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Issue 61 : A History of the Second Coming

Originally published in 1999

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Table of Contents

A History of the Second Coming: Did You Know? - Hall of Infamy

Hall of Antichrists: Nine (of many) who were thought to be forbearers of the End
A History of the Second Coming: From the Editor - Sliver in a Forest

Mark Galli
Historic Premillennialism: Taking the Long View

Most early Christian thinkers weren't troubled by the delay of Jesus' return. They were troubled by those who thought he was coming soon.

Dana Netherton
Amillennialism: Millennium Today

Augustine changed his mind—and that of the church in the West for the Next 1,500 years.

David Wright
Medieval Apocalypticism: Looking for the Last Emperor

The late Middle Ages was no tranquil era of religious harmony, but a hotbed of dissent and extreme speculation.

E. Randolph Daniel
Columbus's Millennial Voyage

The famous explorer was driven across the Atlantic by more than a quest for gold and glory.
Reformation Amillennialism: Salvation Now, Salvation Forever

Luther and Calvin challenged the Catholic church on many key teachings—but not on the doctrine of last things.

John R. Franke
Reformation Apocalypticism: Münster's Monster

What began as prophetic fervor ended in dictatorship and blood.

Robert L. Wise
American Postmillennialism: Seeing the Glory

American Christians like Jonathan Edwards were optimistic about the end.

Steven R. Pointer
American Adventism: The Great Disappointment

When a New York farmer announced the date of Christ's return, thousands believed him.

Bruce L. Shelley
Dispensational Premillennialism: The Dispensationalist Era

How a once-mocked idea began its domination of the evangelical world.

Timothy Weber
Pentecostal Millennialism: The Second Comers

At first, the gift of tongues meant one thing: Jesus was returning soon.

Vinson Synan
Recent Premillennialism: Late Great Predictions

The events of recent decades have fired the imagination of a host of premillennialist, especially Hal Lindsey.

Robert G. Clouse
Judgment Day on the Big Screen

The end of the world according to filmmakers.

Peter T. Chattaway
A History of the Second Coming: Christian History Interview - Hope Beyond the Details

Christians have hardly agreed about how and when Christ will return—only that he will.

Richard Kyle

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Today in Christian History

March 25, 1625: England's King James I dies. In 1604, at the Hampton Court Conference, James authorized the translation project that produced the 1611 King James (Authorized) Version of the Bible (see issue 43: How We Got Our Bible).

March 25, 1797: Social reformer John Winebrenner, founder of the Church of God (now known as the Churches of God, General Conference), is born in Maryland.

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Issue 61 : A History of the Second Coming

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