Chapter 6 – THE RETURN OF CHRIST

Duration: Unknown (A day? A week? Longer?)
Timing: During God’s (Christ’s) Wrath
Key Scriptures: Mt 24:29-31; 1 Thes. 5:1-11; 2 Thes. 2:1-12; Rev. 8:1-5; 11:15-19; 16:17-21; 19:1-21

I’d like to remind the reader that when we talk of the “return” of Christ, we are talking about His actually setting down on earth, not His appearing in the sky. I make this distinction because it seems that the Lord will be visible and audible in the sky during His acts of fury and vengeance (known as God’s Wrath) for up to several months, apparently, before He sets foot on the ground. After all, it takes a minute to tour the world with your army/air-force/space-force, dealing with humans, so that they see you dealing with them.

Just as God’s Wrath is mentioned as a part of the Day of the Lord, so is His return.

There are three main conflicting doctrines about the timing of the Lord’s return. They are:

1. Premillennialism
2. Postmillennialism
3. Amillennialism

Premillennialism is what this study shows. It is the belief that the Lord’s return is before (pre) the millennium. I believe that this is the biblical viewpoint.

Postmillennialism says that the Lord’s return is after the millennium.

Amillennialism says that there is no millennium.

Both of these last two views, while very different from each other and premillennialism, use a hermeneutic that is more dependent upon a metaphorical or figurative reading than a literalistic or plain meaning one. To me, these two views lack a certain measure of faith in the word of God; that He is unable to make things happen exactly as He predicts – however miraculous the events may or may not seem. I’m not going to beat up on these views; I’ll just move on without delving into them any further. However, I encourage the reader to study these two views for knowledge-sake. And realize that adherents of these views are just as Christian as the premillennialists.

Also, Premillennialism is broken into two distinctly different camps: Historic; and Dispensational. Dispensational is not my cup of tea, at all. It makes assumptions that are not logical and forces us into a mold that does not fit the clear teaching of scripture. Pretribulationalism is a product of dispensational premillennialism. For that reason alone, it should be rejected. But I’m not going to get into this right now. Basically, the ones I am answering are the dispensationalist “premies”, when I give the objections at the end of the chapters. So, further attention is not necessary.

I’ve already shared my mental image of God’s Wrath. Now I’d like to share how I envision the Lord’s return.

I see the Lord coming into our solar system riding His white horse leading His angel armies, radiantly shining from their mighty glory, like a comet – only brighter. Entering our physical universe and solar system, they pass by Pluto, Neptune, Uranus and Saturn. The world sees the light coming our way. Perhaps as He approaches the asteroid belt He clears His path and hurls thousands of meteorites and asteroids on ahead of His angel armies, pummeling the earth and filling it with ash, smoke and fire. 

After all of the calamities experienced by these astral projectiles, the whole world is turned to even greater panic. The report from the astrophysicists is that there are even more countless small objects heading directly toward our already reeling planet. These small “objects” are Christ and His angel armies. The time taken to arrive is anyone’s guess. Did he show up first to be seen at the edge of the solar system and then send the meteoric barrage on ahead of his army? I don’t know. But onward He comes, His radiance looming brighter and larger as He approaches. 

The holy procession enters the atmosphere of earth and begins to orbit the rebellious planet. Christ is showing His full fury, just as He did in the temple when He cleared out the criminals from it. Do they follow the pattern of Jericho and circle the land they are about to inhabit seven times? Here is the parade of all parades and the conquest of all conquests – millions of mounted angels in full glory, led by the King of all Kings, coming to take back what is rightfully His. 

Think of the contrast between this triumphal arrival compared to the child in the manger: the First Advent begins with a baby’s cry; the Second Advent begins with shouts of fury, coupled with devastation upon the hostile planet. Angels are shouting with a loud call to those on the surface, “repent, for the day of the Lord is here!” (Rev. 14:6-11). The Lord utters His voice before His army, for His camp is exceedingly great; He who executes His Word is powerful.

