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SECOND COMING OF JESUS

Second Coming of Christ

The Book of Revelation describes the second coming of Jesus Christ with vivid imagery and figures that include a false prophet and a red seven-headed beast or dragon which may represent Satan. In the Gospels there are references to Christ’s imminent return. Many of his followers thought it would happen soon after hid death. Matthew 24:42-44 reads: “So stay awake, because you do not know the day when your master is coming....you must stand ready because the Son of man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”

Eschatology is doctrine concerning the end of the world, including the Second Coming of Christ, God's judgment, heaven, and hell Michael J. McClymond wrote in the “Worldmark Encyclopedia of Religious Practices”: In the Gospels, Jesus' teaching focused on the kingdom of God, and the Lord's Prayer includes a petition for God to bring an earthly realization of his purposes: "Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven" (Matthew 6:10). Although the kingdom of God is already present in a limited way, it will attain perfection only when Jesus returns, "coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory" (Matthew 24:30). Christian eschatology offers confidence that God will ultimately transform individuals, society, and the world at large into "a new heaven and a new earth" (Revelation 21:1). [Source: Michael J. McClymond, “Worldmark Encyclopedia of Religious Practices”, 2000s, Encyclopedia.com]

Jesus' resurrection shows God's purpose to overcome all that threatens humanity, including death itself. Though some versions of eschatology have encouraged Christians to retreat from the world, many have driven believers to struggle for mercy, peace, and justice. Eschatology has been an engine of social change and even revolution. The Book of Revelation offers an elaborate picture of the Christian hope, and yet the text is notoriously hard to interpret. Some theologians view it as a more or less literal account of what is to happen before Jesus returns, while others see it as symbolic in character or as referring to events that have already transpired.

Websites and Resources on Christianity BBC on Christianity bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/christianity ; Candida Moss at the Daily Beast Daily Beast Christian Answers christiananswers.net ; Christian Classics Ethereal Library www.ccel.org ; Sacred Texts website sacred-texts.com ; Internet Sourcebook sourcebooks.fordham.edu ; Christian Denominations: Holy See w2.vatican.va ; Catholic Online catholic.org ; Catholic Encyclopedia newadvent.org ; World Council of Churches, main world body for mainline Protestant churches oikoumene.org ; Online Orthodox Catechism published by the Russian Orthodox Church orthodoxeurope.org

Evangelical Christian Views About the Second Coming of Christ

Evangelical Christians today believe that when the Jesus returns he will come down off the Mount of Olives and stride through the Golden Gate into Old City of Jerusalem. Jerry Fallwell told the New Yorker believes during the seven-year Tribulation period the Jewish Temple will be rebuilt, Moses and Elijah will appear and be murdered in the streets of Jerusalem before an international television audience and rise from the dead three days later, setting off a global celebration followed by a mass resurrection of the dead. Then a man will appear and say he is Christ (but actually he is the Antichrist) and he will attract many Christian and Jewish followers, most of whom will die in the struggle between good and evil.

Many evangelical Christians believe that three events need to take place for Christ to return and two of these have already occurred: the founding of Israel in 1948 and the restoration of the Jewish people to Jerusalem in 1967, which have fulfilled prophecies in the Bible that point the way to the second coming of Jesus Christ. For them the only prophecy that has not been fulfilled is the reconstruction of the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem.

Some evangelical Christian groups have allied themselves with ultra-Orthodox Jewish groups because both groups want to see Muslims kicked off the Temple Mount and the Jewish Temple rebuilt as a fulfillment of their doomsday prophecies when Christians believe Jesus will return and ultra-Orthodox Jews believe the true Messiah will show up (which Christians believe is the False Messiah that will battle Jesus).

“This is a very popular idea. It suggests that the world will be turned upside down and be taken over by the meek — or at least by the good and the righteous — and that this will be a time of peace and justice. It also implies a solution to the problem of evil (i.e. why does an all-good, all-powerful God allow evil to flourish unpunished or corrected) by showing that at the end of time there will be justice for everyone. Evildoers will be punished for their behaviour on earth and the good rewarded, as God balances the scales of justice at the end of time. |::|

“Millennialism comes in different flavours: 1) premillennialism; 2) postmillennialism; 3) amillennialism; 4) dispensationalism — partly a particular form of premillennialism popularised by J N Darby, founder of the Exclusive Brethren. Dispensationalism is also a doctrine of Bible interpretation.

