Some Background of Eschatology
Interpretation
When I set out to study theology, around 1970, all focus was
on something called Pretribulational, Premillennial, Dispensational Eschatology. Everybody was toting a Scofield Bible. Pretribulational referred to a rapture, which
was to take place before a seven-year period known as the Great Tribulation,
during which Satan takes control of the earth.
Premillennial referred to a thousand-year period following the
Tribulation, during which Millennial Saints take control of the earth. This Millennium is followed by heaven. The time line looks like this:
Rapture — Tribulation — Satan Bound — Millennium — Lake of Fire —
Heaven
Then this theory began to fall apart. The prophetic schemes predicting the end of
the world around 1984 all failed.
Numerous alternative schemes were invented: for example, mid-trib and
distributed-trib, to name a few, thrived.
Older schemes like a-mil and post-mil revived. The whole field of study was in chaos.
Of course, 1970 was not the origin of “Adventist” and
“second blessing” theologies.
Pursuit of
this extensive history is far beyond the scope of a short study like this.
[1]
At my last study of this material, the hottest book out was
Steve Gregg,
Revelation Four Views, A Parallel Commentary (Nelson,
Nashville, 1997: 528 pages).
Since that time,
much work has been done, but I have not followed the material closely.
[2] To the best of my knowledge, much of this
material and most, if not all of its predecessors, suffers from the same
defect: namely, it considers the basic structure of the Book of Revelation as
prophetic material: not prophetic in the sense of proclamation, put prophetic
in the sense of prediction.
The ensuing
discussion then debates which of these predictions is already fulfilled, and
which remain unfulfilled.
Some Principles for Interpreting
Eschatology
·
The study of Eschatology must
not replace or supplant the proclamation of the Gospel. The proclamation of the Gospel is and must
remain the primary focus of the Church.
It’s about the Shed Blood of Christ.
It’s about the Great Commission.[3] When Eschatology has ceased to be the
handmaiden of the Gospel, it has outlived its usefulness, and must be abandoned
in the interest of reasonable Biblical priorities.
·
It is not for us to know the
times or the seasons.[4] No theologian knows the ultimate explanation
of these Scriptures, which God has reserved for Himself. We struggle with this subject; it’s not
something where we know the answers. We
do not know; we struggle.
·
The eschaton consists of many things
that are not normally seen. Angels, for
example, are not normally visible to humans, even when present. It is wrong to base our ideas about what is
fulfilled and what remains unfulfilled when we cannot possibly see or know what
is going on.
·
In the pursuit of exploring the
eschaton, there is no substitute for an overall view of Scripture. We need to read our Bibles through carefully and
repeatedly from cover to cover. Without
this command of the overall picture, we are bound to miss subtle inferences
made from other parts of Scripture.
We’re doing our best to explain Scripture exactly as it is written without
adding anything to it or taking anything from it. If anyone has a dispute, it’s not with us;
it’s with the authors of Scripture. We’re
just messengers; our job is to stand and deliver.
·
Some of us are
committed to the Received Text: for example, Η Καινη Διαθηκη, Novum Testamentum, The Greek New Testament (Dallas Theological
Seminary). We reject the text critical
work of both Westcott-Hort (1881) and Nestle-Aland
(1952) out of hand. This Dallas
Theological Seminary reprint of Η Καινη Διαθηκη
is as close as we can get to the text published under the authority of the
Greek Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch. We
believe that Η Καινη Διαθηκη,
preserved by Greek scholars for centuries is the correct text. We do not understand overthrowing the
faithful labors of scholars whose first language is Greek, in favor of scholars
who only possess second-hand knowledge of Greek and whose language skills are
necessarily inferior. In Revelation,
such textual evaluation is very difficult and we will not attempt it here: it
is left to experts.
·
Interpretation of Scripture is
based on the literal meaning. We believe
that Scripture is Theomorphic: that is, God talks baby talk to His people. When talking with small children it is
necessary to be extremely literal, figures of speech are far too difficult for
small children. The difference between
colors and shapes takes a long time to grasp.
