The Second Coming

As far as early churches go, the Thessalonian church had a lot of faith in Christ; their grasp of his teachings - well, not so much. Paul wrote his first letter to them partly to clear up some of the misconceptions and myths surrounding Christ's imminent return. The Thessalonians were firstly unsure of when the return would come, and secondly they were anxious about what happened to believers that had already passed away; would they see them again? Paul attempts to answer these questions in a string of analogies. He begins with life after death, explaining that individuals who have died but believed will live forever when Jesus comes back, but are currently "asleep" and are saved until that day. This is a confusing passage for us, and it has spawned a good spread of different interpretations of its meaning. It is without a shadow of a doubt meant, however, to give hope to those who might doubt about eternal life, and calm mourning over the deaths of loved ones. Next addressing the time of the second coming, or as Paul puts it, the "Day of the Lord", Paul is very clear: No one knows or can know when the time will come. We can't even throw out an educated guess; we just have to be prepared for whenever it may come - and indeed, it is coming.

In our world today, the theme of Christ's return is actually all over. Post-apocalyptic genres of fiction root from the idea of God's judgement on the earth in coming times, and our culture is currently obsessed with these things. As Christians, understanding how the second coming will work can provide helpful insight into the motives behind the thrill of dystopian survival. Despite the wide variety of views regarding the true apocalypse within our own faith, I believe the core motivation of Paul's writings regarding it are still immensely relevant and useful: give hope to those who doubt. In a world swept up in the uncertainties of the future, it's nice to know that we Christians hold the truth, and can make use of it until the second coming actually arrives.

Until then, though, watch out for the alien apocalypse...