Events in Revelations

Durer's Dragon with Seven Heads

According to Revelation, the Old Testament prophets and some other passages in the New Testament, the end of the world begins with an event, called the Rapture, in which all faithful Christians are suddenly pulled from the world while non-believers are left behind to face a series of tribulations — including fire, hail and blood falling from the sky; swarms of human-faced locusts that emerge through smoke from a bottomless pit; beasts with six wings and covered by eyeballs; horses with fire-breathing lion’s heads; a lamb with seven horns, vengeful angels dressed in clouds and rainbows — that unfold over a seven year period.

Also during the Tribulations a red dragon with six crowned heads and ten horns chases a woman, the seas turn to blood and everything in them died; cities and nations collapse, islands flee and mountains vanish in a colossal earthquake; birds invited to a huge feast “eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men.” At one point John wrote these events “must shortly come to pass.” Faithful Christians are spared these events because they have been raptured.

During the period of tribulations the world is ruled by the Antichrist, a charismatic but evil leader who makes peace with Israel only to break his word and persecute the Jews. The persecution of the Jews brings the major world powers to the Middle East, where the horrible battle of Armageddon takes places with satanic warriors led by prince named Gog, from a land in the north called Magog.

The battle ends with the return of Jesus and a celestial clash between Jesus and the Antichrist, with Jesus ultimately defeating the forces of evil and ushering in his 1000-year reign of peace and righteousness. After the 1000-year reign, the Last Judgement occur. The faithful are welcomed to heaven, the unrepentant are condemned and “a new city, a new Jerusalem” comes “down out of heaven from God.”

Seven-Headed Beast and the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse

Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse

The infamous seven-headed Beast in Revelations "was like a leopard, and his feet were like those of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion" (Rev 13:1). These are the first three animals in Daniel 7, but in reverse order. The Beast rises from the sea demanding to be worshiped. Its seven heads are said to symbolize Rome. By John's time seven emperors had ruled over Rome and Rome was known as the city of seven hills. The Number of the Beast — 666 — is described below. [Source: BBC, August 4, 2009]

Candida Moss wrote in the Daily Beast: The Beast is given authority and power by the dragon (11:7; 13:1-10; 17:7-18). A second beast later comes out of the Earth and instructs people to worship the first beast. This second beast is also called “the false prophet.” Together, these beasts oppose God and those who do not worship the image of the (first) beast. We aren’t told the actual name of the beast from the sea, but it corresponds to the numerical value “666.” And we are told that the beast will rule for a specific period of time: 42 months, or three and a half years (Rev 13:5-8).

According the BBC: The image of the four horsemen of the Apocalypse is borrowed and updated from the Hebrew Prophet, Zachariah. The red horse symbolises war and destruction; the black horse symbolises famine; the pale horse symbolises death; the white horse symbolises vengeance and salvation. The word Armageddon is taken from al-Megiddo, a place on the Jazreel Plain in modern-day Israel. By John's time many famous battles had been fought there and in the first century it was the site of the camp of the brutal Roman Ironsides. |::|

“To John's mind this would have been the perfect place for the final battle between good and evil. So it seems that the Book of Revelation is not prophesising the end of the world but is a polemic against the Roman Empire. John frames his attack in a way that parallels other religious writings of the time and which would have made sense to early Christians. John was telling first century Christians to galvanise themselves against compromising with Rome, and that their faithfulness would be rewarded.”

666 — The Number of the Beast

According to Rev. 14:9 the mark of the Beast is received on the forehead or the hand.According to the BBC: “The number of the Beast — 666 — has always puzzled Christians and led to many speculations about who this could be. Scholars now believe that this was a matter of numerology, a popular puzzle in ancient times. The letters of a name were ascribed numerical value and added up to give a number. The name of the Emperor Nero adds up to 666. Historians believe that Nero's persecution of Christians in Rome may have entered the consciousness of early Christians, making him a hate figure. [Source: BBC, August 4, 2009 |::|]

“However, evidence from ancient manuscripts indicates that 666 may not have been the number of the Beast. In the late 19th century, British archaeologists working at the site of the Egyptian city Oxyrhynchus discovered a cache of papyri that were brought to Oxford, where academics have been working their way through them ever since. One of these papyrus fragments is of the Book of Revelation and gives the number of the Beast as 616. Working on the same principle of numerology, academics work out 616 to indicate the Emperor Caligula. Caligula had had a statue of himself erected in the temple in Jerusalem, greatly offending Jews. If John indeed was a Jew from Palestine he would have known this. |::|

