A History of Christian Doctrine #3 - Online Christian Library

Trinitarian Pentecostal Organizations
days. They teach that the Lord has restored apostolic doctrine,
experience, and power in order to produce a worldwide
revival that will prepare people for His coming.
Pentecostals affirm that the Second Coming is drawing
near and that it will occur before the Millennium. Most
expect the Rapture to take place before the Tribulation,
but some believe it will occur during or at the end of the
Tribulation.
If we must single out the most distinctive tenets of
Pentecostalism as a whole, historically it would be these
two: the baptism of the Holy Spirit with tongues and the
soon coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. While other conservative
Christians have proclaimed the second point as
well, for Pentecostals it is so intertwined with the first as
to be an essential part of their identity.
All three branches of Pentecostals affirm that divine
healing is part of the Atonement. In other words, Christ’s
redeeming work has made physical healing available to
the church. As a result, some early Pentecostals shunned
all medical care, but the general practice has been to trust
God for healing while also recognizing that God can use
doctors and medicine.
A few people taught that if a person had enough faith
he would always receive healing. Some even taught that by
faith it was possible to have perfect health and never die.
This doctrine tended to be self-defeating, as all proponents
eventually died. In general, Pentecostals stress the importance
of believing God for healing, but they do not say that
healing is automatic or that if someone does not receive
healing then he does not have faith. They acknowledge
that God is sovereign and that they will not receive some
benefits of the Atonement until the resurrection.
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