Eschatology

A.Introduction

I.Eschatology is the study of last things

II.Why teach on eschatology

a.A few reasons

b.First it is an important subject

i.Much of the New Testament is about this subject

ii.RC Sproul says that it is forty percent

iii.If the Word of God spends so much time on the subject

iv.We have a duty to consider it and understand it

v.It is important to us

vi.For obvious reasons

  • We tend to consider the book of Revelation to be the book of eschatology
  • Revelation 1:3
  • Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near.

c.Also is that there are mutliple views

i.People act like there are four views

ii.But when you get down to details

iii.There are actually a lot more views than that

iv.As elders, we recognize that there are multiple views within the church

v.But as we deal with passages like the rest of Isaiah

vi.There are certain eschatological issues that we need to deal with

vii.And it is important that people understand our perspective

viii.It is important to understand how our understanding of eschatology leads to the intrepretation that it gives

d.Another reason that we decided to speak on the issue

i.Is that our position became much firmer as we went through Matthew

ii.But many of you did not walk through Matthew with us

iii.By Matthew 25

  • Most of the church had come to the same position on eschatology
  • We are not saying that you need to hold to our position
  • But what I am saying is that our position was arrived at through dealing with Scripture week after week
  • That was talking about these things
  • It was part of the mercy of God
  • That the preaching of the word
  • Clarifies positions and changes them

iv.But that was three years ago

  • Many of you are new to the church since that time
  • So we thought it was an important thing to bring greater clarity to the church
  • And hopefully greater unity
  • That unity is not dependent upon you embracing our position
  • It is dependent upon us all working to understand what God has said to us
  • And as we have a greater understanding of what God has spoken to us
  • We will have greater unity
  • It doesn’t mean that there are not many faithful teachers that hold other positions
  • By understanding our position
  • And we want to discuss it with those who have other positions
  • Not to fixate on eschatology
  • But so that we all have a better understanding
  • What we do not want is for this church to sit around discussing eschatology
  • Rather than doing what are the clear commands of Christ
  • But all theology effects how we live our lives
  • And eschatology does as well

e.Another reason

i.Is that hermeneutics

  • How to handle scripture is very tied up into eschatology

ii.We have a certain hermenuetic that we want to stand firmly upon

  • It is the hermenuetic that the reformers held to
  • And it drives interpretation of scripture

iii.It is easy for us to say we are in one of the camps

  • Better to describe them as camps rather than positions
  • Because each of them have significant variations within them
  • But instead of people saying
  • I’m premillenial
  • I’m amillenial
  • Or identify with any position
  • We want people to actually handle the scriptures
  • Handle them faithfully according to rules of interpretation

iv.Some of the rules of interpretation that are applicable to eschatology

  • Scripture interprets scripture
  • Do not impose your understanding of the world
  • To drive the meaning of a text
  • The words are important
  • Read the actual words that are written
  • Rather than an interpretation of them
  • Obviously better in the Greek and Hebrew
  • But often positions are contrary to the actual words that are written
  • Clearer passages interpret more vague passages
  • Passages that are speaking to a issue are more directly
  • Should be understood first
  • Revelation was progressive
  • Meaning that when Revelation was given to us
  • It was not given as a stand alone book
  • It was given to a people that had most if not all of the other books of the bible
  • Texts should be interpreted in context
  • Texts should be handled according to their literary genre
  • Psalms should be interpreted differently than didactic teaching
  • Prophesy should be treated differently than narrative
  • All texts must be harmonized
  • If our interpretation is contradicted by another verse
  • We need to fix our interpretation

B.Views

I.Let me give a brief overview of the various camps

a.I’m going to split it into five

b.Many split it into four

i.But I think the split in the amillenial is significant enough that it shoul be two seperate views

c.But I’m giving just an overview

d.There are many details that could be added to any of them

e.They are categorized by when Christ returns verse the glorious millenial reign of Christ

II.Dispensational premillenialism

a.Things will get worse and worse in the world

b.Until the first resurrection (the rapture)

i.I Thessalonians 4:16-17

  • For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.