Candida Moss wrote in the Daily Beast: “666, the number of the Beast referred to in Rev 13:17, is a clue. It’s the number of a person that we have to calculate by using gematria, a system in which letters have numerical value (Alpha=1, Beta=2, Gamma=3, etc). Add the value of the letters of the Beast’s name and you’ll get 666. Depending on whether you use a Greek, Hebrew, or English number scheme, a lot of different names add up to the devilish number. Bible scholars have tended to identify the Beast with the Roman emperor Nero. But, according to this highly scientific gematria calculator, it turns out that “Justin Bieb” also adds up to 666...[Source: Candida Moss, Daily Beast, November 10, 2013]

Great Tribulation

According to the BBC: “Millions of Christians believe that the tribulation is a period immediately before the Millennium when God's judgement is carried out on the world and humanity endures great suffering. Most mainstream Christians think the doctrine of the tribulation should be regarded as a poetic or symbolic way of describing the eternal conflict between good and evil. However there are many millions who believe the doctrine of the tribulation is a literal and truthful description of what will happen sometime in the future. [Source: BBC |::|]

“During the tribulation the antichrist (Satan's emissary) will torture humanity, and God will go to war against the antichrist. The tribulation ends after seven years when God defeats the antichrist. The tribulation has provided the background to many novels and a great deal of prophetic writing. Most premillennialists believe that the Church will escape the Tribulation altogether, through the doctrine of the Rapture. |::|

“One group of premillennialists (called 'posttribulationists') believe that the righteous believers have to remain on earth throughout the tribulation, but that God keeps them safe. Dispensationalism, postmillennialism and amillennialism |::|

Rapture

According to the BBC: “The Rapture is the event in which Christ carries the faithful believers off to heaven before the Tribulation. This word refers to a "taking up" of Christians, both alive and dead, at the return of Christ. The idea is based on 1 Thessalonians 4.17, which speaks of Christians who are alive being "caught up in the air" at Christ's return. Rapture derives from Latin for "to seize" (rapere, also the root for raptor, a bird of prey). [Source: BBC |::|]

“During the Millennium the believers will remain in heaven, and God will be working on earth with the people of Israel. Some Christians believe in the rapture, but disagree about the timing. Some think the rapture will occur at the end of the tribulation period and others believe it will occur in the middle. |::|

“This doctrine says that Christ will come to earth and take all the true believers to heaven before the Second Coming. Christians disagree as to exactly when in the "end times" this will happen, and the Bible itself doesn't explicitly say whether it will happen before, during or after the great tribulation. The rapture is described in 1 Thessalonians 4, which says that believers will be "raptured" or "caught up" (Latin: rapiemur) in the clouds to meet Christ in the air. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first. [Source: BBC |::|]

“Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and thus we shall always be with the Lord (1 Thessalonians 4) |::|

Antichrist

According to the BBC: “The antichrist is the enemy of God who appears during the final years of the world's existence and takes over the world. He is a very powerful and evil ruler who pretends to be God and appears to perform miracles. The antichrist is only mentioned in the Bible by that title at 1 John 2:18: Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time. — 1 John 2:18 |::| [Source: BBC |::|]

Satan as The Antichrist
“Some beliefs about the antichrist are that: 1) he or she is already living in this world and we will soon discover who he/she is. 2) Throughout history various villains have been accused of being the antichrist. Popes have been accused by Protestants in the past of being the antichrist; the emperor Frederick II was another candidate. 3) the antichrist is an institution rather than an individual. A) So the Papacy itself, rather than individual popes, has been attacked as the antichrist. B) Following 9/11 some have accused Islam of being the antichrist. C) During the cold war the Soviet Union was sometimes called the antichrist. D) The United Nations, and the League of Nations have both been regarded as the antichrist. 4) heretics are the forerunners of the antichrist — this probably derives from the passage in 1 John that says "even now are there many antichrists..." |::|

“Some Christians believe that the antichrist will take over the earth at a time in the future and will bring great destruction until eventually overthrown by Christ. One modern writer (2002) has suggested that the antichrist will emerge as the leader of a European super-state, impose a peace settlement on Israel "and possibly her neighbours," get assassinated and then resurrected, win the Nobel Peace Prize and be named Time's Man of the Year; after these triumphs, he will set himself up as God and rule the world. |:he Christian doctrine of the antichrist is a development of a similar Jewish belief, which makes it all the more regrettable that the antichrist doctrine has been used as a weapon of anti-Semitism. The Jewish references are found in the book of Daniel.

