Introduction

  1.	There are great masses of us who believe that the
	most powerful influence in the history of mankind
	has been, is now, and forever shall be Christianity.

  2.	And among the most powerful influences of Christianity
	has been, and still is, the expectation of the Second
	Coming of Christ.

  3.	An exceedingly-wide range of opinions regarding the
	manner, meaning, and time of Christ's Second Advent
	has always hovered over the Christian faith and the
	Christian church.

  4.	Generally stated, there are two broad fields of
	teachings:

	  (1)	Some teach that Christ's Second Coming
		happened when the Holy Spirit descended
		upon the believers immediately after the
		resurrection and ascension of Jesus, and
		that the Second Coming is only a spiritual
		experience which is repeated in the lives
		of successive generations of believers.

	  (2)	Others believe and teach that the personal
		and bodily and visible return of Christ has
		not yet occurred, but could do so at any
		moment.

  5.	Many of the words and repetitive phrases that we
	use to explain this beloved doctrine are not found
	in the Bible.

  6.	Such as:

	  (1)	"The Return of Christ." (Not found in the Bible.)

	  (2)	"The Second Advent." (Not found in the Bible.)

	  (3)	"The Second Coming." (Not found in the Bible.)
		Justin 	Martyr, who was born in 100 and died
		in 165, and who wrote his Apology about 150,
		was the first to use the phrase, "The Second
		Coming," to describe the promised return of
		Christ.)

	  (4)	"Eschatology."  (Not found in the Bible.)
		("Eschatology" has been in use only since the
		mid-19th century, but the concept is as old
		as the patriarchal belief that God had chosen
		his people and was guarding and guiding them
		toward immortality and eternity.)

  7.	Under the claims of mystical visions, special revela-
	tions, and authoritative interpretations, we have had
	almost 2000 years of proclamations, predictions, and
	date-settings regarding the Second Coming of Christ.

  8.	This simple study is not about the what-and-when-and-
	where-and-why-and-how elements of the doctrine of the
	Second Coming, but, rather, about the history of the
	doctrine.