For a while, all balls are red and all blocks are blue. The child has no way of knowing that you are
describing the shape, not the color, even though he can mimic your words. We will not dodge on this principle by saying,
“literal where possible,” and then invent something because we don’t like what
the text says. If a figure of speech is
necessary or obvious (as in parables), we will strive diligently to associate
the figure with the literal denotative meaning, and not allow connotative
meanings stray loosely everywhere.
Some Foundational Eschatology Structures
·
Many of the world’s religions
express a cyclical eschatology. One’s
deeds result in karma. Life proceeds
from birth to death and then is repeated.
Bad karma results in reduced status in the next life, while good karma
results in improved status in the next life.
The ultimate goal is to escape the reincarnation in to Nirvana or
nothingness. Many Christians get caught
up in the romance of this idea without considering that the outcome is always extremely
pessimistic. Such religions have no
hope.
·
Christian theologians rightly
reject cyclical eschatology in favor of linear eschatology. This is infinitely better. Life proceeds from birth to death and then
the individual faces God. Death is a new
state of life, without temporal limits, but the individual is still an
individual. Such religions are full of
hope. If individuals despair of hope it
is because they have chosen to do so, not because hope was never offered to
them. This would be an excellent idea of
the eschaton if it squared with Scripture, as many theologians think it does. Life on earth is linear, but there is no
reason to believe that things in the eschaton are, as well.
·
Life on earth is fairly
linear. We do not get to live our lives
over repeatedly until we get it right.
It is appointed unto man once to die, but after that the judgment.[5] We do not get to escape into a meaningless
void; we have to face our Maker. But
this linear life on earth requires a timeline.
No such timeline exists in the eschaton, where everything is infinite:
that is, beyond measure. It is
impossible to speak of time in a region where time has little or no meaning or
possibly does not even exist at all, which is why, of course, that we call it
eternity. How can events be ordered
linearly, or in any other way, in a region where time itself defies definition? Jesus teaches that the kingdom of heaven is
at hand;[6]
He does not teach that it lies in the future.
At this point, we are simply forced to bow to the magnitude of the
eschaton. It is a mystery beyond human
understanding. Eye hath not seen, nor
entered into the heart of man the things that God has prepared for His people.[7] For want of a better term, we are going to speak
of this as a spherical eschatology: for the eschaton is present with us,
wherever we go, it is all around us, and as it is infinitely with us right now,
so it was with us yesterday, it will be with us tomorrow, and forever and ever.
·
Because the eschaton is
eternally established in time not only by Christ’s work on the Cross, but also
by His eternal existence as the Son of God, His incarnation, His life, His
presence on earth in His resurrection body, His ascension into heaven, His
seating on the throne of David at the Father’s right hand, His heavenly reign,
His request to the Father for the sending of the Holy Spirit to all believers, and
His (in time) future coming in glory, we will also call it a realized
eschatology. He said, “It is
finished.” And, finished it is.
The Theological Nature of the Eschaton
No place in Scripture is as thorough in describing the
theological structure of the eschaton as Paul’s description in Hebrews. In this structure, we must not miss the fact
that our Church is in heaven (12:22-24)
·
The Son is the Word of God, the Heir, the
Creator (1:1-2)
·
The Son is the brightness of Glory, the exact
expression of the Father’s Nature
[8]
(1:3)
·
The Son upholds all things by the command
[9]
of His power (1:3)
·
The Son Himself made purification
[10]
for sins The Son and is enthroned on high (1:3)
·
The Son is superior and greater in reputation
than all the angels of heaven (1:4-7)
·
The Son receives an eternal throne and scepter
because of His righteousness (1:8-9)
·
The Son changes creation as a garment and reigns
over enemies and angels (1:10-14)
·
The Son elevates man in the eschaton (2:6-7)
·
The Son is the High Priest of the eschaton
(2:17)
·
We are partakers of the eschaton (3:1)
·
The Son is greater than Moses in the eschaton
(3:2-19)
·
The Son brings a superior rest in the eschaton
(4:1-13)
