The two climactic events of the great tribulation are the campaign of Armageddon and the second coming of Jesus Christ—when Jesus returns to the earth as King of kings and Lord of lords.
There is nothing more clearly stated in the Bible than the fact that Jesus Christ is coming again. The return of Christ to the earth—his visible, literal, physical, glorious return—is explicitly referred to 1,845 times in the Bible. It is mentioned in twenty‑three of the twenty-seven New Testament books.
The first prophecy ever spoken by a man concerned the second coming—Enoch foretold of the Lord coming to judge the earth (Jude 14). Also, the final prophecy ever given deals with the second coming (Revelation 22:20).
The Bible tells us that Christ will return for at least six purposes:
To Conquer
Christ is coming to defeat the Antichrist and his armies (Revelation 19:19‑21).
To Regather and Restore
One of the most frequently mentioned promise in the Old Testament is God’s vow that he will one day regather and restore the nation of Israel (Isaiah 43:5‑6; Jeremiah 30:10; 33:6‑9; Ezekiel 36:24-38; 37:1‑28). This regathering of Israel began primarily in the 1890s under the influence of Jewish journalist Theodor Herzl and was formalized in 1948 with the creation of the modern state of Israel and will continue until the second coming of Christ. During the tribulation period, Israel will be scattered for the final time, and then at the second coming, Christ will gather the believing Jews together and restore them as his people (Isaiah 11:11‑16). Christ taught this to his disciples:
Then at last, the sign that the Son of Man is coming will appear in the heavens, and there will be deep mourning among all the peoples of the earth. And they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he will send out his angels with the mighty blast of a trumpet, and they will gather his chosen ones from all over the world—from the farthest ends of the earth and heaven (Matthew 24:30‑31).
To Judge the Living
When Christ returns, all Gentiles who survived the tribulation period will appear before him, and he will determine whether they can enter his kingdom (Matthew 25:31‑46). This is the judgment at which “separates the sheep from the goats” (verse 32). In addition, Christ will gather all living Jews in the wilderness to determine who can enter the kingdom (Ezekiel 20:33‑38).
To Resurrect the Dead
One of the events that will happen soon after the second coming as, described in Revelation 19:11‑21, is the resurrection and rewarding of Old Testament believers and martyred tribulation believers, who will then reign with Christ (Revelation 20:4‑6; see also Daniel 12:1‑4).
To Bind the Devil (Revelation 20:1-3)
After Christ returns to defeat the Antichrist, he will bind Satan in the bottomless pit for 1,000 years.
To Establish Himself as King (Revelation 19:16)
Christ will return as King of kings and Lord of lords! He will come to sit on his glorious throne and reign over the earth (Daniel 2:44; Matthew 19:28; Luke 1:32‑33). The apostle John described Christ’s return as such: “Look! He comes with the clouds of heaven. And everyone will see him—even those who pierced him. And all the nations of the world will mourn for him. Yes! Amen!” (Revelation 1:7).
