What Is the Second Coming? A Modern Look at Our Promised Physical Future

You’ve likely heard the Second Coming described as a mere spiritual transformation or figurative mystery. But the Bible states clearly that the return of Jesus Christ will in no way be secret or symbolic. It won’t be comparable to any other human experience up to that pivotal point. Scripture describes the Second Coming as literal, worldwide, unmistakable, and epic.

And following that universe-changing day? The greatest era of the Bible’s prophetic timeline—not an end, but a beginning, a cosmic launch into learning God’s character in heaven, reigning in His tabernacle, and dwelling in a paradise our minds cannot grasp but our hearts long for desperately.

Moving Past Archaic Imagery of the Second Coming

Revelation 1:7 says,

“Behold, he is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him.” (emphasis added)

Later, this same book—which traces the entire great controversy and prophetic timeline leading to paradise—paints a particularly powerful image of the Second Coming:

“Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns . . . and His name is called The Word of God. And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses. Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron.” (Revelation 19:11–15)

Humans have long used this passage as inspiration for their own depictions of the Second Coming—a wonderful endeavor destined to never reach complete accuracy. Paul tells us: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him” (1 Corinthians 2:9). As you study the Second Coming, you might find yourself asking:

• How could many crowns fit on one head? 
• How will the “sword” coming out of the mouth of “The Word of God” (this is Jesus, see John 1:14) “strike” the strongest powers of our planet? 
• How will a single shout and single trumpet reach every human on the globe, raising all who sleep in Jesus (1 Thessalonians 4:16)?
• How will Earth and space transform completely to make way for their Creator?

“Then the sky receded as a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved out of its place.” (Revelation 6:14)

The minute details and greater logistics of the Second Coming surpass human understanding. Scientific progress, space exploration, technological enhancements, and continued study of Scripture may help us begin to grasp the greatness of this future climax, but when Jesus and the armies of heaven fill the skies, enveloping planet Earth in unforeseen light, sound, and majesty, no expectation will remain intact.

The Second Coming will shatter the way we view the universe and erase every doubt about Christ’s sovereignty. Dark powers may perform wondrous signs in the last days (Revelation 13:13; 16:14), but those efforts won’t hold a candle to the unequivocal “power and great glory” of the Son of Man (Matthew 24:30), “for as the lightning that flashes out of one part under heaven shines to the other part under heaven, so also the Son of Man will be in His day” (Luke 17:24).

And then comes the best part. Every moment following the Earth- and mind-shattering Second Coming will only increase our knowledge of the universe’s greatest mysteries, including God’s love, mercy, and justice. Reunited with our Savior in heaven, we will enjoy the fulfillment of His John 14 promise:

“In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.” (verses 2–3) 

Finally, we will live in the utopia our souls long for (Philippians 3:20)—not a simple heaven of cherubs, harps, and clouds, but a heaven of activity, purpose, and learning.

Our Initial 1,000-Year Era of Learning in Heaven

After the Second Coming, Jesus, heaven’s armies, and the redeemed will ascend to heaven. Yet heaven will not be our final destination (the New Earth is). Scripture tells us that we will spend 1,000 years there working alongside God:

“But they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years.” (Revelation 20:6)

“And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them.” (verse 4) 

We will live with Jesus in the homes He has prepared for us—“mansions” unlike anything that exists on our planet today. We’ll be able to ask Him questions about His heart, His creation, His universe, and every moment He showed up in our earthly lives, even moments we didn’t notice Him. In heaven, we’ll learn so much about God’s plan of salvation, details hidden in Scripture but never fully understood. As Paul puts it:

“For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known.” (1 Corinthians 13:12)

God is intimately acquainted with the deepest parts of you: your passions, your quirks, the music that gives you goosebumps, the jokes that make you burst with laughter, the stories you hold dearest—everything. Imagine learning those parts of Him, talking to Him face to face as a friend. That’s heaven.

