In general terms, the purpose of Christ’s return is to judge the evil world and to set up His new kingdom. More specifically, I will lay it out in ten points—with Scripture references.
1. To fulfill the prophecies of His coming. Here are a few of those prophecies.
Acts 1:10-11
And as they were gazing intently into the sky while He was going, behold, two men in white clothing stood beside them. 11 They also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven.
Zechariah 14:4
In that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which is in front of Jerusalem on the east; and the Mount of Olives will be split in its middle from east to west by a very large valley, so that half of the mountain will move toward the north and the other half toward the south.
2 Thessalonians 1:7b-8
…when the Lord Jesus will be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire, 8 dealing out retribution to those who do not know God and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.
Matthew 24:30
“And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the SON OF MAN COMING ON THE CLOUDS OF THE SKY with power and great glory.
Revelation 1:7
BEHOLD, HE IS COMING WITH THE CLOUDS, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him. So it is to be. Amen.
2. To destroy the Antichrist and Satan’s power (2 Thess. 2:8-9).
3. To judge all nations (Matt. 25:31-46).
4. To have the throne of David (Isa. 9:6-7; Lu. 1:32) and to sit on that throne (Matt. 25:31; Rev. 5:13).
5. To have a kingdom (Dan. 7:13-14).
6. To rule over His kingdom with His saints (Dan. 7:18; Rev. 5:10).
7. That the kingdom of the world would become His kingdom (Zech. 9:10; Rev. 11:15).
8. That all kingdoms would serve Him (Ps. 72:11; Isa. 49:6-7; Rev. 15:4).
9. That every knee would bow to Him (Isa. 45:23; Phil. 2:10).
10. That the entire covenant program with Israel would be fulfilled, and they would forever be blessed with physical and spiritual blessings (Gen. 12:2; 22:17).
The return of Jesus Christ, His visible appearing and what He does, is the climax of Armageddon and of the Tribulation. It is the victory for believers, and the awaited, deserving punishment for unbelievers. Since there is so many important things to cover in this section, we will be careful to study all of the essential Scriptures that pertain to this topic (Matt. 24:29-31; Rev. 19:11-16; 14:14-20; Zech. 12:2-14; 14:3-15; Matt. 16:27, 25:31, 26:64, Rev. 1:7, and 16:15).
Christ’s Appearing
It will be just as the Tribulation ends, when all the world is dark and when the powers of the heavens have been shaking the earth (Matt. 24:29; Zech. 14:6) that He suddenly appears. Though the lights in the world have gone out, the heavens will open (Rev. 19:11) and He will appear as bright as the sun; and every eye will see Him (Rev. 1:7). He will come with glorious clouds of heaven; not with earthly clouds, but with heavenly clouds of glory that blaze with magnificent heavenly light (Rev. 1:7). Perhaps this will be the same glory clouds, or the shekinah glory, written about in the Old Testament that led the Israelites through the wilderness (Ex. 13:21; 14:19-20). Nonetheless, He will come triumphantly, in His brilliance, riding on a white horse, and the armies of heaven, clothed in fine linen, will follow Him on white horses (Rev. 19:11, 14).
The physical sight of Him will definitely be glorious and magnificent; yet, when we see Him, I think He will also bring to the world a spiritual and emotional awareness of His nature and purpose. The apostle John perceived these things about Him. In Revelation 19:11-16 John wrote,
And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war. 12 His eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many diadems; and He has a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself. 13 He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name Is called The Word of God. 14 And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses. 15 From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty. 16 And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, “KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.”
We know that John knew Jesus well. He was the disciple that loved Him. More than any of the others, he knew Him. However, I think in His vision of Him (from this passage) God revealed more about Him—things that will also be revealed to us and to those on the earth at that time when they see Him. What I mean is that when He comes, we will be able to sense more about Him—that He is “Faithful and True;” and that He comes in righteousness to judge and wage war. And I wonder if we will see His eyes, that they will actually be “a flame of fire.” And we will see His glorious kingship, that He is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Now I think that some things in this passage are symbolic, such as that “He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood.” But certainly, we will be able to perceive that He is the One who has been fighting many battles for us; and that He has shed His blood for us. Surely, all eyes will see that at the time of His coming He comes with the fierce wrath of God against the enemy; and He comes with a sharp sword—literally, and figuratively (which is the Word of God) to strike down every foe.
