On this earth, where every communication by audio and visual means in its multiple ways has become something ordinary, continuous and immediate, Apostle John’s words in Revelation 1:7 will attain a surprising magnitude particularly regarding the completely skeptical and disconcerted state of the human race at the time of the second physical coming of Christ, as John says: “Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him.”
The whole world will see Jesus on his fantastic pass through, coming down from heavens, and at the same time embracing the whole globe on every necessary plane, so that every eye will see him and mourn.
So far, the language of Revelation has not become understandable in its true magnitude, as was the case with Daniel who in his visions did not understand, as he says in chapter 12: 9, “Although I heard, I did not understand. Then I said, “My lord, what shall be the end of these things?” And God replied, “Go your way, Daniel, for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end.” But he tells John six centuries afterwards in Revelation 22:10: “Do not seal the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is at hand.”
The time of the end has already come, the time for the reborn Christians to study and find out the exciting events running one after another before his second advent, and which are increasingly noticeable and acceptable in light of the Old and New Testament prophecies.
Time has come to associate everyday events of this era with the bible prophecies and to announce that the times of the Son of God, as the Judge, Lord of Lords, King of Kings, are already in force.
The approaches of what has been written about this topic so far, provide, with a few exceptions, different opinions by scholars and theologians on the same prophecy, thus being impossible to relate these prophecies with the succession of the historical facts, whether distant, close or present, corresponding to them.
Not being my intention to discredit these writers, I consider that our God deserves to be respected first with an intelligent analysis of the bible prophecies, and then concatenating the prophecies particularly with the events daily occurring in the world, instead of allowing global events to question the prophecies of his second coming, on the grounds of being incoherent and incomprehensible.
The importance of the second coming is given by Christ himself, when he replies to the high priest during the crucifixion trial in Matthew 26:64: “Hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven.” The Master, instead of being worried about his impending sacrifice, is firmly announcing that he will come back again.
When the Christian leaders, delighted with the number of followers associate their numbers with revivals, they disregard the Scriptures and Jesus Christ’s words, when he says in Matthew 22:14: “For many are called, but few are chosen,” imagining God’s kingdom closeness, with these massive movements, which in light of the names, words and innovative systems, out of the biblical context, intend without mentioning it, to substitute the Holy Spirit, in his sovereign action to cause sorrow in order to produce repentance (2st, Corinthians 7:9) and to reveal the saints and make them perfect (Ephesians 4:12). In John 16:13 he says, “However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.” “Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?” Luke 18:8.
How do we intend to please God, disregarding the prophetic occurrences detailing his triumphant return which, in most parts of the world, are included just as generalized and declamatory references in the speeches of our times?
It was the ignorance and indifference of the Jewish people, who took no notice of the prophetic references or of Jesus himself – when in Matthew 15:24 he undoubtedly expressed that he had been sent to the lost sheep of the house of Israel- that made it necessary for that wish of Jesus to remain in parenthesis, lasting for twenty centuries now, in order for the gentile people to enter as a holy nation and as a people acquired by God to the royal priesthood of 1st, Peter 2:9.
This time, be not the same ignorance and indifference of today’s gentile Christian church on his next coming, that cause his sons, who are looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, Titus 2:13, to be puzzled when faced with the present and future events.
There is no doubt that the final events of the prophetic scriptures regarding his second coming in person to the earth, as described in the Old Gospel, as well as in Matthew 24, Luke 21 and Mark 13 and in Revelation, mainly from chapter 4, will be starred by the atheistic world, the 144,000 named in chapters 7 and 14 of Revelation, the two witnesses of chapter 11 of Revelation and the Jewish people already settled as a nation for more than half a century (as Christ’s genuine church will be already snatched).
In this way, the interpretation of the biblical prophecies about his second physical coming is clarified with respect to the world events that will precede it, separating these prophecies from the one Paul presents in his letters 1st, Corinthians 15:51-52; 1st, Thessalonians 4:14-17 and 2st, Thessalonians 2:1-4, as a snatching off the
believers reborn from the churches, where Christ is the head.
It is really surprising that when he comes for the second time (see Zechariah 14:4 and Acts 1:11-12), Jesus Christ is to step on this earth, on Israel again, on the same place where he ascended from after his resurrection, as a unique event and separated from the snatching which, as said previously, will occur before his physical coming in which the dead in Christ first and those alive afterwards, will meet Christ in the air (see 1st, Thessalonians 4:17, 2st, Thessalonians 2:1).
Furthermore, the importance of his second coming lies on the fact that many of the biblical prophecies attesting to it work as the basis to introduce the gospel of salvation to the nonbelievers.
In my 33-years’ experience as a secular teacher, I have certified the above statements in a myriad of cases with my students.
