The short answer to this is, no one, save God the Father, knows when Jesus will come again.
In the New Testament, in Matthew 24: 36, Jesus, during a response to his apostles questioning when he would return, said:
But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.
However, Jesus throughout most of Matthew 24 describes events that will take place prior to his return, and discusses how people will behave and where there hearts and thoughts will be.
He also said that we should be always, for he will come in an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.
He is suppose to return in a time of great tribulation, the worst that the world has ever seen, and He will do so to shorten the tribulation for the sake of the righteous. He likens the day similar to what was happening during the days of Noah, when there were basically eight people who were saved from the Great Flood.
There is more information to glean throughout the scriptures, and in particular the book of Revelation.
re: the end of the world and rapture
I understand these two events differently than a lot of Christians will, so, I don't know how much detail I should go into here. I suppose it's safe to say that the world as we know it will come to an end, but life on Earth will continue for another 1,000 years after Christ returns, and those who will be here will actually be the more righteous.
Sure, there are going to be times where life feels or seems meaningless. It happens. Even when things are going okay. There's a human yearning for purpose, and when it doesn't appear to be there, then we can get down on ourselves, on others, and things in general.
I don't know that I have a ready answer for such moments. I don't think the instances we face are as unique as we would like to think they are, but there is a some level of uniqueness to it because it's happening to us. How we perceive things, process them, react to them, and to what degree, are a part of it, but essentially, each one of us unique, making the experience unique.
Now, does that mean life is meaningless. I don't think so. There's generally some foundation upon which to build. Rarely does everything possible go wrong, and rarely are things so damaged that they can never be repaired. It might seem like it in the moment, but there's a reason why they say time heals all wounds.
So, I don't know. We all have reasons for living, and getting through the day. Trying to hold onto those reasons when life gets rocky is a start, anyway. Life isn't easy, fair, or anything else. What we do about it, though, is always going to be up to us. Easy or not, we have a lot to say about our own happiness and state of mind.
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The short answer to this is, no one, save God the Father, knows when Jesus will come again.
In the New Testament, in Matthew 24: 36, Jesus, during a response to his apostles questioning when he would return, said:
But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.
However, Jesus throughout most of Matthew 24 describes events that will take place prior to his return, and discusses how people will behave and where there hearts and thoughts will be.
He also said that we should be always, for he will come in an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.
He is suppose to return in a time of great tribulation, the worst that the world has ever seen, and He will do so to shorten the tribulation for the sake of the righteous. He likens the day similar to what was happening during the days of Noah, when there were basically eight people who were saved from the Great Flood.
There is more information to glean throughout the scriptures, and in particular the book of Revelation.
re: the end of the world and rapture
I understand these two events differently than a lot of Christians will, so, I don't know how much detail I should go into here. I suppose it's safe to say that the world as we know it will come to an end, but life on Earth will continue for another 1,000 years after Christ returns, and those who will be here will actually be the more righteous.
View this question on Musing.io
View this answer on Musing.io
Sure, there are going to be times where life feels or seems meaningless. It happens. Even when things are going okay. There's a human yearning for purpose, and when it doesn't appear to be there, then we can get down on ourselves, on others, and things in general.
I don't know that I have a ready answer for such moments. I don't think the instances we face are as unique as we would like to think they are, but there is a some level of uniqueness to it because it's happening to us. How we perceive things, process them, react to them, and to what degree, are a part of it, but essentially, each one of us unique, making the experience unique.
Now, does that mean life is meaningless. I don't think so. There's generally some foundation upon which to build. Rarely does everything possible go wrong, and rarely are things so damaged that they can never be repaired. It might seem like it in the moment, but there's a reason why they say time heals all wounds.
So, I don't know. We all have reasons for living, and getting through the day. Trying to hold onto those reasons when life gets rocky is a start, anyway. Life isn't easy, fair, or anything else. What we do about it, though, is always going to be up to us. Easy or not, we have a lot to say about our own happiness and state of mind.