Christ Jesus gave mankind a vivid picture of the coming of the "last times" on earth: "Nation shall rise against nation, . . . and great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences . . . . And upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; . . . men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth." Luke 21:10, 11,25, 26.
In every age of great turmoil and calamity, Christians have remembered this prophecy and wondered, "Are these the signs of the 'last times'? Do these troubles herald Jesus' second coming?" The culminating sign that Christians look for was stated by Jesus himself: "And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory." V. 27.
This prophecy usually receives a literal, material interpretation. And so by looking for a second appearing of the personal, fleshly Jesus, Christendom has largely missed or misunderstood the real second appearing, which Christian Science explains is spiritual. "The second appearing of Jesus is, unquestionably, the spiritual advent of the advancing idea of God, as in Christian Science," Retrospection and Introspection, p. 70. writes Mrs. Eddy.
