Eschaton IV - How Shall We Then Live?

Francis A. Schaeffer wrote a book entitled, "How Should We Then Live," which raises the question of the purpose of the study of eschatology. In my manuscript, "Biblical Prophecy, a Look at God's Redemptive Plan for the World," I state the following: "The study of Biblical prophecy should not be undertaken merely for the purpose of satisfying our curiosity or for trying to learn details about the future. God has revealed Himself and His plan for the ages through His Word in order that we might shape our lives according to His Word. A study of eschatoloty is beneficial only if we can find in it some clues as to how we should live in the present day. Any study of eschatology that looks only to the future for significance is not in tune with the spirit of Biblical prophecy" (p.60).

We are called in the Scriptures to be alert and live holy lives as we await the parousia. Paul says in Romans 13:11-14, "The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now then when we first believed. The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. Rather clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature." Need I say more?

I could say much more, as there are many more scriptures that tell us how we are to live as we await the appearing of our Lord Jesus. We are to be patient, as James 5:7-9 tells us. We are to pray as Peter says in 1 Peter 4:7-10. We are to encourage one another to do good deeds, and not forget to meet together, Hebrews 10:24-25. And perhaps most importantly, we are to live holy lives, 2 Peter 3:10-12a, 14. (The reader may look up the above scriptures at your leisure).

With this post I conclude this short series on the eschaton. I have enjoyed getting back into the subject a bit again, but I no longer feel the need to dig deeply into it as I once did. Perhaps if these posts have done anything for me it has given me a new sense of urgency to further shape my life to the life of Jesus. For that I need the discipline and encouragement from a daily reading of God's Word and listening for God's promptings to a deeper life of holiness. How about you?

Maranatha. Even so come Lord Jesus.

Pilgrim on the way

End Time Predictions

I'm including these comments only a bit reluctantly, but with the feeling that somehow dealing with this subject would not be quite complete without them. But for the reader, you will not find here any attempt to enter into the debate about end time predictions. That for me is a futile and endless discussion that almost always includes some separation between those who participate. I choose not to be a part of that.

End time predictions have been given since the time of Jesus. He certainly did some of it, as well as the early believers. In early church history Irenaeus suggested that the world would last 6000 years, that antichrist would appear, that Christ would return and reign on earth for 1000 years, followed by the final judgment and the new creation.

There were two men who carried these ideas further and developed a much more complex system of end time predictions. These two, John Darby (1800-1882) and C.I. Scofield (1843-1921), developed the system known as dispensational premillennialism. Moody Bible Institute in Chicago used their magazine, Moody Monthly, and many prophecy conferences in various places to promote this complicated system. It no doubt was not these people's intent to bring division to the body of Christ, but that is certainly what has happened as a result of these teachings.

Much of the controversy that has arisen over this subject has its roots in the interpretation of Revelation 20. Revelation has proved to be a difficult book for many to understand and teach, and therefore, dare I say most, bible scholars do not bother to do that. They simply ignore this book of the Bible. The controversy comes mostly from the verses in chapter 20 that refer to a 1000 year period in which Satan will be bound with a chain for 1000 years, v. 2, and Christ will reign with the saints for 1000 years, vs.4,6. Various events are tied to the beginning and end of this period of time. Whatever interpretation we human beings give to this passage, and many, many other passages, will certainly not portray a true picture of the final events that will usher in eternity. How sad that we think we must align ourselves with one or the other at the expense of the unity our Lord prayed for so earnestly before he left this earth.

I have studied this subject and read quite widely on the subject of end time prophecy. I have written a manuscript in which I share some my personal beliefs on the subject, for what they may be worth. I will only affirm here that I stongly believe in the reality of the parousia (appearance) of Jesus to conclude this age. That much seems quite clear in the Scriptures. I choose to leave all the details of that up to our all-knowing Father Who will bring things about in His own time and way, because that's what He will do anyway. My goal is to live in anticipation and readiness for that to happen, or to live in faithfulness until He calls me home. To that end I remain

Pilgrim on the way

The Eschaton III

THE LAST DAYS

The phrase "The Last Days" brings about a multitude of ideas for those who give it much thought. Many words are used to portray these thoughts. I've been using "eschaton," which is from the Greek and literally means simply "the end," or "the consumation." A more popular term may be "the apocalypse," which can have a variety of meanings or uses. Sometimes apocalypse is connected to the Biblical term "Armageddon" found in the Book of Revelation.