Many scholars agree that while all the armies of the world are headed toward Jerusalem to fight her, this is when there will be a strike against Babylon to destroy it. Ron Rhodes writes, “What an irony we have here. While phase one of Armageddon is underway, with the antichrist preparing his armies to attack Israel, God will cause a military force to attack the antichrist’s headquarters of Babylon.”2
Rhodes and others seem to think (according to Jeremiah 50:41-42) that Babylon will be attacked and destroyed by a military force from the north. However, I think it is more likely that these verses are referring to the armies of Media Persia in 539 B. C. The future destruction of Babylon (referred to in Isaiah 13:19 and Revelation 18) is clearly God’s own doing, just as He destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.
Now back to the fall of Jerusalem. The clear teaching on this is in Zechariah 14:1-2:
Behold, a day is coming for the Lord when the spoil taken from you will be divided among you. 2 For I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city will be captured, the houses plundered, the women ravished and half of the city exiled, but the rest of the people will not be cut off from the city.
From these verses we see a three-point account of the battle and the fall of Jerusalem.
1. The gathering armies of the world will move into the city, plunder the houses, and ravish the women. What a brutal and ruthless bunch.
2. Half of the people in the city will be captured, and the rest will be left standing among the ruins—a sad picture.
3. Much spoil is taken and divided among them. John MacArthur comments: “Jerusalem will be so overcome by the enemy that the spoil will be leisurely divided in the midst of the city, illustrating how completely Jerusalem will be overthrown.”3
Another Scripture reference on Jerusalem’s fall is Zechariah 12:2-4:
“Behold, I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that causes reeling to all the peoples around; and when the siege is against Jerusalem, it will also be against Judah. 3 “It will come about in that day that I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples; all who lift it will be severely injured. And all the nations of the earth will be gathered against it. 4 “In that day,” declares the Lord, “I will strike every horse with bewilderment and his rider with madness. But I will watch over the house of Judah, while I strike every horse of the peoples with blindness.
These verses give us a true perspective of what will be going on, or what God will make the nations to become through their fighting over Jerusalem. Verse two tells us that “Jerusalem will be a cup that causes reeling.” What does that mean? I think it means that because of their sin of lust and greed over the spoils of war, they will become drunk with it, and thus disoriented. Hence, they will be easy prey for God’s divine judgment. They, in effect will be trapped. And it will be all of God’s doing. He will gather them together; and He will make them easy targets for His coming judgment.
2 Ron Rhodes, The End Times In Chronological Order (Eugene, Oregon: Harvest House Publishers, 2012), p. 166.
3 John MacArthur, John MacArthur’s notes on Zechariah 14:1.
The 7.8 mag. Earthquake in Turkey and Syria that had claimed the lives of more than 2,300 people, has brought my attention to what I have been reading in Revelation sixteen. Verse 18 and following, tells us that there will be a great earthquake—the greatest there ever was. It will be so great that it will cause all the cities to fall. And it will cause every island and all the mountains to disappear below the earth. Read it yourself (Rev. 16:18-20).
As great as this quake in Turkey is, the one coming up will be so much greater. I hope you who are reading this will not have to go through it—in the Tribulation. You need not experience it if you are a Christian and are raptured.
A 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck southern Turkey and northern Syria early Monday, killing more than 2,300 people and taking down countless buildings.
The earthquake prompted a search for survivors in the rubble in cities and towns across the region. The death toll is expected to rise. The World Health Organization (WHO) said the numbers could increase as much as eight time as rescuers work to find more victims.
“We always see the same thing with earthquakes, unfortunately, which is that the initial reports of the numbers of people who have died or who have been injured will increase quite significantly in the week that follows,” the WHO’s senior emergency officer for Europe, Catherine Smallwood, told AFP.
