| PART 3 – THE
SEQUENCE AND THE SEQUEL
The previous article outlined
the background to the coming of the Son of man (‘The Scene‘)
This third, and concluding, article suggests a possible order of
events both for the coming itself (‘The Sequence‘) and for
the period immediately following (‘The Sequel‘)
THE SEQUENCE At the human
level, the advent of the Lord will be totally unexpected, Luke
21. 26-30. The first indication of His approach will be signs
and disturbances in the heavens, causing great darkness on earth
and filling men with fear and foreboding, Joel 2. 30-31; 3. 15;
Matt. 24. 29-30; Luke 21. 25-26.
In their extremity, the godly
in Israel will cry to the Lord for deliverance -and He will come
to save them! He will come from heaven itself, Rev. 19. 11- 16.
Note this section of Scripture; it provides the last full length
portrait of Christ in the Bible. Attention is drawn in
particular to (i) His four names, (ii) His clothing (a
blood-stained garment to alert His foes to their inevitable
destruction), (iii) His head (adorned with ‘many‘ diadems,
in contrast to the specified numbers of diadems worn by the
dragon and the Beast, Rev. 12. 3; 13. 1), (iv) His eyes, and (v)
His mouth. The lengthy description of the Royal Warrior stands
in marked contrast to the brief description of the ensuing
conflict, Rev. 19. 19-21.
He will come both on and with
clouds, Matt. 24. 30; Matt. 26. 64 (cf. Dan. 7. 13); Rev. 1. 7;
cf. ‘in a cloud‘, Luke 21. 27; Acts 1. 9-11. He will come in
great power, Matt. 26. 64; Mark 13. 26, and great glory -both
His Father’s and His own, Matt. 16. 27; 25. 31; Luke 21. 27.
He will be accompanied by vast companies of saints and angels,
Matt. 16. 27; 25. 31; 1 Thess. 3. 13; 4. 14; 2 Thess. 1. 7; Rev.
19. 14 (cf. v. 8); also Zech. 14. 5 and Jude 14-15, to be
understood probably in the light of Deut. 33. 3 with Acts 7. 53.
His coming will be highly visible, Rev. 1. 7; it will be as the
lightning flash across the sky, Luke 17. 24, and in ‘flaming
fire’, 2 Thess.1. 8; cf. Isa. 66. 15.
Initially, He will come to the
Mount of Olives, Zech. 14. 4-5; cf. Acts 1. 10-12. The feet
which were once pierced, a little outside of Jerusalem,
Zech.12.10, shall then stand upon the mount to the east of the
city. The mount will cleave, creating a vast escape valley for
those trapped inside the city, fearful for their lives on
account of (a) the proximity of the Beast, (b) the looming
battle between the assembled world powers, and, no doubt, (c)
the earthquake which will have split the mount. (The reference
back to a previous flight before an earthquake in the days of
Uzziah establishes that the passage is to be interpreted
literally.)
The Lord’s approach will
cause the tribes of the earth to wail in dismay, Matt. 24. 30;
Rev. 1. 7. The various world powers assembled in Israel will
drop all plans for conflict between themselves and will unite to
wage war against the Lamb and His heavenly army, Ps. 2. 1-3;
Rev. 17. 14; 19. 19. Doubtless, they will hurl at Him the most
powerful weapons they possess - but these will avail nothing!
‘The Lord shall have them in derision‘, Ps. 2. 3, 9. He will
‘go forth, and fight against those nations‘, Zech. 14. 3.
The Beast’s base camp at Jerusalem will be destroyed and
replaced by the Lord’s own dwelling there, Joel 3. 17.
Although there is no clear statement that the Lord’s heavenly
armies will be involved in any conflict (indeed, the armies of
Revelation 19. 14 hardly appear dressed for battle!), it seems
that the men of Judah will be given the satisfaction of sharing
in the Lord’s victory at Jerusalem itself, Zech. 14. 14; cf.
Mal. 4. 3.
Israel’s great Deliverer will
come from Zion to save them, Joel 3. 16; Rom. 11. 26; cf. Jer.
30. 7; Dan. 12. 1. He (and possibly His angelic ‘mighty ones‘)
will do battle with the forces then assembled in ‘the Valley
of Jehoshaphat‘, probably the region of the Kidron valley
outside of Jerusalem, Joel 3. 9-16. (‘Jehoshaphat‘ carries
the appropriate meaning, ‘the Lord judges‘.)
