The Eschatological View of the Church in the Light of Daniel - Essay Example

THE ESCHATOLOGICAL VIEW OF THE CHURCH IN THE LIGHT OF DANIEL 9:24-27 due: Word count: 1595 Contents Contents 2 1.0.Introduction 3 1.0. Introduction Similar metaphors and similes are found in the bible, where they are used to help readers understand more clearly the mysteries of God. In Ephesians 5:22-33, for example, Paul talks of the relationship amid a husband and a wife in an attempt to reveal a deeper meaning. In this account, the relationship between a husband and a wife is supposed to signify the same concerning Christ and His church. This is just one of the numerous metaphors used to express the church’s relationship with God for what it truly is. Before continuing, however, it is important to comprehend what the church really is, as per the Bible’s point of view (Blackaby et al, 2001. 79). The book of Daniel 9: 24-27 will be critically analyzed. The particular scripture under analysis will include the church and last day’s occurrences; this is including the rapture and tribulation era. According to scholars, 27% of the bible is prophetic, while theologians claim that 100% of the bible is prophetic; this debate triggers a mode of confusion among Christians concerning several topics as the timing of the rapture, pre-tribulation view, and the tribulation period (Ellis 2008: 59). Clearly, prophecy topics are hard to comprehend. A known biblical book that covers on prophecy topics is the book of revelation, as Dr. Patrick Heron says on prophecy topics contained in the Bible are like “a conundrum wrapped in an engine enigma surrounded by a paradox!" (Osterholm). 2.0. What is the church? The word "church" as referred to in the New Testament, was obtained from the Greek term ‘ekklesia’ which is derived from two Greek words meaning "to call out" and "an assembly" or "called out ones." (Alexander, 2001, 65). Basically, the New Testament church is an organization of individuals who have been called out from the ways of the world by God to live as His people under the leadership of His son, Jesus Christ (Ephesians 1:22-23). This group of believers, also called "the body of Christ", started out in Acts 2 on the Day of Pentecost through the divine influence of the Holy Spirit and will persists in expanding and carrying out their activities until the day Christ’s second coming. Many Christian denominations, most notably the Catholics, take Matthew 16:16-18 to imply that Peter was made the founder of the church and for which reason he is considered the first pope. Protestants, however, believe that the faith with, which Peter had for Jesus, was the rock upon which the church would be built and just like Peter, anyone who expresses faith in Jesus is part of the church (Giussani et al, 2001, 34-52). 3.0. God’s relationship with the church Using the metaphors, the church is portrayed as a building, bride, and body; we learn that our lives, as members of a community, spring forth from within the Giver Himself, God through Jesus Christ and His holy spirit. These three metaphors extrapolate the relationship between Christ and His church. The church according to the scriptures is to undergo a time according to the prophecy of the last days. Daniel 9: 24-27 reveals the period known as Daniel’s 70th week. Words as per this era reveal that there are a church age and a tribulation era, and the rapture of the church is supposed to occur at the conclusion of the tribulation period. This is grounded as per the words of Mark 13: 24-27, Matthew 24:29-31, and Matthew 24: 9-13. These verses emphasize on the relationship of Christians with themselves as required by God, in preparation for the inevitable. 3.1. Bride of Christ In John 3:29, John the Baptist identified Jesus as a groom. As a forerunner to Jesus, John had to make way for Christ’s ministry, and in his understanding, he was the symbolic groom of the messianic community. According to John, every marriage is a cause for celebration and so the union of Christ and His church is a cause for everyone in the universe to celebrate for eternity. The apostle Paul also portrayed the church as Christs metaphorical bride. Paul compared Christ’s relationship with the church to that of a husband and wife (Ephesians 5:22-33). In this agreement, Jesus Christ is the head of the church just like a loving husband while the church submits humbly to Him just like a loyal wife. Like Jesus, a husband ought to care for his wife in the same way he does for his own body. There is plenty of love between the husband, Jesus, and His wife, the church, with no hint of anything hateful or untoward (Branick, 1998, 43). John the Apostle also used the metaphor of the bride of Christ to help illustrate the relationship. He named the church ‘the bride, the Lambs wife’ who stands in her eschatological glory (Revelation 21:9). One of the promises given to the local churches at the beginning of the days of the Apocalypse is that those who overcome and endure will be clothed "in white garments" and presented to Him (Revelation 3:5). Those who are killed for witnessing faithfully to Jesus will receive a white robe (Revelation 6:11). Also in the same account, a multitude of believers comes out of the great tribulation clothed in robes "made white in the blood