The Bible declares that Jesus Christ will one day come back to earth to rule and reign the world. In fact Jesus himself said that He would one day come back to rule and reign the world:
“And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple. And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down. And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?” (Matthew 24:1-3).
Notice that the disciples asked Jesus about the signs of His coming. This question was raised because Jesus had already been teaching His disciples that He would leave the world but that He would one day return. In fact Christ’s Second Coming is one of the major themes of Old Testament prophecy. The Jews always knew that the promised Messiah would come to earth to be the king of Israel and king over all the earth. The just did not know that His coming would be in two phases, one to be an offering for sin and the other to rule and reign from the throne of His father David.
But does the Bible tell us when His Second Coming event will occur? To answer this question, we will have to answer another question: What will cause Jesus Christ to return to the planet Earth? We will try to answer this question by examining some of the unfulfilled Old Testament prophecies that relate to Christ’s second Coming.
“For, behold, in those days, and in that time, when I shall bring again the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem, I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land.
And they have cast lots for my people; and have given a boy for an harlot, and sold a girl for wine, that they might drink. Yea, and what have ye to do with me, O Tyre, and Zidon, and all the coasts of Palestine? will ye render me a recompence? and if ye recompense me, swiftly and speedily will I return your recompence upon your own head; because ye have taken my silver and my gold, and have carried into your temples my goodly pleasant things.
Proclaim ye this among the Gentiles; prepare war, wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near; let them come up: Beat your plowshares into swords and your pruning hooks into spears: let the weak say, I am strong. Assemble yourselves, and come, all ye heathen, and gather yourselves together round about: thither cause thy mighty ones to come down, O LORD.
Let the heathen be wakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat: for there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about. Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe: come, get you down; for the press is full, the fats overflow; for their wickedness is great. Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision. The sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their shining.
The LORD also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the LORD will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel. So shall ye know that I am the LORD your God dwelling in Zion, my holy mountain: then shall Jerusalem be holy, and there shall no strangers pass through her any more. And it shall come to pass in that day, that the mountains shall drop down new wine, and the hills shall flow with milk, and all the rivers of Judah shall flow with waters, and a fountain shall come forth out of the house of the LORD, and shall water the valley of Shittim.
Egypt shall be a desolation, and Edom shall be a desolate wilderness, for the violence against the children of Judah, because they have shed innocent blood in their land. But Judah shall dwell for ever, and Jerusalem from generation to generation. For I will cleanse their blood that I have not cleansed: for the LORD dwelleth in Zion” (Joel 3:1-5, 9-21).
Notice that in the beginning of the passage, The Lord says that He will gather all nations (the nations mentioned are primarily Middle Eastern nations) to judge these nations and plead with them for parting His land (Israel). Then The Lord goes on to ask Tyre and Zidon (Modern day Lebanon) and all the coasts of Palestine (Modern day Palestinians) what they have to do with him. The Lord then says that He will recompense them upon their own head for taking His silver and gold and for carrying into their temples His pleasant and goodly things. This might be a reference to precious metals found in Israel that were used to adorn Islamic temples throughout Palestine and the Middle East.
The Lord says throughout the rest of the passage that there will be multitudes of people of the Gentiles preparing for war in the valley of decision. He says that He will roar His voice from Jerusalem on behalf of Israel. He will wage war against these nations for coming against Israel. Egypt and Edom (Modern day Jordan) will become a total desolation for shedding innocent blood (probably of Jews). The Lord then finishes the passage by saying that when He comes to defend Israel from her enemies, Judah and Jerusalem will dwell safely forever.
In Zechariah we read:
“’The burden of the word of the LORD for Israel, saith the LORD, which stretcheth forth the heavens, and layeth the foundation of the earth, and formeth the spirit of man within him. Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem. And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it” (Zechariah 12:1-3).
The Lord says in this passage that He will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling to all the nations round about ,i.e., The nations that surround Jerusalem and Israel, namely, The Middle Eastern nations. The expression “cup of trembling” could mean that the nations around Israel would be drunk or intoxicated because of Jerusalem. This exactly what we see happening today. All the nations of the Middle East are in some way intoxicated with Jerusalem. They are trying to do all they can to try and divide the city and make it the capital of a Palestinian State.
The Lord the goes on to say in the rest of the passage that He will make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people and that they will be cut in pieces (destroyed) if they burden themselves with Jerusalem. In other words, all the Arab world will be destroyed by the Lord for coming against Jerusalem, and not only the Arab world, but also all the nations of the world.
Zechariah continues:
“Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee. For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city.
Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle. And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south .
And this shall be the plague wherewith the LORD will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth” (Zechariah 14:1-4, 12).
In this passage the Lord says that He will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle. These nations will take the city, rifle the houses and ravished the women and take half of the city into captivity. The Lord says that when this happens, He will go forth (come back to earth) and fight against those nations that come against Jerusalem. He also says that when He comes, He will touch the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem with His feet causing the Mount of Olives to cleave in the midst and become a great valley.
