Eschatology is made up of two Greek words: “eschaton” which means last or final and “logy” which means the study of.1 By putting them together, one can very easily conclude that Eschatology is the study of final things. Although most people only think of the last days or end of the world when they hear this term, eschatology also covers the more personal and perhaps more immediate topic of death and the hereafter. In this paper, I will attempt to explore each of the major themes that fall under the umbrella of eschatology. As with most areas in theology, not all Christian denominations are in unison regarding various topics. Disagreements in the interpretation of Scripture are a major factor that contributes to these different views. Although I will make clear my perspective on the areas covered, my aim is to adequately cover each view.

     

I once heard a preacher proclaim on “YouTube” to an audience that within the next 25 to 50 years that everyone in that service would find themselves standing before God. He went on to say that if God does not come here during that specific period, then everyone in that room will find themselves going to him. This attention-grabbing statement is a perfect point to start at when explaining Eschatology. 

     

I would like to delve into the subject by first looking at the spiritual process that takes place when a person dies. In the book of Hebrews, the Bible states that “it is appointed unto man once to die, but after this the judgment.” From this verse, I believe the two words “but after” speaks volumes. At some point, we all come to accept the fact that we are mortal and will one day die. We all experience the deaths of family members, friends, and pets and hear of fatal incidents via media. However, the two words “but after” implies that death is not the end of this state of consciousness. There is yet another experience after physical death. Taking this into account should give Christians an entirely different perspective on dying than those that do not know or acknowledge what the Bible says about this matter. In one of the Psalms,3 The psalmist wrote “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.” When thinking of the word “precious” it is easier to visualize a cuddly newborn babe rather than a stiff corpse. In fact, this statement is absurd to anyone that does not hold a biblical view on death. I can recall hearing a sermon by T.D. Jakes where he compared the process of death to the birth of a newborn. He pointed out that for nine months the only world that a newborn knows is inside of its mother’s womb. It lives, eats, sleeps, and finds comfort in its mother’s womb. Then one day, suddenly, from a process that the baby does not understand, the mother’s body begins to push the baby out. It leaves behind all it knows, never to return as it passes through the birth canal. Birth in a sense is death to the newborn. It is only after the baby passes through the birth canal that it realizes that there is a whole new world on the other side.

Although I believe that the Bible makes clear what to expect during this transition, it is worth noting that there are two different beliefs regarding the state of the soul after death. Each theory embraces the concept of eternal life; however, some denominations believe that when a person dies that his/ her soul sleeps until the resurrection and final judgement. This concept is known as “soul sleep.” Mostly Seventh Day Adventist, Jehovah Witnesses and Christadelphians embrace this doctrine, and when confronting this view, I believe that the very words of our Savior refute this. When telling the parable of the rich man and the beggar named Lazarus, Jesus did not mention any type of sleep when these two individuals passed. The beggar was carried directly to Abraham’s bosom and the rich man found himself in hell. The Apostle Paul affirms this when he says in 2 Corinthians that “to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.” This is the correct view and when approaching the matter from this point of view, death can be compared to a door, that leads to a new life. What can be expected in this new life depends on the path you take during this life and the door it leads to when departing. In Matthew chapter 7, Jesus encourages us to “enter by the narrow gate, for the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction.” 6 Jesus Christ is this door, and when speaking of himself in the book of John, he says “I am the door, if anyone enters by me, he will be saved.” The person that chooses the widely accepted way, the road that is all- inclusive and leads to someone or something other than Christ in the end, upon leaving this world will “suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might.” However, the person that chooses the way that leads to Christ is promised a better life than this one once he/ she steps into eternity. Right now, we can only imagine what is on this side of the door, because as the Apostle Paul proclaims that “Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.” The late RC Sproul described this transition as the believer’s greatest moment, “when they walk through that door that leaves behind this world of death, pain, and tears into the presence of the Lamb of God.”

