What does Assembly of god believe about end times?

Answer 1

The Assembly of God denomination teaches the biblical description of end-time events to be literal, not just symbolic (as some denominations teach). They recognize, however, that there are varieties of opinions on how events will occur, the sequence in which they may occur, and the identification of the participants of these events. Thus, they do not teach opinions beyond clear Biblical statements regarding the details of what will take place.

Specifically, they believe the following aligns with the many Biblical references to end-times, but are not dogmatic about the timelines involved:

1. The Rapture of Christians who are living will occur as the first phase of what is commonly referred to as the Second Coming. (I Thess. 4: 16-17 and I Cor. 15: 51-52). They teach that Christians will be spared from some of the suffering of the last days, but not all the suffering, and that Christians have been told how to live in the last days (Matt. 24: 4-46).

2. A 7-year period called the Tribulation will occur after Christians have been raptured from earth. The last half of this 7-year tribulation period is called the Great Tribulation, and God's wrath will be poured out on earth during this time. The Assemblies of God generally adheres to a "pre-tribulation" view of the rapture, but are generally not dogmatic about this view.

3. At the end of the 7-year Tribulation period, Christ will return to earth with his saints (Christians who are in heaven) following behind him, all riding on white horses (Rev. 19: 11, 14). The ensuing conflict between the world of righteousness and the world of darkness is called the Battle of Armageddon (Rev. 16). After Satan is defeated at the Battle of Armageddon, he is cast into a bottomless pit for 1,000 years (Rev. 20).

4. The 1,000 year period during which Satan is in the bottomless pit is referred to as the Millennium, and will be a period of glory and perfect relationships (Is. 2, 11, 12, 32, 35, 60, 65; Zech. 14). At the end of the 1,000 year period, Satan will be released for "a little season" to test the love, faith, and loyalty of those individuals born during the Millennium who are still untested as to their choice between right and wrong. After this short time, Satan will be permanently cast into the lake of fire (Rev. 20).

5. After the "little season" that Satan is allowed to test individuals at the end of the Millennium, those who are deceived by Satan will be physically destroyed by fire , and all non-Christians will now be dead. Then will follow the resurrection of the wicked dead for final judgment (Rev. 20:11). Books are opened, and the wicked are judged according to their works. Having rejected Christ, their names will not be written in the Book of Life, and they will be cast into the lake of fire to be tormented day and night for ever and ever. Only those who accepted the work that Jesus accomplished on our behalf through his suffering, death, and resurrection will have their names found in the Book of Life, and will spend eternity with Jesus in everlasting glory.