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Second Coming

17 Episodes

The Second Coming is the expected return of Jesus in Christian eschatology, often tied to judgment, resurrection, tribulation, and the kingdom of God. It functions less as a single clear biblical event than as a composite doctrine assembled from multiple texts and interpreted in sharply different ways.

Why this topic matters

Second Coming comes up on the show as a way into larger debates about prophecy, apocalyptic expectation, and how readers stitch together Daniel, the Gospels, Paul, and Revelation into one future timetable. The recurring argument is that the doctrine people often treat as straightforward is actually produced by negotiation among texts that do not line up neatly, especially once failed first-century expectations are taken seriously.

The topic also matters because it shapes present-day behavior. Episodes tied to this topic connect Second Coming belief to anxiety, speculative end-times culture, and political uses of scripture, including the tendency to interpret wars, pandemics, or nationalism as signs that history is reaching its climax.

Where to start

Start here for the best in-depth listening on Second Coming: featured segments, featured episodes, and the episode with the most mentions.

Quotes from the Data

“The idea here is that this second coming, Jesus's kingdom arriving on earth, will happen within the first generation of followers of Jesus.”

Dan McClellan Episode 32

“We've talked in the past about how the Olivet Discourse makes it sound like the second coming is going to happen immediately after the events that are being described. And the events that are being described sound an awful lot like what happened around the year 70 CE when Rome had been laying siege to Judea for a while and, and destroyed Jerusalem, destroyed the temple in Jerusalem, ran off the Jewish rebels.”

Dan McClellan Episode 119

“Usually the Second Coming is what ushers in that millennium where we have a thousand years of peace and Jesus reigning on the earth.”

Dan McClellan Episode 71

“And, and there's a legend within Mormonism that everybody's going to gather there for the apocalypse, the second coming and all that. So it seems like it was kind of in the air.”

Dan McClellan Episode 107

Top episodes

Ranked by mentions of Second Coming across the transcript. Start with the top mention above, then keep going here.

All episodes

Every episode currently tagged with Second Coming.