Heaven on Earth: Quakers and the Second Coming

by Douglas Gwyn, Ben Pink Dandelion (With), Timothy Peat (With)

Central to the faith of early Friends was the present sense of the Second Coming of Christ and the bringing of heaven on earth. Friends around the world may still be able to unite around this vision of a transformed society but how and when heaven will be fully realized are questions which have underpinned three centuries of change and division. This book looks again at the letters of Paul, the experience of early Friends, and the history of Quakerism through the lens of the Second Coming and draws radical new connections which the authors believe have the potential to give Friend and others a clarity about the Quaker tradition and the power to offer a key component in the revitalisation of Quaker faith.

288 pages, Paperback

Published July 13, 2018

Reviews

[Mike Beranek · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'd give this five stars if it had more pages of close cogent writing. Nevertheless this lightweight volume is anything but so in content - with research and some really stirring ideas on the topic by three great British Quakers. The perspective of the early Christian church towards the end times is out next to Puritan and early Quaker eschatology to great effect. The next is a leap into the what this might mean for the current time in terms of salvation history. There was less in this but maybe that is for your discernment. To a Quaker this is really interesting as the thrust of the argument is a quiet critique saying that church sacraments like communion are ways of passing the 'meantime' that has been assumed as required before the final return of the Annointed, but that this waiting... is not required, at least not like waiting for a bus. The expectancy and fervour of the bold churches of Paul's travels is mirrored in early Quaker present-apocalypse belief ... the way time itself seemed to be falling out of the sky to religious seekers in the era of the aftermath of the English civil war. The obvious conclusion of this biblical, historical, spiritual and indeed sociological work is it seems to me is that to consider Christ to have already 'returned' to all intents and purposes - to the witnesses of his resurrection. We are in a further and final stage of the unveiling already. Be wary! Love it.