James Kraft Supporter 74 year old retired pipeline worker

Jesus will come for the church, the body of Christ when God decides He will come. Not before and not after. First Thessalonians 4:16-18 for the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first; Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up to meet the Lord in the air; and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore, comfort one another with these words. 

First Corinthians 15:51-53 We shall be change in the twinkling of an eye. We will finally be conformed to His image. Our corruptible flesh will put on incorruptible. We are predetermined that we will be saved for all who believe in Jesus as the only way of salvation by grace.

All who have the oil in their lamps will go to the marriage supper of the Lamb. Who has the oil in their lamps? Those that have trusted Jesus as their savior and have the Holy Spirit in them. Ephesians 1:13 and Second Timothy 2:19. God knows His sheep because they have His Spirit in them. We know Him because we will not follow another. We only trust the Great Sheppard of the sheep. We know His voice and will not follow another.

Just my own observation, but I believe we are very close to the rapture of the church. So many things are happening so fast. It has been 2,000 years since Jesus died on the cross to save us from our sins. It has been 50 years since the last jubilee year for Israel when they won the 6 day war in 1967. It has been 70 years since Israel became a state. 

Prophesy is coming to pass before our eyes. When the last person becomes a believer, then the Lord will come for us, the church, the body of Christ. No one knows the day nor the hour but the Father. There are plans to build the temple. The anti Christ is probably alive now. Of course there have been many before him. 

There is a crown given to those that are looking for His coming. There are crowns given for those that overcome the sin in their lives. There are rewards for good works. But all who believe on the name of the Son of God will be saved and go in the rapture when ever it happens. Amazing grace. Roman 11:6.

January 12 2018 • 1 response • Vote Up • Share • Report

Tim Maas Supporter Retired Quality Assurance Specialist with the U.S. Army

Although Jesus spoke (in passages such as Matthew 24:3-34, Mark 13:3-27, and Luke 21:5-33) of conditions that would characterize the time of His return, and that would serve as signs of its imminence, He also immediately thereafter (according to Matthew 24:36 and Mark 13:32) noted that only God the Father knew exactly when that return would occur. 

Ever since then, because of the recurring nature and increasing prevalence of some of the conditions that Jesus described (such as wars, famines, and the appearance of false Messiahs), many Christians through the ages (as shown even in Biblical times by passages such as 1 Corinthians 7:29-31, 1 Peter 4:7, 1 John 2:18, and Revelation 22:20) have treated His return as immediately pending, which I would say is the attitude that Jesus would have sought to promote among His followers from the standpoint of having a sense of urgency about sharing the gospel with others, and performing acts of love and kindness toward them that would create the opportunity for such sharing. 

In light of that, I would say that the most prudent course of action for Christians of whatever era is neither to be preoccupied with the precise details of when Christ will return (to the detriment of putting their faith into action), nor to take any of the time that they have been given on this earth for granted, but to live continually as if Christ were going to return at any time from the standpoint of being dedicated to Christian work (Matthew 24:45-51), and avoiding an excessive attachment to the things of this world (Matthew 6:19-21).

In regard to this issue, I might also mention (as I have in response to other eBible.com questions) an e-book that has been a source of great comfort to me, and that is fully viewable for free online, entitled Journey Out of Time by the late Dr. Arthur C. Custance.

Dr. Custance contends (fully supported by accompanying passages from the Bible) that, except for those who are still living when Jesus actually returns, every Christian experiences His return at the instant of their own death (when they will no longer be bound or constrained by earthly time), and will immediately find themselves in eternity in their resurrected, glorified bodies at Christ's return (along with the rest of the redeemed from eternity past to eternity future, who will all "arrive" at that event simultaneously), with no sense of there having been any consciousness of death, or of any delay between their death and resurrection. Those who are still alive on earth will perceive the person as dead, but that will only be because those people are still "trapped in time". The book can be found at the following web address: http://www.custance.org/Library/Journey/index.html

January 12 2018 • 2 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report

Jack Gutknecht Supporter ABC/DTS graduate, guitar music ministry Baptist church

Fine question, Phil!

God through 2 angels looking like men promised the disciples that Jesus would return in the clouds (Acts 1:11). But even Jesus didn't know when He'd return (Mt 24:36; Mk 13:32). The Father had set these things in His own authority (Acts 1:7). Jesus, the Son, hinted at His return (Mt 13:30; 24:14; 25:19; 28:19; Lk 19:11, etc. 

