ESCHATOLOGICAL DOCTRINES THAT SUSTAIN THE CHURCH
1. We believe in the second advent of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The most faithful testimony that Christ will come again is the one that He himself stated by virtue of His words when He declared to the High priest, “Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven” Matthew 26: 64.
“Jesus saith unto him, Thou hast said: nevertheless I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven” Matthew 26: 64.
These words agree with the words expressed by the angels to His disciples when He ascended to heaven. “this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.”
“Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven” Acts 1:11.
“And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also” John 14:3.
We believe that Christ will come for the second time and His second coming will be personal, visible and glorious. His coming will not be for the eyes of faith for it will be seen by all who wait for salvation, in heaven as well as earth. The fulfillment of this glorious event is the main principle of our desires. The glorious hope of the believer in Christ Jesus.
“Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.” Revelation 1:7.
“So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation” Hebrews 9:28.
“Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ” Titus 2:13.
“Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain. Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh” James 5: 7-8.
2. We believe the Church will be raised.
“Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed” 1 Corinthians 15: 51-52.
“ ...and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord”
“But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord” 1 Thessalonians 4: 13-17.
“Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left” Matthew 24: 40-41.
3. We believe that all the redeemed will live with God forever.
Heaven is the place where all those redeemed with the blood of Jesus Christ will live for all eternity before the presence of our blessed Savior.
“If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honour” john 12:26.
“Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world” John 17:24.
“For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better” Phillipians 1:23.
“For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself” Phillippians 3: 20-21.
4. We believe in the reestablishment of the people of Israel.
God has commitments with these people that he will fulfill in the future, once the preaching of the gospel of Christ is concluded and the words of redemption have reached the last corners of the world, the voice of redemption by the expiatory sacrifice of Jesus, after the Church is raised, God will bring the seed of Israel from all the confines of the earth to fulfill the promises made to them and establish their kingdom where Christ, who is the seed of David, will encircle the crown of a kingdom of peace and He will be the King and Lord of all the earth.
“And therefore will the Lord wait, that he may be gracious unto you, and therefore will he be exalted, that he may have mercy upon you: for the Lord is a God of judgment: blessed are all they that wait for him. For the people shall dwell in Zion at Jerusalem: thou shalt weep no more: he will be very gracious unto thee at the voice of thy cry; when he shall hear it, he will answer thee” Isaiah 30: 18-19
“And I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all countries whither I have driven them, and will bring them again to their folds; and they shall be fruitful and increase. And I will set up shepherds over them which shall feed them: and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall they be lacking, saith the Lord. Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, The Lord Our Righteousness. Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that they shall no more say, The Lord liveth, which brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt; But, The Lord liveth, which brought up and which led the seed of the house of Israel out of the north country, and from all countries whither I had driven them; and they shall dwell in their own land” Jeremiah 23: 3-8.
For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob” Romans 11: 25-26.
And he will destroy in this mountain the face of the covering cast over all people, and the vail that is spread over all nations. He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the Lord hath spoken it. And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us: this is the Lord; we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation” Isaiah 25: 7-9.
5. We believe that the “keeping of the Sabbath” was and still is a sign between God and the children of Israel.
God gave them this specific sign, keeping of the Sabbath, sanctifying them from among the other peoples of the earth.
“Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, verily my sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the Lord that doth sanctify you. Ye shall keep the sabbath therefore; for it is holy unto you: every one that defileth it shall surely be put to death: for whosoever doeth any work therein, that soul shall be cut off from among his people. Six days may work be done; but in the seventh is the sabbath of rest, holy to the Lord: whosoever doeth any work in the sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death. Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant” Exodus 31: 13-16.
“Moreover also I gave them my sabbaths, to be a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am the Lord that sanctify them. But the house of Israel rebelled against me in the wilderness: they walked not in my statutes, and they despised my judgments, which if a man do, he shall even live in them; and my sabbaths they greatly polluted: then I said, I would pour out my fury upon them in the wilderness, to consume them. But I wrought for my name’s sake, that it should not be polluted before the heathen, in whose sight I brought them out. Yet also I lifted up my hand unto them in the wilderness, that I would not bring them into the land which I had given them, flowing with milk and honey, which is the glory of all lands; Because they despised my judgments, and walked not in my statutes, but polluted my sabbaths: for their heart went after their idols. Nevertheless mine eye spared them from destroying them, neither did I make an end of them in the wilderness. But I said unto their children in the wilderness, Walk ye not in the statutes of your fathers, neither observe their judgments, nor defile yourselves with their idols: I am the Lord your God; walk in my statutes, and keep my judgments, and do them; And hallow my sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between me and you, that ye may know that I am the Lord your God” Ezekiel 20:12-20.
6. We believe that there is a day when God will judge the world with justice.
This will be the final judgment of time, after the millennium when the great battle against Gog and Magog has occurred and Satan is cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and false prophet are. In this judgment God will judge the world with justice giving every man according to his works.
“For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works” Matthew 16:27.
“Which is a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God, that ye may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which ye also suffer: Seeing it is a righteous thin with God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you; And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power” 2 Thessalonians 1: 5-9.
“And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire” Revelation 20: 11-15.
7. We believe the present world will be destroyed and before these things occur, the world will be warned by a series of happenings as manifestation of the wrath of God.
There will be great perturbations around the world before judgment comes, such as the day of the Lord and destruction of the earth.
“For, behold, the Lord will come with fire, and with his chariots like a whirlwind, to render his anger with fury, and his rebuke with flames of fire. For by fire and by his sword will the Lord plead with all flesh: and the slain of the Lord shall be many” Isaiah 66: 15-16.
“All these are the beginning of sorrows” Matthew 24:8.
“And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory” Luke 21: 25-27.
“But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought 5ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat? 2 Peter 3: 10-12.
8. We believe that there will be new heavens and a new earth.
As the beginning of a new life where righteousness dwells according to the good purposes that God had in the creation of the heavens and earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind.
“For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind” Isaiah 65: 17.
“Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness” 2 Peter 3: 13.
“And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea” Revelation 21:1.