Throughout the Christian era, men and women have looked with alarm at the turbulent conditions of their day and found in them signs of the End and of the Second Coming of Christ. In every instance they have been either disappointed or elated, depending on their state of spiritual preparedness. Many Christians today are convinced that they are living in the Last Days and that the End is just over the horizon. Christ is about to return. Perhaps. Perhaps not. Christians disagree on the imminence and the particulars of the Second Coming.

I.

Before we go further, it may be helpful to summarize the major viewpoints on the subject.1

A. The a-millennia1 view. The classic view of the medievul church and the reformers. There is no literal millennium or reign of peace on the earth. The Second Comi…