For the day of the Lord is great and very awesome; who can endure it? (Joel 2:11) Will He orbit the planet for nearly 150 days after His appearance? Will He call up His faithful to Him after 75 days?

A mighty trumpet blast is heard by all. It echoes across the cosmos and into the spirit realm (both heaven and hell). In heaven, the saints are excitedly preparing to join Him. Angels call for the Lord’s own to come. The believers who have previously perished are raised to life in their new, glorified bodies and join the angelic host in the clouds. Now billions are flying through the air, dressed in white robes and righteousness, full of joy at the return of our blessed King. Is it the same orbit or a little later when those living saints on the ground are also caught up to join the royal spectacle above? Caught up and transformed in a blink, they too now have glory and perfection. The hope of their salvation is finally realized. The time has come. For those who are now glorified, there is no more pain. No more tears. No more death. No more sin to contend with. (Later, in the New Earth, there will be none of that for everyone else; those in the Nations).

The number of His saints is now filled, forever. His faithful witnesses have been named and brought forth. The Earth quakes, as if with excitement at the return of its Maker, or perhaps its fear. Mountains topple, islands sink into the sea, which is now tossing and churning as well. The clouds burst with hail and furious exhilaration. The very earth itself is jumping and spinning like a child at the return of its beloved Father. After the seventh orbit, or so, however many days it has taken to get here, after destroying the massive army assembled in the Valley of Megiddo, the holy host touches down on the ground, with the Lord touching down on the Mount of Olives, splitting it in two. Maranatha realized! The saints and the Maker; together as one, to rule the world.

2 Peter 3:10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.

Peter’s message above covers the entire Day of the Lord, all thousand years of it. Just as a thousand years are like a day to God, so the millennium is but a day (2 Peter 3:8). It is the time for Him to show us how life should have been. Don’t get confused by Peter’s words. He is not saying that the final judgment will happen immediately. There is much that will happen at that time: God’s Wrath; the Lord’s return; the resurrection; the rapture; Armageddon; the first “goat” judgment; the imprisonment of Satan; the millennial reign; the release of Satan; the final rebellion of man; the great judgment; the destruction of this universe; the creation of a new Earth and new heavens.

Also, don’t get too hung up on the saying that the Lord’s Day comes like a thief in the night, as if the elect will not be prepared. Jesus gave us a parable to show us that it will be the ones who are not looking for Him who are surprised (Mt 24:45-51). Paul also lets us know that if we are in the light, we will not be taken by surprise (below). This is why the Bible tells us to watch and eagerly await His return. Let this encourage you.

1st Thessalonians 5:¹ Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need to have anything written to you. ² For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. ³ While people are saying, “There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. ⁴ But you are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief. ⁵ For you are all children of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness. ⁶ So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober. ⁷ For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, are drunk at night. ⁸ But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. ⁹ For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, ¹⁰ who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him. ¹¹ Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.

Paul also tells us what to look for to know that our Lord’s arrival is near. When you read the passage below, notice how Paul treats the return of the Lord and our being gathered to Him (resurrection and rapture) as a single event. 

Also, it’s important to note that the temple in Jerusalem must be rebuilt so that the antichrist can reveal himself in it. As shown earlier, this is the Abomination of Desolation that ushers in the Great Tribulation. Notice, too, that the Lord kills him by the breath of His mouth upon His return. 

2nd Thessalonians 2:¹ Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him, we ask you, brothers, ² not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed, either by a spirit or a spoken word, or a letter seeming to be from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. ³ Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, ⁴ who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God. ⁵ Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? ⁶ And you know what is restraining him now so that he may be revealed in his time. ⁷ For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way. ⁸ And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of his coming. ⁹ The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, ¹⁰ and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. ¹¹ Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, ¹² in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

Did you notice the strong delusion mentioned above? Did you also notice that you should not allow yourself to be deceived in any way? Remember the great falling away warned about in the Great Tribulation. When the pretrib rapture does not happen, could it affect the faith of many? Will there be a counterfeit rapture (great signs and wonders accomplished by the false prophet)?

