We believe that Christ will literally and physically return to this earth (Daniel 7:13; Matthew 24:30; Mark 13:26; Luke 21:27; John 14:3; Acts 1:11; 1 Thessalonians 1:10; Revelation 1:7).1 This will be his second coming to this visible, material earth. We emphatically, strongly, and categorically affirm that the Christ who will return to this earth is none other than Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of God, who was incarnate, crucified, and resurrected from the dead. He will return to this earth in the very same glorified body that he acquired for himself at his resurrection. We uphold that in this second coming—unlike his first advent—he will return in his glory and in the glory of his Father (Zechariah 14:3-5; Matthew 16:27; 19:28; 24:31; Mark 8:38; Jude 14). At his second coming, Jesus of Nazareth will judge the living and the dead (Acts 10:42; 2 Corinthians 5:10; 2 Timothy 4:1). We vehemently deny that anyone other than God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit knows the day, the hour, the year, or the season when Jesus the Christ shall return to this earth (Matthew 24:36; Mark 13:32; 1 Thessalonians 5:1-2; 2 Peter 3:10)2
While we acknowledge other views on this issue and maintain their possible validity, we affirm that the rapture of the believing church will take place at the second coming of Christ and at the end of the tribulation period, which will engulf the whole earth immediately before Christ’s return (Daniel 12:1-2; 1 Thessalonians 4:17). We assert that the New Testament church will be physically present on this earth and will suffer through the tribulation period (Matthew 24:8-14, 21-28; Mark 13:19-23; Luke 21:28, 36). We uphold that this rapture is what Jesus described in his own words as the separating of the sheep from the goats (Matthew 13:49; 25:31-46). At this rapture event, the bodies of the dead believers will be physically raised from the dead first, and the believers who will be alive then will be physically transformed in a blink of an eye to acquire a body like that of the risen Christ (1 Corinthians 15:51-52; 1 Thessalonians 4:15).
We deny that the millennium as described in the Book of Revelation is the present age of the church on earth. We assert that this millennium must be preceded by the advent of the beast and his image (2 Thessalonians 1:3-4; Revelation 19:19-21). We confess that this millennium is a future event which will take place on this earth. We equally confess that we do not know when that event will commence, how long it will last, or when it will end.3
We strongly hold that the bodies of all the dead will be physically raised and brought back to life (Daniel 12:2; John 5:28-29; Acts 24:15). At this event, the souls and spirits of the departed will be re-united with their bodies. This will be a literal, bodily resurrection of the dead, not a metaphorical or spiritual resurrection.
We emphatically affirm that those who believe in Christ and place their trust in him shall abide in heaven in the presence and glory of God forever. This is the eternal state of believers. Those who depart from this present world denying faith in Christ, his Sonship to the Father, or his redemptive work shall abide forever with Satan and his angels in the lake of fire and brimstone. This is the eternal state of the unbelievers (Matthew 13:40-43; 25:46; Romans 2:5-11; Revelation 21:1-8).
Footnotes:
1. Notice Jesus’ and other NT writers' emphasis on the human nature of the returning Christ—evident by the repeated phrase “the Son of Man.” This will not be a spiritual, metaphorical, or symbolic. Acts 1:11 emphasizes that Jesus will return in the same manner that he ascended—physically and visibly. Revelation 1:7 emphasizes that Christ will return in the same body that was pierced. ↩
2. It is outside the scope of this doctrinal statement to exegete or interpret verses where Jesus—speaking as a full human being—states that he does not know the day or the hour of his own second coming to earth. ↩
3. We assert that we have been given partial knowledge of the secrets of God, but not full knowledge—nor should we expect to receive that full knowledge (Deut 29:29). ↩
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