Introduction
     We know there are a number of things that are believed about the Messiah’s return. His coming will be to earth at the East gate of the Jerusalem Temple at the end of the age, and everyone will be fully aware of it when He returns.
    For just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes even to the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be, Matthew 24:27. (The New American Standard is used throughout)
    The topography of the Jerusalem landscape will change when He returns.
    In that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which is in front of Jerusalem on the east; and the Mount of Olives will be split in its middle from east to west by a very large valley, so that half of the mountain will move toward the north and the other half toward the south. You will flee by the valley of My mountains, for the valley of the mountains will reach to Azel; yes, you will flee just as you fled before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then Yahweh, my Elohim, will come, and all the holy ones with Him! Zechariah 14:4–5.
    The dead in Messiah will be raised first according to 1 Thessalonians 4:16. We also know, according to Revelation 22:10, that He is coming with rewards to give according to what each has done.
    Often pictured are saints on clouds with harps. No secret rapture here, but the saints will be changed forever. Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality. But when this perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, “DEATH IS SWALLOWED UP in victory.” 1 Cor.15:51–54.

He Defends Israel
    Most religious people today desire Yahshua to return. But many don’t understand that He Himself will be involved in pouring out the wrath (Rev. 6:16-17, speaking of the wrath coming from the Throne and the Lamb) preceding His feet coming upon the Mount of Olives. Yahshua will fight against all the nations which will come against Israel, which will be a complete blood bath (Rev. 14:18, blood up to the bridle of horses for two hundred miles). Revelation 19:11-16 speaks of the White Horse He will be riding on to judge and make war). In Amos 5:18, there is an admonition to all those who would do wickedly and yet desire the “day of Yahweh” to come. Yahweh says “woe” to them.
    The wrath will come on many who live wickedly, even those proclaiming they know Him. Yahweh speaking through Jeremiah to the people of his day reflects what is happening today, “Will you steal, murder, and commit adultery and swear falsely, and offer sacrifices to Baal (i.e., the Lord) and walk after other mighty ones that you have not known (i.e., keeping easter and x-mas), then come and stand before Me in this house, which is called by My Name, and say, ‘We are delivered!’—that you may do all these abominations. “Has this house, which is called by My Name, become a den of robbers in your sight? Behold, I, even I, have seen it,” declares Yahweh, Jeremiah 7:9–11.
    And just as Yahweh spoke through Jeremiah to the people of his day, Malachi does the same to the religious leaders in his time. He might as well be speaking to the ministers today that proclaim Him, but not what He says to do, including honoring His Name. And now this commandment is for you, O priests. “If you do not listen, and if you do not take it to heart to give honor to My name,” says Yahweh of hosts, “then I will send the curse upon you and I will curse your blessings; and indeed, I have cursed them already, because you are not taking it to heart,” Malachi 2:1–2.