·
The Son as the High Priest of the eschaton is
resident in heaven (4:14-15)
·
The Son is on the Throne of Grace
[11]
(4:16)
·
The Son’s High Priesthood in the eschaton, after
the priesthood of Melchizedek, is superior to Aaron’s high priesthood
[12]
(5:1-11; 6:19-7:10)
·
The Son is the anchor of the soul within the
Oracle in the eschaton (6:19)
·
The Son’s Priesthood in the eschaton, after the
priesthood of Melchizedek, is superior to the Levitical high priesthood
(7:11-28)
·
The Son has the power of eternal life (7:16)
·
The Son is the guarantor of a better Covenant or
Testament (7:22)
·
The eschaton has the true Tabernacle (8:2)
·
The Son has a more excellent ministry as
mediator of a better Covenant established on better promises all in the
eschaton (8:6-13)
·
The Holy Ghost signifies the way into the Oracle
since the earthly copies are gone (9:8)
·
Christ comes to a more perfect Tabernacle with
His own blood (9:11-12; 14-15)
·
Christ has entered into the eschaton in heaven
(9:23-28)
·
The Law is a shadow of the eschaton (10:1)
·
Christ brings a better sacrifice completed on
earth in time, but presented to the Father in the eschaton eternally (10:5-10;
12)
·
The work of the Holy Ghost changes our
relationship to the Law (10:15-18), to the eschaton (10:19-20), to prayer
(10:21-23), and to fellowship (10:24-25)
·
Our treasure is in the eschaton (10:34)
·
We have a better city, country, vision, and
promise (11:10; 16; 27; 39-40)
·
We are come to a better mount, Church, and
Savior (12:22-24; 28-29)
·
We are called by a greater voice (12:25-27)
·
We have a better altar, a new city (13:10; 14)
·
We have a better benediction (13:20-21)
The Worship Nature of the Eschaton
I believe what Paul lays out in theological structure in Hebrews;
John lays out in worship structure in Revelation. John makes this remarkable statement:
“I John, and also your brother,
and fellow-member[13]
in the tribulation, and in the kingdom and endurance of Jesus Christ, I was in
the island called Patmos, because of the Word of God, and because of the
testimony of Jesus Christ. I was in the
Spirit on the Lord's Day,[14]
and I heard behind me a loud voice, as of a trumpet, saying, ‘I am the Alpha
and the Omega, the first and the last. Write
what you see in a book, and send [it]
to the seven churches in Asia: to Ephesus, to Smyrna, to Pergamum, to Thyatira,
to Sardis, to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea.’ ”[15]
In
note fourteen, we detail the argument that John is observing a heavenly worship
service, that he sees timeless events, which are going on in the heavenly
Church eternally. We believe that this
worship construct embraces the whole of the book of Revelation. This makes all temporal prophetic theories
seriously flawed.
The Book of Revelation as a Book of Worship
If this worship construct makes any sense at all to you,
dear reader, then some radical applications are necessary.
·
This is a worship service. Our earthly worship services should be patterned
after it.
·
This is a radical departure from the way we
customarily think of Revelation, and we are now forced to reexamine and rethink
all of our previous exposition.
[16]
Even if you dislike the idea of a worship construct, many
commentators have observed that roughly half the content of the book is devoted
to hymns, many of which have found their way into hymnbooks and worship
services. Hence, half of the book is
undisputed as worship. Why not see all
of it as a book of worship?
Revelation 7 and the One Hundred Forty-four
Thousand
Two basic observations:
·
They are sealed.
This is commonly thought of as the work of the Holy Spirit.
[17] This sealing is considered to be in
preparation for ministry, and is the latter part of a baptismal service.
They are sealed in their foreheads to protect
their reasoning powers and other brain activities from the attack of Satan.
They are sealed in their foreheads so that
they can think God’s thoughts after Him.
[18]
·
They are clothed in white robes the standard
garb of those being baptized.
These baptismal candidates are dead, and received into
heaven as faithful witnesses.
John
probably has in the back of his mind the multitudes of Jewish martyrs who
perished in the persecutions of the first century.
But the timelessness of the eschaton assures
us that this is not simply about them.
Rather, we are reminded that the Lord Jesus Christ baptizes, not with
water, but with the Holy Ghost and with fire.
All Christians receive the Holy Ghost.
All Christians receive the baptism of the fires of tribulation.
“All who are godly in Christ Jesus will
suffer persecution.
