Beginning Bible Study
When is Christ coming again? Since the time that Jesus went to Heaven, men have tried to say when He will return. Yet the Bible clearly teaches that no man knows when Christ will return. "But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only" (Matthew 24:36).
When will Jesus come again? The angels in heaven do not know. Jesus did not even know. No man knows. Only God knows. We must not say when Jesus will return because we do not know. We only know that He will return. We must believe this! "For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night" (1 Thessalonians 5:2).
The "day of the Lord" refers to the second coming of Christ. Christ’s second coming will be like a thief in the night. When does a thief steal? When you expect him to steal? No! A thief steals when he is not expected. So it will be with the second coming of Christ. Christ will come again when He is not expected.
The apostles were told by the angels that Jesus would return the same way He went into Heaven. "…Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven" (Acts 1:11).
It was Jesus who went into Heaven. It is Jesus who will be coming from Heaven.
Some people teach that Jesus has already returned. They teach that He returned in 1914, but many did not see Him. This teaching is not what the Bible says. The Bible says, "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" (Revelation 1:7). Has Jesus returned yet? Have you seen Him? No! When Jesus comes again, every one will see Him. Those in the cities will see Him. Those in the villages will see Him. No one will miss seeing Him!
Again, we are told that when Christ returns He will be heard by everyone. "For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first" (1 Thessalonians 4:16).
Just as everyone will see Christ, everyone will hear Him too. The "shout," "the archangel’s call," and the sound of the trumpet of God" all show the authority Christ has. They also show He has an important announcement to make.
The Bible gives several reasons why Christ is coming again. He is coming to raise the dead. Some people teach that the bad will never rise from the grave. Others teach that the good and bad will be raised at different times. But the Bible says: "…the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth—those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation" (John 5:28,29).
All faithful, obedient Christians will meet Christ in the air. From there they will go to Heaven with Him. " For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord" (1 Thessalonians 4:16,17).
When Christ comes again, He will deliver up the kingdom to God. He is not coming to set up the kingdom. The kingdom is already here. The kingdom is the church.
"Then comes the end, when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father, when He puts an end to all rule and all authority and power" (1 Corinthians 15:24).
The world will be destroyed at the second coming of Christ. " But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up" (2 Peter 3:10).
When Christ comes again, people will no longer live on the earth. The earth will be burned up by fire.