During these last times, a higher impact is produced with the presentation of the messages of the suffering Messiah through the introduction of the reigning Messiah and concatenating those messages with the present historical events, which validate the veracity and accurateness of the prophecies about Christ’s second coming to the nonbelievers and which at the same time tend to the reconciliation of the things of the earth with those in heaven, making peace by means of the blood in his cross, as Paul rightly states in Colossians 1:20.
“THEREFORE WHEN YOU SEE THE ‘ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION,’ SPOKEN OF BY DANIEL THE PROPHET, STANDING IN THE HOLY PLACE” (WHOEVER READS, LET HIM UNDERSTAND).” Matthew 24:15.
Although many of the Old Gospel prophecies, concerning the Messiah, were already fulfilled in his person, there are only two that the Lord Jesus Christ himself quotes expressly. One of them corresponds to his first coming and the other one to his second coming.
The first refers to his coming in flesh, as the unique and perfect lamb, and the second one to his visible physical coming as a judge. In Luke 4:17-21 he says,
“And He ( Jesus) was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written: “ The Spirit of the LORD is upon me, because He has anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; to proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD.” Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him. And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”
The second prophecy, which is the one heading this book, regards his future coming; and Jesus in Matthew 24:15 specifically refers to this event by quoting Daniel’s book.
When the Lord emphasizes -in relation to the most important events that will occur in the middle of the last week of the 70-week prophecy of Daniel’s chapter 9- he summarizes in Matthew 24:15: “whoever reads let him understand.” And as if that weren’t enough, he highlights this time again, with regard to such statement, by saying in Matthew 24:21: “For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be.”
Time of the last 42 months (three years and a half) of the prophecy of the 70 weeks of 7 years each one.
It is also important to take into account that these two statements in Luke 4 and Matthew 24 were addressed to the Jewish people exclusively; the first one at the beginning of his worldly ministry and the second one at the end of it, as mentioned before.
And as if this weren’t enough, Jesus says in his crucifixion trial in Matthew 26:64: “Nevertheless, I say to you, hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven” –statement that sealed his death sentence, thus confirming all the prophecies related to his second coming.
The enormous stress he experienced at that moment was not a reason to forget that another physical coming, not as a perfect lamb, but as a judge, was to happen, in fulfillment of the prophecies of the Old Gospel, ratified in the New Gospel through multiple passages, and mainly by Revelation.
These statements by Jesus, particularly that in Matthew 24:15b that says “whoever reads let him understand” (meaning that if they do not understand, they should insist till they do understand), certify us that the full comprehension of Daniel’s book will be enough to interpret the present and future events in the world, which will undoubtedly and perfectly match for detecting the intervening nations, on distinct times and places, as well as the specific facts that will occur prior to his second coming.
On the other hand, chapter 13 of Revelation is complemented with the events narrated by Daniel in his chapter 9, regarding the last week of 7 years of the 70-week prophecy, and all this in complete harmony with the statements made by Jesus in the parallel passages of Matthew 24, Mark 13 and Luke 21.
It is also very important to know that Daniel specifies the complete sequence of the most important nations on earth, one after the other: from the return of Israel from its ancient captivity in Babylon, year 536 BC, to the covenant of the false prophet (second beast of Revelation 13:11 with the desolator —Antichrist—) in Daniel 9:27 -a covenant which will be fulfilled with the beginning of the last week (of the 70-week prophecy), before Jesus Christ’s return to the earth on the second time. It should be remarked that this covenant could not be fulfilled unless, at the time of Christ’s second coming, the Hebrew nation exist as a State; State that was refounded in 1948, hence fulfilling Ezekiel’s prophecy in 38:8.
If difficult it was to think and believe in a return from its first 70-year captivity, in times of Cyrus and Artaxerxes, with Zerubbabel, Ezra and Nehemiah, even more problematical and unbelievable would be its reassembly as a Nation in Israel, after its domination, destruction and breaking up on the hands of the Roman Empire and other nations throughout its history.
The first coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, in times of its slavery by the Romans, was not helpful to accept him as the Messiah, in spite of having been so accurately prophesized by Isaiah and all the other biblical books of the Old Gospel, and unfortunately will again not be helpful to recognize him on his second coming, but only in the times of great distress, as a small remnant (Zechariah 13:9, Isaiah 10:21-22, Romans 9:27).
The survival of the State of Israel during these last times is the greatest miracle which can be observed on the world, only eclipsed by the biblical announcement of the second physical coming of Jesus Christ to the earth.
Therefore, I am going to detail the topics that in my opinion provide us with a complete and accurate comprehension of the future events, considering Daniel’s book in general and the Revelation in particular, as the basis to explain the main events of the great tribulation and wrath of God, and not excluding the other prophecies by Ezekiel, Zechariah and Isaiah, just to mention the main ones.