[19] The scene that John observes, typifies all
ages.
All Christians, from water baptism
to this baptism of fire will know this experience.
It is an ageless event in that new believers
are streaming into the Church every year.
[20]
Does this have unfulfilled prophetic impact? I don’t think it’s going to end any time
soon.
What is the significance of the number 144,000?
God is able to raise up children of Abraham,
Isaac, and Jacob from stones.
It signifies
the replacement of the census of the unbelieving Israelites with true believing
Israelites.
It signifies a people who
will do what Israel/Judah refused to do, a people who will tell the world about
the living God.
But the number is
symbolic of a kind of infinity.
There is
no expression of infinity in the Hebrew tongue.
One thousand is a very large number in the Hebrew idea of things, in
time, forever.
Thousands of thousands is
a practical infinity.
[21] Here, by twelve’s of thousands it is the perfect
completion of Israel, but by extension it is the beginning of the people of
every kindred, tongue, and nation promised to Abraham.
What a wonderful assurance to John to see
this baptism, taking place before his very eyes.
People that John watched die are alive before
him now.
We must not overlook the fact that the preparational sealing
at the start of Christian life and the death burial/baptism in white robes are
collapsed into one single timeless vision.
The white baptismal robes of water baptism and the burial shrouds are
one and the same. Doubtless this has
something to do with people being buried in their baptismal robes, not a common
practice nowadays.
However, there is no compelling reason to disassociate this
baptism from Christ’s Crucifixion in 33 AD
Revelation 14 and the One Hundred
Forty-four Thousand
Two basic observations:
·
In contrast to the seal on the forehead of
chapter 7, here we have Christ’s Father’s Name on their foreheads.
Our memories automatically collect the
promised names of chapters 2 and 3, which have now come to fruition.
In the eye of the eschaton, John is able to
see past death to the outcome of Christ’s introductory sermon.
[22]
·
These are firstfruits, possibly emphasizing
their Jewishness, but not exclusively in an ethnic sense: for many from these
seven cities were not Jews in body, but all are Jews in Spirit.
There is neither Jew nor Greek....
[23]
The 144,000 of chapters 7 and 14 are not necessarily the
same group.
We take the position that
they are the same group, which makes chapters 7 and 14 linked physically.
John obviously envisions something ongoing,
baptisms that will not stop any time soon.
If he were looking at a future millennia, that would make no sense to
his listeners.
The message packs a
timeless punch, but this is the start of the action not well into its
development at some future date.
This
idea does not at all contradict our remaining hope that many Israelites and
Jews will yet come into the kingdom.
[24] It is simply difficult to equate the idea of
firstfruits with our present hope.
The
idea of firstfruits always indicates an abundant and immeasurable harvest to
follow.
It never indicates an activity
at the middle or end of harvest.
These 144,000 are now singing with the angels in the
heavenly choirs. The centrality of
worship themes in both Revelation 7 and 14 further supports our introductory
thesis.
What of the Millennium?
Basic observations
·
Satan is bound for a thousand years.
[25]
·
Saints reign for a thousand years.
[26]
The early Church associated these events as beginning with
the Christ event: either with this incarnation, crucifixion, or some other
significant milestone.
Since this only
comprises a difference of around 37-years, no significant disagreement is at
stake.
[27] If we take the start at the Crucifixion in 33
AD, we have a literal termination of the Millennium at 1033 AD.
Most commentators want to say that the Millennium did not
end circa 1033 because there is no evidence that Satan was released to deceive
the nations. What is the sort of
evidence that we might expect?
Satan was loose to deceive the nations prior to the
Millennium. There was no extraordinary
appearance of Demons prior to that time.
People were deceived by widespread unbelief and idol worship. Paul assures us that behind every idol there
is demonism. Among the Israelites and
Jews there was also widespread unbelief, incredible social evil, and much loss
of slavery.
After the Millennium, why would we expect conditions to be
widely divergent from those before the Millennium?
Revelation appears to be arranged spatially, rather than
chronologically. If it is a worship
service as we maintain, John is looking around the heavenly sanctuary and
observing things that are going on all at the same time. His attention is drawn from one thing to
another, but not in chronological order.
