Blog

by Charlie Wolcott

This is the final of the ten “systems” of theology. Eschatology is the study of end times, also known as the Consummation. How will it all end? There are many debates on this topic, and they fall into two sub-categories. One category deals with the Tribulation, where and when that will take place in conjunction with the Rapture. The other category deals with the Millennial reign of Christ and whether the end times events take place before or after the 1000-year reign of Christ, or whether that reign is symbolic in the amillennial position. I am not going to argue any one of them here. I personally lean towards a pre-tribulation position followed by a literal 1000-year reign of Christ, but not in a way that lets believers escape any form of persecution. Another subtopic is whether the end times prophecies only described the destruction of Jerusalem in 70AD. This is the preterist position.

That said, I know that no one in history ever really understood how a prophecy would be fulfilled prior to its fulfillment. The only ones whom seemed to get it were the chief priests at Jesus’ birth, knowing he’d be born in Bethlehem and knowing that Jesus said He’d raise from the dead after three days. That’s why they had the tomb guarded. Yet despite knowing what Scripture and Jesus said, they missed both badly. But no one else every figured out the details of how prophecy would be fulfilled prior to it being fulfilled. So I am perfectly fine if I am wrong on eschatology and won’t fight other believers for it. I tend to align more with David Wilkerson who said the point of it all is “Be ye ready.” Jesus’ main theme of end times is that we aren’t going to know when it will happen until it happens. He expects us to be watching, be ready, and be doing what we are supposed to be doing.

Our view of the end times is also affected by our view of origins if taken consistently. This is a key reason why Old Earth ideas must be false. The whole plan of salvation is a plan of redemption, a plan to restore that which was lost to an even more valuable form. A key thing about restoration is that it looks like the original. It’s more valuable than the original, but it looks like the original. For example, if someone wants to restore a 1957 Chevy, when the project is done, it is going to look like a 1957 Chevy. It is not going to look like a 2006 Lamborghini. When it comes to origins and end times, when God restores the Creation, it is going to look like what it originally did before sin corrupted it.

This is why Old Earth ideals, which include death before sin, must be false. If what we see now is how God created it all, which is their claim, then we have nothing to look forward to in the new earth. Everything will still die; sickness, disease, death, etc. are not going to change if this is how God created it to start with. I have heard some old earthers say that the new creation is going to be completely different and that it will finally be perfect. Yet, according to their position, the universe that God made is corrupt, defiled, cursed, breaking down, wearing down, and most certainly is not a product of someone who would make everything good and has the knowledge of getting it right the first time. So that would also be how the new universe will be made too. And how is that “restoration”? As I said, restoration brings back the original design.

Yet the Young Earth position, which derives from the clear reading of Genesis, teaches that when God created everything, it was in a perfect and ideal situation. No sin, death, disease, or heartache of any kind or in any of the living, breathing animals. Objectors will say that this would have been a severe problem because if there was no animal death, then the animals would have heavily overpopulated the earth. This is nice speculation but not fact. We don’t know what would have happened if Adam chose to eat from the Tree of Life instead. Some have suggested that God would have brought him with Him to paradise for choosing life. That too is speculation. But what we do know is that God had everything planned from the beginning, which means He had Adam’s sin and the curse in His plan. It also means He had how it will all end in the same plan, too.

The final thing I’ll note here is the Tree of Life. The Tree of Life is both in the Garden of Eden in Genesis and it will be in the New Jerusalem on the New Earth. The only details we truly have of this tree is that it gives 12 fruits in their season and that once Adam and Eve sinned, God did not want them eating from that tree lest they live forever in their sinful state. But once we have our resurrected and glorified bodies that will be freed from sin itself, then we will be able to enjoy this tree’s fruit for eternity. We know that there won’t be any night there because God’s glory will play the role of the sun, and that indicates that our physical bodies will not need to rest with sleep. It makes me wonder how that new body will operate.

This concludes my series on Systematic Theology. As expected, I knew it would be just a few snapshots of what each system should cover. While origins is not included among them, each of the ten systems do tie to origins. As each system is holistic, you cannot disregard one without having some effect on the others. Thank you for reading.

This forum is meant to foster discussion and allow for differing viewpoints to be explored with equal and respectful consideration.  All comments are moderated and any foul language or threatening/abusive comments will not be approved.  Users who engage in threatening or abusive comments which are physically harmful in nature will be reported to the authorities.