There are two aspects to Jesus return. First, there is his return in the air, and second there is his return to earth to reign as King forever.
On one hand Jesus told us that no one knows the day or the hour of his return, while on the other hand the Book of Revelation gives detailed numbers that would allow a believer to calculate the date of Jesus' return to earth to reign. This paradox is resolved when we realize that the return of Jesus has two aspects; the return in the air and the return to earth.
The first aspect is Jesus' return in the air. This event is popularly called the rapture, and it will be a surprise. Sometime in the future the Lord Jesus Christ will appear in the sky to retrieve his Church. No one knows when the rapture will occur. For many centuries now the rapture has been unlikely because the Scriptures which talk about his coming describe a time of great apostasy, or falling away from the true faith, and they also seem to describe a period of history in which there is a nation of Israel. Now the Jewish nation of Jesus' time ceased to exist in 70 AD. For centuries there was no such thing as a Jewish nation so it was possible to infer that the rapture would not occur. However, in May of 1948 the United Nations created a new Jewish nation, Israel. That means the rapture could occur any day now. At any moment the Lord could appear in the sky, and all those who have put their trust in him will vanish from the earth and go to heaven to be with the Lord Jesus.
At some time after the rapture whether it be days, weeks, months or even years there will begin a time of severe distress upon the earth. This period is called the Tribulation and it will last about seven years. This seven-year period will be initiated by a peace treaty between Israel and a world leader whom the Bible calls the Antichrist. The purpose of the treaty will be to guarantee the security of Israel. It will probably also allow them to rebuild their Temple and begin their Temple worship and sacrifices once again. At the exact middle point of the seven years the Antichrist will violate his own treaty, he will put a stop to the Temple worship and sacrifice, and he will desecrate the Temple. He will also initiate a persecution of the Jewish people which will be unrivaled in all of history. The Book of Revelation tells us that the first half of the Tribulation will be the worst times this planet has ever seen, and then things will get worse! The last half of the tribulation is called the Great Tribulation. These will be terrible times which will eventually cumulate in a great war in the Middle East in the heart of Israel. This great war is called the Battle of Armageddon. It is to be a battle so fierce that if it were allowed to continue to its conclusion it would result in the death of every living thing on this planet. However, the battle will be interrupted by the return of Jesus to the earth. He will return to the earth to defeat his foes and reign on the earth as King for one thousand years. During this thousand-year reign, called the Millenium, Satan will be bound and no longer able to seduce people. Jesus will sit upon the throne of David in Jerusalem and rule the earth with a scepter of iron.
When will Jesus return? The rapture could come at any moment. There is nothing that must be fulfilled before this occurs. The Tribulation will begin some time after the rapture. Once the tribulation begins so does the countdown until the return of Jesus to the earth. The bad news is that the Tribulation will be bad beyond belief. The Good News is that you don't need to go through it. If you accept Jesus Christ as your personal Savior you will be a part of His Church, and you will leave with him at the rapture.
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