Lord, When?

A Biblical Perspective of the Second Coming

John J. Cobb

• Publisher: Covenant Books, Inc.
• Year: 2022
• Print ISBN: 9781638850243
• eBook ISBN: 9781638850250
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Biblical Studies

Lord, When? looks at the Second Coming from a Scriptural point of view, while examining the questions, objections, and various views of the Tribulation period and the Rapture of the Church. As the world draws closer to the Second Coming of our Lord, it is more important than ever that all Christians understand what the Bible says about this crucial doctrine. Our greatest hope lies not in theories of inferences but in undeniable facts left by our Lord in His holy word about:

The Seventh Trumpet

The Great Apostasy

The Restrainer

The Antichrist

The Seventy Weeks of Daniel

The 144, 000 Servants

With over twenty years of research and study of the end of times, author John J. Cobb brings a special and unique approach to these areas. He has taught four verse-by-verse expositional classes on the book of Revelation. His passion for scriptural clarity in eschatology has been the driving force behind Lord, When? Whether the information gathered is from him or other authors and experts in this area, Minister Cobb has taken great care to bring it all to bear against the backdrop of Holy Scripture—the final arbiter of all Christian doctrine.

Chapter 6

God’s Revelation of the End

And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another.

—Daniel 7:3

I believe the Old Testament book of Daniel is perhaps one of the most important books in the Bible when it comes to teaching and understanding biblical prophecy. This does not mean Daniel is the only book we should consider in the Old Testament since others such as Isaiah, Joel, Amos, and Zechariah provide valuable information about the events that will characterize the latter days. They, along with Daniel and Revelation, are integral parts of the whole subject of eschatology.

The book of Daniel provides specific details about how we will be able to recognize the Antichrist when he appears. Reading Daniel is almost like reading a summary of world history from the Babylonian Empire to the last judgment. His specificity about the rise and fall of the four major world empires continues to baffle historians and skeptics alike. The accuracy of the origins of these empires, their rulers, downfall, and duration is of such that many infer that, more than likely the book of Daniel was written after these events took place by an unknown author and later accredited to Daniel.1

It is easy to understand how one could arrive at such a conclusion. It was a common practice in that day for an obscure author to gain credibility for his writings by assigning a well-known figure’s name, such as a prophet’s, to his own work. This accounts for much, if not all, the writings of the Apocrypha. We reject this assumption outright because we believe in the inerrant, infallible, and inspired Word of God. The accuracy of the Bible is the result of Divine Inspiration and not human authors.

This is especially true when it comes to prophecy. The popularity of horoscopes, psychic readings, and other predictors of the future have found a new popularity within our culture. The main reason being man’s insatiable need to know the future, even though he hasn’t the power to neither add nor take away from what God has already determined. Who knows how much money people spend annually on the psychic networks, tarot cards, and palm readers and such as a means of plotting their daily life? However, the inaccuracies of these modern-day psychics and readers were not true of Daniel. His gift of understanding all visions and dreams was “ten times better than all the magicians and astrologers that were in all his (Nebuchadnezzar) realm” (Daniel 1:17b, 20 KJV). This is the reason he was able to intercede for the Chaldeans (and himself) through Arioch, after King Nebuchadnezzar’s sentenced them to death after being unable to interpret his dream (Daniel 2:14–16).

Daniel’s intimacy with God was the reason for his boldness. That relationship assured Daniel he would be able to interpret the dream, not by his ability, but the supernatural power of God. Seen in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream is the fact that God does at times work through pagans and unbelievers to reveal His will. Such was the case with Nebuchadnezzar (cf. Ezra 1:1–2), a pagan who knew nothing about Daniel’s God. However, despite this flaw, God not only used him in revealing to us events of the last days but also brought the king to the realization that He was the “God of gods.”

The details revealed in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream about his kingdom and those that would succeed him were so accurate that it is not surprising that he recognized Daniel’s God as the true God. As a matter of fact, an accurate and verifiable summary of history is set before us when Nebuchadnezzar’s dream and Daniel’s vision recorded in the seventh chapter of Daniel are interpreted together. If there were no secular historical references available at all, these two chapters would be enough to understand the origin, fall and succession of all the world empires from Babylon to the end of time (Dr. John MacArthur, The Kingdoms of the World).

