This final part of our eschatology series explores two doctrines often
debated in Christian theology—the Rapture and Purgatory—through
the lens of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church. While Rapture is widely accepted
in evangelical circles and Purgatory in Roman Catholic traditions, these
teachings are not recognized by the EOTC, which upholds a view rooted in the
clear and public Second Coming of Christ and the finality of judgment after
death.
The Rapture (ንጥቀት/ በምስጢር መነጠቅ)
The rapture, as taught in many modern evangelical
circles, claims that faithful Christians will be suddenly and secretly taken up
into the air to meet Christ before a period of great tribulation (Matthew
24:21-22), leaving the rest of humanity to face suffering. This idea is mainly
drawn from interpretations of passages like 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17. However,
the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church (EOTC) rejects this doctrine, as it
finds no basis for such an event within the broader context of Scripture or its
tradition.
1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 states, “ጌታ ራሱ በትእዛዝ በመላእክትም አለቃ ድምፅ በእግዚአብሔርም መለከት ከሰማይ ይወርዳልና፥ በክርስቶስም የሞቱ አስቀድመው ይነሣሉ፤ ከዚያም በኋላ እኛ ሕያዋን ሆነን የምንቀረው፥ ጌታን በአየር ለመቀበል ከእነርሱ ጋር በደመና እንነጠቃለን፤ እንዲሁም ሁልጊዜ ከጌታ ጋር እንሆናለን።”
This passage is often used to support the idea of a
rapture, where believers are taken up into the air to meet Christ. However, the
Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church (EOTC) understands this verse as referring
to the public Second Coming of Christ, not a secret event before the
tribulation. The Church interprets “በክርስቶስም የሞቱ አስቀድመው ይነሣሉ” to mean “በክርስቶስ አምነው የሞቱ ሰዎች አስቀድመው ይነሣሉ።” Similarly, the
Church understands, “ከዚያም በኋላ እኛ ሕያዋን ሆነን የምንቀረው፥ ጌታን በአየር ለመቀበል ከእነርሱ ጋር በደመና እንነጠቃለን”
as “ከዚህ በኋላ ሕያዋን ሆነን የምንኖር እኛ፥ ከእነሱ ጋራ አንድ ሆነን በክብር አናርጋለን።”
This means that those who died in Christ will rise first, and the living will
join them in glorification and ascend together with them. Moreover, the Church
teaches that Christ’s return will not be secret or hidden, but public, visible,
and accompanied by great heavenly signs, as stated in 1 Thessalonians 4:16–17
above.
Likewise, the clear portrayal of Christ’s return in
Matthew 24:30–31 opposes the idea of a secret rapture. The passage shows that Christ’s
second coming will be seen by all and accompanied by glory and great heavenly
signs. The gathering of the dead and those who alive is not hidden, but a
visible and powerful declaration of Christ’s divine authority: “የሰማያትም ኃይላት ይናወጣሉ። በዚያን ጊዜም የሰው ልጅ ምልክት በሰማይ ይታያል፥ በዚያን ጊዜም የምድር ወገኖች ሁሉ ዋይ ዋይ ይላሉ፥ የሰው ልጅንም በኃይልና በብዙ ክብር በሰማይ ደመና ሲመጣ ያዩታል፤ መላእክቱንም ከታላቅ መለከት ድምፅ ጋር ይልካቸዋል፥ ከሰማያትም ዳርቻ እስከ ዳርቻው ከአራቱ ነፋሳት ለእርሱ የተመረጡትን ይሰበስባሉ።”
(Matthew 24:30–31)
Additionally, Revelation 1:7 reveals, “እነሆ፥ ከደመና ጋር ይመጣል፤ ዓይንም ሁሉ የወጉትም ያዩታል፥ የምድርም ወገኖች ሁሉ ስለ እርሱ ዋይ ዋይ ይላሉ። አዎን፥ አሜን።”
This passage further emphasizes that Christ’s return will be visible to all; it
will not be a secret event reserved for the faithful alone. The idea of a
sudden and hidden rapture contradicts the plain teachings of Scripture.
