egyptian magicians were able to do certain miracles? During this period, there will be the great performance of supernatural wonders, miracles and lying wonders, energized by the devil himself. Lying wonders are those whose purpose is to deceive people and turn them away from Jesus Christ. “. . . and in every sort of evil that deceives those who are perishing.” You see, those who refuse to believe in Jesus Christ are given over to delusion, and they will believe in this Antichrist. The vast majority of people in this world will believe in him, trust in him and worship him, and to justify their faith in him, they will point out all these miraculous things that he is performing.

True miracles, wonders, and signs are the works of the Holy Spirit, which we read about in Romans 15:17-20. But the vast majority of people in the world will be deceived. Because they did not believe in the gospel that was declared to all the nations, they will be handed over to believe in delusion. “They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved.” This will happen when Christ comes and deals with the Antichrist.

Why don’t our friends and relatives believe in Jesus Christ? Why do great scientists and politicians not believe in Christ? It is because they do not love the truth, and therefore they are handed over to powerful delusions. Sophisticated, intelligent people of the world will believe in lies. “For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness.”

The King Wages War

In Revelation 19:11-21 we read a description of what will happen when this great God and Savior appears as King of kings and Lord of lords. He will declare war against all those who refuse to love the truth but believed a lie, under the leadership of this lawless one called the abomination that desolates, or, the Antichrist. Let us, then, examine that passage.

“I saw heaven standing open, and there before me was a white horse whose rider is called Faithful and True.” Do you remember how Jesus came to the temple in Jerusalem in Matthew 21? He came in meekness, seated on a donkey. But now what do you see him riding? A white horse, speaking symbolically about purity and victory. And this rider is given two names, faithful and true.

Now, faithful and true mean essentially the same thing, that one can rely on this Jesus. Think about that. When he promises salvation, you can rely on him, and when he presents you with judgment, you can rely on him. When he speaks about hell, the resurrection, and his second coming, you can rely on him. This is an especially comforting name to the church of Jesus Christ. We can rely on him. Though we walk through the valley of the shadow of death or through the great tribulation and troubles, though we may even be killed, we can rely on the fact that Jesus Christ is coming again. Why? His name is Faithful and True.

Verse 11 continues, “With justice he judges and makes war.” This rider, Jesus Christ, is justice. He does not do anything in unrighteousness.. So this war is a just war, and he is coming to judge. “His eyes are like blazing fire. . .” We see this also in Revelation 1:14. With piercing vision he sees all. ” . . . and on his head are many crowns.” Satan only had seven and the Antichrist may have ten, but here it says that Jesus Christ has many crowns. What does that mean? All authority in heaven and on earth is given to him. He is the sovereign Lord of all.

He has a name written on him, but we are told in verse 12 that “no one knows [it] but he himself.” This means this great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, cannot be fully comprehended by us. We cannot penetrate and understand him. He knows himself, but we cannot know and comprehend him. There is certain mystery about him. Praise God, he does have other names, including Faithful and True, by which we can know him.

Verse 13: “He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood.” We already noticed this in Isaiah 63. This does not refer to the blood Christ shed on the cross, but it is the blood of destruction, wrath, and anger poured out upon the stubborn and rebellious. And what is his name? The Word of God. John spoke about the Word of God in John 1:1: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” This is the living Word–the Word who created the world, as we read in Genesis 1. This Word is powerful, penetrating, and creative. All the words that we have in the Bible are from this Word of God.

The Armies of Heaven

“The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean” (verse 14). What does “the armies of heaven” mean? Look at Revelation 19:6-8: “Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters, and like loud peals of thunder, shouting: ‘Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready. Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear.” So the armies could mean the church–the resurrected, glorious church.

Revelation 17:14 speaks about the same thing: “They will make war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will overcome them because he is Lord of lords and King of kings–and with him will be his called, chosen and faithful followers.” Again, we read in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 how the dead in Christ will rise first, and we will be changed, and together we’ll meet the Lord in the air. Keep in mind this glorious appearing of Christ that makes the church glorious.

So Revelation 19:14 says, “The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean.” This is the church of Christ, the people of God, who are pure, victorious, clean, and bright. And in verse 15 we read: “Out of his mouth comes a sharp sword. . . .” We read in 2 Thessalonians 2:8 that he shall destroy the lawless one by the breath of his mouth. There will be a loud command (1 Thess. 4:16) and a sharp sword “with which to strike down the nations.” Remember the rock we read about in Daniel 2, coming down and wiping out all enmity? Then there is a quotation from Psalm 2: “‘He will rule them with an iron scepter.'” It is iron, meaning it is inflexible. You cannot negotiate with the King of kings and Lord of lords, as some children negotiate with parents. Oh, no. This is an inflexible and just rule.

