The Return of Christ

Timothy Christian Huynh
Priscilla Christian Huynh

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With each new year, we move closer to the return of Christ and the Apocalypse. According to the Bible, Christ returns to the earth in His resurrected body twice. First, before the Apocalypse, to take the Church out of the world and prepare for the beginning of the Apocalypse. Second, at the end of the Apocalypse, to end the Apocalypse and usher in the Millennium Kingdom. However, there are many who do not understand these as separate events, so they think the Church will go through seven years of the great tribulation of the Apocalypse.

On the first day of this new year 2022, let’s find out the difference between the two times when Christ will return to the earth.

Christ’s Return Before the Apocalypse:

When Christ first arrives in the air, before the Apocalypse, He returns to take the Church out of the world. He returns for the Church only, as promised to those who belong to Him: the promise repeated by angels and prophesied by His apostles.

“In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto Myself, that where I am, there ye may be also.” (John 14:2-3).

It has been nearly two thousand years since Christ ascended. It is not that Christ needed a long time to prepare a place for His Church; in reality, He created the whole material world in just six days. The period of two thousand years corresponds to two prophetic days. Each prophetic day represents a thousand years. The two thousand years is both the time appointed for the punishment of the Israelites for their denial of Christ, and the time given for a sufficient number of non-Israelites to join His Church. When that period is over, Christ will take the Church from the world.

The Word of God affirms that, for Him, “a day is like a thousand years and a thousand years is like a day”. This means that God can fulfill His purpose in one day, but He can also complete it in a period of a thousand years. If He wants to finish it in one day, He can use a different method from how He would complete it in a thousand years. Whether He chooses to accomplish His purpose in a day or in a thousand years, He chooses what is best. He chose to re-establish the nation of Israel in one day; then He chose to revive Israel spiritually and end the period of the Church in two thousand years. God’s Word said:

“But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing: that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.” (II Peter 3:8).

That is how we understand that the words “two days” in Hosea’s prophecy refer to two thousand years in the history of the people of Israel.

“Come, and let us return unto the LORD; for He hath torn, and He will heal us; He hath smitten, and He will bind us up. After two days will He revive us; on the third day He will raise us up, and we shall live in His sight.” (Hosea 6:1-2).

The Israelite people, represented by the Sanhedrin, rejected Christ and delivered Him into the hands of the Romans to be crucified on the Passover of the year 27 [1]. Next, God gave the Israelites 40 years to repent. Because they did not repent, God allowed the Roman army to attack Judea in the year 67, ending with the destruction of Jerusalem and God’s Temple in the year 70 [2], [3].

From the Passover day of year 27 to the Passover day of the year 2027, two thousand years will pass, or two days prophesied in Hosea 6:2. That is also the time God will punish the Israelites. The first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread in 2027 is also the first day of the third millennium. It is the beginning of the third prophetic day, the time when God would spiritually rebuild Israel.

The physical resurrection of Israel occurred on May 14, 1948, when the nation of Israel was re-established in the land of Canaan. The spiritual resurrection of Israel is likely to take place on the Feast of the Sheave of Firstfruits, the day immediately following the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread in 2027. It is possible that, on that day, God will seal 144,000 Israelites from the 12 tribes (Revelation 7:1-8). It is preparation for the Apocalypse and also the beginning of Israel’s salvation. This can only happen after a sufficient number of Gentiles are brought into the Church, and after the Church had been taken out of the world.

“For I, brethren, would not have you be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits: that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in. And so all Israel shall be saved, as it is written: “There shall come out of Zion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob.” (Romans 11:25-26).

“The fullness of the Gentiles” means that Gentile people are included in the Church in full numbers, according to God’s predestination, and brought to Heaven in the Rapture. We don’t know what this number is, but over a two-thousand-year period, it could reach hundreds of millions of people. After enough Gentiles have entered the Church, Christ will come and take the Church from the world.

