Our Beliefs

We teach that the Bible is God’s revelation given by God, the Holy Spirit, to people and is the only perfect rule of faith and practice.  (Matthew5:18; John10:35, 16:12-13, 17:17; 1 Corinthians 2:13, 2:7-14; 2 Timothy 3:15-17; Hebrews 4:12; 2 Peter 1:20-21).  

We teach that the Bible is an objective, propositional revelation, and every word of the 66 books of the Bible are divinely inspired, inerrant, and infallible in the original documents.  

The original documents were produced as God the Holy Spirit inspired human authors to write the very words breathed out by God.  In some ways, that remains a mystery to people that this was done without conflicting with the individual personalities or writing styles of the human authors (Matthew 5:18; 1 Corinthians 2:13; 1 Thessalonians 2:13; 2 Timothy 3:16; 2   

Peter 1:20-21).  Since the Bible is the very Word of God, we teach that pastors, teachers, and Christians should understand and teach Scripture using a literal, grammatical, and historical interpretation. 

Therefore, while there may be several ways to apply a passage or verse of Scripture, there is only one meaning of that passage.  It is the duty of the person studying the Bible to seek prayerfully and diligently to understand what the original author sought to communicate to the original audience (John 7:17, 16:12-15; 1 Corinthians 2:7-15, 1 John 2:20).  

Using a literal, grammatical, historical interpretation results in a clear and plain understanding of the Bible's intended message.  

Therefore, when reading passages like Genesis 1:31 and Exodus 31:17, we can confidently know that God created the world in six 24-hour days.  

We see that God unquestionably created people as either a man or woman in the image of God and that this bestows on each human dignity and worth (Genesis 1:16-28, 2:7). We can be certain that God designed marriage as a covenant between one man and one woman (Genesis 2:24, Matthew19:5).  

We can also be sure that God designed people to be able to engage in sexual activity and He commands that sexual activity is to take place only within the covenant of marriage. Any sexual activity outside marriage is sin against God and your own body (Exodus 20:14; Leviticus 18:1-30; Matthew 5:27-32, 19:1-9; 1 Corinthians 5:1-5, 6:9-10; 1 Thessalonians 4:1-7).  

We teach that all people are required to obey God according to Scripture, irrespective of changing cultural trends or ideas.  People can never stand in judgment of Scripture; rather, God’s Word always judges people (Hebrews 4:12

We teach that there is only one true God who has always existed (Deuteronomy 6:4, Isaiah 45:5-7, Psalm 90:2, 1 Corinthians 8:4).  He is the creator and sustainer of all that exists, both seen and unseen (Genesis 1:1, Colossians 1: 6-17).  He is perfect in all His attributes (Leviticus 19:2, Psalm 18:30, Matthew 5:48).

The Trinity

While the Bible clearly teaches that there is just one God, it also teaches that God exists in three eternal Persons- God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit (Matthew 3:16-17, 28: 19, 2 Corinthians 13-14).  Each of the three Persons is fully God and is to be worshipped and obeyed.

God the Father We teach that God the Father, the first Person of the Trinity, orders and accomplishes all things according to His own purpose and grace (Psalm 145:8-9; 1 Corinthians 8:6).  He is Creator of all things (Genesis 1:1-31); Ephesians 3:9).  As the only absolute and omnipotent Ruler in the universe, He is sovereign over creation, providence, and redemption (Psalm 103:19; Romans 11:36).  As Creator He is Father to all men (Ephesians 4:6), but He is spiritual Father only to believers (Romans 8:14; 2 Corinthians 6:18).  He has decreed for His own Glory all things that come to pass (Ephesians 1:11).  He continually upholds, directs, and governs all creatures and events (1 Chronicles 29:11).  He is neither the author nor approver of sin (Habakkuk 1: 13; John 8:38-47), nor does He diminish the accountability of moral, intelligent creatures (1 Peter 1:17).  He has graciously chosen from eternity past those whom He would adopt as His own who come to Him (Ephesians 4:6).  He saves from sin all who come to Him through Jesus Christ.  He becomes, upon adoption, Father to His own (Galatians 4:5; Hebrews 12:5-9).

