Can Jesus return at any moment?

O.K. as far as I am concerned, Jesus can do whatever He wants. That being said, I do not think that He will return at any moment.The notion that Jesus could return at any moment, is known as imminence. The doctrine of Jesus' imminent return, is only an inference, not a scripturally established fact in my mind. Let's look at the verses which many people think teach His imminent return, and we'll try to take them in order.

Matt 24:38-25:1

38 For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, 39 And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

Some say the above shows imminence. That the church will be suddenly taken away, just as in the days of Noah. I went through this in the Matt 24 study, but it bears repeating if the point was missed. Paying careful attention to the context, there were two groups of people pictured in the above passage. One group was Noah, his wife, and his three sons and their wives. The other group was all of those outside of the ark. The verse says  "And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away". So, it is obvious that someone was taken away. Was this Noah and family, and is this a picture of the rapture? The answer is "definitely not". How can I say this with such certainty while others say otherwise? Unfortunately, many see this passage, but they do not look carefully at it. They assume it is Noah who was taken and that this is a picture of the rapture. The Bible refutes this interpretation. There are characteristics ascribed to the group which is taken away. It says of that group:

They were marrying and giving in marriage. That cannot be referring to Noah and family, because they were already married. It says they knew nothing, until the flood took them away. The inference is that they suspected nothing, and then were surprised by the flood. Noah and family were not ignorant or surprised by the flood, they had been building  the ark because they knew the flood was coming. So, if one has an open mind and is willing to look, it has to be admitted that this verse at least, is not saying that anyone is surprised at the rapture, it is the unbelievers are surprised at their destruction.

Now, there is a parallel passage to this in Luke, which adds a little:

Luke 17

27 They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all. 

Now that is pretty clear, isn't it? Luke replaces took them away with "destroyed them all" Luke also adds details about another example, that of Lot:

28 Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded;
29 But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all.
30 Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.

Now I never noticed something in that passage before today. It is said there that the destruction of the unbelievers, occurred on the same day that Lot left, which when you think about it is also somewhat true of the Noah narrative. In other words, if we are comparing these events to the rapture, we would notice that there is not a great length of time between the protection of one group and the destruction of the other. I do not want to get carried away with this, because I do not think these passages are intended to give us a lot of details. I am just pointing out, that the most natural interpretation would be that one group will be destroyed, while the other is not, one is caught off guard, while the other not. Verse 30 above, says this happens when the Lord is revealed. Many who believe in the pre-tribulation rapture, Think Jesus returns twice, or has a two part coming. The second return or second half of His one return, is known as His Revelation. I assume that many of them know and understand, based on Luke's reference in verse 30, that these passages are about the Lords return at the revelation. The only difference between the pre-tribulation rapture theory and post-tribulation rapture theory on this point, is that pre-tribbers insert 7 years between the rapture and the destruction of the unbelievers, where as post-tribbers think the happens at roughly the same time.

Now continuing in Matthew:

40 Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
41 Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
42 Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.
43 But know this, that if the Goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up.
44 Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.

Since Jesus already set the sequence with the Noah example, we can now see that the one taken, is taken to destruction. However Jesus added the verses about being watchful, and not knowing when His return would be.

45 Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season?
46 Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing.
47 Verily I say unto you, That he shall make him ruler over all his goods.
48 But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming;
49 And shall begin to smite his fellow servants, and to eat and drink with the drunken;
50 The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of,
51 And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

