The Second Advent

So, recently my daughter has been a little concerned about the Second Coming. Particularly, she's been concerned about some of the prophesied devastation and destruction that will precede the Second Coming. It's been an interesting conversation topic.

On one hand, I don't want her to disregard the prophesy. It's important that, as believers, we remain prepared for something we've been hoping for for generations. And in such preparation - both temporally and spiritually - we find satisfaction, joy, and comfort. These are all important and valuable things.

But on the other hand, the Second Coming is an event that we need not necessarily concern ourselves overmuch with. It's kind of like death - while we are alive, death does not exist for us, and when it does come to us, we are beyond caring about it, anyway. The Second Coming could be soon or in a very distant future, but death is inevitable for us all. Death could also be very soon or in a distant future, but (like the Second Coming) if we are prepared for it, there's nothing to fear in death. To paraphrase Albus Dumbledore, to the well-organized mind, death is just the next big adventure.

It seems to me that spiritual preparation, either for death or the Second Coming, is key to maintaining peace and comfort.

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