The Second Coming of Christ

ANDERSON UNIVERSITY

The second coming of Christ: future event or dynamic for daily living

sCHOOL OF THEOLOGY

THST 6101 – constructive theology ii

BY

dAVID W. BAYLOR

aNDERSON, iNDIANA

April 2006

Copyright © 2006 by David W. Baylor

All rights reserved

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION 1

THE PURPOSE OF ESCHATOLOGICAL TEACHING 1

THE RETURN OF CHRIST: ESSENTIAL TRUTHS 3

WHAT KIND OF PEOPLE OUGHT WE TO BE?” 5

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY 7

INTRODUCTION

Throughout the history of the Church, sincere Christians have debated the fundamental truths of the faith. How is salvation achieved in the lives of individual believers? What role does the Holy Spirit have in the life of the Church? In keeping with this tradition of struggle over the truth, the Second Coming of Christ (SCC) has become a source of major discussion in recent times. While the SCC has been discussed ever since New Testament times, the current debate has its roots in the nineteenth century teaching of “J. N. Darby. . .popularized by C. I. Scofield in the Scofield Reference Bible.” When will Christ return? What will happen when He does? Even though the discussion may have begun over one hundred fifty years ago, its modern relevancy can be observed in books like the Left Behind series that has sold millions of copies. While such writing may be interesting and pleasurable to read, the question voiced by the writer of 2 Peter still remains, “Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be?” (2 Peter 3:11 NIV). How should the SCC impact our daily lives as we seek to be faithful to Christ? The following discussion will attempt to illuminate this issue.

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