The Return of Jesus Christ

Shortly after His return for believers, Jesus will come back with those He took to Heaven and will deliver His redeemed people from their time of great tribulation.

God’s prophets often spoke and wrote about “The Day of the Lord” referring to a lengthy period of time of God’s judgment and establishment of His Kingdom on earth. We use “day” in a similar manner. My father would say, “In my day…” and launch into a nostalgic narrative about the good old days. When speaking about the late 1700s we might say, “In George Washington’s day people didn’t have refrigerators.”

The Day of the Lord begins with the Great Tribulation and continues for many years after that (through something the Bible refers to as a 1,000-year reign of the Messiah). But after the Great Tribulation and before the millennial reign of Christ, something will happen that is described in the Bible as “on that day.” That’s when Jesus will come “with power and great glory.” On that day someone might say,

“Look, the heavens are opening! A rider called ‘Faithful and True’ is coming to earth on a white horse with His armies to judge and make war. No one can miss it—He and His armies are filling the sky! This is none other than the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, the Word of God who died and rose from the dead. His eyes are blazing! He sees right through to our hearts.

“But look, He is coming to protect the inhabitants of Jerusalem. He is opening a fountain to cleanse them from sin and cover them with grace. He is fighting their enemies—the godless nations who fought against Jerusalem—and His people will share in the spoils.

“High in the sky against the sun, a winged creature—I guess it’s an angel—is calling out: ‘Come to God’s great supper! Feast on kings and leaders of all ranks and their steeds.’ To whom is he calling? The birds?

“Now the beast, that sinister world leader during the time of the Great Tribulation, has gathered his army from among all the kings and armies of the earth. They plan to fight against Jesus! But He speaks and the nations are struck down! The beast and his false prophet are captured and thrown into the Lake of Fire. All the rest are slain by the word of the One called ‘Faithful and True.’ Now come the birds. They are feasting freely on the flesh of the armies of the beast.

“Oh, the earth is shaking—it’s an earthquake! The mount to the east of Jerusalem is splitting in two! Half of the mountain is moving to the north and half to the south. Look! King Jesus is descending on His horse to what is left of the Mount of Olives. He’s dismounting and standing before His conquered enemies. What shouts of victory from His hosts! What a day! The Son of Man has come in power and great glory!”