When will Jesus return?
Question 10011
This is one of the most asked questions in Christianity, and it has been asked since the earliest days of the Church. The disciples themselves wanted to know. “Tell us, when will these things be?” (Matthew 24:3) The answer Jesus gave them, and the answer Scripture gives us, is both clear and mysterious. We can know certain things about His return, but the precise timing remains hidden.
No One Knows the Day or Hour
Jesus Himself was explicit on this point: “But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.” (Matthew 24:36) This statement is remarkable. Even in His incarnate state, the Son did not know the precise timing of His return. Some have struggled with this, wondering how the omniscient God could not know something. The answer lies in the voluntary limitations Jesus accepted in His humanity. He chose, in His human nature, not to access certain knowledge that belonged to His divine prerogative. The Father alone has set the time “by his own authority.” (Acts 1:7)
This should put an end to all date-setting. Throughout Church history, people have attempted to calculate the day of Christ’s return, and every single one has been wrong. The plain words of Jesus should make us humble about such matters. We are not meant to know the precise timing, and those who claim to have figured it out are contradicting the Lord Himself.
Signs of the Times
While we cannot know the exact timing, Jesus did give signs that would precede His coming. In the Olivet Discourse (Matthew 24–25, Mark 13, Luke 21), He spoke of wars and rumours of wars, famines and earthquakes, the rise of false prophets and false christs, the abomination of desolation, and great tribulation such as the world has never seen. These signs are birth pains, He said, indicating that the time is drawing near. (Matthew 24:8)
From a dispensational premillennial perspective, many of these signs find their ultimate fulfilment in the seven-year Tribulation period that follows the Rapture of the Church. The abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet (Daniel 9:27; 11:31; 12:11), will occur when the Antichrist desecrates the rebuilt temple in Jerusalem at the midpoint of the Tribulation. This event triggers the Great Tribulation, the worst period of suffering in human history, which culminates in Christ’s visible return to earth.
The Two Phases of His Coming
Scripture speaks of Christ’s return in two distinct phases. First, there is the Rapture, when Jesus comes for His Church. “For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.” (1 Thessalonians 4:16–17) This event is imminent, meaning it could happen at any moment. There are no prophetic events that must occur before the Rapture. Paul could speak of “we who are alive” because he genuinely expected it might happen in his lifetime.
The second phase is the Second Coming proper, when Jesus returns visibly to earth with His saints to defeat His enemies and establish His millennial kingdom. “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.” (Matthew 24:30) Revelation 19 depicts this as Jesus riding on a white horse, followed by the armies of heaven, coming to strike down the nations and rule them with a rod of iron.
Between these two events lies the seven-year Tribulation. The Rapture removes the Church before God’s wrath is poured out on the earth. (1 Thessalonians 5:9; Revelation 3:10) The Second Coming concludes the Tribulation and ushers in the thousand-year reign of Christ on earth.
Imminence and Watchfulness
The teaching of imminence means we should always be ready. “Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming.” (Matthew 24:42) The early Church lived with this expectation, and so should we. Each generation of believers should live as if Christ might return in their lifetime, because He might. At the same time, we must not set dates or become so focused on eschatological speculation that we neglect our present duties.
Jesus told the parable of the ten virgins to illustrate this. (Matthew 25:1–13) Five were wise and prepared, five were foolish and unprepared. The bridegroom came at an unexpected hour, and only those who were ready went in to the wedding feast. “Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.” (Matthew 25:13)
Why the Delay?
Some mock the promise of Christ’s return, saying, “Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.” (2 Peter 3:4) Peter’s answer is instructive: “The Lord is not slow to fulfil his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9) The delay is mercy. God is giving more time for people to be saved.
Conclusion
When will Jesus return? We do not know the day or hour, and anyone who claims otherwise is mistaken. But we know He is coming. The Rapture could happen at any moment, catching the world by surprise. The signs point to the nearness of the end. Our response should be watchfulness, faithfulness, and readiness. We should live each day as if it might be our last, not in fear but in joyful anticipation. “He who testifies to these things says, ‘Surely I am coming soon.’ Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!” (Revelation 22:20)
“Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming.” Matthew 24:42
