Coptic Orthodox Diocese of the Southern United States
www.suscopts.org
   A  B  C  D  E  F  G  H  I  J  K  L  M  N  O  P  Q  R  S  T  U  V  W  X  Y  Z

Can you explain to me the differences between the Coptic and the Protestant church beliefs concerning the End of Times?

There are many differences but the most important one is the following:

The Protestant Church believes that the Lord Jesus Christ will come and rule over the world for a thousand years (The Millennial Reign); basing their view on "Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; and he cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal on him, so that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were finished. But after these things he must be released for a little while" (Rev 20:1-3).

"Now when the thousand years have expired, Satan will be released from his prison and will go out to deceive the nations … The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone..." (Rev 20:7-10).

They claim that these thousand years will be years of peace on earth according to the prophecy of Isaiah the prophet (Isa 11:6-9 & Isa 2:4).

Our Coptic Church believes that these thousand years have started with His death on the cross; and will end with His second coming when he will come to judge, not to rule on earth as we recite in the Creed "He is coming again to judge the living and the dead; whose Kingdom shall have no end". St. Matthew recorded to us what our Lord had said about His Second Coming in several passages (Mt 16:27; 24:30,31; 25:31-46; 13:4-43).

He Himself had said, "My Kingdom is not of this world" (Jn 18:36). On several occasions, the Lord had refused the earthly kingdom. This is evident after the miracle of feeding the multitude; for, sensing what the multitude wanted to do, which is crown Him a king, He had disappeared. "Then those men, when they had seen the sign that Jesus did, said, 'This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world.' Therefore when Jesus perceived that they were about to come and take Him by force to make Him king, He departed again to the mountain by Himself alone" (Jn 6:14-15). When He entered Jerusalem the multitudes proclaimed Him King (Mt 21:9; Mk 11:10).

It is obvious then that His Kingdom is not an earthly, temporary kingdom that would last a thousand years, but an everlasting one. The angels announcing the birth of our Lord proclaimed, "And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end" (Luke 1:33). Therefore, how can His reign end after a thousand years? How can destruction follow the peace that our Lord’s reign is supposed to have brought over those thousand years (Mt 5:18 and Rev 21:1)? St. Peter the Apostle talked about the Lord's coming saying "But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up" (2 Pet 3:10).
Home | Ask A Question | Search Q&A