returned

“Therefore He said: ‘A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and to return’” (Luke 19:12 NKJV).

Here, our Lord Jesus referred to himself as the nobleman who went into a far country to be made a king. Heaven is what he referred to as the far  country. In Luke 20:9, he said it will take a long time before he returns.

And to Return

This phrase used by the Lord means that he will not rule from heaven. He is going to return to the earth to rule. And his servants are going to rule with him here on the earth (Rev. 5:9-10).

Will his return be visible or invisible?

The Bible is very clear as to the fact that he will return in a visible form. Two Greek words used in the original manuscripts to describe his return are the verb “phaneroo” (“to appear”)and the noun “epiphaneia” (“appearing”). The two words, used a total of 55 times in the Bible, have been defined as “to make clear (visible, manifest), make known”; “appearing, manifestation, glorious display.” (Strong’s Greek Lexicon #2015 and 5319 refer.)

For ease of reference, the passages where the words are used are Mark 4:22; 16:12; 16:14; John 1:31; 2:11; 4:21; 7:4; 9:3; 17:6; 21:1(twice); 21:14; Rom. 1:19; 3:21; 16:26; 1 Cor. 4:5; 2 Cor. 2:14; 3:3; 4:10; 4:11; 5:10; 5:11(twice); 7:12; 11:6; Eph. 5:13(twice); Col. 1:26; 3:4(twice); 4:4; 2 Thes. 2:8 (the visible manifestation of the Antichrist); 1 Tim. 3:16; 6:14; 2 Tim.1:10 (both the verb and noun are used); 4:1; 4:8; Tit. 1:3; 2:13; Heb. 9:8; 9:26; 1 Pet. 1:20; 5:4; 1 John 1:2(twice);  2:19; 2:28; 3:2(twice); 3:5; 3:8; 4:9; Rev. 3:18; 15:4.

Some other supporting passages

There are many other passages which support the physical and visible return of Jesus Christ. A few of them are given here:

“Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.” (I John 3:2 NKJV, emphases added by me).

“Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.” (Matt. 24:30 NKJV, emphases added by me).

“Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen.” (Rev. 1:7 NKJV, emphasis added).

“And after He had said these things, He was lifted up while they were watching, and a cloud took Him up, out of their sight. And as they were gazing intently into the sky while He was going, then behold, two men in white clothing stood beside them, and they said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven.” (Acts 1:9-11 NASB2020, emphases added by me).

He ascended to heaven in a physical, visible form; he is going to return in the same physical, visible form. In fact, he said his coming will be like lightning which cannot be hidden (Matt. 24:27; Luke 17:24). His coming will be heralded by “a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the loud trumpet call of God” (Matt. 24:31; 1 Thes. 4:16). The picture painted by these words is that of an earth-shaking event which will not be a secret one. The whole world would have known if Christ has returned.

The origin of the theory of the invisible return of Christ

From where did the God’s Kingdom Society (GKS) get the teaching that Jesus Christ returned in 1914 in an invisible form and has since been ruling from heaven? Is it from the Bible. No, not at all. Gideon Meriodere Urhobo, who pulled out of the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society (now known as Jehovah’s Witnesses) to found the GKS in 1934, carried this date from one of the failed dates of Christ’s second coming by Charles Taze Russell (1852-1916). C. T. Russell and his associates predicted many dates – 1874. 1878, 1881, 1914, 1918, 1925, 1975 – for the second coming of Jesus Christ, all of which failed.  Contrary to clear teachings of the Bible, Russell and his successors taught their followers of the invisible return of Christ. They also taught that the resurrection of the saints will take place in 1875, the rapture of the saints to heaven in 1878, and the final end of the days of wrath in 1914.

G. M. Urhobo, with the influence of his Jehovah’s Witnesses background, must have thought that the outbreak of World War I in 1914 was provoked by Satan after he was cast out of heaven (Rev. 12). But this was just a way of getting something to support the 1914 date of C. T. Russell, no matter how untenable it was. So, there is every reason to believe that, as far as this subject is concerned, G. M. Urhobo’s teaching was a carryover from the false predictions made by C. T. Russell. By linking World War I to the time of Christ’s second coming was an exercise in eisegesis. But G. M. Urhobo was human; he was not immune to errors. Even the great reformer, Martin Luther, who discovered and opposed 95 wrong things in the teachings and practices of the Roman Catholic Church of his days, made the grave mistake of importing infant baptism from the Roman Catholic Church to the Lutheran Church formed by him, after he left the Roman Catholic Church. While we cannot unfairly judge these men for their errors, we are shocked to observe how their followers never see anything wrong in whatever they teach or do, as if they are not humans. To me, this extreme veneration of church founders or leaders by their followers, in almost all churches, is nothing but a deification of the leaders. The millions of followers who do this are guilty of committing anthropolatry – the worship of a human being as a god. It is one major cause of the perpetuation of false doctrines in our churches.

