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Greek Orthodox Catechism
Constantine Callinicos, London, 1926
Part I. Dogmatical, 8. The Second Coming of Our Lord
Will our Lord come again on earth?
Our Lord will come again at the end of time to judge the world finally and to “render to every man according to his works” (Rom. ii. 6), and in accordance with the demands of a Higher Justice, which cannot indefinitely postpone the definite triumph of virtue and the total overthrow of evil; and about this Return of His to earth the seventh Article speaks. The Second Coming of our Saviour will differ from His First Coming; for that one was quiet and humble, whereas this will be glorious and awe-inspiring. At the First Coming He was born in a stable among the cattle; at the Second Coming He will appear seated on a lofty throne. Then He was followed by poor fishermen; now He will be escorted by angelic hosts. Then He was judged and condemned as the scapegoat which took away our sins; now He will judge and condemn those whose life has been a continuous revolt against the will of God.
On what basis will Christ judge the world?
On the basis of His Gospel. Whosoever has believed in it and has acted in accordance with its dictates, will sit up on the right hand of the Judge, whence he will enter into the enjoyment of Eternal Life: whosoever has not believed in the Gospel and has acted in opposition to its recommendations, will be seated upon His left hand, whence he will pass into the Eternal fire, which was originally prepared for the Devil. Faith in Christ without good works is not enough to save us. Good works by themselves are also not sufficient. Our salvation will be the outcome of a virtuous life permeated and sealed by the inestimable blood of the Only-begotten Son of God. “Neither is there any other name under heaven that is given among men wherein we must be saved.” (Acts iv. 12.)
And when will the Second Coming of our Lord take place?
No one really can tell. “Of that day and hour,” said Christ, “knoweth no one, but the Father only.” (Matt. xxiv. 36.) The day of the Lord will come suddenly, as comes the thief in the night, without warning. There are heretics like the Adventists or Chiliastae, who preach that they are in a position to know in which year Christ will come, when He will establish on earth a kingdom of a thousand years, during which He will eat and drink with them as being of His elect. These heretics, however, are condemned by their own past, in which they have often fixed the time of the Second Coming of our Lord,—their predictions having always proved false. More especially have they been condemned by the mouth of Christ Himself, Who declared in express terms that “it is not for you to know times or seasons, which the Father hath set within His own authority.” (Acts i. 7.)
What other solemn fact is connected with the Second Coming of our Lord?
The end of the world. As the dreadful Coming of our Lord will be the signal for the conclusion of human history, as at present constituted, when the Divine Clemency lets the tares grow together with the wheat, so also will it be the signal for the end of the present aspect of the material world; which will dissolve and disappear in a mighty flood or in a general conflagration, to be replaced at once by another and better world. “According to His promise,” teaches St. Peter, “we look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.” (2 iii. 13.)