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We believe that Jesus Christ will return personally, bodily, visibly, and gloriously. His return will not be merely symbolic, spiritual, or the gradual improvement of the world. The same Jesus who ascended into heaven will come again with power and great glory.
We understand Scripture to teach that Christ will gather His Church to Himself before a period of unprecedented tribulation upon the earth. Believers who have died will be raised, and believers who are alive will be transformed and caught up together to meet the Lord.
During the tribulation, human rebellion and opposition to God will reach a terrible culmination, and God will judge evil. At the conclusion of that period, Christ will return visibly, defeat those gathered against Him, deliver Israel, and establish His kingdom upon the earth.
We believe that Christ will reign for a thousand years, fulfilling God’s covenant promises to Israel and demonstrating righteous rule over the nations. Satan will be bound, and creation will experience widespread renewal, although sin, death, and the curse will not be finally removed until the new heavens and new earth.
After the thousand years, Satan will be released for a short time and will lead a final rebellion. God will defeat that rebellion, judge Satan and all who remain opposed to Him, and bring the present age to its appointed end. This will be followed by the new heavens and new earth in which righteousness dwells.
Christians do not know the day or hour of Christ’s return. Believers should therefore reject date-setting and remain watchful, holy, faithful, and active in worship, witness, and service until He comes.
Supporting Scriptures
Christ’s Personal and Visible Return
Matthew 24:29-31; Acts 1:9-11; II Thessalonians 1:5-10; Revelation 1:7; Revelation 19:11-21
Christ Gathers His Church
John 14:1-3; I Corinthians 15:51-52; Philippians 3:20-21; I Thessalonians 4:13-18
The Tribulation and Final Opposition
Daniel 12:1; Matthew 24:15-28; II Thessalonians 2:1-12; Revelation 6:1-17; Revelation 13:1-18; Revelation 16:1-21; Revelation 19:11-21
God’s Covenant Faithfulness to Israel
Deuteronomy 30:1-10; Jeremiah 31:31-37; Ezekiel 36:22-28; Ezekiel 37:21-28; Romans 11:25-29
Christ’s Millennial Reign
Isaiah 2:1-4; Isaiah 11:1-10; Zechariah 14:1-9; Revelation 20:1-6
Final Judgment and the Renewed Creation
II Peter 3:10-13; Revelation 20:7-15; Revelation 21:1-5
Watchfulness and Faithfulness
Matthew 24:36-51; I Thessalonians 5:1-11; Titus 2:11-14; II Peter 3:11-14
Layman's Terms
Jesus Christ is coming back. His return will be real and visible, just as His resurrection and ascension were real. History is moving toward the fulfillment of God’s purposes rather than continuing without direction.
We believe Christ will first gather everyone who belongs to Him. Christians who have died will be raised, and living believers will be transformed. They will meet the Lord and remain with Him forever.
We believe Christ will gather His Church before a period of severe worldwide tribulation. That time will display both the depth of human rebellion and the justice of God’s judgment. At its conclusion, Christ will return openly in glory and defeat the forces gathered against Him.
Christ will then rule the earth in righteousness. God will keep His promises to Israel, Satan will be restrained, and the world will experience the justice and peace that human rulers have never been able to produce.
Satan will eventually lead one final rebellion, but it will fail completely. God will judge evil, bring death and rebellion to an end, and create the new heavens and new earth.
The purpose of this teaching is not to provide a date or satisfy every curiosity about the future. It should encourage Christians to trust Christ, live faithfully, proclaim the Gospel, and remain ready for His return.
Further Study
The Certainty and Character of Christ’s Return
The New Testament consistently presents Christ’s return as a real future event. Jesus will return personally and bodily, not merely through the spread of Christian influence, the progress of society, or an inward spiritual experience.
His return will also be visible and glorious. The One who was rejected, humiliated, and crucified will be openly revealed as King and Judge. Every competing authority will be brought under His rule.