The fall of Babylon definitely occurs early in Armageddon. In Revelation 16:19, John said of Babylon: “Babylon the great was remembered before God, to give her the cup of the wine of His fierce wrath.” Hence, Babylon’s destruction is something that God does. He may do it by a nuclear attack from an enemy nation, or He may do it by His own means—whatever that will be. It seems clear from Scripture that Babylon will be completely destroyed just as Sodom and Gomorrah was (Isa. 13:19; Jer. 50:40). And since Genesis 19:24 states, “Then the LORD rained on Sodom and Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven,” this seems to me that He may do it through the great earthquake (of verse 18). And we suggested earlier that the earthquake may be triggered by a nuclear exchange. I will talk much more about the fall of Babylon in a later blog.
It seems to me, according to Revelation 16:16 and following, that sometime after the gathering of the armies of the world, this great shaking will begin, followed by all the results of it. I suppose we can’t be certain when exactly it will begin, but I would guess that it will be sometime around the beginning of the Armageddon war and will continue at least until Christ appears in the sky (Matt. 24:30). For just before He appears, verse 29 tells us that “the powers of the heavens will be shaken.”
I don’t think we can be absolutely sure that this so called “great earthquake” is in fact what we know of as an earthquake. The Greek word seimos, translated in verse 18 as “earthquake,” literally means “a shaking.” And when “great” is added it means “a great shaking,” or a great shaking of the earth.
But what else could it be besides an earthquake? Well, Hal Lindsey said that this shaking could be the result of “a fullscale nuclear exchange.” He said, “I believe that when these powers [of the world armies] lock forces here, there will be a fullscale exchange of nuclear weapons, and it’s at this time that ‘the cities of the nation’s fall.’”1
Now we can’t be sure that there will be nuclear weapons used; however, I think it is more likely than not that they will be used. And it is my guess that they will use them earlier rather than later. In fact, why would they shoot nuclear rockets at each other if they are going to battle anyway. Hence, it would make more sense to use them before they gather for a battle. Also, I have a feeling that it is likely that a nuclear attack will trigger an earthquake—the large earthquake mentioned in verse 18. And then, as the Scripture indicates, the cause of it will be the destruction of all cities (and all buildings), and the shifting of the land masses, so that all islands and mountains will plunge beneath the earth.
And while this destruction is happening, there will be thunder and lightning and hail like people have never seen before—hail about three feet in diameter, weighing up to one hundred pounds each. My question is: how in the world will the military forces be able to manage battling each other with all of this commotion and destruction all around them?
1 Hal Lindsey, There’s A New World Coming, p. 214.
When I saw this article (below) I was sad but not shocked. These are the days we are living in. We are living in perilous times, when evil people will proceed from bad to worse.
2 Tim 3:1-5, 12-13
But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. 2 For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, 4 treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; Avoid such men as these
12 Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. 13 But evil men and impostors will proceed from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.
People these days are afraid of the truth and are blind to the truth. They need to be taught the truth and need to be around teachers who are truth tellers and truth doers.
God will bring His wrath on all who suppress the truth.
Rom 1:18-32
For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, 19 because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. 20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. 21 For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. 22 Professing to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures.
24 Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them. 25 For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.
26 For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, 27 and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error.
28 And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper, 29 being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, 30 slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, 31 without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful; 32 and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them.
Here is the article I mentioned, by Joy Pullmann. Click on it to read the full article.
Minnesota will soon ban faithful Christians, Muslims, and Jews from teaching in public schools by requiring that every state-certified teacher “fosters an environment that ensures student identities such as … gender identity … are … affirmed.” Once the new requirements clear a final procedural hurdle, they will be immediately challenged in state and possibly federal court, a civil liberties lawyer told The Federalist on Tuesday.
“We have lots of parents who are upset by this sort of thing in schools already,” said Doug Seaton, president of Minnesota’s Upper Midwest Law Center, in an interview. “They’re going to be even more upset with how their teachers are going to be licensed. Their teachers are going to have to be faced with hiding their beliefs or getting denied [for a state teaching license].”