Matthew 24:³⁰ Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

By now you should know that the above prophecy from Jesus is fulfilled during the wrath of God, which is after the tribulation. All the nations of earth will see His glorious return. There is no hint of two returns or a two-part return anywhere in the Bible, much less a definitive statement that contradicts the clear teaching we’ve seen so far. 

I now believe that the great and furious acts of Jesus shown immediately below happen while He is orbiting or hovering over the earth. I haven’t read anything to contradict this belief. As you read the following passages, try to vividly imagine in your mind’s eye what’s happening. Better yet, pray that the Lord would show you how it will look. 

Seventh Bowl

Revelation 16:¹⁷ The seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and a loud voice came out of the temple, from the throne, saying, “It is done!” ¹⁸ And there were flashes of lightning, rumblings, [or voices, or sounds] peals of thunder, and a great earthquake such as there had never been since man was on the earth, so great was that earthquake. ¹⁹ The great city was split into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell, and God remembered Babylon the great, to make her drain the cup of the wine of the fury of his wrath. ²⁰ And every island fled away, and no mountains were to be found. 21 And great hailstones, about one hundred pounds [a talent in weight] each, fell from heaven on people; and they cursed God for the plague of the hail, because the plague was so severe. 

Seventh (Last/Final) Trumpet

Revelation 11:¹⁵ Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.” ¹⁶ And the twenty-four elders who sit on their thrones before God fell on their faces and worshiped God, ¹⁷ saying,

“We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty, who is and who was, for you have taken your great power and begun to reign.

¹⁸ The nations raged, but your wrath came, and the time for the dead to be judged, and for rewarding your servants, the prophets and saints, and those who fear your name, both small and great, and for destroying the destroyers of the earth.”

¹⁹ Then God’s temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant was seen within his temple. There were flashes of lightning, rumblings, [or voices, or sounds] peals of thunder, an earthquake, and heavy hail.

The above passage is a bit confusing. We don’t know WHEN this takes place. Is this a flashback to just before God’s Wrath? Is it a combination of events prior to and after God’s Wrath? Does it cover the entire Day of the Lord – all 1,000 years of it? Spiritual visions like this can be extremely difficult to discern accurately. Perhaps we should simply take the clear meaning of this passage and see it as a proclamation of Christ taking possession of the world.

Revelation 19:¹ After this I heard what seemed to be the loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, crying out, “Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God, ² for his judgments are true and just; for he has judged the great prostitute who corrupted the earth with her immorality, and has avenged on her the blood of his servants.”

³ Once more they cried out, “Hallelujah! The smoke from her goes up forever and ever.”

⁴ And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who was seated on the throne, saying, “Amen. Hallelujah!” ⁵ And from the throne came a voice saying,

“Praise our God, all you his servants, you who fear him, small and great.”

The Marriage Supper of the Lamb

⁶ Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out, “Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns.

⁷ Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready; ⁸ it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure”— for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints.

⁹ And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These are the true words of God.” ¹⁰ Then I fell down at his feet to worship him, but he said to me, “You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God.” For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.

The Rider on a White Horse

¹¹ Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. ¹² His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. ¹³ He is clothed in a robe dipped in [sprinkled with] blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. ¹⁴ And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. ¹⁵ From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. ¹⁶ On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.

¹⁷ Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and with a loud voice he called to all the birds that fly directly overhead, “Come, gather for the great supper of God, ¹⁸ to eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all men, both free and slave, both small and great.” ¹⁹ And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth with their armies gathered to make war against him who was sitting on the horse and against his army. ²⁰ And the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who in its presence [on its behalf] had done the signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped its image. These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur. ²¹ And the rest were slain by the sword that came from the mouth of him who was sitting on the horse, and all the birds were gorged with their flesh.

