What do nazarenes believe about the rapture

Or is it a great Tribulation of the Saints? Is it possible to know any dates? Or even to recognize the signs of the times? These are all questions that are debated by laypeople, pastors, and theologians all over the world. Scholars and theologians who have studied for years arrive at different conclusions. Pastors attempt to interpret those conclusions and provide them to the laypeople, who are surrounded with all sorts of popular theology and literature on the topic…some of it good, some of it probably not so good.

You may, in fact, find that the Church of the Nazarene is a great disappointment to you. But I hope not. We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ will come again; that we who are alive at His coming shall not precede them that are asleep in Christ Jesus; but that, if we are abiding in Him, we shall be caught up with the risen saints to meet the Lord in the air, so that we shall ever be with the Lord.

First, notice that there is no specific mention of a Secret Rapture of the church, or of a great tribulation. Not necessarily. Just because there is a meeting in the air, we have not stated where Jesus and the saints go after the meeting. In each case, the guests go out to meet the visitor, for the purpose of escorting them into the building or the town. If this were the case, it might not be that the saints are raptured away, but that the saints go to meet the Lord in the air, escorting Him to earth to set up a millennial kingdom.

There is much that is left unsaid in our article of faith. While this may come as a disappointment to you, remember that scholars who are far more learned than you and I have studied the Scriptures about the end-times, and have come to far different conclusions about these matters.

Does this mean that we should stop caring? Does it mean we should ignore any discussion of end times and the return of Christ? I think that we should study scripture. I see no harm in studying the different theories about how the world might come to an end. But remember that for the most part, they are theories, and that we should probably not get so hung up on defending one particular theory that we stop focusing on how to live our lives today. At the same time, we recognize that while there is vast disagreement among scholars and theologians, we can come to solid agreement on the things that are stated in our article of faith.

Namely that Christ will return, the dead will be raised, the risen and living saints will be caught up to meet Him in the air, and that we will always be with the Lord. Treating such Scripture as abstract descriptions of the course of history is both taking it out of context and presuming a deterministic view of history that is in tension with the way the Scripture itself depicts the course of human and divine affairs. For a full description of this teaching, see H. Please note: This article was originally published in All facts, figures, and titles were accurate to the best of our knowledge at that time but may have since changed.

Skip to main content. Prev article. Not An Escape. Some Christians do believe that the end of everything is going to happen soon. But don't panic; throughout recorded history people have believed that the end of the world is about to happen, and it hasn't happened yet. In Peter Owen Jones met Afrikaner Calvinists in the veldt and discussed what the end of the world means to them. Millennialism is the belief that Christ will rule the earth for a period of 1, years the Millennium , and that this will be a good time when people accept Christ as King.

At the end of this time Christ will judge the living and the dead. Modern millennialists are not dedicated to a period of years - the important idea is that there will be a period during which God's will is actually carried out on earth.

This is a very popular idea. It suggests that the world will be turned upside down and be taken over by the meek - or at least by the good and the righteous - and that this will be a time of peace and justice.

It also implies a solution to the problem of evil i. Evildoers will be punished for their behaviour on earth and the good rewarded, as God balances the scales of justice at the end of time. Premillennialism is a doctrine particularly popular among Evangelical Protestants in North America.

Premillennialism is a pessimistic view of the world. It says that things are getting steadily worse on earth and will go on deteriorating until God has had enough and takes action in a way that will be catastrophic for humanity.

Premillennialists believe the Second Coming of Christ will happen at the start of the Millennium the year period when Christ rules the world. Before this period will come a time of destruction, war and disaster on earth, called the tribulation, which will be ended by God defeating evil at the battle of Armageddon.

Those who follow this doctrine have a very different view of Christ to that held by other Christians. As one church leader Bob Edgar put it, "[Premillennialists] see a Messiah who leads an army and kills the bad guys, we see Jesus coming as a man of peace. Although premillennialism is sometimes said to be only years old, it's more like years old; early Christians held very similar beliefs about the Second Coming.

They believe that the important thing for Christians to do is to prepare themselves for the end-time and to convert as many people as possible into righteous believers ready for the day of judgement.

They don't see much point in Christians trying to improve the world, since God is about to clean the world of its faults by destroying much of it and then remaking it. In practical terms premillennialists are in favour of evangelism and missionary work to convert people to belief in Christ, and less enthusiastic about church involvement in politics and social reform.

What do we do now? We go out and win people to Jesus. We get people ready for the second coming. We do everything we can to make sure that our churches talk about this. You need to preach about the second coming. You need to preach about heaven. You need to preach about hell.

Some premillennialists take very reactionary positions on social and political issues. They argue that any attempt by Christians to reform society is religiously wrong, as it would get in the way of God's plan to end the world. Millions of Christians believe that the tribulation is a period immediately before the Millennium when God's judgement is carried out on the world and humanity endures great suffering. Most mainstream Christians think the doctrine of the tribulation should be regarded as a poetic or symbolic way of describing the eternal conflict between good and evil.

However there are many millions who believe the doctrine of the tribulation is a literal and truthful description of what will happen sometime in the future.

During the tribulation the antichrist Satan's emissary will torture humanity, and God will go to war against the antichrist. The tribulation ends after seven years when God defeats the antichrist. The tribulation has provided the background to many novels and a great deal of prophetic writing.

The applicant, parent, or guardian may choose sprinkling, pouring, or immersion. Local churches vary on how often they administer the sacrament of the Lord's Supper, some only four times a year and others as often as weekly. All believers present, regardless of whether they are members of the local church, are invited to partake. The minister says a prayer of consecration, then distributes the two emblems of communion bread and wine to the people, with the help of other ministers or stewards.

Only unfermented wine is used in this sacrament. Worship Service: Nazarene worship services include hymns, prayer, special music, Scripture reading, a sermon, and an offering. Some churches feature contemporary music; others favor traditional hymns and songs.

Church members are expected to tithe and to give freewill offerings to support the missionary work of the global church. Some churches have revised their Sunday and Wednesday evening meetings from worship services to evangelism training or small group studies. To learn more about Nazarene beliefs, visit the official website of the Church of the Nazarene. Actively scan device characteristics for identification. Use precise geolocation data. Select personalised content.

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