Jesus Returns In Like Manner As He Ascended

Theology
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Apostle Paul told us ‘how’… Lord Jesus would gather His saints at His future coming per 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17. But Paul did not reveal just ‘where’ Lord Jesus will return bringing all His saints with Him. For that, we must look to the Old Testament prophet Zechariah.

Notice first ‘how’ Lord Jesus ascended to Heaven:

Acts 1:9-12
9 And when He had spoken these things, while they beheld, He was taken up; and a cloud received Him out of their sight.
10 And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel;
11 Which also said, “Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into heaven.”
12 Then returned they unto Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is from Jerusalem a sabbath day’s journey.
KJV

From the Mount of Olives is where Jesus ascended to Heaven from. That also is where He will return to earth at. Zechariah 14 gives us the details of His future return to the Mount of Olives, which I will cover next.

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Zech 14
14 Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee.
2 For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city.
3 Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations, as when He fought in the day of battle.

All those above events will happen very quickly, on the “day of the Lord”, which is the last day of this present world. Christ’s coming per the following verses happen along with those above events too…

4 And His feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south.
5 And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal: yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah: and the LORD my God shall come, and all the saints with Thee.

Lord Jesus’ feet will touch down upon the Mount of Olives east of Jerusalem on earth, and that area will cleave into, forming a great valley flowing east and west.

And at that same touching down, Jesus brings all his faithful Church with Him there to that spot on earth. So He is not simply hanging in the 1 Thessalonians 4 “air” when He comes just to go back into Heaven with raptured saints. He gathers ALL His saints first on His way to that spot on earth.

And I truly feel sorry for brethren in Christ that don’t receive this Bible teaching here in Zechariah 14 about the detail of Jesus coming back to this earth on the same day He gathers His faithful Church. This is the part that Apostle Paul did not continue with in 1 Thessalonians 4, and really… should he have?, since this was already written?

6 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the light shall not be clear, nor dark:
7 But it shall be one day which shall be known to the LORD, not day, nor night: but it shall come to pass, that at evening time it shall be light.

Do you remember Jesus said no man knows the day or hour of His future coming, but that only The Father knew? This is that ‘day’. It is still sometime in our near future.

8 And it shall be in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem; half of them toward the former sea, and half of them toward the hinder sea: in summer and in winter shall it be.

That means a return of God’s River to this earth like it was per Genesis 2 (See also Ezekiel 47, and Revelation 22.)

9 And the LORD shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one LORD, and His name one.

When this happens, Lord Jesus Christ will be king over all the earth, and that is meant literally. No more false religion, no more other gods, only One LORD Jesus Christ. Do we see this happening yet today? No, not yet. This present world is to perish first, and will happen at this coming by Lord Jesus.

10 All the land shall be turned as a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem: and it shall be lifted up, and inhabited in her place, from Benjamin’s gate unto the place of the first gate, unto the corner gate, and from the tower of Hananeel unto the king’s winepresses.
11 And men shall dwell in it, and there shall be no more utter destruction; but Jerusalem shall be safely inhabited.

This should answer those who wrongly believe this earth is going to be turned into an asteroid belt on the day of Jesus’ future return. That are of Jerusalem is still going to exist, but Jesus will bring the new Jerusalem there on earth, from Heaven, and He will build the temple, as written in Zechariah 6.

12 And this shall be the plague wherewith the LORD will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth.

Satan’s host armies out of the northern quarters of the earth shall come upon Jerusalem on the last day in attempt to destroy it. Christ’s coming will destroy those armies, brimstone and great hail the size of a talent (70-120 lbs.) will fall upon those armies.

13 And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great tumult from the LORD shall be among them; and they shall lay hold every one on the hand of his neighbour, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbour.
14 And Judah also shall fight at Jerusalem; and the wealth of all the heathen round about shall be gathered together, gold, and silver, and apparel, in great abundance.

Once God’s cup of wrath is poured out upon those armies, and the 7,000 mentioned in Revelation 11, then the spoils will be left for God’s people, and no more in the hands of Satan’s children.

15 And so shall be the plague of the horse, of the mule, of the camel, and of the ass, and of all the beasts that shall be in these tents, as this plague.

God’s consuming fire on that day will do that burning. It will not harm us, for Lord Jesus Christ is our Ark of protection on that day.

