Page 33 - Eschatology - Masters revised

In essence, there are two phases to the Second Coming of Christ: Phase I is the coming in the clouds or
the rapture of the Church. Christ does not actually come down and set His feet on the earth; rather He
comes to receive His Bride in the clouds. Phase II is the coming of Christ with His saints to destroy all
rebellion. He will put His feet down on the Mount of Olives, walk into Jerusalem, and will rule and reign
from the thrown of David in Jerusalem for 1,000 years. We will detail out all these events further in our
study, however, what is important to understand is that when one talks about the second coming of
Christ, one must clarify which phase of His second coming are being referenced. For example, Matthew
24-25 reference Phase II of his coming, while I Thess. 4 reference phase one of His coming.

Phase II of His second coming is spoken of in greatest detail in Revelation 19:11-16, “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.”

Do any prophecies reveal WHEN they will be fulfilled?

Isaiah 2:2 foretold that in the last days the Temple of God would stand again. “And it shall come to pass
in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established in the top of the mountains,
and shall be exalted above the hills, and all nations shall flow unto it.

So, we do know that the generation who sees the rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem may be the
generation living in the last days. The judgment brought to Israel because of her unfaithfulness to the
Lord initiated the “time of the Gentiles.”

Jesus does give one chronological clue about the times of the end. He says, "Jerusalem shall be trampled
underfoot by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled." (Luke 21:24, NASB). And then he
says something very interesting. He says, "Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all
things take place.

The end of “times of the Gentiles” is a commencement sign or marker in history that concludes one age
and initiates another. Jesus said something very interesting about this event. He said, "Truly I say to
you, this generation will not pass away until all things take place." (Luke 21:32).

This idea is reinforced by the passage in Matthew 24:32-34. A prophetic clock started ticking in the
countdown to the coming of Messiah. “A fig tree” would bud or come alive again. What is this fig tree?
In both the Old and New Testaments, the symbol of the fig tree is used EXCLUSIVELY for Israel (Judges
9:10, I Kings 4:25, Luke 13:7, John 1:50). A very early Jewish/Christian commentary on Jesus’ Mount of
Olives prophecy, the Apocalypse of Peter (AD 110) addresses the identity of the fig tree. The writer said,
“It is the nation and house of Israel.”

Best interpreted, this verse says that the generation that sees the birth of Israel is the generation that
saw the commencement of the end time sign. On May 14, 1948, the Jewish People's Council met at the

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