Chapter Nine

THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST

The Second Coming of Christ is the central theme of Bible prophecy.

The Lord Jesus told his disciples, "I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also" (John 14:2,3). "For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will be the coming of the Son of Man be" (Matt. 24:27).

The Apostle Paul wrote to Titus, "Looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ" (Titus 2:13).

At the ascension of Christ, two angels told the watching disciples, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven" (Acts 1:11).

Jesus went away personally; He will come back personally.

He went away visibly; He will come back visibly.
He went away bodily; He will come back bodily.
He went away literally; He will come back literally.
He ascended from the top of the Mount of Olives;
He will come back to the Mount of Olives.

Then the LORD will go forth and fight against those nations, as He fights in the day of battle. And in that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives (Zech. 14:3,4).



Three Views Concerning the Second Coining of Christ

There are three general schools of thought concerning the Second Coming of Christ.

  1. Premillennialists teach that Christ will come back before the millennium, and by His coming, He will set up a reign of righteousness and peace on the earth.
  2. Postmillennialists (now known as Reconstructionists and as Dominion Theology) teach Christ will come back after the millennium. They teach that the millennium will be brought about through preaching the Gospel; through education and moral reform.
  3. The amillennialist view came into vogue after two world wars, and the atom and hydrogen bombs blasted the postmillennial position. AmiUennialists deny there will be a millennium. With two strokes of their pen they cancel out all the Bible says about the millennium and the great tribulation.

Four Factors That Help Us Determine Which View is Correct

  1. Is the Bible to be interpreted literally or allegorically?
  2. Are the covenants conditional or unconditional?
  3. Is the Church spiritual Israel?
  4. Is the Kingdom present or future?

Each of these statements is overly simplistic, but will have to suffice for now.

Dispensational premillennialists subscribe to the following outline of events:

  1. The Rapture of the Church (I Thess. 4:13-18; I Cor. 15:51-58).
  2. The Great Tribulation (Rev. chapters 6-19).
  3. The Revelation of Christ (Rev. 19:11-15).
  4. The Millennial Reign of Christ (Ps. 72:6-11; Isa. 2:2-4; 35:1-10; Jer. 23:5,6; Dan. 2:44; Rev. 20:1-10).
  5. The Great White Throne Judgment (Rev. 20:11-15)
  6. New Heaven, New Earth, New Jerusalem (Rev. 21,22).

Logically Churches of Christ should be premillennial since they emphasize a literal interpretation of the Scriptures, except in the interpretation of prophecy. Very strange indeed!


A Cordial Invitation

I invite you to read several passages with me and to judge for yourself which suits them best. Does a literal, an allegorical or a historical method of interpretation best explain the following passages?

Consider Gabriel's visit with Mary. "Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin's name was Mary. And having come in, the angel said to her, 'Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!' But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was. Then the angel said to her, 'Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end'" (Luke 1:26-33).

Gabriel made eight specific promises to Mary.
  1. "You will conceive in your womb,
  2. and bring forth a Son,
  3. and shall call His name Jesus.
  4. He will be great;
  5. and will be called the Son of the Highest.
  6. The Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David.
  7. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever,
  8. and of His kingdom there will be no end."

The first five promises Gabriel made to Mary were literally fulfilled, therefore, it is logical to believe the last three promises will also be literally fulfilled.

Consider several other references with me.
He shall come down like rain upon the mown grass,
Like showers that water the earth.
In His days the righteous shall flourish,
And abundance of peace,
Until the moon is no more.
He shall have dominion also from sea to sea,
And from the River to the ends of the earth.
Those who dwell in the wilderness will bow before Him,
And His enemies will lick the dust.
The kings of Tarshish and of the isles
Will bring presents;
The kings of Sheba and Seba
Will offer gifts.
Yes, all kings shall fall down before Him;
All nations shall serve Him (Ps. 72:6-11).

Does a literal or allegorical method seem the best way to interpret these words?

Now it shall come to pass in the latter days
That the mountain of the LORD'S house
Shall be established on the top of the mountains,
And shall be exalted above the hills;
And all nations shall flow to it.
Many people shall come and say,
'Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD,
To the house of the God of Jacob;
He will teach us His way,
And we shall walk in His paths.'

For out of Zion shall go forth the law,
And the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
He shall judge between the nations,
And shall rebuke many people;
"They shall beat their swords into plowshares,
And their spears into pruning hooks;
Nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
Neither shall they learn war anymore (Isa. 2:2-4).

Does a literal or allegorical method suit best to interpret these words?

"Behold, the days are coming," says the LORD,
"That I will raise to David a
Branch of righteousness;
A King shall reign and prosper,
And execute judgment and righteousness in the earth.
In His days Judah will be saved,
And Israel will dwell safely;
Now this is His name by which He will be called" (Jer. 23:5,6).


These verses are another "bug-a-bu" for the Church of Christ. They have had to invent a neat scheme of explaining these verses away rather than accepting them for what they say.

"And in the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people; it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever" (Dan. 2:44).

In the light of the content of the entire second chapter of Daniel, does it seem most reasonable to say this prophecy has been fulfilled, or to look forward to its fulfillment at the Second Coming of Christ?

The Bible says we are to "live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ" (Titus 2:13).

Several years ago I visited with a professor at Lubbock Christian University. I asked him if he thought that the Second Coming of Christ was a blessed hope to the average Church of Christ member. He said that he did not think so. The Second Coming of Christ will never be a blessed hope if we think it is an event that will take place "at the end of the world," but if we believe Christ may come for us at any moment, it is a blessed hope.

The Second Coming of Christ will take place in two distinct phases: His coming for His own; His coming with His own. The first phase is described in I Thessalonians 4:13-18, "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."

The second phase of the Second Coming of Christ is described in Revelation 19:11-15, "Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself. He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses. Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God."

It should be evident to the unbiased reader that these two Scriptures are spealdng of two distinct events.

The Great Tribulation in which God's wrath will be poured out on the earth takes place between these events.

Many Church of Christ people will have to go through the Great Tribulation because they have trusted in water baptism, and in their good works, instead of trusting in the finished work of Christ (John 19:30).

With the world on fire, with the whole creation growing and travailing in pain, is it not wise for us to study the Bible for ourselves, depending on the Holy Spirit of God to be our teacher (I Cor. 2:12).