Eschatology is the term that is used for the doctrine of last things, or the study thereof. However the most commonly used term found in the New Testament is "the last days." The questions surrounding this term usually have to do with the "when" of this thing, whatever one wants to call it. Humanity seems to be more concerned with "when will these things take place?" as were Jesus' disciples. The disciples also wanted to know what the signs of the end would be. Of course if the world is going to come to an end, wouldn't it be nice to know that that was going to happen?

There are problems that arise when we focus on the signs of the times and the when of the "end of the world" will happen. That focus has led many to ignore the statement of Jesus, "No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father" (Matthew 24:36). What a pity that so many have attempted to set the date of Christ's coming, often going to great means to prepare themselves. Such was the case of those Mennonites who made the Great Trek way back in 1880-1884. Or an advertisement in Charisma and Chistian Life magazine entitled, "88 Reasons Why the Rapture could take place in the 3-day period from September 11-13, 1988." And there were many more, none of which have been correct. No one knows! Mark it down.

Are we living in the last days? I can boldly say "yes." How do I know? Because the Bible tells me so. According to the Scripture the last days began when Jesus came the first time. "In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son" (Hebrews 1:1,2). Another passage in 1Peter 1:20 says it also: "He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake." One more passage will suffice. "But now he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself" (Hebrews 9:26b).

Is there then no "last days" as we humans think of it? Are there no indications that surely we are living near the end of the age, or the end of the world as we know it? I guess we just need to be reminded again that with God time is irrelevant, that with Him one day is like a thousand. We can pursue these thoughts in a later blog, and perhaps note some of the things the Scripture says concerning "signs of the times."

Should the parousia, or my death, take place before another blog is written, I will be Pilgrim at Home. If not I will remain

Pilgrim on the way

The Eschaton II

This edition of The Eschaton will center on the promises of Christ's return. Thinking about the end times, or eschaton, should always be centered on the return of Jesus, not on all the peripheral things that are usually attached to end times discussions.

One further point to be made in the beginning of this discussion is that while the coming of Christ is most generally thought of as an event, a better way to refer to it is presented in the Greek word that refers to it as the "parousia," which means "presence," with the Latin translation, "advent" being the more familiar term. This term also means "arrival" rather than "return," which helps us see this as the arrival, or appearance of the presence of Christ.

Before His crucifixion and resurrection, Jesus spoke often to His disciples about leaving them and returning again. As Jesus prepared the disciples for His death and ensuing events, He said this in John 14:1-3: "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go to prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am."

Another instance of Jesus' words to His disciples is found in Matthew 24:30: "At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory." While the disciples seem to have forgotten Jesus' words of promise during His trial and crucifixion, they did provide something that gave them hope after His resurrection and ascension had taken place, and these words have been preserved for us that we too may have hope in His appearing some day.

Luke records some of the events following Jesus' resurrection in the Book of Acts. Included in Luke's account is the promise to the disciples who were present at Jesus' ascension into heaven. This promise was given by a heavenly angel and is recorded in Acts 1:11: "Men of Galilee . . .why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven."

One final statement from the Bible that confirms the promise of the parousia of Jesus. That is found in Revelation 1:7: "Look, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him; and all the peoples of the earth will mourn because of him. So shall it be! Amen."

As a disciple in the twenty-first century I can still claim these promises. Being able to live in the hope of the fulfillment of these promises helps keep me from living a life of fear or dread of what may be in store. I know that whatever happens, now or in the future, that God is in control and somehow in His time and in His way these promises will indeed come to pass.

