Second Coming

The Second Coming (sometimes called the Second Advent or the Parousia) is the Christian belief that Jesus Christ will return to Earth after his ascension to Heaven (which is said to have occurred about two thousand years ago). The idea is based on messianic prophecies and is part of most Christian eschatologies. Other faiths have various interpretations of it.

For other uses, see Second Coming (disambiguation).

"This generation" refers to Jesus's contemporaries who would witness "all these things" [πάντα ταῦτα] as outlined in verses 4–31, including Jesus' second coming (Davies & Allison 1997: 367–368; Hare 1993: 281; Maddox 1982: 111–115). Because Jesus' contemporaries did not witness his second coming, some contend that Jesus erred in his predictions (Luz 2005: 209; cf. Schweitzer 1910: 356–364).

"This generation" refers to Jesus's contemporaries who would witness "all these things" as outlined in verses 4–22 or 4–28, pointing to the destruction of the temple in 70 CE and everything leading up to it. Jesus' second coming (vv. 29–31) is thus excluded from "all these things" (Blomberg 1992: 364; Carson 1984: 507; France 2007: 930; Hagner 1995: 715).

"This generation" points to the Ἰουδαῖοι [Jews or Judaeans], implying that they as a race would last until the Parousia (Hendriksen 1973: 868–869; Schweizer 1976: 458).

In opinion, "this generation" points to the church against which the gates of Hades would not prevail (cf. Chrysostom, Hom. Matt. 77:1; Eusebius, Frag. in Lc. ad loc).

patristic

'This generation' points to some future generation, from Matthew's perspective, that sees "all these things" (Bock 1996: 538–539; Conzelmann 1982: 105).

The words "take place" or "have happened" [γένηται] are interpreted as an ingressive : "to begin" or "to have a beginning". In other words, "all these things" would start to happen in the generation of Jesus' present disciples, but would not necessarily finish in their time (Cranfield 1954: 291; Talbert 2010: 270).

aorist

"This generation" points to a certain kind of people in accordance with the pejorative connotations to "generation" [γενεά] elsewhere in the gospel (Morris 1992: 613; Nelson 1996: 385; Rieske 2008: 225; see, e.g., Mt 11:16; 12:39, 41–42, 45; 16:4; 17:17; 23:36). While DeBruyn (2010: 190) and Lenski (1943: 953) interpret the expression in a similar way, they connect "this generation" to a certain kind of people from the Ἰουδαῖοι who resisted Jesus (cf. view 3 discussed earlier).

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Rastafari[edit]

In the early developments of the Rastafari religion, Haile Selassie (the Ethiopian Emperor) was regarded as a member of the House of David, is worshipped as God incarnate,^[103] and is thought to be the "black Jesus" and "black messiah" – the second coming of Christ.^[104] It was claimed that Marcus Garvey preached the coming of the black messiah on the eve of Selassie's coronation. Due to this prophecy, Selassie was the source of inspiration of the poor and uneducated Christian populations of Jamaica, who believed that the Emperor would liberate the black people from the subjugation of European colonists.^[105]

– 1988 film starring Demi Moore about a pregnant lady who discovers the Second Coming of Christ has rented a room from her, in order to begin the countdown that will trigger the Apocalypse.

The Seventh Sign

– Film- and book-franchise (1995– ) built by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins based on the time-period before, during and after the Second Coming of Christ.

Left Behind

– 1999 action-adventure film starring Arnold Schwarzenegger about a policeman who must stop Satan before he ends the world.

End of Days

Thief In the Night by – The popular TV and radio personality plays the role of a detective in writing a book about identifying the clues and symbols from the Biblical prophecies of the return of the Christ that have been overlooked or misunderstood, and settles on a shocking conclusion (2002) [1961]. Oxford, UK: George Ronald. ISBN 0-85398-008-X.

William Bernard Sears

SCARS: Christian Fiction End-Times Thriller by Patience Prence – 2010 novel about a girl named Becky who struggles through the time of the .^[108]

Great Tribulation

At the End of All Things by Stony Graves – 2011 novel about the days following the , and right before the Final War between God and Satan.^[109]

Rapture

The Second Coming: A Love Story by – 2014 novel about two men who claim to be the Second Coming of Christ. Each claims that the other is a liar – but only one is telling the truth.^[110]

Scott Pinsker

– Adult Swim television series (2014-2015 and 2019) created by Aaron McGruder and Mike Clattenburg, tells the story of Jesus living in modern-day Compton, California, and his efforts to spread love and kindness on a daily basis. He is supported in his mission by a small-but-loyal group of downtrodden followers, while facing conflicts involving corrupt preachers, ethnic tensions, and the hate spreading activities of the manager of his apartment complex.

Black Jesus

"" – TV Series and book franchise. The Second Coming is the focus of the third and final season.

Good Omens

Jesus Christ returning to earth has been a theme in several movies and books, for example:

False prophet

Inaugurated eschatology

List of messiah claimants

List of people claimed to be Jesus

Life of Jesus in the New Testament

Mahdi

Realized eschatology

by William Butler Yeats

"The Second Coming" (poem)

. (1960). The World's Last Night and Other Essays. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. ISBN 0-15-698360-5.

C. S. Lewis

. How Shall We Know Christ at His Coming?, May 1913 (stenographic report of a lecture, Los Angeles, California), ISBN 0-911274-64-2.

Max Heindel

. Grundinformation Eschatologie. Systematische Theologie aus der Perspektive der Hoffnung, Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 2007, ISBN 978-3-525-03619-8, pp. 221–241.

Markus Mühling

. The Parousia, A Careful Look at the New Testament Doctrine of the Lord's Second Coming, London, England 1887.

James Stuart Russell

. The Consummation of the Age; the Coming of the Lord; and the New Heaven and New Church, Chapter 14 in The True Christian Religion Containing the Universal Theology of The New Church Foretold by the Lord in Daniel 7; 13, 14; and in Revelation 21; 1, 2 (Swedenborg Foundation 1952).

Emanuel Swedenborg

. The New Jerusalem Bible (1990). Doubleday. ISBN 0-385-14264-1.

Henry Wansbrough

. The Second Coming of Christ: The Resurrection of the Christ Within You. Self-Realization Fellowship, 2004. ISBN 978-0876125557.

Paramahansa Yogananda

delivered by Cyril of Jerusalem in the mid-4th century.

"Lecture XV: On the Clause, And Shall Come in Glory to Judge the Quick and the Dead; Of Whose Kingdom There Shall Be No End."

a summary article.

"The Second Coming"

.