The Second Coming in the Book of Revelation

The Second Coming in the Book of the Revelation.

The question of the Second Coming in the book of the Revelation is complex. There is a fundamental question about the structure of the book of Revelation that has to be addressed before we can look at the texts concerning the Second Coming.

There are two main approaches to understanding the structure of Revelation: The Chronological and the Cyclic interpretations.

The first approach to Revelation is the Chronological Interpretation. In this approach Revelation is understood to be a series of events revealed to John in chronological order of their occurrence on earth. Thus the Seals precede the Trumpets in earth time, and the Trumpets precede the Bowls in earth time.

Some interpreters have argued that because, in the text, the Trumpets appear to arise out of the Seventh Seal then they necessarily follow the Seals in time. The Trumpets seem to be introduced before the details of the Seventh Seal are given (8:1-5).

Of course this may not be the case at all. Two reasons can be put forward against this approach. First, John saw the visions in a translation experience where he was taken up into heaven. Who knows what sort of time is experienced in heaven? Nor do we know how “heaven – time,” if such there be, relates to earth time. Second, the fact that John sees the visions in a particular sequence in no way directs that they have to be fulfilled in that order, or even sequentially at all. It may be only a factor of the nature of prophetic experience; namely, a person can only receive one vision at a time on a conscious level. So the reception of the visions, by human necessity, has to be in an order. Though I am not a visionary myself I have talked to some who are. It is not uncommon for visions to flow in rapid succession to each other. In such cases a new vision can “crash into” the completion of an old one, but this does not necessarily indicate a connection between the old and the new vision, either in content or in sequence of events depicted in the visions.

It is thus a big leap to say, “John saw them in this sequence so it has to happen on earth in this sequence.”

The second approach to Revelation is the Cyclic Interpretation. In this approach Revelation is understood to be a series of visions revealed to John one after the other but the events of each vision, in some cases, run parallel in earth time. Thus the Seals, Trumpets and Bowls run concurrently in earth time, at least partially.

There are, of course, variations on each of these two main approaches but these need not concern us here. Before we can answer the question, “What does Revelation teach about the Second Coming?” we need to answer the basic structure question, “Which is right, the Chronological or the Cyclic interpretation?” Unless we see how the structure of the book fits together we will not be able to see how the references to the Coming of Christ make sense in that structure.

The key to answering this question is found when we look at the Seventh in each of these series: the Seals, Trumpets and Bowls.

The Seventh Seal.

“When he opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.

And I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and to them were given seven trumpets.

Another angel, who had a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense to offer, with the prayers of all the saints, on the golden altar before the throne.  The smoke of the incense, together with the prayers of the saints, went up before God from the angel’s hand.  Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and hurled it on the earth; and there came peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning and an earthquake (Rev  8:1-5).”

8:1 introduces the Seals but then there seems to be a break. 8:2 introduces the Trumpets but the vision of the Trumpets is crashing in on the vision of the Seals. 8:3,4 belongs to the Seals series - they are, of course, the answer to the prayer of the saints recorded in Rev 6:9-11, the fifth Seal. This is indicated by two facts. First, the angel takes the fire from the altar under which the praying saints are found and, second, he mixes it with the prayers of the saints. Thus the connection between Revelation 8:3-5 and the Seals sequence is sure, indicating that they are the description of the seventh Seal.

The Seventh Trumpet.

“The seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, which said: “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign for ever and ever.”

And the twenty-four elders, who were seated on their thrones before God, fell on their faces and worshiped God,  saying: “We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty, the One who is and who was, because you have taken your great power and have begun to reign.  The nations were angry; and your wrath has come. The time has come for judging the dead, and for rewarding your servants the prophets and your saints and those who reverence your name, both small and great- and for destroying those who destroy the earth.”

Then God’s temple in heaven was opened, and within his temple was seen the ark of his covenant. And there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake and a great hailstorm (Rev 11:15-19).)”

The Seventh Bowl.

“The seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and out of the temple came a loud voice from the throne, saying, “It is done!”

Then there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder and a severe earthquake. No earthquake like it has ever occurred since man has been on earth, so tremendous was the quake.

The great city split into three parts, and the cities of the nations collapsed. God remembered Babylon the Great and gave her the cup filled with the wine of the fury of his wrath.

Every island fled away and the mountains could not be found.

From the sky huge hailstones of about a hundred pounds each fell upon men. And they cursed God on account of the plague of hail, because the plague was so terrible

(Rev 16:17-21).”

These three certainly sound similar, “Flashes of lightening, peals of thunder, a great earthquake, rumblings and huge hailstones,” but are they three descriptions of the same event, or does the same thing happen three times? This is a vital question in understanding the structure of Revelation.

