This section will now begin to address theological topics related to scriptural prophesy about future events. A bit of humility is advised. Charles Hodge is well worth listening to in this regard. He writes:
“Prophecy is very different from history. It is not intended to give us a knowledge of the future, analogous to that which history gives us of the past. This truth is often overlooked … With regards to the first advent of Christ, the Old Testament prophecies rendered it certain that a great Redeemer was to appear; that He was to be a Prophet, Priest, and King; that He would deliver his people from their sins, and from the evils under which they groaned … Nevertheless, of all the hundreds of thousands to whom these predictions of the Hebrew Scriptures were made known, not a single person, so far as appears, interpreted them aright … The utter failure of the Old Testament church in interpreting the prophesies relating to the first advent of Christ, should teach us to be modest and diffident in explaining those which relate to his second coming.”[i]
The topic of biblical prophecy is complicated, difficult, and vast. A full understanding can probably only be achieved by specialists. Regardless, the following sections will attempt to present the most prevalent beliefs among these specialists. In doing so, dispensational beliefs will be treated in a separate section as they differ significantly from the more prevalent opinions in this area.
The second coming of Christ (also called the second advent of Christ) is referred to many times in the NT. It is most commonly called the parousia (παρουσία), a Greek word that literally means a coming or a presence. Parousia is used in other contexts, but specifically refers to the second coming of Christ in many verses (e.g., Mt 24:3; 1 Cor 15:23;1 Thes 3:13; 2 Thes 2:1; Jam 5:7; 2 Pt 3:4; 1 Jn 2:28). Just after Christ’s ascension, two figures in white clothing say, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven” (Acts 1:11). The author of Hebrews writes, “And just as it is destined for people to die once, and after this comes judgment, so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him” (Heb 9:27-28). It is clear that we are to eagerly wait for the second coming of Christ. But what else can we know about this anticipated event?
The first place to look for a richer understanding of the second advent is Jesus’s response to the question asked by His disciples, “Tell us, when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age” (Mt 24:3)? Jesus responds by describing many hardships that will arise before his second coming, including the destruction of Jerusalem. “Do you not see all these things? Truly I say to you, not one stone here will be left upon another, which will not be torn down” (Mt 24:1-2). But Jesus also says that he will not return until the gospel message is preached to the whole world. “This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come” (Mt 24:14).
Mt 24:14 raises the question of the imminence of the second coming. Can Christ return at any time (i.e., is imminent) or must certain things first occur? Jerusalem was destroyed in 70 CE. But has the gospel of the kingdom been preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations? It seems that this has not yet occurred, as there are many nations where the open practice of Christianity is effectively banned. For example, the distribution of Bibles is prohibited in Afghanistan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, the Maldives, Mauritania, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Yemen. Furthermore, the World Population Review characterizes the level of Christian persecution in fifty countries as either extreme or very high.[ii] It is possible that the presence of a few missionaries in every country could be considered preaching the gospel to every nation. But is seems more likely that Jesus is referring to something far more substantial. If so, the second coming of Christ is not imminent at this point in time.
Jesus also speaks of a time of great hardship before His second coming. This is described in detail in Mt 24:15-31, where this time is referred to the Abomination of Desolation. “For then there will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will again” (Mt 24:21). Assessments of the current state of the world differ, but if the state of the world today is not noticeably the worst in history, it would also be an indication that the second coming of Christ is not imminent at this point in time. In any case, all must keep in mind the clear teaching of Jesus on this matter. “But about that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone” (Mt 24:36).
Many think that there will be a mass conversion of Jews to Christianity before the second coming. The OT suggests that the house of David (i.e., Israel) will one day mourn for Christ, “And I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and of pleading, so that they will look at Me whom they pierced; and they will mourn for Him” (Zec 12:10). Paul is more specific when he likens Jews to pruned branches that will one day be grafted back on to the olive tree that is Christ. “And they also, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in; for God is able to graft them in again … a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in; and so all Israel will be saved” (Rom 11:23-26). But when will this mass conversion occur? Many think that this must be before the second coming due to the following words of Jesus. “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who have been sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling. Behold, your house is being left to you desolate! For I say to you, from now on you will not see Me until you say, ‘BLESSED IS THE ONE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD’” (Mt 23:37-39).
