Second Thoughts about the Second Coming: Understanding the End Times, Our Future, and Christian Hope

Various ideas float around about the subject of last things, leading many Christians to conclude that they don’t know what to think about the subject. Yet at the core of the Christian doctrine of last things lies two simple and complementary hopes: that God ever and always offers hope for our individual futures and for the future of the whole world.

In this helpful book, Allen and Cornwall explain how we don’t have to subscribe to sensationalist theories or sketchy interpretations to believe in Christian hope. They walk the reader through the central biblical teachings on last things and then show the ways the church has interpreted those teachings throughout the centuries. In a respectful way, the authors demonstrate that end-time beliefs centered on the Rapture came into existence only recently, and they then offer several more life-affirming, contemporary interpretations as alternatives.

The book includes a study guide and web-based appendixes designed to help pastors develop both topical and lectionary-based sermon series on Christian hope.

Ronald J. Allen is Professor Emeritus of Preaching and Gospels and Letters at Christian Theological Seminary in Indianapolis, Indiana. He has written or edited more than forty books, including A Faith of Your Own: Naming What You Really Believe.

Robert D. Cornwall is a Minister-at-Large for the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), theologian, ecumenical and interfaith leader, police chaplain, and author. He has written numerous books and articles, including Called to Bless: Finding Hope by Reclaiming Our Spiritual Roots. He serves as the editor of Sharing the Practice (the journal of the Academy of Parish Clergy).