THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST
Even though the old creation has been terminated, outwardly the world is still the same. Hence, there is the need for Christ’s second coming to clear up the entire universe physically and materially. In particular, there is the need for Christ’s second coming to terminate human government.
According to Daniel 2:35 and 44, Christ will come as the stone cut out without hands to crush the great human image from the toes to the head. In His coming as such a stone, He will crush Antichrist with the ten toes. However, He will not come by Himself; He will come with His bride (Rev. 19:11, 14). Before His coming He will have a wedding, uniting His overcomers to Himself as one entity (vv. 7-9). Whereas Daniel 2 speaks of Christ coming as a stone cut out without hands, Revelation 19 speaks of Christ coming as the One who has His bride as His army.
Christ is God coming down to fight against rebellious mankind, and mankind is represented by one man who is one with Satan—Antichrist. The very God is embodied in Christ; Christ is with His bride, the overcomers; and Antichrist is one with Satan and one with the ten kings and their armies. These two parties—Christ and Antichrist—will fight. Man will fight against God directly (Rev. 19:19-21; 17:14). The most evil persons on earth will be gathered by Antichrist to one place; that is, the grapes will be gathered together into the winepress (19:15; 14:19-20). Then Christ will come not only to crush the ten toes but also to tread the winepress. This will be Christ’s crushing of the human government.
After crushing the human government, God will have cleared up the entire universe. The old creation will be gone, and the human government will become chaff blown away by the wind. Then the corporate Christ, Christ with His overcomers, will become a great mountain to fill the whole earth, making the whole earth God’s kingdom (Dan. 2:35, 44). Both the earth and the heaven will then be new for God to exercise His kingdom.
CHRIST AS THE SON OF MAN
RECEIVING DOMINION AND A KINGDOM
Daniel 7:13-14 reveals that now Christ as the Son of Man is before the throne of God to receive dominion and a kingdom. He is making all the preparations to come back to rule over the entire world with God’s kingdom.
CHRIST AS THE COMPANION
OF GOD’S SUFFERING PEOPLE
While Christ is preparing to come back with the kingdom, He is also the Companion of God’s suffering people (3:23-25). Because of the wrong government, God’s people are in the "furnace," yet Christ is with them.
(Life-Study of Daniel, Chapter 12, by Witness Lee)
