The Return of Christ and Resurrection
As taught in the Methodist / Wesleyan tradition
The blessed hope of the physical return of Jesus and the bodily resurrection of the dead.
In the Methodist tradition, the doctrine of the Return of Christ and the Resurrection of the Dead is not merely a collection of data points regarding the "end times," but is the "Hope of Glory" that provides the necessary horizon for the life of holiness. While many contemporary theological movements have turned eschatology into a speculative timeline of political events or a cryptic puzzle to be solved, the Wesleyan perspective treats it as the ultimate "optimism of grace." The central question this subtopic answers within Methodism is: To what end is the work of God in the human soul directed? For the Methodist, the answer is not an ethereal, disembodied existence in a distant "heaven," but the total restoration of the person—body and soul—and the renewal of the entire created order through the visible return of Jesus Christ.
By the end of this lesson
- **Identify** the specific nuances of the Wesleyan "Optimism of Grace" as it pertains to the bodily resurrection and the renewal of creation.
- **Distinguish** between the Methodist view of the literal return of Christ and more metaphorical or strictly "spiritualized" interpretations common in modern liberal theology.
- **Explain** the relationship between the Methodist *Articles of Religion* (specifically Article III) and the historical creeds of the early Church.
- **Articulate** the connection between the doctrine of "Entire Sanctification" and the "Hope of Glory," showing how holiness in this life prepares the believer for the resurrection.
- **Trace** the biblical arguments for a physical resurrection as presented in 1 Corinthians 15 and 1 Thessalonians 4, using John Wesley’s *Explanatory Notes* as a guide.
- **Defend** the importance of the physical return of Christ against Gnostic or dualistic tendencies that devalue the material world.
- **Apply** the doctrine of the resurrection to the Methodist practice of "Social Holiness," demonstrating how the hope of the future motivates ethical action in the present.
- **Compare** the Methodist "Transformationalist" eschatology with other Protestant traditions, such as Dispensational Premillennialism or Amillennialism.
Scripture
The full lesson, its study guide and questions, and an AI tutor that answers from Scripture with citations are free with an account.