Prepositions – Difference Between “In the Entrance” and “At the Entrance”

The difference is in your starting point; where you measure the distance from.

You use in the distance when you start measuring the distance from where you are standing:

I could see him in the distance, 10km away from me.

You use from a distance when you start measuring from the object you are looking at, in this case where 'he' is standing:

I can see him from a distance - I am 10km away from him.

A distance means very far away.

The distance generally refers to as far away as you can see IMO (some people might disagree on exactly where "the distance" is).

So if you say, "He came from a distance." It means he came from somewhere far away. A more natural way to word that would be, "He came from quite a distance."

On the other hand, if you say "He came from the distance." That means that he came from just about as far as you can see (also implying you could see him). Perhaps a better way to word the same situation would be, "He appeared in the distance."