The day Christ ascended into heaven, He was caught up in a cloud. When He returns to meet the Church, He will also return in a cloud.

“And when He had spoken these things, while they beheld, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, who also said, “Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who is taken up from you into Heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into Heaven.”” (Acts 1:9-11).

On the day Christ appears in the air, He will take the whole Church from the world. The Church includes both the dead and the living under God, from the Deacon Stephen to the presently living people of God. The physical bodies of the Church’s dead will be resurrected. The physical bodies of the Church’s living will be transformed. All are given a glorious, immortal physical body like the resurrected body of Christ.

“Behold, I show you a mystery: We shall not all sleep; but we shall all be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.” (I Corinthians 15:51-52).

“For this we say unto you by the Word of the Lord: that we who are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord, shall not precede those who are asleep. For the Lord Himself shall descend from Heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first; then we who 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.” (I Thesalonians 4:15-17).

God’s Word clearly states that the people of the Church will ascend to the clouds to meet the Lord in the sky. This points to a different time Christ comes to the Mount of Olives at the end of the Apocalypse.

When Christ comes to take the Church from the world, He will descend from the sky in a cloud, and we will be caught up in the sky with clouds. That is, each person will have a private cloud to meet Him and from then be with Him forever. Where Christ is, the Church will be. The abode of the Church and Christ is the Holy City of Jerusalem in Heaven.

“So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto those who look for Him shall He appear the second time without sin, unto salvation.” (Hebrews 9:28).

The return of Christ in the sky is reserved for God’s people in the Church that await Him. He came to give salvation to our physical bodies and save our physical bodies from the power of death. This return is different from His second return at the end of the Apocalypse. He will descend on the Mount of Olives and execute judgment on those who rebelled against Him throughout the world, inflicting death upon them.

Christ’s return for the Church in the sky, before the Apocalypse, may happen at any time, no one knows in advance.

“But of that day and hour, knoweth no man, no, not the angels of Heaven, but My Father only.” (Matthew 24:36).

“Watch therefore, for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.” (Matthew 24:42).

“But of that day and that hour knoweth no man — no, not the angels who are in Heaven, neither the Son, but only the Father.” (Mark 13:32).

When Christ spoke the above words, He had not yet completed His death atoning for mankind; His human body did not yet bear the glory of God and did not yet have the authority of God. He was speaking as a man, and a mortal cannot know what God knows. After His resurrection, His physical body took on all the glory and authority of God, taking on the name “God” (John 17:12; Hebrews 1:8-9). From then on, He would know when He would return to take the Church out of the world.

Angels, demons, and humans still don’t know when Christ will return from the sky to take the Church, but it is possible to know the “period” when that will happen.

That period began after the Israelites completely regained Jerusalem on June 7, 1967, during the Six-Day War with the Arab League [5]. It was a sign that the Israelite fig tree, which was replanted in the land of Canaan on May 14, 1948, had begun to bear fruit. The generation born at the time Israel regained sovereignty over Jerusalem will not pass away before the end of the world is completed.

It was Christ who rebuked the Pharisee and Sadducee for not knowing the time of the fulfillment of the prophecies.

“He answered and said unto them, “When it is evening ye say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.’ And in the morning, ‘It will be foul weather today, for the sky is red and lowering.’ O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky, but can ye not discern the signs of the times?” (Matthew 16:2-3).

On December 6, 2017, President Donald John Trump of the United States officially recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and announced that he would move the US embassy to Jerusalem. On May 14, 2018, the US embassy in Israel officially opened its doors in Jerusalem. This event is like the Israeli fig tree replanted in the land of Canaan: ready to flower and bear fruit.

Christ’s return to the air, before the Apocalypse, occurs while the world is living normally.

“Because thou hast kept the word of My patience, I will also keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world to try them that dwell upon the earth.” (Revelation 3:10).

