What does the A.M.E. Church believe with regard to the end times? Rapture, tribulation, Revelation prophecies? Before I moved to Florida, I was a member of the Church of God (Cleveland, TN, Pentacostal background). I was very into prophecy and studies the end times and events to come, and I would like to know what A.M.E. believes. Thank you.

-- Anonymous, September 29, 2003

Answers

Christie,

A number of individuals can give you information re: what we believe as AME's however it is good to read our book of discipline which states very clearly the position of the church. Basically we believe in the 2nd advent or the second coming of Christ. The order in which this happen in terms of "rapture" or being caught up and the Apocalyptic events meaning the mark of the beast tribualtion, there is much debate about the timing of the events in all theological circles, however, we do believe in the "end times". The AME Church has what is called an liberation theology, in that we believe that God has come & will come to set the captives free.

-- Anonymous, September 30, 2003

Once during an Advent Service I shared with the youth at my church the essence of a cartoon strip I had read. It summed up quite appropriately our end-times beliefs and the appropriate response of believers to it.

As I read through this amusing cartoon strip one character asked another "What is your philosophy of life"? The response of the first character is "Life is so uncertain you just never know what to expect. One day you may be crossing the road and WHAM you are run over by a truck!" Then, he asked the other character to state his philosophy of life as well. To which he replied my philosophy is this:

"LOOK DOWN THE ROAD AND SEE WHAT'S COMING".

"Christ had died, Christ is Risen, Christ will surely come again."

We know not the day nor hour when He shall appear, but if we look down the road we anticipate His return and we are always prepared and ready. So don't worry about it.

Two other things I should point out here. The first is the use of the term, "Antichrist."

The only place in Scripture we will find the term, "antichrist" is the four times it is mentioned in the First Epistle of John. John tells that the spirit of the antichrist was already present when he wrote the epistle two thousand years ago, they had gone out from among believers and thus knew how to become deceivers of them. John in his Revelation describes the final outcome and how Good shall finally triumph over Evil at last.

My second point is that of the notion of rapture or "Those Left Behind."

Methodist Theology is written in our hymns. One of the most popular hymns of Thanksgiving is "Come, Ye Thankful People, Come", based on Matthew 13:24-30, "The Parable of the Wheat and Tares". I quote from verse 3 of this hymn.

"For the Lord our God shall come, and shall take His harvest home; From His field shall in that day all offenses purge away, Giving angels charge at last in the fire the tares to cast; But the fruitful ears to store in His garner evermore."

We so often hear that believers will be caught up in pre-rapture and none-believers left behind, but the hymn reminds us that this is not what Jesus taught. In Matthew 13:24-30, "The Parable of the Wheat and Tares", Jesus clearly states that both will remain until the Final Harvest has come. At which time He also says the tares will be gathered first and finally the wheat, not the other way around. Non- believers will be first and believers last and not until the Final Harvest when He shall appear.

Saint Paul gives us the timing and order of this in I Corinthians 15:52. Thus, restating what Jesus said in the passage mentioned above. Paul says, "In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, (one sixty-four hundredth of a second) AT THE LAST TRUMPET." You won't have time to say, WHEW, I'm gone.

-- Anonymous, September 30, 2003

Hello and Greetings in the name of the risen and returning savior, JESUS CHRIST!!! I am a 19 years old college student and spirit-lead Christian. I believe the A. M. E. Church need to start studying and teaching true bible prophecy more. End time prophecy is spoken of in the book of Daniel, Joel, the gospels, epistles, the book of Revelation, and several other Old Testament books. If the subject is mention so many times in the Bible, then way this part of the bible is not being taught in our pulpits and Sunday School class enough.? My opinion is that many Methodist churches have not taught and interpret bible prophecy correctly or/and taught at any time. I was please to see that the Sunday School Quarterly from last season went into prophecy a little near last Sundays of the Quarterly, but that was not enough. I spend a lot of time studying the word and I believe AMEs should get with the Southern Baptist and Assembly of God theologians on how to interpret and study prophecy.

I am not easily fooled by people and sweet-talked into believing false, new, or foolish doctrines. I look to the Holy Scriptures for accuracy and rely on the power of the Holy Spirit for guidance. So far, the Baptist (Southern Baptist), Assembly of God, and some non denominational churches (Jack Van Impe, Pat Robertson, Ed Hindson, Jerry Falwell) can teach bible prophecy with boldness and closest to biblical accuracy. Church of God are good at studying prophecy as well. They stick with the Word of God on that subject. I would like encourage you all to visit the www.lamblion.com, www.jvim.com (Jack Van Impe), www.thekingiscoming.com and read some the Tim LaHaye books (the Left behind Series). Their ministries will give you scriptural, scientific, and historical proof for their belief. They have over whelming evidence(historical, scientific, and SCRIPTURAL EVIDENCE) to support there belief.

Many have complained that Bible Prophecy is a message of "Doom and Gloom," but that is not necessarily the case. Bible Prophecy is simply future history written in advance! Because of that, we recognize it to be the compassionate message of a loving God. It is designed to produce faith in your heart, prompting you to make decisions in your life that will secure a wonderful future for you - both in this life and in the eternities to come.

The fate of the world will be to move into an era of globalism, culminating in a world government, a world religion, and a world economic system. Sadly, an evil person will eventually lead that New World order that the Bible calls the Antichrist. During his 7-year quest for world domination, over half the people in the world will die!

Admittedly, that message is one of "Doom and Gloom!" But the Good News is that you don't have to be a part of that future. By believing in Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, you become a member of a marvelous entity that is called "the church, which is His body." When you make that decision, you are instantly and eternally saved. You become a creature of destiny!

As a Child of God, you will be spared from the wrath to come by a glorious event that is called "The Rapture of the Church!" You become a joint-heir with Christ, sharing with Him a marvelous inheritance that includes not only this Earth, but the vast reaches of the universe. There are two futures ahead. Which one will be yours?

I love you all and may God bless each of you!

Praise the Lord!!! Fedrick Allen Wilson

-- Anonymous, October 03, 2003