There is nothing to prohibit the discussion of chapter 20 as beginning
early. We also saw that water baptism
and death were compressed into a single topic.
There is no reason that such compression can’t be true here, with the
end of the Millennium coming closer to the end of the book.
What evidence is there that Satan is released? Since 1033 there has been endless deception
and division among Christians. The Great
Schism took place in 1054 AD. Today we
have roughly 30,000 denominations. Worse
yet, many of these groups seem more inclined to protect their own selfish
political interests that to pursue the cause of Christ. If this is not an indication that Satan is
released, we would be hard put to find a stronger one. However, there are also numerous wars, and
unbelievable selfishness among nations as well.
Outright criminal behavior in high-ranking business, church, and
government officials would make the Julio-Claudians blush.
We conclude that there is really no compelling evidence to
believe that the Millennium did not end circa 1033 AD, and that Satan is again
loose among us.
What of the Great Tribulation?
Without attempting a proof, because no proof is possible, there
is no good reason to believe that the seven years of Great Tribulation are not
a literal seven years ending somewhere between 33 and 70 AD.
We did commit to sticking with the literal
meaning of words.
But we would need to
spend more time working with the details.
[28]
Some commentators believe that the seven years of Great
Tribulation is not coterminous with the thousand years of Millennium. The seven years indicates that the period of
suffering is complete and brief. The thousand
years of Millennium indicates that it is long and joyous. This view is not impossible, but it is hardly
literal.
666
The number 666 expresses considerable power and a threefold approach. It speaks of a powerful king or emperor or
governmental system, a powerful priest or religious system, and a powerful false
prophet or source of truth. The
structure is copied from the Old Testament.
At first God was the Israelite-Jewish King. However, the people rejected God; they wanted
a king like the other nations. Prophets
brought the Word of God, Priests laid it up and officially applied it in the
Tabernacle or Temple, The king oversaw and protected it. In 666, we have a powerful system of false
prophecy, false worship, and false leadership.
The consistent message of Revelation, regardless of how it plays out in
time, is that 777 trumps 666 in every conflict.
A Few Curiosities
·
The Ark of the Covenant is not lost and cannot
be raided.
[29]
·
An earthquake is reported before the beginning
of the siege of 70 AD.
[30]
What Can We Possibly Do?
If Satan is already released as we suggest, still we are not
hopeless.
“And then the lawless will be revealed, whom the Lord will destroy
with the breath of his mouth,
[31]
and will render powerless with his coming appearance.
Whose is coming according to [
the] working of Satan in every lying power,
sign, and miracle, and in every unjust delusion
[32]
in [those that are] perishing; because they did not receive the love of the
truth, for them to be saved.
And on
account of this God will send them a working of error, for them to believe the lie,
that all may be judged who do not believe the truth, but delighted in
unrighteousness.”
[33]
We do not know that God does not intend to use us as
instruments of the destruction of Satan’s lawless followers. In any case, we have this hope, that we will
cling to and proclaim this Word of God, by the power of the Holy Ghost until
the end. Who knows what God will be
pleased to do? No one knows.
[1]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adventism
[2]
For example: Gentry, Kenneth L., Jr., Before Jerusalem Fell: Dating the Book of
Revelation (Institute for Christian Economics, Tyler, TX, 1998) ; Sproul,
R. C., The Last Days According to Jesus (Baker Books, Grand Rapids,
1998); Hitchcock, Mark L., A Defense of the Dormitianic Date of the
Book of Revelation (PhD Dissertation, Dallas Theological Seminary, December
2005: 253 pages); Hanegraaff, Hank, The
Apocalypse Code (Thomas Nelson, Nashville, 2007: 300 pages)
[3]
Matthew 28:18-20 and Mark 16:15 where the Biblical imperative in these oft
abused passages is not “go” but rather “make disciples” and “preach.”
[4]
Matthew 24:3; Mark 13:4; Luke 21:7; Acts 1:7; 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11 — much
foolishness has resulted from trying to figure out what we cannot know until
the day when God unveils it. The word “seasons”
is likely a reference to the fourth day of creation. God the author of creation is also the author
of time. We not only cannot know what
month or quarter of the year it will be, we don’t even know the year of his
coming. God intends to, and certainly
will succeed at surprising us.