If there is an actual conflict
at Har-Magedon, it will likely take place immediately after and
as an extension of that in the Valley of Jehoshaphat. It should
be noted that Scripture does not actually speak of a ‘battle
of‘ (or ‘at‘) Har-Magedon; indeed, the word translated ‘battle‘,
Rev. 16. 14, means ‘war‘ rather than a single battle. It is
possible that Har-Magedon will serve only as a rallying point
and camping ground for the assembled forces, which will move
from there to the area around Jerusalem before the final
conflict, but the impression given is that there will be an
actual confrontation at Har-Magedon, Rev. 16. 14, 16. Also, at
some point, the Lord will personally execute vengeance upon
Edom, south-east not only of Jerusalem but of the land of Israel
itself, Isa. 63. 1-6
It is no doubt significant that
the lake of blood which flows from the ‘great winepress of the
wrath of God‘ is seen to extend for 183 British miles (200
Roman miles), Rev. 14. 18-20; cf. Isa. 63. 3,6; Joel 3. 13. The
distance from Dan to Beersheba is some 145 miles. Clearly,
therefore, the destruction of the assembled armies will involve
an area roughly the size of Palestine. ‘The slain of the Lord
shall be many‘, Isa. 66. 15-16. (How fitting that the
winepress will be trodden ‘outside the city‘, Rev. 14. 20,
for it was outside that very city that the Lord was crucified,
John 19. 17, 20. Once it was His ‘own blood‘ which was shed
there, Heb. 13. 12; now it will be the blood of His foes.)
The Lord’s main destructive
weapon will be the word which comes out of His mouth, Ps. 2. 5;
Isa. 11. 4; 30. 21; Joel 3. 16; 2 Thess. 2. 8; Rev. 19. 15, 21.
This will be His only ‘sword‘. Note that He has a name
written where a sword would normally hang - it is ‘King of
kings‘, Rev. 19. 16. He has only to speak and it is done! No
doubt it is His word which will give rise to the greatest
earthquake ever known, to hailstones, each weighing about a
hundredweight, and to a plague which will consume the eyes and
tongues of those who presume to war against His city, Zech. 14.
12; Rev. 16. 18-21. Also, as so often in the past, the Lord will
cause confusion and division among His foes, Zech. 14. 13. The
devastation will be terrific, leaving millions of corpses and
necessitating the cleansing of the land by vast numbers of
carrion-fed birds, Rev. 19. 17-18, 21.
The Beast and his empire will
be destroyed, Dan. 7. 11. The Beast himself will have his
dominion taken away, v. 26. When ‘that determined shall be
poured upon the Desolator‘, Dan. 9. 27 lit, he ‘shall come
to his end’, 11. 45. He will be destroyed by the breath of the
Lord’s mouth, 2 Thess. 2. 8. Together with his vice-regent,
the False Prophet, the Beast will have the dubious distinction
of being cast alive into the lake of fire, Rev. 19. 20. As two
good and godly men have in the past been carried direct to
heaven without dying, 2 Kgs. 2. 11; Heb.11. 5, so these two bad
and ungodly men will in the future be consigned direct to
eternal fire. Described as ‘the son of perdition‘, 2 Thess.
2. 3, to ‘perdition‘ the Beast will assuredly go, Rev. 17.
8, 11.
This will bring a sudden and
violent end to the long period of Gentile rule, Dan. 2. 34-35,
44-45. The times of the Gentiles now fulfilled, Jerusalem will
never again be trodden down of the Gentiles, Luke 21. 24. Nor
will it ever again be thrown down, Jer. 31. 38-40.
‘Blessed is he that comes in
the name of the Lord‘, will be the people’s glad
acknowledgement, Matt. 23. 39. But their shout of triumph will
suddenly turn to wailing and lamentation as their blind eyes are
opened, and they recognize the glorious Lord as none other than
the One they have for so long despised and rejected, Zech. 12.
10-14; Rev. 1. 7. The whole nation will then make the same
discovery once made by Saul of Tarsus, Acts 9. 3-5. Following
their ‘Damascus Road‘ awakening, there will be universal,
but individual, mourning. Then, through their tears, they will
be able to say Isaiah 53. 3-6!
