Does Anyone Believe Jesus Will Return to Earth?

I do --don't know when, but I think He will come back again.

What do you think?

How would you recognize him?
I don't think he would look anything like the pictures portraying him.
If you are a believer, he is already with you and there's no need to wait for him to return in human form.

Alice,

It's a complicated question. The concept means so many different things to different people.

In one sense, I believe that the individual who is the subject of the Biblical New Testament has already returned.

According to Acts, something profound happened on what we have come to call the Day of Pentecost.

Some people believe that at that time, a new consciousness became available to humans - a sense of an immanent Power (a Holy Spirit?), as opposed to an Incarnate one (God as Man ie Jesus the Christ), and that both of those concepts are connected to a Transcendent Power (Yahweh, Father, "in Heaven"). Many belive they form an inseparable Trinity ( God as Transcendent Fater, Incarnate Son, and Immanent Holy Spirit.)

Personally, I believe that the God of Christians, Jews, and Muslims is One Absolute Power, Ultimate, Universal Force, and that there are as many perspectives of this Force as there are people.

One way of saying it would be that, at least from the Day of Pentecost, humans have had access to an Immanent Power that is more commonly known as Holy Spirit, and if I were to take the scriptures in a literal sense, I would say that this was when "Jesus returned," and all we need to do is recognize that. I believe that the purpose of the life and teachings of the individual we know as Jesus was to open people's hearts and minds to the possibility of this immanent spirit - to replace the concept of justice or law (eye for eye) to one of mercy (based on loving ones fellow humans)

On the other hand, it is being said in many circles today, that we are on the verge of reaching a critical mass of people who are widening their worldviews to include the belief systems, not only of Judeo/Christian/Muslim traditions, but Hindu, Buddhist, and many others as well. When (or if) this happens, we might "shift" into a new paradigm that focuses more on connectedness and cooperation rather than individualism and competition. I, at least for now, think that the concept of Jesus returning to Earth is a symbol for this shift in consciousness.

Maybe.

Ann

The first question one has to ask is: Do you believe in Jesus?

I believe that the Christ spirit is present within all humankind and that in my religious dogma, we call it the "Christ spirit;" yet it is truly the universal God or Creator that is truly the spiritual source of all things. Therefore, other people may see that spirit within through their own religious leaders and fables that accompany each religion.

Therefore, I don't see Him coming again since his spirit is already here and his organic self long gone to dust.

I think just as the world comes to an end every day for someone, each of us has the potential to be reborn each minute of every day in the knowledge of the spirit within us and the power to live a better existence for the benefit of all humankind.

How about the resurrection? Every funeral looks forward to it.

In my belief, the Christ spirit is eternal. The funeral celebrates the spirit leaving the organic body for its next experience, whatever that might be. Just as a child is born from the comfortable womb into an inhospitable world, the spirit is reborn into another experience after the death of its organic, former dwelling place.

I fear death in that I believe the organic body simply goes to sleep and does not wake up. It's over. The end. Whatever experiences I have had in this life may be part of that spirit that continues its eternal existence, but my consciousness to that fact is organic and, therefore, over.

I envy those who believe they will be reunited with loved ones in heaven or start a new life experience reincarnated or meeting in a "next life." This earth is all the heaven or hell I will know. It's possible there are other dimensions that are beyond my present comprehension, but it's pretty clear to me that when the cremation is done, the spirit has long before moved on.

The brain is organic, thus all the thought processes die when the brain activity is done. Sleep - without awakening - without dreams.

I think we are more than our physical bodies, and that the eternal part of us does have some sense of continuity beyond just returning to the Whole and dissolving into it.

But I don't know if that is correct. I figure it is probably best to live this life as though it were all that is - without any fear of hell or expectation of Heaven. My feeling is that the reason we don't recall any prior existence is just that. This life is to be experienced for what it is, for the experiences it gives us.

Maybe it is all there is.

One of my favorite books, the one that has most turned me on to the belief that we are all here for a reason and came with a purpose to fulfill, is a little book by Richard Bach called Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah.

One of the most shocking things I read in it came almost at the end:

Quote :

Everything in this book may be wrong.

We don't really have the answers, we only have guesses, or as T. S. Eliot said,

Quote :

Hints followed by guesses; and the rest
Is prayer, observance, discipline, thought and action.
The hint half guessed, the gift half understood is Incarnation.

Here the impossible union
Of spheres of existence is actual,
Here the past and future
Are conquered and reconciled

from "The Dry Salvages" in Four Quartets

And maybe our purpose is not anything concrete, but closer to what he wrote a bit farther on in the same book, in "Little Gidding"

Quote :

You are not here to verify,
Instruct yourself, or inform curiosity
Or carry report. You are here to kneel
Where prayer has been valid.

And near the end of the same book:

Quote :

We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time.

I someone were to tell me that I would spend the rest of my life alone on a desert island, and that I could only have three books as companions, I would choose the two quoted above and a volume of The Complete Works of William Shakespeare.

Ann

I would want a copy of the Bible, The Complete Works of shakespeare and I'm not certain about the third...I think I would want more than three books :-) I hope the literalists forgive me, but I find the Bible a fascinating historical work, full of poetry, fable, metaphor, parables and stories enough to enjoy in many ways for a very long time. It's also a book of comfort from early childhood conditioning and memorized passages.

I once read the Koran from cover the cover. Absolutely fascinating. I also read the Bible from cover to cover.

