Will Jesus Come Again? What Is the Second Coming?
A Promise in the Creed
Every Sunday at Mass, Catholics stand and say that Jesus Christ “will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end.” It is one of the central articles of the faith, yet many Catholics rarely think about it.
Others think about it a great deal, often for the wrong reasons. Books, films and preachers predict the end of the world, read headlines as signs of the times, and set dates that come and go. Between neglect and obsession, the Church’s actual teaching can get lost.
Christ Will Return
Jesus promised it plainly. “They will see the Son of man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory” (Matthew 24:30). At His Ascension, the angels told the apostles: “This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven” (Acts 1:11).
His first coming was in humility — born in a stable, hidden for thirty years, put to death as a criminal. His second coming will be in glory, visible to all. It will not be secret or local, but unmistakable and universal (CCC 668–682).
No One Knows When
The most important thing to say about the timing of the Second Coming is that no one knows it. Jesus could not have been clearer: “Of that day or that hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father” (Mark 13:32). “It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has fixed by his own authority” (Acts 1:7).
Every prediction that has ever set a date has been wrong. The Church has never set one, and never will. Catholics should be wary of anyone who claims to know.
The Signs
Although we do not know the day, Scripture does speak of certain things that will come before Christ’s return. The Catechism mentions them carefully (CCC 674–675).
The Gospel preached to all nations. “This gospel of the kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world… and then the end will come” (Matthew 24:14).
The recognition of Christ by the Jewish people. St Paul speaks of Israel’s coming to faith before the end (Romans 11:25–26).
A final trial for the Church. Before Christ’s return, the Church will pass through a final trial that will shake the faith of many. The Catechism speaks of a supreme religious deception, in which people are offered an apparent solution to their problems at the price of abandoning the truth. This is the deception of the Antichrist (CCC 675).
The Church has never identified these signs with particular events or people in history. Every generation has been tempted to think its own troubles must be the last ones. The point of the signs is not to calculate, but to stay faithful.
The Last Judgement
When Christ returns, He will judge the living and the dead. This is the Last Judgement, also called the general judgement.
It is not the first time we will be judged. The Church teaches that each person faces a particular judgement at the moment of death, when the soul’s eternal destiny is decided (CCC 1021–1022). The Last Judgement is something more. It will reveal publicly, before all creation, the truth of every life and the justice of God’s ways in history. Things hidden will be made known. Every good act, even the smallest, will be seen. “God will bring every deed into judgement” (Ecclesiastes 12:14).
Jesus described this judgement in the parable of the sheep and the goats (Matthew 25:31–46). The standard is love: “As you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me.”
At the Last Judgement, the dead will rise, their souls reunited with their bodies. See What Does the Resurrection Mean for Us?
A New Heaven and a New Earth
The Second Coming is not only about judgement. It is about the completion of everything God began in creation. St John saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” where God “will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more” (Revelation 21:1, 4).
The Church teaches that the whole created universe will be renewed and transformed (CCC 1042–1047). God does not throw His creation away. He brings it to fulfilment.
What the Church Does Not Teach
Because the Second Coming attracts so much speculation, it is worth being clear about some ideas that are not Catholic teaching.
A secret rapture. Some Christian groups teach that believers will be secretly taken up to heaven before a period of tribulation on earth. This idea is relatively recent and is not part of Catholic teaching. The Church speaks of one return of Christ, in glory, visible to all.
An earthly kingdom before the end. Some have taught that Christ will establish a political kingdom on earth for a thousand years before the final judgement. The Church has rejected this idea (CCC 676). The kingdom of God is not built by political power. It will be fully realised only when Christ comes again.
A date. As already noted, no one knows the day or the hour.
How Should We Live?
The Church’s teaching on the Second Coming is not meant to frighten us or to feed curiosity. It is meant to shape how we live now.
Be ready. Jesus told several parables about servants waiting for their master and bridesmaids waiting for the bridegroom. The lesson is always the same: “Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour” (Matthew 25:13). Whether Christ returns in our lifetime or we meet Him at our death, the call is to live each day in friendship with Him.
Have hope. For Christians, the return of Christ is not something to dread but something to long for. The early Christians prayed “Maranatha” — “Come, Lord!” The last words of the Bible echo the same longing: “Come, Lord Jesus!” (Revelation 22:20).
Live the season of Advent. The Church’s year begins with Advent, which looks forward not only to Christmas but also to Christ’s coming at the end of time. It is a yearly reminder to keep our eyes on the horizon.
The Christian story does not end with a whimper or with chaos. It ends with the return of the King, the defeat of evil, and the renewal of all things. That is why the Church can face the future without fear.