The Lord's Second Coming and Kingdom

From: The Lord's Second Coming and Kingdom By: William Kelly

• 7 min. read • grade level: 7

1. His Coming a Proper, Personal One

“THIS same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into heaven.” (Acts 1:11¹¹Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven. (Acts 1:11).) The Lord had Himself promised the same thing. “I go to prepare a place for you. . . . . I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.” (John 14). That the Son of man will literally return, and be revealed, is also clear from Luke 12:35-46, 17:22, 37, 18:1-8, 19:11-27, 21:27-36. The last is the more important, because it shows the fallacy of such as suppose Matt. 24:30³⁰And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. (Matthew 24:30), Mark 13:26²⁶And then shall they see the Son of man coming in the clouds with great power and glory. (Mark 13:26), to have been fulfilled in the siege of Jerusalem under Titus. Past and present disasters, “until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled,” are fully described already in Luke 21:20-24²⁰And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh. ²¹Then let them which are in Judea flee to the mountains; and let them which are in the midst of it depart out; and let not them that are in the countries enter thereinto. ²²For these be the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled. ²³But woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck, in those days! for there shall be great distress in the land, and wrath upon this people. ²⁴And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled. (Luke 21:20‑24). Next follows the closing scene—distress of nations with perplexity; and men see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and treat glory. “This generation” (i.e., the present unbelieving race of the Jews) lasts till then; it shall not pass away till all be fulfilled. For “the world to come,” grace will convert “a generation to come.” (Psa. 102:18¹⁸This shall be written for the generation to come: and the people which shall be created shall praise the Lord. (Psalm 102:18).) In a word, death, the outpouring of the and the destruction of Jerusalem, are all distinct things from the advent of the Lord Jesus. He is coming, and quickly. (Rev. 12:7-20.)

2. His Coming Pre-Millennial

“He shall send Jesus Christ . . . whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution (i.e., restoring of all things) which God hath spoken of by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began.” (Acts 3:20, 21²⁰And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you: ²¹Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began. (Acts 3:20‑21).) Jesus is still in heaven, and that blissful period is not yet commenced: His mission and those times upon earth are to run on together. Romans 8:19-23¹⁹For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. ²⁰For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope, ²¹Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. ²²For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. ²³And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body. (Romans 8:19‑23) teaches that creation must groan till the sons of God are manifested. But their manifestation depends on that of Christ. (Col. 3, 4; 1 John 3:3³And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure. (1 John 3:3).) Therefore, the predicted blessing of creation—which is one main feature of the millennium—is to be when Christ and the Church appear in glory; not before. Nay, “ourselves also which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption; to wit, the remedy of our body.” And, confessedly, the redemption of the body, or resurrection, awaits His coming. That is, there is no relief to a groaning creation, or to a groaning Church, till Christ comes; in other words, there can be no millennium till then. Again, Israel is now blinded in part, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. “And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob.” (Rom. 11:25, 26²⁵For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. ²⁶And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob: (Romans 11:25‑26).) Here again we learn that the coming of the Saviour is to accomplish the salvation of all Israel, which is another characteristic of the millennium. With Jeremiah 30:7⁷Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob's trouble; but he shall be saved out of it. (Jeremiah 30:7), and Daniel 12:1¹And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book. (Daniel 12:1), we may compare Zechariah 12, 13, and 14; they will be found to afford fresh proofs. Zechariah 14:2, 8²For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city. (Zechariah 14:2)
⁸And it shall be in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem; half of them toward the former sea, and half of them toward the hinder sea: in summer and in winter shall it be. (Zechariah 14:8) announces that the Lord is to come for the deliverance of the Jews when they are in the deepest trouble; that His feet shall stand upon the same spot He had touched before His ascension—upon the mount of Olives, which is to be cloven in twain; that all the saints shall come with the Lord, and that, after this, living waters shall go out of Jerusalem, and the Lord shall be King over all the earth. Is not this the millennium? It is preceded by the Lord’s coming. Another witness is to be found in such scriptures as 2 Thessalonians 2; 2 Peter 2-3; Jude; 1 John 2, where evil is shown to have been introduced within the bosom of Christian profession from the days of the apostles, and that it is to spread, ripen, and be terminated only by the judgment which the Lord shall execute when He returns. Not the Church, but Christ is to destroy the Antichrist, and this by His personal appearing. His presence gathers the Church above; its shining forth or epiphany destroys the Lawless One here below. (2 Thess. 2:1-8¹Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, ²That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. ³Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; ⁴Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. ⁵Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things? ⁶And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. ⁷For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. ⁸And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: (2 Thessalonians 2:1‑8).) Compare with this Isaiah 11:4⁴But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked. (Isaiah 11:4), to which the allusion is evident. The reign of blessedness on earth ensues:

“When thy judgments are in the earth the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.” Matthew 13 is to the same effect: the Son of man, by His angels, clears the field. 1 Corinthians 15:23-28²³But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming. ²⁴Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. ²⁵For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet. ²⁶The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. ²⁷For he hath put all things under his feet. But when he saith all things are put under him, it is manifest that he is excepted, which did put all things under him. ²⁸And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all. (1 Corinthians 15:23‑28), and 2 Tim. 4:1¹I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom; (2 Timothy 4:1), are very distinct in connecting Christ’s appearing with His kingdom, not with the end, and the end (not with His appearing to reign, but) with the surrender of the kingdom to God the Father. In this kingdom the risen saints reign with Him; they rise to meet Him at His coming, preparatory to His reign. (2 Tim. 2:12¹²If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us: (2 Timothy 2:12); Rom. 8:17¹⁷And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together. (Romans 8:17).) Revelation 19, 20 distinctly prove that Christ and His saints come from heaven to destroy the beast and the false prophet, with their adherents, and then to establish His kingdom on the earth for a thousand years, previously to the judgment of the great white throne, and the new heavens and earth.

