In the previous article, we established that Jesus’ second coming will not be secret, and that genuine believers cannot miss the rapture, based solely on the assurance of salvation that Jesus promises, not on the believer’s recent or historic spiritual performance. In this article, we delve into the sequence of events that attend Christ’s second coming; namely, the great tribulation, the rise of the antichrist, the first resurrection, and what is termed as the millennial reign of believers with Christ.
What About the Great Tribulation?
Donnie’s post places the great tribulation immediately after the rapture, referencing the mark of the beast (Revelation 13) and restrictions on commerce for those who refuse it. This is another area of debate. Let us examine where the Bible itself places this event.
We turn first to Matthew 24:3–31, subtitled in the ESV: “The Signs of the End of the Age.” The conversation here is a direct response to a question posed to Jesus by his disciples: “what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” (v3).
As part of the events that will precede His coming, Jesus speaks of wars and rumours of wars, tribulation for believers, the rise of false prophets, and the worldwide proclamation of the gospel. He then refers to the abomination of desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel. And, He says, immediately before His arrival:
“For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be. And if those days had not been cut short, no human being would be saved. But for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short.” (Matthew 24:21–22)
Critically, Jesus speaks of cutting short the tribulation for the sake of His elect—that is, believers will endure it, though preserved by God throughout.
John, writing in 1 John 2:18, notes that “the antichrist is coming”, and places his appearance before the Lord’s return. Paul, in 2 Thessalonians 2, is explicit:
“Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him… Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God.” (2 Thessalonians 2:1–4)
The man of lawlessness—the Antichrist—must be revealed before the day of the Lord’s coming. This aligns with Daniel’s abomination of desolation, referenced by Christ as a sign preceding His return. Revelation 20:4 further confirms this sequence, describing those who will reign with Christ as including “those who had not worshipped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands” – meaning some will face and resist the Antichrist before Christ returns.
A Glorious Future
We now turn our attention to the events that will take place at Christ’s return, and immediately thereafter. The primary proof text is Revelation 20.
As argued in the previous article, 1 Thessalonians 4:16–17 describes the dead in Christ being resurrected and believers still alive being transformed and caught up together to welcome the returning Lord. Notice “the sound of the trumpet of God” (v16b) at Christ’s return. This is the same trumpet Paul references in 1 Corinthians 15:
“Behold! I tell 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 trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality.” (1 Corinthians 15:51–53)
The order is clear: at the trumpet’s sound, the dead in Christ are raised with resurrection bodies; then those still alive are transformed to receive glorified, imperishable bodies as well. Together, they are caught up to meet and escort the Lord back to earth (see the prequel).
Paul continues in the same chapter:
“Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.” (1 Corinthians 15:24–25)
Upon His return, Christ will reign over a mixed people—including those described as His enemies. This is the millennial rule described in Revelation 20. It is worth pausing to examine what Revelation 20 actually says, since this passage is the primary text in the debate between the millennial positions.
In the preceding chapter (Revelation 19:11–21), John has described Christ’s return in glory—the rider on the white horse, the defeat of the beast and the false prophet. The very next scene opens:
“Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain. And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years” (Revelation 20:1–2).
The sequence is instructive: the binding of Satan follows immediately upon Christ’s return and the defeat of the Antichrist—it does not describe the present age. John then sees thrones set up, and those who had been martyred for their witness to Jesus “came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years” (Revelation 20:4). This, John declares, “is the first resurrection” (Revelation 20:5–6): the resurrection of the righteous that precedes the final judgment.
The Amillennial and Postmillennial views
It should be noted that Amillennialists (those who hold that the millennium is not a future, earthly reign but a present, spiritual reality already underway since Christ’s first coming) and Postmillennialists (those who believe Christ will return after a future golden age in which the gospel triumphs and the millennium is realised) understand this passage differently. Amillennialists typically read the binding of Satan as referring to the present age since Christ’s first coming, and the “first resurrection” as the believer’s spiritual resurrection at conversion, or the state of the departed saints reigning with Christ in heaven. These are not frivolous readings; they are held by serious and godly interpreters. However, the premillennial reading commends itself on several grounds, as outlined below.