You just read all of Revelation, chapter 19. It’s a grand vision of spiritual and physical elements that come together to give us a picture of a very pivotal time in earth’s history: the changing of ownership of earth, from man and Satan to God and His Christ. It’s the end of this age and the beginning of the next. I’m not going to attempt to pick through this amazing scene in this little study. Our study here is one of large, broad strokes; not the precise, detailed parsing of such a difficult to explain account as this chapter.

The last paragraph in this chapter will be discussed in our study of Armageddon, a little later. And just like with Revelation 11, we can’t use this chapter as a hard and fast timeline – it’s too vague and difficult to discern in that way. 

I think that for now we should just grab ahold of the hope and inspiration provided by its depiction of our being included in His grand scheme and our unification with Him, while we weigh the severity of His punishment of the worldly, wicked, and ungodly sinners for all they have done regarding the mistreatment of His faithful saints, and their rebellion against His holy ways.

In all of our study of the return of the Lord, has there been a single verse that so much as hints at the return of Christ being split into two parts? I haven’t seen it. To the contrary, all verses seem to indicate that it is a single, one time event that is seen by all (both dead and living, both angel and man, both saved and damned). 

Further, as I study these things, I see no need to try to force a double return of the Lord onto the text – other than my own fear of the enemy and a lack of faith in God’s power to save (if that is His will). Also, along these lines, why would I want to adopt the attitude of the unsaved toward death? They are fearful of death and try all they can to avoid it. I have no such desire or fear. For me, death is the opportunity to rid myself of this sinful flesh and join the Lord in heavenly bliss. If I am killed by a tsunami, an earthquake, or any other act of God, what do I care? I will immediately be with the Lord! If I am killed by man or demon, that’s on his head, not mine, and I still enter my full union and joy with Jesus.

Matthew 24:³⁶ “But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.”

I think that the Lord was referring to His return when He said the above quote. Nearly all detractors of the posttribulational view have used this verse to discredit it.  But, in fact, we can have this verse and the posttrib view too – and without making Daniel out to be a false prophet.

The simple answer is that Jesus said, “no one knows” (not could know, or would know). He also said that even He didn’t know (according to some, but not all, manuscripts). Of course, Jesus did not use His full divine abilities while in the mortal flesh. But after His resurrection and glorification, He most certainly again took up His omniscience. So He must surely know now when He will return. And if His statement was confined to the time that He made the remark regarding His own knowledge, why can’t it also apply to our knowledge? In other words, He said, “no one knows”, meaning that when He made the statement, no one knew – not even Himself. And indeed, no one could know, even after the abomination that causes desolation is revealed in the Jewish temple. Plus, I remind you of my earlier statements about Matthew 24:45-51 and 2Thessalonians 2, that we will not be in the dark if we are faithful to the Lord as to the approximate time of these things.

So, using a “plain meaning” hermeneutic, this verse does not negate the posttribulational view. Which is a good thing, considering the plethora of other biblical teaching that confirms it.

Also, if the Lord is in the sky during His fury, then we cannot possibly know exactly how long this will last. As I’ve said already, I think He will be visible beginning at some point during His acts of wrath. He may be in the sky for five months or more before He sets foot on earth. Certainly, we cannot say to the exact day or hour when He will touch down on earth. But we do know it will be after the tribulation (according to Jesus in Matthew 24:29-31). So, the posttribulational view is not disturbed at all by Jesus’ proclamation concerning the precise day or hour, especially since we don’t know if He’s referring to when He is first seen or when He touches down on earth.

Again, Daniel did not make it clear whether the “blessed” event of Daniel 12:12 was His first appearing in the sky, or the atmosphere, or His touching down on the Mount of Olives, or the joining of the saints with our precious Lord. We do not know how long His conquest will last during His Second Advent. Will He make one Earth orbit, two, seven or some other number, or just move about randomly? How fast will he be traveling through space and the sky during His air campaign? No one can say for sure. So since we do not have these details and Daniel did not provide them either, we can certainly say that no one knows the exact day or hour of the Lord’s return (touching down on dirt).

