The four dimensions of hope

Amid global uncertainty, the church must proclaim Christ’s return – offering four-dimensional hope that transforms hearts, communities, society and eternity, says Malcolm Duncan.

One of the four central tenets of the Foursquare Gospel is our belief in the Lord Jesus Christ as ‘the Coming King’.

What we believe about the end of all things, and the return of the Son of God is given the formal name ‘eschatology’ – which literally means ‘the study of the last’. There are many elements to this branch of theology – and a great deal of contention.

Will there be a ‘rapture’ when the church is caught up in the air with Christ? If so, will it be public or hidden?

Will it happen before a great time of trouble – the ‘Tribulation’, or after it? Or will it happen in the middle of it? Will there be a tribulation at all?

Will Christ reign for 1,000 years, the ‘Millennium’, before the great and final judgment or is the ‘Millennium’ a metaphor for the time between the first coming of Christ and his return?

A great deal of ink has been consumed on these important questions and sadly, Christians have, from time to time, been extremely aggressive toward one another in their debates, arguments and disagreements about these things. In fact, at one point, Elim ministers were required to believe that Jesus would return and establish his Millennial Reign before his final judgment. That requirement changed some years ago.

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