Several passages in the Bible seem to indicate that, not long after the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, He would return to Earth to take those who had trusted in Him (i.e., Christians) to heaven with Him (i.e., the so-called “Rapture”) and then subsequently return again to set up His kingdom on Earth (i.e., His millennial reign).  Some biblical passages appear to suggest that even Jesus believed that these events were imminent.  Yet, almost two thousand years have passed since then, and neither of these events has occurred. 

In addressing this matter, let’s look first at some scripture passages that suggest both Paul and Peter expected Jesus Christ to return to Earth within a relatively short time.  [Note:  When we quote Scripture in this article, we use the wording in the New King James Version of the Bible.]

Paul declares,

We shall not all sleep [i.e., die], but we shall all be changed – in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet.  For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.  (1 Corinthians 15:51-52)

The Lord is at hand.  (Philippians 4:5)

For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep.  For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God.  And the dead in Christ will rise first.  (1 Thessalonians 4:15-16)

And, Peter asserts, “[T]he end of all things is at hand. . . .” (1  Peter   4:7)

John W. Haley, M.A., indicates on page 134 of his book entitled Alleged Discrepancies of the Bible that the 1 Corinthians 15:51-52 passage and the 1 Thessalonians 4:15-16 passage refer to the Christians who will be living at the time when Jesus Christ returns to Earth (i.e., the passages were not intended to be applicable to the Christians who were living at the time of Paul and Peter).

Allen Bowman, Ph.D., provides a different viewpoint.  On page 139 of his book entitled Is the Bible True?, he states,

[Readers of the Bible] have jumped to the conclusion that Paul and Peter are mistakenly prophesying the return of Christ in their own generation.

The consistent exhortation of the Bible is that believers in every generation should live in daily anticipation of Christ’s return.  No one knows the day or the hour of that event; hence we are to be ready at all times. . . . “At hand,” does not mean that the event will inevitably take place this week or this year or even in this century – it means that it may happen at any time.

What about scripture passages that seem to indicate Jesus Christ believed He would return to Earth within a generation of when He died?  In Matthew 24:34, after His earlier discourse about all that would happen before His return, Jesus says, “Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all these thing are fulfilled.”  And, a similar statement by Jesus when He was delivering a comparable (or perhaps the same) sermon is recorded in Mark 13:30.

In these passages, either Jesus Christ was mistaken about when He would return to Earth or He was not referring to the generation of the people living at that time.  Since all of the events that Jesus had mentioned previously during His discourse have not yet occurred, Jesus must have been alluding to a future generation of people.  Given the more than ample evidence that He was God incarnate, there is no reason to believe that Jesus was mistaken about when He would return to Earth, because God does not make mistakes.  [See our article entitled “Was Jesus Christ More Than a Prophet?”]

Gleason L. Archer, on pages 338-339 of his book entitled Encyclopedia of Bible Difficulties, offers the following perspectives regarding Matthew 24:34:

There are two possible explanations.  One is that genea (“generation”) was used as a synonym of genos (“race,” “stock,” “nation,” “people”).  This would then amount to a prediction that the Jewish race would not pass out of existence before the Second Advent.  Whatever other races would die out before that event – and most of the races contemporaneous with Jesus of Nazareth have in fact died out already – the Jewish race, however persecuted and driven from one country to another, would survive until our Lord’s return. 

The other possibility is that genea does indeed mean “generation” in the usual sense of the word, but refers to the generation of observers who witness the beginning of the signs and persecutions with which the Tribulation will begin.  Many of these will live to see the Lord Jesus come back to earth, as Conqueror and Judge, with great power and glory.  This interpretation has the merit of preserving the more common and usual meaning of the word.  But it suffers from the disadvantage of predicting what would normally be expected to happen anyway.  Whether the Tribulation will last for seven years or for a mere three and a half years, it would not be so unusual for most people to survive that long.

With regard to the first explanation mentioned by Archer, Norman Geisler, Ph.D., and Thomas Howe, M.A., express essentially the same view as Archer about Matthew 24:34, but they add one significant insight with regard to the possibility that “generation” means “race.”  On page 358 of their book entitled When Critics Ask, they speculate,

Since there were many promises to Israel, including the eternal inheritance of the land of Palestine (Gen. 12; 14-15; 17) . . ., then Jesus could be referring to God’s preservation of the nation of Israel in order to fulfill His promises to them.

As for the second possibility presented by Archer, it seems to assume that the apostles to whom Christ was speaking were already aware of how long the Tribulation would last.  However, if they were not already aware of how long the Tribulation would last, Christ may have been informing them that the Tribulation would not last for a period so long that no person living when it began could survive (i.e., that the duration of the Tribulation would be less than the lifetime of the generation of people who are living when it begins).

Regardless of which, if any, of the preceding explanations may be correct, no one other than God the Father knows precisely when Jesus Christ will return to Earth. Jesus declared in Matthew 24:36, “But of that day and hour no one knows, no, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only.” 

This raises another question:  If Jesus Christ is truly God, as the Bible teaches, why would He not know the time of His own return to Earth? 

On page 374 of their book, Geisler and Howe explain, “We must distinguish between what Jesus knew as God (everything) and what He knew as man.  As God, Jesus was omniscient (all knowing), but as man He was limited in His knowledge.”  To understand this, it is necessary to keep in mind that, when Jesus Christ took the form of man, He also willingly limited His ability to be omniscient, as is inferred by Matthew 24:36.