Are the Second Coming and the Last Advent Different?
There is a biblical interpretation that sees the Second Coming and Judgment as different events. Some argue that the Second Coming should be separate from judgment. They say that God himself comes to earth physically to do the work of salvation and gather up 144,000 saints. They call it the Second Coming and interpret it as a separate event from judgment.
The most common scripture of those who claim that the Second Coming and Judgment are separate events is Hebrews 9:28. “Come on the second time” is the phrase. We will now focus on Hebrews 9:28. In conclusion, Hebrews 9:28 is not only a prophecy of judgment and destruction, but also of a saint to be saved.
Hebrews 9:28 needs to be compared with Hebrews 9:27.
<Heb 9:27> Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment,
<Heb 9:28> so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.
1. First, in the sentence structure, the Second Coming is an event paired with judgment.
Verse 28 is a sentence that begins with “so” and is compatible with verse 27.
Verse 27: Death of a Person —> Judgment
Verse 28: Christ’s Death —> Salvation
The death of Jesus (v. 28) is the word that pairs up with the death of man (v. 27).
The Second Coming of Jesus (v. 28) is a word that is paired with the judgment of the saints (v. 27).
From these two verses we can see that the Second Coming of Jesus is an event paired with judgment.
2. Second, in the faith of the early church members, the Second Coming was synonymous with final judgment.
<Heb 9:26> Then Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world. But now he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself.
The above verse shows that the early church Saints believed that the end of the world was very near. Because it was already the end of the world, Jesus came and went, and now it is believed that only the final judgment and salvation of the saints are left.
The above verse shows that the early Saints believed that the end of the world was very near. It was believed that Jesus came and went because it was already over. They believed that Jesus would soon come to judge the world and save the Saints.
3. Third, the writer of Hebrews wrote directly that the Second Coming was a judgment.
The Second Coming, or Second Appearance, is the prophecy of Christ, who will come as the Judge. There is no other way to see it in terms of sentence structure or state of believers at that time.
On the other hand, look for a passage in the book of Hebrews that confirms the same thing more directly.
<Heb 10:35-37> So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. For in just a very little while, “He who is coming will come and will not delay.
The above verse (Hebrews 10:35) is a paraphrase of the Second Coming Christ (Hebrews 9:28). In the expressions of “great rewards” and “to receive promises,” we can see that it is a prophecy of Christ who will come as the Judge. Also, in the expression “who will come in a little while,” we can see in the faith of the Hebrews that the Second Coming was the Christ who would come as the Judge.
From the standpoint of the early Church believers who believed in the new covenant truth, there was no need to restore it again, and no reason for Christ to return in the flesh.
4. Finally, judgment and salvation are events that take place one day at a time.
For several reasons so far, Hebrews 9:28 is no basis for claiming the second coming of the body. The last day is the day of punishment and judgment for sinners, and the day of salvation and joy for saints. The day of salvation and the day of judgment are not separate from each other. He will come as the Lord of Judgment, bringing the unfinished saints to eternal salvation and granting them authority to enter the holy city. The day will take place in an instant of eternity. The Second Coming and the Advent are just different expressions of the same event that will take place at one time.
