1. “Jesus...will come in the same way as you beheld Him going into heaven” (Acts 1:11).
The Greek word translated “come” here is erchomai, and it literally means “to come.” This shows that the Lord’s second coming will be an actual coming; it is not just a figure of speech. Throughout the ages some in Christianity have thought that the biblical references to the Lord’s return were merely metaphoric, not references to an actual coming. For example, some have said that the Lord’s second coming refers to the soul and spirit of a believer seeing the Lord when he dies. Acts 1:11, however, says that the Lord’s second coming will be as real as His ascension. He will come in the same way that He ascended into heaven. He went into heaven in a cloud (v. 9), and He will return on a cloud (Matt. 24:30; 26:64; Rev. 1:7). Thus, the Lord’s second coming will be an actual and physical coming.
Others in Christianity have said that the second coming of Christ refers to a time when the gospel has been preached to the entire earth and all the people on earth have been Christianized. This teaching is utterly ridiculous. According to the Bible, not everyone on earth will receive Christ. On the contrary, the Bible shows that people will become utterly evil and be judged by the Lord. The Lord will actually come to judge the world. Therefore, the Lord’s second coming is not a figure of speech, nor does it refer to something that is only spiritual. His coming will be actual and physical.
2. “The Lord Himself...will descend from heaven” (1 Thes. 4:16).
The Greek word translated “descend” here is katabaino, and it literally means “to descend.” The Lord’s second coming will be a descent. Since the Lord ascended to the heavens, He surely will descend from the heavens at His second coming. This verse also says that the Lord Himself will descend from heaven. Therefore, He will come physically.
3. “The revelation of Jesus Christ” (1 Pet. 1:7; see also 1 Cor. 1:7).
The Greek word translated “revelation” here is apokalupsis, and it literally means “unveiling,” or “revelation.” This unveiling is like the opening of a curtain that allows people to see something that was concealed. Thus, it is a revelation. The Lord Jesus is concealed today, as if behind a curtain in the heavens where no one can see Him. But when He returns, the curtain of the heavens will be opened to reveal Him so that all will see Him.
4. “The coming of the Son of Man” (Matt. 24:27, 37, 39; see also 2 Pet. 1:16).
The Greek word translated “coming” here is parousia, and it literally means “presence.” The same word is translated as “presence” in Philippians 2:12. To His believers the Lord’s return will involve His presence with them. The Lord’s presence will begin before the great tribulation when the overcoming believers are raptured (see chapter 59) and last until the end of the great tribulation when the Lord will descend to reveal Himself to the world. Thus, the Lord’s presence, His parousia, will last for a period of three and a half years, which will be the last half of the last seven years of the church age. During this time the Lord will rapture believers into His presence at different times. With respect to the believers, His coming involves their rapture to His presence; with respect to the Lord, His presence involves His coming to the believers.
5. “The appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Tim. 6:14; see also 2 Tim. 4:1, 8; Titus 2:13).
The Greek word translated “appearing” here is epiphaneia, and it literally means “appearing, manifestation.” The Lord’s appearing is something more than revelation (apokalupsis). Revelation involves the opening of a curtain, and appearing involves the manifestation of oneself.
6. “The manifestation of His coming” (2 Thes. 2:8).
The coming (parousia) of the Lord is over a period of time. The Lord’s parousia will start when the Lord raptures the overcomers to heaven to be with Him before the beginning of the great tribulation. Beginning at this time, the Lord’s parousia, that is, His coming, will last for three and a half years until His appearance is manifested. This manifestation (epiphaneia), or appearance, is what the Bible calls the manifestation (epiphaneia) of His coming (parousia). The Lord’s return involves a period of time, the parousia (coming), and a point in time, the epiphaneia (manifestation). The parousia (coming) is a longer period of time; the epiphaneia (manifestation) is a short point in time. His manifestation will be a point in time at the end of a longer period of time of His coming; therefore, 2 Thessalonians speaks of the epiphaneia of His parousia.
In order to understand the Lord’s return, we must understand the word parousia. If we do not understand that this word refers to His coming over a period of time, we will not understand why the Lord’s return begins before the great tribulation but does not consummate until the end of the tribulation, a period of three and a half years. We will also be unable to understand why some places in the Bible speak of the Lord coming before the great tribulation, and other places speak of His coming after the great tribulation. If we see that the Lord’s second coming is a parousia, that is, a coming over a period of time, these questions will be answered. Since the Lord’s second coming involves a period of time, there will be a lengthy period from its beginning to its end, beginning before the great tribulation and ending at the end of the great tribulation.
The Bible shows that the Lord’s second coming is an actual coming and that the Lord Himself will descend from the heavens to be manifested before men. His coming with respect to His believers involves a long period of time, the time of His presence, which begins before the great tribulation and ends at the end of the great tribulation. It will last for three and a half years. At the end of the great tribulation, the coming of His presence will be manifested when He comes to earth to appear to men. His coming is hidden and secret at the beginning and manifested and open at the end. In order to understand the Lord’s second coming, we must understand and remember these fine details, or we will not be clear.