There are many teachings about the return of Jesus Christ, and sincere Christians do not agree on every detail. Because of that, it is easy to begin with a system and then try to make every passage fit that system.
There is a better way.
Let us begin with the words of Scripture and ask a simple question: How does God describe the return of His Son?
We do not need to add anything to the text. We do not need to remove anything from it. We simply need to read the passages carefully and allow Scripture to speak for itself.
We should also approach the Bible prayerfully, asking the Holy Spirit to teach us and guide us into truth. Jesus said that the Holy Spirit would teach His people and remind them of His words. We are not dependent on human wisdom alone. As we humble ourselves before God, we can ask Him to open our understanding and help us rightly handle His Word.
Christ Will Appear a Second Time
Jesus Christ has already come once. He was born, lived among us, died for our sins, rose from the dead, and returned to the Father.
Hebrews 9:28 says:
“so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him.”
Scripture describes His future appearing as His “second time.”
His first coming was to deal with sin through His sacrifice. His second appearing will be different. He is coming again for those who eagerly await Him.
This gives us a starting point. Christ came once, and Scripture promises that He will appear again.
His Coming Will Be Seen
Jesus described His coming in very visible terms.
Matthew 24:27 says:
“For just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes as far as the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be.”
Lightning is not difficult to notice. Jesus used something that flashes across the sky as a picture of His coming.
A few verses later He said:
“And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory.” Matthew 24:30
Jesus said that people “will see” Him coming.
Revelation 1:7 says the same thing:
“Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him.”
Scripture does not describe Christ’s coming as something known only to a small group. It says “every eye will see Him.”
The return of Christ will be a great event witnessed by the world.
His Coming Will Be Heard
Scripture also describes sounds connected with Christ’s return.
First Thessalonians 4:16 says:
“For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.”
There is a shout.
There is the voice of the archangel.
There is the trumpet of God.
Then the dead in Christ rise.
Paul does not give us the picture of something quiet or unnoticed. He describes the Lord Himself descending from heaven with events that are both seen and heard.
The Resurrection Happens When Christ Comes
First Thessalonians 4 connects the return of Christ directly with the resurrection of believers.
Paul says:
“For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.” 1 Thessalonians 4:16
The order is important.
The Lord descends.
The dead in Christ rise.
Then Paul continues:
“Then we who are alive, who remain, 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 4:17
The resurrection of dead believers and the gathering of living believers are connected with the coming of the Lord.
Paul gives the same basic teaching in 1 Corinthians 15.
The Resurrection Happens at the Last Trumpet
First Corinthians 15:51–52 says:
“Behold, I am telling you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.”
Again we find a trumpet.
Paul says this happens “at the last trumpet.”
The dead are raised, and living believers are changed.
That agrees with what Paul wrote to the Thessalonians. The Lord descends, the trumpet sounds, the dead in Christ rise, and living believers are gathered with them.
We should not pass too quickly over Paul’s words “the last trumpet.” Whatever conclusions we reach about the timing of these events must take those words seriously.
Jesus Said He Would Raise His People on the Last Day
Jesus Himself repeatedly connected the resurrection of believers with “the last day.”
John 6:39 says:
“And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that of everything that He has given Me I will lose nothing, but will raise it up on the last day.”
Then Jesus says in the next verse:
“For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day.” John 6:40
Jesus repeats it again in John 6:44:
“No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day.”
And again in John 6:54:
“The one who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”
Jesus repeated this several times.
He did not merely say that He would raise believers someday. He said He would raise them “on the last day.”
Martha apparently understood this teaching as well. When Jesus spoke to her concerning Lazarus, she said:
“I know that he will rise in the resurrection on the last day.” John 11:24
The phrase is difficult to ignore because Jesus used it repeatedly.
Certain Events Come Before His Coming and Our Gathering to Him
Paul gave another important passage concerning the coming of Christ.
Second Thessalonians 2:1 begins:
“Now we request you, brothers and sisters, with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him…”
Notice the two things Paul mentions.
The coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him.
Paul then warns the believers not to be deceived.
Verse 3 says:
“No one is to deceive you in any way! For it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction.”
Paul gives an order.
The apostasy comes.
The man of lawlessness is revealed.
Paul tells believers not to be deceived concerning the coming of Christ and our gathering to Him because these things must happen first.
