Events of the Second Coming
Do you get a
little confused trying to explain the sequence of events surrounding the second
coming of Christ? It can be more than a bit daunting, even for avid fans of the
Left Behind series. We have described in detail the Tribulation judgments, most
of which play a prominent role in the series. There is a lot going on, so let's
see if we can bring some clarity as you get ready to read about the climactic
event of Christ's second coming, and the title for book twelve in the series,
the Glorious Appearing.
The following
material is based on The Complete Book of Bible Prophecy by Mark Hitchcock
(Tyndale, 1999). You'll also find similar material in Are We in the End
Times? by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins (Tyndale, 1999). Some of the
material from Are We in the End Times? also appears in the Left Behind
edition of iLumina. When citing Hitchcock's book, we'll use the abbreviation
"CB."
The Left Behind
series is based on the pre-tribulation, Premillennial view of Christ's second
coming. That is the one we'll describe here. It has traditionally been the most
widely held view among evangelical Christians, characterized by the central
role the Bible plays in their belief. Other views either see the majority of
events described here as symbolic or occurring in a different order.
In general, Premillennial
views hold that Christ will return prior to the establishment of a literal,
earthly kingdom of 1,000 years. The timing of the Rapture is another part of
the Premillennial view. Mark Hitchcock describes five views of when the Rapture
could occur (CB, p. 46):
Tim LaHaye
describes it as the second coming in two parts. Both LaHaye and Hitchcock see
the pre-trib view as the best interpretation of Scripture.
The Left Behind
series is based on the pre-trib view, where the Rapture occurs sometime before
the Tribulation itself begins. Let's review the key events surrounding the
second coming of Christ.
Increase of
apostasy as the
church age draws to a close. Both LaHaye and Hitchcock see this as a key
indicator of the end times. The problem, of course, is that there have always
been apostasy and the other signs Jesus talked about in the Olivet Discourse
(Matthew 24-25)—the natural disasters, wars, rumors of war, increase in sin are
part of human history. But in the final days before the Tribulation begins
there will be a dramatic, universal increase. In this view there is an ongoing
struggle between good and evil as Satan has not yet been restrained and
defeated. The presence of a faithful church represents a restraining, redeeming
force. Satan will be defeated and bound at the end of the Tribulation and finally
destroyed at the end of the earthly millennial kingdom.
In contrast, Preterists
see the events described in the Olivet Discourse and the books of Daniel and
Revelation fulfilled in the destruction of
The rapture
of the church (see
John 14:1-3; 1 Corinthians
The Judgment
Seat of Christ (see
2 Corinthians
Marriage
Supper of the Lamb
(see Revelation 19:7-9). The relation of Christ and the church as bride and
bridegroom is used often in the Bible, drawing significance from the importance
of marriage and all that surrounds it in Jewish culture.
After the
Father presents us to our heavenly Bridegroom, the greatest celebration in
history will break loose in heaven for the remainder of the time until the
second coming. However, I believe the marriage supper or feast will spill over
into the millennial kingdom. The length of the wedding feast in ancient times
was determined by the wealth of the bridegroom's father. When Christ takes his
bride, the heavenly Father, whose wealth is infinite, will throw a party that
will last not for seven days but for one thousand years. In fact, Jesus
frequently compared the millennial kingdom to a wedding feast (Matthew
Seven-year
Tribulation period on earth—Daniel 9:27 describes a treaty between Antichrist and
Now, we're at
the point in the Left Behind series we've all been waiting for—the Glorious
Appearing of Christ to defeat the armies of the Antichrist and establish his
earthly millennial kingdom. Here are the events described in the Bible. Keep
these in mind when you have a chance to read Glorious Appearing when it
is released later this month.
NOTE: While the gathering at Armageddon
begins before the second coming of Christ (as in the order of the books Armageddon
and Glorious Appearing), it is the second coming that defines the actual
battle or campaign itself. Therefore, Hitchcock presents them in this order.
The second
coming of Christ to earth
… there is
nothing more clearly stated in the Bible than the fact that Jesus Christ is
coming again. The second coming of Christ to this earth—his visible, literal,
physical, glorious return—is explicitly referred to 1,845 times in the Bible.
It is mentioned in twenty-three of the twenty-seven New Testament books (CB, p.
70).
Christ will
return at the same place from which he left—the
Hitchcock
suggests six purposes for Christ's return as described in the Bible:
The campaign
of Armageddon.