So,what elements are contained above? Again, two types of people, the servants that do the will of their master, and those that do not. Notice that Jesus said that the evil servant will find the Lord coming expectantly, and that servant will be dealt with in the harshest of terms. Now, if this were the only passage we had to go one, we might conclude that Jesus would return for the good servant, and then for the bad servant unexpectedly. Notice though, that Jesus nowhere says that He is coming at two separate times, though we might infer that from the fact that He mentioned coming for the servants in separate sentences, one before the other. To say that this passage teaches that Jesus came earlier for the good servant, would be inserting an idea that is not in the text, we should never make such inferences. It does seem obvious, that the surprise element seems to be on the bad servant, and is not mentioned for the good servant. I think the main point here, is to be wise, be ready, be a good servant. It should be noted however, that there is possibly a reason why the the bad servant is caught off guard. He is not expecting the return. The wise and faithful servant is patiently waiting for his masters return, so he is ready and not caught off guard. We will see this in other verses later. It should be remembered that this passage was part of the same conversation that we have been looking at, and the subject was the Lords return at his revelation, Jesus has no where in this discourse, mentioned two second comings, not a two part second coming, no secret coming, no rapture, unless it all happens when? The answer: "Immediately after the tribulation of those days".

Matthew 25:13 is often cited as a verse indicating imminence.

Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.

I am not sure why this is cited. I think some people believe that a pile of weak evidence is the equivalent of good evidence. Let's take a look at the context of Matt 25:13.

1 Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom.
2 And five of them were wise, and five were foolish.
3 They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them:
4 But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.
5 While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.
6 And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.
7 Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps.
8 And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out.
9 But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves.
10 And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut.
11 Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us.
12 But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not.
13 Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.

Now, the chapters and verses, meaning the numbering of them, was not in the original manuscripts. Matt 25 is not a new subject, not a different conversation. Matthew 25 begins with the word "Then". Then when? Then, after the tribulation, is what Jesus has been saying, and He gives us no hint, that the conversation has changed. Again, what has Jesus been saying in this entire dialog? There will be signs preceding His coming. So we are to watch and be ready. What are we watching for? The things that He told us to watch for, the signs. I can only repeat, that if Jesus could return without any thing having to happen prior to His coming, then there is no reason to watch, Because we do not know the hour of His coming, we are given signs to watch for, so that we know that His coming and the end of the age is near. Jesus could not have made it much clearer than He has.

Another passage cited for Jesus imminent return, is Luke 12:40

40: Be ye therefore ready also: for the Son of man cometh at an hour when ye think not.

If you care to look at the passage in it's entirety, you will find it is basically the same conversation, and all the same observations I made on the passages from Matthew, still apply, about the watchfulness, readiness, ant the Lord's return at His revelation.

Luke adds later in the chapter:

54 And he said also to the people, When ye see a cloud rise out of the west, straightway ye say, There cometh a shower; and so it is.
55  And when ye see the south wind blow, ye say, There will be heat; and it cometh to pass.
56 Ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky and of the earth; but how is it that ye do not discern this time?

Jesus is chiding His listeners for not discerning the time. This is interesting. Luke does not make it clear that this is the same conversation, but for whatever reason, it is included here. I am thinking the point is, that those who do not pay attention, those who are not diligently watching, Jesus considers to be hypocrites. Christians look forward to Jesus return, love His future coming, and await it anxiously. Those who are not watching, are not following Jesus instruction. Therefore, those who are not interested in prophecy and eschatology, are actually outside of the Lords will in this area, Those who are watching, will discern the times, and therefore, will not be caught off guard, will not be surprised.

The next one on our list is in Luke 21:

34 And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares.

35 For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth.

36 Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.

Now, I have to admit, this sounds like a pretty good verse for the pre-trib rapture position. Once again though, context is everything, the context here, as before, is Jesus talking about His coming after the tribulation, so we cannot choose to change this context, and say that Jesus suddenly switched topics, and is now talking about a rapture before the tribulation. There simply is no justification to do that, that is importing our hopes into the text, not looking at what He is saying. Even a careful examination of the verses in isolation from there context, should give us a clue here. Note, that people are described as surfeiting, drunk, and worldly. This is not saying that Christians are that way, Christians are excluded from these warnings of doom, because we are not like that. This day will come on all who dwell on the earth. Remember what Jesus just got through talking about? The days of Noah and the days of Lot? God's wrath was poured out on the people He meant to destroy, Lot was found worthy to escape, so was Noah, yet they were on the face of the earth, not removed from it, and Jesus said that is how it will be when He comes again.  Christians will be counted worthy to escape, and to stand before the Son of man. That phrase "stand before", is indicative of judgment.

