Second Coming

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This article refers to the religious usage of the term. For other usages, see Second Coming (disambiguation).

The Second Coming or Second Advent refers to the Christian belief in the return of Jesus to fulfill the rest of Messianic prophecy. Views about the Second Coming vary among different Christian denominations, and have influenced other religions as well. The term Parousia, Greek for "appearance and subsequent presence with" (in the ancient world referring to official visits by royalty) is also used to describe this event. The Second Coming is an important component of Christian eschatology, the theology concerning the final events and ultimate purposes of the world.

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Biblical sources

Template:Gospel Jesus The Gospels contain several apparent predictions of Jesus regarding his return at the end of the world. These include: Template:Bibleref, Template:Bibleref, Template:Bibleref; Template:Bibleref, Template:Bibleref, Template:Bibleref, Template:Bibleref; Template:Bibleref, Template:Bibleref, Template:Bibleref. Jesus says that the "Son of Man is going to come in his Father's glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done" (Matthew 16:27), and that this will occur suddenly, "like the lightning, which flashes and lights up the sky from one end to the other" (Luke 17:24), and that "No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father" (Mark 13:32). (NIV)

Jesus said to them: "Watch out that no one deceives you. Many will come in my name, claiming, 'I am he,' and will deceive many. When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places, and famines. These are the beginning of birth pains. ... How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers!" (Mark 13:5-8,17 NIV)

The prophetic language of the Book of Daniel and the Book of Revelation are also considered to be fruitful sources of study.

Also some verses from the Gospels are often seen to imply that Jesus would return before the death of those to whom he was talking. Both Matthew and Luke include the statement, "This generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place" (Matthew 24:34, Luke 21:32)<ref>Matthew 24:34 & Genea: What The Scholars Say</ref>. Indeed, C.S. Lewis called this "the most embarrassing verse in the Bible" <ref>C.S. Lewis The World’s Last Night and Other Essays</ref>, though many Christians interpret the word generation from this verse in some different manner. Another verse is more explicit: "Truly I say to you, there are some of those who are standing here who shall not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom" (Matthew 16:28, Mark 9:1, Luke 9:27). See also Wandering Jew.

According to the Catholic Encyclopedia article on General Judgement[1]: "In the New Testament the second Parusia, or coming of Christ as Judge of the world, is an oft-repeated doctrine. The Saviour Himself not only foretells the event but graphically portrays its circumstances (Matthew 24:27 sqq.; 25:31 sqq.). The Apostles give a most prominent place to this doctrine in their preaching (Acts 10:42; 17:31) and writings (Romans 2:5-16; 14:10; 1 Corinthians 4:5; 2 Corinthians 5:10; 2 Timothy 4:1; 2 Thessalonians 1:5; James 5:7). Besides the name Parusia (parousia), or Advent (1 Corinthians 15:23; 2 Thessalonians 2:19), the Second Coming [emphasis added] is also called Epiphany, epiphaneia, or Appearance (2 Thessalonians 2:8; 1 Timothy 6:14; 2 Timothy 4:1; Titus 2:13), and Apocalypse (apokalypsis), or Revelation (2 Thessalonians 2:7; 1 Peter 4:13). The time of the Second Coming is spoken of as "that Day" (2 Timothy 4:8), "the day of the Lord" (1 Thessalonians 5:2), "the day of Christ" (Philemon 1:6), "the day of the Son of Man" (Luke 17:30), "the last day" (John 6:39-40)."

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Mainstream Christianity

The vast majority of those self-identified as Christians look forward to the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. Across the many denominations, the details of Christ's second coming are somewhat diverse. Few dare to claim complete and authoritative interpretation of the typically symbolic and prophetic biblical sources. What is commonly accepted is that he is to return to judge the world and to establish the Kingdom of God, in other words to fulfill the rest of Messianic prophecy. A short reference to the Second Coming is contained in the Nicene Creed, the most widespread Christian statement of faith: "He shall come again with glory to judge the living and the dead; of His kingdom there shall be no end" (speaking of "one Lord Jesus Christ"). It is also in the earlier Apostle's Creed: "He will come again to judge the living and the dead." The Catholic and Anglican liturgy proclaims the Mystery of Faith to be: "Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again". Generally, mainstream Christianity does not offer predictions on the date of the Second Coming.