“There are many New Testament passages are regarded as referring to the antichrist. Here are a few of them: And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them. — Revelation 11:7 ...Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time. — Revelation 12. And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy. — Revelation 13 The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition — Revelation 17 |::|

Who Is the Antichrist

Candida Moss wrote in the Daily Beast: In Christian tradition, the Antichrist is a demonic figure who is supposed to return at the end time to oppose Christians and Christ. It is the literal antithesis to the Messiah, Christ. Most people’s image of the Antichrist comes from movies like The Omen, in which the Antichrist is the spawn of Satan, who rules with great power for a period of time before the end of the world. Even for those who rely on scripture rather than horror movies, the Antichrist is a composite figure with characteristics cobbled together from a variety of texts, notably the description of the Beast in the Book of Revelation (the last book of the Bible) and 1 John (a letter attributed to the author of the Gospel of John). [Source: Candida Moss, Daily Beast, October 17, 2018]

Let’s assume for a moment that we all agree that multiple books in the New Testament prophesy the arrival of a key opponent to God at the end of time. What does the Bible tell us about that figure? In Revelation itself, the strongest candidate for the Antichrist is “the Beast”. Do the New Testament texts really prophesy the appearance of a single Antichrist figure? Most historians think not, seeing the authors of Revelation and 1 John as addressing situations that faced their individual communities. Bert Jan Lietaert Peerbolte, author of the Antecedents of Antichrist, argues: “With the images of the Beasts, the author of Revelation is referring to the dangers of his own time.” Most scholars identify the beast known by the number 666 as the emperor Nero, whose name (Nero Caesar) does correspond to 666. Though Nero was probably dead when the Book of Revelation was written, there was a prophecy that he might return.

Although when people think “Antichrist” they think of Revelation, the final book of the Bible never uses that title for the terrifying monsters it describes. For the actual name Antichrist, we have to turn to a letter attributed to John the evangelist. In 1 John 2:18-20, we are warned: “It is the last hour, and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have come… They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us.” Here there are a number of Antichrists (plural!) who at one time were members of the community of Jesus’ followers but later left. Soros, a Hungarian Jew, hardly fits the bill.

The Last Judgment

According to Matthew the Day of Judgement will occur “when the Son of man comes in his glory” and will be heralded by “angels with a loud trumpet” who stand at the four corners of the earth. On that day all people who have lived will be judged. Those have done good things and maintained their faith in God and Jesus will be separated from the wicked who are condemned “to eternal punishment, and the upright to eternal life.” Jesus plays the role of a judge and redeemer who asks God to show mercy.

The Last Judgement is presided over by Jesus as the ruler of the world. The Book of Revelation 20:11-21:8 reads: “Then I saw a great white throne, and the One who sat upon it; from his presence earth and heaven vanished away, and no place was left for them. I could see the dead, great and small, standing before the throne; and books were opened. Then another book was opened, the roll of the living. From what was written in these books the dead were judged upon the record of their deeds.

20120508-Last_Judgement Michelangelo.jpg

Last Judgment by Michelangelo

“The sea gave up its dead,” the passage continues, “and Death and Hades gave up the dead in their keeping; they were judged each man on the record of his deeds. Then Death and Hades were flung into the lake of fire. This lake of fire is second death; and into it were flung any whose names were not to be found in the roll of the living.”

When the Coming of Jesus Doesn’t Happen When Scheduled

Candida Moss wrote in the Daily Beast: Christians have been predicting the Second Coming and end of the world since the Apostle Paul. Hal Lindsey, bestselling author of The Late Great Planet Earth, had to “adjust” his schedule when Jesus failed to return in either 1981 or 1988. Jehovah’s Witnesses prophesied Armageddon no less than nine times in the twentieth century. Most recently, Harold Camping went bust predicting that the Rapture would take place on May 21, 2011. When his quick recalculation to October 21, 2011 didn’t pan out either he faded into obscurity. [Source:Candida Moss, Daily Beast, September 5, 2013]

In the early 19th century, New York farmer and Baptist preacher William Miller preached that the return of Jesus Christ was imminent. His prophecy was based largely on his study of the biblical book of Daniel. His interpretation led him to conclude, initially at least, that Christ would return sometime between March 1843 and 1844. When March 1844 passed without the appearance of Christ and his angels in the sky, Miller picked another date — April 18, 1844 — which also slid by without cosmic incident or divine intervention. A follower of Miller’s, Samuel Snow, proposed a third date in October, but the Day of Judgment had still not arrived. The Millerites were understandably disillusioned. One member, Henry Emmons, wrote that he had to be helped to his bedroom, where he lay “sick with disappointment.” [Source: Candida Moss, Daily Beast, January 21, 2021]

