Understanding the Return of Christ

People say Jesus will come again, but will He really? How can we know for sure? What does the Bible say conditions will be like when He comes?

by Ken Treybig

If you ask people about the return of Christ or try to research that topic, you will quickly find there is almost no end to the opinions about it. Some deny that Christ will return to the earth, while others say He has already returned and is working through the Church to set up the Kingdom of God.

Still others say He will return secretly sometime in the future to gather the true believers to Him. One group even teaches that a man in Persia in the 1840s had a revelation that he was the "promised one" and that Christ had therefore returned in human form. It can be pretty confusing, so is there a way to know the truth on this subject?

The place to begin is with proof that Jesus Christ will return, so let's go to the source. You can't get much closer to the source than His own words, so what did He say? During His earthly ministry Jesus repeatedly spoke about His return to establish the Kingdom of God. A direct and clear statement about His promise to return is found in John 14:2-3 where He said He was going to prepare a place for His followers. He promised that if He went, He would also "come again."

No wonder every writer in the New Testament spoke about His coming. His return as king over all the earth is a vital part of the gospel message found in the Bible and anticipated by saints since the first century. So we have the direct word of God, who we're told cannot lie (Hebrews 6:18), promising Christ's return. You can't get any greater guarantee than that about something happening. So the question to address in the rest of this article is not will He return, but how will He return?

Olivet Prophecy and Revelation

The question of when and how Jesus Christ will return has been on the minds of Christians throughout the centuries--beginning with the apostles themselves. Before Jesus was crucified they came to Him asking what those events would be like. Three of the gospel writers recorded that exchange in what is called the Olivet Prophecy (Matthew 24, Mark 13, Luke 21).

When we compare the events spoken of in this prophecy to the general outline of end-time events described in the book of Revelation (recorded at the end of the first century) there are many striking parallels as shown in the following chart. For simplicity's sake, only Matthew's account will be shown.

This simple chart leaves out many aspects of prophecy from Revelation about the end-time beast and false prophet who will dominate a world-ruling empire. If you want to learn more about those events, request a free copy of our booklets, The Book of Revelation Unveiled and You Can Understand Bible Prophecy. However, putting the similar passages in Matthew and Revelation together does make a number of things very obvious about what the Bible says concerning the actual return of Jesus Christ.

Visible events

Jesus' coming is yet in the future because it is associated with a huge battle against the armies of this earth prior to the establishment of God's rule on earth. The prophet Daniel was given the understanding that in the days of the final revival of a fourth world-ruling government, God will set up a kingdom (Daniel 2:44-45). The saints will rule in this kingdom forever (Daniel 7:18) when the Ancient of Days comes (verse 22) and all people will serve and obey Him (verse 27).

Jesus' return will not be a secret event that only a few will recognize. Just like lightning is quite visible all across the sky (Matthew 24:27), so everyone on earth will see Him as He returns. His return will be accompanied by a great shout and a loud trumpet blast, at which time the dead saints will rise from their graves all over the earth and the saints who are alive will be changed from mortal to spirit (1 Corinthians 15:52-54)!

But before this, as we saw on the chart, there will be a great tribulation and incredible miraculous signs in the heavens preceding the return of Christ. That tribulation is described as the worst there has ever been or ever will be (Matthew 24:21). The early Church faced some terrible persecutions at the hands of the Roman government in the early centuries after the death and resurrection of Christ. In the last century, two world wars had devastating effects. Anything that reaches a magnitude greater than those events will be impossible to hide from public view.

Some saints will indeed be called on to give their physical lives for their convictions (Revelation 6:11 and Luke 21:12-16), but the Church, as a whole, will be protected (Revelation 3:10 and 12:14). Christ said we are to pray that we might be part of those counted worthy to escape those things (Luke 21:36).

Those who teach about a secret coming contradict the plain words of the Bible. This includes the "Left Behind" series of books, which has become immensely popular in recent years among those professing Christianity. Many things in that series contradict the plain Bible teaching we've just seen, so the books are based on wrong premises. Anyone who wishes to remain faithful to the teaching of the Bible would do well to avoid those books and others like them, which add confusion.

Truth is available

God has not left us to our own speculations and conclusions about the return of His Son. He not only clearly prophesied it from the mouth of Jesus Christ and all the authors of the New Testament, He also provided many detailed signs that will identify Christ's second coming. Paul calls those who are aware of and soberly looking for these signs "children of light" who will not be caught by surprise at the return of Christ (1 Thessalonians 5:4-6).

Revelation 13, 17 and 18 tell us of a great power that will exist just before the return of Christ. These chapters show the false prophet will be the spiritual representative of that government and he will be able to perform surprising miracles by the power of the god of this world, Satan the devil. Satan is actively preparing the world to accept those miracles by increasing interest in the spirit world. Many books and movies are being written about angels and even witchcraft, such as the Harry Potter series (see the first question in this issue's Questions and Answers section).

You have knowledge that can keep you from being taken in by forces contrary to the truth of God, as revealed in the pages of the Bible. We hope you will be helped by this knowledge as the events of the future begin to unfold. YU