The key to resolve the question one needs to think like a Jew. This is a book written by a Jew using Jewish writing techniques. So we need to understand it as a Jew would understand it. Here again the Jewish Rabbinic principle of Gezera shawa comes into play. The idea that on the Day of the Lord there was going to be a huge storm with lightening, thunder and hail accompanied by earthquakes and cosmic disturbances was basic to Hebrew thought. I covered this elsewhere in this blog. This mantra, “darkness, thunder, lightening, hails, an earthquake” appears repeatedly in the OT in reference to the Day of the Lord. It had become a sort of traditional shorthand for the final judgments of God on the Day of the Lord, the final wrath. Thus a Jewish reader would immediately assume that the seventh seal, trumpet and bowl were the same event. We do not, then, have three massive hailstorms and three great earthquakes but we have one of each which is mentioned three times. Thus the Seventh Seal, the Seventh Trumpet and the Seventh Bowl are the same event. This implies that the Seals parallel the Trumpets which also parallel the Bowls in earth time. Thus the Seventh Seal, the Seventh Trumpet and the Seven Bowls (all seven of which are said to be “wrath”) fall on the Day of the Lord.

1.       Seals 1-6 and Trumpets 1-6 run concurrently, except that it seems that the Seals sequence could begin before the Trumpets sequence.

2.        The Seventh Seal, the Seventh Trumpet and the Seventh Bowl are the same event on earth. They are the outpouring of the wrath of God, poured out by God himself at his coming on the Day of the Lord.

3.       The Seven Bowls are all God’s wrath and, as such, all fall on the Day of the Lord.
4. The sixth trumpet - the invasion of the eastern armies over the Euphrates - seems to be dependent on the fact that the sixth bowl - the drying up of the Euphrates - has already occurred.
 
The Seventh Seal does not itself mention the wrath of God but the Sixth Seal announces the coming of God and Christ and the coming of the “great day of their wrath (Rev 6:16).” The wrath does not actually come with the Sixth Seal, it is only announced. It actually comes with the Seventh Seal. This phrase, “the great day of their wrath,” is straight out of the Old Testament and it refers to the Day of the Lord when God and his Christ appear in power and glory at the end of the age. This locks the Sixth and Seventh Seals into the Second Coming on the Day of the Lord. It is hard to imagine how the trumpets and bowls could possibly fit in after this, i.e. after the day of the Lord.

The trumpets series do not describe the wrath of God, but it is clear that the seventh trumpet ushers in the Kingdom of God (Rev 11:15) and the wrath of God (11:18).

Thus “thunder, lightening, earthquakes, loud noises (rumblings) and heavy hail” is actually a description of the “wrath of God,” which is poured out when Christ comes in power and glory.

It could be said that the Seventh Seal and Seventh Trumpet are the Seven Bowls. They seem to be identical. Thus we find that, in Revelation, the wrath of God appears only on the Day of the Lord, the last day of the present age, when God and Christ appear in power and glory to set up their kingdom. This is in accordance with what we have found right through the Old Testament and the New Testament. The Great Tribulation is not the wrath of God, it concludes with the wrath of God but it is not itself the wrath of God.

The structure of Revelation is thus as follows: Revelation consists of an introduction, seven visions each of seven parts and a conclusion:

1:1-8. Introduction.

1:9-3:22. Vision 1. The Seven Churches.

4:1-8:5. Vision 2. The Seven Seals.

8:2,6-11:19. Vision 3. The Seven Trumpets.

12:1-14:5. Vision 4. The Seven Actors of the Last Days.

14:6- 20. Vision 5. The Seven Angels.

15:12-16:21. Vision 6. The Seven Bowls.

17:1-22:6. Vision 7. Seven Last Visions.

22:7-21. Conclusion.

The interesting thing we find is the relationship of the people of God to the wrath of God. Where are the people of God when the wrath comes? John, in composing Revelation, does an amazing thing. Each time before the wrath of God is said to be poured out he talks of the safety of the people of God.

The Wrath in the Seals. As I have said this is the Seventh Seal, but before the Seventh Seal we are told of the Divine seal of protection coming on the saints in the last days (Rev 7:1-8) and then of the appearance of the Great Multitude of the redeemed in Heaven, the raptured saints (Rev 7:9-17).

The Wrath in the Trumpets. As I have said this is the Seventh Trumpet, but before the Seventh Trumpet is revealed we have Revelation chapter 11 which talks of the witnesses of God, who are taken up into heaven: “Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, “Come up here.” And they went up to heaven in a cloud, while their enemies looked on (Rev 11:12).” We are told “these are the two olive trees and the two lampstands (Rev 11:4).” Whatever the “olive trees” means can be debated, but the symbol of “lampstands” has already been interpreted for us: “The Seven lampstands are the seven Churches (Rev 1:20)” where “seven” needs to be understood as a number indicating totality. The seven lampstands thus symbolise the whole Church. In interpreting symbols exegetical integrity demands that we be consistent in interpreting the symbols throughout the book of Revelation. It would be a very strange methodology to not use the interpretation John himself gives of “lampstands.”

Thus we see the rapture of the Church, the witnesses, before we read of the Seventh Trumpet, where wrath is poured out.

