THE COMING OF CHRIST

When the Beast (the Western Confederation) enters the land of Israel with its armies, the Lord will come down from heaven riding a white war horse (like a thief in the night*), in flaming fire, to judge. He will destroy the armies of the Beast with the splendor of His coming. It is the coming of Christ. 2 Thess. 2:8; Rev. 11:15-18 (Seventh Trumpet); Rev. 16:15-21 (political Babylon is judged -- Seventh Bowl); Rev. 19:11-19; 2 Thess. 1:7-10; Jude 14-15; Col. 3:4; Titus 2:13; 2 Tim. 4:1,8; 1 John 2:28; 3:2; 1 Tim. 6:14; Isa. 66:5; Mal. 3:2; 1 Pet. 1:7; Rev. 14:9-12; Isa. 13-14:23; Jer. 50,51; Dan. 2:34,35,44,45 (Christ, the Stone cut without hands, crushes the ten toes of the statue -- the restored Roman Empire).

[ Note: *The coming of the Lord as a thief is found five times in the Scriptures (Matt. 24:43; 1 Thess. 5:2; 2 Pet. 3:10; Rev. 3:3; 16:15), each referring to His coming in judgment, and not in the rapture. ] No man knows the day or the hour of the Lord's coming. Matt. 24:36-42.

The heavenly saints, who went up to be with Christ at the time of the rapture, will come together with Him. They are the armies of heaven. 1 Thess. 3:13; Zech. 14:5; 1 Thess. 4:14; 2 Thess. 1:7; Rev. 1:7; 19:14; 17:14.

Around this time the first resurrection will be completed. All who believed in the gospel of the Kingdom, which was preached after the rapture, and died as a result of martyrdom,* will be resurrected to join the heavenly saints. There will be two classes of people among the martyred saints who will rise. Those who are killed under the reign of the false church (the great harlot) in the first three and a half years (Rev. 6:9-11), and those who are killed under the reign of the Beast and the Antichrist, in the last three and a half years (Rev. 15:2-4). Both the first and the last will share in heavenly blessings and will live and reign with Christ over the earth. Rev. 14:13; 20:4,5. [ Note: *In Rev. 20:4 it is evident that no saint of God during the 7 years of tribulation will die of natural causes.#11# ] The Lord will cast the Roman leader (the Beast -- the little horn) and the Jewish false Messiah (the Antichrist) alive into the lake of fire. Rev. 19:20,21.

The coming of the Lord to judge the Western Confederation will begin the "day of the Lord," which is when He will publicly establish His universal authority and power, both in the heavens and on the earth. The Lord will begin to subdue and expel all opposing powers. The day of the Lord will extend throughout the entire thousand-year reign of Christ (Millennium).#12# 2 Pet. 3:8-10; 2 Thess. 2:2 (Almeida Revised Version); Isa. 2:10-22; Joel 1:15; 1 Thess. 5:2; Jer. 46:10; Zeph. 2:2,3; Mal. 4:5.

The coming of the Lord will also begin the "harvest," which is a discriminating judgment carried out by the angels who will cleanse the western part of the prophetic earth of all offenders.* They will be taken alive out of the earth in order to receive judgment,** while the rest will remain to enjoy blessings on the earth. "One will be taken, and the other left." Rev. 14:14-16; Matt. 13:37-42; 24:40,41; Isa. 24:1; Dan. 2:35; Jer. 51:1,2.

[ Note: *The angels will not go throughout the whole world, but will cleanse the kingdom of heaven (which is the subject of Matthew 13), that is, only the prophetic earth. If the whole world were cleansed at this time, the future enemies of Israel could not rise against it. Here the Lord is dealing with the west, both with the western armies and with the people who remained in those lands. As soon as He completes all His judgment of the west, He will begin to judge the Assyrians (the King of the North and Gog).#13# ] [ Note: ** Also called the judgment of the living (Acts 10:42; 2 Tim. 4:1; 1 Pet. 4:5) which refers, in a general way, to the time when the Lord will deal in judgment with all living people on the face of the earth. It is a broad term that includes the harvest judgment (Rev. 14:14-16; Matt. 13:39-43), the judgment of the vintage or the winepress (Rev. 14:17-20; Isa. 63:1-6), and what is seen as a judgment before a tribunal (Matt. 25:31-46; Rev. 20:4). While the harvest and the vintage are judgments of war that will occur when the Lord goes out as a warrior king going to battle (just like King David), the judgment before a tribunal will take place after all the armies have been defeated, and the Lord sits down as King on His throne. It will be a calm and solemn judicial session (just as King Solomon did). The harvest will begin when the Lord comes from heaven in judgment to destroy the armies of the west. On that occasion He will send His angels, who will take out of the prophetic earth all those who are offenders. Later, in the vintage, He will roar from Zion (Jerusalem) in judgment, crushing His enemies. The judgment of the living must not be confused with the judgment of the Great White Throne (Rev. 20:11-15). The judgment of the Great White Throne is a judgment of dead people, which will take place at the end of the thousand years of Christ's reign, while the judgment of the living is a judgment of living people at the beginning of His Kingdom. ] After the angels have gone through the prophetic earth separating the wicked from the righteous, the population of the west will decrease greatly. In those lands, once so illustrious, people will become as rare as gold. Isa. 13:12; 14:23; 24:6; Jer. 50:3,39; 51:2. The times of the Gentiles, the period of Gentile supremacy over Israel, will have ended. This will conclude the seventieth week of Daniel with 1278 days counted from the middle of the week. Luke 21:24; Dan. 2:34,35,44,45; 7:9-14, 22-27.

