Eschatology Application
These past 5 weeks we have taken a quick look at the 4
accepted systems of eschatology. I mentioned in the introduction that
eschatology is not a standalone doctrine but the outworking of how we view
Scripture. Our personal theology, including how that works out in our
eschatology, will affect how we live and how we view the world and interpret
the Word. Our main priority is to keep a proper focus on the Lord Jesus as the
alpha and omega of our faith and of history. I want to emphasize again - I have
no fight with brothers and sisters holding a sober-minded view of postmill or
historic premill, though I think there are significant problems with those
systems.
So if being this or that millennial is not the most
important thing, why did we take this tour? Eschatology is not unimportant, as
it is a study of a biblical doctrine. Since no system of eschatology is water
tight, I've encouraged us to consider which system aligns best to Scripture, with
a consistent focus on the glory of God in Christ. I am convinced that
Amillennialism aligns with Scripture better than of any of the other systems.
No distractions of looking to temporal things to determine how the golden age
is progressing; no distractions of looking for a temporal halfway kingdom that
elevate a people. In a book I recently read, the author points out that life
and death are opposites; there is no third state between them. So it is with
this and the age to come; there is no partially redeemed millennium between
them.
This final message serves the same purpose as the conclusion
of a sermon - answering the "so what?" question. In light of what
we've learned, How Should We Then Live? As
eschatology is the outworking of one's basis for interpreting Scripture, one's
way of life is the outworking of one's theology. How we think about God and man
affects how we live.
First a lesson from history. In the early years of the 20th
century, dispensationalism was the hot topic in many circles. This nation's
policies toward the infant nation of Israel was influenced to a large degree by
dispensationalists. I read a letter from a dispensational Baptist preacher that
was sent to Harry Truman, encouraging him to do all his could see to it Israel
was given the land that is "theirs". This idea that the 20th century
nation of Israel is the Israel of the Bible and is still owed prophetic
fulfillment by God is the basis for the essential doctrine that defines
dispensationalism - elevating national Israel to a place only the redeemed in
Christ have, but reducing the inheritance of the saints from eternal bliss to
earthly struggles under a renewed Davidic covenant. As Charles Ryrie asserted,
viewing the separation between national Israel and the church as the foundation
of dispensationalism, one cannot take his eyes off the ethnic group, elevating
their millennium to the fulfillment of God’s redemptive purpose. Contrary to
Ryrie, we are instructed to set our minds on things that are above, not on
things that are on earth. For we have
died, and our lives are hidden with Christ in God (Col 3:2).
Here's a very practical example I use often. Far too many
Christians advocate "sin management" although most of would never
call it that. There is very good, solid teaching about our need to mortify the
sin in our lives. But if such teaching focuses only, or even mainly, on how to
kill sin, we will be drawn to our sin. It is a function of our being that we
are drawn to that which we focus on. While we are clearly told to mortify, or
put to death, the sinful deeds of the flesh (Romans 8:13, Col 3:5) – we should never
take our eyes off the Savior. If we
focus on killing sin without always keeping our eyes of faith on Christ, we
will be drawn to the sin we hate. This is why the proper theology is
Christ-focused: He has conquered sin and death, His righteousness is ours, He
intercedes for us, and He will come and take us to be with Him forever! And if
we don't, we end up trying to manage our sin - for we cannot mortify the deeds
of the flesh apart from a deliberate focus on the glorious blessed hope we have
been given to.
In a big picture way, that's the point. As for how our
eschatology has practical applications, there are several ways. How many people
do you know that are terrified of John's Apocalypse? I have a friend who
belongs to a mainline protestant church. He told me he has never read
Revelation; said the thought of that book terrifies him. Is that the reason God
gave us that book? The right view of Scripture, including Revelation, is to
show how awesome God is, how faithful He is, how terrifying it is to be without
the right clothes on that great and terrible day, and how wonderful it is to
have the God of all creation as your personal God, redeemer, and refuge!
