Men are taken by surprise

• Revelation 16:¹⁵ “Behold, I am coming as a thief. Blessed is he who watches, and keeps his garments, lest he walk naked and they see his shame.”
  
• Matthew 24:37, 39 But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be…and (they) did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.

The first indication of the return of Jesus is the signs in the heavens

• Verses about the Day of Darkness when Jesus returns to earth ready to fight at the battle of Armageddon. This day is also marked with “Noises, Thunder, Lightning, Great Hail, and an Earthquake.”
  
  • Revelation 16:21 And great hail from heaven fell upon men, each hailstone about the weight of a talent. Men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail, since that plague was exceedingly great.
    
  • Zephaniah 1:15
    That day is a day of wrath,
    A day of trouble and distress,
    A day of devastation and desolation,
    A day of darkness and gloominess,
    A day of clouds and thick darkness,
    
  • Joel 2:2 A day of darkness and gloominess, A day of clouds and thick darkness, Like the morning clouds spread over the mountains. A people come, great and strong, The like of whom has never been; Nor will there ever be any such after them, Even for many successive generations.
    
  • Joel 2:10 The earth quakes before them, The heavens tremble; The sun and moon grow dark, And the stars diminish their brightness.
    
    Joel 2:31 The sun shall be turned into darkness, And the moon into blood, Before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord.
    
    Amos 8:9 “And it shall come to pass in that day,” says the Lord God, “That I will make the sun go down at noon, And I will darken the earth in broad daylight;
    
  • Ezekiel 32:⁷ When I put out your light, I will cover the heavens, and make its stars dark; I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon shall not give her light.
    
  • Isaiah 29: 6 NIV “the LORD Almighty will come with thunder and earthquake and great noise, with windstorm and tempest and flames of a devouring fire.”
    
  • Psalm 77:18 The voice of Your thunder was in the whirlwind; The lightnings lit up the world; The earth trembled and shook.
    
  • Psalm 97:4 His lightnings light the world; The earth sees and trembles.
    
  • Psalm 114:7 Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord, At the presence of the God of Jacob,
    
  • Isaiah 30:30 The Lord will cause His glorious voice to be heard, and show the descent of His arm, with the indignation of His anger And the flame of a devouring fire, with scattering, tempest, and hailstones.
    
  • Jeremiah 4:24 I beheld the mountains, and indeed they trembled, And all the hills moved back and forth.
    
  • Jeremiah 10:10 But the Lord is the true God; He is the living God and the everlasting King. At His wrath the earth will tremble, And the nations will not be able to endure His indignation.
    
  • Nahum 1:5 The mountains quake before Him, The hills melt, And the earth heaves at His presence, Yes, the world and all who dwell in it.

• The following three verses are all the same event in the book of Revelation:
  
  • Revelation 8:5 Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and threw it to the earth. And there were noises, thunderings, lightnings, and an earthquake.
    
  • Revelation 11:19 Then the temple of God was opened in heaven, and the ark of His covenant was seen in His temple. And there were lightnings, noises, thunderings, an earthquake, and great hail.
    
  • Revelation 16:18 And there were noises and thunderings and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such a mighty and great earthquake as had not occurred since men were on the earth.

It is a time when the earth will be in danger of being thrown out of her orbit.

• Isaiah 24:20 The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, And shall totter like a hut; Its transgression shall be heavy upon it, And it will fall, and not rise again.
  
• II Samuel 22:8 “Then the earth shook and trembled; The foundations of heaven quaked and were shaken, Because He was angry.
  
• Job 9:6 He shakes the earth out of its place, And its pillars tremble;
  
• Job 38:13 That it might take hold of the ends of the earth, And the wicked be shaken out of it?
  
• Psalm 18:7 Then the earth shook and trembled; The foundations of the hills also quaked and were shaken, Because He was angry.
  
• Isaiah 13:13 Therefore I will shake the heavens, And the earth will move out of her place, In the wrath of the Lord of hosts And in the day of His fierce anger.
  
• Isaiah 24:19 The earth is violently broken, The earth is split open, The earth is shaken exceedingly.
  
• Luke 21:26 men’s hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.
  
• Hebrews 12:26 whose voice then shook the earth; but now He has promised, saying, “Yet once more I shake not only the earth, but also heaven.”
  
• Revelation 6:13 And the stars of heaven fell to the earth, as a fig tree drops its late figs when it is shaken by a mighty wind.
  
• Other Reference Material:
  • See Pop Up: Verses on the Day of Jesus’ Return

Every Eye will see Him when His Foot Touches Mount Olives. He is surrounded by armies of saints and angels.

• Mark 14: 61-62 NIV Again the high priest asked him, “Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?” “I am,” said Jesus. “And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds (of the angels and saints) of heaven.”
  
