
(Unless otherwise stated, all Bible quotations are from the English Standard Version)
One of the most consistent teachings in the New Testament is the return of Jesus Christ to the earth, in power and glory, to establish the Kingdom of God on earth. Jesus told his disciples about his Second Advent on many occasions, linking his return in power to their hope of glory. Jesus is coming back to the earth bodily, just as the disciples saw him ascend back to heaven. That’s what the angels told them at his ascension, as they kept gazing after him in a forlorn manner, as he disappeared into heaven. After Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit came down upon the disciples and kept reminding them of this and other words of Jesus, the Second Advent became the focus of the disciples, and a rallying cry to get believers to be heavenly-minded. The appearing of the Lord in glory to reward every man according to his works is supposed to fire up our zeal for God and encourage us not to become weary in doing good.
The Acts 1:1 In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach,
The Acts 1:2 until the day when he was taken up, after he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen.
The Acts 1:3 To them he presented himself alive after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God.
The Acts 1:4 And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, you heard from me;
The Acts 1:5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.
The Acts 1:6 So when they had come together, they asked him, Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?
The Acts 1:7 He said to them, It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority.
The Acts 1:8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.
The Acts 1:9 And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight.
The Acts 1:10 And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes,
The Acts 1:11 and said, Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.
Matthew 16:24 Then Jesus told his disciples, If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.
Matthew 16:25 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
Matthew 16:26 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his life? Or what shall a man give in return for his life?
Matthew 16:27 For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done.
Revelation 1:4 John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne,
Revelation 1:5 and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood
Revelation 1:6 and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
Revelation 1:7 Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen.
Revelation 3:11 I am coming soon. Hold fast what you have, so that no one may seize your crown.
Revelation 22:12 Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay everyone for what he has done.
Revelation 22:13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.
Revelation 22:14 Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life and that they may enter the city by the gates.

Let’s quickly clarify some things here. The Second Advent is not the rapture, when the Lord comes to take away the saints from the earth to heaven. In the rapture, which precedes the Second Advent by some years, Christ comes down from heaven and remains in the sky, where the resurrected dead saints and the transformed living ones get caught up to meet him in the air. He doesn’t descend to the earth, and he’s not seen by all men, save the saints alone who behold him. In contrast, in the Second Advent, Jesus descends to the earth in power and glory, accompanied by the raptured saints and holy angels, and is seen by all. All eyes on earth will behold him then (just like all eyes behold the sun at once all over the world), and people on the earth then will wail because of him, for he is coming to judge and overthrow the kingdoms of this world in order to establish the kingdom of God on earth!
Zechariah 14:1 Behold, a day is coming for the LORD, when the spoil taken from you will be divided in your midst.
Zechariah 14:2 For I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city shall be taken and the houses plundered and the women raped. Half of the city shall go out into exile, but the rest of the people shall not be cut off from the city.
Zechariah 14:3 Then the LORD will go out and fight against those nations as when he fights on a day of battle.
Zechariah 14:4 On that day his feet shall stand on the Mount of Olives that lies before Jerusalem on the east, and the Mount of Olives shall be split in two from east to west by a very wide valley, so that one half of the Mount shall move northward, and the other half southward.
Zechariah 14:5 And you shall flee to the valley of my mountains, for the valley of the mountains shall reach to Azal. And you shall flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the LORD my God will come, and all the holy ones with him.
Revelation 19:11 Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war.
Revelation 19:12 His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself.
Revelation 19:13 He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God.
Revelation 19:14 And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses.
Revelation 19:15 From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty.
Revelation 19:16 On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.
Revelation 19:17 Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and with a loud voice he called to all the birds that fly directly overhead, Come, gather for the great supper of God,
Revelation 19:18 to eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all men, both free and slave, both small and great.
Revelation 19:20 And the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who in its presence had done the signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped its image. These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur.
Revelation 19:21 And the rest were slain by the sword that came from the mouth of him who was sitting on the horse, and all the birds were gorged with their flesh.
Revelation 1:7 Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen.

