Part 1 of 6 – The Second Coming

Equipping God's Saints (Followers of Christ) through the Prophecies of the End Times …

We are now going to talk about the Second Coming of Jesus Christ to this earth.

Previously, we talked about the Seven Trumpets. The Second Coming of Jesus will occur at the sounding of the Last Trumpet, the Seventh Trumpet. We are going to learn the details of what happens at the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.

The Second Coming is foretold in many places in scripture. The passage I want to discuss with you right now, though, was given just at the time of His departure from the earth.

Jesus had been crucified. He spent 3 days and three nights in the grave, then He rose again. For the next 40 days He showed Himself alive to many people. He would appear to different people at different times. At one time he appeared to a crowd of 500 people. He gave us infallible proof that He, in fact, had risen from the dead.

After this 40 days he led His disciples out to the Mount of Olives. As He gathered them together, He gave them final instructions. In Acts 1:4-5 He said,

“Go back to Jerusalem and stay there until you're endued with power from on high. You will be baptized with the Holy Ghost in a few days.”

He told them this because many of them lived in Galilee and they could have just gone home. Galilee was about 100 miles north of Jerusalem

After He gave them these instructions, He said, “Now the reason you need the Holy Ghost so much is because It's going to give you the power you need to fulfill My commission to you. After the Holy Ghost has come upon you, you shall be witnesses unto Me in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and then unto the uttermost parts of the world.”

After He gave them these final instructions, the Bible says He lifted His hands and He blessed them. After the blessing, suddenly His feet leave the ground.

Can you imagine how startling that would be? They're standing here, He's talking to them and they've been talking to Him. Now, His feet leave the ground and He starts up. Every eye is riveted on Jesus as He ascends. Finally, He reaches the level of cloud cover and the Bible says that “A cloud received Him out of their sight.” They're looking and hoping to catch one more glimpse. They wonder, well, perhaps he will come back?

The Bible says, while they are standing there gazing up into the sky, that two men in white apparel stood by them. In Acts 1:11, these two special messengers from God said:

“Which also said, 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.”

This is the promise that Jesus is coming back to earth. The disciples had no clue that the promise would last for 2000 years and hasn't happened yet. But that doesn't mean that it's not going to happen. This is a firm promise and it's the promise of the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.

One thing we need to understand as we study the Second Coming, because this is going to affect every single one of us; every single human being; is that the Second Coming is not going to be like the First Coming.

Jesus felt it was so important to make sure we understand that because He knew that in the times right before His Second Coming there would be people showing up claiming to be the Messiah, claiming to be even the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.

We've already witnessed that. Every once in a while you will hear in the news, “Oh, there's a messiah,” whether it's Lord Maitreya in London, or whether it's a messiah showing up in the Middle East somewhere. There's all kinds of reports and Jesus knew that was going to happen.

In Matthew 24, which is the Bible's most famous prophecy chapter, Jesus gave us instructions about what the Second Coming would be like. It's not going to be a baby being born in a stable, laying in a manger. It's not going to be Jesus slipping through the back door of the world and mysteriously showing up somewhere. That's not what it's going to be like. In Matthew 24:23-27, Jesus said:

“Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there, believe it not.

For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.

Behold, I have told you before. Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert, go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not.

As the ligtning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.”

Jesus is telling them, don't ever pay attention to the people that say, Messiah is here. Messiah is there. A lot of people believe the Muslin messiah is coming called the 12^th Imam, or the Mahdi. If that would happen, don't pay any attention to it because when I come back, it's going to be as the lightning flashes from the east to the west. I am coming in the clouds of heaven. I am coming in a dramatic fashion. I'm not going to just show up somewhere in the world. I will show up in the skies of heaven and every eye whall behold me.”

We will now deal with more of the details of what will actually happen at the Second Coming, because you and I are most likely going to live to see this in our own lifetimes.

Resources: The anointing of the Holy Spirit and God Almighty, of whom I am accountable to. I have prayed diligently and am led to follow and support the teachings of Pastor Irvin Baxter from Endtime Ministries and his teachings of Understanding the End Times. I encourage you to visit his website at endtime.com.