• Revelation 1:7 Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen.
  
• Zechariah 14:4 And in that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, Which faces Jerusalem on the east. And the Mount of Olives shall be split in two, From east to west, Making a very large valley; Half of the mountain shall move toward the north and half of it toward the south.
  
• Luke 9:26 For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, of him the Son of Man will be ashamed when He comes in His own glory, and in His Father’s, and of the holy angels.
  
• Zechariah 14:5 “Then you (the people) shall flee through My mountain valley, For the mountain valley shall reach to Azal. Yes, you shall flee As you fled from the earthquake In the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Thus the LORD my God will come, And all the saints with You (Lord).”

• Jude 1:14b “Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of His saints, ¹⁵ to execute judgment on all, to convict all who are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have committed in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.”

He is returning to save the remnant of Jews from total annihilation. It is called the Day of the Lord’s Wrath/Vengeance

• Psalm 110:5 The Lord is at Your right hand; He shall execute kings in the day of His wrath.
  
• Zechariah 10:3 “My anger is kindled against the shepherds, And I will punish the goatherds. For the Lord of hosts will visit His flock, The house of Judah, And will make them as His royal horse in the battle.
  
• Ezekiel 38:19 For in My jealousy and in the fire of My wrath I have spoken: ‘Surely in that day there shall be a great earthquake (shaking) in the land of Israel,

The reaction of the remnant of Jews in hiding

• Zechariah 12:10 And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn.
  
• Hosea 5:15 I will return again to My place Till they acknowledge their offense. Then they will seek My face; In their affliction they will earnestly seek Me.”
  
• Malachi 3:1-3 The Coming Messenger ¹ “Behold, I send My messenger, And he will prepare the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, Will suddenly come to His temple, Even the Messenger of the covenant, In whom you delight (fulfilled)I. Behold, He is coming,” Says the Lord of hosts. ² “But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He is like a refiner’s fire and like launderers’ soap. ³ He will sit as a refiner and a purifier of silver; He will purify the sons of Levi, And purge them as gold and silver, That they may offer to the Lord an offering in righteousness (yet to be fulfilled).

The reaction of the wicked is utter terror

• Isaiah 2:19 They shall go into the holes of the rocks, And into the caves of the earth, From the terror of the Lord And the glory of His majesty, When He arises to shake the earth mightily.

• Isaiah 2:21 To go into the clefts of the rocks, And into the crags of the rugged rocks, From the terror of the Lord And the glory of His majesty, When He arises to shake the earth mightily.
  
• Hos 10:8 KJV The high places also of Aven, the sin of Israel, shall be destroyed: the thorn (H6975) and the thistle shall come up on their altars; and they shall say to the mountains, Cover us; and to the hills, Fall on us.
  
• Isaiah 24:18 And it shall be That he who flees from the noise of the fear Shall fall into the pit, And he who comes up from the midst of the pit Shall be caught in the snare; For the windows from on high are open, And the foundations of the earth are shaken.
  
• Isaiah 33:14 The sinners in Zion are afraid; Fearfulness has seized the hypocrites: “Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? Who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings?”
  
• Revelation 6:15 Then the kings of the earth, the princes, the generals, the rich, the mighty, and everyone else, both slave and free, hid in caves and among the rocks of the mountains. 16 They called to the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! 17 For the great day of their wrath has come, and who can withstand it?”
  
• Job 21:30 For the wicked are reserved for the day of doom;
  They shall be brought out on the day of wrath.

The only currency is righteousness

• Zephaniah 1:18 Neither their silver nor their gold
  Shall be able to deliver them
  In the day of the Lord’s wrath;
  But the whole land shall be devoured
  By the fire of His jealousy,
  For He will make speedy riddance
  Of all those who dwell in the land.
  
• Ezekiel 7:19 ‘They will throw their silver into the streets,
  And their gold will be like refuse;
  Their silver and their gold will not be able to deliver them
  In the day of the wrath of the Lord;
  They will not satisfy their souls,
  Nor fill their stomachs,
  Because it became their stumbling block of iniquity.
  
• Proverbs 11:4 Riches do not profit in the day of wrath,
  But righteousness delivers from death.
  
• Job 20:28 The increase of his house will depart,
  And his goods will flow away in the day of His wrath.
  
• Romans 2:5 But in accordance with your hardness and your impenitent (unrepentant) heart you are treasuring (storing) up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God,
  
• Isaiah 26:21 For behold, the Lord comes out of His place To punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity; The earth will also disclose her blood, And will no more cover her slain.

The Battle of Armageddon

• Revelation 16:16 And they gathered them together to the place called in Hebrew, Armageddon.
  
• Jeremiah 10:10 But the Lord is the true God; He is the living God and the everlasting King. At His wrath the earth will tremble, And the nations will not be able to endure His indignation.