Yahshua as Representative
     Interestingly, sometimes Yahshua is described as Yahweh by Name, the Angel of Yahweh, or just Elohim. Is it surprising that He came in His Father’s Name, yet the so-called religious people don’t accept Him? He said it Himself in John 5:43. Here Yahshua is referred to as the Branch of Yahweh:
     In that day the Branch of Yahweh will be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the earth will be the pride and the adornment of the survivors of Israel. It will come about that he who is left in Zion and remains in Jerusalem will be called holy — everyone who is recorded for life in Jerusalem. When Yahweh has washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion and purged the bloodshed of Jerusalem from her midst, by the spirit of judgment and the spirit of burning, then Yahweh will create over the whole area of Mount Zion and over her assemblies a cloud by day, even smoke, and the brightness of a flaming fire by night; for over all the glory will be a canopy. There will be a shelter to give shade from the heat by day, and refuge and protection from the storm and the rain, Isaiah 4:2–6.
    A canopy is something that was at the beginning before the judgment of Noah’s flood. Described in part as a mist rising from the ground in Genesis 2:6. Yahshua will be restoring a temperate climate once again, which this canopy is suggested to provide.
    But the Branch of Yahweh is a description pulled from agriculture to describe Yahshua. He is not only the Branch, but a shoot from Jesse (Isa. 11:1), and the Vine to which we need to stay attached. Here is another agricultural reference to what it will be like after Yahshua returns.
    Behold, days are coming,” declares Yahweh, when the plowman will overtake the reaper and the treader of grapes him who sows seed; when the mountains will drip sweet wine and all the hills will be dissolved. Also I will restore the captivity of My people Israel, and they will rebuild the ruined cities and live in them; they will also plant vineyards and drink their wine, and make gardens and eat their fruit. I will also plant them on their land, and they will not again be rooted out from their land which I have given them,” says Yahweh your Elohim, Amos 9:13-15.
    So much for the replacement theology of the churches. Yahweh will keep His promises to Abram.
    Ezekiel chapter 40 speaks of the coming Kingdom and places Yahshua there after His return.
    Then he led me to the gate, the gate facing toward the east; and behold, the glory of the Elohim of Israel was coming from the way of the east. And His voice was like the sound of many waters; and the earth shone with His glory. And it was like the appearance of the vision which I saw, like the vision which I saw when He came to destroy the city. And the visions were like the vision which I saw by the river Chebar; and I fell on my face. And the glory of Yahweh came into the house by the way of the gate facing toward the east. And the Spirit lifted me up and brought me into the inner court; and behold, the glory of Yahweh filled the house, Ezekiel 43:1-5.
    Yahshua here, is the glory of Yahweh. Yahshua has always been the Mediator and Representative of Yahweh on earth.

Changes Are Coming
    Yahshua prepares things before Yahweh comes down from His Throne in heaven. The timing of this is after the Millennial Rule, with a purifying fire and change in the physical nature of things to the spiritual as described in Revelation 21:1, with a new heaven and a new earth, with new Jerusalem coming from the spiritual realm which Yahweh dwells.
    First, the one-thousand year reign of the Messiah during which even the animals’ very nature will be changed during that time.
    And the wolf will dwell with the lamb, and the leopard will lie down with the young goat, and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little boy will lead them. Also the cow and the bear will graze, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox. The nursing child will play by the hole of the cobra, and the weaned child will put his hand on the viper’s den. They will not hurt or destroy in all My holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of Yahweh as the waters cover the sea, Isaiah 11:6-9.
    The trouble we see with many non-domesticated animals today is a very wild and oftentimes aggressive or fearful nature. That nature will change after Yahshua’s return and the putting away of Satan, as described in the opening of Revelation, chapter 20. Love will rule that day, and forever. His way, His paths, His law, His word will be known, and swords will be changed into plowshares.
    And it will come about in the last days that the mountain of the house of Yahweh will be established as the chief of the mountains. It will be raised above the hills, and the peoples will stream to it. Many nations will come and say, “Come and let us go up to the mountain of Yahweh and to the house of the Elohim of Jacob, that He may teach us about His ways and that we may walk in His paths.” For from Zion will go forth the law, even the word of Yahweh from Jerusalem. And He will judge between many peoples and render decisions for mighty, distant nations. Then they will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks; nation will not lift up sword against nation, and never again will they train for war. Each of them will sit under his vine and under his fig tree, with no one to make them afraid, for the mouth of Yahweh of hosts has spoken, Micah 4:1-4.
    A beautiful picture of what is to come. Everyone will be learning of His Way and Path, which equates with His Laws for all of mankind. What mankind now rejects, mankind will then accept.
    There will be continued learning at that time, a Voice saying, “this is the Way”
    Therefore Yahweh longs to be gracious to you, and therefore He waits on high to have compassion on you. For Yahweh is an Elohim of justice; how blessed are all those who long for Him. O people in Zion, inhabitant in Jerusalem, you will weep no longer. He will surely be gracious to you at the sound of your cry; when He hears it, He will answer you. Although Yahweh has given you bread of privation and water of oppression, He, your Teacher will no longer hide Himself, but your eyes will behold your Teacher. Your ears will hear a word behind you, “This is the way, walk in it,” whenever you turn to the right or to the left, Isaiah 30:18-21.
    Yet, another description of Yahshua as Teacher, but this is related to us as well in the sense of working with Yahshua as priests, with Him as High Priest. He will also be King, and they who overcome can sit with Him on His throne (Rev. 3:21).