Dennis Johnson has written a wonderful commentary on
Revelation, Triumph of the Lamb. He
learned that "God gave the Apocalypse shown to John in order to bless us —
to do us good, to convey His grace, to fortify our hearts. In Revelation, God
promises His blessing seven times (a symbolically significant number): to those
who hear and hold Revelation’s message (Rev. 1:3; 22:7), who die “in the Lord”
(14:13), who stay awake and alert (16:15), who attend the Lamb’s marriage
supper (19:9), who share the first resurrection (20:6), and who wash their robes
in the blood of the Lamb (22:14; see 7:15). God gave the book of Revelation
neither to tantalize nor to satiate our curiosity about His hidden timetable
but rather to arm us for the spiritual conflict that we face every day."
Johnson provides seven helpful things to bear in mind as we
ponder the wonder and glory of John's Apocalypse. There had to be 7, right? And
they are very practical:
1. REVELATION HELPS
CHRISTIANS SEE OUR SITUATION IN ITS TRUE PERSPECTIVE
Appearances can be deceiving. We often gauge how “the war”
is going by the way things look to us today based on headlines about political
and economic trends or global crises. The paradoxes in Revelation’s visions
remind us that “we walk by faith, not by
sight” (2 Cor. 5:7). Christ’s cross looked like the slaughter of a helpless
lamb, but it was actually the triumph of Judah’s Lion (Rev. 5:5–10). When
faithful martyrs shed their blood, their foes seem to have conquered (11:7;
13:7). In fact, the martyrs are the true victors who vanquish Satan “by the blood of the Lamb and the word of
their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death” (12:11).
2. REVELATION SHOWS
OUR ENEMIES IN THEIR TRUE COLORS
Our enemy is stronger and savvier than we are: “the great dragon … that ancient serpent …
the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world” (12:9). But the seed
of the woman has come, conquered the Serpent, and ascended to heaven (v. 5).
Satan can no longer accuse: his charges have been silenced by Christ’s
sacrifice (vv. 10–11). Frustrated over his defeat at the cross, Satan vents his
wrath against the church on earth (vv. 12–17). His weapons are violent
persecution (the Beast), plausible deception (the False Prophet), and seductive
pleasure (the harlot Babylon). The sovereign state, civil religion, and
luxurious indulgences may seem to be “saviors.” Don’t be fooled: they aim to
destroy. Revelation’s symbolism peels back the façade that often hides the
grotesque hollowness of Satan’s counterfeits.
3. REVELATION REVEALS
OUR CHAMPION IN HIS TRUE GLORY
As its title promises, this truly is “the revelation of Jesus Christ” (1:1). It unveils Jesus and fixes
our hearts and hopes on Him. He is the hero of each dramatic scene. He is the
Son of Man foretold in Daniel 7, luminous in divine glory, who by His
resurrection seized death’s keys and now walks among His churches. He is
Judah’s Lion who conquered by being slain, redeeming people from all the
earth’s peoples. He is worthy of worship from every creature everywhere. He is
the Captain of heaven’s armies, riding into battle against His and our enemies,
defending beleaguered saints, and finally destroying the Dragon and his beasts.
Our Champion lifts our weary hearts with His promise: “Surely I am coming soon.” We reply: “Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!” (22:20).
4. REVELATION ENABLES
US TO SEE OURSELVES IN OUR TRUE BEAUTY
Jesus’ messages to the churches of Asia show that His fiery
eyes (1:14; 2:18) see us accurately, commending our faithfulness but exposing
our flaws (chaps. 2–3). Nevertheless, as mottled as the church’s spiritual
complexion is now, our Bridegroom loves us and will not rest until He presents
us to Himself “as a bride adorned for her
husband” (21:2), clothed “with fine
linen, bright and pure” (19:8). Revelation paints our coming wedding in
such vivid colors that we long to pursue now the loveliness that will then be
fully ours (1 John 3:2–3).
5. REVELATION SUMMONS
US TO ENDURE AS WE SUFFER
Revelation was originally addressed to Christians who were
suffering for their faith. They experienced poverty, slander, prison, and even
death (2:9–10, 13). Writhing in his death throes in the aftermath of the cross,
the Dragon escalates his assault against the saints until Christ returns to
consummate history. Jesus does not promise a painless escape from this war of
the ages. Instead, He promises His presence as the one who is “alive forevermore” (1:18). In response
to that promise, we must heed the King’s call to patient endurance (1:9; 2:2–3,
10, 13, 19, 25; 3:8, 10; 13:10; 14:12).
