EVANGELICALISM

[dio9]

What is it that distinguishes evangelicalism as a unique member of the Christian body?
What is the difference between progressives and evangelicals? Is there something theological like Luther's thesis, or practice or behavior , political , issues or what ?
Help me understand what makes evangelicals a unique part of the Christian body?

[amortalman]

[Replying to amortalman]

Indeed actively evangelizing is what Evangs do . I am wondering about specific beliefs, such as the Rapture, and second coming , My impression is thats what is unique , with the world non evangs non believers are going to hell in a hand basket and there is nothing we can do about it These are the last days the end is near so rejoice Christ is coming to save us .

Evangelicals believe that all true believers (the church) will be taken up to heaven in what is called the rapture prior to the seven years of tribulation on the earth where the anti-Christ will reveal himself and generally make hell on earth ending with the battle of Armageddon. At that time the seven years will have ended, Christ will return and judge the nations of the earth and every individual alive as well as all those who have died unsaved. A fantastic story. One I believe is pure fiction.

You are not the first to believe the end is near. Jesus' own disciples believed it as did millions of Christians the last 2000 years. Yet, if we don't all kill ourselves the sun shall also rise on my great-grandson's great-grandson.

[JehovahsWitness]

I am referring to the book of revelations account of the return of Christ, where he comes like a warrior king

That's exactly what he will do. There are other books that allude to this but yes the picture is clear in Revelation of Jesus in his role as the warrior king.

Michael (Jesus) FIGHTS (destruction of the wicked)




RELATED POSTS

Does the bible really say Jesus is one day going to kill people?
http://debatingchristianity.com/forum/v ... 409#942409






PLEASE NOTE All the above ideas are presented as my faith based opinions as one of JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES

[JehovahsWitness]

I believe this is the book people are thinking of when we're talking about the Last Days.

Yes this is alluded to in Revelation, but Jesus also spoke at length on this topic in his Oliver discourse (as reported in the gospels).


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Are we living in the last days?
http://debatingchristianity.com/forum/v ... 842#898842



PLEASE NOTE All the above ideas are presented as my faith based opinions as one of JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES

[JehovahsWitness]

That book [Revelation] clearly predicts a great final war called Armageddon. I worry that evangelicals are believing the world is heading for this terrible end before God'd Kingdom can be established.

Well I don't know what evangelicals believe but we Jehovah's Witnesses don't believe that Armageddon is a "terrible end" for anyone but the wicked.

Are we to think humanity is so hopelessly stupid that we can't avoid global destruction?

• Armageddon isn't "global destruction". But to answer the question...yes, I believe that left to our own devices, we(as in we humans) would indeed successfully wipe ourselves out of existence sooner rather than later.

JW


What does the bible mean when it speaks about ARMAGEDDON?
http://debatingchristianity.com/forum/v ... 289#865289

[JehovahsWitness]

That Christ can't build the Kingdom with us together peacefully.

• I dont know who the "us" you're referring to but, God's kingdom is a government and neither God nor his son "need" us to build it. . Further, it will indeed "crush and put to an end" all human governments. They wont bow out peacefully, so they will have to be taken out, wiped out, eliminated (compare Dan 2:44).
  
  

JW

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What did Jesus mean when he spoke of sitting a "throne"?
http://debatingchristianity.com/forum/v ... 414#942414



PLEASE NOTE All the above ideas are presented as my faith based opinions as one of JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES

[dio9]

[Replying to amortalman]

The book of revelations strikes me as something that should be apocryphal. The war in heaven and all that comes from the book of Enoch , which was popular at that time. but didn't make it into the New testament canon. So the idea of an Armageddon ushering in the Kingdom of God ( which is a metaphor) is totally apocryphal. Rather than war peace love and understanding will usher it in. But evangs would probably accuse that as work of antichrist, because they believe the apocryphal book of revelations is the word of God. but Coming through war is not the glory of God .

[marco]

Little babies would call this a "present" but grown ups usually call this "a reward"..[/list]

Be they big babies or little babies, they would demonstrate astonishing precocity were they able to differentiate between "present" and "reward."


Presumably those presenting the "awards" on the day when sheep and goats wait for their prizes will know the difference between present and reward, if it is heavy with meaning.

[JehovahsWitness]

[Replying to post 36 by dio9]


WILL GOD REALLY KILL (LITERALLY) THE WICKED?

• There are some that suggest that the idea of God, fighting a final war in an ultimate confrontation between good and evil, is not biblical. Does the bible really speak of a time when Almighty God through his appointed son, will kill off all wicked people, leaving the earth to be inhabited uniquely by those he judges as righteous ("meek") ?

In short is Revelation the ONLY book in the bible that speaks about a final cleansing of the earth of Satan, the demons and all wicked people?

GENESIS

And I will put enmity between you [Satan] and the woman and between your offspring and her offspring. He will crush your head - Genesis 3:15

PSALMS

Just a little while longer, and the wicked will be no more; You will look at where they were and they will not be there. But the meek will possess the earth - Psalms 37:10, 11

PROVERBS

As for the wicked, they will be cut off from the earth, And the treacherous will be torn away from it. - Proverbs 2:22

DANIEL

“In the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed. And this kingdom will not be passed on to any other people. It will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms, and it alone will stand forever - Daniel 2:44

MATTHEW

“When the Son of man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit down on his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before him [...] “Then he will say to those on his left: ‘Go away from me, you who have been cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the Devil and his angels. These will depart into everlasting cutting-off- Mat 25: 31-32, 41, 46

LUKE

While they were listening to these things, he told another illustration, because he was near Jerusalem and they thought that the Kingdom of God was going to appear instantly. So he said: “A man of noble birth traveled to a distant land to secure kingly power for himself and to return....bring these enemies of mine here who did not want me to become king over them and execute them in front of me.’� - Luke 19:11:27

THESSELONIANS

... at the revelation of the Lord Jesus from heaven with his powerful angels in a flaming fire, as he brings vengeance on those who do not know God and those who do not obey the good news about our Lord Jesus - 2 These 1:7, 8

PETER


... unrighteous people to be destroyed on the day of judgment - 2 Peter 2:9

CONCLUSION The book of Revekation is NOT the only book that presents God (by means of his son) as destroying the wicked forever. Prophecies of a final destruction of the wicked to usher in peaceful messianic rule are an integral part of the bible. Those that suggest Christians will simply pray Satan and his agents into submission or that humans will achieve world peace because the greedy, the ruthless and the wicked will en masse all decide to resigne, are not just being naive as to the nature of evil but are ignoring much of what the bible has to say on the subject.





RELATED POSTS


What does the bible mean when it speaks about ARMAGEDDON?
http://debatingchristianity.com/forum/v ... 289#865289

What do Jehovah's Witnesss encourage non-Witnesses that want to survive Armageddon to do?
http://debatingchristianity.com/forum/v ... 292#865292

Further reading: What is the battle of Armageddon?
https://www.jw.org/en/bible-teachings/q ... rmageddon/






PLEASE NOTE All the above ideas are presented as my faith based opinions as one of JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES[/quote]

[bjs]

[Replying to post 22 by dio9]

This thread seems to have slipped away from Evangelical theology to pre-millennial theology. Pre- Post- and A-millennial theology are all found within Evangelicalism, and none of them are unique to Evangelicalism. Was it your desire to debate pre-millennial, or were you hoping to focus on Evangelicalism in this thread?

[dio9]

[Replying to JehovahsWitness]

here again you are presenting a conquest theology.