16 And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles.

There will be some leftovers of that great army out of the northern quarters that will come up against Jerusalem on the last day of this world. They will be made to go up to Jerusalem from year to year (during Christ’s “thousand years” reign of Rev.20), and worship The KING, the LORD of hosts, and also keep the feat of tabernacles.

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Zech 14:17 And it shall be, that whoso will not come up of all the families of the earth unto Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, even upon them shall be no rain.

The nations will still exist in that time of Christ’s future “thousand years” reign with His elect. They will still be able to rebel and not come up to worship The KING. Their penalty will be no rain on their lands. So even though Satan will be locked in his pit prison during that future “thousand years” period and not deceive the the nations, they will still be able to use their free will to reject Lord Jesus Christ.

18 And if the family of Egypt go not up, and come not, that have no rain; there shall be the plague, wherewith the LORD will smite the heathen that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles.
19 This shall be the punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of all nations that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles.

Again, no rain on their lands in that future Millennium time if they reject Christ Jesus.

20 In that day shall there be upon the bells of the horses, HOLINESS UNTO THE LORD; and the pots in the LORD’s house shall be like the bowl’s before the altar.
21 Yea, every pot in Jerusalem and in Judah shall be holiness unto the LORD of hosts: and all they that sacrifice shall come and take of them, and seethe therein: and in that day there shall be no more the Canaanite in the house of the LORD of hosts.
KJV

Also at that same time, the crept in unawares, the Canaanites which Israel was not able to completely destroy per God’s command, will no longer be in the House of The LORD. That history of their creeping in among the leaders and scribes of Israel is written in The Old Testament Books mainly. It is what Paul’s “mystery of iniquity” is about, and John’s “many antchrists”, and the “brute beasts” idea in Jude 10 and 2 Peter 2.

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SUMMARY:

This prophecy about Christ’s future return and bringing His Church with Him back to earth I have never heard taught in a Christian Church. The Church I was raised in I later discovered was on man’s doctrine called Preterism which mostly believes all Old Testament prophecy has been fulfilled, except for Christ’s future 2nd coming.

I have taught this Zechariah 14 Chapter to several brethren in Christ, and their reaction was like a ‘blank’ on their faces. They mostly thought it was already fulfilled, since it was in The Old Testament Books of God’s prophets.

It’s important to realize that in Apostle Paul’s day, the only Bible Scripture written was The Old Testament Scripture. The New Testament writings were still in the making, and Paul would be chosen to write most of The New Testament Scriptures. Yet Paul was trained in The Old Testament Scriptures by the best Hebrew scholar of his day, Gamaliel.

So Paul did not include the Zechariah 14 details of Christ’s future return in his coverage of 1 Thessalonians 4. To those present at that time, they knew about The Old Testament Scriptures and was using those. And they knew, especially by Paul’s teaching, that there still existed a lot of Bible prophecy in The Old Testament Books that had yet come to pass. Likewise it still is in our day and time. There’s still quite a bit of Bible prophecy written in The Old Testament Books yet to come to pass. Even the last nine chapters of the Book of Ezekiel are still future to us today.

Therefore, if you haven’t done your homework in The Old Testament Books, then I admonish that you do so. And you will be amazed of how much better The New Testament Books will pull all of God’s Word together in your mind (asking His help of course by The Holy Spirit).

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I think you are mixing sound observations with some highly speculative, racially/genealogically driven theology and a flawed view of Church history. Here is why.

Your reading of Zechariah 14:16–19 reflects standard Premillennial eschatology. In this view, during Christ’s 1,000-year reign (Revelation 20), nations will still exist in natural bodies. Even with Satan bound, human nature will still be capable of disobedience (refusing to keep the Feast of Tabernacles), resulting in localized judgment (no rain).

He is correct that the early Church’s only Bible was the Old Testament (Septuagint/Hebrew scriptures), and that many OT prophecies extend past Christ’s first coming into His second coming and final kingdom.

Here are a couple of major theological errors and fringe interpretations that are not supported by sound biblical exegesis. You claim that the “Canaanites” in Zechariah 14:21 refer to a secret physical lineage that “crept in unawares” among Israel’s leaders, linking them to Jude 10, 2 Peter 2, and the “mystery of iniquity.”