The next major theme that I would like to explore in Eschatology has to do with the four different views on the Millennium. The Millennium refers to the one-thousand-year event described in Revelations chapter 20 where Christ returns to earth to rule and reign. When taking a stance on this topic, a believer’s millennial view will be based mostly on their hermeneutic approach to the content found in Revelations 20:1-10.11 The three mainstream views on the Millennium are: Premillennialism, Postmillennialism, and Amillennialism. However, before I can fully explore these four mainstream views, it would be beneficial to first look at two other events that are described in the Bible and known as the “Great Tribulation” and “Rapture.” A believer’s stance on the Millennial will be shaped by when and how, he or she believes these events will take place. The Great Tribulation, also referred to in the Old Testament as the “The Day of Our Lord” or “The Time of Jacob’s Trouble” is a point in the future where God will pour his wrath out on an ungodly Israel and ungodly world. One preacher and vlogger compared it to what God did to Egypt through the prophet Moses, but on a world-wide scale. When describing this event in Matthew 24:21 Jesus says, “For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be.” The second event that influences a person’s millennial view is their belief in when the rapture will take place. The word rapture is translated from the Greek word “harpazo” which means to snatch or take away. The Blue Letter Bible study resources describes it as being carried away in spirit or body. Although the term is normally associated with the return of Christ, the concept is not new and can be found in the Old Testament. In Genesis 5, when looking at the life of Enoch we find that it says, “Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him.” This is what we believe will take place during the rapture, and this is picture Scripture paints. In 1 Thessalonians chapter four Paul writes, “For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.” Although the word rapture is not used in the Bible, we can clearly see the concept from this passage.

Now that I have given a basic explanation of the Tribulation and Rapture, I can proceed to look at the 3 main views on the Millennium. The first view that I would like to cover is Dispensational Premillennialism, this view is considered dispensational because it is founded in the doctrines of dispensationalism and carries the label of premillennial because it expects the return of Christ to happen before the millennium. According to this theory, not only will Christ make a second return to this world, but a third one before final judgement takes place. Those who embrace this view look forward to a pre-trib rapture where Christ will return before the seven years of tribulation to get those who belongs to him, and take them to be with him in heaven. Meanwhile those that are left behind will suffer during this tribulation period. After this seven-year period Christ will return to earth a third time to reign for a thousand-year period. Christian Zionist believe that Christ will build his physical theocracy out of Jerusalem and delegate authority to the saints to oversee all the other countries. 

The second view on the millennial that I would like to cover is known as post- millennialism. Until the present generation this was one of the most influential millennial theories accepted by Unitarian, Arminian and Calvinist alike. Those who embrace this view believe that Christ’s second coming will take place after the millennial, thus the affix “post”. This view is considerably different than those who embrace pre-millennism. The first thing that I would like to point out is that those who embrace this view believes that the millennial is an era and may or may not be a thousand years. During this era Christ will exert his power from heaven on earth through His body which is here known as the church. The gospel will go out to all the world and lives will be changed at unprecedented rates. Many television evangelists express this view to supporters and give statistics of how their broadcast, radio, or internet media are allowing to reach listeners in the most remote places. The accepted belief is that once the gospel is carried throughout the earth that Christ will return. This view disregards the rapture and concludes that the tribulation period refers the persecution of the saints throughout the ages.

The last millennial view that I would like to cover in this paper is Amillennialism. In this view there is no millennial. Mostly Amillennialist believe that the series of visions found in Revelation chapter 20 is symbolic and is taking place at this very moment. They believe that each vision describes a period between Christ’s first coming and second coming. Amillennialist also disregards the tribulation period and believes that Satan has already been bound by Christ’s finished work on the cross. The believer is currently reigning with Christ as the Gospel is spread throughout the world.

Revisiting Hebrews 9:27 from the beginning of this paper we find that “just as it is appointed unto men once to die, mankind will also have to face judgment.” Although we are given free will regarding how spend our time here in these earthen vessels, at some point we all will be judged for the decisions and actions that we made in life. The late Lehman Strauss, a Professor of Old Testament History at the Philadelphia Bible Institute, and a former Pastor of Highland Baptist Church states in his work “Death and Afterwards” that there are five distinct judgements and not all men will be judged at the same time. These five Judgements consist of:

1. The Judgement Seat of Christ

2. The Judgement of Regathered Nation

3. The Judgement of the Nations

4. The Judgement of Satan and Fallen Angels

5. The Great White Throne Judgement

However, for the sake of this paper, I would like to look at three of the five judgements that he mentions. These are: The Judgement Seat of Christ, The Judgement of Satan and Fallen Angels, and The Great White Throne Judgement. Although the judgment of God is not the ideal topic in many pulpits today, most Christians are somewhat familiar with these three.

