the rich men, and the
chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free
man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; and
said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face
of Him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: for
the great day of His wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?"
Rev. 6:15-17.

The same glory that transforms the righteous is a consuming fire to
those who have rejected Christ's salvation:

"Then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with
the spirit of His mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of His
coming." 2 Thess. 2:8.

"When the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with His mighty
angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and
that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: who shall be punished
with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the
glory of His power." 2 Thess. 1:7-9.

The Climax of Human History

Thus the second coming of Christ brings the resurrection and translation
of the righteous, the death of the wicked, and the end of the world. The
resurrection of the wicked does not then take place, but only that of
the just; save for some of the wicked dead who had a special part in
warring against Christ,--"they also which pierced Him" (Rev. 1:7). These
are raised to see His coming, necessarily to fall again before the
consuming glory of His presence.

The righteous are taken to reign with Christ in the heavenly city for a
thousand years, and during the same period the earth lies in desolation
and chaos, uninhabited by man, a dark abyss, the dreary prison house of
Satan. Of the two resurrections, first of the just and then of the
unjust, we are told:

"They [the righteous] lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were
finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he that
hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no
power." Rev. 20:4-6.

It is at the end of the thousand years that the resurrection of the
wicked takes place. Then the city of God descends, "the holy city, New
Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven," and the wicked come
forth to condemnation and the second death, from which there is no
waking.

"Now is the Accepted Time"

Now is the day of salvation, when by Christ's gr