The Wrath of the Bowls. Before the first bowl is even poured out we are shown the saints in safety in heaven in Revelation 15.

 “I saw in heaven another great and marvellous sign: seven angels with the seven last plagues- last, because with them God’s wrath is completed.

And I saw what looked like a sea of glass mixed with fire and, standing beside the sea, those who had been victorious over the beast and his image and over the number of his name. They held harps given them by God and sang the song of Moses the servant of God and the song of the Lamb: “Great and marvellous are your deeds, Lord God Almighty. Just and true are your ways, King of the ages. Who will not fear you, O Lord, and bring glory to your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship before you, for your righteous acts have been revealed.”

After this I looked and in heaven the temple, that is, the tabernacle of the Testimony, was opened. Out of the temple came the seven angels with the seven plagues. They were dressed in clean, shining linen and wore golden sashes around their chests.

Then one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden bowls filled with the wrath of God, who lives for ever and ever.

And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from his power, and no one could enter the temple until the seven plagues of the seven angels were completed (Rev 15:1-8).”

Those who had overcome the Beast are seen in heaven, standing beside the sea of glass. “After this” the seven angels with the seven bowls come forth. Truly, as the apostle Paul said, “We are not destined for wrath (1 Thess 5:9).”

So the consistent pattern in Revelation is this: First the Saints are safe (in heaven), then wrath is poured out (on earth).

So to the actual references to the Second Coming in Revelation. There are not many and I shall group them.

References that clearly refer to Christ’s coming at the end of the age, on the Day of the Lord.

 “Look, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him; and all the peoples of the earth will mourn because of him. So shall it be! Amen (Rev 1:7).”

This is clearly the Day of the Lord. It is full of Old Testament imagery and allusions. The fact that “every eye shall see him” clearly says this is the visible appearance of Christ at the end of the age.

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 “I watched as he opened the sixth seal. There was a great earthquake. The sun turned black like sackcloth made of goat hair, the whole moon turned blood red, and the stars in the sky fell to earth, as late figs drop from a fig tree when shaken by a strong wind. The sky receded like a scroll, rolling up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place.

Then the kings of the earth, the princes, the generals, the rich, the mighty, and every slave and every free man hid in caves and among the rocks of the mountains. They called to the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! For the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand? (Rev 6:12-17).”

The idea of the “stars of the sky fell to earth” is the same as Matthew’s, “the stars fell from the sky (24:29)” and Peter’s “The heavens will disappear with a roar (2 Pet 3:10).” This indicates that this is the Day of the Lord in view here. Though this is recorded early in Revelation it is, in fact the End, showing that the cyclic interpretation I have adopted is correct.

 In Revelation “he who sits on the throne” is always God the Father. Christ is never seen on the throne in Revelation. This passage, the Sixth Seal, as we have already discussed, is introducing the Day of the Lord, the day of “their Wrath.” This is confirmed by the fact that the peoples of the earth listed here want to be hidden from “the face of him who sits on the throne.” This is a visible appearance of God, face to face – and sinful mankind does not want it.

This idea of the coming of the Lord and his Messiah in judgment on the Day of the Lord is straight out of the Old Testament (Isaiah 2:10, 19-21). That this is the Day of the Lord appearance of God and his Christ is confirmed by the fact that sinful mankind can see them: “Hide us from the face…” The amazing thing is that all mankind seems to know what is happening – there is no doubt as to what is going on.

This is actually the beginning by John in Revelation of an exposition of Psalm 2. The Psalm is directly quoted, or clearly alluded to, several times between Revelation chapter 6 and chapter 12. The allusion here is to the phrases in Psalm 2: “the kings of the earth…and the rulers… The Lord and his anointed (v2)… he rebukes them in his anger and terrifies them in his wrath (v5).”

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 “The seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, which said: “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign for ever and ever.”

And the twenty-four elders, who were seated on their thrones before God, fell on their faces and worshiped God, saying: “We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty, the One who is and who was, because you have taken your great power and have begun to

reign. The nations were angry; and your wrath has come. The time has come for judging the dead, and for rewarding your servants the prophets and your saints and those who reverence your name, both small and great - and for destroying those who destroy the earth.”

Then God’s temple in heaven was opened, and within his temple was seen the ark of his covenant. And there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake and a great hailstorm (Rev 11:15-19).”

The actual coming of God and Christ are not mentioned directly here but they are implied. Three things indicate this.

First, God is here called “the One who is and who was.” On the surface this may not seem significant but when we compare this phrase with its other usages in Revelation we find an interesting omission occurs here in 11:17.

“Grace and peace to you from him who is, and who was, and who is to come (Rev 1:4).”

 “… they never stop saying: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come (Rev 4:8).”

In the other usages the phrase “and is to come” is included. It is omitted from 11:17 because God has already come.

