The Eschatological views of the Pentecostals

Abstract

The eschatological doctrine in Pentecostal churches, as a rule, boils down to the idea of the secret rapture of the church before the great tribulation under the Antichrist (pretributionism). Due to their general adogmatism, Pentecostals rarely discuss this theological model in publications and discussions. For Orthodox polemicists, knowledge of Pentecostal eschatology can help with its obvious anti-clerical nature, which, contrary to the New Testament, gives the place of the Church to a subordinate Israel with a restored temple, priesthood, and bloody sacrifices. The realization of the anti-evangelical doubling of recent events — the second comings, judgments and resurrections of the dead — may be unexpected for Chiliasts. The hope for the secret rapture of the church contradicts the promises of the New Testament about the need for us to bear sorrows. The practical consequence of this belief was Christian sionism, which demands from Christians the full support of the State of Israel and assistance to Jews in their repatriation.