The Bible Predicts Jesus’ Return
According to the Bible, Christ will return to defeat Satan—the Great Dragon—and commence His one-thousand-year reign on earth at the end of the Tribulation. He will make right all the wrongs in our world. While there is much we will not know until it takes place, Scripture gives us many details about the Second Coming. Let’s examine what the Bible says about Christ’s Second Coming and how it affects us today.
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The Bible Predicts Jesus’ Return
Jesus Will Return to Israel
The Whole World Will Witness Jesus’ Return
Jesus Will Return as the Judge Who Makes All Things Right
The Bible Predicts Jesus' Return
People are often surprised to learn that references to the Second Coming outnumber references to the first coming by a factor of eight to one. Scholars have identified 1,845 different biblical references to the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.
In the Old Testament, no less than seventeen books mention Christ’s return. The New Testament authors speak of it in 23 of the 27 books. Seven out of ten chapters in the New Testament refer to His return. In other words, one out of every thirty verses in the New Testament teaches us that Jesus Christ is coming back to this earth.
One of the most surprising references to Christ’s return comes from the time of Genesis. Did you know that Enoch predicted the Second Coming of Christ? Although the book of Genesis did not record his prophecy, we can find it in the New Testament book of Jude.
Now Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men also, saying, “Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of His saints, to execute judgment on all, to convict all who are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have committed in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him” (Jude 1:14-15).
Known for having prophetic visions, the prophet Daniel described the Second Coming of Jesus Christ in one of his dreams. Here is what he said:
I was watching in the night visions, and behold, One like the Son of Man, coming with clouds of heaven! And He came to the Ancient of Days, and they brought Him near before Him. Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and His kingdom the one which shall not be destroyed (Daniel 7:13-14).
In His Olivet Discourse, Jesus said this about His return:
As the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west so also will the coming of the Son of Man be…. Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, 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. And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other (Matthew 24:27-31).
After Jesus ascended into heaven, angels spoke to His disciples and offered this promise of His return:
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).
Jesus Will Return to Israel
Until the Rapture sets the events of the Tribulation in motion, we will not know the timing of Christ’s return. However, the Bible does tell us the precise location of His return. Toward the end of the Old Testament, the prophet Zechariah predicted, “In that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which faces Jerusalem on the east. And the Mount of Olives shall be split in two, from east to west, making a very large valley; half of the mountain shall move toward the north and half of it toward the south” (Zechariah 14:4).
God specifically chose Jerusalem for her role in the history of Israel, the life of Jesus, and in the events of His return. In 2 Chronicles 6:6, He says, “I have chosen Jerusalem, that My name may be there, and I have chosen David to be over My people Israel.” Deuteronomy 11:12 describes Israel as “a land for which the Lord your God cares; the eyes of the Lord your God are always on it, from the beginning of the year to the very end of the year.” Israel holds a special place in God’s heart, and when His Son returns, He will set foot upon the Mount of Olives with the city of Jerusalem in His sights.
The Whole World Will Witness Jesus’ Return
The first time Jesus came to earth, He appeared in obscurity, but the Second Coming will be entirely different. Revelation 1:7 says, “every eye will see Him.” I’ve heard people try to rationalize that prophecy by saying it will be possible because of the Internet and mobile phones and the like. I’m not so sure. If the One who spoke the world into existence wants everybody to see Him when He comes back, I think He can pull that off without the help of human inventions. I don’t know how it’s going to happen, but the Bible says when He comes the second time, every eye in every place in every corner of the world will witness His return.
Jesus Will Return as the Judge Who Makes All Things Right
The Bible says He is going to judge in righteousness. “Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God” (Revelation 19:15). I don’t know about you, but sometimes I’ve felt as if hell has opened its door and unleashed every evil. It gives me great hope to know that one day Almighty God is going to make things right.
My dad was a pastor, so I grew up reading the Bible. And I remember studying the book of Daniel and discovering an account about King Nebuchadnezzar, who was a hateful man. One day his army captured an enemy. The man had seven boys. Nebuchadnezzar killed the children before putting out the father’s eyes so that the last thing that man ever saw was his children being murdered (2 Kings 25:6-7).
From the same era, there are stories about beheadings. I never thought I would hear that term in my day. Now it’s happening to children and young people and even babies in some parts of the world. After they are killed, their bodies are thrown into mass graves. I think hell will be especially hot for people who torture and disregard human life like that. But how do we deal with something so awful?
It’s natural to wonder how such horrors will be made right. People often ask me, “Why doesn’t God do something?” I want to tell you that God is going to do something. He is going to come back and make it right.
Until then, it is our privilege to be His agents on the crest of history. We are not helpless, and our world is not hopeless. Even as the world collapses, the Lord is building His Church. We can say something, do something, pray something, preach something, and live by the convictions of Christ.
Terms such as these are both fascinating and frightening for any student of God’s Word. They point to key questions people have wrestled with for centuries.
In The Book of Signs, Dr. David Jeremiah offers answers to these questions and many more. Drawing from decades of study, Dr. Jeremiah explains every key sign of the approaching apocalypse and what it means for you.