The Purgatory (ጊዜያዊ ከኃጢአት የሚነጻበት ቦታ)
Purgatory, as taught in the Roman Catholic Church, is
believed to be a temporary state after death where souls undergo purification
through fire or torment before entering heaven. According to this
doctrine, many souls are not deemed good enough for heaven, nor bad enough for
hell, and thus, they must endure purgatorial torment to be purified.
However, the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church (EOTC)
rejects this teaching. The EOTC affirms that there are only two eternal
destinies: eternal life or eternal punishment. After death, there is no
intermediate state for purification or redemption.
The Church Rejects Purgatory
A key passage often cited by the Roman Catholic Church
to support the doctrine of purgatory is found in 1 Corinthians 3:13, where St.
Paul writes, “በእሳት ስለሚገለጥ ያ ቀን ያሳያልና፥ የእያንዳንዱም ሥራ እንዴት መሆኑን እሳቱ ይፈትነዋል።.”
However, a careful reading reveals that what is subjected to fire is not the
person, but the person’s work. The “fire” mentioned here is not a literal flame
causing suffering or purification after death, but rather symbolic of the
righteous judgment of God. This is further supported in Hebrews 12:29, which
affirms that “አምላካችን በእውነት የሚያጠፋ እሳት ነውና።”
The divine fire represents God’s holy presence and justice, not a temporary
place of torment. At the Second Coming, as described in 2 Thessalonians 1:6–7,
Christ returns with His angels to judge the world in glory, seated upon a
throne of fire: “ጌታ ኢየሱስ ከሥልጣኑ መላእክት ጋር ከሰማይ በእሳት ነበልባል ሲገለጥ፥ መከራን ለሚያሳዩአችሁ መከራን፥ መከራንም ለምትቀበሉ ከእኛ ጋር ዕረፍትን ብድራት አድርጎ እንዲመልስ በእግዚአብሔር ፊት በእርግጥ ጽድቅ ነውና።”(2 Thessalonians
1:6–7). Therefore, the judgment focuses on one’s deeds, not on a purgatorial
process of purification. This view aligns with the Church’s teaching that the
final judgment is immediate and based on one's earthly life, rather than
involving a transitional state after death.
Hebrews 9:27 states, “ለሰዎችም አንድ ጊዜ መሞት ከእርሱ በኋላም ፍርድ እንደ ተመደበባቸው...”
This verse affirms that after death comes judgment, not a state of purification, but heaven or hell.
The doctrine of purgatory stands in contradiction to this clear teaching, which
emphasizes the nature of judgment after death.
It is important to note that the Ethiopian Orthodox
Tewahedo Church prays for the departed, asking God to forgive them. However,
the Church does not teach that there is a temporary place or state where souls
are purified after death. Rather, the prayers are directed to God, who may
grant mercy at the final judgment. God willing, we will explore this topic—
“Prayer for the Dead” (ጸሎተ ፍትሐት) in a future essay.
Luke 16:26 asserts, “ከዚህም ሁሉ ጋር ከዚህ ወደ እናንተ ሊያልፉ የሚፈልጉ እንዳይችሉ፥ ወዲያ ያሉ ደግሞ ወደ እኛ እንዳይሻገሩ በእኛና በእናንተ መካከል ታላቅ ገደል ተደርጎአል አለ።” The parable of the rich man and Lazarus clearly
shows that the state of the soul after death is obvious—either in paradise or
in torment. There is no passage or transition between the two, and no third
state of purification. The idea of purgatory, which suggests a temporary place
for cleansing before entering paradise, directly contradicts this passage.
