Israel and the Second Coming of Christ
Rev Tay Piak Kheng 11 October 2026
The second coming of Jesus Christ is the day He returns to set up a kingdom that will never end and to gather His people into that kingdom. It is also known as the Day of Christ Jesus (Php 1:6,10,2:18) or the Day of our Lord Jesus Christ (1Cor 1:8).
This is not a new doctrine in the NT. It is “The Day of the LORD” that was proclaimed by the prophets repeatedly in the Old Testament (OT). Three major characteristics are common. First, it will cause cosmic upheaval in nature, such as earth shaking, billows of smoke, darkening of the sun, moon and stars, and a trumpet blast… (Ex 19:16, Joel 2:30,3:15, Mat 24:29-31). Second, divine wrath and judgment for evil in the imagery of treading grapes (Isa 63:3, Joel 3:13, Rev 14:18, Rev 20:11-15) Third, it is a time for ultimate destruction (Joel 1:15, 2Peter 3:10-13) and recreation of a perfect new heaven and new earth (Isa 65:17-25, Rev 21,22).
So, the Jews did have the biblical truth that the God of the universe is coming back into His rebellious creation as a judge. Why did they reject Jesus? Basically, they missed God’s schedule, which includes more than one coming. Jesus had to first come as the suffering Messiah, which was completely out of line with their expectations.
Nonetheless, let us not think that Jesus is a king who rides on a donkey. For the next time you will see Him as the warrior Messiah, charging on a white horse, waging war against His enemies, and claiming His throne in majesty, power, and glory!
Even Jesus’ Jewish followers missed the two comings. One of them was John the Baptist, the forerunner of Jesus Christ. He preached fervently: “Repent, the Kingdom of God has come near… Even now the axe is lying at the root of the trees;” (Mat 3:2,10) This is obviously OT language for the Day of the LORD. As one who was spiritually perceptive and whom Jesus said no greater man has ever been born, John the Baptist expected to see Jesus wiping out the enemies of God.
So were Jesus’ disciples. Having witnessed Jesus’ resurrection and attended a 40-day intensive course on the Kingdom of God, they asked Him, “will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” (Acts 1:6)
Will the Jews continue to reject Jesus and miss His second coming? God forbid! God is a covenant-keeping God. According to Romans 11:25-26, the Jews will turn to Jesus before He returns: “Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in, and in this way all Israel will be saved.” Not all Jews will be saved, though, for never in the Bible have all Jews been right with God; for example, many perished in unbelief in the wilderness. ‘All Israel’ here refers not to ethnic Israel, who are of physical descent from Abraham, but spiritual Israel, who are born of the Holy Spirit. No, the Jews will not miss the second coming of Jesus Christ!
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