Rom 14:4  Who art thou that judgest another man's servant? to his own master he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be holden up: for God is able to make him stand .


Now, there is another passage  that is brought to the discussion, because of the "coming like a thief" phraseology, which of course implies a surprise, an unexpected visit, so let's look at that one:

1 Thess 5:2-9

2 For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.

3 For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.

4 But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.

5 Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness.

6 Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.

7 For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night.

8 But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation.

9 For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,

This one is very easy for the post-trib believer, most of us do not even understand why this one is argued at all, because it language is very clear. Let us back up and get a few more verses for context:

1 Thess 4:13-5:11

13 But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. 14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. 15 For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.

O.K. Paul says that he doesn't want people worrying about those Christians who have died, to sorrow as though they had the fate of those without hope, non-Christians. Paul asserts that Jesus will bring those who died with him, and those who are alive, will not precede those who have died.

16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: 17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words.

Now this, is a picture of the rapture with details:

Lord descends

with a shout, the voice of the archangel, and a trumpet call.

Dead  Christians rise to meet Jesus

Living Christians are caught up next and join Jesus and the ressurected Chrisitans.

All Christians will then be with the Lord forever.

These are very comforting words indeed.

Looking back to Matt 24:31:

And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.

Far be it for me to point out, that we have a trumpet, angels present, and a gathering of the chosen from the four winds (north south east and west). Sounds like the same event to me, in Matthew, Jesus said  this was after the tribulation. Now, imagine Christians being caught up, they are suspended in the air, but all across the globe, Jesus needs to gather them together, from one end of the heavens (the sky) to the other, from all directions, north south east and west. Do pre-tribbers believe in two raptures? Isn't the more natural interpretation, one of thinking this is describing the same event?

Paul continues:

1 Thessalonians 5

5:1 But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. 2 For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. 3 For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.

O.K. Let's analyze that passage. Paul says they already know that the Day of the Lord comes as a thief in the night, and sudden destruction will come upon them. Take the time if you have not already done so to do a bible search on the phrase "the Day of the   Lord". You can look at variations if you like, such as the Day of God, or the Day of Jehovah etc. Once you do that, you will find that in no unmistakable terms, that this is when God pours out His wrath on unbelievers, there is nothing ambiguous or mysterious about it.

Christians are not unbelievers, God wrath has nothing to do with us, it does not apply.

4 But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. 5 Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. 6 Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.

Again, as we have seen before, we are not sleeping, not surprised, we are vigilant and sober, so we will not be surprised. Paul does not say we will not be present, in fact, he instructs us to watch.

7 For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night. 8 But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation. 9 For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, 10 Who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him. 11 Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do.

Again, Paul is saying to comfort one another, with the knowledge, that we will not suffer Gods wrath, but will obtain salvation. The mistake, and it is a mistake, that some pre-tribbers make, is  in thinking that the Great Tribulation is God's wrath. It is not, it is the persecution of anti-Christ, against followers of God. God's wrath follows at the Day of the Lord, and later, when all unbelievers are cast into the lake of fire. Christians are not appointed to God's wrath in either case.


More 'coming as a thief' language is in Revelation

Rev 3:3

Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.


Same theme as always, Jesus comes as a thief on those who are unrepentant, not on those who are faithful and wise, servant of light, watchful Christians. So far, we have looked at verses that are refuted to teach imminence, but all we really saw, was  a sudden coming upon those who we not expecting Jesus return, were not living for the master. Let's look for some other indicators about Jesus imminent return, or lack thereof.

Matt 25:19 After a long time the lord of those servants cometh, and reckoneth with them. Anything implied there? You judge.

II Thess 2:1-3
1 Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him,
2 That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.
3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
4 Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.