Revelation 20:12–13 points out, “ሙታንንም ታናናሾችንና ታላላቆችን በዙፋኑ ፊት ቆመው አየሁ፥ መጻሕፍትም ተከፈቱ፤ ሌላ መጽሐፍም ተከፈተ እርሱም የሕይወት መጽሐፍ ነው፤ ሙታንም በመጻሕፍት ተጽፎ እንደ ነበረ እንደ ሥራቸው መጠን ተከፈሉ። ባሕርም በእርሱ ውስጥ ያሉትን ሙታን ሰጠ፥ ሞትና ሲኦልም በእነርሱ ዘንድ ያሉትን ሙታን ሰጡ፥ እያንዳንዱም እንደ ሥራው መጠን ተከፈለ።.” This passage clearly presents the final judgment as
a single event after the resurrection, where each person is judged according to
their deeds. It does not mention a temporary state of purification; thereby
rejecting the concept of purgatory.
2 Corinthians 5:10 says, “መልካም ቢሆን ወይም ክፉ እንዳደረገ፥ እያንዳንዱ በሥጋው የተሠራውን በብድራት ይቀበል ዘንድ ሁላችን በክርስቶስ በፍርድ ወንበር ፊት ልንገለጥ ይገባናልና።”
This passage emphasizes the irrevocable nature of judgment following death and
the resurrection. It underscores that after life on earth, there is no place or
condition for further purification.
The belief in Purgatory contradicts
several biblical teachings:
1. The Sufficiency of Christ's Sacrifice
The Bible teaches that Christ's sacrifice is
completely sufficient to cleanse believers from all sins — no further
purification after death is needed. Hebrews 10:14 states, "አንድ ጊዜ በማቅረብ የሚቀደሱትን የዘላለም ፍጹማን አድርጎአቸዋልና።"
Similarly, Jesus' last words on the cross, recorded in
John 19:30 — "It is finished" ("ተፈጸመ")
— proclaim that the salvation Christ came to achieve was fully accomplished. If
human suffering or purgatory could satisfy Divine Justice, Christ would not
have needed to endure the cross for our redemption. The purification of souls
is accomplished through the blood of Jesus Christ, not through the material
fire associated with Purgatory.
Additionally, 1 John 1:7 records, "የልጁም የኢየሱስ ክርስቶስ ደም ከኃጢአት ሁሉ ያነጻናል።" This verse
demonstrates that the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin. If
Christ’s death fully cleanses us, then the need for further purification after
death would undermine the completeness of His sacrifice.
2. Immediate Destination After Death
The Bible teaches that after death, souls immediately
enter either a state of blessing (heaven/paradise) or a state of condemnation,
with no middle, temporary place for purification. In 2 Corinthians 5:8, St.
Paul indicates, "ታምነናል ይልቁንም ከሥጋ ተለይተን በስደት መኖር በጌታም ዘንድ ማደር ደስ ይለናል።"
St. Paul does not suggest that after death we go to a purgatory state, but
rather that we will be present with the Lord.
Philippians 1:23 states, "በእነዚህም በሁለቱ እጨነቃለሁ፤ ልሄድ ከክርስቶስም ጋር ልኖር እናፍቃለሁ፥ ከሁሉ ይልቅ እጅግ የሚሻል ነውና።" In this
verse, St. Paul is not referring to an intermediate place of purification after
death. Instead, he affirms that death immediately brings him into the presence
of Christ, which is far better.
3. Purgatory is Inconsistent with Jesus’
Words
The doctrine of purgatory has no foundation in
Scripture. For instance, Jesus tells the thief on the cross, "Today, you
will be with Me in paradise" (Luke 23:43). If purgatory existed, why was
the thief not sent there first? Purgatory clearly contradicts both the words of
Christ and the broader message of Scripture.
Conclusion
The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church firmly rejects
both the idea of a secret rapture and the concept of purgatory, affirming
instead the visible return of Christ and the immediate judgment of souls. The
Church’s teachings on the Second Coming and the Final Judgment of Christ call
the faithful to live in vigilant preparation—not for hidden events or
transitional states, but for the glorious return of the Lord and the eternal
destiny that awaits.
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