“The hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world to try them that dwell upon the earth” is the seven-year period of the Apocalypse. That period will be filled with natural disasters, plagues, famines, wars, and persecution of evil spirits, as foretold in Revelation. Because the Church is faithful to Christ, He will take her out of the world, before the Apocalypse.

In the prophecy of Christ’s first return, He made it clear that the world would live normally, as it was in the time of Noah before the Flood.

Matthew 24:37-41

37 But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be.

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 Noah 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.

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.

Through the words of Christ, we also understand that, although God’s people look forward to Christ’s return, they also live a normal life, like the unbelievers in the world. They were suddenly taken out of the world by The Lord Jesus Christ, while they were doing their daily routines. There is no such thing as God’s people selling all their possessions, gathering in one place, doing nothing but to wait for the coming of Christ.

We also know that the Church must be taken before the end of the world to be present at the wedding of the Lamb in heaven, as prophesied in Revelation 19:6-9. Then, the Church with Christ and the angels descend on the earth, as prophesied in Revelation 19:11-21. The plural “armies of heaven” in Revelation 19:14 refers to the army of angels and the army of the Church. The people of God in the Church, even in this life, are soldiers of Christ equipped with spiritual weapons from God (II Timothy 2:3; Ephesians 6:11-18).

Through Revelation 7:9-17, we also know that the Church is already in Heaven before the end of the world begins. The Church herself is: “a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations and kindreds and people and tongues, stood before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes and with palms in their hands.” (Revelation 7:9).

Revelation 7:13-17

13 And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, “Who are these that are arrayed in white robes, and from whence have they come?”

14 And I said unto him, “Sir, thou knowest.” And he said to me, “These are they that came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

15 Therefore, “they are before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple; and He that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them.

16 They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat.

17 For the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters, and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.”

The preposition “out of” before the noun “great tribulation” clearly identifies those who arrived in Heaven at that time who were not caught in the tribulation. They are the people of the Church, who were taken from the world, by Christ, before its end, as promised in Revelation 3:10. This is the time just after God sealed the 144,000 Israelites before the End of Time.

Only the Church is a collective of God’s people “of all nations and kindreds and people and tongues”.

Among all the people of God, only the Church is united with Christ at the Wedding of the Lamb, and is always beside Christ.

If it is assumed that the Church will ascend to Heaven in the middle of the Apocalypse, who would make up “a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations and kindreds and people and tongues, stood before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes and with palms in their hands” right before the Apocalypse? The Apocalypse begins only after the seventh seal is removed and there is silence in heaven, as prophesied in Revelation chapter 8.

In addition, the 24 elders present around the throne of God profess to belong to those who have been redeemed “from every kindred and tongue, and people and nation” (Revelation 5:9). That means they are 24 elders from the Church. So, the Church and her elders are already in Heaven before the seals of the Apocalypse open.

We do not know exactly who these 24 elders are. There is a view that these are the 12 patriarchs of the 12 tribes of Israel and the 12 apostles of the Lord. Revelation 21:12 and 14 tell us that the names of the 12 tribes of Israel are written on the 12 gates, and the names of the 12 apostles are written on the 12 foundations of the Holy City of Jerusalem. The Holy City will descend from Heaven to the earth in the Eternal Kingdom. However, there are a few points below that make it difficult for us to accept that view:

• The 12 forefathers of Israel do not belong to the church. They were Old Testament saints.

• The 12 forefathers of Israel and the 12 apostles of the Lord, who were all Israelites, could not claim to be themselves saved “from every kindred and tongue, and people and nation” (Revelation 5:9).

• The 24 elders know the Lamb can open the seals of the scroll. If John, an apostle of the Lord, was among the 24 elders sitting on the throne, then why would he cry when no one opens the seals of the scroll? (Revelation 5:4-5).