[5]
Hebrews 9:27 — this is an amazing statement considering that is is in the
middle of a very eschatological book.
[6]
Matthew 3:2, etc. — this phrase is so common in Scripture that it must be
considered as some kind of a theme statement.
However, this theme is found in more than one book of the Bible, so it’s
more of a life theme than a book theme.
[7]
Isaiah 64:4; 65:17; 1 Corinthians 2:9
[8]
ὑποστάσεως: hypostasis, or underlying
nature
[10]
καθαρισμὸν: catharsis
[11]
The overwhelming picture is that the true Oracle of God, the Holy of Holies,
the Most Holy Place is in heaven. Christ
has sanctified it with His own blood, and now sits on the Mercy Seat, the
Throne of Grace, the lid, and covering of the Ark of the Covenant.
[12]
All the things that Moses did, were copies of the heavenly reality that God
showed him. The heavenly realities
became the pattern for the earthly models.
Now we are seeing what these heavenly realities are (8:5).
[13]
Συγκοινωνὸς means more than companion. It signifies the complete unity of the
body-life of the whole Church, of which John is a member. Everything about John’s demeanor speaks of
his equality with the laity, who are his brothers and sisters, the
fellow-members of the body of Christ. We
wish that some, who are puffed up in their office, would take note of this
fact. Though John is a very Apostle of
the highest rank, he thinks of himself as no more than a humble layman. The priesthood of all believers, for we are
all prophets, priests, and kings, the priesthood of the laity is the highest
rank in the Church on earth. There is a
collegiality of the fellowship.
[14]
Κυριακῇ is the standard Greek term for
Sunday. John is where all believers
belong on Sunday: namely, he is in faithful attendance at a service of
Christian worship at his local church on Sunday. Likely, John is the archbishop of that
church, and in oversight of that worship service. Very early in that service John experiences
what some call the Beatific Vision. This
Beatific Vision is what we come to Divine worship to participate in; this is
what Christian worship is all about. We
come to participate in the eschaton here and now, not in the future. Tragically, we must depart from the heavenly
Church: for us the service ends, and we must go on with our worldly lives. But for a few minutes, we have our feet
firmly planted on earth, while our heads are enjoying the eternity of
heaven. In this setting, John gets a
full orbed and unusually clear view of the eschaton. What he witnesses is the eternal heavenly
worship service. The events going on are
not particularly prophetic, but are the normal activities of heavenly
worship. Since the eschaton is timeless
it is difficult, if not impossible, to assign any special sequence of
events. These are events that go on
normally all the time.
[15]
Revelation 1:9-10 our translation
[16]
This is a task far beyond the scope of this paper and we will be fortunate to
touch on a few small points.
[17]
Ephesians 1:13 for example
[19]
2 Timothy 3:12 — if our construct is correct, and Satan is released as we
suggest is highly possible, then the ease and ungodliness of many churches is
understood: for, Satan controls them.
Satan need not trouble those who no longer believe.
[22]
14:1 — baptismal candidates typically receive a new name.
[24]
Romans 11 — the issue is not especially when those that are cut off may be
grafted in again. The issue is that all
may be grafted in whenever they believe.
The ethnic Israelite or Jew has no special standing with God. Their cutting off does not exclude them
either. Whenever they believe, they are
grafted in again. Our hope is that all will
come to the knowledge of the truth, take the cup of salvation (Psalm 116:12-15),
and that myriads more will come back into the kingdom of God.
[27]
Nailing this down more accurately may be possible, but it is way outside the
scope of this paper.
[28]
Daniel’s prophecies appear to be accurate to the exact year.
[29]
11:19 — the earthly copy of the Ark was lost around 586 BC and since God ceased
using it, according to Ezekiel, there is not nor ever has been any reality to
the idea that it possessed extraordinary powers. The powers were the exclusive property of the
Shekinah Glory and the earthly Ark was His temporal throne. This is the heavenly Ark, and yes, it is His
eternal throne.
[31]
The Holy Scripture proclaimed by the Holy Spirit, usually through us
[33]
2 Thessalonians 2:8-12