I am in the minoriiy here, but that is okay.
I believe in the Trinity. I am looking forward to the Second coming of Jesus and the resurrection of my loved ones.

I accept that Jesus died to save me. If I am wrong, so be it--I will never know it.
It is very comforting and I like it.

The beauty of life is that no one knows for certain - you may be as right as anyone. Somehow, a belief that is held strongly seems to be right for the believer unless it is a harmful one. I have often thought it would be comforting to still hold the beliefs of my youth. As a teenager, I had a strong, fundamentalist belief structure. It has changed over the years.

alice wrote:

I am in the minoriiy here, but that is okay.
I believe in the Trinity. I am looking forward to the Ssecond coming of Jesus and the resurrection of my loved ones.

I accept that Jesus died to save me. If I am wrong, so be it--I will never know it.
It is very comforting and I like it.

Nah, I think having a connection to the Infinite is a good thing, whether that comes through Christianity, Islam or the many deities of Hindu.

Zizban,

I agree with you!

Alice, I do not think you are wrong. I think it is kind of like that old tale of the blind wise men and the elephant. Each of them is correct, based on their personal experience of elephant.

I've always found this diagram helpful:



Each of the shadow images is perfectly correct, from the perspective of the light source.

Of course, these examples are oversimplification, because we could eventually come to know all about elephants and cones and spheres and cylinders, but God is far too vast a concept for us to ever completely grasp.

But if we can reach the point where we can see that the perspective of another faith might simply be a different way of looking at an unknowable whole, we wouldn't have to go to war over which point of view was correct.

I do not mind saying that I am a Christian. I have no desire to become a Buddhist. I just think that there is a possibility that the Buddhist is just someone with a different light source from mine.

When the first woman bishop to head the Episcopal Church US, Katherine Jefferts-Schori, was asked a similar question, she answered (this is from memory, it's been several years since I last read it. "We of the Episcopal Church US see the Christ as our pathway to the Divine, but to believe that ours is the only way would be to put God in a very small box."

Once again, I believe that we are on the verge of a completely new paradigm, where God and spirituality will become a more personal way for us to live our lives. That may very well mean that Jesus returns.

Here is another bit that our old rector once said in answer to a parishioner's question concerning resurrection, and whether it was something ongoing or would only occur when Christ returned. He replied that the question was moot, because we know from Einstein that time is relative - that eternity is not a matter of an endless stretch of time, but of the absence of time altogether. So, from the perspective of those who have died, there is no difference.

Ann

Ann,

How beautiful!

I have no time for religious arguments or wars.
It is all very personal.

I am glad to be a Christian but know God has a way to save those who have not heard.

He is "The light that lighteth all who ccme into the world."

Discussions about God and religion are fascinating. It can bring out the best and worst in people. What I see as a common thread is that people want to believe in something. Why am I here? Where did I come from? What will happen to me when I die? There are some good theories that provide insights, but not concrete answers. I feel that my beliefs are closest to those of DK and Ann, and that is based on their posts. Seeking a belief system that satisfies is not easy. Doubts will remain, hopes become centered on faith. Believing that there is an almighty power, regardless of form, gives us spirituality. Doctrines are the problem, in my view. Knowing that we are all part of the universe, part of a common thread, all connected, with access to unlimited power, is awesome to consider.

Religion can only be a help if it is what an individual believes and is not forced on him/her by others.

I can feel something is right and good and others may not agree.
That is how it should be.

Latest JC widget massage:

Quote :

This is an essential experience of any mystical realization. You die to your flesh & are born into your spirit. You identify with the consciousness & life of which your body is but the vehicle. You die to the vehicle & become indentified in your consciousness with that of which the vehicle is but the carrier. That is the God ... Behind all these manifestations is the one radiance, which shines through all things.

Joseph Campbell The Power of Myth

Ann

Beautiful thought, Ann.

I can only speak for myself.

I am selfish. I want to see some people again. I want to see my parents. My poor mother--I never really knew, because of her destructive brain surgery.

She believed in God. She did her best. I am curious about a lot of things.

I don`t believe that. I believe in a higher power, god - or whatever. But I don`t think that Jesus will come back. Also not Buddha or Mohammed or anyone else of the great founders of the world religions.

I feel that Christ energy will return to the world again but it may not be Earth it may be a spiritual world . I feel the Earth will not be about for much longer and if we look at the evil and wrong that is going on would it surprise any of us if the world ended? I am from a spiritual faith and so the soul is the main part of any of us and that is why I believe we will live on and Christ will return but in a spiritual world not a Earthly one. I feel it is time that the pain and suffering in this world came to an end and many faiths see this and believe it will happen on this Earth but I believe it will happen in a spiritual way with our true self which is a spirit body.

I don't follow any of the above comments; If you can't prove what you believe, why would you follow yourself...you can't all be right now can you? It seems like many people think they choose, or reject God...not so. Here is what Jesus said in John 6: 65

""No man can come to me unless it is granted him by the father."

In simple terms, “God chooses who he wants…we can’t choose him.” Anyone can believe what they want, have any feelings about how they think it is, or should be, and no one is out to change you.
I was talking to two Muslims this past week. They told me what many in other religions have told me..."If you believe in God, you will be saved."
I gave my stock answer; "Satan believes in God...he has even seen him. I guess he is saved."

Can you prove that there is a Satan?

If I proved the Bible is true, and prove the changes in it can be corrected, would that prove there is a satan? (The name satan means rebel.) If you reply yes, how much writing time would you give me?