God the Son We teach that Jesus Christ, the second Person of the Trinity, possesses all the divine attributes, and in these, He is coequal, of the same nature and coeternal with the Father (John 10:30; 14:9).  We teach that God the Father created, through His Son, Jesus Christ, all things (John 1:3; Colossians 1:15-17).  We teach that in the incarnation, Jesus Christ, without altering His divine nature or surrendering any of the divine attributes, made Himself of no reputation by taking on a fully human nature identical with our own, yet without sin (Philippians 2:5-8; Hebrews 4:15; 7:26).  We teach that He was conceived by the Holy Spirit in the virgin Mary’s womb (Luke 1:35) and thus born of a woman (Galatians 4:4 – 5), so that two perfect and distinct natures, the divine and the human were joined together in one person.  He is, therefore, very God and very man, yet one Christ, the only mediator between God and man.  We teach that in His incarnation, Christ fully possessed His divine nature, attributes, and privileges (Colossians 2:9; Luke 5:18-26).  However, in the state of His humiliation, He did not always fully express the glories of His majesty (Matthew 17:2; Philippians 2:5-8).  According to His human nature, He acts in submission to the Father (John 4:34; 6:38) by the Holy Spirit’s power (Matthew 12:28; Luke 4:1, 14), while according to His divine nature, He acts by his authority and power as the eternal Son (John 1:14; 14:10-11).  We teach that our Lord Jesus Christ accomplished our redemption through the shedding of His blood and sacrificial death on the cross and that His death was voluntary, substitutionary, and redemptive (John 10:15; 1 Peter 2:24).  We teach that the believing sinner is freed from the punishment, the penalty, the power, and one day the very presence of sin and that he is declared righteous, given eternal life, and adopted into Gods family (Romans 3:25; 2 Corinthians 5:14-15).  We teach that Jesus Christ’s resurrection from the dead was literal and physical and that He is now ascended to the right hand of the Father, where He now mediates as our Advocate and High Priest (Luke 24:38-39; Hebrews 7:25).  We teach that in Jesus Christ’s resurrection from the grave, God confirmed the deity of His Son and gave proof that God has accepted the atoning work of Christ on the cross.  Jesus bodily resurrection also guarantees a future resurrection life for all believers (John 5:26-29; 1 Corinthians 15:20, 23).  We teach that Jesus Christ will return to receive the church unto Himself at the rapture and return with His church in glory to establish His millennial kingdom on earth (Acts 1:9-11; Revelation 20).  We teach that God will judge all mankind through Jesus Christ (John 5:22-23):

We teach that Jesus Christ is:

God the Holy Spirit We teach that the Holy Spirit is a divine Person, eternal, underived, possessing all the attributes of personality and deity including intellect (1 Corinthians 2:10-13), emotions (Ephesians 4:30), will (1 Corinthians 12:11), eternality (Hebrews 9:14), omnipresence (Psalms 139:7-10), omniscience (Isaiah 40:13-14), omnipotence (Romans 15:13), and truthfulness (John 16:13).  He is coequal and of the same essence with the Father and the Son (Matthew 28:19; Hebrews 10:15-17).  We recognize his sovereign activity in creation (Genesis 1:2), the incarnation (Matthew 1:18), the written revelation (2 Peter 1:20-21), and the work of salvation (John 3:5-7).  We teach that the Holy Spirit’s work in this age began at Pentecost when He came from the Father as promised by Christ (John 14:16-17; 15:26) to initiate and complete the building of the Body of Christ, which is His church (1 Corinthians 12:13).  He convicts the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment; glorifying the Lord Jesus Christ and transforming believers into the image of Christ (John 16:7-9; Romans 8:29).  We teach that the Holy Spirit is the supernatural and sovereign Agent in regeneration, baptizing all believers into the Body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:13).  The Holy Spirit also indwells, sanctifies, instructs, empowers them for service, and seals them unto the day of redemption (Romans 8:9; Ephesians 1:13).  We teach that the Holy Spirit guided the apostles and prophets into all truth as they committed to writing Gods revelation, the Bible (2 Peter 1:19-21).  Every believer possesses the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit from the moment of salvation.  All those born of the Spirit are to be filled with (controlled by) the Spirit (John 16:13; Ephesians 5:18).  We teach that the Holy Spirit administers spiritual gifts to the church.  The Holy Spirit glorifies neither Himself nor His gifts by showy displays, but He does glorify Christ by redeeming the lost and building up believers in the most holy faith (John 16:13-14; 1 Corinthians 12:4-11).  We teach that the Holy Spirit is sovereign in bestowing spiritual gifts for the perfecting of the saints today and that speaking in tongues and the working of sign miracles in the beginning days of the church were for the purpose of pointing to and authenticating the apostles as revealers of divine truth and were never intended to be characteristic of the lives of believers (1 Corinthians 12:4-11; 2 Corinthians 12:12; Ephesians 4:7-12; Hebrews 2:1-4)

We teach that man was created by God in His image and likeness.  Man was created free of sin with intelligence, volition, self-determination, and moral responsibility to God (Genesis 2:7, 15-25; James 3:9).  Man was also created by God as either male or female, biologically defined and distinct sexes (Genesis 1:27; 2: 5-23; Romans 1:26-27) for each individual (Psalm 139:13-14).  Confusion between the two is an abomination to Him (Leviticus 18:22; Romans 1:26-27).  We teach that man’s chief end (purpose) is to glorify God, enjoy Gods fellowship, and live his life in the will of God (Isaiah 43:7; Colossians 1:16).  We teach that in Adam’s sin of disobedience to the revealed will and Word of God, man lost his innocence, incurred the penalty of spiritual and physical death, became subject to the wrath of God, and became inherently corrupt and utterly incapable of choosing or doing that which is acceptable to God apart from divine grace.  With no power to recover himself, man is hopelessly lost.  Man’s salvation is thereby wholly of God’s grace through the redemptive work of our Lord Jesus Christ (Genesis 3:1-19; Romans 3:23; 6: 23; 1 Timothy 2:13-14).  We teach that because all men are from Adam, a nature corrupted by Adam’s sin has been transmitted to all men of all ages; Jesus Christ being the only exception.  Thus, all men are sinners by nature, choice, and divine declaration (Romans 3:9-18, 23).

We teach that salvation is not man-centered but God-centered.  God saves sinners for “the praise of His glorious grace” (Ephesians 1:6).  Salvation is wholly of God by grace based on the redemption of Jesus Christ, the merit of His shed blood, and not based on human merit or works (John 1:12; Ephesians 1:7; 2: 8-10; 1 Peter 1:18-19).

Regeneration We teach that regeneration is a supernatural work of the Holy Spirit by which the divine nature and divine life are imparted into the spiritually dead sinner (John 3:3-7; Titus 3:5).  It is an instantaneous event and is accomplished solely by the power of the Holy Spirit through the Word of God (John 5:24).  When the repentant sinner, enabled by the Holy Spirit responds in faith to the divine provision of salvation, regeneration occurs.  Genuine regeneration is demonstrated in righteous attitudes and conduct.  Good works are the proper evidence and fruit of regeneration (1 Corinthians 6:19-20; Ephesians 2:10) and will be experienced to the extent that the believer submits to the Holy Spirit’s control in his life, through faithful obedience to God’s Word (Ephesians 5:17-21; 2 Peter 1:4-10).  This obedience causes the believer to be increasingly conformed to the image of our Lord Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 3:18).  Such conformity is completed, at the believer’s glorification at Christ’s coming (Romans 8:17; 2 Peter 1:4; 1 John 3:2-3).