c.Then seven years of tribulation happens

i.Then there is another bodily resurrection

ii.Of those who survived the tribulation so that they can rule in heaven

  • Revelation 20:4

d.That establishes the millenial kingdom with Christ physically ruling on earth

e.After the millenial kingdom

i.There will be another resurrection of the saints

ii.Finally there will be a resurrection of the wicked

f.These four resurrections

i.Some go as many as seven

g.But a major aspect of this view is that the church age is not a continuation of redemptive history

i.As much as a parenthesis

ii.The world is about Israel

iii.But Christ needed a bride

iv.So God did these other things for a while with the church

v.Until His son has a bride and then He will get back to His main agenda

h.There are many problems with this view

i.But one of the most basic is what Jesus Christ taught

ii.John 5:28-29

  • Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth— those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation.

iii.Gnostic

  • Requires additional knowledge to come up with this scenario
  • Vast disagreements about timeline

III.Historic Premillenialism

a.Chiliasm

i.Meaning a thousand years

b.Doesn’t hold to the idea of the parenthesis

i.Holds that the OT prophesies were talking about the church

c.Two resurrections

i.First resurrection of the saints

ii.Comes after the tribulation

iii.The saints then rule with Christ for a thousand years

iv.After that kingdom

  • Then comes the resurrection of the wicked
  • And there punishment

v.Revelation 20:4-6

  • And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years.

vi.This view says that both the first and the second resurrection are bodily resurrections

vii.Instead of the first being spritual

  • And the second being bodily

d.Problems

i.John 5 – One resurrection

IV.Modern Amillenialism

a.Splits the spiritual from the physical

b.We see the world around us getting worse

i.But there are many promises in scripture

ii.And we have seen them over and over again in Isaiah of the blossoming of the dessert

iii.Split the kingdom into two parts

iv.In heaven

  • The number of the saints just keeps increasing as people are saved
  • So that that kingdom is expanding

v.But Jesus Christ reign on earth is failing

  • That won’t succeed until He comes in person
  • At the end of the age
  • And then He will judge the wicked
  • The millenial reign refers to Christ’s eternal reign

c.Problems

i.Rejects the authority of Christ in this world

ii.Matthew 28:18

  • And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.

iii.Matthew 16:18

  • And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.

V.Historical Amillenialism

a.Compatible with the Second London Baptist Confession (and Westminster)

i.Widely held view when the confessions were written

b.Christ is currently ruling

i.The saints are currently ruling

ii.Revelation 5:9-10

  • And they sang a new song, saying: "You are worthy to take the scroll, And to open its seals; For You were slain, And have redeemed us to God by Your blood Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation, And have made us kings and priests to our God; And we shall reign on the earth."

iii.The kingdom is being conquered

iv.The gates of hell will not prevail against the church

v.The church is being cleansed (Ephessians 5 and being prepared for the bridegroom)

c.Tribulation happened at the establishment of the kingdom

i.Referencing the judgment that came upon the Jews for rejecting Christ

ii.Which the Old Testament clearly foretold

iii.Deuteronomy 32:40-43

  • For I raise My hand to heaven, And say, "As I live forever, If I whet My glittering sword, And My hand takes hold on judgment, I will render vengeance to My enemies, And repay those who hate Me. I will make My arrows drunk with blood, And My sword shall devour flesh, With the blood of the slain and the captives, From the heads of the leaders of the enemy." ' "Rejoice, O Gentiles, with His people; For He will avenge the blood of His servants, And render vengeance to His adversaries; He will provide atonement for His land and His people."

iv.(Deu 32:40-43)

