Has Jesus Christ Returned?
There is one church in Nigeria which teaches that our Lord Jesus Christ has already returned to the earth as he promised. They say he returned in spirit and that is why no human eye saw him when he returned. They do not mean the giving of the holy Spirit in the First Century CE.
One problem in theology is that many Bible teachers do not apply the rules of hermeneutics. The result is that too many different interpretations of almost every word or subject in the Bible evolve, many of which are either faulty or outrightly false. By hermeneutics is meant the application of sound and generally accepted principles of interpretation to any literary work, including the Bible.
At his first coming to the earth, our Lord Jesus Christ made it abundantly clear that he will come back again to rule as the King of God’s Kingdom, here on earth. In one place, he said it will take a long time before he returns (Luke 19:12; 20:9). His return to the earth and the resurrection of believers to life at his coming is the hope of Christians. The area of disagreement here is whether he has returned. And if he has, where is he?
This article is written to disprove the teaching that the Lord Jesus Christ has already come back.
The Oliveth Declaration
On the day of his ascension to heaven, Jesus took his eleven apostles (Judas Iscariot having committed suicide) to the Mount of Olives where he was physically and visibly taken to heaven before their eyes. Two angels later appeared before them who declared, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”
(Acts 1:11 NIV, emphasis added by me).
The emphasised part of the verse suggests that Jesus Christ is going to return in a physical form and he will be visibly seen with the human eyes. This fact is affirmed by many of the New Testament writers. Here are some of the writings:
“For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.”… “Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then all the peoples of the earth will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory. (Matt. 24:27, 30 NIVUK).
“At that time people will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory.” (Mark 13:26 NIVUK).
“At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory” (Luke 21:27 NIVUK).
“Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure. (1 John 3:2-3 NIVUK).
‘Look, he is coming with the clouds,’ and ‘every eye will see him, even those who pierced him’; and all peoples on earth ‘will mourn because of him.’ So shall it be! Amen.” (Rev. 1:7 NIVUK).
No honest and careful student of the Bible can miss the fact that Jesus Christ will be visibly seen on the day he returns to the earth. Both the living and resurrected saints, as well as the unbelievers who will then be alive will see him on that day. John wrote about the panic that will strike the world of unbelievers and sinners on the day of the Lord’s return:
“Then the kings of the earth, the very important people, the generals, the rich, the powerful, and everyone, slave and free, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains. They said to the mountains and to the rocks, ‘Fall on us and hide us from the face of the one who is seated on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb, because the great day of their wrath has come, and who is able to withstand it?'” (Rev. 6:15-17 NET).
What “Appear” and “Appearing” Mean
The word “appear” is translated from the Greek “phaneroo.” It means to make clear (visible, manifest), to make known (Strong’s Greek Lexicon #5319). The word is used 49 times in the New Testament, including 1 John 3:2 quoted earlier.
The word “appearing” is translated from the Greek “epiphaneia” and it means appearing, manifestation, glorious display (Strong’s Greek Lexicon #2015). It is used six times in the New Testament: 2 Thes. 2:8; 1 Tim. 6:14; 2 Tim. 1:10; 4:1, 8; Titus 2:13. These two Greek words therefore mean that Jesus Christ will be visibly seen on the day of his return to the earth and thereafter. Anyone who teaches that our Lord Jesus Christ has already come back without him being visibly seen is in error. That person is not teaching the truth clearly revealed in the Bible
Where Is He?
If Jesus Christ has returned to the earth, where is he? Is he now ruling from limbo? The Bible says he will come to rule as the King of the whole earth and his kingdom will not run alongside those of human kings or rulers. The Bible says he will crush and put an end to all human kingdoms, but his kingdom will endure forever (Dan. 2:44). This is affirmed in Rev. 11:15 wherein it is written, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ; and He will reign forever and ever.” The fact that men are still ruling the world is proof that Jesus has not returned to establish his kingdom.
Matthew 24:26 Misunderstood
Those who teach that Jesus has returned in a spiritual form always use Matt. 24:26 as their proof text. The verse says, “So if anyone tells you, ‘There he is, out in the desert,’ do not go out; or, ‘Here he is, in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it.” (Matt. 24:26 NIVUK).
They say the reason Jesus said this is because he will not be physically seen. But what the Lord said in the next two verses contradict their interpretation of the verse. Our Lord used two illustrations to explain that his second coming will not be a secret thing – lightning which is visible in the sky when it strikes, and a dead body lying in the open field which is not hidden from the vultures. He said, “For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather.”
(Matt. 24:27-28 NIVUK).
Because everyone who is alive and those resurrected from the dead on the day of his return will visibly see him as he returns to the earth (Matt. 24:30; Mark 13:26; Luke 21:27), no one will need another person to tell him where the Lord is. The facts revealed about the physical and visible return of Christ to the earth are so plainly stated in the Bible that no one should have any problem grasping them. However, human teachings have blinded the minds of many people to many plain truths in the Bible. And when the mind is blinded, the eyes may read what is in the Bible but the indoctrinated mind twists them (Matt. 13:13-15).
The First Resurrection at Christ’s Coming
According to the Bible, one important event that will take place on the day of Christ’s return is the resurrection of the righteous, also known as the first resurrection (John 5:25,28,29; Acts 24:15; Rev. 20:6). Here, I cite only two passages among many which teach this fact:
“But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. But each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ’s at His coming.” (I Cor. 15:20-23 NKJV).
“For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the believers who have died will rise from their graves. Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever.” (1 Thes. 4:16-17 NLT).
The two passages reveal that the first resurrection will take place on the day of Christ’s return, also known as the day of his appearance. This elicits the question as to where the resurrected believers are. If indeed Christ has returned, where are the apostles Peter, James, John, Paul, and the others? Where are the patriarchs like Abraham, Job, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, David, etc? Where are the prophets like Isaiah, Moses, Jeremiah, Elijah, Elisha and the others? None of them is seen now because the first resurrection has not taken place, which is an undeniable proof that our Lord Jesus Christ has not returned.
Conclusion
The teaching that our Lord Jesus Christ has returned to the earth in a spiritual form is not in any way consistent with what the Bible has revealed about his second coming. One major problem in religion is that many people never see the errors and false teachings espoused by their leaders, once they believe in them as teachers of the truth. Many people in religion have elevated their leaders to the pedestal of infallible and omniscient teachers and uncritically worshipping them as God. I have found this terrible condition in many church denominations and I wonder if there is any that is free of brainwashing their members and turning them into will-less church goers.
I believe that, as Christians, we need to do more than gullibly accept whatever our denominations or leaders teach us because there are many unbiblical teachings in our churches. It is our personal responsibilities to mine out the truth contained in the Bible.
