CHURCH & LAST THINGS

AMILLENNIAL

2008-10-21T09:11:00.000-07:00

Amillennialism is a view that there will be no millennium, no earthly reign of Christ, as opposed to the premillennial and some postmillennial views of the ,book of Revelation chapter 20. By contrast, the amillennial view holds that the number of years in Revelation 20 is a symbolic number, not a literal description, that the millennium has already begun and is identical with the church age (or more rarely, that it ended with the destrucion of Jerusalem in AD70and that while Christ's reign is spiritual in nature during the millennium, at the end of the church age, Christ will return in Final judgment and establish permanent physical reign.

STRENGTH OF AMILLENNIAL

One of the greatest strengths of Amillennialism is its simplicity: no complex sequence of events is required before the return of Christ. The "Beast," the "Mark of the Beast," and other symbols in Revelation are not applied to specific entities in the future; they represent forces at work in every generation. The Battle of Armageddon and the Final Battle before the Final Judgment are thus one event. The Judgment in Matthew 25 and the Judgment in Rev. 20:11-15 are also one event. He does not return to set up a kingdom , but to usher in the eternal state and create a new heaven and earth–the final consummation

Many of the prophecies about signs of the end in Matthew 24 and Mark 13 are generally regarded as having been fulfilled when Jerusalem was destroyed in A.D. 69-70. Thus, Amillennialists believe that the one, visible return of Christ may occur at any time, followed by one Judgment Day.

WEAKNESSES OF AMILLENNIAL

The weaknesses of Amillennialism is that the church age does not readily fit the Biblical descriptions of the Millennium. Isaiah 66 seems to foresee a time when "the wolf and the lamb
shall feed together," and when he who dies at age 100 will be considered to have died young. Ezekiel 47 describes a time when the Dead Sea will become a freshwater lake with fish living in it. These scenarios do not seem to describe heaven, but they do not fit church history, either.

Another difficulty is that although Matthew 24 and Mark 13 predict the destruction of Jerusalem which occurred in A.D. 69-70, they also describe an "abomination of desolation," and the return of Christ on the clouds of heaven with a trumpet-blast. The events of A.D. 69-70 may be a pattern of future events, but it is difficult to see how they could explain everything in these passages

The general perception and attitude of Christians toward death & What do you think should the proper respond of Christians to the issues of death?

2008-10-08T11:33:00.000-07:00

One of particular concern to Christians is issues of death. Death is part of life. As Ecclesiastes 3:2 tells us, “there is a time to be born and a time to die”. According to Elizabeth Kubler Ross who wrote a groundbreaking book on the subject of death and dying. She noted a pattern of behavior that dying patients exhibited is SHOCK /DENIAL, ANGER,BARGAINING , DEPRESSION AND ACCEPTANCE.

This is not the general perception and attitude of Christian towards death. Psalm 23 gives the answer. “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I WILL FEAR NO evil.”These familiar words of Psalm 23 chart the direction for a Christian individual or family facing the reality of death. Christians no longer fear death because of their faith in Jesus Christ. He came to die in the sinner's place, to bear the penalty of death. He was raised from the dead, so that death no longer reigns over the Christian. Death is a defeated foe. Death holds no fear for those who have faith in Christ. Paul looked at death as a deliverance, as a promotion (Philippians 1:19-26).

The sting of death and sense of God’s judgment are horrible punishments on those who have no faith in Christ as their Savior( 1 John 5:11-13). They face the end of their life, only to know an unknown future, or a terrifying vision of eternal damnation. However as a child of God our life on earth is not the end. There is hope and assurance for children of God.We cling to the promises of His Word. One of the most beautiful promises our Lord gave to us is found in John 14:2–3 where He says,“In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so,would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And when I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.” We realize that no matter how our lives may end in the Lord, there is one thing of which we can be absolutely certain. We shall pass from death to eternal life.

Those who have truly believed in Christ the redeemer, will not fear Christ the Judge, and will have eternal life (John 5:22- 24; Acts 17:30-31). Apostle Paul speaks in reference to his own death “For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. But if I am to live on in the flesh, this will mean fruitful labor for me; and I do not know which to choose. But I am hard-pressed from both directions, having the desire to depart and be with Christ, for that is very much better “(Philippians 1:21-23)

WHAT IS THE MINIMAL ACCEPTABLE AGE FOR A PERSON TO BE ACCEPTED FOR BAPTISM?

2008-09-17T05:02:00.000-07:00

There is no where in the Bible states or even give a specific answer of “ What is the minimal acceptable age for a person to be accepted for Baptism?”, but the Bible gives a clear picture that according to Mark 16:16 “ He who believes and is baptized will be saved.”

Those who have repented placed their personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Those who have made their own choice to be His disciple and follow Him should be baptized. There is no specific age for one to be baptized. Obviously, then, those who being baptized should be OLD ENOUGH TO MAKE THEIR OWN PERSONAL DECISION FOR CHRIST. The word “old” does not mean that person is 50 or 60 years old but the person can be 10 or 11 years old, knows his right and wrong and makes a personal decision to accept Christ as his Lord and savior.

The bible gives us example that only those who repented and believe and accepted Christ were Baptized. Here are few biblical examples:

The Samaritans were baptized in water “….. when they believed” (Acts 8:12)
The Ethiopian Eunuch was baptized immediately after he believed in Christ ( Acts 8:35-38)
Saul of Tarsus( Apostle Paul) was immediately baptized ( Acts 9:17-18)
Cornelius and his company were baptized immediately after they believed ( Acts 10:48)
The jailer and his household were baptized the same night they believed in Christ ( Acts 16:30-34)

God Bless You

WHAT IS THE BIBLICAL UNDERSTANDING OF THE CHURCH? BODY OF CHRIST?

2008-09-01T08:41:00.000-07:00

The Greek word most frequently translated “Church” in the New Testament is “Ecclesia”. The Latin equivalent of this is “Ex-Calleo” meaning to “Call Out”. So a church is a company of people who have been called by God, out of the world system and into relationship and the simplest definition of a church can be “ A company of like minded believers who meet together in Christ’s name, to worship God, to edify one another and to Endeavour to bring others into the kingdom of God”.

Perhaps the most extended image of he church is it’s representation as the body of Christ. Louis Berkhof the author of the book “ Systematic Theology” says that “ some apparently regard this image as virtually a complete definition of the church. This image emphasizes that the church is the locus of Christ’s activity now just as was his physical body during his earthly ministry. The image is used both of the church universal and of individual local congregations. Ephesians 1:22-23 “ And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way”. Paul statement to the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 12:27 “ Now you are the body of Christ and each one of you is a part”

Christ is the head of this body. ( Colossians1:18). As the head of the body, he also rules the Church. He is the head over every power and authority. Christ is the Lord of the church. The image of the body also speaks of the interconnectedness between all the person’s who make up the church. The body is to be characterized by genuine fellowship. The body of Christ, the church is the extension of his ministry.

God bless you