A Final Fulfillment: On Eschatology

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Precarious – as in “precarious” generalizations – is the word that immediately comes to mind when discussions concerning eschatology arise. Why? Well, simply put, we know so very little about the subject. Our lack of pertinent knowledge begs the question: How in the world could we craft so many overly-complicated end times scenarios and apocalyptic schemes with so little understanding? It seems we humans are quite crafty. We can run with things that aren’t there, and we can run well! This is, however, more than slightly dangerous and distracting.

So, what do we know about the end times? We know this: Jesus will return for his church and make all things right in the end. That’s about the extent of our eschatological knowledge. Jesus himself doesn’t even know the time or date of this event (Mark 13:32: “But concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.”). It is with this humble understanding in tow that I prayerfully venture into any and all conversations concerning the “end times.”

That said, let’s look a bit deeper into the subject of eschatology. The following “big” questions are important and wrestled with most frequently:

1. What does the Bible reveal about the Second Coming of Christ?
2. What are the conditions and events that conclude the present age and inaugurate the age to come?
3. What is God’s final judgment: For believers, for unbelievers?

First of all, Jesus, in the context of his last supper with his disciples, turned to them and said, “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. 2 In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also” (John 14:1-3). So, while the details remain unclear, we know for sure that Jesus is: 1.) Preparing a place for his followers in the life and world to come, and 2.) he is going to return to take his followers there. Again, majoring on the details of this coming and the world to come is quite impossible. There are no specifics or details save the fact that Jesus will return and take his church unto himself. Anything more is mere conjecture. We would do well to invest our time and energy into what we do know rather than building complicated eschatological schemes upon invented foundations.

That said, we are not totally in the dark. We have the Scriptures. We know Jesus said he would prepare a place and return for his church. The specific details of this coming may not have been communicated but signs of the occurrence of the event have been pointed out.  Jesus, in Matthew 24, points towards signs that would accompany the end of this age and the start of the new. Imposter christs and great apostasy will be one sign of the great expiration.  Wars, religious persecution, and tribulation will reign. Also, Jesus says that people will be eating, drinking, and marrying, just like the people did in the days leading up to the Noah flood, totally oblivious to the impending cataclysm. So shall it be before Jesus returns and ushers in the end of one age and the start of a new one. So, it seems, we know what will finally occur (Jesus will return and lead his church into a new age), and we know what signs will appear prior to the cataclysm (false christs, apostasy, wars, persecution, tribulation, etc.), but we don’t know any of the specifics. Indeed, we peer through a glass darkly, but with much hope and confidence in the promise of God.

So, what does all of this apocalyptic talk have to do with people? Everything! The fall in Genesis (Gen 1-3) is a theological expression of our human condition and predicament in this world. We are fallen, and living as slaves to perpetual Sin, Death, and Evil. Jesus is our freedom. Those who believe and follow Christ are active participants in God’s redemptive plan and process of complete and universal recreation. This plan is a process. Yes, we have been freed from Sin, Death, and Evil, but the unholy trinity still rages on as if it were not beaten at all. Therefore, we live in the tension of an already/not yet reality of God’s recreation process (Heb: 9:28; 1Peter 1:5). The church is free, but will experience its ultimate freedom when Christ return to finally put the unholy’s head under the crushing weight of his righteous heal. When this ultimate culmination occurs, those individuals who rejected Christ’s free offer of salvation and life lived within the Kingdom of God according to its principles, will be judged by God and permanently punished; those who accepted Christ and Kingdom will be rewarded, permanently (1Thessalonians 4:16; Matthew 16:27; Mark 13:36; 2Peter 3:10; 2Th 1:8-9).

We know not the day or the hour of Christ’s return. We do not know what the next world will be like, or even look like. We do, however, know exactly what we have to do to participate in God’s great recreation project. Jesus says as much to his disciples during the last supper dialogue cited earlier in this study. Jesus says to those disciples, “And you know the way to where I am going.” We may not know what our destination looks like exactly, but we do know how to get there. Jesus has made that clear for the world. We would do well to invest our time and energy into the things that have been clearly shown.

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