Section 10. The Second Coming of Christ and the Eternal State

The Church believes:

a. in the premillennial return of Christ; that the next great event in the fulfilment of prophecy will be the imminent, personal, pre-tribulational return of the Lord in the air to receive to Himself into heaven both His own who are alive and remain unto His coming and also all who have fallen asleep in Him;  and that this event is the blessed hope set before us in Scripture; and for this we should be constantly looking (John 14:1-3 1 Corinthians 15:51, 52; Philippians 3:20; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18;  Titus 2:11-14;  1 Thessalonians 1:10;  Revelation 3:10).

We reject the partial, mid, and post-tribulational views of the rapture.

b. that the translation of the church will be followed by the fulfilment of Israel’s seventieth week (Daniel 9:27; Revelation 6-19), during which time the church, the body of Christ, will be in heaven.  This entire period of seven years will be a time of judgement on the whole earth, at the end of which the times of the Gentiles will be brought to a close.  The latter half of this period will be the time of Jacob’s trouble (Jeremiah 30:7), which our Lord called the great tribulation (Matthew 24:15-21; Revelation 6:1;  19:21).  The two chief purposes of the Tribulation are:  to punish the world and to purity Israel  (Isaiah 13:11;  Zechariah 13:9).

c. that the period of great tribulation In the earth will be climaxed by the return of the Lord Jesus Christ to the earth as He went, in person with the clouds of heaven, and with power and great glory to introduce the millennial age, to bind Satan and place him in the abyss, to lift the curse which now rests on the whole creation, to restore Israel to her own land and to give her the realisation of God’s covenant promises, and to bring the whole world to the knowledge of God (Deuteronomy 30:1-10;  Isaiah 11:4-9;  Ezekiel 37:21-18;  Zechariah 14:4; Romans 8:19-23;  11:25-27;  Revelation 20:1-3).  The literal one thousand year reign of Christ will be followed by the eternal ages, the new heavens and earth wherein dwelleth righteousness.

d. in the bodily resurrection of all men, the saved to eternal life and bliss, and the unsaved to judgement and everlasting conscious punishment (Matthew 25:46; John 5:28, 11:25, 26;  Revelation 20:5, 6, 12, 13; Acts 24:15).  The first resurrection to eternal life and the second resurrection to eternal damnation are separated by at least one thousand years (Revelation 20:4-6).

e. that the souls of the redeemed are, at death, absent from the body and present with the Lord, where In conscious bliss they await the first resurrection, when spirit, soul and body are reunited to be glorified forever with the Lord (Luke 23:43;  2 Corinthians 5:8; Philippians 1:23;  3:21;  1 Thessalonians 4:16, Revelation 20:4-6).

f. that the souls of unbelievers remain after death, in conscious misery in hell until  the second resurrection at the end of the millennium, when with soul and body reunited they shall appear at the Great White Throne Judgement, and shall be cast into the Lake of Fire, not to be annihilated, but to suffer everlasting conscious punishment(Matthew 25:41-46;  Mark 9:43-48;  Luke 16:19-26;  2 Thessalonians 1:7-9;  Jude 6,  Revelation 20:11-15).