Calling and Expectation
Five Things You Fight when You Think About the End
Every Christian should be thinking about the end times, because thinking about the return of Christ impacts one's life today. It helps us fight five things: anxiety, despondency, materialism, fear, and apathy.
Augustine on Christ’s second coming: “That day lies hid, that every day we may be on the watch.... He who loves the coming of the Lord is not he who affirms that it is far off, nor is it he who says that it is near; but rather he who, whether it be far off or near, awaits it with sincere faith, steadfast hope, and fervent love.”
Work as if Christ comes back tomorrow, plan as if he comes back in 100 years.
The End of the World Is Here
Christians live with the expectation that the second coming of Christ is imminent. What does it mean today to live in expectation of judgment day? Based on 1 Peter 4:7-10 there are four things that should characterize the Christian life in anticipation of the return of Christ.
Did Early Christians Believe That Jesus Would Return in Their Lifetime? Implications for the Canon
This article considers the charge that Christians believed the return of Christ would happen in their lifetime, and thus they would not have been interested in composing new scriptural books for the canon. The author explains that apocalyptic beliefs were not necessarily incompatible with the production of written, authoritative texts.
Five Things You Need to Believe About Jesus' Second Coming
This article explains five things you need to believe about the return of Christ.
The Biblical Order of Events
The Return of the Lord Jesus Christ
What to Expect When You're Not Expecting Christ's Return
What happens if we are not anticipating the return of Christ? This article explains what we can expect, and how Scripture warns against this apathy.
Is the Lord's Return Imminent?
This article explains how the New Testament authors could say that the second coming of Christ was imminent, even though now 2,000 years have passed and he has yet to return. The day is still at hand today, since no other events need to happen on the prophetic calendar before the return of Christ.
2 Corinthians 5:1-10 – Watershed in Paul's Eschatology?
Was there a development in the eschatology of Paul? This article examines 2 Corinthians 5:1-10, highlighting three issues arising from the passage that are relevant for this discussion on the development in Paul's eschatological thought. First, the author reflects on Paul's personal relationship to the return of Christ. Next, it considers the time of the receipt of the spiritual body.
The Parousia in Modern Theology: Some Questions and Comments
The aim of this essay is to survey approaches to the parousia (return of Christ) in modern theology. It wants to describe and assess these modern approaches within their own proper theological and historical context. It is followed by the author's own approach to the subject, showing where he thinks he may draw fruitfully upon modern insights and where we must take warnings from modern misunderstandings.
The Return of Jesus in Our Experience of Faith
What Are You Waiting For?
This article summons many Scripture passages to show that our heart is to be wholly set on the hope of the return of Christ. It also illustrates this with an excerpt of a sermon by J.C. Ryle.
Did Jesus Stand Us Up?
Is there a second coming? The return of Christ is real, certain, and should bring encouragement to believers.
The Rapture
What will be the nature of the return of Christ and what will the rapture be like? This article addresses these questions, which are concerned with eschatology.
Triumph and Delay: The Interpretation of Revelation 19:11-20:10
This article considers the meaning and significance of Revelation 19:11-Revelation 20:10. It argues that the vision therein depicts the victory of Christ over Babylon. It is seen as the climax of the preceding vision, and should not be read as the start of a new section.
Making Sense of Revelation 20:1-10? Harold Hoehner versus Recapitulation
This article offers a critique of an essay Harold Hoehner wrote on Revelation 20:1-10. White argued that the text records a recapitulatory sequence of visions whose contents are related to the return of Christ in 20:7-10.
Making Sense of End Times Prophecy in the Bible
What does the Bible teach about the end times? Using key biblical texts, this article examines the teachings of preterism, dispensationalism, premillenialism, postmillenialism, and amillenialism. What does the Bible say about the return of Christ?
The Kingdom of God in the Teaching of Jesus
We do not find the expression "kingdom of God" in the Old Testament. The sovereign rule of God, however, is affirmed in various ways throughout the Old Testament. The royal rule of God is expressed in the kingdom of heaven. This essay reflects on how the presence of the kingdom functioned in the teaching of Jesus Christ and the future expectation of the kingdom in the return of Christ.
Heaven – Heaven in Paul's Letters
The focus in chapter 4 is Paul’s view of heaven. The author reflects upon the eschatological aspects of heaven, notably the final state of believers. He first notes the Old Testament background to Paul’s understanding of heaven, then the basic structure of Paul's thought, and finally a focus on the believer’s final, future state prior to and after the return of Christ.
Encountering God Together – The Gathering of God
What do people do when they gather for worship? What does it mean that worshippers gather as the people of God? Chapter 1 considers the fact that God is gathering a people for himself throughout history and that they meet for worship and to receive God’s blessing.
A Survey of the Doctrine of the Return of Christ in the Ante-Nicene Fathers
What did the early church believe about the second coming or return of Christ? This paper explores the views of the ante-Nicene fathers on this topic and touches upon the conditions of his return, the result of his return, personal preparation for his return, relationship to the first resurrection, tribulation, etc.
The Exaltation of Our Mediator
Eschatology and Social Concern
This paper reflects upon Christian social concern and action. Its focus is on the theme of eschatology and social concern. The author first deals with tensions in different views on eternal life and the return of Christ. He traces the apostle Paul's concern in Romans and 1 Corinthians regarding the correlation between eschatology and social involvement.
Second Coming of Christ
This is an entry in a theological dictionary on the return of Christ and the final judgment.
The Office in the Light of Christ’s Return
Romans 13:11 - A Few Days to Get Ready
When the Time Had Fully Come
Anytime Christianity
How then will we live?
World Calamaties
This article on the signs of the times before the return of Christ, is about world disasters. The author also discusses Matthew 24:6-8, disasters and our prayer, prosperity, and the antichrist.
Luke 17:26-30 - As in the Days of Noah
Anticipation
"From thence He shall come to judge the living and the dead"
'Until the Day Break...'
Soon to See Jesus
2 Peter 3:11-12 - The Advent of Christ
Concomitants of the Second Advent: The Final Judgment
The "Signs of the Times" (6): The Anti-Christ
The "Signs of the Times" (5): Apostasy
Concomitants of the Second Advent: The Resurrection of the Body
The "Signs of the Times" (4): Tribulation
The "Signs of the Times" (3): "And So All Israel Shall Be Saved"
The "Signs of the Times" (1)
Return of Christ: The Centerpiece of Biblical Expectation
The Return of Christ: An Event Whose Time No One Knows
Return of Christ: The Consummating Event at the End of the Age
1994?: Another Misguided Attempt to Date the Return of Our Lord
All the Angels Are Coming with Him
The glory of the return of Christ is portrayed in Matthew 25:31-33.