Thursday, February 26, 2009
Impact of the doctrine of eschatology on the Pentecostal movement
Before we look into the impact, what, first, is eschatology? Eschatology, according to the WordWeb, is defined as the branch of theology that is concerned with such final things as death and Last Judgment; Heaven and Hell; the ultimate destiny of humankind. Concisely, it concerns the 2nd coming of Christ. Most forefathers and foremothers of Pentecostalism, deriving their doctrine from a fundamentalist interpretation of the Bible, declared themselves to be premillenialists, who expected a second advent of Christ to occur prior to the establishment of a one-thousand-year reign of Jesus Christ described in Revelations 20:1-7. For many Pentecostals, this belief is further elaborated as pretribulation, which assures believers that the rapture will spare them of the terror and destruction to fill the earth before the promised thousand-year reign of Christ. With this in mind, we understand its impact on the movement.

It is because of this doctrine that stimulated evangelistic and missionary endeavors. In fact, looking at the early Pentecostals, this doctrine was significant to them who focused on the second coming of Christ rather than comforts and worldly gain, using their limited resources to spread the Gospel in this “last hour” of human history as it is now known as. Pentecostal missionaries were so enthusiastic in going out as missionaries to spread the gospel largely due to this doctrine of eschatology. In fact, today, many Pentecostals are starting once again to rise up in the area of evangelism and missions primarily due to this doctrine of eschatology.

How did the doctrine of eschatology impacted or impassioned the Pentecostal movement in the past and the present? Through missions and evangelism. In the words of D.J. Wilson, in his book 'Pentecostal Perspective of Eschatology', "...for most Pentecostals the future determines the present, their view of eschatology governs their view of current events. Their interpretation of prophecy has had a very significant effect on their perception of world historical events and on their political and social response to those events. On a smaller scale their eschatological views have affected their own history by stimulating evangelistic and missionary endeavors" (emphasis was made by me!)
 
posted by bryanboo at 2:43 PM | Permalink |


8 Comments:


  • At February 26, 2009 at 10:57 PM, Blogger ƈϞɕяιʈɣ

    early missionaries of the past believe that Christ would be coming in their time and so they went out with full fervour to preach the Gospel.

    today, we also say christ is coming in our time.

    Both centuries held to the same beliefs. How was this hope maintained all through the years?

     

  • At March 2, 2009 at 3:29 PM, Blogger lionel.lky

    Was the pentecostal father's view of Jesus coming in their time a cause of criticism that we recieve today for that world view? Did the early Pentecostals over do the 'end is near, repent now' tagline?

     

  • At March 2, 2009 at 9:40 PM, Blogger kenrick

    Hi Bryan,
    I think some Christians keep debating on pre, mid and post tribulation views rather than emphasizing the importance of the 2nd coming of Christ. Do you think such debates are a waste of time? or is it even important? Please do share your some of your views. Thanks.

     

  • At March 7, 2009 at 10:17 AM, Blogger Freddie Ong

    Hi Bryan,
    I am picking up on Kenrick's comment. In my church the youth do not seemed interested at all despite telling them Christ's return is immenant and the judgment day is at the corner. Could be the influence of the contemporary mind-set? You were saying that many Pentecostals are starting once again to rise up in the area of evangelism and missions primarily due to this doctrine of eschatology. But it seems otherwise with you on our younger generation. Maybe I am wrong. Do share about your church young people responses; appreciated, thank you.

     

  • At March 11, 2009 at 4:26 PM, Blogger Jase Foo

    Hi Bryan,

    Don't you think that today it is more about "answering your call" than it is about the eschatological doctrine that moves people unto evangelism and missions? or are this two related?

     

  • At March 12, 2009 at 9:52 AM, Blogger Freddie Ong

    Hi Bryan,
    Do you think the post-modern culture today has any impart to eschatology belief as compared to the past?

     

  • At March 20, 2009 at 1:40 AM, Blogger lionel.lky

    What's your take of the impact of what you hav shared on the Pentecostals of Today? has it lost some of its impact and lustre?

     

  • At March 20, 2009 at 3:09 AM, Blogger bryanboo

    Sorry for the late response. I think that evangelism and missions are more than "answering their call". Yes, there are those called to be missionaries and some to be evangelists but we cannot deny that all are called to the Great Commission. I believe that missions and evangelism, the drive being wanting to spread the gospel, is pretty much influenced by the eschatological doctrine. It is the belief that Christ is coming soon that makes people want to share the gospel with a greater fervency. But I would have to agree that the younger generation today have the 'couldn't care less' attitude. To them, the eschatological doctrine isn't something that impacts them that much. This, I believe, has something to do with the post-modern culture that is really dominant in the younger generation today.

    But no matter what, I would say that all are called to the Great Commission. The Great Commission does not apply exclusively to missionaries or evangelists only but to all Christians. So I would say that no matter what the doctrine is, we should live as if tomorrow is the day of the 2nd coming. We should live as if today was our last. To win as many souls as we can to the kingdom. Whether we believe in pre, mid or post tribulation, it doesn't much matter as long as we live to save as many as we can. We do not know exactly when Jesus will come back again but we know for sure that He will. The question is, are we to live debating who is right and who is wrong? Or are we gonna do whatever we can to win souls for Christ?

     

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