Lesson 22: Now - When Is Jesus Coming Back? (1)

This question has been on the mind of Christians since Jesus promised to return for His own. There is a misunderstanding, however, which is largely due to a belief that what was not understood in previous generations can still not be understood today. It is true that we cannot know exactly when Jesus will come again (Acts 1:7), but Jesus scolded the religious leaders of His day for not knowing the signs of the times (Matthew 16:3). Since Jesus specifically told His disciples things which would come in the end times, we have plenty of reason to believe He wanted us to know what to watch for.

From the books of Daniel and Matthew and Revelation we know much of the chronology of the end times. We only need to understand what it is we are reading. For example, look at the following two sets of Scriptures and write down what you see there:
*set 1: 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; 1 Corinthians 15:51-52
*set 2: Zechariah 14:3-4; Revelation 1:7

It is clear that though both sets of Scriptures speak of Jesus' return, they cannot be speaking of the same event. One is a private event while the other is a public one. One is Jesus coming for His church (the Rapture) and the other is His coming to set up His kingdom on earth – we know this as The Millennial Kingdom.


Very briefly, the chronology as given in Scripture is:
the rapture of the church - Jesus calls us to His side
a seven-year period of great tribulation
Jesus physically returns to earth and Satan is in a bottomless pit
Jesus sets up His 1000-year-reign on earth
Satan is released for a short period to wage war
heaven and earth are destroyed
Jesus judges the unsaved of all the ages and the saved of the pre-cross, tribulation, and millennial kingdom ages – the great white throne judgment
Jesus creates a new heaven and earth

There is no prophecy in Scripture to tell us when these events will begin – when the church will be raptured. All we know for sure is that this event, The Rapture, is the beginning for all that is to follow. We can, however, understand the signs of the times if we understand something about the revelations that are made correctly. The most important thing we must understand is that the prophecies of Daniel and Matthew are written to the Jewish people. God tells Daniel that the 70 weeks are determined on his people (Daniel 9:24). The only item in here that has anything to do with us is the fact that the "times of the Gentiles" have to be closed before the 70th week can begin (Luke 21:24).

We will continue with this in the next lesson.