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The Second Coming of Christ

"And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign forever and ever" (Rev. 11:15).

The chronology of the Second Coming of Christ
1. It begins with fearful manifestations in the skies.

"Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken" (Mt. 24:29).
2. In the midst of this, the heavens open and Jesus comes forth. "Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him..." (Rev. 1:7).
3. The returning Savior touches down upon the Mount of Olives, causing a great earthquake.
4. Christ then proceeds to Petra and Bozrah, two chief cities in Edom, to gather the hiding Israelite remnant. Accompanied by the holy angels, the church, and the remnant, Christ marches toward Armageddon (Isa. 34:6; 63:1).

The purpose of the Second Coming of Christ
1. To defeat the antichrist and the world's nations assembled at Armageddon.
2. To regather, regenerate, and restore faithful Israel. Perhaps the most frequent promise in all the Old Testament concerns God's eventual restoration of Israel. The prophets repeat this so often that it becomes a refrain - a chorus of confidence.
3. To judge and punish faithless Israel. In the book of Romans the great Apostle Paul makes two significant statements concerning his beloved nation of Israel. He writes,

"And so all Israel shall be saved; as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob" (Rom. 11:26).

"For they are not all Israel which are of Israel" (Rom. 9:6).
By the first statement Paul of course meant that all faithful Israel would be saved. As we have previously seen, this blessed event will occur during the tribulation. By the second statement Paul writes concerning faithless Israel. In other words, all that glitters is not gold. From the very moment God began working through Abraham (the first Hebrew), Satan also began working through members of that same race. Thus, as the Bible has been advanced by faithful Israel throughout history, it has likewise been opposed by faithless Israel.
Therefore, when the matter of all Israel returns, he will be especially gracious to true Israel but especially harsh with false Israel.
4. To bind Satan. "And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly..." (Rom. 16:20).

"And I saw an angel come down fro heaven, having thekey 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..." (Rev. 20:1-3).
5. To judge fallen angels. "Know ye not that we shall judge angels?" (1 Cor. 6:3).

Next:
The Millennium
(The Thousand Year Reign of Christ)

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