Seaton said it was accurate to describe the nearly finalized regulations as communicating: “Christians, Muslims, and Jews need not apply for Minnesota teaching jobs.” That is unconstitutional, he said, so UMLC plans to sue once the changes go into effect.
Here is an article I picked out that I thought was relative to our times. These two pictured no doubt are the bad guys–evil guys. They are at the list of those who think they can move the world into a global utopia.
A fun game that conservatives like to play with progressives is to ask simple questions and watch them squirm. This was highlighted recently as multiple politicians and avid citizen journalists asked the question, “what is a woman?” Needless to say, some of the answers were comical, bordering on ridiculous. However, the broader question that should be asked is this: what is a human being? The reason I pose this question is due to the fact that our society’s view of what it means to be human is going to lead us in a direction which has the propensity to alter the fundamental nature of humanity.
We don’t have to read too far into the Bible in order to understand how human beings came to be on planet Earth. Genesis 1:26-27 explains:
Genesis1:26-27KJV– “And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.”
So, we can establish some fundamentals: human beings were made by God; human beings were made to worship God; and it was intended that human beings would enjoy His presence for all eternity. Now, we know that when sin entered the world, we became subject to death and eternal judgement. It is not my intention to deal with that issue in detail throughout this article. Instead, I want to focus on those who hold a different view of the origin and destiny of mankind. Because the moment you substitute the truth of mankind’s origin and destiny, it is the moment you have to invent your own. For believers, the Holy Spirit has revealed to us through the Word that we may inherit eternal life in God’s presence by having faith in Jesus (John 14:6). But for those who do not believe in the soul of mankind, they need to invent an eternity for themselves. This is the intention of transhumanism.
I found five Scripture passages from Joel, Zechariah, Daniel, and Revelation that speaks of the gathering of armies (or nations). Interestingly, I found from my reading that there is not one clear purpose for the gathering. There will actually be four different purposes or goals. As we read from the following passages, I’m sure we will be able to see the different intentions.
Joel 3:1-3, 9-16
1″For behold, in those days and at that time,
When I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem,
2 I will gather all the nations
And bring them down to the valley of Jehoshaphat.
Then I will enter into judgment with them there
On behalf of My people and My inheritance, Israel,
Whom they have scattered among the nations;
And they have divided up My land.
3 “They have also cast lots for My people,
Traded a boy for a harlot
And sold a girl for wine that they may drink.
9 Proclaim this among the nations:
Prepare a war; rouse the mighty men!
Let all the soldiers draw near, let them come up!
10 Beat your plowshares into swords
And your pruning hooks into spears;
Let the weak say, “I am a mighty man.”
11 Hasten and come, all you surrounding nations,
And gather yourselves there.
Bring down, O Lord, Your mighty ones.
12 Let the nations be aroused
And come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat,
For there I will sit to judge
All the surrounding nations.
13 Put in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe.
Come, tread, for the wine press is full;
The vats overflow, for their wickedness is great.
14 Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision!
For the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision.
15 The sun and moon grow dark
And the stars lose their brightness.
16 The Lord roars from Zion
And utters His voice from Jerusalem,
And the heavens and the earth tremble.
But the Lord is a refuge for His people
And a stronghold to the sons of Israel.
It seems here, from verse three, that the nations will be coming to raid Israel—to take their “fortunes.” But the rest of the passage tells a different story. God will be using their greed to gather them together in order to judge them for their sins against Israel.
Zechariah 14:1-3
Behold, a day is coming for the Lord when the spoil taken from you will be divided among you. 2 For I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city will be captured, the houses plundered, the women ravished and half of the city exiled, but the rest of the people will not be cut off from the city. 3 Then the Lord will go forth and fight against those nations, as when He fights on a day of battle.
Here is a similar situation. The nations will gather to capture and plunder Jerusalem; but the Lord will take advantage of their greedy gathering, to judge and destroy them.