We believe that the 12 patriarchs of Israel and the 12 apostles of the Lord enjoy an honorable position in the Eternal Kingdom of God. Their names were written on the 12 gates and 12 foundations of the Holy City. The 24 elders sitting on the thrones represent the people of the Church from the day the Church was founded in the year 27 until the day the Church would be taken from the world by Christ. The whole Church is given the status of kings and priests by Jesus Christ in the Kingdom of God, as I Peter 2:9 and Revelation 1:6 tell us. The twenty-four elders represent the Church in the priestly work of worshiping God and governing His Kingdom. The number 24 is divided by the order of the Old Testament priests serving the Lord in the Temple of God (I Chronicles 24). As for who are the 24 elders, there are no other Biblical details that help us know. We have to wait until the day God takes us into Heaven. However, the 24 elders of the Church are undoubtedly the most outstanding Christians in the history of the Church.

Christ’s Return at the End of the Apocalypse

Christ’s second return to the earth, at the end of the Apocalypse, takes place on the Mount of Olives, and is different from His first return to take the Church with Him to the sky.

“And His feet shall stand in that day upon the Mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east; and the Mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley, and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north and half of it toward the south.” (Zechariah 14:4).

The second return of Christ occurs exactly 2,520 days after the day the Antichrist signs the peace treaty with Israel, the opening event for the 7 years of tribulation. That is, those living in the Apocalypse will know the day Jesus will come again.

2,520 is the number of days of the 7 years of the great tribulation; according to the prophetic year, each year has 360 days. The day the Antichrist signs the peace treaty with the Israelites is the beginning of the Apocalypse. The day Christ descends on the Mount of Olives, to destroy the Antichrist and those who bear his mark, is the end of the Apocalypse. Therefore, the date of Christ’s return to earth at the end of the Apocalypse can be calculated, but no one knows the exact time of Christ’s first arrival.

Christ’s second return to the earth occurs when the world is in great panic from natural disasters, plagues, famines, wars, and evil spirits that plague mankind yet unseen in history.

All the mountains and islands disappear; every great city, except Jerusalem, is totally destroyed by great earthquakes; every living thing in the sea dies, every ship is destroyed; one third of drinking water is contaminated; The sun, the moon, and the stars all lose their luminosity.

A quarter of the human race will perish from war, disease, famine, and wild animals.

“And when He had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living being say, “Come and see!” And I looked, and behold, a pale horse, and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over a fourth part of the earth to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.” (Revelation 6:7-8).

A third of the remaining humans will perish from fire, smoke, and sulfur from 200 million evil spirits.

“And the number of the army of horsemen was two hundred thousand thousand, and I heard the number of them. And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and they that sat on them had breastplates of fire and of jacinth and brimstone; and the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions, and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone. By these three was a third part of men killed by the fire and by the smoke and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths.” (Revelation 9:16-18).

In total, 50% of the world’s population will perish before the coming of Christ on the Mount of Olives. By the beginning of the Apocalypse, the world’s population will probably reach 8 billion people [7]. There will be at least 4 billion deaths before Christ returns.

According to statistics, as of December 31, 2021, less than 5,500,000 people worldwide have died from COVID-19 [8]. How has the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted human life? Think of when natural disasters, epidemics, wars, famines, and persecuted evil spirits cause some 4 billion deaths during the last three and a half years of the Apocalypse.

Surely, then, it would not have been possible for humans to eat, drink, and give in marriage like in the days before the Great Flood of Noah’s day.

The return of Christ to earth, at the end of the Apocalypse, is prophesied in great detail in Revelation.

Revelation 19:11-21

11 And I saw Heaven opened, and behold, a white horse; and He that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He doth judge and make war.

12 His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns; and He had a name written that no man knew, but He Himself.

13 And He was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood, and His name is called, The Word of God.

14 And the armies which were in Heaven, clothed in fine linen white and clean, followed Him upon white horses.

15 And out of His mouth goeth a sharp sword with which He shall smite the nations, and He shall rule them with a rod of iron; and He treadeth the wine press of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.

16 And He hath on His vesture and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.

17 And I saw an angel standing in the sun, and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, “Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God,

18 that ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great.”

