How and when is Christ coming?
Written by A.D.H. Thomas
Brethren Of Christ Articles - Prophecy
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How and When will Jesus Christ return to this earth?
It is not a question of whether Jesus Christ will come back to this earth, but in what manner and at what time he will return.
The personal, literal return of Jesus Christ back to this earth is the essential and necessary element for the realisation of the Gospel or the One Hope set forth in the Bible. Without his return there can be no resurrection of the dead; no establishment of the kingdom of God; no fulfilment of the promises to Abraham, David and all those who shared their faith; and no deliverance from the curse of sin and death, which continues to blight the earth.
How Jesus Christ will bring about these changes to the earth is not the subject of this article but to show how and when he will come.
A man gazing across to the mount of Olives was contemplating the time when the Lord Jesus Christ would visibly descend from heaven, to stand upon that same Mount. The grounds for his belief, like that of many ‘Christians,’ is based on a reference in the Acts of the Apostles 1:9-11. Certainly this account of Christ’s ascension to heaven shows that he will physically return from heaven, i.e. “he shall so come in like manner,” but this does not state that he will come to the identical spot from which he ascended to heaven. Furthermore his ascension was not seen by a multitude, but by his eleven disciples, as is evident in the following verses of the same chapter. From this reference, we are led to expect that the manner of Christ’s coming will be literally and silently to his followers. The Apostle Paul confirms this understanding in his letter to the Hebrews chapter 9 verses 24 and 28. Here we read that “ . . .Christ is . . .entered into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us . . . and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time, without sin unto salvation.”
In the light of these Scriptures, what are we to make of other Scriptures, which speak of him appearing to all and of coming in vengeance. For example in Revelation 1:7, we read of him “coming with clouds; and every eye shall see him . . . ” And in 2 Thessalonians 1:7, 8 we read of him being “ . . . revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ…”
There is a simple answer, to what appears to be conflicting accounts of the manner of Christ’s coming, which can easily be appreciated in the way a well known and distinguished foreign monarch or dignitary comes to this country. He or she would initially be greeted by the Queen and other dignitaries, following which there would be a state banquet. It would then be usual for the Queen to accompany the foreign dignitary in a royal procession, along a route, which would attract crowds of people, some of whom may not be so well disposed towards the object of the crowd’s attention. Now if each of these groups, that were to meet or see such a foreign personage, were asked when he was coming and when he would appear, they would give different but nonetheless correct answers. And so it is with the coming of Jesus Christ. There are different stages in the coming and appearance of Jesus Christ. Put simply, he comes to his followers first, and afterwards reveals himself to the world at large.
To the unprepared and unsuspecting world at large he comes as “a thief in the night.” To those who live in expectation of his return and “who look for him,” his coming will not be thief-like.
Many of those who have believed the Truth as it is in Jesus Christ, have returned to the dust of the earth, or in the language of Scripture, “fallen asleep in Christ.” These will be raised from among the dead, and with those of Christ’s followers who are alive at his coming, be gathered together to be with him. It is this event, about which Paul writes to the believers in Thessalonica. In 2 Thessalonians 2:1 he writes thus, “ . . . we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him . . . that ye be not troubled . . . as that the day of Christ is at hand.”
This gathering of Christ’s followers or saints, as they are Scripturally defined, was foreseen by the Psalmist, in Psalm 50:5. “Gather my saints together unto me; those that have made a covenant with me by sacrifice.” It is this great company that is the subject of Enoch’s prophecy. In Jude verse 14, we read of “ . . . the Lord coming with ten thousands of his saints.” We have quoted these references in support of our claim that there are various stages of Christ’s coming.
It is not the purpose of this article to deal with the basis of resurrection; the accountability for judgment; or the dispensing of judgment and the rewarding of the faithful by Christ, when he sits on his judgment seat, but how and when Jesus Christ returns to the earth. Suffice it to say that when the world at large sees Christ it will be after he has raised, judged, and rewarded his faithful followers, who will then accompany him on the work of subduing the world.
This work is the subject of the verse following that which has just been quoted from Jude. In verse 14 we read of “the Lord coming with ten thousands of his saints,” In verse 15 their purpose is stated as being “to execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have committed . . .” It is this aspect of Christ’s coming, the nature of which is graphically illustrated by king Nebuchadnezzar’s dream. The details of this dream and its meaning are given in the 2nd chapter of Daniel. In verses 28 and 29 of this chapter the background to the dream and its God given purpose are revealed. The dream was in response to the king’s musing about the future of his kingdom, the great Babylonian Empire. “As for thee, O king,” said the prophet Daniel, “thy thoughts came into thy mind upon thy bed, what should come to pass hereafter; and he that revealeth secrets maketh known to thee what shall come to pass.” Specifically it was “the God in heaven, that revealeth secrets, that maketh known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days.” Here we are informed of the epoch of the subject matter of the dream. The dream was a God given revelation of the events, at a time called “the latter days.” We shall see from other Scriptures that the term “latter days” refers to the time of Christ’s return.