It is also generally believed that the antichrist will make himself known before the second coming. Paul writes, “Now we ask you, brothers and sisters, regarding the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ … For it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God” (2 Thes 2:1-4). There are many different views of the antichrist including a single person to appear in the future, an institution, a power, or a corporation. For example, many Protestants have historically believed that antichrist refers to the office of the papacy. Roman Catholics, of course, strongly disagree and equate the antichrist to any person who exalts himself above God and suppresses religion, such as Hitler and Stalin. “The supreme religious deception is that of the Antichrist, a pseudo messianism by which man glorifies himself in place of God and of his Messiah come in the flesh.”[iii] Dispensational theology typically views the antichrist as a future specific individual. This said, speculation about the antichrist has little bearing on the rest of eschatology. There is much material for the interested reader to investigate, but this is the extent to which this issue will be presently addressed.
The last theological issue related to the second coming of Christ relates to concomitant events. The predominant theological view is that the second coming of Christ will be accompanied by the general resurrection of the dead, the final judgement, the end of the world, and the creation of the New Heaven and the New Earth. The substance of these issues will be discussed in separate sections below, but their timing with respect to the second coming is now assessed.
There is not a single passage that describes all of these events occurring at the same time. However, it is clear that the second coming will occur at the end of times, also called the last day. “But the one who endures to the end is the one who will be saved. This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come … and they will see the SON OF MAN COMING ON THE CLOUDS OF THE SKY with power and great glory” (Mt 24:13-30). It is also clear that the final judgement will occur on the last day. “The one who rejects Me and does not accept My teachings has one who judges him: the word which I spoke. That will judge him on the last day” (Jn 12:48). This agrees with the final judgement occurring at the same time as the second coming. “But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. And all the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, just as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; and He will put the sheep on His right, but the goats on the left” (Mt 25:31-33). It is also clear that the general resurrection will occur on the last day. “Martha said to Him, ‘I know that he will rise in the resurrection on the last day’” (Jn 11:24).
At this point, the second coming of Christ is shown to be concomitant with the last day, the final judgement, and the general resurrection. The following verse also equates this with the Day of the Lord and indicates that the end of the world will also occur at this time, along with the creation of the New Heaven and the New Earth.
“But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be discovered. Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat! But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells.” (2 Pt 10-13)
The creeds all speak of Christ’s ascension into Heaven, His return, and His judgement of the living and the dead. The Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed states. “He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead and his kingdom will have no end.” The Apostles Creed states “[T]here he will come to judge the living and the dead.” The Athanasian Creed has the most detailed treatment and states:
“He is seated at the Father’s right hand; from there he will come to judge the living and the dead. At his coming all people will arise bodily and give an accounting of their own deeds. Those who have done good will enter eternal life, and those who have done evil will enter eternal fire.”
All of the major theological systems agree with the content of these creeds. In addition, Roman Catholic theologians typically view the second coming and its associated events as happening in an instant of time when the living die, and then all of the dead are resurrected, judged, and placed into their eternal fate. Reformed theologians typically view the second coming as described in this section. Lutheran and Arminian theologians do not generally elaborate on the second coming beyond the creeds, but Martin Luther preferred to view it as a beloved last day “when Christ would make an end to all corruption and strife and death.”[iv]
[i] Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology, vol. 3, Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers Marketing, 1873/2013: 790-791.
[ii] World Population Review, “Countries Where Christianity Is Illegal 2024.” worldpopulationreview.com/ country-rankings/countries-where-christianity-is-illegal.
[iii] “Catechism of the Catholic Church: Summary,” Libraria Editrice Vaticana, 1992: ¶675.
[iv] Winfried Vogel, “The Eschatological Theology of Martin Luther: Part I: Luther’s Basic Concepts,” Andrews University Seminary Studies, Autumn 1986, Vol. 24, No. 3: 262.
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