According to Scripture, King Nebuchadnezzar’s dream troubled him to the point where he lost his sleep. In today’s vernacular, we would say that he had a nightmare so terrifying and so real that he woke up in a cold sweat. The dream deeply troubled and disturbed him. The fact that he was unable to go back to sleep was not the main reason he was troubled. His problem was with the content of the dream on the one hand and his inability to remember it on the other.

The responsibility of the wise men and astrologers of the Babylonian kingdom was to interpret dreams. Therefore, the King immediately sent for them so they could tell him the meaning of his dream. However, this would not be a simple task because the king had added a twist. Not only were they to tell him the interpretation of the dream, but its content as well. After hearing this unusual request, one can only imagine the bewilderment and concern that must have come over them. While it was true that they probably did have some limited ability to foretell the future, such predictions and interpretations were no more accurate than the self-proclaimed prophets and psychics mentioned earlier.

In reading this passage of Scripture, I do not think the immediate concern was their inability to interpret the king’s dream as much as it was for the qualifier added to the king’s command. It is interesting that when they could not do as the king had asked, his first response was not one of giving them the benefit of the doubt or that maybe the question was unreasonable. Instead, it was one of suspicion and anger. At this point, he did not want excuses. If they could not tell him his dream, maybe it was because they never had this ability in the first place and had been deceiving him all along. While he might have gone along with them in the past, it would not be so now. This matter was one of utmost urgency, and if these men did not provide him an answer immediately, they would suffer the fate of their failure—death! Obvious the king believed this question to be fair and reasonable. That is, if they were who they claimed to be, this should not have been a problem.

His conclusion was not far-off and supports the New Testament teaching that only those indwelt by the Spirit can know the things of God. If God does not condescend and communicate to us in a manner we can understand, we will never know His will and purposes. This is the reasoning God gave Daniel a vision of the king’s dream after he had prayed, not only for understanding, but to reveal to him its content as well.

As we examine the dream, there are some key elements about it that helps us understand its importance. The first thing seen is Daniel’s acknowledgment that it is the God in heaven that reveals secrets and will therefore make known to him the king’s dream. With this statement, he clearly affirms that God is the only one who knows the heart and mind of man. He chooses how and through whom He will reveal His will—if He chooses to do so at all. In recognizing God’s power in this area, Daniel glorifies Him and at the same time, draws a clear distinction between Him and the pagan gods worshipped by the king and his “wise men.” He further lets the king know that his ability to reveal and interpret the dream is not because he is any wiser or more learned than anyone else. It is that his God has graced him to be able to interpret the dream.

Daniel’s confession is important for our day. All too often many see God as a “Heavenly Bellhop” obliged to always respond positively to their prayers. This thinking did not characterize Daniel’s or any prophet when they petitioned God. They fully recognized God as being the Sovereign One who moves as He wills in the lives of both the Christian and the unsaved. He fully expected and believed that God would hear his petition and answer it, not out of duty, but because of his grace and mercy. That’s why he responded to the king as he did. He wanted him to know that God, and God alone is worthy of all thanks, all praise, all adoration, and honor. He was only a willing vessel that God has graciously chosen to speak through. After all, if God used a donkey to speak His word, who among men can boast (Numbers 22:28)?

It is for their sakes God revealed the dream. It is unclear about whom Daniel has in mind by the term their in this verse (Daniel 2:30), and since it is not in the original manuscript, we need not linger on it here. What is and should be our focus is God wanted the king to know the intent of his dream.

What a beautiful picture of God’s love, mercy, and compassion on Nebuchadnezzar, who just a few short years earlier had pillaged the city of Judah, burned the house of the Lord (2 Kings 7–8), and plucked out the eyes of His servant King Zedekiah. Yet God poured His grace on him, despite all he had done against His people.

No one should judge Nebuchadnezzar too harshly since he acted ...

Table of contents

• The Question
• The Next Great Sign
• The Events Leading to Christ’s Return
• Christians Amid Persecution
• After the Apostasy
• God’s Revelation of the End
• The Little Horn
• The Prince that Shall Come
• The Restrainer
• Daniel’s Seventy Weeks
• The Unfolding of the Seventy Weeks
• The Sounding of the Last Trumpet
• The Last Trump and the Lord’s Return
• The Seven Seals of Revelation
• The End
• Biblical Evidence for a Pre-Tribulation Rapture?
• The 144,000 Servants of God
• The Christian’s “Blessed Hope”