The passage follows chronologically from the return of Christ depicted in chapter 19. The “first resurrection” is presented alongside physical martyrdom—beheadings are bodily realities, and the plain sense of the passage suggests a corresponding bodily resurrection in response. The binding of Satan is described in vivid, concrete terms—a chain, a pit, a seal, with an explicit beginning and ending point—and sits uneasily with the present age in which Satan is elsewhere described as actively prowling and opposing the church (1 Peter 5:8). And the subsequent earthly reign of Christ aligns with the prophetic vision that runs throughout the Old Testament, some of which we will touch briefly below.
Glorious, But Not Yet Eternal
Several scriptures describe a state in which the earth is deeply renewed, yet sin and death have not been entirely eradicated. Isaiah 65:20, for example, speaks of dramatically extended lifespans alongside the continued reality of sin and death:
“No more shall there be in it an infant who lives but a few days, or an old man who does not fill out his days, for the young man shall die a hundred years old, and the sinner a hundred years old shall be accursed.”
Isaiah 11:6–9 similarly depicts a time when the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea; when the wolf and the lamb will dwell together, the leopard lie down with the kid, and a little child will lead them. Yet the subsequent verses (Isaiah 11:10–11) indicate that some will still be coming to the Lord for salvation during this era—indicating a time of magnificent renewal, but not yet the final, eternal state of absolute righteousness (see also Psalm 72:8–14; Zechariah 14:5–17).
We know for a fact that the eternal state will be marked by the complete absence of sin (2 Peter 3:13) and death (Revelation 21:4). Since these conditions are not yet present in the era described by Isaiah and Zechariah, this must refer to the millennial reign rather than the new creation. Recall that immediately before this millennial reign, Satan will be bound for a specific period of a thousand years (Rev. 20:1-4), so that ‘he might not deceive the nations any longer’.
Amillennial and Postmillennial interpretations of Isaiah 65
It should be acknowledged that Amillennial and Postmillennial interpreters would not generally grant Isaiah 65 as straightforward evidence for a future earthly millennium. Amillennialists often understand such passages as describing the new creation in figurative terms, or as prophetic language fulfilled spiritually in the church (present) age. Postmillennialists may read them as anticipating a golden era of gospel advance prior to Christ’s return.
Even granting this range of readings, however, the continued presence of sin and death in Isaiah 65— “the sinner a hundred years old shall be accursed”—sits uneasily with any description of the eternal state, which Scripture uniformly presents as entirely free from sin and death (2 Peter 3:13; Revelation 21:4). The contrast between the conditions in Isaiah 65 and those of the new creation points toward an intermediate period of magnificent renewal—which is precisely what the premillennial framework calls the millennium.
Revelation 20:1–4 tells us that immediately before this millennial reign, Satan will be bound, so that “he might not deceive the nations any longer.” And yet, even with Satan restrained, the fact that Christ will rule with a rod of iron (Psalm 2:9; Revelation 19:15) further suggests that during this period, there will be those who submit to His authority outwardly but not inwardly—compliance borne of compulsion rather than genuine transformation of heart. Nonetheless, Christ will rule with perfect justice and righteousness (Psalm 72:8–14), and creation will be dramatically renewed – a breathtaking preview of what the world looks like when the rightful King is finally on His throne.
Conclusion
At the close of the millennium, Satan will be released for a season, will incite a final rebellion, but will be decisively and permanently defeated. Then will come the second resurrection (Revelation 20:5, 13), in which the unbelieving dead will also be raised, followed by the final judgment before the great white throne—and then, at last, the eternal state. But these are matters for a separate article.
What we can say here is this: what awaits the people of God is not a fearful escape from a world in chaos, but a glorious homecoming—resurrection, reunion with Christ our Lord, and the renewal of all things under His righteous rule. That is a hope worth holding firmly, and worth being ready for!