of Christ" (Revelation 7:14). The righteous church is blessed as it will be presented to the "marriage supper of the Lamb," where she (the church) is given "fine linen, clean, white and bright" to signify her righteousness (Revelation 19:7-9). According to Matthew 24: 32-3;9 the end of the church age is near from the conditions given by Christ. We are living in the last days, approximately between the finale of the 69th week and the commencement of the 70th week. This is known as the church age. Daniel’s prophetic visions reveal promises of the future. As it was evident from Daniel’s era, places of worship became apostate, and the congregation no longer wants to know the truth. In addition, very few congregations are aware of the last days as described in the Bible. The church as the bride is also signified as the New Jerusalem, the city of God descending from heaven. What is special about this large, glorious city is that there exists no temple, since "the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb" serve as its temple (Revelation 21:9-23). Jehovah God dwells with and among His beloved people, the glorious and righteous church (Bultmann et al, 2007, 54). 3.2. The body of Christ To begin with, the unrighteous are delivered from "this body of death" through "the body of Jesus" (Romans 7: 24-25). Christs resurrection changed the dynamics of creation, and Christians are sure of their resurrection through Jesus’ resurrected body (1 Corinthians 15:20-23). The first Adam was a living man, but this second Adam, Jesus, is "a Spirit that gives life". The church signified as the body of Christ was one of Pauls most referenced metaphors, and he expressed it thoroughly in 1 Corinthians, Romans, Ephesians, and Colossians. This "body" of Christ, according to Paul, has a head and members. The head of the body is the church whom Paul reveals to be Jesus Christ. Simultaneously, He is the source, goal and sustenance, of all that was created (Colossians 1:15-18). The fulfill life of God comes to the church via her head, Jesus (Colossians 2:9-10). Through Christs leadership, we share completely in the divine life and in His rulership. Everything is under Christ’s leadership and to the church, which is His body, the wholeness of the God who fills all things in all ways (Ephesians 1:22-23). Christians also live with Jesus through the symbolic ordinances He gave to His body while on earth. First, when a Christian believes, it is an inward spiritual action, which needs to be subsequently seen outwardly in water baptism. 1 Corinthians 12:13 says ‘For by one, Spirit, we were all baptized into one body then we were buried with him in baptism’. Second, when Christians take part in the Lords Supper, they join with the very ‘body of Christ,’ and with each other, for they all partake of that sole bread (1 Corinthians 10:17) (Childs, 2002, 58). 4.0. Conclusion The metaphors of the church as Christ’s bride indicate the closeness between Christ and His church. Jesus’ intimacy with His bride is filled with purity, righteousness, and faithfulness, plus their marriage will have the most wonderful wedding celebration in eternity, one that will begin the new era. Moreover, God does promise solace for His church in times of distress as explained in Daniel 9: 24-27. This section of the book tells of the coming of the Messiah, his death and the evil rulership of the Roman Empire, which signifies the coming of the antichrist and his evildoings. God, however, offers his people a protection in these times of hardships to come on the condition that they repent and pray thoroughly. Moreover, believers are urged to win as many souls as possible, for the Lord’s coming; where the good and evildoers will be separated. The 70th week will be a terrifying time of judgment on earth. Thus, the removal of the body of Christ before Daniel’s 70th week is a self-evident promise in the Bible. The book of Daniel lays out an excellent starting point for comprehending Bible prophecy. Here, Daniel gives a detailed chronology of future events dealing with both Israel and the non-Jewish world. The passage under scrutiny is a brief summary of the Jewish world from Daniel’s era to the second coming of Christ, at the finale of the tribulation period. 5.0. Bibliography Books ALEXANDER, T. D. (2001). New Dictionary of Biblical Theology. Leicester: inter-Varsity Press. BLACKABY, H. T., & BLACKABY, R. (2001). Spiritual leadership: moving people on to Gods agenda. Nashville, Tenn, Broadman & Holman Publishers. BRANICK, V. P. (1998). Understanding the New Testament and its message: an introduction. New York, Paulist Press. BULTMANN, R., & MORGAN, R. (2007). Theology of the New Testament. Waco, Tex, Baylor University Press. CHILDS, B. (2002). Biblical Theology. Augsburg: Fortress. DEVER, M. (2012). The church: the Gospel made visible. Nashville, Tenn, B&H Academic. ELLIS, J. (2008). The last days are left behind: refuting end-time fallacies. Tucson, AZ, Wheatmark. GIUSSANI, L., & HEWITT, V. (2001). Why the church? Montreal, McGill-Queens University Press. (1982). Holy Bible the new King James version. Nashville, T. Nelson. Web/electronic sources OSTERHOLM, T. (n.d.). The Pre-Tribulation Rapture Promise. The Pre-Tribulation Rapture Promise. 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