Second, the kingdoms of the world “have become” the kingdom of God, at long last! This is not talking about some hidden kingdom but here we see the visible manifestation of the kingdom of God. This is fulfilling what Paul says that “Christ must reign until all his enemies are under his feet, THEN he delivers the kingdom to his Father (I Cor 15:25-28).” And it is the fulfillment of Daniel 2 where the great image is destroyed by a stone which grows to become a great mountain that fills the whole earth - symbolising the kingdom of God.

The visible coming of the kingdom is clearly seen in two things that are closely related; the pouring out of God’s wrath on the guilty, and the rewarding of the saints. These two must happen together in time according Hebrew legal jurisprudence. Also it is time to “destroy those who destroy the earth.”

The third thing that clearly puts this event at the Day of the Lord is the fact that the resurrection has come, “The time has come for judging the dead.” Though this does not specifically state the resurrection has happened it is implied. A precondition for the dead to be judged is that they are raised from the dead in order to be judged.

This passage again refers back to Psalm 2. The mention of “wrath (Psalm 2:5)” coinciding with the installation of God’s messiah as king on that day beginning his rule come from Psalm 2: “today I have become your father (Psalm 2:7).”

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“A great and wondrous sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head. She was pregnant and cried out in pain as she was about to give birth.

Then another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on his heads. His tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky and flung them to the earth. The dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that he might devour her child the moment it was born. She gave birth to a son, a male child, who will rule all the nations with an iron scepter. And her child was snatched up to God and to his throne. The woman fled into the desert to a place prepared for her by God, where she might be taken care of for 1,260 days (Rev 12:1-6).”

One group of interpreters see the rapture of at least part of the church in this passage. This is the group I have become familiar with as “The Man-child Rapture Theory.” This theory holds that the whole church goes through the first half of the Tribulation, the first half of Daniel’s 70^th week. Then, at the mid-point of the Tribulation, a group is raptured out of the world. These are the mature saints, the overcomers. The justification for this view is the following verse: “To him who overcomes and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations - `He will rule them with an iron scepter; he will dash them to pieces like pottery'- just as I have received authority from my Father (Rev 2:26).” The reference to ruling with a rod of iron appears in both passages and so the man-child is identified by this theory with the overcomers. The rest of the church, who are not raptured, is divided into two groups, namely “the woman” and “the rest of her offspring.” I am not sure what criteria are used to divide the rest of the church into these two groups.

The woman is said to be miraculously taken to a place of safety outside of the orbit of the Antichrist. The woman fled into the desert to a place prepared for her by God, where she might be taken care of for 1,260 days (Rev 12:6). We also read of this in the following: “When the dragon saw that he had been hurled to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child. The woman was given the two wings of a great eagle, so that she might fly to the place prepared for her in the desert, where she would be taken care of for a time, times and half a time, out of the serpent's reach. Then from his mouth the serpent spewed water like a river, to overtake the woman and sweep her away with the torrent. But the earth helped the woman by opening its mouth and swallowing the river that the dragon had spewed out of his mouth (Rev 12:13).”

The “rest” are persecuted by the Antichrist: “Then the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to make war against the rest of her offspring - those who obey God's commandments and hold to the testimony of Jesus (Rev 12:17).”

Thus the man-child rapture theory is a mid-tribulation, partial rapture theory. In it the super-spirituals are raptured before things get too bad, another section of the church is somehow miraculously preserved through the Tribulation, while a third group is persecuted by the Antichrist. Of course, those who promote this view always assume that they will be in the super-spiritual "man-child group." Qualification for this group is usually some particular spiritual experience (Baptism in the Spirit or Baptism in Fire) which they have undergone and which others have not.

My personal view is that this interpretation of Revelation 12 is faulty. I believe that what John is describing in this chapter is an apocalyptic picture which connects various events in the history of the world and shows how different events are related to each other. Apocalyptic has this feature – that it tries to show the connections between events in the spiritual realm and events on earth and it tries to show the connections between past, present and future events. So not all of Revelation 12 has to be future – and the assumption that it is, is what leads to confusion.

The imagery he uses is drawn straight from astrology, from the stellar constellations. The woman in the stars is the bride of the promised seed of the woman, who is also his mother. In Bible terms she is Zion, the people of God of all ages who are the redeemed of the earth, those who have been bought by the blood of the death of the seed, the son. The dragon is the seven headed dragon of mythology, found in the stars, known most commonly as Hydra. It is Satan – this is obvious and we are told as much in the text.

The chapter describes several events in (human) history as follows:

(i)                   The rebellion of Lucifer and his angels and their expulsion from the third heavens, the heaven of God.

(ii)                 The defeat of the dragon through the death of the Son of the woman, Christ who is “to rule the nations with a rod of iron.” This, though found in Rev 2:27, is actually a quote from Psalm 2:9 and it refers to the Messiah of God, Christ. It is true that the church comes to share in that rule, but only because they are found “in Christ” – which is the consistent teaching of the New Testament. We will inherit the blessings he has obtained for us. The man-child is thus Christ, and we are shown here in a very brief description, his death, resurrection and ascension to heaven. This is the ground of the future final defeat of the Serpent by the saints.

