Object of Christ’s Coming

Christ Comes For His People

For what purpose did Christ say He would come again?

“In my Father’s house are many room; if it were not so. I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me where I am.  John 14:2,3.

What part will the angels have in this event?

“And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather the elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.” Matthew 24:31.

The Dead and the Living

What takes place at the sounding of the trumpet?

‘For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.”

1 Thessalonians 4:16. 

What will be done with the righteous living?

“After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them to meet the Lord in the air. Verse 17.

What change will then take place in both the living and the sleeping saints?

“Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not always sleep, but we will be changed – in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality.” 1 Corinthians 15:51-53. 

When are the saints to be like Jesus?

“Dear friend, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.”

1 John 3:2.

The Time of Reward

How many will receive a reward when Christ comes?

“For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done.” Matthew 16:27.  

What promise is made to those who look for Him?

“So Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.”

Hebrews 9:28.

When did Christ say the good would be repaid?

“And you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.” Luke 14:14. 

Have our forefathers in ancient times gone to their reward?

“These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. God had planned something better for us that only together with us would they be made perfect.” Hebrews 11:39, 40.

When did Paul expect to receive his crown?

“Now there is in store for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day – and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.” 2 Timothy 4:8.

A Time of Judgment

Will this be a time of judgment?

“Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men: “See, the Lord is coming with thousands upon thousands of his holy ones to judge everyone, and to convict all the ungodly of all the ungodly acts they have done in a ungodly way, and of all the harsh words ungodly sinners have spoken against him.” Jude 14,15.

How did David express himself on this point?

“They will sing before the Lord, for he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples in his truth.” Psalm 96:13.

When did Paul say Christ would judge the living and the dead?

“In the presence of God and of Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge.” 2 Timothy 4:1.

What great separation will then take place?

“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.” Matthew 25:31, 32.  

What will He say to those on His right hand?

“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.” Verse 34. 

What will He say to those on His left?

‘Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.” Verse 41.  

Note – At the end of the seventh millennium, the holy city, New Jerusalem, will descend from heaven with all the saints inside. (Revelation 21:2) After the city comes to a rest, the wicked will be resurrected from their graves. (Revelation 20:5) The wicked, from the time of Cain to the last person who was killed at the Second Coming, will number in the tens of billions. Keep in mind that 99% of the wicked did not see the Second Coming because they were sound asleep. On that sober day, two great classes of people will gaze at each other. The saints, already a thousand years old but free of the aging process, will see the miserable and degenerate condition of the wicked. The wicked will rise from their graves just as they went to their graves. They will be astonished as they study the gleaming walls of the New Jerusalem. The wicked will see family members, friends, and individuals who they regarded as poor, weak, unsophisticated and uneducated. Generals, kings, presidents, scholars, wealthy tycoons, religious leaders and greedy employers will be found standing outside the city. (Matthew 7:14; 19:24) Will continue in the next segment on “The Resurrection of the Just,” why Jesus will resurrect the wicked for three reasons: Be watching!

[top]