Magyar Egyház, 1962 (41. évfolyam, 2-12. szám)
1962-04-01 / 4. szám
10 MAGYAR EGYHÁZ other religious observances ranging from the Universal Week of Prayer in January to Share Our Surplus Week at Thanksgiving time. These are but a few of the varied activities of the National Council for the churches of the nation, which also provides staff and facilities for the 12 million women associated with its United Church Women program and for its United Church Men organization. The first ten years of the Council’s existence have dispelled fears that it would lead to a superchurch or that it would exert any kind of control over the churches. The Council’s constitution makes it clear it is an agency of the churches, established by them to serve them, and through its policy-making General Board of member church representatives, to speak to the churches on matter of Christian social concern. The Council has been misrepresented by some critics as being a “pro-this” or “against-that” organization and that it claims to speak for the churches. Nothing is further from the truth. When the National Council of Churches speaks on issues of Christian concern, it is the elected or appointed leaders of the member denominations who together speak to their churches on these issues. Today, the National Council of Churches, together with over 1,000 county, city and state councils of churches, symbolizes one of the most important developments since the Reformation. It is an expression of the growing unity and cooperation of the Protestant and Eastern Orthodox Churches of America.-----------o----------THE SECOND COMING OF JESUS CHRIST We, believing Christians, expect great, extraordinary events to come in the future. The revelation of God, our Bible, clearly tells us that these following things will happen: 1. the second coming of Jesus Christ, 2. the resurrection of the dead, 3. the last judgement, and 4. the consummation of the world. In this article let us learn about the second coming of Jesus Christ as it is revealed to us in the Bible. First of all, it is a clear teaching in the Bible that Jesus Christ will come back from heaven. We know this from the biblical record of his ascension. It is written in the Book of Acts that when Jesus was lifted up, two angels appeared to the disciples and said to them: “Why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven” (Acts 1). The second coming of Jesus Christ will be rather different from his first coming. At the first coming He came in the form of a little babe, born in a stable, under very poor and insignificant circumstances. His second coming will be as that of a king. “The Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the archangel’s call, and with the sound of a trumpet of God” (I. Thess. 4). “They will see the Son of man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory” (Matt. 24). As to the exact time of the second coming of Jesus Christ, some religious maniacs tried to fix the date and fortell it. God from his great wisdom decided not to reveal or fortell us the time of the second coming of Jesus. “Watch therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming” (Matt. 24). God wants us to expect the coming of the Lord as if it could happen at any time. God wants us to be ready all the time to meet our returning Lord Jesus Christ. Why will Jesus come back? The main purpose of the coming of Jesus Christ is to hold a judgement over all angels and men. His judgement will mean the end of the life of mankind here on earth and it will include all men who ever lived. Therefore, that judgement will be preceded by the resurrection of the dead and it will be followed by the destruction or consummation of this world we know. The second coming of Jesus Christ will mean a great joy for his believing followers and a sad awakening for those who denied him and despised his teachings. About the resurrection, the final judgement and the consummation of the world we shall write in our future articles. Stephen Kovács-----------o----------French Church Leader Cites Three Obstacles to Roman Catholic- Protestant Unity The hope that the forthcoming Vatican Council would examine the main obstacles which divide Protestants and Roman Catholics was expressed by Pastor Marc Boegner, a former president of the WCC and the French Protestant Federation, when he spoke recently at a mass meeting in Paris. Pastor Boegner cited three doctrines which obstruct the road to Christian unity: 1. The infallibility of the Pope; 2. The relative authority of Scripture and tradition; and 3. The cult of Mary, for Protestants cannot accept the dogmas of the Immaculate Conception, the Assumption, and certain forms which popular veneration of the Virgin takes. Pastor Boegner urged all Christians to pray for the ecumenical efforts of the Roman Catholic Church. He stressed the dangers of excessive haste and premature enthusaism but affirmed that “what unites Catholics and Protestants is much more important than what divides them.” (EPS, Geneva)-----------o----------LOVE, NOT INTELLECT, KEY TO ECUMENICAL PROBLEMS, SAYS SCOTS MODERATOR The ecumenical movement must go forward at a deeper level than the intellectual, the Rt. Rev. Dr. A. C. Craig, Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, told the congregation at St. Andrew’s Church, Rome, Italy, during a centenary service. Dr. Craig said he looked to the congregation to succeed in a situation where it could “nobly exercise an ecumenical influence.” He added: “The ecumenical movement bristles with complexities and problems. The separate churches have to learn to live in love with one another, to lay aside those things which conflict with love. In proportion to the degree with which this is done the problems and difficulties on the intellectual plane will disappear.” (EPS, Geneva)
