When will Jesus Return?
"But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come. It’s like a man going away: He leaves his house and puts his servants in charge, each with their assigned task, and tells the one at the door to keep watch.
“Therefore keep watch because you do not know when the owner of the house will come back—whether in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or at dawn. If he comes suddenly, do not let him find you sleeping. What I say to you, I say to everyone: ‘Watch!’”
Mark 13:32-37
I can't wait for Jesus to return and solve the world's problems! As a result, I have spent some time studying approximately when we can expect Him to return based on the Bible. Although the Bible passage above says we can't know the exact timing of His return, it also tells us to be on guard and keep watch - indicating that there are clues about His return to look out for.
Further down this page I give evidence from the Bible that we can expect Jesus to return within the next 30 years or so. Because His Return is imminent, it also means we can expect many other Bible prophecies to be fulfilled soon - which will be explored in the other pages on this website.
God's 7,000 Year Plan for Mankind
…but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”
Genesis 2:17 (ESV)
A thousand years in your sight are like a day that has just gone by, or like a watch in the night.
Psalm 90:4
But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: with the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.
2 Peter 3:8
At the beginning of the Bible, God commands Adam and Eve not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, because if they do they will die that same day. However, after they disobey God, they live for a long time, giving birth to many children, and Adam dies at age 930. To us that seems like a very long time, however to someone immortal it is just a 'day'. With God a thousand years are like a day.
Also at the beginning of the Bible, God creates the world in six days, and then has a day of rest. This provides a pattern to understand human history since the Fall of Adam and Eve. First I will explain what that pattern looks like, and then I will show the Bible passages which support this interpretation.
- Start of the “week” (c.4000BC): The Fall of Adam & Eve
- End of first “day” (c.3000BC): Birth of Noah
- End of second “day” (c.2000BC): Abraham told to sacrifice Isaac
- End of third “day” (c.960BC): First temple in Jerusalem built by Solomon
- End of fourth “day” (c.30AD): Jesus Christ crucified, resurrected and ascended to Heaven.
- End of sixth “day” (c.2040-2060AD): Return of Jesus Christ to Earth
- Seventh/Sabbath “day” (up to c.3060AD): Millennium reign of Jesus Christ (Revelation chapter 20), leading up to the final Judgement.
After the seven 'days' are over, we then have the new Heaven and new Earth described in Revelation chapters 21 and 22.
The first Bible passage to support this is in Joshua 3. (I discovered this from one of Rick Joyner's excellent Words for the Week in 2004: Crossing Over).
In Joshua 3, the Israelites are approaching the Jordan to enter Israel after forty years in the wilderness. The ark of the covenant is commanded to go in front, with the people of Israel following about two thousand cubits behind. The Jordan river represents death – it is where the first baptisms took place, and it flows into the Dead Sea. When the ark of the covenant, which represents Jesus, reached the river, the river stopped flowing, all the way back to a town called Adam. This was a symbol showing that the death and Resurrection of Jesus reversed death all the way back to Adam.
The rest of the Israelites crossed over the Jordan about two thousand cubits behind. Since everything else in this passage has symbolic meaning, it seems likely that this number has a meaning. I believe it points to the timing of the return, when the dead in Christ will be resurrected (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17). It is saying that the rest of God’s people will pass through the Jordan and be resurrected about two thousand years after Jesus Christ - in line with the one 'week’ timeline above.
There is one other highly symbolic passage that means something very similar if we apply the one cubit equals one year principle in Ezekiel:
The man brought me back to the entrance to the temple, and I saw water coming out from under the threshold of the temple toward the east (for the temple faced east). The water was coming down from under the south side of the temple, south of the altar. He then brought me out through the north gate and led me around the outside to the outer gate facing east, and the water was trickling from the south side.
As the man went eastward with a measuring line in his hand, he measured off a thousand cubits and then led me through water that was ankle-deep. He measured off another thousand cubits and led me through water that was knee-deep. He measured off another thousand and led me through water that was up to the waist. He measured off another thousand, but now it was a river that I could not cross, because the water had risen and was deep enough to swim in—a river that no one could cross.
Ezekiel 47:1-5
Ezekiel measures the water running from the temple. After the first thousand cubits it was ankle deep, after the next thousand knee deep, after the next thousand waist deep, and finally after thousand cubits more it was so deep it was a “river that could not be passed through”. So It takes four thousand cubits, or four thousand years, from the first temple, before the water becomes so deep nobody can cross. This fits my suggested timeline with four thousand years between the first temple being built, and the final Judgement, after which nobody can cross over to life through Jesus Christ.
Another passage supporting this timeline is from Hosea:
For I will be like a lion to Ephraim, like a great lion to Judah. I will tear them to pieces and go away; I will carry them off, with no one to rescue them. Then I will return to my lair until they have borne their guilt and seek my face — in their misery they will earnestly seek me.”
“Come, let us return to the Lord. He has torn us to pieces but he will heal us; he has injured us but he will bind up our wounds. After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will restore us, that we may live in his presence. Let us acknowledge the Lord; let us press on to acknowledge him. As surely as the sun rises, he will appear; he will come to us like the winter rains, like the spring rains that water the earth.”
Hosea 5:14 - 6:3
Hosea is talking about Israel’s exile from 70AD - but after two days, c.2000 years, the Lord will revive them, and on the third day He will restore them so they live in His presence, as He will have returned.
So we have Joshua and Hosea indicating a period of about 2,000 years from the Crucifixion and Resurrection - or the destruction of Israel, to the return of Christ, We also have Ezekiel suggesting a period of 4,000 years from the building of the first temple to the end of Jesus' millennium rule after his return. So all three point to His return in the fairly near future. Finally, let's see what Jesus himself had to say about it:
He told them this parable: "Look at the fig tree and all the trees. When they sprout leaves, you can see for yourselves and know that summer is near. Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that the kingdom of God is near. Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened.
Luke 21:29-32 (also similar verses in Matthew 24:32-34 and Mark 13:28-30)
The verses referred to above occur after Jesus' disciples ask him what will be the sign of his coming and the end of the age. The fig tree represents the nation of Israel. Earlier, Jesus had cursed a fig tree so that it withered and died (Matthew 21:19, Mark 11:13-14,20-21), which symbolised the coming destruction of Israel.
Here Jesus seems to be saying that the generation which sees the restoration of Israel (1948) will not pass away until He has returned. This fits in well with Jesus returning approximately 2000 years after his Crucifixion and Resurrection.
Conclusion
This page has shown several Bible passages all pointing to the Return of Jesus happening about 2000 years after Jesus' Crucifixion, Resurrection and Ascension in approximately 30AD. This is certainly not precise, but shows that it will be in the next few decades.
Final Note: the interpretation of the Bible on this page is called Millennial Day Theory, there is a link to a Wikipedia article with further information here.
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