Whatever view we hold about the future must make room for what Paul plainly says here.
Jesus Placed the Gathering of His Elect After the Tribulation
Jesus gave another clear description in Matthew 24.
He said:
“But immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.” Matthew 24:29
Then He continues:
“And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory.” Matthew 24:30
Then comes the gathering:
“And He will send forth His angels with a great trumpet blast, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.” Matthew 24:31
Notice what Jesus gives us.
There is tribulation.
There are signs in the heavens.
The Son of Man appears.
The world sees Him.
There is a great trumpet.
His elect are gathered.
Again, we should simply allow the order of the passage to stand as Jesus gave it.
Revelation Speaks of the First Resurrection
Revelation 20 describes believers who refused to worship the beast or receive his mark.
Revelation 20:4 says:
“And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received the mark on their forehead and on their hand; and they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.”
Then verse 5 says:
“The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were completed. This is the first resurrection.”
The next verse says:
“Blessed and holy is the one who has a part in the first resurrection.”
Those words deserve careful attention.
These believers had faced the beast, refused his mark, and suffered for their faithfulness to Christ. Scripture then says they “came to life” and calls it “the first resurrection.”
Rather than trying to explain those words away, we should allow them to have their natural weight in the discussion.
Put the Passages Together
When these passages are placed beside one another, a consistent picture begins to appear.
Hebrews says Christ will appear a second time.
Jesus says His coming will be like lightning and that people will see Him coming with power and great glory.
Revelation says every eye will see Him.
First Thessalonians says the Lord will descend with a shout, the voice of the archangel, and the trumpet of God.
The dead in Christ will rise when He descends.
First Corinthians says the dead will be raised at the last trumpet.
Jesus repeatedly says He will raise believers on the last day.
Second Thessalonians says the apostasy and the revealing of the man of lawlessness come before the coming of Christ and our gathering to Him.
Matthew 24 places the visible coming of Christ and the gathering of His elect after the tribulation and connects that gathering with a great trumpet.
Revelation 20 describes believers who suffered under the beast coming to life and calls it the first resurrection.
We do not need to force these verses into a theory.
We need to listen to them.
Let Scripture Set the Order
End-times teaching can become complicated because people sometimes begin with charts, timelines, books, movies, teachers, or traditions. Books have been written and movies have been made to explain different views of Christ’s return. These resources may encourage people to think about prophecy, but they can also cause people to follow a particular interpretation before carefully examining the biblical text for themselves.
Charts can be useful, but charts are not inspired.
Books can provide helpful explanations, but books can also reflect the assumptions and interpretations of their authors.
Movies can make an idea memorable, but a dramatic presentation is not the same as biblical proof.
Teachers can help us, but teachers can be wrong.
Traditions may be old, but age does not make something true.
The Word of God must remain our authority.
We should also remember that understanding Scripture is not merely an intellectual exercise. We need the help of the Holy Spirit. Jesus promised that the Spirit would teach His people and guide them into truth. Therefore, we should come to the Bible with humility and prayer, asking God to open our understanding and protect us from being led by human assumptions.
Ask the Holy Spirit to teach you as you read.
Open the Bible.
Read the passages.
Compare Scripture with Scripture.
Do not rush to defend a position. Do not begin by asking how to make the passage fit a chart or a system. Begin by asking God to help you see what the text actually says.
Acts 17:11 praises the Bereans because they were “examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so.”
That is the attitude we should have toward every teaching concerning Christ’s return.
Do not believe something merely because a favorite preacher teaches it.
Do not accept a view merely because it has been presented in a popular book or movie.
Do not reject something merely because it is different from what you have always heard.
Open the Bible.
Read the passages.
Compare Scripture with Scripture.
Pay attention to words such as “second time,” “every eye,” “last trumpet,” “last day,” “comes first,” “immediately after the tribulation,” and “first resurrection.”
Then ask one simple question:
What does God actually say?
We may not understand every detail of prophecy, but some things are very clear.
Jesus Christ is coming again.
His coming will be glorious.
His coming will be seen.
His coming will be heard.
The dead in Christ will rise.
His people will be gathered to Him.
And when He comes, we will always be with the Lord.
That is not something for the believer to fear.
It is something to look forward to.
“Therefore, comfort one another with these words.” 1 Thessalonians 4:18