When Will Christ Return?

1 Thessalonians 4:16 For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.

It's the age-old question: When will Christ return? Many have tried to figure it out using various methods of intellectualism all to come up with no 2nd coming.

I myself am not an expert on Eschatology (the study of End Times) nor do I adhere to any particular eschatological belief. But I can give my thoughts on the subject, and you can do with it what you will.

For starters, the Eschatological belief that Jesus Christ is coming soon stems from the Dispensationalist view that outlines various steps taking place as a countdown to the grand event.

Steps like wars, increase of rebellion, geographical shifts, climate shifts ect

(Matthew 24:4-14 4 And Jesus answered them, "See that no one leads you astray. 5 For many will come in my name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and they will lead many astray. 6 And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet. 7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are but the beginning of the birthing pains. 9 "Then they will deliver up to you tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nation for my names sake. 10 And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. 11 And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. 12 And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. 13 But the one who endures to the end will be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.")

Many have read verse 6 and 7 and create a stir of panic because "the end times are here". Even recently, our elected officials have said they were taking actions to bring us closer to Christ's 2nd coming.

However, more is said in Matthew 24. Continuing, 36 "But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only. 37 For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 38 For as in the days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, 39 and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man."

In the last 250 years of American history there have been countless wars, lawlessness, kingdoms rising against kingdoms. Every generation has claimed they were living in the End Times.

Me personally? We get a short summary of the days of Noah before the flood as a comparison for the End Times.

Genesis 6:5 The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

Based off this short summarization that the End Times will be compared to, I look around and I just don't see that level of wickedness happening continually. Not to say there isn't wicked intentions continually happening, but it's in selective places and I don't believe we are at the level of "thoughts of the heart was only evil continually".

However, what I do notice is a public display of foolishness. As I mentioned earlier our elected officials are taking actions against others in an attempt to bring Jesus back faster. The last time behavior like that was seen was in Genesis 11.

Genesis 11:4 Then they said, "Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth."

The behavior here is simple. Making a tower to reach the heavens instead of multiplying and filling the earth as was commanded by Noah in Genesis 9:7.

In short, when man tries to rush God's plans along, he usually finds himself making no achievements at all. And this is where I believe we are. We are no closer to the End Times, Jesus' return than we were when he ascended to heaven.

So, when will Jesus Christ return?

There is no exact date or time given anywhere in scripture or in life that gives us any clue. But as I've already noted, I do not believe the return of Christ will be in my lifetime. And if it is, I believe it will still be a few years.

But I'm not a prophet so this is all my opinion.