So, Daniel is not a false prophet, and we don’t know what other details are missing from our knowledge that would let us know the exact day and hour. This objection in no way discredits the posttribulational view. 

Objections to the Posttrib View Regarding 2^nd Coming

I. Two Returns of the Lord

In Christendom we use the word “advent” to refer to a physical coming of Christ to the Earth. The First Advent was in the first century when He arrived as a baby, born of a virgin. The Second Advent will be when He returns as the King of all kings and Lord of all lords to rule the earth with an iron scepter. There is no historic or biblical teaching of a third advent. Why would there be, since His return brings Him back to us forever, never to leave us again?

In the pretribulational doctrine, the Second Advent is taught to occur in two stages. While this may not be taught as a Second and Third Advent, per se, it has that practical result. While I would like very much to examine the biblical evidence for a splitting of the Second Advent into two stages, I am at a loss to find any biblical reference to such. All scriptural references I can find seem to point to a single Second Advent. Therefore, all I can do is point to some teachings from adherents of this position and then compare them to scripture.

In the pretribulationalists’ exposition of their view, it is common for them to make a distinction between the rapture of the Church and the return of Christ. They attempt to portray them as separate events, which happen at different times. This is accomplished through an eisegetical approach of pointing out distinctions between various scriptures and attempting to present them as covering two separate events, rather than seeing them as two points of view, or a fuller revelation, of the same single event. 

For example, Ed Hindson shows some verses that discuss the rapture and compares them with some verses that discuss the return of Christ. He then attempts to point out that the distinctions in the verses prove his case – that they are two separate events. This argument can take the following form:

• At the rapture, Christ comes for His own (Jn 14:3; 1 Thess 4:17; 2 Thess 2:1)
• At the return, Christ comes with His own (1 Thess 3:13; Jude 14; Rev 19:14)

This parsing of the message can only come about by ignoring the full revelation of scripture. For instance, notice that 1^st Thessalonians 4:17 is used as a proof text above. When we read the surrounding text of 1^st Thessalonians 4:13-18, we see that Paul is clearly teaching that the resurrection of the dead in Christ and the rapture of the living in Christ happen upon His Second Advent. In Paul’s clear teaching, he shows Christ as coming both with and for His own. To attempt to split these away from each other and separate them by a period of years seems to violate the text. 

Reason would show us that the Resurrection of the dead is the saints coming with Jesus and that the Rapture of the living is Jesus coming for the saints. And since Paul shows these occurring together with the Return of Christ (1 Thessalonians 4:13-17 and elsewhere), we can conclude very confidently that Jesus comes both with and for His saints at the same time. Not only is there no reason to split these events, but it is unreasonable to separate them.

Other pretrib expositors will say it is imperative to keep these two (rapture and return) separated from each other in one’s mind. The first return, they will say, is solely to remove the Church from the earth so that we will not have to go through the terrible times to come. After the horror is over, so they say, the Lord comes back with His Church to take back the world.

I recently read one expositor who wrote that there are three reasons it is important to keep these two returns separate. They are:

1. If the rapture and the second coming are the same event, believers will have to go through the tribulation (1 Thessalonians 5:9; Revelation 3:10).
2. If the rapture and the second coming are the same event, the return of Christ is not imminent—there are many things which must occur before He can return (Matthew 24:4-30).
3. In describing the tribulation period, Revelation chapters 6–19 nowhere mention the church. During the tribulation—also called “the time of trouble for Jacob” (Jeremiah 30:7)—God will again turn His primary attention to Israel (Romans 11:17-31).

So, in essence the argument is that “If we don’t separate them, then we’ll have to go through the tribulation and Jesus’ return wouldn’t be imminent”. That’s called circular reasoning (or should I say wishful thinking?). What they are really saying is that “we can’t go through the tribulation because we say we can’t”. Or, “the Bible can’t teach it because we don’t teach it”. This is an eisegetical hermeneutic and is woefully flawed at its core. 