Election We teach that election is the free and sovereign choice of God, made in eternity past, to set his love on specific individuals, and, based on nothing in themselves but solely the cause of the good pleasure of His will, to choose them to be saved from sin and damnation and to inherit the blessings of eternal life through the mediatorial work of Christ (Romans 8:28-30; Ephesians 1:4-11; 2 Thessalonians 2:13; 2 Timothy 2:10; 1 Peter 1:1-2).  We teach that sovereign election does not contradict or negate man’s responsibility to repent and trust Christ as Savior and Lord (Ezekiel 18:23, 32; 33:11; John 3:18-19, 36; 5:40; Romans 9:22-23; 2 Thessalonians 2:10-12; Revelation 22:17).  All whom the Father calls to Himself will come in faith, and all who come in faith the Father will receive (John 6:37-40, 44; Acts 13:48; James 4:8).  We teach that the unmerited favor that God grants to totally depraved sinners is not related to any initiative of their own part or to Gods anticipation of what they might do by their own will, but is solely of His sovereign grace and mercy (Ephesians 1:4-7; Titus 3:4-7; 1 Peter 1:2).  We teach that God is truly sovereign, but He exercises this sovereignty in harmony with His other attributes, especially His omniscience, justice, holiness, wisdom, grace, and love (Romans 9:11-16).

Justification We teach that justification before God is an act of God (Romans 8:33) by which He declares righteous those who, through faith in Christ, repent of their sins (Acts 2:38; 3:19; 11: 18; Romans 2:4) and confess Him as Lord (Romans 10:9-10; 1 Corinthians 12:3).  This righteousness is apart from any virtue or work of man Romans 3:20; 4:6) and involves a twofold act; God counts, credits or reckons our sin to Christ (Colossians 2:14; 1 Peter 2:24) and punishes Him in our place, and He imputes Christ’s righteousness to believers and grants them eternal life in Him (1 Corinthians 1:30; 2 Corinthians 5:21).  By this means God is enabled to “be just and the justifier” of the one who has faith in Jesus (Romans 3:26).

Sanctification We teach that every believer is sanctified (set apart) unto God by justification and is therefore declared to be holy and is therefore identified as a saint.  Through union with Christ, the believer is set free from the dominion of sin (sin’s power) (Romans 6:1-7: 6).  This sanctification is positional and instantaneous. It is not the same as progressive sanctification.  This sanctification has to do with the believer’s standing, not his present walk or condition (1 Corinthians 1:2, 30; 6:11; Hebrews 2:11; 3:1; 10:10, 14; 13:12).  We teach that there is also, by the work of the Holy Spirit, progressive sanctification by which the believer is brought closer to the standing the believer positionally enjoys through justification.  Through obedience to God’s Word and the empowering of the Holy Spirit, the believer can live a life of increasing holiness, conforming to God’s will, becoming more and more like Jesus Christ (Romans 6:1-22; 1 Thessalonians 4: 3-4; 5:23).  We teach that every saved person is involved in a daily conflict- the new creation in Christ doing battle against the flesh – but the Holy Spirit provides adequate provision for victory.  The struggle, nevertheless, stays with the believer throughout this earthly life and never ends completely in this life.  All claims to the complete eradication of sin in this life are unscriptural.  While complete eradication of sin is not possible, the Holy Spirit does provide for victory over sin (Galatians 5:16-25; Ephesians 4:22-24).

Perseverance (Security)  We teach that all those who are truly born again will be kept by God’s power and will persevere as Christians until the end of their lives and that only those who persevere until the end have been truly born again and are thus secure in Christ forever (John 5:24; 6:37-40; 10:27-30; Romans 5:9-10; 8:1, 31-39).  We teach that the believer should rejoice in the assurance of their salvation through the testimony of God’s Word, which, however, clearly forbids the use of Christian liberty as an occasion for sinful living and carnality (Romans 6:15-22; 13:13-14; Galatians 5:13, 25-26).

