The Second Coming of Jesus Comes Before The Last Judgement

Many believers understand that the second coming of Jesus Christ is when He will destroy the world and take the saved to Heaven. However, the Bible says oppositely. The Bible explains that the second coming of Jesus must come before the last judgement and teach His people the true faith that has been lost.

Why Jesus Must Come Again

The Bible states that Jesus will come a second time. In regard to His return, Jesus explains the situation that the people will be in.

Luke 18:8 I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?

2,000 years ago Jesus questioned whether or not He would find faith at His second coming. If people have faith at the time of His second coming there would be no reason to ask this question. The fact that Jesus asks this rhetorical question only proves that when He comes a again He will not find people with the correct faith. If He comes a second time to this faithless world on the last day, who will be saved? Through this we can see that Jesus cannot come as the last judge when He comes a second time, otherwise everyone would be destroyed due to their incorrect faith. This is why Jesus must come to restore the true faith before the last judgement.

Appearance As the Last Judge

When it comes to Judgement Day, the Bible is consistent in how God will appear. Whether it is in the Old or New Testament, God’s purpose and appearance is described in the same manner.

Isaiah 66:15-16 See, the Lord is coming with fire, and his chariots are like a whirlwind; he will bring down his anger with fury, and his rebuke with flames of fire. For with fire and with his sword the Lord will execute judgment on all people, and many will be those slain by the Lord.

2 Thessalonians 1:7-10 And give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels. He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus…on the day he comes to be glorified in his holy people and to be marveled at among all those who have believed.

God’s purpose and appearance does not change when He comes as the last judge. As the last judge He will come to pronounce His judgement and He will do so by coming with fire. Yet, when Jesus describes Himself at His second coming we cannot find the same description.

Appearance At Jesus’ Second Coming

Even at Jesus’ first coming the disciples were curious about when Jesus would come a second time (Mt 24:3). In response, Jesus said the following:

Matthew 24:30-31 Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then all the peoples of the earth will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory. And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.

Even though Jesus was speaking to His disciples at that time, these words were meant for us today. When we compare how Jesus described His second coming to how He described Himself as the last judge, we do not see any similarities. Jesus’ purpose when He comes again is to gather His people and His appearance is with clouds. This is the opposite of appearing with blazing fire and coming to destroy. The reason why Jesus describes His second coming and the last judgement differently is because they are not the same event; they happen at different times. Jesus tells us that when He comes again it will be before we receive our redemption of going to Heaven, before the last judgement (Lk 21:27-28). Therefore if we want to know who second coming Christ is, we must study the prophecies concerning Him (Jn 5:39).