Hebrew Meaning: The Hebrew word for Canaanite (Kena’ani) in contexts like Zechariah 14:21 and Proverbs 31:24 frequently means “merchant” or “trader.” Most translations correctly render this as “there shall no longer be a trader/merchant in the house of the LORD”, referencing the commercialization of worship (the exact thing Jesus overturned when clearing the temple in John 2:14–16).

You seem to be hinting at a common fringe theory (often associated with “Kinship” or “Serpent Seed” doctrines) that attempts to trace physical racial bloodlines of “Canaanites” as literal physical offspring of Satan or demonic infiltration. Scripture rejects this: Paul explicitly states that God “has made from one blood every nation of men” (Acts 17:26), and spiritual rebellion is a matter of the heart, not physical genetics.

Then you claim Paul “did not include the Zechariah 14 details… because he was trained in the Old Testament.” Paul did build his eschatology directly on the Old Testament, but he explicitly reveals the rapture/resurrection in 1 Thessalonians 4 as a “mystery” (mysterion—a truth previously hidden in the OT and now revealed by the Spirit; 1 Cor 15:51). He didn’t just “leave out” Zechariah 14 because people already knew it; the New Testament offers progressive revelation that clarifies how the OT promises are fulfilled in Christ.

You claim that you have “never heard this taught in a Christian Church” and assume most churches are Preterist. Premillennialism (the literal 1,000-year reign of Christ on earth, including the literal reading of Zechariah 14) is actually one of the most widely held eschatological positions in modern Protestantism, particularly within Baptist, Pentecostal, and Bible church traditions. This seems to reflect a lack of basic prophetic teaching in your immediate circle, not a global Church ignorance.

Peter

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Brethren in Christ, don’t let anyone tell fill you with men’s baloney about the Zechariah 14 Chapter involving Christ’s future coming with His Church back to this earth, with His feet touching down at the Mount of Olives as written there.

It’s important to realize that there exist antichrist figures on Christian forums like this which are constantly monitoring Bible teaching that involves ‘direct’ following of the actual Bible Scripture. They use false tools like guilt by association, fake Christian history, straw man arguments, root fallacy of a single term to replace grasping the flow of a Bible Chapter, etc. These who work those things are what Jesus called as ‘hirelings’. They preach in the sense of a job or business (John 10).

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There is only one thing to look forward to and that is that Jesus is coming again.

Every thing else is speculation.

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@DavyP We can agree on the core Christian truth: Jesus Christ is returning, God will reign supreme, and His Kingdom will be established (Acts 1:11, Revelation 22). Differences over whether Zechariah 14 speaks literally of physical topography or symbolically of spiritual victory do not change our shared hope in Christ’s ultimate return.

Be blessed,

Peter

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Oh… I strongly disagree with your final conclusion. It does… matter how we view what God’s written Word plainly describes about the future coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and what kind of future reign He will have, and where it will be established.

Regardless of it not being taught in all Churches today, God’s Word warns us about the coming of a false-Messiah first to Jerusalem to play God (and thus Christ), and all those whose names are not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world will believe on that false-Messiah that comes first. One of the doctrines of men that’s popular that will HELP usher the coming great falling away to that false-Messiah will be getting the TIMING of Christ’s return wrong, when the CORRECT TIMING of His future return He clearly gave us in His Word (Matthew 24:29-31; Mark 13:24-27).

So I refuse to play Mr. Lukewarm and allow my brethren who love Jesus Christ to be preyed upon in prep to bow to that coming false-Messiah. The Holy Spirit will not allow me to stop preaching about that either, because it is clear that some brethren are supposed understand this so they won’t be deceived during the coming “great tribulation”.

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To share the truth with others, you must first possess the truth. Unity in Essentials, Liberty in Non-Essentials. Loving Jesus and warning people against deception is something all faithful Christians affirm. But Scripture nowhere makes holding a specific post-tribulational timeline a requirement for salvation or a test of orthodoxy. The apostles, early church fathers, and reformers held differing views on the details of prophecy while remaining unified in Christ.

The Bible teaches that true protection against deception comes from abiding in Christ, trusting in His finished work on the cross, and obeying His commandments (1 John 2:24–27, John 14:15)—not from mastering a precise eschatological chart or predicting the exact order of end-times events.