Physical and Spiritual
     Israel, not just Judah, will build and plant, live and eat.
    They will build houses and inhabit them; they will also plant vineyards and eat their fruit. They will not build and another inhabit, they will not plant and another eat; for as the lifetime of a tree, so will be the days of My people, and My chosen ones will wear out the work of their hands, Isaiah 65:21-22.
    Verse 20 says, No longer will there be in it an infant who lives but a few days, or an old man who does not live out his days; for the youth will die at the age of one hundred and the one who does not reach the age of one hundred will be thought accursed, Isaiah 65:20.
    Some suggest that because the canopy will be restored, so will the longevity of the physical people living on the land. The restored “canopy” will reduce radiation from the sun and, in turn, result in healthier, longer lives.

All Will Come to Worship
     Sabbaths will be kept in the coming Kingdom. “And it shall be from new moon to new moon and from Sabbath to Sabbath, all mankind will come to bow down before Me,” says Yahweh, Isaiah 66:23.
    Many reject the idea of keeping the Sabbaths or Feasts of Yahweh, but it is clear they were kept in the Old and New Testament time period, and prophecy states plainly that they will be kept in the coming Kingdom when Yahshua returns.
    Then it will come about that any who are left of all the nations that went against Jerusalem will go up from year to year to worship the King, Yahweh of hosts, and to celebrate the Feast of Booths. And it will be that whichever of the families of the earth does not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, Yahweh of hosts, there will be no rain on them. If the family of Egypt does not go up or enter, then no rain will fall on them; it will be the plague with which Yahweh smites the nations who do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Booths. This will be the punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of all the nations who do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Booths, Zechariah 14:16-19.
    Moreover, they [speaking of the Levitical priests] shall teach My people the difference between the holy and the profane, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean. In a dispute they shall take their stand to judge; they shall judge it according to My Ordinances. They shall also keep My Laws and My Statutes in all My Appointed Feasts and sanctify My Sabbaths, Ezekiel 44:23-24.
    The differences in ordinances, laws, and statutes:
      • Laws (H8451 torah/to-raw): instructions.
      • Commands (H4687 mitsvah/mits-vaw; past tense, commanded, H6680 tsavah /tsaw- vaw): authoritative instructions.
      • Statutes (H2708 chuqqah/khook-kaw; the singular is H2706 choq /khoke): instructive and basic regulative decrees.
      • Precepts (H6490 piqqud /pik·kood): regulatory instructions for behavior.
      • Ordinances/Judgments (H4941 mishpat/ mish-pawt): authoritative orders from Yahweh, with the latter as an assessment of a matter in a legal way. (Obedience is what Yahweh expects in all of these, and some are interchangeable with one another.)
      • Testimonies (H5713 edah/ay-daw; the singular is H5715 eduwth/ay-dooth) are equated to witnesses of things that are important and affirmed to be true.

Levitical Priests
     As evident in Ezekiel 44:23-24, already considered, the physical Levitical priests will exist after Yahshua returns, specifically for the physical people. There are also the spiritual priests/saints of the Melchizedek Order who will be working directly with Yahshua, the High Priest.
    The following two verses speak of physical sacrifices being made for the physical people.
    In that day there will be inscribed on the bells of the horses, “HOLY TO YAHWEH.” And the cooking pots in Yahweh’s house will be like the bowls before the altar. Every cooking pot in Jerusalem and in Judah will be holy to Yahweh of hosts; and all who sacrifice will come and take of them and boil in them. And there will no longer be a Canaanite in the house of Yahweh of hosts in that day, Zechariah 14:20–21. (The word for “Canaanite” also translates as “merchant,” but either way is correct.)
    Ezekiel chapter 43 also speaks of physical sacrifices and burnt offerings on the altar by the Levitical priests. It will no doubt be the tutoring and training of the physical people who will need a better understanding of the law of sin and death. Sin causes death.
    It is thought that after Yahweh Himself comes down, that people will no longer bear the image of the “earthy” (1 Cor. 15:49-50) since, according to Revelation 21:1, “there was no more sea” – sea, figurative for people. The implication here, is that physical people after the one-thousand year reign will be granted eternal life as spirit beings. No more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither pain (Rev. 21:4) – these former things passed away, after they are changed.