Are you puzzled by the passing of time since these promises were made to the first disciples? I want to discuss the time element and how that affects our thinking on this subject. Stay tuned.
I remain

Pilgrim on the way

The Eschaton

The questions of when "the end of the world" will happen, and those other questions surrounding it, have been asked for centuries. And so these few blogs from me will obviously not answer those questions. In fact, the when, how, etc. of the "last days" will not be discussed here.

My interest in this subject started when I was just a lad. My father, Henry J. King, was a preacher who preached many sermons on "The Second Coming of Christ." I also listened to men like C. F. Derstine and others who gave very vivid and often charted sermons on how everything would be before, during, and after the return of Christ. During the second world war this subject received very much attention by preachers across the country, for it was thought by many to be the beginning of the last times. My father became convinced during that time that he would live to see the second coming and he spoke that from the pulpit many times. But as time went on following the close of WWII many needed to change their views on the subject. Before my father died in 1981 he realized that his long-felt conviction was probably not going to come to pass. He told me one day near the end of his life, "Wayne, the most important thing is to be ready to meet the Lord."

My interest in this subject continued through the years. Before I went to Goshen College Biblical Seminary my father expressed the concern that I would learn things there about the second coming that were different from his teaching, and the things I had heard from little up. And so it was. I heard that there was another way to look at this subject and I continued to seek to learn more. I finally decided that I needed to study the Bible for myself to seek to discover what I understood it to teach about the end times and the coming of Christ.

I worked hard on my study off and on for many years. Finally in 1988 I completed a manuscript which I entitled "Eschatology and the Redemptive Purposes of God." I sought to have this manuscript published but was unable to find a publisher who wanted to do it. I proceeded to reproduce some copies myself and bound them into booklets, giving away a few to friends and family. Later I revised this edition a bit and renamed it "Biblical Eschatology," made some copies and bound them with a plastic binding, and retained just a few copies.

While that manuscript is quite theological, I prefer not to be too theological on this subject in these blogs. Not that I wouldn't enjoy doing that - theology was my forte in my preaching as well as in informal discussions. But it is much more helpful to look at things from a more practical standpoint. That's what I'll attempt to do here.

I'm not sure where these blogs will take us, but hopefully it will make a bit of sense to the readers. And I'll try not to get too long as that gets boring. So, I invite you back to the coming blogs on this subject, and I also invite your comments.

Maranatha (even so come Lord Jesus)

Pilgrim on the way

I'm back!

I offer no apologies for not being here on this blog for three weeks. I simply didn't have anything I wanted to blog about. Now that I'm back I guess that means that I must have something to blog about - maybe.

First of all I have to share that I followed our President's "order" and used some of the economic stimulus money I received to helped stimulate our economy. I purchased a new Dell 20" monitor for my computer. Wow, what a difference! I can now sit back and relax in my nice chair and see my screen without having it as close to me as I could and peering at it through my bifocals. That's a plus for me, and I'm still saying "wow" when I look at my screen.

I'm beginning again with a quotation from a Father's Day card I received from one of my family members. After receiving it and looking at it for several days on our table I cut out the "verse" and taped it to my computer desk where I could readily read it. It pretty much says what I want for myself without getting theological. I do not know the author or the publisher of the card, so for whoever the author and publisher are, I give you due credit. It is as follows:

I want to treat people
with kindness, to be giving
and to put others first. . .
+ + +
I want to be strong in the face
of difficult circumstances,
to allow my trust in God to
keep my heart at peace. . .
+ + +
I want to be loving and gentle,
to make the world a better place
by letting Jesus shine through
the things I do.

And finally it is my hope to share on this site some of my convictions about a rather sensitive subject - sensitive only because there are many opinions on this subject out there by people like me who believe what they believe quite deeply. That subject is "eschatology," or as some refer to it, the "end times." Is the sun about to set on our world? Is the world about to turn, as one of my favorite songs says? Stay tuned - you may be surprised at what you will read!

Without getting further into it, I hope to be back soon, and I conclude with my continuing identity as

Pilgrim on the way