Holding liberty on secondary interpretations of symbolic prophecy like Zechariah 14 is not being ‘lukewarm’—it is exercising biblical humility. Paul explicitly instructs us in Romans 14 and 1 Corinthians 13 that knowledge without charity profits nothing, and that we must not condemn brothers and sisters over secondary matters. I do hope you can see that.

Peter

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That’s a lukewarm view Peter, designed to not hurt anyone’s feelings. And it is not what God’s Word teaches. My authority comes from the Word of God as written. I don’t require your ruler-ship that you appear to have built up among the small group of Christian brethren that come here to this Forum.

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But you are not correct in your interpretation. Sorry. But that IS the problem.

Peter

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And there you show the problem with your… theology. You default to those men instead of staying with what is actually written in The Word of God by The Holy Spirit.

And yes a Post-tribulational return of Lord Jesus does… matter in the last generation that will see Christ’s future return and gathering of His Church. That is because AFTER… the tribulation is when JESUS CHRIST said He comes to gather His elect saints (Matthew 24:29-31; Mark 13:24-27).

So if you prefer to believe man’s FALSE PRE-TRIB RAPTURE THEORY instead, fine, go to, stay deceived if that is what you want. But be prepared to have Lord Jesus shut the door in your face when He discovers you went with the false-Messiah that comes first to gather the deceived.

You show you haven’t even understood His analogy about the ‘woe to those with child’ from Isaiah 54 and Luke 23:27-31. Apostle Paul gave a version of it as a warning to the Church here…

2 Cor 11:2-4
2 For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one Husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.

3 But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.

4 For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him.
KJV

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@DavyP My authority is God’s Word alone (sola Scriptura). Citing church history wasn’t replacing Scripture; it was pointing out that godly men who loved, studied, and submitted to the Bible still differed on secondary prophetic timing.

You imply that holding a pre-tribulational view, which I never said I do, means worshipping a “false Messiah” or receiving “another gospel,” risking dynamic exclusion from salvation (referencing Matthew 24 and 2 Corinthians 11). 2 Corinthians 11 warns against altering the core Gospel, the deity, death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins (1 Corinthians 15:1–4; Galatians 1:6–9).

Believing in a pre-tribulational rapture, mid-trib, or post-trib is a difference in timing and interpretation, not a denial of Christ’s deity, His bodily return, or salvation by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8–9). Confusing timing with the object of faith risks adding an eschatological works/knowledge requirement to the Gospel.

You try to use Matthew 24:29–31 and the metaphor of spiritual deception/adultery (Eve, Isaiah 54, Luke 23) to argue that expecting a pre-tribulation arrival leaves believers open to Antichrist. Pre-tribulational theologians read passages like Matthew 24 as addressing Israel and the specific context of the Second Coming, distinguishing it from passages addressing the Church (e.g., 1 Thessalonians 4:13–18, 1 Corinthians 15:51–52, Titus 2:13).

The three views seek to submit to the full counsel of God’s Word; they simply differ on how specific prophetic passages harmonize.

Again. Care to show us where I said this?

Peter

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What you are saying leaves open the false idea that a pre-trib rapture, or mid-trib rapture, are possibilities. I say, IMPOSSIBLE. God’s Word means what it says, and Jesus gave direct statements as to the time of His coming being AFTER the tribulation (Matt.24:29-31; Mark 13:24-27). Apostle Paul showed the same timing, because Paul showed the day of the future resurrection happening with the day of Christ’s future coming to gather His Church. And per many NT Scriptures, the coming resurrection happens ONLY on the “last day” of this world, which is the day of Christ’s future return (John 6:39-54; John 11:24; John 12:48).

So I don’t know what you are doing here on a Christian forum pushing such misdirected ideas against the actual Bible Scriptures regarding the proper timing of Christ’s future return.

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Anyone who claims that they, and they alone, have access to the truth; and everyone else is a liar is a false teacher.

The Church has existed for two thousand years. Christians have agreed on many central truths, and Christians have disagreed on many things. But there is a shared, common, historic, unflinching Christian faith which has persisted since the beginning. And any would-be teacher that wants you to look to them as the sole conduit of divine revelation and knowledge is a fraud, a liar, unworthy of trust. And an antichrist.