The King of the North, alarmed by the news about the western armies commanded by the Beast, will return from Egypt, heading for the land of Israel to do battle. Dan. 11:44,45. The Lord will go out to defend Jerusalem from the armies of the King of the North that will be returning. Isa. 31:4-9; Zech. 9:8; 12:8; 14:3.

The power of the Lord's voice will defeat the King of the North and his armies. Isa. 14:25; 17:13,14; 30:30-32; Dan. 11:45; Joel 2:20; Zech. 14:3.

When the King of the North falls, Gog (Russia), who supplied him with ammunition (Dan. 8:24), will not come to his aid. Dan. 11:45. ("there will be no one to help him.") The Lord will cast the King of the North alive into the lake of fire (Topheth) where the Beast and the false prophet (Antichrist) will already be. Isa. 30:33.

There is a period that exceeds Daniel's seventieth week, which raises to 1290 days the time counted from the middle of the week. That extension equals 12 days that go beyond the end of the period of the week. Those days may be used by the Lord to remove from the earth the army that comes from the north. Dan. 12:11; Joel 2:20; Isa. 17:13,14.

THE RESTORATION OF ISRAEL The Lord's coming on this occasion will not be only for the destruction of the powers of the Gentiles, but also for the deliverance of the faithful Jewish remnant and for the restoration of the ten lost tribes of Israel.* Luke 18:1-8; Ps. 90-106 (Fourth Book of the Psalms). The restoration of Israel will take place in two phases. First, the Jews (the two tribes -- Judah and Benjamin), who will have passed through the great tribulation in the land, will be restored to the Lord. Then, the ten tribes, which are dispersed to the four corners of the earth (Deut. 28:25; 32:26), will return to be restored to the Lord. Dan. 12:1,2; Ezek. 37:15-17; Zech. 12:7; Jer. 33:7; 2 Sam. 2:1-4; 5:1-3;** 2 Sam. 19:9-15 *** (In every Judah-Jews reference, the Jews are mentioned first.) [ Note: *As in history, when God, after having judged Babylon which held His people captive, caused them to be freed from their captivity and restored to their land, the same will happen on the occasion of the fall of the Beast (leader of the Political Babylon of Revelation) and of the Antichrist and his Empire, followed by the liberation of the Jews.#14# ] [ Note: ** David, who is a type of Christ, was recognized as King first by Judah -- the two tribes, and then later by the other tribes of Israel. Only after He had been anointed King over all Israel did He go out to lead them in a victorious conquest over their enemies (2 Sam. 8). In the prophecy the same order is maintained. ] [ Note: *** When David returned to his people, after having been rejected by them, Judah was the first to go to meet him at Gilgal, the place of self-judgment. So it will be in the future; when Christ returns, the Jews will repent and will be the first to be restored to Him (Zech. 12:9-14). Only later will the ten tribes be restored. ] While the Lord is judging the Western Confederation and the King of the North, He will apparently be hiding Himself from the sight of the Jews. Although the west will see Him in all His splendor (2 Thess. 1:7-9; 2:8), His coming on this occasion is mentioned as "in a cloud," suggesting a partial hiding of His Person from the Jews.#15# Luke 21:27; Isa. 8:17; Ps. 88:14; 89:46.

The Lord will be seen over the Mount of Olives with the purpose of restoring the Jews and, later, the ten tribes. His coming on this occasion is cited as "on the clouds," which implies a complete public appearance. Zech. 14:4; Acts 1:9-11; Matt. 24:27,30; Matt. 26:64; Job 19:25.

When the Lord's feet touch the Mount of Olives, they will cause it to split in two parts, forming a great valley toward the west and toward the east. Zech. 14:4.

The Lord will reveal Himself to the Jews in a quiet and intimate manifestation. That manifestation in privacy will happen only between the Lord and the Jews (the two tribes -- Judah and Benjamin). Zech. 14:4; Acts 1:9-11; Zech. 12:10-14; Gen. 45:1-5.

Those who will see Him will act as messengers to the rest of the remnant. They will go through the mountains, where many will be hidden, in order to bring the good news of His return to Jerusalem. The remnant will come out of their hiding places and head toward the valley formed by the Lord's feet. Isa. 52:7; Zech. 14:5. The Jews who will be part of that remnant will look on the One whom they pierced and will lament in repentance. They will take upon themselves the guilt for the blood, for having crucified the Lord of glory, and they will be restored to Him. Ps. 51:14; Acts 2:23; Gen. 44:14-34; Isa. 53; 2 Sam. 19:15 ("Gilgal" -- the place of self-judgment), Zech. 12:10-14; John 20:24-28.

The remnant of Judah and Benjamin (the Jews) will weep for their brothers of the lost tribes of Israel. The Lord will comfort them with the promise that they will return. Jer. 31:15-17.