(iii)                The third phase of the great battle in the heavens is when Satan and his forces are thrown out of the second heavens, the mid-heavens, where Satan’s kingdom is currently centred. This will happen at the end of the age and is undertaken by Michael the archangel and his forces. However they do not do this unaided. The legal right to throw Satan out of the heavens is obtained by the church, the followers of Jesus: “they overcame him (Rev 12:11).” When Satan and his forces are cast out of the heavens at the end of the age they have only one place they can come to, one place where they have some legal claim, and that is earth: “he was hurled to the earth; and all his angels with him (Rev 12:9).” This clearly initiates the final half of the Tribulation, or the Great Tribulation, a period of “1260 days (Rev 12:6)”, or “time, times and half a time (Rev 12:6, 14)” which is the last half of Daniel’s 70^th week.

(iv)                At this point Satan begins a tremendous persecution of the church: “Then the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to make war against the rest of her offspring – those who obey the God’s commandments and hold to the testimony of Jesus (Rev 12:17).”

At this point we need to be aware of a Jewish way of understanding things which we find repeatedly in the Old Testament. Often Bible writers look at what is one entity from two different vantage points and so they describe the one thing in two ways. This is the case with the people of God. The Bible writers often refer to the people of God as one unit and when they do they will call the people of God by names like the following: Zion, Jerusalem, Israel. When the writer talks in this way he wants to stress something that is true of all of God’s people, it is true of the whole. At other times the writer wants to stress the blessings or events that come to the individual members of the whole. When this is the case he will use phrases like: children of Zion, sons (or daughters) of Jerusalem. Thus, in the OT,  the bride of Yahweh is Israel, but the individual faithful people of Israel are the individual guests at the wedding. It is the same entity, but seen from two different points of view. Of course in the NT the Bride is the church, and the guests are the individual members of the church.

This is what John does in this chapter. He describes to us the woman, who is the bride of Christ. She has had a long existence spanning from the earliest men and women of faith after the fall of Adam right through until the last person who gets saved before the Second Coming. Every person of faith is in the Bride of Christ. Thus Paul can tells us that Christ loves the church as his bride (Eph 5:22-33).

At one point in the woman’s existence she brought forth the Messiah. Just as the pictures in the stars depict the future ruler of the earth who will one day save the world from evil; he is born to the woman he marries. Virgo is Cassiopeia who is Andromeda. The seed of Virgo is the King who reigns beside her who actually impregnates her to bring birth to himself. This all doesn’t make sense if it is not talking about Christ. But we know that the Christ is the word of God who impregnated Mary, who was part of the faithful people of God who will one day be his bride, his wife.

And in the stars we see Hydra menacing the man-child king, attempting to destroy him.

So what John describes for us here is one entity, but seen in two ways: The woman, who is his bride, but the woman is made up of “the rest of her offspring” because “she is our mother (Gal 4:26).” This woman had a son and we are his brethren, his brothers and sisters: “both the one who makes men holy and those who are made holy are of the same family, so Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers (Heb 2:11).” We are “the rest of her offspring.”

So what John describes here to us is the fact that, at the end times, Satan will attempt to destroy the church as a whole (the woman) but God will in some way prevent this total destruction. However there will be individuals amongst the church who will be martyrs.

Thus the rapture of the man-child is not the rapture of the church, or of part of the church, but is the ascension of Christ who died and rose again and ascended to God’s throne.

To me, the fundamental problem with the man-child rapture theory is the unscriptural divisions it makes between parts of the body of Christ. Paul tells us in Ephesians that the church is the body of Christ, there is one body and that body is the bride of Christ. The man-child rapture theory teaches that:

(i)                   Some of the church are in the bride of Christ and some are not.

(ii)                 Some of the church are in “the man-child” and some are not.

(iii)                Some of the church will get raptured before the rest of the church because of their own super-spirituality. Thus salvation, at least for some, is reduced to a works-based gospel. Personal attainment of spirituality becomes the basis of ultimate salvation instead of it being the free gift of God in Christ.

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“Behold, I come like a thief! Blessed is he who stays awake and keeps his clothes with him, so that he may not go naked and be shamefully exposed (Rev 16:15).”

The context of this statement, the seven Bowls, clearly puts the reference to the coming of the Lord on the Day of the Lord. We are already after the coming of Christ on the Day of the Lord when the bowls are poured out. It would not make sense to try to refer this to any other “coming.” The Greek could be translated (as in the RSV), “I am coming like a thief” – as a present perfect, an act in the process of being completed.

Again the motif of a “thief” is being used here in reference to the Day of the Lord, not to a secret rapture prior to this. This is the way it is always used in scripture.

This verse is actually a quote of another verse earlier in Revelation: “Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; obey it, and repent. But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you (Rev 3:3).” This verse does not directly refer to the Second Coming but rather it refers to a coming of the Lord in judgment on a local Church. However because it is quoted in 16:15 we must allow a reference to the Second Coming in 3:3. We must be consistent, John gives us the interpretation of this verse in 16:15 – it refers to the Coming of Christ on the Day of the Lord. It would be a very faulty exegesis that would apply 3:3 to a supposed coming of the Lord seven years prior. Thus the implication of Revelation 16:15 taken in context with 3:3 is that the Church is expecting Christ’s coming on the Day of the Lord.

