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| Event 4 - The King Returns |
| Common Questions |
 1.
Isn't the great tribulation yet to come? Matthew 24:21
It is true that a terrible tribulation will cover the earth just before Jesus
returns to deliver His people. Daniel describes it as "a time of trouble,
such as never was." Daniel 12:1. In context, though, the "great tribulation" of
Matthew 24:21 refers to the awful persecution of God's people during the Dark
Ages. Millions were slain for their faith at that time.
2. Since the Lord is coming "as a thief in the
night," how can anyone know anything about it? 1 Thessalonians
5:4
The answer is found in 1 Thessalonians 5:2-4: "For yourselves know perfectly
that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. For when they shall
say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon
a woman with child; and they shall not escape. But ye, brethren, are not in darkness,
that that day should overtake you as a thief." Notice, the day of the Lord
comes as a thief to the unprepared, but not to those who are called "brethren."
3. When will Christ set up His
kingdom upon the earth? Revelation 21:2
After the great 1,000-year period of Revelation 20. The 1,000-year period begins
at the second coming of Christ, when Jesus takes the righteous from this earth
to heaven to live and reign with Him "a thousand years." Revelation
20:4. At the close of the 1,000 years "the holy city, new Jerusalem" (Revelation
21:2) comes down from heaven to the earth with all the saints (Zechariah 14:1,
4, 5) and the wicked dead of all ages are raised to life (Revelation 20:5). They
surround the holy city to capture it (Revelation 20:9), and fire comes down from
God out of heaven and devours them. This fire purifies the earth and burns up
all traces of sin and sinners (2 Peter 3:10). Finally the fire goes out (Isaiah
47:14), leaving only ashes (Malachi 4:3). Then God creates a new earth (2 Peter
3:13; Isaiah 65:17; Revelation 21:1) and gives it to the righteous, and "God
... will dwell with them, ... and God Himself shall be with them, and be their
God." Revelation 21:3. Perfect, holy, happy beings, restored once again
to the perfect image of God, will at last be at home in a sinless, spotless world
as God originally planned. Only the most foolish person would choose to miss
this.
4. Why don't we hear more preaching and teaching today
regarding Christ's second coming? Titus 2:13
The devil is responsible. He well knows that the second coming is the "blessed
hope" (Titus 2:13) of the Christian, and that once understood, it changes
the lives of men and women and leads them to take a personal, diligent, active
part in spreading that good news to others so that Christ's coming may be hastened.
This infuriates Satan, so he influences those who have "a form of godliness" (2
Timothy 3:5) but deny "the power thereof" to scoff, saying, "Where
is the promise of His coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue
as they were from the beginning." 2 Peter 3:3, 4. Those who deny, ignore,
or make light of Christ's second advent (as a literal, soon-coming event) are
specifically fulfilling Bible prophecy--and doing the devil a very great service.
 5.
But wasn't Jesus speaking of the secret rapture when He said
in Luke 17:36, "One shall be taken, and the other left"?
Luke 17:36
No. There is not the slightest indication that the event is secret. Jesus was
describing Noah's flood and the destruction of Sodom. (See Luke 17:26-37.) He
told how God spared Noah and Lot and destroyed the wicked. He says specifically
that the flood and fire "destroyed them all." Verses 27, 29. Plainly,
in each case, a few were taken to safety and the rest were destroyed. Then He
added, "Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed." Verse
30. To illustrate, Jesus continued, "Two men shall be in the field; the
one shall be taken, and the other left." Verse 36. There is nothing secret
about it. "Every eye shall see Him." Revelation 1:7. At His second
coming, Christ publicly and openly takes the righteous up into the clouds (1
Thessalonians 4:16, 17) and slays the wicked (Isaiah 11:4; 2 Thessalonians 2:8).
That's why Luke 17:37 speaks of the bodies of the wicked and mentions the eagles
(or vultures) gathered around them. (See also Revelation 19:17, 18.) The wicked
who are left behind at Christ's coming are left dead.
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