The Second Coming of Christ

Since a recent poll noted that 25% thought that the Second Coming would happen this year, I thought it might be interesting to bring in another viewpoint on what that Second Coming might mean.

"In titling this work The Second Coming of Christ, I am not referring to a literal return of Jesus to earth....A thousand Christs sent to earth would not redeem its people unless they themselves become Christlike by purifying and expanding their individual consciousness to receive therein the second coming of the Christ Consciousness, as was manifested in Jesus....Contact with this Consciousness, experienced in the ever new joy of meditation, will be the real second coming of Christ — and it will take place right in the devotee's own consciousness."
—Paramahansa Yogananda

http://www.yogananda-srf.org/scoc/scoc_frameset-des.html

No, I've not read the book, but I was struck by the quotation. What are your thoughts?

How is working on oneself via meditation another version of the redemption tale?

"Contact with this Consciousness, experienced in the ever new joy of meditation, will be the real second coming of Christ — and it will take place right in the devotee's own consciousness."

Don't get me wrong - I am all for meditation and redemption and I am not denigrating his message. It's just that there are many versions of redemption tales and many more paths to redemption.

My feeling is that we all have our own paths to follow - and redemption is something that we give ourselves through our own meditations.

takes place every minute of every day.

redemption and renewal are always on their way -- if we want them to be.

I can see how each meditation session can be viewed as a 2nd coming.

For the first thousand years "centering prayer" was an important part of one's prayer relationship with the Lord (and is indeed today still an important part to many Christians) - and centering prayer seems to me to be no different that meditation or "expanding .. individual consciousness". Youth groups (Episcopal Catholic, Roman Catholic and the Orthodox Catholic) in the mid-west in the 40's and 50's joined the adults and had multi-hour sessions on the weekend, inter-reputed once each hour by a 2 to 3 minute soft voice reading from the scripture.

That does not still seem to be going on - at least in the local parishes on the East Coast where I live, but that observation may be my fault as I am much less involved in any given parish, attending the services of many variations of the Christian faith, including Unitarian, over any given period.

The Methodist church where I was raised never did this sort of thing, though I wish they had. Hopefully someone is still doing this practice.

a single person arriving at a single point in history, although Moon is coming perilously close to fitting the prophesy. The Antichrist consists of every person who believes and acts counter to the message of peace, tolerance, generosity, and care for one's fellow human beings we find in so many of the Christian gospels. Antichrist comes and goes, as European history and now our present have demonstrated.

So it may be with second comings, people finally having enough negativity around them and refusing to play that game any longer.

Never underestimate the power of burnout.

Don't knock deep meditation until you've achieved it.

then this means that Bush is the AntiChrist and since it will be in this year - the seven year reign of the AntiChrist will come to an end.....O8)

Someone tried to sell books and gain followers by co-opting the story of Jesus.

Ho-hum.

pecting the Second Coming of Christ to be soon are the very ones who most "emphatically" shun His teachings, especially the Beatitudes. They are in for a rude awakening if and when their expectations "come to pass."

Besides this sounding like something out of a Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Epoch type movie (you know Lord of The Rings, Star Wars, Legend etc...) I think it attempts to speak wisdom to anyone awaiting the 'second coming of Christ' in whatever form that/or he may someday take. Christ said he was among other things 'The Truth' ....... and to the extent that mankind as a collective human race continues to close its eyes to the 'truth' going on around us, in our own physical world (the harm we do to one another)..... well here's Isaiah Ch 59

Behold, the LORD's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither is his ear heavy, that it cannot hear:
But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.
For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have spoken lies, your tongue hath muttered perverseness.
None calleth for justice, nor any pleadeth for truth: they trust in vanity, and speak lies; they conceive mischief, and bring forth iniquity.
They hatch cockatrice' eggs, and weave the spider's web: he that eateth of their eggs dieth, and that which is crushed breaketh out into a viper.
Their webs shall not become garments, neither shall they cover themselves with their works: their works are works of iniquity, and the act of violence is in their hands.
Their feet run to evil, and they make hast to shed innocent blood: their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity; wasting and destruction are in their paths.
The way of peace they know not; and there is no judgment in their goings: they have made them crooked paths: whosoever goeth therein shall not know peace.
Therefore is judgment far from us, neither doth justice overtake us: we wait for light, but behold obscurity; for brightness, but we walk in darkness.
We grope for the wall like the blind, and we grope as if we had no eyes: we stumble at noonday as in the night; we are in desolate places as dead men.
We roar all like bears, and mourn sore like doves: we look for judgment, but there is none; for salvation, but it is far off from us.
For our transgressions are multiplied before thee, and our sins testify against us: for our transgressions are with us; and as for our iniquities, we know them;
In transgressing and lying against the LORD, and departing away from our God, speaking oppression and revolt, conceiving and uttering from the heart words of falsehood.
And judgment is turned away backward, and justice standeth afar off: for truth is fallen in the street, and equity cannot enter.
Yea, truth faileth; and he that departeth from evil maketh himself a prey: and the LORD saw it, and it displeased him that there was no judgment.
And he saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor: therefore his arm brought salvation unto him; and his righteousness, it sustained him.
For he put on righteousness as a breastplate, and an helmet of salvation upon his head; and he put on the garments of vengeance for clothing, and was clad with zeal as a cloke.
According to their deeds, accordingly he will repay, fury to his adversaries, recompence to his enemies; to the islands he will repay recompence.
So shall they fear the name of the LORD from the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun. When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the LORD shall lift up a standard against him.
And the Redeemer shall come to Zion, and unto them that turn from transgression in Jacob, saith the LORD.
As for me, this is my covenant with them, saith the LORD; My spirit that is upon thee, and my words which I have put in thy mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed, nor out of the mouth of thy seed's seed, saith the LORD, from henceforth and for ever.

end.


note: I especially like to send this to any Right Wing Christians in political discourse (war mongering/or unjust treatment of others in any way etc... etc... I don't think we need to tell the people on DU too much about 'righteousness' 'justice' etc... etc..., in my observation most in here attempt live it in "TRUTH" .... Peace, and thank's for allowing me to think about these things again for a bit today. Just another take for your thread. Happy New Year!

...are wrong.

and I rather like the quote-- it fits in a bit with my view of Revelation.

I side with those who look at Revelation as an extended metaphor for the presumed spread of Christianity through the ancient world as a new form of spirituality. The "second coming" was not to be a physical appearance, but the acceptance and spread of the church.

Fat chance we'll see mass acceptance of all that peace and love stuff any time soon, though.

The prophesied message from the Spirit of truth will spark a new revival of the universal peace and love movement.

That message has been delivered by the "son of man who is first rejected by his generation," as Jesus prophesied. That son of man is also called the "witness and servant of God" and the messenger for the "Spirit of truth," which Jesus said would "issue judgment, guide us unto truth, show us things to come, and glorify the Christ in heaven."

The message reveals that the "second-coming" idea is a myth, and it explains real prophecies -- as opposed to symbolic prophecies that weren't meant to be taken literally.

http://realprophecyunveiled.netfirms.com

Autobiography of a Yogi is another of Yogananda's books. I recommend it.

However, if you want to read a unique and fascinating take on who will really fulfill Judeo-Christian prophecy, check this out.

http://realprophecyunveiled.netfirms.com/Web_Site_Curre/The_One_To_Cox.html

It's a page on this site: http://realprophecyunveiled.netfirms.com

will not be literal, but only in our consciousness?

Actually, Jesus did not say he would come again. Rather, he said he had to "go away" and "not be seen again," but "the Spirit of truth shall come to guide you unto truth and show you things to come." See the page on the web site I referred to, called The One to Come.