The certainty of His return rests upon Christ’s own promise and the faithfulness of God. Christians may disagree about parts of the prophetic sequence, but the personal return of Jesus Christ belongs to the central hope of the Church.
The Gathering of the Church and the Tribulation
I Thessalonians 4 describes Christ descending from heaven, the dead in Christ rising, and living believers being caught up with them to meet the Lord. I Corinthians 15 describes the corresponding transformation of believers into immortality.
We understand Scripture to place this gathering before the period of worldwide tribulation. This understanding is commonly called the pretribulational view. It distinguishes the gathering of the Church from Christ’s later visible return in judgment and glory.
Faithful Christians have reached other conclusions. Some place the gathering during the tribulation, near its end, or at the same time as Christ’s visible return. The relevant passages should therefore be studied carefully and in context. Confidence in Christ’s return and saving work does not depend upon agreement about the timing of the gathering.
The Tribulation
Scripture describes a future period of extraordinary distress, deception, persecution, human rebellion, and divine judgment. Jesus warned that this period would be unlike any previous time of suffering.
Teaching about a future tribulation must not obscure the fact that suffering and persecution are already part of the Christian experience. Believers throughout history have experienced severe persecution, and many Christians suffer for their faith today. The future tribulation is distinctive in scope and prophetic purpose, but present suffering should not be minimized.
Prophetic teaching should produce faithfulness rather than fear, sensationalism, or endless attempts to identify every current event with a particular prophecy.
Israel and God’s Covenant Promises
We believe that God has not rejected Israel and that He will faithfully fulfill the covenant promises He made to the nation. Romans 11 anticipates a future turning of Israel to the Messiah and grounds that hope in God’s irrevocable gifts and calling.
These promises include spiritual restoration and the fulfillment of commitments concerning Israel, the land, and the kingdom. Their fulfillment demonstrates that God remains faithful even when human beings are unfaithful.
Belief in God’s future purposes for Israel does not require treating every action of the modern State of Israel as righteous or beyond criticism. Biblical justice applies to every nation and ruler. Our confidence rests in God’s covenant faithfulness, not in the perfection of any human government.
The Millennial Kingdom
Revelation 20 describes a thousand-year period during which Satan is bound and Christ reigns. We understand this as a future earthly reign of Christ following His visible return. This interpretation is commonly called premillennialism.
During this kingdom, Christ will demonstrate perfectly righteous government, fulfill God’s promises to Israel, and extend justice and peace among the nations. Creation will experience restoration, although the final removal of sin, death, and the curse awaits the new heavens and new earth.
Other Christians understand the millennium differently. Amillennial interpreters generally understand the thousand years symbolically as Christ’s present reign, while postmillennial interpreters expect the Gospel to produce an extended period of worldwide blessing before Christ returns. These views should be evaluated from Scripture without treating disagreement over the millennium as disagreement over the Gospel itself.
Final Rebellion, Judgment, and Renewal
Revelation teaches that Satan will be released after the thousand years and will lead a final rebellion. God will defeat that rebellion and cast Satan into the lake of fire, where his opposition will end forever.
God will then judge the dead before the great white throne. Everyone whose name is not found in the Book of Life will face final judgment. Death and Hades themselves will be cast into the lake of fire.
The new heavens and new earth will follow. God will dwell with His people, and death, mourning, pain, and the curse will be removed. This renewed creation, rather than the millennium, is the final and eternal state.
Watchfulness Without Date-Setting
Jesus explicitly taught that no one knows the day or hour of His return. Christians should therefore reject attempts to calculate dates or claim certainty about prophetic signs beyond what Scripture reveals.
Watchfulness means more than monitoring world events. It means living faithfully before Christ—worshiping, obeying, serving, loving others, proclaiming the Gospel, and carrying out present responsibilities.
The expectation of Christ’s return should not produce withdrawal from ordinary life. It should strengthen believers to remain faithful within it. The proper response to prophecy is not speculation but obedience, endurance, and hope.
Memory Passage
Acts 1:9-11
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