Second Coming Nine Signs that Precede the General Judgment

The Scriptures mention certain events which are to take place before the final judgment. These predictions were not intended to serve as indications of the exact time of the judgment, for that day and hour are known only to the Father, and will come when least expected. They were meant to foreshadow the last judgment and to keep the end of the world present to the minds of Christians, without, however, exciting useless curiosity and vain fears. Theologians usually enumerate the following nine events as signs of the last judgment: 1. General Preaching of the Christian Religion- Concerning this sign the Savior says: "And this gospel of the kingdom, shall be preached in the whole world, for a testimony to all nations, and then shall the consummation come" (Matthew 24:14). This sign was understood by Chrysostom and Theophilus as referring to the destruction of Jerusalem, but, according to the majority of interpreters, Christ is here speaking of the end of the world. 2. Conversion of the Jews- According to the interpretation of the Fathers, the conversion of the Jews towards the end of the world is foretold by St. Paul in the Epistle to the Romans (11:25-26): "For I would not have you ignorant, brethren, of this mystery, . . . that blindness in part has happened in Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles should come in. And so all Israel should be saved as it is written: There shall come out of Zion, he that shall deliver, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob".

Second Coming
3. Return of Enoch and Elijah- The belief that these two men, who have never tasted death, are reserved for the last times to be precursors of the Second Advent was practically unanimous among the Fathers, which belief they base on several texts of Scripture. (Concerning Elijah see Malachi 4:5-6; Sirach 48:10; Matthew 17:11; concerning Enoch see Sirach 44:16) 4. A Great Apostasy- As to this event St. Paul admonishes the Thessalonians (2 Thessalonians 2:3) that they must not be terrified, as if the day of the Lord were at hand, for there must first come a revolt (the apostasia).The Fathers and interpreters understand by this revolt a great reduction in the number of the faithful through the abandonment of the Christian religion by many nations. Some commentators cite as confirmatory of this belief the words of Christ: "But yet the Son of man, when he cometh, shall he find, think you, faith on earth?" (Luke 18:8).

Second Coming
5. Reign of the Anti-Christ CCC 675 Before Christ's second coming the Church must pass through a final trial that will shake the faith of many believers. The persecution that accompanies her pilgrimage on earth will unveil the "mystery of iniquity" in the form of a religious deception offering men an apparent solution to their problems at the price of apostasy from the truth. The supreme religious deception is that of the Antichrist, a pseudomessianism by which man glorifies himself in place of God and of his Messiah come in the flesh. In the passage from (2 Thessalonians 2:3) St. Paul indicates as another sign of the day of the Lord, the revelation of the man of sin, the son of perdition. "The man of sin" here described is generally identified with the Antichrist who, says St. John (1 John 2:18), is to come in the last days. Although much obscurity and difference of opinion prevails on this subject, it is generally admitted that before the Second Coming there will arise a powerful adversary of Christ who will seduce the nations by his wonders, and persecute the Church.

Second Coming
6. Extraordinary Perturbations of Nature - The Scriptures clearly indicate that the judgment will be preceded by unwonted and terrifying disturbances of the physical universe (Matthew 24:29; Luke 21:25-26). The wars, pestilences, famines, and earthquakes foretold in Matthew 24:6 are also understood by some writers as among the calamities of the last times. 7. The Universal Conflagration - In Apostolic writings we are told the end of the world will be brought about through a general conflagration, which, however, will not annihilate the present creation, but will change its form and appearance (2 Peter 3:10-13; 1 Thessalonians 5:2; Apocalypse 3:3, & 16:15). Natural science shows the possibility of such a catastrophe being produced in the ordinary course of events, but theologians generally tend to believe that its origin will be entirely miraculous. 8. The Trumpet of the Resurrection - Several texts in the New Testament make mention of a voice or trumpet which will awaken the dead to Resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:52; 1 Thessalonians 4:15; John 5:28). According to St. Thomas Aquinas, there is reference in these passages either to the voice or to the apparition of Christ, which will cause the resurrection of the dead.

Second Coming
9. "The sign of the Son of Man Appearing in the Heavens" In Matthew 24:30, this is indicated as the sign immediately preceding the appearance of Christ to judge the world. By this sign the Fathers of the Church generally understand the appearance in the sky of the Cross on which the Savior died or else of a wonderful cross of light.

Second Coming
Matthew 24:36 But as for that day and hour, nobody knows it, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, no one but the Father alone. Matthew 24:29-31 - "Immediately after the tribulation ... they will see the Son of Man coming upon the clouds ... he will send out his angels with a trumpet blast, and they will gather his elect

How are We to Prepare for the Second Coming?

It should not be one of fear, but rather positive joyful expectation. Instead of dread and worry, we should prepare ourselves to meet the Savior by endeavoring to live a holy life and doing our part to spread the Kingdom. We should live a life with the Sacraments receiving the Eucharist as often as possible, regular confession, daily prayer & doing good deeds.

Second Coming Resurrection of the Dead

All the dead will rise, "those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of judgment. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven, with a cry of command, with the archangel's call, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.

Last Judgment
When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. Matt 25:31 The Last Judgment will be the day of Gods justice and mercy when good will finally triumph over evil. Jesus will return as judge and He will judge the living and the dead. We will receive our eternal reward or punishment according to our works and acceptance of Gods grace. The heart of each person, who ever lived, will be revealed. All will know each others sins, so that we will be able to fully see Gods mercy and justice in each person.

Second Coming The Rapture

False View of the Rapture (Non-Catholic) A common misconception about the end times is the "secret Rapture" theory, popularized by the 1909 Schofield Study Bible and the more recent Left Behind books. According to this theory, Jesus will return secretly and invisibly to snatch away ("rapture") all true Christians from the earth into heaven. This will allow them to escape a vicious 7-year persecution, known as the Tribulation, when the Devil will take control of the world through his human puppet, the Antichrist. After the Tribulation, Jesus will visibly return again to destroy Satan's kingdom and reign on earth for 1000 years (the Millennium). Catholic View of the Rapture However, the Church has rejected this notion of a literal 1000year earthly reign of Christ (See CCC 676). The 1000-year reign mentioned in Revelation 20:1-10 is usually interpreted as referring to the long period between Christ's first and second comings, when Jesus reigns imperfectly through his kingdom on earth, the Church. The Catholic and scriptural view is quite different from the "secret rapture": there will be a Tribulation and the rise of the Antichrist. However, true Christians will not escape this persecution. Jesus will return once and visibly, gloriously triumphing over evil and bringing an end to history. At Christ's Second Coming, living Christians will be raptured (caught up to join in Christ's triumphant procession), the dead will be resurrected, and all shall be judged at the final judgment.
1 Thessalonians 4:17 - "Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Thus we shall always be with the Lord."