But there’s more. (Sensing a theme?) Revelation says we will reign with God as priests and take part in judgment. We will serve God in His heavenly tabernacle, constantly before His throne and in His presence (Revelation 7:15), walking the “path of life” in a new stage of existence, emotion, and knowledge.

“You will show me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” (Psalm 16:11)

What exactly will we be doing? Daniel writes that we will “receive the kingdom, and possess the kingdom forever, even forever and ever” (Daniel 7:18). Paul tells us that the redeemed will “judge the world,” including “angels” (1 Corinthians 6:2–3). We won’t decide who is to be saved or lost. That decision will have already been made by God during the investigative judgment—an ongoing process in God’s heavenly tabernacle. Instead, we will have the opportunity to review the lives and choices of every fallen human and angel to understand God’s character and justice in greater light. God is perfect. He doesn’t make mistakes. Yet here is He, promising full transparency. He is so in love with us.

Even still, these biblical descriptions of our work in heaven leave certain questions unanswered. Remember, “for now, we see in a mirror, dimly.”

Decades ago, a curious reader called “W.” posed a question about heaven to the Signs of the Times magazine: “If the saints are to be kings and priests, and reign with Christ one thousand years as kings, over whom will they reign, and as priests for whom shall their ministrations be offered?”

The magazine responded:

“Our Lord has an everlasting priesthood that will continue beyond the reign of sin, throughout eternity. And so all His children will be priests under Him, ministering in whatever way the wisdom of God may direct. A part of that ministry may be the examination of the judgment records in heaven during the thousand years. They are serving God, and in that service to God they are priests of His, it matters not what the service may be. During that very time they may be ministers to the visitors from other realms in God’s universe. We do not know how extensive that may be. We can accept the statement which the Lord makes in His Word.” (p. 2)

What does God state?

“They shall neither hunger anymore nor thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any heat; for the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to living fountains of waters. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” (Revelation 7:16–17)

Living in Community Within God’s Tabernacle

A “tabernacle” is a fixed dwelling place for God. In the Old Testament, the Israelites went to the tabernacle to worship God, make sacrifices, and seek forgiveness. In God’s heavenly tabernacle, Jesus presents His sacrifice on the cross as atonement for believers, paying the “wages of sin” for us (Romans 6:23).

Our God is a God of detail and beauty. Every part of His tabernacle points to Christ and the prophetic timeline of Earth’s story, the work of salvation through thousands of years: from Jesus’ death and the Holy Spirit’s work in our hearts to the “cleansing of the sanctuary” (Daniel 8:14) and God’s final messages to the world at the end of time (Revelation 11:18–19; 14:6–12). Why go to all this trouble? The answer is simple:

God longs to dwell with us.

So why, at the end of our 1,000 years of learning in heaven, as the redeemed descend to Earth in their capital city (Revelation 21), is God’s tabernacle missing? About this city, John writes:

“The construction of its wall was of jasper; and the city was pure gold, like clear glass. The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with all kinds of precious stones. . . . The twelve gates were twelve pearls: each individual gate was of one pearl. And the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass. But I saw no temple in it . . . ” (Revelation 21:18–22)

The answers comes immediately, overwhelmingly, shockingly:

“For the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.” 

The next chapter, the final chapter of the Bible, adds:

“And there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall serve Him. They shall see His face, and His name shall be on their foreheads.” (Revelation 22:4)

No more walls, no more mirrors, no more veils. No more limits. No more evil, sickness, or grief. God will not only restore our world, creating a New Earth to live and reign in with us, but He will restore the order of Eden, where Adam and Eve walked and talked with God face to face.

When Moses asked to see God’s glory, God told Him: “You cannot see My face; for no man shall see Me, and live” (Exodus 33:20). But God did not leave his request unanswered, either. As God passed by Moses, covering him with His hand, He proclaimed His character: “The LORD, the LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin . . . ” (Exodus 34:6–7).

