Many Christians know and use the terms "second coming of Christ", "return of Christ", these are well established terms for the majority of Christendom. However, rather few of them will know that these expressions actually do not even show up in the Bible! The Bible does not know the term "second coming of Christ" or "second coming". This may be rather surprising for many readers. It need not be all that surprising to us because quite a number of widespread and seemingly well established doctrines are said to be biblically founded when in reality a closer look reveals that they are only ideas, traditions and doctrines of men.
The following expressions are used in the Bible for that which is commonly declared to be "the second coming" or "return of Christ":
These and some other similar expressions all describe the same event. The NT scriptures provide information for us so that we can know what was to happen at this event and from that we can conclude what event it would be.
In order to gain an accurate understanding of this matter, we must carefully read the records in the Scriptures, being sober and watchful, and endeavour to read and understand the scriptures from the perspective of the writer and his original audience, instead of reading the records from the perspective of readers who are living 2000 years later and who base their understanding on various theological theories with which they are more or less familiar.
It is agreed that the Christians in the early church in the 1st century AD understood what was meant with these terms, especially so since many of them were familiar with these terms from the Old Testament. The type of language used to describe this event was familiar to them because it is used already in the Old Testament where God's judgment on some nations and people is recorded. But many Christians today do not know these terms and they are therefore lacking an important basis for an accurate understanding of these expressions in the New Testament.
The following examples for a "coming of the Lord" or a "day of the Lord" mentioned in the Old Testament provide us with an important truth: These terms are always in reference to a "judgment" of the Lord, they are used when the LORD judged a city, a people, a nation and destroyed them for their wickedness.
Joel 1:15
Alas for the day! for the day of the LORD is at hand, and as a destruction from the Almighty shall it come
Obadiah 1:15
For the day of the LORD is near upon all the heathen: as thou hast done,
it shall be done unto thee: thy reward shall return upon thine own head.
Zephaniah 2:1-3
Gather yourselves together, yea, gather together, O nation not desired;
Before the decree bring forth, before the day pass as the chaff, before the
fierce anger of the LORD come upon you, before the day of the LORD'S anger come upon you.
Seek ye the LORD, all ye meek of the earth, which have wrought his judgment;
seek righteousness, seek meekness: it may be ye shall be hid in the day of the LORD'S anger.
The "day of the LORD" is always involving God's judgement and punishment which will come on the respective people. The anger and wrath of the Lord will come upon them. However, please note, in no case is there a mention that the LORD will come in a literal sense to the earth to execute this judgment.
The Old Testament does have some examples where such a "day of the Lord" was already fulfilled, has already happened. The term "day of the Lord" is therefore a term that does not refer to only one single event prior to the destruction of planet earth, es many seem to understand today.
Jeremiah 46:2,10
Against Egypt, against the army of Pharaohnecho king of Egypt, which was by the river
Euphrates in Carchemish, which Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon smote in the fourth year
of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah.
...
For this is the day of the Lord GOD of hosts, a day of vengeance, that he may avenge
him of his adversaries: and the sword shall devour, and it shall be satiate and made
drunk with their blood: for the Lord GOD of hosts hath a sacrifice in the north country
by the river Euphrates.
The mentioned "day of the Lord God of hosts" has already happened when Egypt went up against the Babylonians and experienced a devastating defeat at the river Euphrates (cp. also 2Ki 23:29). The defeat of Egypt had alos been prophesied already by the prophet Isaiah as well as the prophet Ezekiel.
Isaiah 19:1
The burden of Egypt. Behold, the LORD rideth upon a swift cloud, and shall come into Egypt:
and the idols of Egypt shall be moved at his presence, and the heart of Egypt shall melt
in the midst of it.
Ezekiel 30:3-4
For the day is near, even the day of the LORD is near, a cloudy day; it shall be the
time of the heathen.
And the sword shall come upon Egypt, and great pain shall be in Ethiopia, when the slain
shall fall in Egypt, and they shall take away her multitude, and her foundations shall
be broken down.
