When will Christ return?

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The time of Jesus’ return and of the end of the age is unknown. Only God the Father knows the date, and he has revealed it neither to Jesus nor to the angels, nor will he reveal it to Jesus’ followers. The consequences of this fact are obvious: Christians must be ready for Jesus’ return, which will happen suddenly and unexpectedly. It can happen any time, after the signs that Jesus described in Matthew 24:4–28 are being observed. Since the one specific event that Jesus prophesied—the siege and destruction of Jerusalem (Matt. 24:15–22)—took place in A.D. 70, and since the other signs of the end that Jesus listed could be observed even before A.D. 70, Jesus could return any time after A.D. 70.

Because the day of Jesus’ return is (and will remain) unknown to his followers, speculations are not only fruitless and irrelevant but positively rebellious. The biggest mistake of some end-time “specialists” is the production of (ever new) prophecies of the date of Jesus’ return. Followers of Jesus who acknowledge the divinely ordained ignorance regarding the time of Jesus’ return are ready for that day when they live and work for Jesus.


Schnabel, E. J. (2011). 40 Questions about the End Times. (B. L. Merkle, Ed.) (p. 49). Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Academic & Professional.

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