Daniel 11:40-44
“At the end time the king of the South will collide with him, and the king of the North will storm against him with chariots, with horsemen and with many ships; and he will enter countries, overflow them and pass through. 41 “He will also enter the Beautiful Land, and many countries will fall; but these will be rescued out of his hand: Edom, Moab and the foremost of the sons of Ammon. 42 “Then he will stretch out his hand against other countries, and the land of Egypt will not escape. 43 “But he will gain control over the hidden treasures of gold and silver and over all the precious things of Egypt; and Libyans and Ethiopians will follow at his heels. 44 “But rumors from the East and from the North will disturb him, and he will go forth with great wrath to destroy and annihilate many.
In this passage, which is describing the final conflict, the objective in battle seems to be to gain power. And for the most part, it will be the Antichrist and his forces against the rest of the world. Here we see that the Antichrist is winning—until the end (see verse 45).
Revelation 16:12-14, 16
12 The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river, the Euphrates; and its water was dried up, so that the way would be prepared for the kings from the east.
13 And I saw coming out of the mouth of the dragon and out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits like frogs; 14 for they are spirits of demons, performing signs, which go out to the kings of the whole world, to gather them together for the war of the great day of God, the Almighty.
16 And they gathered them together to the place which in Hebrew is called Har-Magedon.
In this sixth bowl judgment the gathering of the nations of the world are demonically engineered through the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet. I wonder what the message will be that the demons will send. We don’t know whether it will be a clear, direct message like, “Let’s all gather together to destroy the Jews.” Or perhaps there won’t be any clear message; perhaps the demons will put them in a mindless trans, and by demonic power they will be pulled to the place of war with a great hook in their jaw (see Ezek. 38:4).
Revelation 19:19-21
And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies assembled to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army.
20 And the beast was seized, and with him the false prophet who performed the signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image; these two were thrown alive into the lake of fire which burns with brimstone. 21 And the rest were killed with the sword which came from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse, and all the birds were filled with their flesh.
These three verses describe what happens at the very end of the Battle of Armageddon and the Tribulation. Here we see a fourth purpose for the gathering, to make war against Christ.
To review the different purposes: 1) coming from the nations, to raid and destroy the Jews; 2) again, from the nations, to gain power over other nations; they will gather to fight each other; 3) the purpose of God will be to judge the nations for their sin; and 4) from the nations, to make war against Christ.
As it appears from the text, the nations will probably not think that Christ will show up. But when they see Him coming, riding on a white horse, they will stop fighting each other; and verse 19 says that “their armies assembled to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army.”
Can you imagine it? You know, there is nothing like the ultimate enemy (Christ) to make you shake hands with the ones you are fighting with. That is what will happen. All the nations—the beast and the kings of the earth (v. 19)—will come together and make peace with each other, and thus combine forces, in order to destroy their real enemy—Christ. Of course, it will happen the other way around!
World governmentproponents Klaus Schwab and Yuval Noah Harari
Jan Markell, in her Olive Tree Ministries mailer, shared ten 2022 stories with prophetic implications—although she said that there were over one-hundred more. It was a very big year for end-time implications.
1 The Rise of the World Economic Forum Cabal and their Rush to Global Government
This is the true shadow government in which Revelation 13 outlines.
2 The Stirring Up of the Spirit of the Antichrist
Here we have seen the new lawlessness at work with rebellion allowed to take place because of the George Floyd ordeal. Hence, police forces are reduced and criminals are released with no bail.
3 Government Knows Best—Trust it
We have been encouraged to trust the government for vaccines and other health issues. Millions have bought into it, and will now transition into trusting the Antichrist.
4 The Rise of the Green Dragon: The Worship of Mother Earth
In the name of saving energy, farmers in Europe are being put out of business. This is inviting a famine.
5 The Race Towards Digital Currency: Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC)
Biden is pushing this and we could see it in 2023.
6 The Decline of America and the Rise of Radical Liberalism
America is trying to become like Venezuela. We are trying to create a permanent welfare state.
7 Christians Are Canceled; Jews are Under Attack
Entire Christian villages in Nigeria are being wiped out. Attacks against Jews in New York City are up 125%.
8 The Rise of Strong Delusion and Global Deception
It was the year of the rage of transgenderism.
9 Apostacy in the Church
It was the year that social justice has replaced salvation.
10 The Staggering Rise of the Paranormal and Occult
Stephen Nielsen 