In Isaiah 19 we read in connection with this day or judgment of the Lord about the Lord "rideth upon a swift cloud". This is not meant to be understood in a literal sense, just as "coming in the clouds" or "coming upon the clouds" does not speak about the Lord travelling in a literal sense on a cloud through the skies. These are figures of speech which describe that God, the LORD, is involved in this and that His judgment will come swiftly, quickly upon the Egyptians. This defeat of the Egpytian armies and of Egypt as a power happened approx 48ß BC when they were defeated by foreign armies.
Babylon also experienced such a "day of the Lord" already.
Isaiah 13:1,6-9
The burden of Babylon, which Isaiah the son of Amoz did see.
...
Howl ye; for the day of the LORD is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty.
Therefore shall all hands be faint, and every man's heart shall melt:
And they shall be afraid: pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them; they shall be in pain
as a woman that travaileth: they shall be amazed one at another; their faces shall be as flames.
Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land
desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it.
This day of the LORD upon Babylon was fulfilled when Babylon was taken in approx 539 BC by its enemies, the Medes and the Persians.
Amos 5:18-20
Woe unto you that desire the day of the LORD! to what end is it for you? the day of the LORD
is darkness, and not light.
As if a man did flee from a lion, and a bear met him; or went into the house, and leaned his
hand on the wall, and a serpent bit him.
Shall not the day of the LORD be darkness, and not light? even very dark, and no brightness in it?
This prophecy regarding a day of the LORD describes what would happen to the Northern Kingdom of Israel, when they were defeated by the Assyrians (ca. 722 BC).
Judah also experienced such a day of the LORD when Jerusalem was taken and destroyed by the Babylonians in ca. 586 BC.
Zephaniah 1:4,7,14-15
I will also stretch out mine hand upon Judah, and upon all the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and
I will cut off the remnant of Baal from this place, and the name of the Chemarims with the priests;
...
Hold thy peace at the presence of the Lord GOD: for the day of the LORD is at hand: for
the LORD hath prepared a sacrifice, he hath bid his guests.
...
The great day of the LORD is near, it is near, and hasteth greatly, even the voice of
the day of the LORD: the mighty man shall cry there bitterly.
That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of wasteness and desolation,
a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness,
We can recognize that this "day of the LORD" with the events described in apocalyptic language always deal with a judgment of God over a people or nation, and that such a judgment did not have anything to do with the Lord coming literally on clouds down to earth. The context always indicates which people or nation the judgment concerned.
There are also passages in the NT scriptures which speak of "the day of the Lord" and a "coming of the Lord". These should be understood in light of the usage of those terms at the time. Jesus and the apostles spoke of these things and they, just as their audiences, understood the terms in light of the Old Testament background. From the context of the NT scriptures, we can see that the terms such as "day of the Lord", "coming of the Son of man", "coming of the Lord" relate to the judgment of God on Israel and Jerusalem, which was carried out in the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple by the Roman armies in 70 AD. This becomes evident from the passages where these terms are used and applied in the New Testament.
Matthew 24 (as well as the parallel passages in Mark 13 and Luke 21) declare Jesus' teaching and pürophecies about his so-called "second coming". If the passages are read as a whole, it becomes evident, that Jesus was answering specific questions of this disciples about a distinct event. The question of his disciples is recorded in Matthre 24:3.
Matthew 24:3
And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying,
Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and
of the end of the world?
We must first ensure that we understand the question of the disciples correctly, because if we do not understand the question correctly, we will surely not understand or misunderstand and wrongly interpret Jesus' answer. The Greek word translated as "coming" is the word parousia which means "arrival, presence", not "return, coming again". To what were the disciples making reference with their question about the time of his "coming" (his arrival, his presence)? To what were they making reference with "these things" ("when shall these things be") because obviously they were connecting these things that were to happen with "thy coming" and with "the end of the world [age]"?
The context in Matthew gives us the answer to these questions. Again and again, Jesus had warned the Jews of the impending judgment. They would be judged for forsaking the truth and the faith because they were refusing to accept him as the Messiah. Among other things, Jesus declared to them the following:
Matthew 21:43
Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and
given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof.
In a parable, Jesus had this to say concerning them:
Matthew 22:7
But when the king heard thereof, he was wroth: and he sent forth his armies,
and destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city.