Notice that one please. Paul has just equated that the rapture with the Day of Christ, since Christ is the Lord, is this the Day of the Lord? Again, you judge. Whether it is or not, the rapture is clearly in view here, and the Lord comes, and we are gathered to him. In my mind, this passage destroys imminence in one blow, all by itself. Paul has just said, that our gathering to the Lord will not come until anti-christ sits in the temple, as we saw in Matt 24, during that study. Now I know that the pre-trib believer, will want to say that verse 1 is separate from verse 2. Is that possible? Of course it is. It is however unlikely. why mention these two separate ideas in one breath? To interpret it that way, we have to bring our ideas to the scripture, we are supposed to get our ideas from the scripture. The most natural interpretation, is the plain, simple apparent one. The anti-christ will sit in the temple before the rapture, the temple is not even existing at present, therefore, Jesus return is not imminent. Just as it could not have been imminent from 70 A.D. onward, for the temple had been destroyed as Jesus said it would be. I am confident that Jesus, though He did not know when He would return, He did know that the temple would be destroyed in the lifetimes of the apostles, and therefor knew He was no coming back at any moment. Not until Israel was re-established in 1948, should we have even thought that He would return soon. Much of the modern church, has made the mistake of thinking, that when the Bible said He would return quickly, that that meant soon. It did not mean soon, it meant suddenly. It is true that Revelation (in particular) refers to things that would soon come to pass. Most of the "Soon" words, can mean quickly or suddenly, some though, it has to be admitted, primarily mean shortly. We need always to consider, the following:

2 Peter 3:8-9

8 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. 9 The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. Obviously, shortly come to pass, has meant a couple thousand years so far.

This ties in perfectly with Jesus saying in Matt 24:

Matt 24:14

14 "And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world for a witness to all the nations, and then the end shall come.

So, we are to be patient (as the Lord is patient), loving and looking forward to His appearing, diligent in our lives, and watchful for the signs that He said would accompany His return and take care, not to be deceived. Christians will not easily be deceived by atheists, cultists, occultists, governments etc. Most likely, we will be most easily deceived, by those we trust, our Christian friends, our pastors, Christian books, and the like, this is why we are to diligently study these things, see for ourselves.

Acts 17:11
11 Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily, to see whether these things were so.

2 Tim 2:15
15 Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, handling accurately the word of truth.

Heb 5:12-14
12 For though by this time you ought to be teachers , you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food. 13 For everyone who partakes only of milk is not accustomed to the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. 14 But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil.

Let's not be babes, let's not be lazy workmen, let's be Bereans.     

In Christian love - Omegaman

P.S. What you just got through reading, was a study of verses alleged to indicate that Jesus could return at any moment, showing that this is not the intended meaning, from an analysis of the language, context, and the comparison of related verses. It has been said, pointed out as evidence by some, that the apostle's own understanding was that Jesus could come at anytime. Clearly we can see that Paul's understanding was that their were certain events that would take place before Jesus returned. Although it is always best, to get doctrine from scripture, let's do a double check from a practical standpoint. Remember Jesus said that the gospel will be preached to all people before the end? Let's assume for the moment, that there is a rapture before the tribulation,and that Jesus second return mentioned here is a visible coming with the saints after the tribulation, as most pre-tribulation rapture theorists tell us. Two problems:

• If the rapture was truly imminent, let's pretend that it could have happened in A.D. 100 as an example. That would mean that those who were left on the earth (non-Christians) would have to spread the gospel to the entire earth without printing presses, photo copiers, faxes, modern travel etc, how would a relative handful of people, take the gospel to the Americas in those days, or to the rest of the world, in the span of 7 years? Obviously, they could not have, therefore, it could not have been imminent.
• If no man knows the day or hour, like pre-tribbers like to say we would if it was after tribulation, doesn't the same problem still exist, since He was talking about destruction coming suddenly by surprise? The people in the tribulation, aware that the church had been raptured, could do a seven year countdown. Therefore, that understanding of the "no man knows" passage, is the wrong understanding, that should be obvious. Just some after thoughts.