Resurrection to life in heaven?

The GKS has also taught its members that the first resurrection is for those who’ll reign with Christ in heaven, 144,000 in number, and that it took place in 1914. Nothing is further from biblical truth than this imagination of men. The resurrection simply means being raised back to life here on the earth. And it will take place after the great apostasy and the great persecution by the Antichrist (Matt. 24:29-31; Mark 13:24-27; 2 Thes. 2:1-4). The Bible nowhere teaches that anyone will be raised from death to go and live in heaven. The Bible says the first resurrection, also known as the resurrection of the righteous, will take place on the day of Christ’s return (1 Cor. 15:20-23; 1 Thes. 4:16). Just before Jesus touches down at the Mount of Olives (Zech. 14:4,5,9), he will send his angels to gather both the resurrected and living saints to meet (Greek: “apantesis”) him in the sky. Apantesis is a technical word which connotes going out of the city to welcome a returning or visiting king or an important political or military dignitary. From the point where the saints meet Jesus in the sky, they’ll touch down at the Mount of Olives with him. He is not taking anyone to heaven; he is returning from heaven to begin his 1000-year reign on earth and to judge the wicked at the end of his reign. The angels will serve as spiritual balloons or aircrafts that will carry all the saints from every part of the earth to where they’ll be gathered to the Lord, here on the earth (2 Thes. 2:1).

The first resurrection is called the resurrection of those who belong to Christ (1 Cor. 15:23). It is also known as the resurrection of the dead in Christ (1 Thes. 4:16). Jesus called it a resurrection of the righteous (Luke 14:14). To teach that only 144,000 people will take part in the first resurrection is to shamefully and ignorantly distort the clear teachings of the Bible. The 144 000 in Revelation (7:1-8; 14:1-5) is a symbolic figure representing all the saints of God who’ll be sealed before the time of the eschatological plagues when God’s anger will be poured out undiluted on the world of the wicked. It is clear from the Bible that all the righteous dead, from Abel to the last one before the return of Christ, will take part in the first resurrection. There is no biblical basis for the teaching that only 144,000 people will take part in the first resurrection.

The expectation of believers is the return of Christ from heaven (1 Thes. 1:10; Matt. 16:27; 25:31,32; Heb. 9:24,26-28). At no time and nowhere is the promise given that God will take anyone to heaven to live with Him in that invisible realm. No one has seen God at any time; no one will ever see Him (1 Tim. 6:16). Why will God take anyone to heaven when He already knew that no human being will ever see His face? Why will 144,000 people go to heaven to rule with Christ who is coming to the earth to rule? Are they going to be in heaven while Jesus is on the earth sitting on the throne of David (Isa. 9:7), meaning an earthly throne? Did Jesus not pray to God saying, ‘Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world.” (John 17:24 NIVUK, emphasis added)? Did the Bible not say that those who’ll reign with Christ will reign on the earth (Rev. 5:9-10; Matt. 19:28; Luke 22:30)?

If Jesus is still in heaven, ruling from there, how can we say he has returned? Does this make any sense to you? Apostle Paul said, “Dear brothers and sisters, don’t be childish in your understanding of these things. Be innocent as babies when it comes to evil, but be mature in understanding matters of this  kind.” (1 Cor. 14:20 NLT).

Conclusion

Let all of us put off all forms of spiritual arrogance and listen to one another. No one is gifted by God with all the spiritual gifts. We are not better off when we place our personal or denominational pride above our desire for the truth. There is no church denomination of group where you can find all of the truth. There is no church today where you’ll not find, at least, one false doctrine. Unfortunately, all of them are claiming to be the best church of God on earth. But most of them have sunk so deep in the mire of unbiblical doctrines. Brothers and sisters, let us put aside denominational bigotry and let’s begin to learn afresh what the Bible truly teaches and put them into practice. Denominational bigotry does no good to Christianity.