Unlike the rapture which has no predicted signs in Scriptures heralding it, being an event that will occur suddenly and secretly, the Second Advent is to be preceded by certain Scriptural signs. The Lord himself told the apostles there would be a great apostasy in the period preceding his Second Advent, with religion growing cold and lots of false prophets arising to deceive and lead many astray. Natural disasters and human conflicts will also rachet up in the period leading to the Second Advent, causing unprecedented chaos. Then there would be visible signs of judgement in the sky, sea and land, cataclysmic changes in nature, to be experienced by the people on earth, before the Lord appears with the holy angels and resurrected saints, in power and glory. These terrifying signs—the sun refusing to give her light, the blood moon, the shaking of the heavenly bodies, unprecedented earthquakes, etc, are parts of the great tribulation judgement that would plague the world and strike such terror in the hearts of the inhabitants of the earth at the time of the Second Advent.
Matthew 24:1 Jesus left the temple and was going away, when his disciples came to point out to him the buildings of the temple.
Matthew 24:2 But he answered them, You see all these, do you not? Truly, I say to you, there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.
Matthew 24:3 As he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the close of the age?
Matthew 24:4 And Jesus answered them, See that no one leads you astray.
Matthew 24:5 For many will come in my name, saying, I am the Christ, and they will lead many astray.
Matthew 24:6 And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet.
Matthew 24:7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places.
Matthew 24:8 All these are but the beginning of the birth pains.
Matthew 24:9 Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake.
Matthew 24:10 And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another.
Matthew 24:11 And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray.
Matthew 24:12 And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold.
Matthew 24:13 But the one who endures to the end will be saved.
Matthew 24:14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.
Matthew 24:15 So when you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place ( let the reader understand),
Matthew 24:16 then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.
Matthew 24:17 Let the one who is on the housetop not go down to take what is in his house,
Matthew 24:18 and let the one who is in the field not turn back to take his cloak.
Matthew 24:19 And alas for women who are pregnant and for those who are nursing infants in those days!
Matthew 24:20 Pray that your flight may not be in winter or on a Sabbath.
Matthew 24:21 For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be.
Matthew 24:22 And if those days had not been cut short, no human being would be saved. But for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short.
Matthew 24:23 Then if anyone says to you, Look, here is the Christ! or There he is! do not believe it.
Matthew 24:24 For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect.
Matthew 24:25 See, I have told you beforehand.
Matthew 24:26 So, if they say to you, Look, he is in the wilderness, do not go out. If they say, Look, he is in the inner rooms, do not believe it.
Matthew 24:27 For as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.
Matthew 24:28 Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.
Matthew 24:29 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 heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.
Matthew 24:30 Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

Paul also tells us, in his second letter to the Thessalonians, that the Second Advent will take place during the reign of the Anti-Christ, the man of lawlessness whose coming is after the activity of Satan, and who will deceive the world to reject God and follow after Satan in the worship of the Anti-Christ. Christ will come at the end of the reign of the Anti-Christ, to destroy him, dismantle his kingdom and establish the Kingdom of God on earth. Christ is coming with the raptured saints (who had to be taken out of the way first, in the rapture, for the Anti-Christ to be revealed) who, together with the holy angels, would wage war on the Anti-Christ and his armies. The armies of the Anti-Christ will be defeated and destroyed by the Lord, and he (the Anti-Christ) and his false prophet will be cast alive into the lake of fire. These are the very first of Christ’s actions in the Second Advent. Jesus is coming back as the King of kings and the Lord of lords, as the Lion of the tribe of Judah!
2 Thessalonians 2:1 Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him, we ask you, brothers,
2 Thessalonians 2:2 not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed, either by a spirit or a spoken word, or a letter seeming to be from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come.
2 Thessalonians 2:3 Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction,
2 Thessalonians 2:4 who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God.
2 Thessalonians 2:5 Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things?
2 Thessalonians 2:6 And you know what is restraining him now so that he may be revealed in his time.
2 Thessalonians 2:7 For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way.
2 Thessalonians 2:8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of his coming.
2 Thessalonians 2:9 The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders,
2 Thessalonians 2:10 and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved.
2 Thessalonians 2:11 Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false,
2 Thessalonians 2:12 in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
2 Thessalonians 2:13 But we ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the firstfruits to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth.
2 Thessalonians 2:14 To this he called you through our gospel, so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
2 Thessalonians 2:15 So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by our spoken word or by our letter.
2 Thessalonians 2:16 Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father, who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace,
2 Thessalonians 2:17 comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and word.

