The second coming of Jesus? when will it happen?

I've been reading into this over the few weeks and i've been trying to find out if we are in the final days. If we are in the final days, does that mean that Jesus is returning very soon?

Non-Christians find it hard to believe we are living in the last days of earth's history. It's in the Bible, II Peter 3:3-4, TLB. "First, I want to remind you that in the last days there will come scoffers who will do every wrong they can think of, and laugh at the truth. This will be their line of argument: �So Jesus promised to come back, did He? Then where is He? He'll never come! Why, as far back as anyone can remember everything has remained exactly as it was since the first day of creation.'"

The coming of the Antichrist is a sign of the end. It's in the Bible, I John 2:18, TLB. "Dear children, this world's last hour has come. You have heard about the Antichrist who is coming�the one who is against Christ�and already many such persons have appeared. This makes us all the more certain that the end of the world is near."

Did Jesus say when the end would come? It's in the Bible, Matthew 24:14, NIV. "And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come."

Men posing as Jesus will try to deceive people in the last days. It's in the Bible, Matthew 24:23-24, NIV. "At that time if anyone says to you, �Look, here is the Christ!' or �There He is!' do not believe it. For false Christ's and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect�if that were possible."

There will be signs in the sun, moon, and stars. It's in the Bible, Matthew 24:29-30, NIV. "Immediately after the distress of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken. At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory."

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Signs serve such purposes as imparting information and giving a warning ahead of time. Thus road signs and looking into the sky to see what kind of weather may be coming are an important, practical part of our lives.

Jesus knew the value of signs as well. When the Pharisees and Sadducees tested Jesus by asking him for a sign, he told them, �When evening comes, you say, `It will be fair weather, for the sky is red,' and in the morning, `Today it will be stormy, for the sky is red and overcast.' You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times.� (Matthew 16:2,3) The signs of the times to which Jesus referred were his miracles and preaching. These should have told the Pharisees and the Sadducees whom he was.

Focus:

Jesus has given us various signs for interpreting our times. Our aim in this Bible study is to learn what these signs are, to discover whether we can see them today, to discern what time it is now, to observe for what reasons Jesus gave us these signs, and to learn what we can draw spiritually from them.

Searching the Scriptures:

1. Both Jesus, and his apostles who wrote the New Testament, have given us the promise of Jesus' second coming in glory.

Matthew 24:3 As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. �Tell us,� they said, �when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?�

Matthew 24:27 For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.

Matthew 24:37 As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.

Matthew 25:31 �When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory.

For further study of this promise that Jesus gave us see also Mark 13:26; Luke 9:26; 12:40; 18:8; 21:27,36.

Acts 1:11 �Men of Galilee,� they said, �why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.�

1 Corinthians 11:26 For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.

1 Thessalonians 2:19 For what is our hope, our joy, or the crown in which we will glory in the presence of our Lord Jesus when he comes? Is it not you?

Hebrews 9:28 So Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.

For further study of this promise that the apostles gave us see also 1 Corinthians 15:23; Colossians 3:2,3; 1 Thessalonians 3:13; 4:15; 5:23; 1 Timothy 6:14; 2 Timothy 4:1,8; Titus 2:13; Hebrews 10:37; James 5:8; 1 Peter 1:7,13; 4:13; 1 John 2:28.

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"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 which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words." (1 Thessalonians 4:16�18)

During the early centuries following the ascension of Jesus into heaven, Christians often greeted one another by saying, "Maranatha," which means "the Lord cometh." Despite constant persecution from both the pagans and the officials of the Roman government, the early Christians rejoiced in the certain knowledge that Jesus had prophesied that He would someday return to establish His Kingdom on earth. These believers knew that Jesus rose from the dead on the third day following His crucifixion - as He had foretold during His ministry.

Jesus Christ was seen by many people during the forty days following His resurrection. Thirty years after Jesus ascended to heaven in the sight of His followers, the apostle Paul wrote, "After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep" (1 Corinthians 15:6). The truth of His death and resurrection was widely known and taught by the early Church, encouraging a widespread expectation of His glorious return to destroy evil and establish His righteous government on earth forever.

The Second Coming of Jesus Christ is the greatest single theme in Scripture. While there are approximately three hundred prophecies in the Old Testament that foretold the first coming of Christ, there are more than eight times as many verses describing the Second Coming. In total, some 2400 verses throughout the Old and New Testaments reveal God's promises about the return of Jesus Christ. The enormous number of prophetic verses about the Second Coming underlines the vital importance of this event in God's plan for mankind. Consequently, we dare not ignore the prophetic signs pointing to the nearness of His return.

