In my conversations with people, I find confusion regarding what the Bible says about when Jesus is coming back and about the second coming. This uncertainty results from a lack of understanding of what the second coming of Jesus Christ is. For a quick overview, the New Testament tells us Jesus comes for his church (at the rapture) and then he returns at the end of the 7 Year Tribulation, with his church, to fight the final battle of Armageddon. Following that victory, he will usher in his Millennial Kingdom. Then, at the end of his thousand-year reign, there will be a final judgement on the world (the Great White Throne Judgement). The issue is that people connect the “second coming” with more than one of these events. This post will break things down using Scripture to make it easier to understand.
What is the rapture?
First let’s touch on what people refer to as the rapture of the church. Some people think this is a relatively new teaching. Others think it is not in the Bible at all, and the timing of the rapture is debated among those who do believe in it. Such ideas and misunderstandings are not new. Back in New Testament times, even the Thessalonians understood that Jesus was coming for his church but worried about those who died before He called his church home. The Apostle Paul addressed these concerns in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17. (Also see: 1 Corinthians 15:51-53)
"But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep 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 not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord" (1 Thessalonians 4:13-17).
I could say much more on the topic, but for the sake of keeping this post short enough people will read it, I will distill the information. The Rapture is the event when Jesus comes and catches up His church. This includes all who have died (dead in Christ) and those who are still living (in Christ) at the time (those who remain). But His feet don’t touch the earth. Instead, he calls his church up. First the dead and then the living believers will be caught up and join the Lord in the air.
When is the Second Coming of Jesus?
Once the rapture occurs, the next thing related to the second coming on the end-times biblical calendar of events is what is known as the Great Tribulation. This is a time that lasts for seven years, and many details regarding this time of judgement are found in the book of Revelation, but you’ll find plenty of information elsewhere in the Bible. For instance, in Matthew 24:3 Jesus’ disciples asked “[…]what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?” Jesus talks about the Tribulation time from verse 3 through verse 29, and then he talks of his return in verses 30-31.
“But immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory. And He will send forth His angels with a great trumpet and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other" (Matthew 24:29-31).
At the end of the Tribulation, Jesus Christ returns with the hosts of heaven and will establish the Messianic Kingdom on earth. This time is also known as the Millenium, or Millenium Kingdom because it will last for a thousand years. During this time, the saints (the church) who returned with Jesus will “also reign with him” (2 Timothy 2:12). At this time, the Antichrist will be cast into the Lake of Fire and Satan will be bound for the thousand years. Christ will reign with firmness and impartiality as those who survived the Tribulation repopulate the earth. His kingdom will be marked by long life and blessings, since the curse upon the earth will be removed. But at the end of the thousand years, Satan is loosed.
Even with Christ on the throne physically on earth, His Messianic kingdom will close with apostasy and rebellion. Satan is released from his prison and deceives the nations to gather them together for the war. They surround the camp of the saints and the New Jerusalem, and fire comes down from heaven and devours them. Then the Devil is thrown into the lake of fire, where the beast and the false prophet are. There they will experience torment forever.
Why does any of this matter?
In Matthew 24, Jesus talked about signs we are to be looking for. He even compared them to labor pains of a woman ready to give birth meaning they would gradually become worse. Knowing these things matter, because today, we see more and more of these signs happening. So don’t get confused by the use of the terms “second coming” or “Jesus coming back” because not everyone means the same thing when they say those words.
However, the verses in 1 Thessalonians that provide details about the rapture (above), the next verse tells us to “comfort one another with these words” 1 Thessalonians 4:18. This is another reason knowing these things matter.
When the rapture happens, Jesus calls us up to him. When Jesus returns with his church it is to execute judgement. Yes, there is a thousand years of peace as Christ reigns but judgement comes before and after this. “[…] Enoch, in the seventh generation from Adam, prophesied, saying, “Behold, the Lord came with many thousands of His holy ones, to execute judgment upon all, and to convict all the ungodly of all their ungodly deeds which they have done in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him” (Jude 14-15)
Everything will be destroyed by fire, and Christ will judge all who did not accept Jesus as their Savior during their life on earth. This is known as the Great White Throne judgement. Following this judgment there will be a new heaven and a new earth, a new Jerusalem, and those who are His will live in the everlasting presence of God among all the redeemed.
Photo credit: The Second Coming by Harry Anderson
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