There is no verse in the Bible that even hints (explicitly) at the Lord’s second coming being split into two parts, 7 years apart or 7 seconds. If this were the Lord’s will, would He not have clearly told us so? (See Amos 3:7)

The biblical reality is that: There is only one second coming of the Lord taught, not two; His return is not imminent, as evidenced by all of these prophetic events that have been examined in this study; and the book of Revelation does indeed discuss the followers of Christ throughout its pages, just not with a particular word (Ekklesia) that this person was looking for. See the sections below for further discussion on “Imminent Return” and “Church and Holy Spirit Removed”.

II. Day and Hour Unknown

In the Olivet Discourse, Jesus told of many things that will come to pass during the tribulation and after. During His discourse, he said the following:

Matthew 24:36 “But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.” (Some manuscripts omit nor the Son.) He continues, 42 “Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming.”

Because of this statement, the argument goes, “When the antichrist is revealed, we will know to the day when Christ will return, according to Daniel.” There are three responses to this objection:

1. Jesus said no one “knows” (present tense), implying that in the future we might know.
2. With the confusion concerning the Hebrew calendar and whether the plague of locusts will be cut short or not, it is difficult to know with certainty if the days of Daniel’s prophecy can be precisely counted (not that they are wrong, just whether we can count them accurately).
3. We don’t know if Daniel was referring to His appearing in the sky or His touching down on earth (which could be different days).

I have already addressed this issue in this chapter, so I’ll not belabor the point any further.

III. Imminent Return

There are many, many verses that speak to being eager, waiting, looking for, or watching for the Lord’s return. In fact, it very well may sound like He could come back at any minute. But, as already shown from Paul’s second letter to the Thessalonians and Jesus’ Olivet Discourse, it is unbiblical to say that He could come back at any time other than what has been taught in scripture, such as specific prophecies. 

However eager we may be for the Lord to return (and Posttribulation adherents are just as eager as anyone else), however watchful and expectant, we must acknowledge that He cannot come at a different time than when He and the Holy Spirit have said. If He did, then His word is not true and He has lied to us. That is not an option that I will entertain. Jesus said that He will come back when “the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.” And since this occurs, according to His same word, “Immediately after the tribulation”, there is no possibility that he will return at any time before that. You know, Peter told us that we’d get anxious about this. 

2 Peter 3:⁸ But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. ⁹ The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.

All of those verses that say “watch”, “be ready”, and whatever else conveys an eager expectation, were written about 2,000 years ago. It’s time we pay attention to the clearer verses that speak directly to the timing of these things (as we have done in this study).

As already shown above under “Two Returns of the Lord”, this doctrine of Imminent Return can only be postulated by forcing a divide between the return of Christ and the resurrection/rapture of His faithful. Both Paul and Jesus in their teachings on this show these three events as occurring jointly.

Questions to Ponder

1. What Bible verse clearly shows two returns or a two-stage return of the Lord?
2. Whether we will know the exact day or hour of Christ’s return or not, we will know the approximate time, true or false?
3. What are some Bible verses that show the return of Christ happening in conjunction with the resurrection and the rapture?

Answers

1. None. (Carefully scrutinize any given.)
2. True. See Matthew 24:3-35
3. Mt. 24:30-31; 2 Thess. 2:1; 1 Thess. 4:13-17; 1 Cor. 15:23

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Preface/Introduction
Ch 1: Ezekiel’s War
Ch 2: The Tribulation
Ch 3: 3rd Temple Built
Ch 4: The Great Tribulation
Ch 5: The Wrath of God
Ch 6: The Return of Christ
Ch 7: The Resurrection of the Dead in Christ
Ch 8: The Rapture
Ch 9: Armageddon
Ch 10: The Millennium
Ch 11: The Judgment
Ch 12: The New Creation
Ch 13: Conclusion
Ch 14: Summary
Glossary