The Kingdom of God, Mentor Guide, MG02

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T H E K I N G D O M O F G O D

may be without blame in sanctification before God the Father at the parousia of the Lord Jesus with all his saints (1 Thess. 3.13).

Apocalypse

This Greek term means “revelation.” The Apostle Paul challenges the church of Corinth as it waits for the “the revealing (apocalypse) of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Cor. 1.7). The term appears also in 2 Thessalonians 1.6-7 and 1 Peter 4.13, both of which indicate that the apocalypse will be a time of God’s great judgment on God’s enemies, and great rejoicing for those awaiting his appearing.

Epiphany

In one sense, this meaning nuances everything we know about the Second Coming. This word carries the meaning of “manifestation.” When Jesus is revealed or manifested at the end of the great tribulation period, he will manifest his glory in the world, resulting in the judgment of God’s enemies, and the reward of those who have placed their complete hope in his appearance, and have patiently waited for the rewards associated with that appearing (1 Tim. 6.14; 2 Tim. 4.8). It is the completion of their salvation (Titus 2.13-14). The list of attributes covered here represent the core of essential, evangelical, and historically orthodox claims made in regard to the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. Again, while there are many lesser claims concerning his coming which have been and will continue to be disputed in various theological and academic contexts, the heart of the teaching regarding Jesus’ coming deal with his person, and his own actions involved with the coming. This is critical for the sake of grounding new believers in the basic minimum deemed critical for faith in the Creed. Furthermore, even while those who are being trained in the apostolic doctrine might want to do more in terms of historical theology on these issues, they themselves represent a kind of baseline of characteristics that orthodox leaders in the Church of Jesus Christ have historically asserted regarding his Second Coming. In this sense, these items are of critical importance for the developing Christian leader to know, to defend, and to be able to articulate and equip others in.

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