19 And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies gathered together to make war against Him that sat on the horse, and against His army.

20 And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet who wrought miracles in his presence, by which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshiped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire, burning with brimstone.

21 And the remnant were slain with the sword of Him that sat upon the horse, whose sword proceeded out of His mouth. And all the fowls were filled with their flesh.

The prophecy clearly shows us Christ will return to earth, at the end of the Apocalypse, to destroy all mankind led by the Antichrist. This is quite different from the first return to bring the Church up to Him in the sky.

Outline of Christ’s Prophecy In Matthew 24

Christ’s prophecy in Matthew chapter 24 includes four facts:

• War, turmoil, famine, epidemics, earthquakes, and the emergence of false prophets will occur more often.

• Christ will come from the sky to take the Church from the world.

• The Apocalypse: Jerusalem will be attacked by the Antichrist, and the Antichrist will defile the Temple of God, which was just rebuilt by the Israelites.

• Christ will return to earth to end the Apocalypse.

Verses 6 to 13 are prophecies about the situation of the world since Christ’s ascension. That is what has happened for nearly two thousand years. The most prominent will be the days immediately before the Apocalypse, which is our present time, and during the first three and a half years of the Apocalypse.

The first three and a half years of the Apocalypse is from the time the Antichrist signs a peace treaty with Israel until he breaks the peace treaty by attacking Israel.

Matthew 24:6-13

6 And ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that ye be not troubled, for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.

7 For nation shall rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom, and there shall be famines and pestilences and earthquakes in divers places.

8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.

9 Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted and shall kill you, and ye shall be hated by all nations for My name’s sake.

10 And then shall many lose faith and shall betray one another and shall hate one another.

11 And many false prophets shall rise and shall deceive many.

12 And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.

13 But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.

Verse 14 refers to the fact that the Gospel will be preached in all the earth, then the end will come.

14 And this Gospel of the Kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations, and then shall the end come.

The preaching of the Gospel in all the earth is preached by an angel, as prophesied in Revelation. Not by the Church, although the Church still does the work of going around the world, preaching the Gospel.

“And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting Gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation and kindred, and tongue and people.” (Revelation 14:6).

Verses 15 to 22 are prophecies about the Antichrist’s advance against Israel, the capture of Jerusalem, his entry into the Temple of God rebuilt by the Israelites, and his claim to be God. Verses 21 and 22 help us understand that that event hasn’t happened yet. This prophecy is specifically for the Israelites.

Matthew 24:15-22

15 “When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (whoso readeth, let him understand),

16 then let them that be in Judea flee unto the mountains.

17 Let him that is on the housetop not come down to take anything out of his house;

18 neither let him that is in the field return back to take his clothes.

19 And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days!

20 But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the Sabbath day.

21 For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.

22 And unless those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved; but for the elect’s sake, those days shall be shortened.

However, God would bring the godly Israelites into the wilderness for refuge, as prophesied in Revelation.

“And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared by God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days.” (Revelation 12:6).

“And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time and times and half a time, from the face of the serpent.” (Revelation 12:14).

“The woman” is the nation of Israel.

“One thousand two hundred and sixty days” and “a time, times, and half a time” are three and a half years, according to the prophetic year, which has 360 days in a year.

Verses 23 to 31 are Christ’s warning about false Christs, false prophets, and prophecies of Christ’s return on the Mount of Olives at the end of the seven tribulation years of the Apocalypse.

Matthew 24:23-31

23 Then if any man shall say unto you, ‘Lo, here is Christ,’ or ‘there,’ believe it not.

24 For there shall arise false christs and false prophets and shall show great signs and wonders, insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.

25 Behold, I have told you before.

26 Therefore, if they shall say unto you, ‘Behold, He is in the desert!’ go not forth; or ‘Behold, He is in the secret chambers!’ believe it not.

27 For 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.

28 For wheresoever the carcass is, there will the eagles be gathered together.

29 “Immediately 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,

30 and 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 with great glory.