What happens next? “He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty.” Now this gives us a good understanding of Jesus Christ. He not only is Savior but he is Judge. “On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS,” meaning he has total sovereignty, all authority and all power.

The Great Invitation

In verse 17 John says, “And I saw an angel standing in the sun, who cried in a loud voice to all the birds. . .” This is a global invitation given to all the birds of the world. What is this invitation for? “‘Come, gather together for the great supper of God”–consisting of the bodies of the wicked throughout the world–“‘so that you may eat the flesh of kings, generals, and mighty men, of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all people, free and slave, small and great,'” meaning those who consorted with the Antichrist, who received its mark upon their foreheads, who welcomed him, and appreciated his philosophy and his anti-Christian understanding. Oh, what a great invitation! Come, gorge yourself with the flesh of generals, kings, the rich, the poor, the small, the great, Nobel Prize-winning people and everybody else. Come!

I am not going to be at that feast. Why? I will be coming with Christ. And if you have trusted in Jesus Christ, you also will be coming with him.

Preparing for Battle

Look at verse 19: “Then I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies gathered together to make war against the rider on the horse and his army.” This “beast,” of course, is the Antichrist, whom we read about in Revelation 13. The word “beast” is symbolic, but it is speaking about the mighty reality that this Antichrist, this man of lawlessness, behaves like a beast. In the book of Daniel you also see secular empires referred to as beasts. We do not expect good things to come from these beasts. They are beastly in their behavior.

Where will this war occur? We are told in Revelation 16:16, “Then they [the demons] gathered the kings together to the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon.” Armageddon is a Hebrew word coming from har, meaning hill, and Geddon–hill of Geddon. It is mentioned in Zechariah 12 and many other places in the Old Testament. It is speaking about an area in the middle of Palestine, the plain of Megiddo, which is twelve miles wide from the Mediterranean to the Jordan Valley. It is also called the plain of Jezreel or the plain of Esdraelon.

The plain of Megiddo is famous for battles. In fact, the account of a war in 1468 B.C. between the Egyptian army, under the leadership of Thutmose III and an Asiatic alliance has contributed great knowledge to modern military science. In Joshua 12:12 we read that Joshua defeated the king of Megiddo in his conquest of Canaan. Deborah and Barak also conducted a war in this area against the Canaanites and experienced great victory. Gideon fought against the Midianites here, again experiencing a great victory. King Saul and three of his sons were destroyed here by the Philistines, and King Josiah was killed here by the Egyptian army under the leadership of Pharaoh Neco. During the Crusades, crusaders were defeated in 1187 in the Battle of the Horns of Hattim, and the British general Allenby defeated the Turks here in A.D. 1917, for which he was honored with the title, Lord Allenby of Megiddo.

There may be people who say these events in Revelation are all symbolic, and I will not quarrel with them. But we do know that Revelation 19:19 says, “Then I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies gathered together,” and Revelation 16:16 tells us the location is Armageddon, “to make war against the rider on the horse and his army.” The army is those who have trusted in Christ, together with the angels. The rider on the horse is Jesus Christ.

The War Against Christ

All enmity is directed against Jesus Christ, and therefore, against his people. Jesus said in the Olivet Discourse that the elect would suffer many things in his name. The name of Jesus Christ provokes people to great enmity, because it is he who opposes sin and rebellion.

So the enemies of Jesus Christ will come to Armageddon to wage war against him. But look at verse 20: “But the beast was captured. . .” Jesus is the King of kings and Lord of lords, who can easily capture his foes. “The beast was captured and with him the false prophet. . .” Why don’t your friends and relatives want to believe in Jesus Christ? They are deluded. The false prophet deluded them.

What happened to the enemies of Jesus Christ? “The two of them”–the Antichrist, the lawless one, this abomination of desolation, and the false prophet–were captured and “thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur.” Who did this to them? Christ. Oh, this is the real hell that Jesus Christ spoke about. This is high symbolism with great reality, isn’t it? “The rest of them”–that is, the generals, slaves, rich and poor, who opposed Jesus Christ–“were killed with the sword that came out of the mouth of the rider on the horse.” Notice, this sword is not out of your mouth or my mouth. Jesus Christ does not need our help. He himself will destroy his enemies. Remember the invitation to the birds of the world? Verse 21 ends, “And all the birds gorged themselves” on the sophisticated meat of these kings and generals, these enemies of Christ.

This is one of the events that will happen when Jesus Christ comes again. The stone of Daniel 2 will destroy the statue of the nations of the world. The King of kings and Lord of lords will come with many diadems on his head, riding on a white horse, in justice and righteousness to mete out judgment on his enemies. Oh, may we grow in our understanding of eschatology, that we will know what is going to happen. And may we who are redeemed praise God, because this Jesus Christ is not our Judge, but our Savior. Amen.