After defeating the Anti-Christ and his armies upon descending to the earth in the Second Advent, the Lord will separate and judge the nations on the earth at the time of his Advent, separating the sheep from the goat nations, based on their dealings with the restored nation of Israel during the reign of the Anti-Christ. Those nations who helped persecuted Israel to escape the wrath of the Anti-Christ will receive the blessings of the Lord, and will be rewarded with everlasting life. These are the sheep nations. The goat nations are those that refused to help restored Israel in her hour of national distress and persecution from the Anti-Christ; they will be rewarded with everlasting shame and contempt by the Lord. Thus, God’s eternal promise, sworn under oath, of blessing those that bless Israel, and of cursing those that curse them, will be honoured till the very end, for God cannot lie, nor will he alter the thing that has gone out of his mouth. The rest of those remaining on earth will thus be ushered into the mellenial reign of Christ, for the next one thousand years. Satan will be bound and cast into the abyss during this period, and will not be available to tempt or deceive people on earth during this glorious period. Only the resurrected saints and those alive on earth at the time of the second Advent (who were neither part of the armies of the Anti-Christ, nor among the goat nations that persecuted the Jews) will be part of this reign of Christ on earth. The rest of the dead will not rise until the thousand years are over. What a glorious time it will be on earth then, as righteousness, peace, justice and prosperity flourish in unimaginable ways!
Matthew 25:31 When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne.
Matthew 25:32 Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.
Matthew 25:33 And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left.
Matthew 25:34 Then the King will say to those on his right, Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
Matthew 25:35 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me,
Matthew 25:36 I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.
Matthew 25:37 Then the righteous will answer him, saying, Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink?
Matthew 25:38 And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you?
Matthew 25:39 And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?
Matthew 25:40 And the King will answer them, Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.
Matthew 25:41 Then he will say to those on his left, Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.
Matthew 25:42 For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink,
Matthew 25:43 I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.
Matthew 25:44 Then they also will answer, saying, Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?
Matthew 25:45 Then he will answer them, saying, Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.
Matthew 25:46 And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.
Luke 19:11 As they heard these things, he proceeded to tell a parable, because he was near to Jerusalem, and because they supposed that the kingdom of God was to appear immediately.
Luke 19:12 He said therefore, A nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and then return.
Luke 19:13 Calling ten of his servants, he gave them ten minas, and said to them, Engage in business until I come.
Luke 19:14 But his citizens hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, We do not want this man to reign over us.
Luke 19:15 When he returned, having received the kingdom, he ordered these servants to whom he had given the money to be called to him, that he might know what they had gained by doing business.
Luke 19:16 The first came before him, saying, Lord, your mina has made ten minas more.
Luke 19:17 And he said to him, Well done, good servant! Because you have been faithful in a very little, you shall have authority over ten cities.
Luke 19:18 And the second came, saying, Lord, your mina has made five minas.
Luke 19:19 And he said to him, And you are to be over five cities.
Luke 19:20 Then another came, saying, Lord, here is your mina, which I kept laid away in a handkerchief;
Luke 19:21 for I was afraid of you, because you are a severe man. You take what you did not deposit, and reap what you did not sow.
Luke 19:22 He said to him, I will condemn you with your own words, you wicked servant! You knew that I was a severe man, taking what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow?
Luke 19:23 Why then did you not put my money in the bank, and at my coming I might have collected it with interest?
Luke 19:24 And he said to those who stood by, Take the mina from him, and give it to the one who has the ten minas.
Luke 19:25 And they said to him, Lord, he has ten minas!
Luke 19:26 I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.
Luke 19:27 But as for these enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and slaughter them before me.
Revelation 20:1 Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain.
Revelation 20:2 And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years,
Revelation 20:3 and threw him into the pit, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he might not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were ended. After that he must be released for a little while.
Revelation 20:4 Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed. Also I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.
Revelation 20:5 The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended. This is the first resurrection.
Revelation 20:6 Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years.
Isaiah 11:1 There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit.
Isaiah 11:2 And the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD.
Isaiah 11:3 And his delight shall be in the fear of the LORD. He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide disputes by what his ears hear,
Isaiah 11:4 but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; and he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked.
Isaiah 11:5 Righteousness shall be the belt of his waist, and faithfulness the belt of his loins.
Isaiah 11:6 The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together; and a little child shall lead them.
Isaiah 11:7 The cow and the bear shall graze; their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
Isaiah 11:8 The nursing child shall play over the hole of the cobra, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder’s den.
Isaiah 11:9 They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.
Isaiah 2:2 It shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be lifted up above the hills; and all the nations shall flow to it,
Isaiah 2:3 and many peoples shall come, and say: Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths. For out of Zion shall go the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
Isaiah 2:4 He shall judge between the nations, and shall decide disputes for many peoples; and 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.

In conclusion, the Second Advent of Christ is distinct from the rapture, being the coming of Christ with the raptured/resurrected saints, to rule upon the earth. The rapture precedes the Second Advent by some years, with the reign of the Anti-Christ interposed between both events. The Second Advent will witness the coming of Christ in power and glory, to destroy the Anti-Christ and his armies, bind and cast Satan into abyss for a thousand years, judge the nations on earth at the time of his appearing (in relation to their treatment of Israel during the reign of the Anti-Christ), and establish the Kingdom of God on earth for a thousand years. Only the resurrected saints and the people left on earth after the judgement of the nations will experience this glorious reign of righteousness, justice, peace and prosperity. The rest of the dead will not rise till the thousand years are over, and will only arise to face the White Throne judgement. As sure as night follows day, the kingdoms of this world will one day become the Kingdom of our God and his Christ, and the saints will rule on the earth alongside their Saviour, King, Lord and Master! Hallelujah!
Revelation 11:15 Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.
Revelation 11:16 And the twenty-four elders who sit on their thrones before God fell on their faces and worshiped God,
Revelation 11:17 saying, We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty, who is and who was, for you have taken your great power and begun to reign.
Revelation 11:18 The nations raged, but your wrath came, and the time for the dead to be judged, and for rewarding your servants, the prophets and saints, and those who fear your name, both small and great, and for destroying the destroyers of the earth.

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