We teach that separation from sin is clearly called for throughout the Old and New Testaments and that the Scriptures indicate that in the last days, apostasy and worldliness shall increase (2 Corinthians 6:14-7:1; 2 Timothy 3:1-5).  We teach that out of gratitude for the undeserved grace of God granted to us, all the saved should live in such a manner as to demonstrate our love to God and so as not to bring reproach upon our Lord and Savior.  We also teach that God commands us to separate from all religious apostasy and worldly and sinful practices (1 Corinthians 5:9-13; 1 John 2:15-17).  We teach that believers should be separated unto our Lord Jesus Christ (2 Thessalonians 1:11-12; Hebrews 12:1-2), dedicated to a life of obedient righteousness that reflects the teaching of the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:2-12), and should be continually pursuing holiness (Hebrews 12:14; 1 John 3:1-10).

We teach that all who place their faith in Jesus Christ are immediately placed by the Holy Spirit into one united spiritual Body, the church (1 Corinthians 12:12-13), the bride of Christ (Ephesians 5:23-30; Revelation 19:7-8), of which Christ is the head (Ephesians 1:22; Colossians 1:18).  We teach that the formation of the church began on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2:1-21, 38-47) and will be completed at Christ’s coming for His own at the rapture (1 Corinthians 15:51-52; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18).  We teach that the church is distinct from Israel (1 Corinthians 10:32), a mystery not revealed until this age (Ephesians 3:1-6; 5:30).  We teach that the establishment and continuity of local churches is clearly taught in the New Testament (Acts 14:23, 27; 20:17, 28; Galatians 1:2) and that the members of one spiritual Body are directed to meet together in local assemblies (1 Corinthians 11:18-20; Hebrews 10:25).  We teach that the one supreme authority for the church is Christ (1 Corinthians 11:3; Colossians 1:18) and that church leadership, gifts, order, discipline, and worship are all appointed through His sovereignty.  The biblically designated officers serving under Christ and over the assembly are Elders (also called bishops, pastors, and pastor-teachers; Acts 20:28; Ephesians 4:11) and deacons, both of whom must meet Biblical qualifications (1 Timothy 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-9); 1 Peter 5:1-5).  We teach that those leaders lead or rule as servants of Christ (1 Timothy 5:17-22) and have His authority in directing the church.  A congregation is to submit to their leadership (Hebrews 13: 7,17).  We teach the importance of discipleship (Matthew 28:19-20; 2 Timothy 2:2), mutual accountability of all believers to each other (Matthew 18:5-14), as well as the need for discipline of sinning members of the congregation in accord with the standards of Scripture (Matthew 18:15-22; Acts 5:1-11).  We teach the autonomy of the local church, free from any external authority or control, with their right of self-government and freedom from the interference of any hierarchy of individuals or organizations (Titus 1:5).  We teach that it is scriptural for true churches to cooperate with each other for the presentation and propagation of the faith.  Each local church, however, through its Elders and their interpretation and application of Scripture, should be the sole judge of the measure and methods of its cooperation.  The Elders should also determine all other matters of membership, policy, discipline, benevolence, and government (Acts 15:19-31; 20:28; 1 Corinthians 5:4-7, 13).  We teach that the purpose of the church is to glorify God (Ephesians 3:21) by building itself up in the faith (Ephesians 4:13-16), by instruction of the Word (2 Timothy 2:2, 15), by fellowship (Acts 2:47), by keeping the ordinances (Luke 22:19) and by advancing and communicating the gospel to the entire world (Matthew 28:19).  We teach the calling of all saints to the work of service (1 Corinthians 15:58).  We teach God gives the church spiritual gifts. He gives men chosen for the purpose of equipping the saints for the work of the ministry (Ephesians 4:7-12), and He also gives unique and special spiritual abilities to each member of the Body of Christ (Romans 12:5-8).  We teach that there were two kinds of gifts given to the early church, first, miraculous gifts of divine revelation i.e. sign gifts (healing, miracles, tongues, and interpretation of tongues), given temporarily in the apostolic era for the purpose of confirming the authenticity of the apostle’s message (Hebrews 2:3-4; 2 Corinthians 12:12). Secondly, there are ministering gifts, given to equip believers for edifying one another.  With the New Testament revelation now complete, Scripture becomes the sole test of the authenticity of a man’s message, and confirming gifts of a miraculous nature are no longer necessary to validate a man or his message (1 Corinthians 13:8-12).  Miraculous gifts can even be counterfeited by Satan so as to deceive even believers (1 Corinthians 13:13-14; 12; Revelation 13:13-14).  The only gifts in operation today are those non-revelatory equipping gifts given for edification (Romans 12:6-8).  We teach that no one possesses the gift of healing today, but that God does hear and answer the prayer of faith and will answer in accordance with His own perfect will for the sick, suffering, and afflicted (Luke 18:1-6; James 5:13-16).  We teach that two ordinances have been committed to the local church: baptism and the Lord’s Supper. (Acts 2:38-42).  Christian baptism by immersion (Acts 8:36-39) is a believer’s solemn and beautiful testimony showing his faith in the crucified, buried, and risen Savior and his union with Him in death to sin and resurrection to a new life (Romans 6:1-11).  It is also a sign of fellowship and identification with the visible Body of Christ (Acts 2:41-42).  We teach that the Lord’s Supper is the proclamation of His death until He comes and should always be preceded by solemn self-examination (1 Corinthians 11:28-32).  We also teach that, whereas the elements of the Lord’s Supper are only representative of the flesh and blood of Christ, participation in the Lord’s Supper is nevertheless an actual communion with the risen Christ, who indwells every believer and so is present, fellowshipping with His people (1 Corinthians 10:16).

