Christ's Triumphant Return

Christ's triumphant return will involve two events: the rapture of the Church and the revelation of Christ. The rapture will put an end to the Church age and mark the beginning of the reign of Antichrist, also known as the reign of terror and great tribulation which will last for seven years, after which Christ shall be revealed with the saints to begin millennium reign in this earth. Revelation 19: 11 - 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. The followings are discussed: Christ's Return; Christ's Triumph and Christ's Reign.

Christ's Return: His second coming will be different from his first coming when he was humble and sought to reconcile people with God. He will come the second time as the conquering King and the righteous judge (Revelation 19:11-13). He will reveal the awesome nature and character he shares with God, and will thread on his enemies in victory. As the righteous Judge he will judge all people based on their faith in him. Good deeds and self righteousness can not make people righteous before God's judgement. What makes people righteous before Him is believing in his begotten son and doing His will.

Christ is coming as the conquering King with the armies of heaven (the redeemed saints of God) to destroy all evil and declare judgement on the nations (Revelation: 19:14-16). Within a moment he will overcome and judge the Antichrist and all his armies. Christ will come as the King of kings and the Lord of Lords.

Christ's Triumph: The Antichrist and his armies will wage wars against the coming Christ and his armies but they will be defeated. The battle will take place in a valley south of Nazareth which has been revealed as Armageddon ( Revelation 19:17-19). All people will be involved in the battle, and their involvement will be either for Christ or Antichrist; whether to worship God or to worship the devil.

The battle will last for a brief period of time because it will be to capture, judge, condemn and punish the Antichrist (Revelation 19:20,21). The brevity of the battle shows that the beast and his armies are no match for the Lord. All enemies of God will be struck down by the "word" proceeding from Christ. The Antichrist`s miraculous signs and wonders will deceive many and cause them to believe his lies. This reminds us that not all miracles are from God. True miracle leads people to Christ. False power deceives and destroys.

An angel with the key of bottomless pit will arrest Satan, bind him and cast him into the bottomless pit for a thousand years (Revelation 20:1-3). During the thousand years of Christ's reign on earth Satan will be kept in the pit. At the end of the thousand years he will be released for a very short time to try people once again before his final judgement.

Christ's Reign: The victorious martyrs in Christ are those who refused to worship the beast or receive his mark; they are the believers who are resurrected and given priestly and kingly duties during Christ’s millennium kingdom (Rev 20:4-6). The martyrs, the raptured saints and believers who survived the tribulation will be included in ‘the first resurrection’. They are the ones blessed  and made holy, and have nothing to fear about ‘the second death’ described as the lake of fire(Rev 20:14;21:8 ).

Both Daniel and John were given similar revelation concerning Christ's kingdom and authority (Daniel 7:13, 14, 18 &22). Christ will receive those who are saved and give them the kingdom of God as a possession for ever. Those who are saved in Christ have the hope of spending the eternity with him in abundance of peace and fullness of Joy. Lesson texts: Revelation Rev 11:15; 19:11 thru 20:6; Daniel 7:13-27.