He chases and captures the Antichrist (indwelt by Satan called the dragon or leviathan) with his armies.

• Isaiah 27:1 Israel Will Be Restored – In that day the Lord with His severe sword, great and strong, Will punish Leviathan the fleeing serpent, Leviathan that twisted serpent; And He will slay the reptile that is in the sea (of people).
  
• Psalm 74:14 You broke the heads of Leviathan in pieces, And gave him as food to the people inhabiting the wilderness.
  • The heads of Leviathan are the seven heads on the dragon. They are all mid-eastern nations.
  • The people inhabiting the wilderness are the Jews in hiding.
    • Revelation 12:14 But the woman (the remnant of Israel. The 144,000) was given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness to her place, where she is nourished for a time and times and half a time (3-1/2 years), from the presence of the serpent (aka leviathan).
      
• Psalms 35:5 Let them be like chaff before the wind (The threshing, the tribulation), And let the Angel of the Lord (Jesus) chase them.

The gathering of the nations to battle

• Zechariah 14:3 Then the Lord will go forth And fight against those nations, As He fights in the day of battle.
  
• Isaiah 13:4 (Armageddon) The noise of a multitude in the mountains, Like that of many people! A tumultuous noise of the kingdoms of nations gathered together! The Lord of hosts musters The army for battle.
  
• Isaiah 34:2 For the indignation of the Lord is against all nations, And His fury against all their armies; He has utterly destroyed them, He has given them over to the slaughter.
  
• Malachi 4:1 [The Great Day of God] “For behold, the day is coming, Burning like an oven, And all the proud, yes, all who do wickedly will be stubble. And the day which is coming shall burn them up,” Says the Lord of hosts, “That will leave them neither root (ancestor) nor branch (descendants).
  
• Ezekiel 38:18 “And it will come to pass at the same time, when Gog (aka Agag) comes against the land of Israel,” says the Lord God, “that My fury will show in My face. ¹⁹ For in My jealousy and in the fire of My wrath I have spoken: ‘Surely in that day there shall be a great earthquake in the land of Israel, ²⁰ so that the fish of the sea, the birds of the heavens, the beasts of the field, all creeping things that creep on the earth, and all men who are on the face of the earth shall shake at My presence (The return of Christ). The mountains shall be thrown down, the steep places shall fall, and every wall shall fall to the ground.’ ²¹ I will call for a sword against Gog throughout all My mountains,” says the Lord God. “Every man’s sword will be against his brother. ²² And I will bring him to judgment with pestilence and bloodshed; I will rain down on him, on his troops, and on the many peoples who are with him, flooding rain, great hailstones, fire, and brimstone. ²³ Thus I will magnify Myself and sanctify Myself, and I will be known in the eyes of many nations. Then they shall know that I am the Lord.”’

Jesus sets up His own kingdom on earth where He rules from Jerusalem for 1,000 years (a millennium)

• Daniel 2:44 And in the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people; it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever.
  
• Jeremiah 29:11-13 ASV For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith Jehovah, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you hope in your latter end. And ye shall call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.
  
• Isaiah 13:9 Behold, the day of the Lord comes,
  Cruel, with both wrath and fierce anger,
  To lay the land desolate;
  And He will destroy its sinners from it.
  
• Zephaniah 3:8 “Therefore wait for Me,” says the Lord,
  “Until the day I rise up (aka Pass Over) for plunder;
  
  * Note: To rise up: “qum”
  
  * Note: To plunder “ʿaḏ” [aka: To the booty, prey]
  From the root: To Pass Over, To Continue On:
  
  (or rise up for witness)
  (or for the day of My revelation for judgment)
  (or for the day of My resurrection that is to come)
  
  My determination is to gather the nations
  To My assembly of kingdoms (Armageddon),
  To pour on them My indignation,
  All My fierce anger;
  All the earth shall be devoured
  With the fire of My jealousy.

• Ezekiel 39:21 “I will set My glory among the nations; all the nations shall see My judgment which I have executed, and My hand which I have laid on them.
  
• Daniel 7:14 Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, That all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, Which shall not pass away, And His kingdom the one which shall not be destroyed.

• Isaiah 46:13 I bring My righteousness near, it shall not be far off; My salvation shall not linger. And I will place salvation in Zion, For Israel My glory.

• Isaiah 24:23 Then the moon will be disgraced And the sun ashamed; For the Lord of hosts will reign On Mount Zion and in Jerusalem And before His elders, gloriously.

• Zechariah 8:23 “Thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘In those days (during the millennium) ten men from every language of the nations shall grasp the sleeve (or hem) of a Jewish man, saying, “Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.” ’ ” (God’s Jewish Agenda for the Jews)