Significantly, the first prophecy in the Bible (Genesis 3:15), which God addressed to Satan after Adam and Eve's sin, predicted three major events in the redemptive plan of God, concluding with the Second Coming of Christ. The first event was the virgin birth of Jesus ("her seed"); the second event was Satan's apparent victory when Jesus was crucified ("thou shalt bruise his heel"); the third event will be fulfilled at the Battle of Armageddon when Jesus Christ will defeat Satan ("thy head") and his seed, the Antichrist ("it [her seed, Jesus] shall bruise thy head").

The New Testament book of Jude recalls that the righteous patriarch Enoch was raptured to heaven before the Flood. Jude revealed that Enoch prophesied about the Second Coming, when the Lord would return to earth with millions of His saints. "Enoch, also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying: 'Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, to execute judgment upon all'" (Jude 14�15).


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As a catholic, i do feel that Jesus will return. Also, i do feel that we may be in the end times, but i don't feel that Jesus will return just yet. Jesus will not return untill 2012 i feel, can't explain the feeling, but i know he will return.

Now the next link is very interesting. Its called "biblical proof that Jesus is not returning". I felt that i needed to include an agreement for the other side of the topic.

For almost two thousand years now, certain sects of Christianity have been continuously preaching that Jesus, the rejected messiah, is about to return in all his glory, to rain judgment upon the unbelievers, and institute the millennial kingdom. A very popular "proof text" for this doctrine is the so-called "little apocalypse", found in Mark 13 and in the parallel passages Matthew 24 and Luke 21. This piece of text, also known as the Olivet Discourse, records the lengthy answer of Jesus to the question posed by his disciples: "When shall these things be, and what shall be the sign of your coming?"

Jesus puts forth a series of signs and predictions: wars, earthquakes, famine, false Messiahs, all culminating in the "sign of the Son of Man" in Heaven, followed by his long promised Return (Matthew 24:30).

There have been no shortage of amateur exegetes who have always sought (and, predictably, found) these very same signs in their own generation. Thus assured that the Return of Jesus was just around the corner, a whole slew of silliness has ensued, all the way from William Miller's wretched followers awaiting Jesus on their rooftops, to Miller's modern counterparts, Jack Van Impe, John Hagee, Hal Lindsey, and a whole array of earnest soothsayers, breathlessly exhorting their wide-eyed followers to stand firm, for the hour is now upon us.

What makes this situation even more ironic is that it can be easily shown from this same proof-text that Jesus will not return. This is due to the simple fact that Jesus himself put a time-limit on his predictions. "Verily I say unto you", declares the would-be Messiah, "This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled" (Matthew 24:34).

It hardly needs to be noted that Jesus' generation is very long gone, and with it the deadline for his return. He is now more than 1,900 years overdue, with no end in sight.

Not surprisingly, pre-millennial scholars have been aware of the problem, and have proposed a range of imaginative "solutions" to this minor inconvenience. All of these solutions involve charging that Jesus did not really mean what he plainly said.

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We have all heard of the bible codes. Apparently there is a code which gives the date of when Jesus will return, a lot of religious people have done detailed research into the bible to find the date.I feel strongly that the date is known by elite religious figure heads, but its being kept secret from the world.

[Edited on 21-5-2004 by infinite]


[Edited on 21-5-2004 by Seekerof]

There are a few things that must happen first - like a high percentage of the earths population must disappear and the temple in Jerusalem must be rebuilt. Just remember one thing - Christ will come from the sky and the anti-christ will come from the sea.

Here is the ATSNN story about the temple mount;

Story

Originally posted by godservant
There are a few things that must happen first - like a high percentage of the earths population must disappear and the temple in Jerusalem must be rebuilt. Just remember one thing - Christ will come from the sky and the anti-christ will come from the sea.

uhh oh!

i heard some place that a temple in jerusalem is gunna fall down soon...then they have to build it again right???

also remember the bible says that

"no man knoweth the day or the hour" I do not remember what chapter that is in, but I know it's in there.

I also personally believe it. Everything can happen as it's supposed to, but in the end, I still believe that "it" will happen without warning.... well the warnings have been coming and still are coming...

If the temple does fall, it will set the way for it to be rebuild. The rebuilding of the temple is one of the signs

If Jesus does come back that means Satan will too. Right?

YEAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!


METAL UP YOUR ASS!!!

I wonder People has been waiting for the last two thousand years, may be jesus forgot how to tell time.

Originally posted by JackBlack
If Jesus does come back that means Satan will too. Right?

YEAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!


METAL UP YOUR ASS!!!

Leave the immature comments out of this thread ok?

Originally posted by marg6043
I wonder

People has been waiting for the last two thousand years, may be jesus forgot how to tell time.

no jesus hasn't forgot how to tell the time . Alot of other things need to be completed before he returns. The temple of the mount needs to be rebuilt first.

God gives us hints in the O.T. Look at the Feast Days in Lev. 23 that God said must be observed...some have been fulfilled in Christ and there are others yet to come. Feast of Trumpets will be of interest to you.