This is the God you can spend eternity getting to know, a God whose heart yearns to speak with you face to face in a paradise untouched by sin, shame, and death.

Real-World Activities on the Prophetic Timeline

The prophetic timeline described in God’s Word ends with the New Earth, a paradise characterized by nature, jewels, diversity, culture, light, color, and communion (Revelation 21–22). In our current state, we can’t comprehend the activities God has planned for us there. Scripture gives us vivid hints, but they’re just hints, like reflections of a sunrise dancing in a stream. We read these passages, we gaze at these rippling colors, in amazement. But we can’t lift our heads to view their magnificent source just yet . . . 

“The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. . . . They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain, for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.” (Isaiah 11:6–9)

“And the ransomed of the LORD shall return, and come to Zion with singing, with everlasting joy on their heads. They shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.” (Isaiah 35:10)

“They shall build houses and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit. They shall not build and another inhabit; they shall not plant and another eat; for as the days of a tree, so shall be the days of My people, and My elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands.” (Isaiah 65:21–22)

Humans, inspired by the Bible story and gifted by God with creativity, have helped broaden these reflections of the Second Coming and eternity:

“One short sleep past, we wake eternally and death shall be no more; Death, thou shalt die.” (John Donne, Death, be not proud)

“All the treasures of the universe will be open to the study of God’s redeemed. Unfettered by mortality, they wing their tireless flight to worlds afar. . . . With unutterable delight the children of earth enter into the joy and the wisdom of unfallen beings. They share the treasures of knowledge and understanding gained through ages upon ages in contemplation of God’s handiwork. With undimmed vision they gaze upon the glory of creation—suns and stars and systems, all in their appointed order circling the throne of Deity. Upon all things, from the least to the greatest, the Creator’s name is written, and in all are the riches of His power displayed.” (Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, p. 677)

“I have come home at last! This is my real country! I belong here. This is the land I have been looking for all my life, though I never knew it till now.” (C.S. Lewis, The Last Battle)

“But the things that began to happen after that were so great and beautiful that I cannot write them. And for us this the end of all the stories, and we can most truly say that they all lived happily ever after. But for them it was only the beginning of the real story. All their life in this world . . . had only been the cover and the title page: now at last they were beginning Chapter One of the Great Story which no one on earth has read: which goes on for ever: in which every chapter is better than the one before.” (C.S. Lewis, The Last Battle)

“Christ loves all his saints in heaven. His love flows out to his whole church there, and to every individual member of it. And they all, with one heart and one soul, unite in love to their common Redeemer. Every heart is wedded to this holy and spiritual husband, and all rejoice in him, while the angels join them in their love. And the angels and saints all love each other. All the members of the glorious society of heaven are sincerely united.  . . . Every soul goes out in love to every other; and among all the blessed inhabitants, love is mutual, and full, and eternal.” (Jonathan Edwards, Heaven, A World Of Love)

“Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared . . . ” There’s so much we don’t know—and yet, there is a fragment in each of our hearts singing, “We are not home yet!” It awaits that victorious reunion, the Second Coming, when the sky will roll up and reveal the life our Creator always intended for us. A life of unbridled progress, happiness, learning, activity, and purpose. A life dwelling in God’s tabernacle: not a tent or a temple, but the living and breathing Presence of Love.

Ecclesiastes 3:11 tells us that God has “put eternity in [our] hearts.” In your heart. You know you were made for something more. Why don’t you start living with your eternal Redeemer right now?

To learn more about the character of God, check out our study guides, videos, podcasts, and more! But don’t forget to open the Bible, ask God for guidance, and begin exploring His love for yourself.

Related Articles:

What Is Heaven Like? What the Bible Really Teaches

The Second Coming of Christ Explained for Today’s Believers

From Eden Lost to Eden Restored: Man’s Lost Dominion, Eternal Life, and the Restoration of God’s Kingdom

Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.