The Bible affirms that Jesus will return personally and visibly, in the same way he went up into heaven (Acts 1:11). Yet it refuses any set date: no one knows that day or hour, "neither the angels... but my Father only" (Matthew 24:36). This silence is not a lack of information, it is a call to watchfulness rather than calculation: "Therefore be ye also ready" (Matthew 24:44).
This return opens what Scripture calls the last things: the dead in Christ will rise, the living will be transformed "in the twinkling of an eye," and all will be gathered to the Lord (1 Thessalonians 4:16; 1 Corinthians 15:52). Evil will be finally judged, and God will establish a new heaven and a new earth where he will wipe away every tear, where there will be no more death, mourning, crying, or pain (Revelation 21:4).
Facing this horizon, the Bible calls believers to neither fear nor calendar speculation but to active hope. Jesus promises, "I will come again, and receive you unto myself" (John 14:3). Since the day of the Lord will come "as a thief in the night" (2 Peter 3:10), believers are called to live in holiness, mission, and trust, ready at all times, without anxiety.
Bible verses about the end times
« But no one knows of that day and hour, not even the angels of heaven, but my Father only. »
« Therefore also be ready, for in an hour that you don’t expect, the Son of Man will come. »
« who also said, “You men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who was received up from you into the sky, will come back in the same way as you saw him going into the sky.” »
« For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with God’s trumpet. The dead in Christ will rise first, »
« 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 will be changed. »
« But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will be dissolved with fervent heat, and the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. »
« He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; neither will there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain, any more. The first things have passed away.” »
« If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and will receive you to myself; that where I am, you may be there also. »
Sermons about the end times
Frequently asked questions about the end times
When will Jesus return?
No one knows: Jesus himself said he did not know that day in his humanity (Matthew 24:36). Precise date-setting has always failed and runs against biblical teaching. The right question isn't "when" but "am I ready?"
What is the millennium in the Bible?
Revelation 20 describes a thousand-year reign of Christ. Evangelical Christians remain divided between a literal reading (millennialism) and a symbolic one (a spiritual reign already begun), but the disagreement doesn't touch the essentials: Christ reigns now and will return in glory.
What is the rapture of the church?
The word comes from 1 Thessalonians 4:17, where believers are "caught up... to meet the Lord." Evangelicals debate the timing (before, during, or after a tribulation period) but agree on the essentials: believers, living or dead, will be gathered to Christ.
Should Christians fear the end times?
No. The Bible presents it as good news for those in Christ: the end of all suffering and the fulfillment of God's promise (Revelation 21:4). Fear is not the intended fruit, hope and watchfulness are.
How can I recognize the signs of the end times?
Jesus mentions wars, famines, and false prophets (Matthew 24) but calls these only "the beginning of sorrows," not a calendar to decode. Rather than tracking signs, the Bible calls us to live each day ready and faithful.