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Just because you say it does not mean it is true.

Misinterpreted, it can be.

So says you. Along with other post-trip arguers. Then again, the identity of “The Elect” in Matthew 24? I argue that Matthew 24 is addressed specifically to the Jewish nation and Tribulation saints, not the New Testament Church. I contend that the “gathering of the elect” refers to the physical regathering of Israel to their homeland rather than the Rapture of the Church.

Definition of “The Last Day”? You could view phrases like “the last day” or “the Day of the Lord” as referring to an entire eschatological era or period of time (including the Tribulation and the Millennial Kingdom), rather than a single 24-hour day.

Could these be two distinct events? I could maintain that the Rapture (where Christ comes for His saints in the air) and the Second Coming (where Christ comes with His saints to earth) are two distinct events separated by a period of judgment. While these passages provide the primary scriptural foundation for post-tribulation theology, Most Christians historically interpret these prophetic texts through different hermeneutical lenses.

Why Matthew 24:29-31 is Not the Rapture. This video provides an overview of the alternative theological interpretation of Matthew 24:29–31, detailing why pre-tribulation scholars view the passage as distinct from the Church Rapture.

Why Matthew 24:29-31 is Not the Rapture (Calvary Chapel Tucson)

Calvary Tucson with Robert Furrow · 14K views

Open in Why Matthew 24:29-31 is Not the Rapture (Calvary Chapel Tucson)

Perhaps your understanding is a bit off? Are you open to this as a possibility?

Peter

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I whole heartedly agree.

But it’s important to get our facts straight, both in God’s written Word and per Christian history.

HISTORICAL FACT: for over 1,800 years of Christian history, the Church held to a Post-tribulational coming of our Lord Jesus Christ to gather His Church.

HISTORICAL FACT: only in the 1830’s in Great Britain, was the pre-trib rapture theory first taught in a Christian Church, by John Nelson Darby. And before he did that, he was associating with the Edward Irving church in Britain which Darby even later said had some weird spiritual manifestations going on, and he departed from that church.

BIBLICAL FACT: God’s written Word has not even one Scripture that declares Jesus comes prior to the tribulation to gather His Church. All Bible prophecy about Christ’s future coming is either about His ending the tribulation, or coming immediately after it. Recognizing this Truth in His written Word is not a ‘private’ interpretation.

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If we want to know who Lord Jesus was speaking to while at the Mount of Olives with His disciples, per Matthew 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21, then all one need do is turn to Ephesians 2 by Apostle Paul…

Eph 2:16-22
16 And that He might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby:
17 And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh.
18 For through Him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.

19 Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God;
20 And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief corner stone;

21 In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord:
22 In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.
KJV

We see then, per Apostle Paul, that Christ’s Apostles, and even the Old Testament prophets, with Christ as The Cornerstone, make up the foundation of His early Church.

And that is who Lord Jesus Christ was speaking to upon the Mount of Olives when He gave us (His Church) the 7 main SIGNS of the end of this world leading up to His future return, WHICH ARE… the SEALS Jesus also gave in His Revelation Chapter 6. And Revelation specifically is given to Christ’s Church (Revelation 1:4).

So brethren in Christ, IF… we don’t listen to God in His written Word, instead of these lukewarm fence-riders, then we could wind up in serious trouble in these end times.

By the way, there is NO SUCH DOCTRINE AS ‘TRIBULATION SAINTS’ written of in God’s Word The Bible. That is strictly a doctrine created by the Pre-trib Rapture theory school.

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For thousands of years, humans thought the Earth was flat. A fact a consensus does not always make. While Post-Tribulational assumptions were standard, Church historians point out that early Church writers did not systematically debate the specific mechanics of a secret “Pre-Tribulation Rapture” versus a “Post-Tribulation Rapture” as modern theologians do today. Their primary focus was simply Christ’s final, physical return to judge the world and usher in the resurrection. Some early texts (like the 4th-century Pseudo-Ephraem or The Shepherd of Hermas) contain phrases about believers being “rescued from the trial,” which a few Pre-Tribulation scholars cite as early hints, though most historians view these as non-systematic or figurative statements.

Be blessed,

Peter