The Second Coming Introduces the Millennium.
“For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first.” – 1 Thessalonians 4:16.
Here are the saints (God’s faithful devotees) being raised “first”—in the first resurrection. And it takes place amidst the glory and grandeur of the second coming of Jesus. This marks the beginning of the millennium. The righteous dead are described as rising first to meet the Lord. Then Paul continues with these words: “Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.” – 1 Thessalonians 4:17.
Picture that scene of transcendent joy and wonder. The saints are raised from their dusty beds and changed into glorious immortality. At the same moment, the righteous living are caught up into the clouds also, and are given immortal bodies just like the resurrected ones. Paul writes: “Behold, I show you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed. In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible…and this mortal must put on immortality.” – 1 Corinthians 15:51-53. Possessing those new bodies that will never suffer pain or death, all the saved ones will be caught up to meet Jesus in the air. His feet will not touch the earth at that time. He has come to honour the promise made to His people just before leaving this earth: “There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. … When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am..” – John 14:2, 3.
John’s vision of the future places God’s people in heaven. That is where Jesus promised to take them—to His Father’s house and the place He had prepared. This will not be the permanent home of the saved, but it is surely the place where Christ takes them to spend a thousand years with Him.
But what about the unsaved who will live until Christ’s return? How are they affected?
Paul answers: “And God will provide rest for you who are being persecuted and also for us when the Lord Jesus appears from heaven. He will come with his mighty angels, in flaming fire, bringing judgment on those who don’t know God and on those who refuse to obey the Good News of our Lord Jesus. They will be punished with eternal destruction, forever separated from the Lord and from his glorious power.” – 2 Thessalonians 1:7-10.
John describes the desperate attempts of the wicked to escape from Christ’s presence when He returns. They will hide in the dens and rocks of the mountains, and pray, “Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?” – Revelation 6:16, 17. Cut down by the glorious appearing of the one they have scorned. Matthew 24:27, 28.
The earth itself will be a shambles during the thousand years, because of the devastating earthquake which attends the coming of Christ. “And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great… And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found.” – Revelation 16:18, 20.
The physical results of this convulsive earthquake are alluded to by both Isaiah and Jeremiah. “Behold, the Lord makes the earth empty, and makes it waste… The land shall be utterly emptied, and utterly spoiled: for the Lord has spoken this word… The earth is utterly broken down, the earth is clean dissolved, the earth is moved exceedingly.” – Isaiah 24:1, 3, 19.
The shocks and the after-shocks of that earthquake will spread desolation to every corner of the earth. Inhabited islands will disappear into the sea; great mountain chains will disintegrate and vanish. Jeremiah wrote: I looked at the earth, and it was empty and formless. I looked at the heavens, and there was no light. I looked at the mountains and hills, and they trembled and shook. I looked, and all the people were gone. All the birds of the sky had flown away. I looked, and the fertile fields had become a wilderness. The towns lay in ruins, crushed by the Lord’s fierce anger. This is what the Lord says: “The whole land will be ruined, but I will not destroy it completely.” – Jeremiah 4:23-27. NLT
At the coming of Jesus, every work of man will be humbled to the dust. Skyscrapers are levelled to the ground, the sky darkens, and even the birds disappear. The righteous are removed from the earth and all the wicked are slain. No wonder the Bible says that it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. To be unprepared in that day is the greatest tragedy to be imagined.