The first judgement that I would like to cover is one rarely talked about is the Judgement Seat of Christ/ or Bema Seat of Christ. In the book of Romans Paul states: “But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at naught thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.” From this verse we can conclude that even Christians are obliged to some type of judgement and accountability for the works that they did here on earth. However, this judgement does not lead to condemnation. Strauss points out that “believers never need fear a condemnatory judgement for sin. For every Christian this judgement is already past. When Jesus comes again, He will have in His body the marks of crucifixion, and this will prove that the penalty for sin has been paid in full.” This is a different kind of judgement, one that will take into account the works that do not save but should come out of every believer’s life. When speaking on this judgement the Apostle Paul goes on to say that “If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives; that is good deeds that a person performed in his / her life for the kingdom of God which came from a sincere heart with the right motives, then he/ she will receive a reward. However, if anyone’s work is burned up, which could mean that the work was possibly done solely for recognition or selfish motives, that person will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.” This means the person’s soul will be saved due to the finished work of Christ, but rewards will be diminished due to his/ her own works. When describing this judgement seat, the Greek word “Bema” is used. In ancient Rome the Bema was not the seat of a judicial judge who condemns, but the seat of a judge that presided over the Olympic games and determined the rewards the victors would receive. So, the focus of the Bema seat of Christ is to reward the faithful believer. I remember as a child hearing of how some people would receive many crowns in Heaven, because of the work or sacrifices they made in their life. I can still recall picturing a person in my mind with a stack of crowns on his/ her head. Whether this is the case or not Scripture does use the word “crown” perhaps as a metaphor in some cases to describe rewards that will be received in eternity. These crowns are:

1. Incorruptible Crown

2. Crown of Rejoicing

3. Crown of Righteousness

4. Crown of Life

5. Crown of Glory

At the time of Judgement Satan and the band of Angels that defected with him will be judged for their actions and the pain and suffering they caused mankind throughout the ages. In Jude verse 6 we read “And the angels who did not stay within their own position of authority, but left their proper dwelling, he has kept in eternal chains under gloomy darkness until the judgment of the great day.” The angels that plague mankind and we refer to as demons and perhaps even worse spirituals beings that to this day have been chained to the pits of hell will also be held accountable before an almighty God. In Revelation 20:10 we read “and the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.”

The Great White Throne Judgement as described in Revelation chapter 20 marks the finale of God’s judgement and his tolerance of evil. In this climatic event the unsaved dead of all time, Satan, the fallen angels, and Millennial believers will stand before God be judged. I think that Jeffrey Miller sums it up best in his series “The Glorious End.” He writes: “The throne is great: Every unsaved soul in human history stands before it. The throne is white, it’s standard is perfectly pure and holy. The judgement is irreversible: The final guilty verdict for the unrighteous results in permanent confinement to the lake of fire. Christians are exempt from this Great White Throne Judgement because of the blood of JesusChrist. Some of those who fail this judgement have performed many good deeds, and most Christians have performed many bad deeds. The difference isn’t measured by righteous acts, or all of us would suffer the same dreaded fate. Instead, Christians are exempt because they are trusting in Christ’s work on the cross; the unsaved fail because they are trusting in the merits of their own works.” It is during this time of judgement that that the “Book of Life will be opened and the names within read. Those whose name are not found written in this book sins are not atoned for and will face an eternity of hell and damnation in the lake of fire.

Works Cited

Campbell, Donald K. and Townsend, Jeffrey L. A Case for Premillennialism: A New Consensus. Chicago: The Moody Press, 1992.

"Four Views on the Millennium - Study Resources." Blue Letter Bible. Web. 20 Nov, 2017.

Herrick, Greg. ” Eschatology: End Times.” An Introduction to Christian Belief: A Layman’s Guide.Bible.org, bible.org/series page/9-eschatology-end-times.

“Millennial Kingdom.” Theopedia. https://www.theopedia.com/millennial-kingdom

Miller, Jeffrey. “The Glorious End.” The Great White Throne Judgement. Bible.org 21 Oct. 2010

About the Author,

This paper was written by David J. Parks during his time in Seminary.

David Parks is the Founder of Revive Your People Evangelistic Society, a ministry based out of Central Florida whose mission is the Great Commission, to preach Christ to the World.