#1. The Sabbath...rest from works, fulfilled in Christ. We no longer are under works of law but rest in His redemtive work of grace. Now we don't observe one day for resting in the lord but every day is a resting or faithing in Christ.

#2. The Passover...fulfilled in Christ as our Passover Lamb

#3. Unleavened Bread... who is the bread of life and knew no sin (leaven) and takes away our sin if we faithe in Him

#4. First Fruits...fulfilled by Christ in the Resurrection, He is the First Fruits of the resurrection that Paul mentions several times

#5. Feast of Weeks (Pentecost)...fulfilled after the resurrection when the Holy Spirit fell. Now He comes to live in us and change us to be like Him.

#6. Feast of Trumpets, two Silver trumpets were to be blown, also used to gather the assembly, and to be sounded over burnt and fellowship offerings. Silver symbolizes redemption. In the types and shadows of the coming Christ, the first trumpet was blown at His birth to redeem us from the law and works so that we could come near to God (symbolized by the renting of the veil at His death) The second trumpet to be blown is when He redeems us from the earth. Note when John was given the Revelation, he heard the sound of a trumpet and was taken up in the spirit. All agree that John was a type of the Church in the Revelation, he looking down saw the wrath of God on humanity which begins in ch 6. Christ was not born on Dec. 25th, he was born in the fall of the year, shepherds don't tend their flocks in those hills in Dec. Dec 25 was the feast of Saturnalia a Babylonian festival which got tacked onto Christianity by the Roman Church.

#7. Day of Atonement, yet to be fulfilled. Atonement must be made through affliction. Those that reject Christ as the atonement for our sins must suffer God's wrath in the Tribulation. They will be driven to Christ through their affliction.

#8. Feast of Tabernacles, yet to be fulfilled. The Church (faithers in Christ) rules during this Tabernacle reign of 1000 years (millenium)

Alternatively he isnt coming back? And it was all a hoax?

i dont know about much about this yet!but according to
prophet muhammad says jesus will finally come to this earth at the place known is somewhere in SYRIA.and he will joint the MOSLIM JIHAD FORCES ,jesus will slaying the DAJAL or the son of the satan or the one they calleds ANTICHIRST,and finally they are having a war with the ZIONIS MILLITARY and most of the thing most of the jews being killeds accept woman and child or the veteran people.now what i want to know here is!!!why would most of the NATO AND ZIONIS MILLITARY want to fights JESUS and together with the MOSLIM JIHAD FORCES that i my self still dont have the answer right now

TextLeave the immature comments out of this thread ok?

This post is about conspiracies in religion, to me Jesus is a conspiracy and a creation of the church and they can not even prove it, his coming has been profecy many times even the bible timing is wrong or just does not add. during the beginings of christianity people believe that he coming was going to be during their life time, the church keep postponing his coming to keep the masses happy.Some body obviously could not tell time. Historical fact are hard to prove and base in that fact I think people is going to wait for a long time let see, their entire life span for him to come, Aliens will come before he does (no offense to religious believers)

Originally posted by marg6043
Aliens will come before he does

Do an intelligent races of aliens exist? how can you be sure Aliens will come before Jesus? there is no evidence to suggest that there is an intelligent race out there. There is evidence out there that proved that Jesus did infact live. What you are missing is that a lot of things need to be fulfilled before Jesus returns

I am sorry if I miss your point of view and the alien thing is just a figurative speak remember we are on conspiracies in religion.

We have all heard of the bible codes. Apparently there is a code which gives the date of when Jesus will return, a lot of religious people have done detailed research into the bible to find the date.I feel strongly that the date is known by elite religious figure heads, but its being kept secret from the world

What exactly is it that convinces you about these "Bible Codes?" If you take any body of text and look for patterns you will find so-called anomalous messages. The fact is there's going to be coincidences in any large body of text which has been doctored, and the bible is no exception. Would you see the same significance in these messages if they were taken from (under a recent study) a copy of Herman Melville's "Moby Dick"?

Bibles codes are accurate and detailed. Anyways, if you want to talk about the bible codes check out the thread about it on the prediction thread

Originally posted by JackBlack
If Jesus does come back that means Satan will too. Right?

YEAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!


METAL UP YOUR ASS!!!

I too am a metal fan but this comment was as infinite said immature.

Originally posted by elevatedone
also remember the bible says that
"no man knoweth the day or the hour"

I've always interpreted this as instruction not to attempt to determine when He would return. I do believe in the Second Coming and believe that Christ wants us to make sure that we are ready (saved) regardless of what time He comes. Since "no man knows the hour" its important that all men know Christ as soon as possible, because it could be 10 minutes or 1000 years. As a believer I feel that Christians should spend more time preparing themselves for the End Times and less time trying to predict when they will begin.

Just my $0.02.