The Lord finishes by saying that He will destroy the nations that come against Jerusalem with a certain plague that will consume the flesh of the people of those nations, consume their eyes and consume their tongue. This sounds like a nuclear effect. Some believe that this will be caused a nuclear attack from Israel against her enemies. I prefer to believe that this plague will be caused by the Word that will come out of the mouth of the Lord to destroy these nations which happens to have a nuclear effect, because in Revelation we read:
‘”And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God . . . And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh” (Revelation 19:15, 21).
In Revelation we read:
“And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared. And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.
Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame. And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.” (Revelation 16:12-16)
In this passage we read that all the nations will be gathered for the battle of the great day of God Almighty. The nations will be gathered together at the place called Armageddon. Contrary to many theories that describe Armageddon as an event, The Bible says it is a geographical place. The word Armageddon is a compound word that means “Mountain of Megiddo.” This place is located in northern Israel southeast of Haifa and is a valley described by Dr. John F. Walvoord, a great prophecy scholar as being fourteen miles wide and twenty miles long. ( John F. Walvoord, Every Prophecy of the Bible, Chariot Victor Publishing, Colorado Springs, Colorado, 1990. p..600).
Our conclusion on the Second Coming is based on Scripture is that Jesus Christ will return when the nations that surround Israel, namely, The Middle Eastern nations try to fulfill their desire to destroy Israel. This desire to destroy Israel will eventually bring the whole world to come against Israel under the leadership of the Antichrist.
We have seen for the past 60 years since Israel became a nation on May 14,1948 , That the nations of the Middle East have been trying to wipe Israel off the map.
Below is a summary of what Israel has experienced since 1948
1948-1949
From May 1948 of to July 1949 the War of Independence is fought. Israel wins an armistice after defeating troops from Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan.
1956
Israel and Egypt go to war over the Sinai region.
1967
On June 5 the six-day war begins: Israel destroys the Arab air forces; captures land three times the area of itself; and most importantly, The Jewish people win the right to free control the city of Jerusalem for the first time in over 2000 years.
1973
On Oct 6, during Yom Kippur, Israel’s Arab neighbors launch a surprise attack. This war exacted a heavy toll on the Jewish state. Although no major territory was lost or gained, most Arabs regarded the war as a psychological victory.
1982
To end the PLO’s attacks from Lebanon, Israel launches an invasion of that country.
1987
The Arab Intifada begins in the West Bank and Gaza strip.
2005
October, 2005 Iran’s new president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has repeated that Israel should be “wiped out from the map,” insisting that a new series of attacks will destroy the Jewish state, and lashing out at Muslim countries and leaders that acknowledge Israel.
2006
July 2006 Hezbollah starts war with Israel. Israel defends herself by attacking Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Although these signs are evidences that the return of Christ is close, we who study Bible prophecy know that there are some other things that must happen before the desire of the Middle Eastern nations to destroy Israel almost comes to complete fulfillment causing Jesus to come just in time to rescue Israel from total annihilation.
1. There will be the Russian-Islamic alliance of nations http://www.bibleprophecyinthenews.com/Israel_and_the_Magog_Invasion.html that will come against Israel according to Ezekiel 38 and 39.
2. Jesus will come in the air to rapture His church to be with Him in heaven according to 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 and other passages.
3. The Antichrist will appear as a political leader with a peace plan and will confirm a 7 year covenant with Israel. This covenant will allow the Jews to rebuild their Holy Temple and re-institute the sacrificial system of the Mosaic Law according to Daniel 9:27.
4. The Antichrist will break his covenant with Israel in the middle of the seven- year covenant , will cause the sacrificial system to cease and will walk into the Temple or set an image of himself which will be the Abomination of Desolation according to Daniel 9:27 and Matthew 24:15, and will demand to be worshiped as god according to 2 Thessalonians 2:4.
5. The Antichrist will become the head of a one world government in the middle of the Tribulation according to Daniel 7:23-25, Revelation 13:1-2 and 17:11-13, and will have a rebuilt Babylon, as his economic capital according to Revelation 18.
6. The Antichrist will then start to persecute the Jews and then the Arab desire to see the destruction of Israel will almost become a reality according to Daniel 7:25, 12:1, and Revelation 12:1-6.
7. When Israel is about to be destroyed, Jesus Christ returns to destroy the Antichrist and the nations that come against Israel according to Revelation 19:11-20.
As we can see, all the signs that point to what will cause Jesus Christ to return to earth have become a reality today. The very existence of Israel is being threatened by the Arab world. The giant nations that surround tiny Israel have sworn that Israel will be wiped off the map. Islamic fundamentalism is on the rise and the intention of the Islamic world is to see Palestine liberated from Israeli control.
Jesus is coming soon, and He gave us this warning:
“And they [the Jews] shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled . . . And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh” (Luke 24:28).
Jesus said He that when these things began to come to pass, we should be on the alert, because our redemption would be close. This means that the Rapture is getting closer. Are you ready to go up when He appears in the air? If not, make Jesus the Savior and Lord of your life and you shall be saved.
“If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved” (Romans 10:9).
God bless you!
Rodrigo Silva