The return of Christ itself, visible and global
NowAwaitingResearch statusOpen
27For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
Read the surrounding verses
24For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.
25Behold, I have told you before.
26Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not.
27For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
28For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together.
29Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:
30And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
30And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
Read the surrounding verses
27For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
28For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together.
29Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:
30And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
31And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
32Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh:
33So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.
11Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.
Read the surrounding verses
8But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judæa, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
9And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight.
10And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel;
11Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.
12Then returned they unto Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is from Jerusalem a sabbath day’s journey.
13And when they were come in, they went up into an upper room, where abode both Peter, and James, and John, and Andrew, Philip, and Thomas, Bartholomew, and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon Zelotes, and Judas the brother of James.
14These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren.
7Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.
Read the surrounding verses
4John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne;
5And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,
6And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.
7Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.
8I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.
9I John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.
10I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet,
The return of Christ is the central hope to which all the other signs point. At the ascension the disciples were told that "this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven" (). Jesus said his coming would be as public as lightning: "as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be" (). Revelation adds: "Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him" (). Jesus also said that "of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father" (), so Christians hold the hope without a timetable, and see in his ministry the kingdom already at work.
If it happens, a visible and global return would be unmistakable, but it has not yet happened, so it cannot be scored. The question of timing, whether Jesus expected the end soon, is examined separately. That study finds that Jesus expected God's decisive coming in the near future but gave no timetable, and that most of the sayings which set a time limit probably come from the early church rather than from Jesus himself.
Explore the counterarguments
Some of the Gospel sayings sound like a deadline: "there be some of them that stand here, which shall not taste of death, till they have seen the kingdom of God come with power" (), "this generation shall not pass, till all these things be done" (), and "Ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel, till the Son of man be come" (). The earliest church clearly expected a near return, and by the time of 2 Peter the delay had become a recognised problem. Many historians, across religious commitments, conclude that Jesus himself expected the kingdom to come soon, and on that view the expectation was not fulfilled as the first Christians understood it. Some scholars instead read the sayings as fulfilled in other ways, such as the Temple's destruction in 70 CE, and some idealist interpreters do not read the return as a literal future event at all. These readings are defended seriously, but none has a consensus.