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 “I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and makes war. His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word

of God.

The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean.

Out of his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. “He will rule them with an iron scepter.” He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS (Rev 19:11-16).”

 I don’t know of a single interpreter who argues that this is other than the coming of Christ in power and glory on the Day of the Lord.

So all the clear references to the Second Coming in Revelation put it on the Day of the Lord at the end of the Tribulation.

 B. References to Christ’s coming in Revelation that don’t give us any clue to the timing of it in relation to other events.

There are two groups of Scriptures we need to look at in this context.

The Letters to the Churches.

The last four letters all have a reference to Christ “coming.” Only one of them (3:11) specifically refers to the Second Coming, the other three references in their context refer to Christ coming in judgment on the particular Church he is addressing. However because 3:3 is quoted in 16:15 and applied to the Second Coming it seems reasonable to allow a reference to the Second Coming in all four of these passages.

 “Only hold on to what you have until I come. To him who overcomes and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations – He will rule them with an iron scepter; he will dash them to pieces like pottery – just as I have received authority from my Father (Rev 2:25-27).”

There is no indication in this passage as to when Christ will come, unless we take the phrase in the next sentence “does my will to the end” to be a time key. If it is a time key then “the end” always means in Scripture, “the end of the age, the Day of the Lord.” So this passage would seem to be teaching that the Church, Christians, will be around until the Day of the Lord and should keep on doing God’s will until then. The phrase “the end” is used in this way in Matthew 24:14 so it is a justified interpretation. The phrase “the end,” referring to a future event, is not used in any other sense in Scripture.

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 “Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; obey it, and repent. But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you (Rev 3:3).”

We have already discussed this: the quoting of it in 16:15 means it refers to the Day of the Lord.

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“I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown (Rev 3:11).”

Again no time clue. The reference to the “crown,” the reward, would place this “coming” at the time of the judgment, which11:18 puts after the seventh trumpet.

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 “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me (Rev 3:20).”

On the surface this does not seem to be a reference to the Second Coming at all but in the context where 2:25 and 3:3 would seem to clearly refer to the Day of the Lord it is reasonable to assume that 3:11 and 3:20 do also. It would be very strange if Jesus (and John recording Jesus’ words) suddenly started to refer to some other time without clarifying it.

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There is one further text from the letters to the seven churches we need to touch on here, because much is made of it by the Dispensational school.. It is Rev 3:10: "Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole earth to test those who live on the earth."

The Dispensational interpretation of this that "the hour of trial" means the (Great) Tribulation and so this is a direct promise of God that he will deliver the church from the Tribulation - i.e. it will not have to go through the tribulation.

Let's start by accepting for a moment, the tribulation is what is being talked about. What the text then says is that those in the church who keep God's word faithfully will be delivered from it. Dispensationals generally believe that the seven letters speak of seven periods of church history and that they are the church relating to Philadelphia - but who is to say they are? It is only a matter of their own opinion and that could be a matter of pride, not of reality.

Also they assume that the churches relating to the other letters still exist and will do so until the End (or at least those dating from the Middle ages do so) - and these churches will comprise at least part of the end time false religion. The promise is only made to the faithful of Philadelphia, not to the whole church that will exist at the end, so an argument for a general rapture and resurrection of the church  cannot be sustained from it. This is a conditional promise - one has to be "faithful." At best this supports only a partial rapture theory - and I have heard it used in that context also. This is not the conclusion Dispensationals would want to come to, but it is unavoidable.

 The second debatable point in the text is the word "from" - "I will keep you from the hour..." Dispensationals argue that this necessarily means we cannot possibly be present on earth while the Tribulation is going on so we must be raptured before it. This is not necessarily so. The Greek word "ek" which has a range of meanings. It can mean, "to keep you from - in the sense of 'out of, away from'." In this case the Dispensational argument may be correct. But it can also mean "to keep you from - in the sense of 'protect you from the events going on around you.'" In this way the events of the plagues that fell on Egypt did not touch the Israelites though they were still in the country living side by side with the Egyptians. Similarly, Revelation talks of various plagues that fall on the earth but they are not able to effect those who have the seal of God on them (Rev 7:3, 9:4.). So an actual removal from the scene is not demanded by the verse - only protection in the scene.

The real question is, "Does the phrase 'the hour of trial' mean the tribulation?" It is an opinion that it does, but it is an opinion that actually has no other scripture to support it. The phrase "hour of trial" appears nowhere else in scripture so it is difficult to tie down exactly what it means. Your guess is as good as mine.

So let me tell you my guess: I think it refers to the outpouring of God's wrath which, I have argued on this blog in other papers, is not the Tribulation, but is the outpouring of God's judgement on the day of the Lord at the end of the Tribulation. If it means this then the Dispensational interpretation does not stand. All this verse tells us then is that we won't be around when the wrath of God falls, and that is something we all knew anyway.