There can be no doubt about which city he is speaking - "their city" is Jerusalem, and the destruction predicted upon them did then happen in 70 AD.
Jesus repeatedly warned the Jews about this judgment that would come over "this generation" (that is, those Jews to whom he was speaking, his contemporaries) because it has been they ("this generation") who had received him not as the Messiah sent by God. The passage in Matthew 23:23-39 provides us with details.
Matthew 23:36-38
Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation.
O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which
are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together,
even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!
Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.
All commentators pretty much agree that "your house" is a reference to Jerusalem and the temple. Jerusalem, and in particular the temple, would be left unto them desolate. Jesus spoke those words on the way to the mount of Olives, where his disciples very shortly afterwards came to him and asked him the question and he gave them the answer recorded in Matthew 24. His disciples asked him something else even Before they arrived on the mount of Olives.
Matthew 24:1-2
And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him
for to show him the buildings of the temple.
And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you,
There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.
I would say that the disciples surely were still thinking about these words and prophecies of Jesus when they asked him shortly hereafter. Most likely, the words of Jesus about the coming desolation of Jerusalem and the destruction of the temple were burning in their hearts and were actually the reason for their further question.
Matthew 24:3
And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying,
Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and
of the end of the world?
No doubt, the disciples must have pondered about the prophecy concerning the coming desolation and destruction of the city and the temple as they were walking the short distance from the temple through the Kidron valley up to the mount of Olives. The disciples (we learn from Mark 13, that it was Peter, James, John and Andrew) then came to Jesus when they were alone and asked him concerning further details about "these things" that he had said. In particular, they asked about two aspects:
The first matter of concern was: "WHEN shall these things be?" All three records (Mt 24:3; Mk 13:4; Lk 21:7) mention this aspect of the question about the "WHEN". From the context it is clear that "these things" must be the events which Jesus had just prophesied regarding the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple. The disciples wanted to know WHEN the city and temple would be destroyed. When will this destruction happen?
The second matter was: "what shall be THE SIGN of thy coming, and of the end of the world [age]?" Some interpreters want to make this a completely unrelated question about an entirely new topic, but such is totally unwarranted and a disregard for the context. We can get a clear understanding when we compare the 3 parallel gospel records. Mark 13:4 has, "and what shall be the sign when all these things shall be fulfilled?" Luke 21:7 has, "and what sign will there be when these things shall come to pass?" We see immediately that "these things" is identical to "thy coming and the end of the age"! We are in fact dealing with a question about only one event, and the question has two major parts. The disciples clearly connected "these things" (that is, the desolation of Jerusalem and destruction of the temple) with "thy coming" and "the end of the world [age]". What age did they have in mind? The age in which they were living and which would come to an end with the destruction of city and temple. That age was the age of the old covenant.
The first part of the question was about the WHEN these things (the judgment of God with the destruction of the city of Jerusalem and the temple) which Jesus had just prophesied in no uncertain terms would take place; the second part of their question was about "WHAT SHALL BE THE SIGN" of the fulfillemnt of this prophecy.
The disciples had only one thing in mind that they were concerned with: The just announced judgment of Jerusalem and the desolation of city and temple! We must read the record from the perspective of the disciples and understand what moved them and what they had heard and about what they wanted to know more. We cannot read the questions of the disciples from the perspective of believers living centuries later and having certain theological concepts amd whose ideas might perhaps fit somehow IF the questions of the disciples had been about the details of those theological positions ... However, the question of the disciples had nothing to do with completely separate events which occurred possibly thousands of years apart. The disciples only spoke of one event, and that was "these things" concerning the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple which Jesus had just announced. The terms "thy coming" and "the end of the age" are not all of a sudden a completely new and until then unmentioned event, possibly thousands of years later. The terms are linked to the same "these things" which concerned the disciples and which Jesus had just prophesied. This is evident from the records in Mk 13:4 and Lk 21:7.
The desolation of the city of Jerusalem and the temple happened in 70 AD. This event is clearly and unmistakably linked to Jesus' coming and to the end of the age. We should also note here that the disciples were not asking about the destruction of planet earth or the cosmos, but about the desolation of Jerusalem which would mark the end of the age in which they were living. The disciples had understood that Jesus was speaking about the destruction of the city and the temple, which would happen at the time of his coming and of the end of the age.