The church's polestar (guiding principle) is her confidence that righteousness shall triumph, the dead shall be raised, sin shall be judged, and the kingdom of God shall come.

See James Orr on this in bible.org.

10 days ago • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report

Jamie Brown Supporter

I suppose that question might be from a point of view, meaning,” When will Jesus return to:”. When will He return for, The Marriage Of the Lamb and the Church?”, “When will He return to earth?”, or “ When will He return to rule over the earth for the Mellinum?”.

The first time Christ will return Jesus doesn’t actually come to touch the earth. I do not want to skew into a tangent that goes with this, which most Christians refer to as the,”rapture”. The reason being is that there are differing views on when the rapture will occur as opposed to the tribulation. 

For answering the question the word,” rapture” is not included in the Bible but is referred to as,” The Second Coming Of Christ”. It will be a literal, visual or visible body of Christ that appears in the Heavens, The Catching Up or Marriage Of the Lamb (Jesus) and the Church (All those that have been saved) both living and dead will be caught up to join with Christ Psalms 17:15 and 1 John 3:2. This is The Second Coming because Christ will Return as He left Acts 1:9-11 with His new flesh, blood, and bone body visible to all. This event will happen at a time that no man or women knows not even Christ Him Self will know when The Father will send Him forth from the right hand of The Fathers Throne. This will all take place very fast in a micro second to us humans and as God says,” In the twinkling of an eye”.

After The Second Coming begins a seven year period here on earth called the,” Tribulation” a time of great and horrible things the likes of which have never been seen on the earth before. 

The Tribulation will come to a close with Jesus returning I suppose you could say a third time Revelation 19:11-16 where Christ battles Satan and binds him or casts him into the lake of fire for a period of 1000 years in the war called Armageddon.

This begins the period called,” The Mellennium” a thousand years. This will be a time of peace and love among mankind like none other where Christ will rule from the throne of David.

January 13 2018 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report

Aurel Gheorghe Supporter

Christ's return in glory is the hope of all Christians (John 14:3; Heb 9:28).

Although Jesus did not tell us the exact time of His Second Coming, His Word does give us clues about how He will return. When Jesus went back to heaven after His resurrection, two angels stood by the disciples and told them about Christ’s return (Acts 1:9-11).

From the Scriptures we can be certain of several things regarding Christ's return: 
1. Christ will come in the clouds with His angels.
Jesus was taken up into heaven by a cloud, and He will return in the clouds: (Ps 68:17; 104:3; Matt 24:30; 25:31; 26:64; Rev 1:7). 


2. The Second Coming will not be secret - it will be audible and universally visible: (Matt 24:31; 24:26-27; 1 Thess 4:16). 


3. The Lord will not touch the earth, but will await the redeemed in the sky:
(1 Thess 4:17). Christ Himself will not come down to the earth - His angels, “Gather my saints together unto me; those that have made a covenant with me by sacrifice” (Psalm 50:5).

4. There will be two resurrections: "the resurrection of life," and "the resurrection of damnation." These two events are separated by a 1000 years. The followers of God are to be raised at the first resurrection, or “the resurrection of life.” The lost will not be raised until the 1000 years are finished, at the second resurrection or “the resurrection of damnation”(1 Thess 4:17; Rev 20:4-6; John 5:28-29).

5. The Living saved will be Translated: (1 Thess 4:17; 1 Cor 15:51-54). The saved, "which are alive," will be gathered together with the resurrected righteous to meet the Lord in the air. The living saved will not taste death, but will be translated as Enoch and Elijah were (Genesis 5:24; 2 Kings 2:11). The living will be changed at the last trumpet. Our bodies will be changed into the likeness of His glorious body (Phil 3:20-21; 1 John 3:2-3; Isaiah 25:8-9).

6. Those who who rejected Christ will be slain by the brightness of His coming: (Rev 6:15-17; Ps 110:5-6; 2 Thess 2:8; Jeremiah 25:33; 4:23-28; Zephaniah 1:2-3).

7. There will be no secret rupture. The view that God's people will be secretly taken to heaven while everyone else remains on earth to receive a second chance is not Biblical. The secret rapture doctrine gives false hopes and does not encourage people to change their lives and make themselves right with God (Isaiah 55:7; Ezekiel 18:21-23). God's people will experience the tribulation and feel the wrath of the Antichrist until the very last day; however, having God's protection and the assurance that God will deliver them (Isaiah 25:9).

I do sincerely believe that many prophesies concerning the end of time have been, or are about to be fulfilled, and Christ's return will take place within my lifetime.

January 13 2018 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report