Holy Angels We teach that angels are created beings and are, therefore, not to be worshipped.  Although they are a higher order of creation than man, they are created to serve God and to worship Him (Luke 2:9-14; Hebrews 1:6-7, 14; 2:6-7).

Fallen Angels We teach that Satan is a created angel and the author of sin.  He incurred the judgment of God by rebelling against his Creator (Isaiah 14:12-17; Ezekiel 28:11-19), by taking numerous angels with him in his fall (Matthew 25:41; Revelation 12:1-14), and by introducing sin into the human race by his temptation of Eve (Genesis 3:1-15).  We teach that Satan is the open and declared enemy of God and man (Isaiah 14: 13-14; Matthew 4:1-11); that he is the prince of this world, who has been defeated through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ (Romans 16:20); and that he shall be eternally punished in the lake of fire (Matthew 25:41; Revelation 20:10).

We teach that physical death involves no loss of our immaterial consciousness (Revelation 6:9-11), that the soul of the redeemed passes immediately into the presence of Christ (Luke 23:43; 2 Corinthians 5:8), that there is a separation of soul and body (Philippians 1:21-24), and that, for the redeemed such separation will continue until the rapture (1 Thessalonians 4:13-17), which initiates the first resurrection (Revelation 20:4-6) when our soul and body will be reunited to be glorified forever with our Lord (Philippians 3:21; 1 Corinthians 15:35-44, 50-54).  Until that time, the souls of the redeemed in Christ remain in joyful fellowship with our Lord Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 5:8).  We teach that bodily resurrection of all men, the saved to eternal life (John 6:39; Romans 8:10-11, 19-23), and the unsaved to judgment and everlasting punishment (John 5:29; Revelation 20:13-15).  We teach that the souls of the unsaved at death are kept under punishment until the second resurrection (Luke 16:19-26; Revelation 20:13-15), when the soul and the resurrection body will be united (John 5:28-29).  They shall then appear at the Great White Throne Judgment (Revelation 20:11-15) and shall be cast into hell, the lake of fire (Matthew 25:41-46), cut off from the life of God forever (Matthew 25:41-46; 2 Thessalonians 1:7-9).

