"After the Tribulation: The Second Coming"

by Pastor Ron Vandermey on 11/27/12

Matthew 24:28-31: Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

Matthew, writing this Gospel to a Jewish audience, is careful to point out the fulfillment of prophecy in the Second Coming of Christ. In the Old Testament, this was called "The Day of the Lord" and the prophecies are numerous. For instance, the darkening of the sun is alluded to in Joel 2:10, 31; Amos 8:9; Isaiah 13:9-10; and Ezekiel 32:7-8. All of this would catch the attention of a Jewish reader who knew the Scriptures. In the New Testament, we see that the opening of the Sixth Seal will mark the darkening of the sun (Revelation 6:12-13; 8:12).

There are many (called Preterists) who believe that the Great Tribulation was the persecution of the Jews at the hands of the Romans starting in 70 A.D. That is the view of the Bible Answer Man program of Hank Hannegraaf. Yet our Lord tells us definitely here that His Second Coming is to follow at once upon the close of that time of Tribulation; so that it is evident that this Tribulation is yet in the future. When it comes to its complete fulfillment there will be remarkable manifestations among the heavenly bodies and the Son of Man will be seen "coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory." Clouds are always associated with the appearance of God on the earth--remember the pillar of cloud that guided the Israelites.

The tribes of the earth (referrring to the 12 tribes in Israel) will then mourn as predicted in Zechariah 12;10-12 when they look upon Him whom they once rejected, and whom they pierced, as they realize at last that He is the King, the Anointed One for whose coming they have waited so long.

Then the great trumpet shall be blown as predicted in Isaiah 27:13, and the angels will gather together the elect from all quarters of the earth, those who in that time of testing will ahve received the kingdom message and so be prepared to welcome the King at His return. This is not the same as the Rapture of I Thessalonians 4, where the saints are caught up to meet the Lord in the air. That event has already taken place. This time the Lord comes down to earth with all the saints to greet the elect gathered from the four winds. Zechariah 14 says that His feet will touch the Mount of Olives, which will then split in two and allow the Jews about to be slaughtered to escape, and He then fights the final battle for them.

Christ will then take that throne of David in Jerusalem, and reign in righteousness for a thousand glorious years, as is noted in Revelation 20.

When you feel defeated, and that the world is about to swallow you up, remember what the Word says--WE WIN! Jesus does the fighting for us, and the battle is always the Lord's. Smile, you are on the winning side.