 | Rev. Patrick Notley is the Associate Pastor of First Presbyterian Church located at 525 N. Broadway in downtown Wichita. Reverend Notley received an MA in Divinity at San Francisco Theological Seminary and a Master of Arts in Christian Education from Presbyterian School of Christian Education in Richmond, VA. Born in Denver, CO and raised on the East Coast, Reverend Notley along with his wife, relocated to Wichita in 1997 to join the church, where he is responsible for Evangelism Educational programs. You can reach Reverend Notley at (316) 263-0248 ext. 22 or by email at pwnotley@firstpresbywichita.org |
Religion
2004-10-01 11:05:00
What is meant... “there will be just one Church” at the end of time?
: I have heard different scholars say that at the end of time, there will be just one Church. What does this mean?
ANSWER: The basic response is that this has to do with the idea that there will be no denominations at the end time, only the Church of Christ. While I have no issue with that, I think that it is important to look behind this question and response and see what drives this issue.One can do a rather thorough survey of the New Testament and find many mentions of the word “church” in a variety of settings. I would suspect that the scholars alluded to, but not named - so much more the loss. It is difficult to respond to the work of unnamed scholars since there is no reference point by which to engage their thoughts, theology, or beliefs - are probably pointing to one of the many passages where Jesus is prophetically describing the end times, like chapter 24 of the Gospel of Matthew and linking it with Jesus' pronouncement, in Matthew 16: 18, "And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it." (NRSV) While those linkages are in themselves not problematic to me, I again wonder what might be behind this process. Since no one, except for God, has any specific understanding of what will occur at the end time or, for that matter, when it would occur. I find it difficult to do more than simply affirm, that there is evidence from my reading and understanding of the Bible to suggest that the intent of God and Christ is that there be one gathering of the faithful for the purpose of worship, praise and response to our Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer. Further it is clear to me from this understanding that the fact that we have so many denominations may suggest that we humans are not as adept at understanding God's desires as we would claim to be. This being said, my suspicions of the unnamed scholars proclaiming that there will be one church at the end time are, that the one church that will be "left standing" will possibly look a whole lot like the church that they presently are aligned with.So my caution is to act on the words of Christ, as recorded in the Gospel of Matthew, "But about that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father." (V. 36, NRSV) and "Therefore, you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour." (V. 44, NRSV) - live a life that is responsive to God's presence and activity in your life and not get distracted worrying about the mechanics of the end time. One church or many; it is not up to us to decide, rather it is up to us to live into the life that God calls each of us to have.