31 And 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.

From verses 32 to 35, Christ used the fig tree to represent the restored nation of Israel, becoming a sign of the coming of Christ and of the Apocalypse.

Matthew 24:32-35

32 “Now learn a parable of the fig tree: When his branch is yet tender and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh.

33 So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.

34 Verily I say unto you, this generation shall not pass till all these things be fulfilled.

35 Heaven and earth shall pass away, but My Words shall not pass away.

Verses 36 to 51 are prophecies of Christ’s coming before the end of the world to take the church from the world, prophesying punishment for unfaithful shepherds and elders.

Matthew 24:36-51

36 But of that day and hour, knoweth no man, no, not the angels of Heaven, but My Father only.

37 But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be.

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 Noah 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.

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 master 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 into.

44 Therefore be ye also ready, for in such an hour as ye think not, the Son of Man cometh.

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 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.

Thus, we see that even in Christ’s prophecy of His return, He also indicated two separate times:

• A time when the world was indifferent to its normal life, like the days before the Great Flood of Noah’s day. This is when Christ arrives through the sky to take the Church out of the world.

“For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark and knew not until the flood came and took them all away, so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be.” (Matthew 24:38-39).

• There will come a time of world terror and turmoil due to natural disasters, epidemics, famines, wars, and persecuted evil spirits unprecedented in history. This is when Christ comes to the Mount of Olives to destroy the Antichrist and those who bear his seal, establishing the Millennium Kingdom after.

““Immediately 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, and 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 with great glory.” (Matthew 24:29-30).

Summary of Differences Between the Two Times of Christ’s Return.

The Return of Christ
Before the Apocalypse	At the end of the Apocalypse
Above the clouds, in the air.	On top of the Mount of Olives, on the earth.
To take the church out of the world, prepare for the Apocalypse.	To end the Apocalypse and establish the Millennium Kingdom.
No one knows the date and time.	2,520 days after the day Antichrist signed the peace treaty with Israel, the beginning of the seven years of tribulation.
Normal life: eat, drink, get married, work…	The world is experiencing unprecedented natural disasters, epidemics, famines, wars, and persecution by evil spirits. Mountains and islands are gone. The great cities, except Jerusalem, were razed by great earthquakes.
Countries still have their own governments. Religions still operate independently.	There is only one global government in the whole world headed by AntiChrist; there is only one universal religion, which worships Antichrist and the image of Antichrist.
There is no change in celestial objects.	The sun will be darkened, the moon will not shine, the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.
Only the Church is aware of Christ’s appearance in the air when she is raptured by Him.	All nations will see Christ’s return and beat their breasts and weep.

Conclusion

When we read and compare God’s Word verse to verse, to meditate with a godly heart, seeking the truth, we will understand God’s Word correctly. It is the Holy Spirit who will work in us to explain the Word of God to us. A correct understanding of God’s Word helps us to be firm in our faith. It also helps us know how to live our in best interest and to glorify God’s name, bringing brilliant results to the work of God’s house. It is especially relevant in these last days, when Christ could come at any time to take the Church out of the world.

May the love, grace, and fellowship of God be with you all. Amen!

Timothy Christian Huynh
Priscilla Christian Huynh
01/01/2022

Notes

[1] https://preachingfromthebible.net/dates-of-the-lords-resurrection-and-pentecost/

https://timhieutinlanh.com/thanhoc/ngay-chua-chet-va-ngay-chua-phuc-sinh/

[2] http://josephus.org/FlJosephus2/warChronology5Pg2.htm

[3] http://josephus.org/FlJosephus2/warChronology7Fall.html

[4] https://kytanthe.net/067-ky-tan-the-va-nam-2027/

[5] http://www.sixdaywar.org/timeline.asp

[6] https://kytanthe.net/060-cay-va-i-so-ra-en-diem-chua-den/

[7] https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/

[8] https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/coronavirus-death-toll/