The Conclusion of Revelation.

“Behold, I am coming soon! Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy in this book (Rev 22:7).”

“Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done (Rev 22:12).”

“He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus (Rev 22:20).”

None of these three Scriptures specifically give a time clue so that we can tell when it is talking about. But there are some considerations that can guide us:

(i)                               All three are clearly talking about the same event.

(ii)                             22:12 talks of rewards and 11:18 has already identified the time for giving rewards to be with the Seventh Trumpet.

(iii)                            The only “coming” clearly talked about in the book of Revelation is the Coming of God and Christ on the Day of the Lord. If these verses are not referring to that coming then it is very strange. Would John talk of a different coming without explaining the difference? I think not. The Law of Context demands that this is referring to the Day of the Lord.

(iv)                           The words are clearly addressed to Christians, to the Seven Churches and so speaks of things Christians should do (Rev 1:3).

Question: Are there any other references to Christ’s coming in Revelation?

Answer: No.

Question: Are there any references in Revelation that refer to or imply a Coming prior to the Day of the Lord?    

Answer: No.

C. References to Other Events associated with the Second Coming.

The Resurrection of the Dead and Rapture.

There are three references to the Resurrection or Rapture in Revelation. All of them imply these events are on the Day of the Lord.

The Two Witnesses.

“But after the three and a half days breath of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet…then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, ‘Come up here.’ And they went up into heaven in a cloud… (Rev 11:11, 12).”

I have made a case (above) that these two witnesses are symbolic and represent the Church. This is based on the idea that they are identified as “the two lampstands” and lampstands have already been identified in chapter 1 as “churches.” Thus the martyrdom and subsequent resurrection and rapture of the two witnesses can reasonably be interpreted to refer to the martyrdom of the Church in the Antichrist’s empire and their subsequent resurrection and rapture. Thus the resurrection and rapture here is the end time resurrection and rapture of the Church. Revelation 11:12 seems to coincide with the Seventh, the last, Trumpet.

The Harvest of the Earth.

“I looked, and there before me was a white cloud, and seated on the cloud was one “like a son of man” with a crown of gold on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand.

Then another angel came out of the temple and called in a loud voice to him who was sitting on the cloud, “Take your sickle and reap, because the time to reap has come, for the harvest of the earth is ripe.” So he who was seated on the cloud swung his sickle over the earth, and the earth was harvested (Rev 14:14-16).”

This is the first of two harvests mentioned in Revelation 14, the second is clearly a harvest of evil as it is destined to the wrath of God (14:19). It is logical then to assume that this first harvest is a harvest of righteousness. This is also suggested by the description of the angel who is “like a son of man.” Though not actually Christ (If it were Christ the symmetry of seven angels would be disturbed), he is described as being like Christ and so we are certainly expected to assume that this is the same harvest as we read of in Matthew 13, in the parables of Harvest.

This vision of harvest is one of a series of seven visions that all deal with events on or around the Day of the Lord. It seems logical to assume that these two parables of harvest fit into that time frame.

The First Resurrection.

“I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony for Jesus and because of the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or his image and had not received his mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years. (The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.) This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy are those who have part in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years (Rev 20:4-6).”

This passage is given to us in the context of events that happen on or after the Day of the Lord and so the resurrection/rapture is located then.

The phrase, “the souls of those who had been beheaded…” need not be restricted literally to those who suffer as martyrs in the Great Tribulation. The “mystery of lawlessness is already at work (2 Thess 2:7)” and has been since the Fall of mankind. So, in one sense, all of those who have died in the Lord have been persecuted by Antichrist. Also the phrase “this is the first resurrection” is important. In the context it refers to the resurrection of righteous people at the end of the Great Tribulation. Logically there cannot be another resurrection of saints prior to this as that would mean that this event would not be the “FIRST resurrection.” This verse absolutely eliminates the possibility of a pre-tribulation or mid-tribulation rapture and resurrection. Also the implication of the passage is that the resurrection of the unjust at the end of the Millennium, is the second, or final resurrection.

The Judgment of the Righteous.

We have already looked at some verses about this. 11:18 is clear that the judgment and reward of the righteous is coincidental with the Seventh Trumpet; with Christ’s coming in power and glory on the Day of the Lord.

Also we have seen that in the Hebrew concept of justice the guilty must be punished and the innocent rewarded at the same time. The judgment on the wicked cannot happen until the Day of the Lord, thus the reward of the righteous cannot happen until then. Justice must be seen to be done on both levels.

In short we can say that there is no Scripture that suggests that the judgment of Christians for their rewards will happen before Christ’s coming on the Day of the Lord. Secondly we have seen several Scriptures which say this judgment will happen then. This completely rebuts the Dispensational teaching that the judgment seat of Christ for Christians happens during the Tribulation.

The Marriage Supper of the Lamb.