You would think that three false prophecies, collectively known as the Great Disappointment, would be the end of the Millerites. To be sure, some members did leave to join the Shakers, but others began to reinterpret the prophecies about the end of days. One group began to argue that they were only partly wrong. The prophecies weren’t about the Second Coming and end of the world but, rather, about the cleansing of a heavenly sanctuary. It wasn’t an earthly event, it was a heavenly one, and this explained why, to us mere humans, it might appear that nothing had happened. It was out of this group that the Seventh Day Adventist Church arose. Today the Seventh Day Adventist Church has between 20-25 million members. They are, according to Christianity Today, “the fifth largest Christian communion worldwide.”

Ironically, the prophecies in Daniel that formed the basis for the Millerite (and many other!) prophecies about the end of the world were themselves the product of dashed expectations. Though it is set in the sixth century B.C., Daniel was written during the reign of the Seleucid king Antiochus Epiphanes IV (175-164 B.C.). At the time Judeans were wrestling with the Antiochus’s attempts to eradicate Jewish customs and traditions like Sabbath observance, circumcision, and dietary laws. As a response to this crisis the book contains a series of prophecies about what would happen at the end of time. The dates are very specific and, after the first date for the restoration of the Temple given in Dan. 8:12 passed without incident, a later author was forced to add a second prophecy (Daniel 12:11-12) to account for the mistake.

Clinging to a belief despite evidence to the contrary isn’t just a religious phenomenon. On 8 June, 68 A.D. the Roman emperor Nero died a few miles outside of the city of Rome. Fearing the wrath of the Senate and concerned that a gruesome end awaited him, Nero had his secretary help him commit suicide. Even though Nero was dead, legends about his return persisted for centuries. At least three imposters emerged during the reigns of his successors. Each pretender gained followers, was captured, and killed but the Nero Redivus legend continued to gain traction with his supporters.

Flourishing When a Prophecy Fails to Occur

Candida Moss wrote in the Daily Beast: While it might seem that the moral of this story is ‘be vague about your prophecies,’ the book of Daniel is in our Bibles and the Seventh Day Adventist Church is a major denomination in Christianity. The initial prophecies weren’t strictly accurate, but the movements they generated pivoted and flourished. Seventh Day Adventist Ellen White’s failure to accurately chart the course of human destruction inspired social psychologist Leon Festinger’s theory of cognitive dissonance. His book, When Prophecy Fails, showed that, when faced with incontrovertible proof that their beliefs are wrong, some people walk away from their belief systems. But others will double down. They rationalize away the facts, defend their position, and actually become more fervent. [Source: Candida Moss, Daily Beast, January 21, 2021]

In their classic treatment, When Prophecy Fails, Leon Festinger, Henry Riecken, and Stanley Schachter studied the case of the Seekers, a small UFO religion that believed that they would leave the Earth in a flyer saucer before daybreak on December 21, 1954. After the non-arrival of extraterrestrials, the group’s leader, Dorothy Martin, changed her name and continued to prophesy. Festinger and his colleagues concluded that when groups are deeply convinced that they are correct and individuals have social support from other members of their group, beliefs can be maintained even in the face of overwhelming counter evidence. According to Festinger, fringe members of a movement experiencing a moment of cognitive dissonance are more likely to admit they were wrong, but devotees double-down, reinterpret, and regroup.

In the Gospel of Mark Jesus says, “No one knows the day or hour” of his return. Given how many times we’ve been stood up by apocalyptic Jesus, you’d think we’d get the message. But when we’re so good at ignoring our repeated failures to predict that day, there’s no need to heed his words anytime soon.

Image Sources: Wikimedia, Commons except Rapture, You Tube

Text Sources: Internet Sourcebook sourcebooks.fordham.edu ; “World Religions” edited by Geoffrey Parrinder (Facts on File); “ Encyclopedia of the World’s Religions” edited by R.C. Zaehner (Barnes & Noble Books, 1959); King James Version of the Bible, gutenberg.org; New International Version (NIV) of The Bible, biblegateway.com; Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ccel.org , Frontline, PBS, Wikipedia, BBC, National Geographic, New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Smithsonian magazine, The New Yorker, Time, Live Science, Encyclopedia.com, Archaeology magazine, Reuters, Associated Press, Business Insider, AFP, Library of Congress, Lonely Planet Guides, Compton’s Encyclopedia and various books and other publications.

Last updated March 2024