d.Problems

i.Our culture has been decaying

  • Doesn’t feel like the church has been given rule

VI.Postmillenialism

a.Rather new view

b.But I think it is also compatible with our confession

c.Very similar to historical amillenialism

d.With the exception

i.That the there will be a glorous millenial reign

ii.It will be the thousand years before Christ returns

iii.Where Christ is in heaven and the church is reigning on the earth

C.Consider some of the conclusions that we came to through studying Matthew

a.Let forget the titles

b.And actually consider the promises of God

c.Let’s hold to the things that we know

II.The church replaces Israel as the visible people of God

a.Matthew 21:33-45

i."Hear another parable: There was a certain landowner who planted a vineyard and set a hedge around it, dug a winepress in it and built a tower. And he leased it to vinedressers and went into a far country. Now when vintage-time drew near, he sent his servants to the vinedressers, that they might receive its fruit. And the vinedressers took his servants, beat one, killed one, and stoned another. Again he sent other servants, more than the first, and they did likewise to them. Then last of all he sent his son to them, saying, 'They will respect my son.' But when the vinedressers saw the son, they said among themselves, 'This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and seize his inheritance.' So they took him and cast him out of the vineyard and killed him. "Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those vinedressers?" They said to Him, "He will destroy those wicked men miserably, and lease his vineyard to other vinedressers who will render to him the fruits in their seasons." Jesus said to them, "Have you never read in the Scriptures: 'THE STONE WHICH THE BUILDERS REJECTED HAS BECOME THE CHIEF CORNERSTONE. THIS WAS THE LORD'S DOING, AND IT IS MARVELOUS IN OUR EYES' ? "Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it. And whoever falls on this stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder." Now when the chief priests and Pharisees heard His parables, they perceived that He was speaking of them.

b.They knew that He was talking about them

i.The chief priests were losing their position

ii.It was being given to another

c.The language is that the gospel will be given to another nation

i.Dispensationalism says that it will be returned to Israel

d.Acts 2:14-21

i.But Peter, standing up with the eleven, raised his voice and said to them, "Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and heed my words. For these are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day. But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: 'AND IT SHALL COME TO PASS IN THE LAST DAYS, SAYS GOD, THAT I WILL POUR OUT OF MY SPIRIT ON ALL FLESH; YOUR SONS AND YOUR DAUGHTERS SHALL PROPHESY, YOUR YOUNG MEN SHALL SEE VISIONS, YOUR OLD MEN SHALL DREAM DREAMS. AND ON MY MENSERVANTS AND ON MY MAIDSERVANTS I WILL POUR OUT MY SPIRIT IN THOSE DAYS; AND THEY SHALL PROPHESY. I WILL SHOW WONDERS IN HEAVEN ABOVE AND SIGNS IN THE EARTH BENEATH: BLOOD AND FIRE AND VAPOR OF SMOKE. THE SUN SHALL BE TURNED INTO DARKNESS, AND THE MOON INTO BLOOD, BEFORE THE COMING OF THE GREAT AND AWESOME DAY OF THE LORD. AND IT SHALL COME TO PASS THAT WHOEVER CALLS ON THE NAME OF THE LORD SHALL BE SAVED.'

e.Sun was turned into darkness

i.Prophetic language is not to be interpreted literally

I.Much of the language of tribulation is related to the Judgment on Israel for killing the Christ

a.Matthew 23:34-36

i.Therefore, indeed, I send you prophets, wise men, and scribes: some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues and persecute from city to city, that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. Assuredly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.

b.Matthew 24:21-34

i.For in those days there will be tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the creation which God created until this time, nor ever shall be. And unless the Lord had shortened those days, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect's sake, whom He chose, He shortened the days. "Then if anyone says to you, 'Look, here is the Christ!' or, 'Look, He is there!' do not believe it. For false christs and false prophets will rise and show signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. But take heed; see, I have told you all things beforehand. "But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars of heaven will fall, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. Then they will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and glory. And then He will send His angels, and gather together His elect from the four winds, from the farthest part of earth to the farthest part of heaven. "Now learn this parable from the fig tree: When its branch has already become tender, and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near. So you also, when you see these things happening, know that it is near—at the doors! Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place.

II.The kingdom has been establish

a.Matthew 3:1-2

i.In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, and saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!" For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, saying: "THE VOICE OF ONE CRYING IN THE WILDERNESS: 'PREPARE THE WAY OF THE LORD; MAKE HIS PATHS STRAIGHT.' "

b.Matthew 4:17

i.From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."

c.Matthew 10:5-7

i.These twelve Jesus sent out and commanded them, saying: "Do not go into the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter a city of the Samaritans. But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And as you go, preach, saying, 'The kingdom of heaven is at hand.'