THE SEQUEL
The whole nation of Israel will
be regathered to their own land ‘from. the four corners of the
earth‘, Isa. 11. 11-12; Jer. 23. 3; Ezek. 34. 11, 13; 36. 24;
37. 31; Matt. 24. 31; ‘none of them‘ will be left behind,
Ezek. 39. 28-29. This gathering will be permanent, Amos 9.
14-15, as will be the reunion between the northern and southern
kingdoms under one Davidic King, Ezek. 37.16-25; cf. Isa. 11.
10-13. As a result of their suffering during the Great
Tribulation and their purging by the Lord at His coming, the
nation will be purified and spiritually restored to Him, Ezek.
20. 33-38; Zech. 13. 9; Matt. 24. 39- 42, 49-50; Rom. 11. 26-27.
They will be contrite, Zeph. 3. 11-13; chastened,
Jer. 30. 14; corrected in measure, Jer. 30. 11 (cf. 46.
27-28) and cleansed from their filthiness and idolatry,
Ezek. 36. 25, 29, 33; 37. 23; Zech. 13. 2. When the Lord comes
to His temple, the house of Levi will be purged and purified,
Mal. 3. 1-5.
The Messiah will have the
glory, dominion and kingdom, Dan. 18. 25-27. His kingdom will be
universal, Dan. 2. 35, and everlasting, v. 44 -unconditionally
His as long as the heavens endure, Ps. 89. 3-4, 28-37; cf. Isa.
9. 6-7; Luke 1. 30-33. The Lord shall be King in that day, Ps.
2. 6; Jer. 23. 5; Zech. 14. 9, and the kingdoms of the earth
will all be His, Zech. 9. 10; Rev. 11. 15. His past humiliation
and present rejection will then be requited by glory and
universal acclaim.
Israel will exist ‘as a
nation‘ as long as the heavens continue, Jer. 31. 35-37, and
at this point the kingdom will be restored to them, Acts 1. 6-7.
(Note that, having spoken to the disciples of the kingdom for
forty days, Acts 1. 3, the Lord did not correct their
expectations for Israel as false or unwarranted. He simply
pointed out that the Father had reserved the timing to Himself;
it was a matter of ‘when‘ not ‘whether‘.)
At some time immediately
following the second advent:
1 Saints slain during the Great
Tribulation will be raised, Rev 20. 4-6. So, probably, will be
the saints of Old Testament times; see Isa. 26. 19; Ezek. 37.
12-13, and Dan. 12. 2-3.
2 There will be a time of
sifting and discrimination. The Lord will come with His fan in
His hand to separate the wheat and the chaff, Matt. 3. 17. The
bad shall then be taken away and the righteous ‘shall shine
forth as the sun‘ in the kingdom, Matt. 13. 38-43; cf. vv.
47-50.
3 All nations will be judged,
Matt. 25. 31-46. Their destiny will be settled on the ground of
whether they will have practically expressed faith in the
Messiah by deeds of kindness and sympathy towards His ‘brethren‘.
The ‘blessed‘ will inherit and enter the kingdom, v. 34,
being required to make annual pilgrimages to Jerusalem for the
feast of tabernacles, Zech. 14. 16-19.
4 There will be dramatic
topographical and physical changes:
- A vast plain will extend
from 10 miles north of Jerusalem to 35 miles south-west,
Zech. 14. 10. Jerusalem will then be exalted above all the
surrounding terrain, Isa. 2. 2; Mic. 4. 1-2.
- Living waters will flow
without intermission from Jerusalem, Zech. 14. 8. A fountain
will flow out of the Lord’s house, Joel 3. 18; cf. Ezek.
47. 1-12. ‘There is a river, the streams whereof make glad
the city of God‘, Ps. 46. 4; cf. the context of vv. 6-10.
- The creation itself will be
set free from its present bondage to corruption, Rom. 8.
19-22; cf. Isa. 11. 4-9.
It seems likely that these
events, along no doubt with many others, will take place during
the 2 1/2 months (75 days) immediately following the Lord‘s
second advent; cf. Dan. 12. 12 with Dan. 7. 25; 12. 7; Rev. 11.
2; 12. 6, 13-14.
In this short series, we have
suggested one possible outline of events surrounding our Lord‘s
second advent. Such are the uncertainties in piecing together
the details of events yet future, I make no pretence at having
got it right. The one thing about which we can be certain is
that some day the Son of Man will come – and, who knows, the
scene, sequence and sequel may even be something like these
articles have suggested.
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