The Rapture of the Church  We teach the personal, bodily return of our Lord Jesus Christ before the seven-year tribulation (1 Thessalonians 4:16; Titus 2:13) to translate His church from this earth (1 Corinthians 15: 51-53; 1 Thessalonians 4:15-5:11) and between this event and His glorious return with His saints, to reward believers according to their works (1 Corinthians 3:11-15; 2 Corinthians 5:10).

The Tribulation Period  We teach that following the removal of the church from the earth (John 14:1-3; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18), the righteous judgments of God will be poured out upon an unbelieving world (2 Thessalonians 2:7-12; Revelation 16), and that these judgments will be climaxed by the return of Christ in Glory to the earth (Matthew 24:27-31; 25:31-46; 2Thessalonians 2:7-12).  At that time, the Old Testament and tribulation saints will be raised, and the living will be judged (Then you’ll 12:2-3; Revelation 20: 4-6).  This period includes the seventieth week of Daniel’s prophecy (Daniel 9:24-27; Matthew 24:15-31; 25:31-46).

The Second Coming and the Millennial Reign We teach that, after the tribulation., Christ will come to earth to occupy the throne of David (Luke 1:33-35; Acts 1:10-11; 2:29-30) and establish His messianic kingdom for 1,000 years on the earth (Revelation 20:1-7).  During this time, the resurrected saints will reign with Him over Israel and all the nations of the earth (Daniel 7:7-22; Revelation 19:11-16).  This reign will be preceded by the overthrow of the Antichrist and the False Prophet and by removing Satan from the world (Daniel 7:17-27; Revelation 20:1-7).  We teach that the kingdom itself will be the fulfillment of God’s promise to Israel (Isaiah 65:17-25; Ezekiel 37:21-28) to restore them to the land that they forfeited through their disobedience (Deuteronomy 28:15-68).  Their disobedience resulted in Israel being temporarily set aside (Matthew 21:43; Romans 11:1-26), but will again be awakened through repentance to enter into the land of blessing (Ezekiel 36:22-32; Romans 11 25-29).  We teach that this time of our Lord’s reign will be characterized by harmony, justice, peace, righteousness, and long life (Isaiah 11; 65:17-25; Ezekiel 36:33-38) and will be brought to an end with the release of Satan (Revelation 20:7).

The Judgment of the Lost We teach that following the release of Satan after the 1,000-year reign of Christ (Revelation 20:7), Satan will deceive the nations of the earth and gather them to battle against the saints and the beloved city. At that time, Satan and his army will be devoured by fire from heaven (Revelation 20 9).  Following this, Satan will be thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone (Matthew 25:41; Revelation 20:10) after Christ, who is the Judge of all men (John 5:22), will resurrect and judge the great and small at the Great White Throne Judgment.  We teach that this resurrection of the unsaved dead to judgment will be a physical resurrection, at which point, receiving their judgment (John 5:28-29), they will be committed to eternal conscious punishment in the lake of fire (Matthew 25:41; Revelation 20:11-15).

Eternity We teach that after the closing of the millennium, the temporary release of Satan, and the judgment of unbelievers (2Thessalonians 1:9; Revelation 20:7-15), the saved will enter the eternal state of glory with God, after which the elements of this earth are to be dissolved (2 Peter 3:10) and replaced with a new heaven and earth, wherein only righteousness dwells (Revelation 21:1-27; 22:1-21).  Following this, the heavenly city will come out of heaven (Revelation 21:2) and will be the dwelling place of the saints, where they will forever enjoy fellowship with God and one another (John 17:3; Revelation 21-22).  Our Lord Jesus Christ, having fulfilled His redemptive mission, will then deliver up the kingdom to God the Father (1 Corinthians 15:24-28), that in all spheres, the triune God may reign forever and ever (1 Corinthians 15:28).