The reference to the marriage supper of the Lamb in Rev 19:6-9 also indirectly touches on the Second Coming. Before looking at it, we need to get an overall understanding of Jewish marriage practices. The illustration of a marriage is used several times in Scripture to illustrate aspects of our relationship with Christ. It is the more limited illustration of the wedding itself that I want to focus on.

The traditional procedure followed the following pattern (with minor variations):

(1)                 Betrothal – a marriage covenant. The Bride price was negotiated and the Bride “set aside,” “sanctified” for marriage from then on. The future couple drank wine together to seal this covenant.

(2)                 The Bridegroom departs to his father’s house to prepare a room for his bride. Often this was the addition to his father’s house of an extra room, or suite of rooms for the soon-to-be-married couple. Meanwhile she prepares for the wedding – dress, etc. She doesn’t know when he will return for her.

(3)                  When all was prepared a runner would be sent to the Bride’s family to announce the imminent coming of the Groom to collect his Bride. This allowed her time to get into her wedding finery and for final preparations to be made. So though she did not know when he would come for her in general terms she was warned shortly before his coming so she would be ready.

(4)                 When he returned there was a surprise gathering – often at midnight. He would often come on a (White) horse and carry the Bride to his father’s house on his steed. He would come with his “friends” – attendants who would help the Bride in her “moving house.”

(5)                 The Wedding proper: She was escorted to the Bridal chamber, she remained veiled.

(6)                 The Wedding was consummated sexually.

(7)                 The Groom would come out of the chamber and announce the marriage was consummated.

(8)                 The Marriage supper followed – often lasting up to seven days.

(9)                 The Bride was unveiled after the celebrations.

Obviously there are many parallels we could draw to aspects of this picture: we have been betrothed to Christ, sealed, the purchase price has been paid, Christ has returned to his father’s house to prepare a place for us. What interests us in Revelation 19 is the actual wedding ceremony. Note the following words:

 “Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting: “Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready. Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear.” (Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of the saints.) Then the angel said to me, “Write: `Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!’” And he added, “These are the true words of God (Rev 19:6-9).”

In Hebrew tradition a runner was sent to the Bride’s house to announce the wedding. This passage in Revelation 19 is a traditional announcement form: “The time has come.” This is not the wedding itself, the bride has yet to be transported to her husband’s house, but the announcement from the runner gave her time to prepare. The next thing to happen in as Jewish wedding was that the groom traditionally came on a (white) horse to the Bride’s house and carried her away to his house. This is what we see in the following verses where Christ comes on a white horse (19:11). The rapture itself is not actually mentioned but the traditional symbolism implies it – the bride is now “caught away” by the Groom and taken to his father’s house.

There are two interesting “people” mentioned in Rev 19 – the bride and the wedding guests. This is a typical use of Old Testament symbolism, and John uses this often. The “bride” is the people of God seen as one unit, the New Jerusalem, Zion. The “guests” are the people of God who make up the bride, the “children of Jerusalem/Zion,” the citizens of the city. They are not a different group of people but the same people seen from two different vantage points: We, as a unit, are the bride; we are also, individually, the wedding guests. Examples of this “double viewpoint” of the same people abound in the Psalms and the Prophets.

It would be difficult to simply diagram all that we have discussed about the book of Revelation, but we can take a few lines of thought and diagram them. It would look like Diagram 8.1.

Again it looks remarkably like the Old Testament, Matthew 24 and 2 Thessalonians 2. There is no difference.

Conclusion:

As far as we can tell in Revelation there is only one coming of Christ at the end of the Age and this is on the Day of the Lord when God and Christ come in power and glory. There are no texts in Revelation that, taken in context, suggest anything else.

A Final Question: What about Revelation 4:1, 2?

Answer: What about it? What does it have to do with the Second Coming? It is a prophetic experience of John similar to that of the Old Testament prophets.

We would not even have to talk about this verse if it were not for the Dispensational school. In their schema of interpreting Revelation they have to find the rapture in here somewhere, so they say this experience of John’s is symbolic of the rapture of the Church.

This is an amazing assertion – if only because it shows how desperate they are for proofs. It is this school of thought that insists that Revelation be interpreted literally wherever possible, but now, when it suits them, they suddenly insist on a symbolic interpretation. Such inconsistency really should be treated with the contempt it deserves.

The point is this: a doctrine of a pre-tribulation rapture (or any other sort of rapture for that matter) has to be established from the clear passages of scripture that talk about the Lord's coming and/or the rapture. The doctrine MUST be secured before obscure verses (such as Rev 4:1, 2, or Rev 3:10) can be applied to support it. One cannot argue the case for a pre-tribulation rapture from the obscure (and possibly supportive) scriptures unless the doctrine has already been established. If the doctrine cannot be sustained from the clear scriptures, then the obscure scriptures cannot be applied at all.

The fact is this: there are no references to a pre- tribulation rapture of the Church or Coming of the Lord in Revelation. Every text points to a “Day of the Lord” coming.