While the term has come to mean a huge, world-ending (usually nuclear) war, the
biblical event is not really a war at all. In fact, the word Armageddon
only appears once in the Bible, in Revelation
There are a lot
of misconceptions about Armageddon. To clarify what it is Mark Hitchcock
describes it this way:
The
campaign or war of Armageddon is the climactic event of the Great Tribulation
(the second half of the Tribulation), when all the armies of the earth gather
to come against
The
millennial reign of Christ on earth. The Bible is clear that Christ will reign on earth as King
of kings and Lord of lords for 1,000 years. Before he begins that reign, Satan
will be bound and cast into the bottomless pit, no longer to deceive the
nations (Revelation 20:1-3). The 1,000 years are referred to five times in
Revelation 20:1-6. Mark Hitchcock suggests ten of the important Old Testament
passages on the coming millennial kingdom: Isaiah 21:1-5; 11:1-16; 32:1-20;
35:1-10; 60:1-22; Jeremiah 31:1-40; 33:1-26; Ezekiel 37:14-28; Amos 9:11-15;
Zechariah 14:6-21 (CB, p. 77).
The Millennium
will be marked by peace, joy, holiness, glory, justice and righteousness, full
knowledge, absence of sickness or deformity, universal worship of God, economic
prosperity, and the presence of God. (see CB, pp. 78-79 for the complete list
of Bible references).
Why a 1,000-year
earthly kingdom before the beginning of eternity in a new heaven and new earth?
The purpose of the millennium, according to Mark Hitchcock, is to reward the
faithful, redeem creation, recognize the promises of God, and reaffirm to total
depravity of humanity. Wait, what's that last one—reaffirm the total depravity
of humanity? What does that mean? Dr. Dwight Pentecost says,
The
millennial age is designed by God to be the final test of fallen humanity under
the most ideal circumstances, surrounded by every enablement to obey the rule
of the king, from whom the outward sources of temptation have been removed, so
that man may be found and proved to a failure in even this last testing of
fallen humanity (Things to Come, Zondervan, 1958, p. 538).
The final
revolt of Satan. If
you thought Armageddon and the Glorious Appearing ended Satan for good, take
another look. It's almost like a repeat of where we are now between the Left
Behind books Armageddon and Glorious Appearing. At the Glorious
Appearing, the armies of the Antichrist are defeated and Satan is bound. He's
down, but not out—yet. Revelation 20:1-3 and 7-10 records the final demise of
Satan.
… so Satan
could not deceive the nations anymore until the thousand years were finished.
Afterward he would be released again for a little while.… He will go out and
deceive the nations from every corner of the earth. … He will gather them
together for battle—a mighty host, as numberless as sand along the shore.… But
fire from heaven came down on the attacking armies and consumed them.
Then the Devil, who betrayed them, was thrown into the lake of fire that burns
with sulfur, joining the beast and the false prophet. There they will be
tormented day and night forever and ever.
The Great
White Throne of judgment.
Revelation 20:11-15 describes the final judgment before eternity, the final
division of eternal life or eternal damnation, as "anyone whose name was
not recorded in the Book of Life was thrown into the lake of fire."
The message of
judgment is awesome, but as Mark Hitchcock reminds us,
The good
news is that you need not appear at this judgment. The Bible says that Jesus
suffered the wrath of God on the cross for you and for me. All you have to do
to be excused from this day of judgment and to spend eternity with God in
heaven is accept God's free pardon through faith in Jesus Christ. What an
offer. What a Savior! (CB, p. 88).
The creation
of a new heaven and a new earth. Revelation 21:1-8 describes the replacement of the present
heaven and earth with a new, glorious, eternal heaven and earth. Hitchcock puts
it this way, "What all the kings men could not do for Humpty Dumpty, God
will do for the universe. He will gather all the building blocks of the
original creation and make a brand new universe" (CB, p. 90. See Isaiah
65:17; 66:22; 2 Peter 3:13; Revelation 21:1).
Eternity (Revelation 21-22). Unlike the
Millennium, which seems close to perfect, the eternal state will be finally
free from the depravity of humankind and the deceptions of Satan.
As you read Glorious
Appearing, we hope it will help you gain a greater appreciation for the
biblical account of things to come and that it will increase your desire to let
others know that they, too, can share in the eternal hope of Heaven.