Do You Believe Jesus Is Going to Return, and What Will He Return to Achieve?

Judaism does not believe Jesus was the Messiah, and therefore the question of his return isn't meaningful within the tradition. Mainstream Jewish theology — from Maimonides (12th century) through modern thinkers like Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik — holds that the Messiah has not yet come at all. The criteria for messiahship include rebuilding the Temple, ingathering the exiles, and ushering in universal peace; since none of these occurred during Jesus's lifetime, Judaism concluded he did not fulfill the role.

What Judaism does anticipate is a future divine redemption centered on God himself and, eventually, a human anointed leader. Isaiah speaks of God coming as a redeemer to Zion:

"[God] shall come as redeemer to Zion, To those in Jacob who turn back from sin — declares GOD."

It's worth noting there's internal Jewish disagreement about the Messiah's nature. Some streams (particularly Chabad Hasidism) have debated whether a deceased individual could be the Messiah, but this remains a minority and contested view. The dominant rabbinic consensus is clear: Jesus's return is simply not part of Jewish eschatology.

Christianity's answer is an emphatic yes — and it's not a peripheral belief. The Second Coming (Greek: parousia) is woven into the Nicene Creed, affirmed by Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant traditions alike. Paul's first letter to the Thessalonians, written around 50 CE and among the earliest Christian documents, ties Jesus's return directly to the resurrection of the dead:

"For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him."

What does Jesus return to achieve? Christian theology identifies several purposes. First, the resurrection and judgment of all humanity. John's Gospel records Martha's expectation of a final resurrection:

"I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day."

"And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation."

There's genuine disagreement about timing and sequence — the rapture debate, the tribulation, the millennium — but the core conviction that Jesus will personally and physically return is nearly universal across Christian traditions.

Islam does affirm that Jesus (Isa, peace be upon him) will return — but the theological framing is radically different from Christianity's. In Islamic eschatology, Jesus never died on the cross; God raised him up alive, and he will descend again near the Day of Judgment as one of its major signs. This is drawn from hadith literature (particularly in Sahih Muslim and Sahih Bukhari) rather than directly from the Quran, though the Quran does speak to resurrection and God's power to bring forth life again:

"Then when He wills, He will resurrect him."

The Quran also frames all human existence as a return to God:

"And indeed we, to our Lord, will [surely] return."

According to the hadith tradition, Jesus will return to: break the cross (symbolically ending the Christian misunderstanding of his death), kill the Dajjal (the Antichrist figure), establish justice, and eventually die a natural death before the final resurrection. Crucially, he returns as a prophet and Muslim, not as a divine savior or the second person of a Trinity. Scholar Yasir Qadhi and classical scholars like Ibn Kathir (14th century) are consistent on this point. Jesus's return in Islam is a sign of the Last Hour, not its cause — God alone orchestrates the final judgment. There's some scholarly disagreement about the precise sequence of end-times events, but Jesus's return itself is considered mutawatir (mass-transmitted) and beyond dispute in mainstream Sunni theology.

Jewish scripture promises a redeemer “to Zion” for those in Jacob who turn from sin, centering redemption on repentance rather than the return of Jesus Isaiah 59:20. Rabbinic literature ties the advent of the Messiah son of David to the completion of all souls destined for earthly life, indicating a divinely timed culmination of history Avodah Zarah 5a:10. Prophetic calls to Israel to return to God underscore that national repentance is integral to redemption’s arrival Jeremiah 4:1. Consequently, in these sources the anticipated figure is a redeemer to Zion and a Davidic Messiah, not the return of Jesus Isaiah 59:20Avodah Zarah 5a:10.

In the Gospels, Jesus speaks of the “Son of Man” coming, paired with the sobering question of whether he will find faith on earth, highlighting a future coming that tests and reveals genuine fidelity Luke 18:8. Jesus also teaches that Elijah will come first and “restore all things,” framing the goal of that future moment in terms of restoration before the consummation of God’s purposes Matthew 17:11. Within these passages, the return is about restoration and the discernment of authentic faith Luke 18:8Matthew 17:11.

The Qur’anic verses here emphasize that all people return to the Lord and that God will resurrect humanity, centering the end on divine judgment and new bringing-forth Quran 43:14Quran 71:18Quran 80:22. These passages, as cited, focus on universal return and resurrection rather than specifying a return of Jesus in their wording Quran 43:14Quran 71:18.