{"id":26662,"date":"2011-03-08T21:18:00","date_gmt":"2011-03-09T03:18:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/?p=26662"},"modified":"2020-11-02T21:27:22","modified_gmt":"2020-11-03T03:27:22","slug":"where-does-the-bible-say-jesus-will-return-a-third-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/where-does-the-bible-say-jesus-will-return-a-third-time\/","title":{"rendered":"Where does the Bible say Jesus will return a third time?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\t<h2>Question:<\/h2>\n<p>I&#8217;ve been a fan of\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/bible.ca\/\">Bible.ca<\/a> for along time. One question that haunts me is this: With Matthew 24 fulfilled (I do believe this) where does God&#8217;s word tell us Christ will come a third time? ( 1. birth &#8211; 2. A.D. 70 -3. ?) and what about passages like Ecclesiastes 1:4 &#8220;[One] generation passeth away, and [another] generation cometh: but the earth abideth for ever&#8221;?<\/p>\n\t<h2>Answer:<\/h2>\n<p>I disagree that all of Matthew 24 is referring to the destruction of Jerusalem. What is being described and how Christians are to behave are quite different before verse 36 than from verse 36 to the end of Matthew 25. For details see:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/bible-studies\/the-gospel-accounts-a-chronological-harmony\/the-fall-of-jerusalem\/\">The Fall of Jerusalem<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/bible-studies\/the-gospel-accounts-a-chronological-harmony\/the-second-coming-of-the-lord\/\">The Second Coming of the Lord<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>In regards to Ecclesiastes 1:4, the Hebrew usage of &#8220;forever&#8221; is not exactly the same as the English usage of &#8220;forever.&#8221; We tend to use &#8220;forever&#8221; to mean without end. They used it to mean a long time without a foreseeable endpoint. You can see this in the same chapter because Ecclesiastes 1:10 says it was forever since the Creation, but there was a definite start to the world. See:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/does-the-word-forever-in-ecclesiastes-14-mean-everlasting\/\">Does the word &#8220;forever&#8221; in Ecclesiastes 1:4 mean &#8220;everlasting?&#8221;<\/a>\u00a0for details.<\/p>\n<p>What you are advocating is typically called Preterism. I have several good articles on this belief system, but\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/has-the-second-coming-of-jesus-already-occurred\/\">Has the Second Coming of Jesus Already Occurred?<\/a> is a good introduction. For more details on why Preterism is false, see\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/tag\/preterism\/\">Preterism<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Question: I&#8217;ve been a fan of\u00a0Bible.ca for along time. One question that haunts me is this: With Matthew 24 fulfilled (I do believe this) where does God&#8217;s word tell us Christ will come a third time? ( 1. birth &#8211; 2. A.D. 70 -3. ?) and what about passages like Ecclesiastes 1:4 &#8220;[One] generation passeth&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[73,744,339],"class_list":["post-26662","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-jesus","tag-preterism","tag-second-coming"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":6999,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/understanding-matthew-24\/","url_meta":{"origin":26662,"position":0},"title":"Understanding Matthew 24","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 1, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton The teachings of Jesus recorded in Matthew 24 are commonly misapplied by people in the denominational world. People want to know what will happen in the future. They don't enjoy having secrets kept from them. This is true whether we are talking about our jobs lasting\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Article&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":42197,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/gods-timing\/","url_meta":{"origin":26662,"position":1},"title":"God&#8217;s Timing","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 20, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"by Terry Wane Benton \"But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day\" (II\u00a0Peter 3:8). \"Where is the promise of His coming?\" (II Peter 3:4) is the question Peter has been addressing. The\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Article&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":50832,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-can-jesus-be-coming-soon-when-it-has-been-2000-years\/","url_meta":{"origin":26662,"position":2},"title":"How can Jesus be coming soon when it has been 2,000 years?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 26, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Didn't Jesus say that he would return soon? In this case, Jesus said something would happen shortly, but it hasn't happened for over 2,000 years. What would be the difference between these two statements? Answer: In a discussion related to the destruction of Jerusalem, Jesus did promise that he\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Answer&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":60790,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/i-think-its-bizarre-that-people-do-not-think-prophecy-has-been-fulfilled\/","url_meta":{"origin":26662,"position":3},"title":"I think it&#8217;s bizarre that people do NOT think prophecy has been fulfilled","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 10, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Just read your article on AD 70 Doctrine. I think it's bizarre that people do not think prophecy has been fulfilled. I mean, our Lord clearly said \"this generation\" will not pass until \"all\" is fulfilled. I do not understand why people can't accept this. The Bible nowhere teaches\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Answer&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":55090,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-it-end-of-the-world-or-end-of-the-age\/","url_meta":{"origin":26662,"position":4},"title":"Is it &#8220;end of the world&#8221; or &#8220;end of the age&#8221;?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 9, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hello, My son has fallen into the web of denominational teachings, including some off-the-wall organizations with the typical anything-goes philosophies, premillennialism, rapture, etc. He and I have finally begun to discuss the truth with the myths he believes. I have sent him several of your articles on the \"End\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Answer&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":51391,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/why-does-the-new-testament-talk-about-jesus-returning-soon\/","url_meta":{"origin":26662,"position":5},"title":"Why does the New Testament talk about Jesus returning soon?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 15, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hello, I just had an interesting thought that I'm confused about. This is in no way a lack of faith on my part but something I do not understand. Why in the Bible, specifically in the New Testament, do the apostles write about Jesus' return being soon? I can\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Answer&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26662","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26662"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26662\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26662"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26662"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26662"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}