Who Will See Christ at His Second Coming

At the second coming (distinct from the rapture), Christ returns in visible glory to judge and to establish his kingdom. Revelation 19 gives the most detailed description. The question involves two related issues: who will physically see his return, and who will survive to stand before him and enter the kingdom.

1. Christ’s Return in Glory and the Immediate Slaying of Enemies

Revelation 19:11–16 depicts heaven opened and Christ coming on a white horse, “in righteousness he doth judge and make war.” Verse 15 adds:

"And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.’’

The term “smite” in Scripture overwhelmingly carries the sense of striking unto death. In this context, the smiting is connected with the scene in Revelation 19:17–21, where birds are called to the “supper of the great God” to eat the flesh of kings, captains, mighty men, horses and riders, “and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great.” The beast, the false prophet, and their armies gathered to make war against Christ are destroyed.

Thus, those actively aligned with the beast—bearing his mark, gathered for the battle—do indeed see the Lord’s appearing, but only momentarily, as they are slain. They see his coming in judgment, but they do not live to experience his reign.

2. Survivors Among the Nations Without the Mark

During the tribulation, taking the mark of the beast is a conscious act of allegiance and idolatry. Those who refuse the mark face economic exclusion and, often, death. Nonetheless, Scripture allows for the existence of individuals among the nations who do not take the mark and who survive the tribulation period.

These can be called “righteous Gentiles” in the sense that they have not aligned themselves with the beast. Many of them will perish under persecution or judgment, but some evidently survive until the arrival of Christ. These survivors will see his appearing and then live on into the millennial kingdom. They are the ones over whom he will “rule…with a rod of iron” (Revelation 19:15) as living nations on earth.

The text does not provide a single verse that simply lists “all Gentiles without the mark who survive,” yet the prophetic framework of nations continuing into the millennium, being ruled and judged, implies such a group.

3. The Jewish People at the End of the Tribulation

The Lord has specific covenant dealings with Israel. At his return, there is a judgment that is often associated with the “sheep and goats” passage in Matthew 25, traditionally called the judgment of the nations. There is good reason to see this as primarily a judgment of Jewish people at the end of the tribulation, evaluated on the basis of their treatment of “these my brethren” and their faithfulness in that time.

Within Israel:

• Some are unbelieving and are excluded, going “into everlasting punishment.”
• Others—those who have believed, endured, and acted faithfully toward the Lord’s brethren—are welcomed: “Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” They form the nucleus of the kingdom on earth.

This faithful Jewish remnant includes, for example, the 144,000 and those preserved under God’s protection (“the secret place of the most High” in Psalm 91). They see the Lord’s coming and then enter into his reign.

4. Distinguishing Seeing the Sign from Participating in the Kingdom

In a broader sense, prophetic texts speak of the visibility of the Son of Man’s coming: like lightning from east to west, universally manifest. Many will “see” it in that sense—including those about to be judged and slain. But the more practical question concerns who remains alive to stand before Christ, be evaluated, and then enter the millennial kingdom.

Summarizing:

• Those aligned with the beast (bearing his mark, gathered for war) see his appearing only as they are immediately smitten in judgment and removed.
• A remnant of Jewish believers, who have endured to the end and acted faithfully, see his return and become the core of the restored kingdom.
• A remnant among the nations who have not taken the mark and have survived the judgments see his return and live on into the millennium as subjects under his rule.

The question was not about the rapture. Members of the body of Christ, having been caught up prior to these events, will return with Christ in glory (Revelation 19:14), but the question here concerns those on earth. Among those on earth, the ones who truly “see” Christ’s return in the sense of continuing life under his reign are the believing Jewish remnant and the surviving non‑marked Gentiles. The marked and militant enemies see him only as Judge and are immediately cut off.

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