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Esoteric Christian tradition

In the Esoteric Christian tradition, Essenian and later Rosicrucian, there is a distinction to be made between Jesus and the Christ <ref>Heindel, Max, The Rosicrucian Cosmo-Conception (Part III, Chapter XV: Christ and His Mission), November 1909, ISBN 0-911274-34-0</ref>. Jesus is considered a high Initiate of the human life wave (which evolves under the cycle of rebirth) and of a singularly pure type of mind, vastly superior to the great majority of the present humanity. He was educated during his youth among the Essenes and thus prepared himself for the greatest honor ever bestowed upon a human being: to deliver his pure, passionless, highly evolved physical body and vital body (already attuned to the high vibrations of the 'life spirit'), in the moment of the Baptism, to the Christ being for His ministry in the physical world. Christ is described as the highest Spiritual Being of the life wave called Archangels and has completed His union ("the Son") with the second aspect of God.

In this western tradition, there is a clear distinction between the Cosmic Christ, or Christ without, and the Christ Within: the Cosmic Christ aids each individual in the formation of the Christ Within (also called soul body, the correct translation of Paul of Tarsus "soma psuchicon", or also the Golden Wedding Garment (Matthew 22:2,11)), however the emphasis is that the work needed to form the Christ Within is the responsibility of each individual. The Christ Within is regarded as the true Saviour who needs to be born within each individual in order to evolve toward the future Sixth Epoch in the Earth's etheric plane, that is, toward the "new heavens and a new earth": the New Galilee <ref>Heindel, Max, How Shall We Know Christ at His Coming?, May 1913 (stenographic report of a lecture, Los Angeles), ISBN 0-911274-64-2</ref>. According to this tradition, the Second Coming or Advent of the Christ is not in a physical body but in the new soul body of each individual in the etheric region of the planet where man "shall be caught up IN THE CLOUDS to meet the Lord IN THE AIR" (1 Thessalonians 4:17). The Day when this event shall be, as described in the Bible, is not in the human knowledge domain. The esoteric Christian tradition teaches that first there will be a preparatory period as the Sun enters Aquarius by precession: the coming Age of Aquarius.

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Islam

Template:Main The mainstream Islamic view of the second coming maintains that Jesus was replaced by a duplicate who looked like Jesus, and that it was the duplicate who was crucified while the real Jesus was lifted up to Heaven by God, where he is waiting to descend during the “last days” when corruption and perversity are rife on Earth. He will then wage a battle against the false Jesus or Dajjal, break the cross, kill swine and call all humanity to Islam.

Some minority sects have adopted different and allegedly heretical beliefs according to mainstream Muslims. The view of the Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement and the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community is based on an allegorical interpretation of the references to Jesus’s second coming in Islamic literature. They believe that Jesus died a natural death and the "second coming" refers to Mirza Ghulam Ahmad and his efforts to counter the threats to Islam from other religious groups.

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Predictions and claims of the Second Coming

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  • The interpretation of the Second Coming is important in the doctrine of Jehovah's Witnesses, as these hold that it occured in 1914, and instead of an apocalyptic Second Coming it is to be interpreted as an unseen presence, and the visible events of the final times will occur at a later date (originally predicted for 1915, then moved to 1918, and then 1975).
  • The followers of Reverend Sun Myung Moon consider Rev. Moon to be the Lord of the Second Advent called by Jesus Christ on Easter Sunday at the age of 16 on a Korean Mountainside.
  • Renowned psychic Edgar Cayce predicted that the Second Coming of Christ would be in 1998 Template:Citation needed. Though 1998 has already passed, many of Cayce's followers maintain that Christ was simply conceived in 1998 and thus would only be seven or eight years old presently.
  • Nostradamus predicted that "from the sky will come a great King of Terror" in 1999 <ref>The King of Terror - Part 1</ref>. This was interpreted by some as a prophecy about the second coming of Jesus. When this "didn't occur", his followers and those of Edgar Cayce claimed that Jesus was conceived in 1998, born in 1999, and is currently living on Earth as a reincarnated person.
  • Followers of the Bahá'í Faith believe that the second coming of Jesus, as well as the prophecies of the 5th Buddha and many other religious prophecies of a second coming, were fulfilled in Bahá'u'lláh. They commonly compare Bahá'u'lláh's fulfillment of Christian prophecies to Jesus' fulfillment of Jewish prophecies, where in both cases people were expecting the literal fulfillment of apocalyptic statements.
  • The Rastafari movement believes Haile Selassie is the second coming (although he himself did not encourage this belief). He both embodied this when he became Emperor of Ethiopia, but is also expected to return a second time to initiate the apocalyptic day of judgement. Haile Selassie, also called Jah rastafari, is considered to be still alive.
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See also

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Notes

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References

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External links

he:הביאה השנייה nl:Wederkomst pt:Segunda vinda de Cristo

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