3. His Coming Two-Fold; 1, For, and 2, With His Saints

1. For His saints: John 14:3³And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. (John 14:3); 1 Cor. 15:23²³But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming. (1 Corinthians 15:23); 1 Thess. 1:10; 4:13-18¹⁰And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come. (1 Thessalonians 1:10)
¹³But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. ¹⁴For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. ¹⁵For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. ¹⁶For 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: ¹⁷Then 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. ¹⁸Wherefore comfort one another with these words. (1 Thessalonians 4:13‑18); Phil. 3:20²⁰For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: (Philippians 3:20); Rev. 3:10,11¹⁰Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth. ¹¹Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown. (Revelation 3:10‑11).

2. With His saints: Zech. 14:5⁵And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal: yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah: and the Lord my God shall come, and all the saints with thee. (Zechariah 14:5); Col. 3:4⁴When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory. (Colossians 3:4); 1 Thess. 3:13¹³To the end he may stablish your hearts unblameable in holiness before God, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints. (1 Thessalonians 3:13); 2 Thess. 1:10¹⁰When he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe (because our testimony among you was believed) in that day. (2 Thessalonians 1:10); Jude 14¹⁴And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, (Jude 14); Rev. 17:14; 19:14¹⁴These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful. (Revelation 17:14)
¹⁴And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. (Revelation 19:14).

It may be well to notice here that Rev. 4–19, gives us a divine description of the Church’s position in heaven—symbolized by twenty-four crowned elders—after Christ has come for them, and before He comes with them. From the moment they are caught up to meet Him in the air, they are ever with the Lord! With Him in the Father’s house; with Him when the successive judgments (under the figures of seals, trumpets, and vials) are falling on the earth; with Him when the marriage supper of the Lamb is celebrated above; with Him when He comes from heaven to war with His civil and religious enemies; with Him when we reign together on the earth for a thousand years; and with Him in the subsequent eternal state. “So shall we ever be with the Lord.”

4. His Coming and Kingdom Our Proximate Object of Hope, and a Grand Motive of Holiness, Patience, and Faithful Service

5. The Resurrection of the Just Different in Source, Character, Time, and Issues, From That of the Unjust

Luke 14:14; 20:35, 36¹⁴And thou shalt be blessed; for they cannot recompense thee: for thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just. (Luke 14:14)
³⁵But they which shall be accounted worthy to obtain that world, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry, nor are given in marriage: ³⁶Neither can they die any more: for they are equal unto the angels; and are the children of God, being the children of the resurrection. (Luke 20:35‑36); John 5:28, 29; 6²⁸Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, ²⁹And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation. (John 5:28‑29)
²⁹Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent. (John 6:29); Rom. 8:11, 23¹¹But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you. (Romans 8:11)
²³And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body. (Romans 8:23); 1 Cor. 6:14; 15¹⁴And God hath both raised up the Lord, and will also raise up us by his own power. (1 Corinthians 6:14)
¹⁴And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain. (1 Corinthians 15:14); 2 Cor. 4:14; 5:1-10¹⁴Knowing that he which raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also by Jesus, and shall present us with you. (2 Corinthians 4:14)
¹For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. ²For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven: ³If so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked. ⁴For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life. ⁵Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit. ⁶Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord: ⁷(For we walk by faith, not by sight:) ⁸We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord. ⁹Wherefore we labor, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him. ¹⁰For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad. (2 Corinthians 5:1‑10); Phil. 3:11, 20, 21¹¹If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead. (Philippians 3:11)
²⁰For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: ²¹Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself. (Philippians 3:20‑21); Heb. 11:35³⁵Women received their dead raised to life again: and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection: (Hebrews 11:35); Rev. 20:5,6⁵But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. ⁶Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years. (Revelation 20:5‑6). W. K.

O what a bright and blessed worldRev. 11:15

This groaning earth of ours will be,Rom. 8:21²¹Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. (Romans 8:21).

When from its throne the tempter hurl’d,Rev. 20:3³And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season. (Revelation 20:3).

Shall leave it all, O Lord, to Thee.Zech. 14:9⁹And the Lord shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one Lord, and his name one. (Zechariah 14:9)

But brighter far that world above,Rev. 21:10,11¹⁰And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, ¹¹Having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal; (Revelation 21:10‑11).

Where we, as we are known, shall know; 1 Cor. 13:12¹²For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known. (1 Corinthians 13:12).

And, in the sweet embrace of love,John 17:23²³I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me. (John 17:23).

Reign o’er this ransomed earth below.Rev. 21:24²⁴And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honor into it. (Revelation 21:24).

IF THIS TRACT SHOULD FALL INTO THE HANDS OF ANY THAT ARE SAYING, WHAT MUST I DO TO BE SAVED ? THEY WILL FIND THE ANSWER IN ACTS 16:31³¹And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. (Acts 16:31), AND ACTS 26:18¹⁸To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me. (Acts 26:18).

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The Lord's Second Coming and Kingdom

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