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Introducing the Bucyrus Free Will Baptist Weblog
By Pastor Eric Boggs

"I'm a fourth generation Free Will Baptist who believes, teaches, and preaches the Free Will Baptist Doctrine from a King James 1611 Bible and proud of it! I hope these weblogs on the Free Will Baptist doctrine and our Church Standards will be a blessing to you."

Weblog #14 The Donctrine Of Christ's Second Coming
     There are many different beliefs among Christians today about how and when Jesus is going to return to the earth, and then there are even more differences on what will happen once He does return. The main argument among believers is whether or not Jesus will reign on earth after His return for 1,000 years, which is better known as the millennial reign. This concept is taken from the book of Revelation chapter 20, where in verses 1 through 6 we find, “And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season. And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.”
     Like I stated, there are many differences in opinion on how to interpret this scripture. Those differences in opinion are what make up the theology behind pre, post, or a-millennialism. Understanding the differences between the three will help in understanding why I’m about to make this next statement. That statement being this; I believe your difference in opinion on what Christ does once He returns to the earth is a sorry excuse for withholding fellowship from other believers. That being said, the Free Will Baptist in general hold a very simple doctrine when it comes to the second coming of Christ. That doctrine is this; “He’s coming back, and when He does, He will close the book on dispensation, will glorify His saints, and will judge the world.” However long it takes Him to do those things is up to Him and whatever belief we may hold is not going to change those facts.
     Here is fact number one; He is coming again. Acts 1:11 says, “Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.”
     Fact number two; He won’t be alone. Matthew 25:31 “When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:” There is also strong evidence that the angels won’t be the only ones with Him. I Thessalonians 4:15-17 explains, “For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.”
     And here is fact number three; no man knows when He’s coming. II Peter 3:9-13 states, “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.” Matthew 24:42-44 adds, “Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up. Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.”
     The truth is that there are differences in opinion on the time Jesus will take to do those exact facts I just laid out for you among the Free Will Baptist Churches. However, all Free Will Baptist Churches will agree on those simple facts and will count it as doctrinal. To explain exactly where the differences lie, one must fully understand the difference between pre, post, and a-millennialism. Here is my humble attempt at doing just that in as simple terms as I can possibly can.
     Post-tribulation Pre-millennialism is the belief that the tribulation, which is when the beast and antichrist will be revealed and God will judge both Israel and the unbelieving, will be before the second coming of Christ, but when He comes, he will reign on earth for a 1,000 year period before the last and final judgment.
     Pre-tribulation Post-millennialism is the belief that Christ comes back and the Church is raptured away. Once this event has taken place, the tribulation then begins. After this, Christ comes back for a third time, this time with the Church for a 1,000 year reign on earth before the last and final judgment.
     Post-millennialism is the belief that the 1,000 year reign can be figurative or literal, depending on what kind of post-millennialist you speak to, and that it represents the growth of the Church of Christ (Bride of Christ) and that when Christ returns this will also begin the final and last judgment. There are varying degrees of belief among those who consider themselves post-millennialists, but for the most part, this is a good definition of what they believe.
     A-millennialism is the belief that the 1,000 year reign is only a figurative number representing the Church, and that once Christ returns, He will bring with him the last and final judgment to reign on earth for eternity.
     As you can see, all this pre-trib, post-trib pre-millennial, post-millennial, and a-millennial can be confusing. I know it all confuses me. I come from the school of thought that Christ wants things to be kept simple. That is why I love the doctrine of the Free Will Baptist when it comes to the Second Coming of Christ. We don’t force any of these theories on anybody and we leave it up to God to decide. If you were to force me to tell you which side of the fence I lean towards, I would simply tell you that God doesn’t ordain excuses to put Him off, and that if you are waiting for the millennial reign to begin before you get things fixed up with God, you’ll be sorry. I believe Christ is coming back, and when He does, I plan on going where He is. I preach that God is going to destroy this earth when Christ returns, but like I stated earlier, whether that is immediately following the rapture of the Church, or after a reign on earth, that is up to God. All I care about is being with Him for eternity. How about you?

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The Free Will Baptist Doctrine Blog Series