No End to His Rule
     There will be no end to the reign of Yahshua. For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; and the government will rest on His shoulders; and His Name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty El, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness from then on and forevermore. The zeal of Yahweh of hosts will accomplish this, Isaiah 9:6-7.
    While there is a clear distinction between Father and Son, the titles Isaiah ascribes to this “child” Yahshua, identifies Him with Yahweh. To further illustrate this identity, let’s consider another passage from the Books of Daniel and Revelation:
    I kept looking until thrones were set up, and the Ancient of Days took His seat; His vesture was like white snow and the hair of His head like pure wool. His throne was ablaze with flames, its wheels were a burning fire. A river of fire was flowing and coming out from before Him; thousands upon thousands were attending Him, and myriads upon myriads were standing before Him; the court sat, and the books were opened … I kept looking in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven One like a Son of Man was coming, and He came up to the Ancient of Days and was presented before Him. And to Him was given dominion, glory and a kingdom, that all the peoples, nations and men of every language might serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion which will not pass away; and His kingdom is one which will not be destroyed, Daniel 7:9–10, 13-14.
    And I turned to see the voice that was speaking with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands; and in the middle of the lampstands One like the Son of Man, clothed in a robe reaching to the feet and girded across His breast with a golden girdle. And His head and His hair were white like white wool, like snow; and His eyes were like a flame of fire; and His feet [were] like burnished bronze, when it has been caused to glow in a furnace, and His voice [was] like the sound of many waters. And in His right hand He held seven stars; and out of His mouth came a sharp two-edged sword; and His face was like the sun shining in its strength, Revelation 1:12-16

Prepare to Meet Your Maker
     The world is so much in need of a time of peace and prosperity, but it will take time and effort now to prepare ourselves for that time.
    For the grace of Elohim has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny wickedness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously, and reverently in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great Elohim and Savior, Messiah Yahshua, who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds, Titus 2:11–14.
    Let’s prepare for that time when Yahshua returns and establishes the Kingdom.
    Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready. It was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. Then he said to me, “Write, ‘Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.’” And he said to me, “These are true words of Elohim,” Revelation 19:7–9.
    In Matthew 25:31-46, after the parables of the ten virgins and of the talents, Yahshua speaks of the sheep and the goats and how some who thought they were doing good will not be accepted. The Master here, speaks of the good deeds of the “sheep”:
    But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on His right, “Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me,” Matthew 25:31–36.
    We should ask ourselves, are we doing all that we need to be doing for one another, and therefore, doing also for the Master who lives in us?
    When Yahshua returns, when we meet our Maker, we want to hear the words, “Well done, good and faithful servant” from the One who came to serve us.
    Be dressed in readiness, and keep your lamps lit. Be like men who are waiting for their master when he returns from the wedding feast, so that they may immediately open the door to him when he comes and knocks. Blessed are those servants whom the master will find on the alert when he comes; truly I say to you, that he will gird himself to serve, and have them recline at the table, and will come up and wait on them, Luke 12:35–37.

In Conclusion
     We should prepare now by being servants to one another, allowing the love of Yahshua to fill our lives. Just as His Kingdom will have no end, we will take the excellent character we build now into that Kingdom.
    Don’t neglect the things that will be found in the coming Kingdom. Don’t let the things we see in the world discourage you, but rather focus on obtaining a good standing when the Messiah returns through seeking now, His righteousness in our lives.