Only five hundred people saw Him go up into the clouds, but the world will see Him return. He left Jerusalem knowing that the Romans would level the city. He will return to make it His capitol for one thousand years. Since Christ ascended to the Father’s right hand, Satan has spent two thousand years trying to destroy His name. Jesus will return with an even greater name than when He left. They called Him the Risen Lord, but He will soon be called the King of Kings.
Even before His first coming, the Psalmist – speaking by the Holy Ghost – prophesied about His position after He returned to Heaven. The Father said,“Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion” (Psalm 2:6). Jesus Christ occupied the highest possible seat in the majestic temple at the Father’s right hand. David declared, “The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool” (Psalm 110:1). At every moment the Son of God has the Father’s ear while He waits for the Word to come again.
This coming is not the Rapture in which He will come into the mid-air. Notice, John spoke of the Rapture in the fourth chapter of Revelation. He stated, “After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven” (Revelation 4:1a).When John entered that door, He saw the raptured elders and an innumerable multitude of saints. These righteous and glorified saints are seated on thrones and are worshipping with unrestricted access to the Father, while they are singing of their redemption. It’s impossible to read chapter four and chapter five of Revelation and not see that the saints have been moved from the earth to heaven. They even speak of their future position as kings and priests back on the earth.
Let’s view the difference from chapters four, where there is a “door opened in heaven,” to chapter nineteen, where heaven is opened from border to border. At the glorious moment when He comes back to earth, heaven will swing wide its portals so that the sin sick world will see what they rejected for that liar and deceiver, whose name is Satan. One glimpse at the shining city behind the descending multitude and Satan’s army will tremble in despair. We must remember that the great gulf between earth and heaven will have rolled up like a scroll at the Rapture of His saints. Now, that sin is judged and the celestial city is in full view, the previously great distance between heaven and earth will progressively disappear.
The Holy Scripture calls this great moment, “His Second Coming.” He did not come to the earth when He raptured His saints. He called them up to meet Him in the air and then they returned to the Pearly White City together. This is truly His second coming to earth. The first coming was to redeem the fallen family. This coming is to complete the redemption of the earth. I believe the entire earth will return to a pre-flood condition as we read about in Genesis. My first book was entitled, Miracles, My Father’s Delight. The following paragraph is my description of the world before sin dumped its rot on the perfect earth.
“The truth is, as God’s people often forget, He is not just a past-tense Originator; He is a Creator right now! He is a God of creation, and His creative powers underscore His entire universe. As the scripture says, ‘By him all things consist’ (Colossians 1:17). Such creation is an ongoing process. Every time a thorny rosebush reaches down inside its cellular system to produce the dew-splashed, fragrant petals, it is a powerful reminder of God’s creation. Every spring, when the tree buds appear, and when the dingy brownness of winter explodes into a vibrant montage of green grass, buttercups, and rainbow colored foliage — all are results of God’s creative power. He is a God of creative miracles.” (Miracles, My Father’s Delight, Joseph R. Chambers.) He is going to redeem it all back to its original glory and perfection.
Nothing is more breathtaking about His Second Coming than Himself. He comes in the fullness of all His attributes and offices. There are forty-one descriptive words spoken of Him in Revelation chapter one and He comes in the fullness of them all. “And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God” (Revelation 19:11-13). One of those forty-one titles is “Amen.” He is Amen – finality, fullness, complete perfection, and eternal. All of that is revealed in His person.
To look upon Him in this exceedingly divine and transcending state will be to look at life as stupendous and to know perfect fullness and happiness. The very least of a sad emotion will be impossible in His presence. Even in this state of such divine revelation, His redemptive character will still be present. He will be wearing a vesture dipped in blood.
This is the marvel of the moment. He will have finished His high priestly office of intercession before the Eternal Father. Now, the Antichrist and the False Prophet must be cast into the Lake of Fire and Satan must be bound for a thousand years. The kingdoms of the world will be subjected to His kingship and this earthly kingdom will be governed in righteousness. All of this activity is both divine and redemptive. Before the Son leaves the Pearly White City, He must again enter the temple in His Father’s presence and dip His vesture in His own blood. The Divine Blood has continued its redemptive qualities to this closing moment. He, then, adds this blood-soaked vesture to His kingly attire and the Second Coming of Jesus Christ will startle this world.
Joseph R. Chambers