6. REVELATION CALLS
US TO STAY PURE WHEN COMPROMISE INVITES
Some of the first-century churches, like many churches in
the twenty-first century, faced a subtler threat than persecution. Satan, the
father of lies, tried to mislead believers through purveyors of false teaching
(2:15, 20). Material comfort and compromise with the paganism of the
surrounding culture also proved alluring (2:14; 3:17). Such insidious assaults
on wholehearted allegiance to Christ are still with us. Against the Devil’s
lies and invitations to idolize pleasure and prosperity, Revelation calls us to
keep our hearts and lives pure as befits those who will be the Lamb’s white
robed bride (3:4–5, 17–18; 7:9, 14; 14:4; 19:7–8; 22:14–15).
7. REVELATION
ENCOURAGES US TO BEAR WITNESS AS GOD WAITS
Lest Revelation’s summons to endure and stay pure incline us
to withdraw into bunkers, hiding from the dangerous and defiling world, we need
to heed Revelation’s encouragement to bear witness to “the testimony of Jesus.” Our word martyr is derived from the Greek
word meaning “witness” (martys, 2:13). John was on Patmos “on account of the
word of God and the testimony of Jesus” (1:9). The church is symbolized in two
witnesses who announce God’s word, sealing their testimony with their blood
(11:4–12; 13:7). Christ’s witnesses suffer not in timid silence but for their
bold declaration that Jesus is Lord of all. Through our testimony, God is
fulfilling the vision of Revelation 7: “Behold,
a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes
and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb … and
crying out with a loud voice, ‘Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the
throne and to the Lamb!’” (7:9–10).
God gave us the book of Revelation not only to inform our
minds but also to transform our lives. It gives us insight into the realities
of our situation, our enemies, our Champion, and our true identity, and it
calls us to patient endurance, hopeful purity, and courageous witness.
Recall how I mentioned we should pattern our eschatology
after Abraham? In Hebrews 11, after describing the faith of Abel, Noah, Sarah,
and Abraham, we read, (verse 13 – 16, page 2380) These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but
having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they
were strangers and exiles on the earth. For people who speak thus make it clear
that they are seeking a homeland. If they had been thinking of that land from
which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it
is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not
ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.
Is this our perspective? Are we seeking a return to the land
that these saints left? Or are we looking for and desiring a better country, a
heavenly one, where our Lord dwells? The Author of life draws a line between
these two countries and the people who dwell therein. Reminding the saints of
the blessings and responsibilities that accompany our citizenship in heaven, we
read (Heb 13:10) We have an altar from
which those who serve the tent have no right to eat. The altar mentioned
here in Christ, the eating mentioned here is the Lord’s Supper. Those who serve
the tent, the earthly tabernacle, have no right to this supper. When the
kingdom was taken from national Israel and given to a nation (a people) who
will bear the fruit of true repentance, that people who were known as Israel
lost their standing as a people. Ethnic Jews need Christ, not a rebuilt earthly
place of worship.
Do you have faith like Abraham or like John Nelson Darby?
Here are a few short passages from Scripture that I pray
will help us comprehend how now to live. Nothing is more practical than clear
instruction from the Lord God.
2 Cor 4:16-18 (page 2229) So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our
inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is
preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look
not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the
things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.
2 Peter 1:3-8 (page 2418) His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and
godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and
excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises,
so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having
escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. For
this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and
virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with
steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly
affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours
and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the
knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Romans 8:31-36 (page 2172) What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be
against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how
will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any
charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ
Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised— who is at the right
hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the
love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or
nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, “For your sake we are being
killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.”
1 Peter 4:12-14 (page 2412) Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you
to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice
insofar as you share Christ's sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad
when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are
blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.
Each of these short passages remind us of the temporary
nature of this age and the eternal, immanent nature of the age to come. Knowing
our standing in Christ, deliberately seeking to keep the eternal in plain site
is the biblical means to our stability and usefulness while we yet have time
here.
1 Peter 4:7-11 9page 2411) The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and
sober-minded for the sake of your prayers. Above all, keep loving one another
earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. Show hospitality to one
another without grumbling. As each has received a gift, use it to serve one
another, as good stewards of God's varied grace: whoever speaks, as one who
speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that
God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus
Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
This ought to be on our lips, day by day – to Christ alone
belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen!
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