There are several points and considerations which would indicate that the disciples at that time did not mean a visible, physical second coming of Jesus:
We can see that th disciples' question in Mt 24:3 had nothing to do with a "second coming" of Jesus at the end of planet earth. The disciples were pondering one matter which they were greatly concerned about since Jesus had just been speaking about it shortly before: That matter was the desolation of the city of Jerusalem and the temple! When would that happen? Since all the buildings were all still firmly standing and nothing looked like they would be gone soon, the disciples naturally were wondering about any prior signs which would indicate when Jesus' words about their destruction would come to pass? They asked Jesus to provide them with some more information concerning when his words would be fulfilled.
Jesus actually had already indicated a timeframe in his announcement of the coming judgment on Jerusalem.
Matthew 23:36
Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation.
A short time later, in his more detailed answer to the disciples' question, he mentioned several things which would come to pass and would serve as signs. And he once again indicated when all these things would happen.
Matthew 24:34
Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.
Jesus repeated the timeframe which he had given earlier for the fulfillment of his words. His coming and the end of the world [age] with the desolation of the city of Jerusalem and the temple would happen before "this generation", before his contemporaries, would all have passed away. However, we should note a very important detail which Jesus mentions in this context:
Matthew 24:36
But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.
These words of Jesus are often quoted in order to prove that Jesus supposedly did not know anything about the timing of his coming. But, is that what Jesus said? Did he say that he knew absolultely nothing about the timing of his coming? NO! Jesus mentioned several times the general timeframe for his coming and the fulfillment of his words as being in "this generation". What nobody, not even he knew, were the exact details of "day and hour"! Jesus did not sort of non-chalantly speak of "this generation" and then declare that he himself really did not know anything for sure either .... No! Just the opposite is true, seeing that Jesus did establish "this generation" as the general timeframe and confirmed it by stating that the further exact details of "day and hour" had not been revealed by God.
Jesus spoke as prophet that his coming at the end of the world [age] in judgment with the desolation of Jerusalem and the temple would happen within the timeframe of "this generation", the timeframe of the lifetime of his then living contemporaries. Was Jesus a true prophet? Or was Jesus a false prophet whose prophecies did not come to pass (cp. Deu 18:22)? The proponents of the idea that Jesus' coming is still future and that his prophecies did not come to pass as he had said, are oftentimes not aware of the problems connected with their ideas and do not realize that they are in fact declaring Jesus to be a false prophet! The truth however is rather simple: What Jesus prophesied did happen exactly and in the timeframe he had announced! "These things", that is, his coming at the end of the world [age] with the desolation of city and temple, were all fulfilled in "this generation, within approx 40 years of the time when Jesus had spoken these prophecies!
It is undisputed that the apostles wrote in their writings that they expected the coming of Christ to occur within their lifetime, at least within their generation even if they themselves would die earlier. Several passages in the apostolic writings in the NT scriptures indicate this clearly. Those who believe in and teach a yet future "second coming" of Christ are not only indicating that Jesus was a false prophet, they also are proposing that the apostles were wrong with their teaching and with what they wrote in their epistles.
Such an idea of a yet future "coming of Christ" actually questions the inspiration of the Scriptures, for IF the scriptures were given to the apostles by inspiration of God, there could be no such mistake like claiming that the coming of Christ was imminent and then it did not happen. The apostles did not just write down their best guess or groundless hopes, but what they had received of the Lord and what God inspired them to write. If the words of Jesus and his apostles as recorded in the Scriptures were not true, then the inspiration of the Bible as the Word of God is in question.
In this as in any other matter we have a choice: We can search the Scriptures and follow that which has been revealed in the Scriptures, or we can follow the traditions and doctrines of men. If we consider carefully the teaching of our lord Jesus Christ and his apostles, there can be no doubt that they connected the coming of Christ at the end of the world [age] with the desolation of Jerusalem and the destruction of the temple, and they expected and believed and taught that this coming of Christ would happen within "this generation", within the timeframe of their generation, the lifetime of their contemporaries.