When is Jesus Christ Coming Again? Will Jesus Return?
When is Jesus Christ Coming Again?
Nobody can say with any degree of certainty when Jesus is coming again, because He said clearly that even the angels in heaven do not know that day (see ). No man knows that day, and the Son of God, when He was on the earth, did not know either. This knowledge, the Lord Jesus said, was strictly reserved for the Father.
We can see certain signs, or clues (see , ), that His coming is approaching. Jesus said there would be wars and rumors of wars, revolutions, widespread famine, disease, and earthquakes in many different places (see , ). There would be an increase of lawlessness and anarchy. The apostle Paul said, "That day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God" (2 Thessalonians 2:3-4). Along with the "man of sin" will come what is called an apostasy, or a falling away. Many of the believing people will grow cold in their faith (see ). There will be persecution of Christians and a time of general trouble.
I think all these things are happening with increasing frequency.
Another event that had to happen before Jesus could return was the re-establishment of the state of Israel. The original Israel disappeared from the globe hundreds of years ago. In 1948 a new state of Israel was established. The regathering of Jews to Israel is a clear sign, in both the Old and New Testaments, that our age is just about over. Jesus said, "Jerusalem will be trampled by Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled" ( ). On June 6, 1967, the Jews, for the first time since Jerusalem was captured by Nebuchadnezzar in 586 B.C., took over control of the entire city of Jerusalem, thus signaling the approaching end of Gentile world power.
Jesus said, however, that the one major thing which would herald His coming would be the proclamation of the gospel. He said, "This gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come" ( ).
These are signs of the times. We are to hold ourselves always ready for our Lord's return. But nobody knows the day and hour when that will be.
What Else Must Happen Before Christ Returns?
Some people teach that Jesus could come at any time because Jesus warned His disciples always to be watchful. While it is true that we do not know exactly when He will come, certain signs of His coming are given to us.
Jesus said the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah ( 7-39).
The thing that strikes me about the days of Noah is that even in the midst of terrible apostasy, evil, violence, and rebellion against God, the people went ahead with their normal lives. They planted fields, they harvested crops, they built houses, they got married, and they had children. They went about business as usual, until the very day that Noah entered the ark, and then destruction came and took them all away.
That is how it will be when Jesus comes again. Business will go on pretty much as usual until the dreadful wrath of God and the Tribulation fall upon the earth. Then it will be too late to turn to God. At that point Jesus will come back again. He could come back tonight, but it is my personal feeling that some of the signs of His coming--especially the revelation of the "man of sin"--have not yet occurred (see 2 Thessalonians 2:3).
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