Armodoxy for Today: Eschatology for today

The last Sunday of Lent is called Advent Sunday. Advent means coming and in this case it is used in reference to the Second Coming of Jesus.

 In the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 24, we read, Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see “the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven” with power and great glory. And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

On these very words, and several other passages in Holy Scriptures many people and religions have built belief systems about the end times. There is even a word, eschatology, derived from the Greek, to refer to the concerns and expectations of the end of the present world order, history and/or the world itself. Many popular ministries and preachers have come to huge fame interpreting signs and times, and as is evident from Jesus’ words, this is not anything new. Certainly those who heard Jesus pronounce these words were interpreting the signs of their times as well.

To be sure, the Armenian Church subscribes to the formula expressed in the Nicene Creed: [Jesus Christ] is to come with the same body and with the glory of the Father to judge the living and the dead; of His kingdom there is no end. This is what we confess and this is what we believe.

We also believe the unfailing word of Jesus Christ who says, “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only.”  And he concludes by saying therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour.

This week, with the directed eschatological view from our Faith we will discuss and discover the meaning of preparedness for the Second Coming as well as sift through some of the different ideas that bring fear and anxiety in the heart of the people, in their search for reconciliation with life and therefore God.

We pray from St. Nersess Shnorhali, Christ, the true Light, make my soul worthy to encounter with joy the light of your divine glory, on the day I will be called by you; and to rest in good hope, in the mansions of the righteous, until the great day of your coming. Have mercy upon your creatures, and on me, a sinner. Amen.