Open Handed Eschatology
I confessed in a recent sermon that I had a bad moment at home a couple of weeks ago in which I exclaimed “everything is terrible!” While this statement was untrue, hyperbolic, and emotionally driven, part of its thrust to exit my lungs was fueled by the current events in our world. A highly contentious political climate primed for explosion, the likes of one (I would argue) our country has never seen. A ‘forever war’ (a term used by Putin) between Russia and Ukraine. A brutal civil war in Myanmar. China’s continued and relentless threats to invade Taiwan. And on top of that, an ever developing, devastating war between the state of Israel and multiple terrorist organizations/countries in the Middle East. In fact, Iran just let loose a barrage of missiles on Israel this morning in response to Israel’s assassination of Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of the terrorist group Hezbollah. This coming weekend marks one year since this conflict started (although, there’s been conflict for MANY years), and for many, and rightly so, it raises all sorts of questions as to what the Lord is up to in our world and when He might return.
According to the understanding of the Epistle writers, their audience (both the 1st century church and us) is in the last days (1 John 2:18, 1 Cor 10:11, 2 Tim 3:1, Jude 1:18, James 5:3). But, lets face it, 2000 years of “the last days” seems a little extreme to us humans with less than a century of life expectancy. What gives? When will Christ return? How are our current world events pointing to the end?
The pursuit of answers to the questions above, concerning “the last things,” is called Eschatology. And the first thing you ought to know about it, if you’re unfamiliar with the terminology, is that it’s fraught with difficulty. In large part, this is because the study of the last things deals with apocalyptic literature in the Scriptures (Daniel, Revelation, etc.), as well as Biblical Prophecy (Ezekiel, Jesus’ Olivet Discourse, etc.). These are notoriously hard passages to interpret, especially because they’re interpreted in light of one’s overall theological framework (also called a “hermeneutic”). I won’t bore you with the details of each hermeneutical approach – but it’s important to know that many biblical, studied, Jesus honoring Christians completely disagree on interpretive issues concerning “the last things.” And I want to point out – that’s okay! Even within our own congregation, there are differing views on if Jesus will come back a second time and reign for a millennium on the throne of David in Jerusalem, or if Jesus’ return will immediately usher in the New Heavens and the New Earth. Truly, many faithful, biblically informed, God-fearing Christians have very compelling and plausible arguments for both possibilities!
I myself have been challenged in recent months to deeply look into these things and explore the perspectives, which has been massively beneficial for my own faith. Not so much because I’ve changed perspectives (I’ll be coy about where I land ), but because I’ve gained so much respect for differing perspectives. The Lord has softened my grip on my own perspective and showed me that an open handed eschatology is a good thing. Especially when I look at the events in our world today – I might have a specific way that I interpret them, but truly, I would be happy to be wrong!
Why? Because these issues have no bearing on my salvation! They are not core to the gospel that I cling to. And I believe this is intentional. God doesn’t want his people watching the skies for His return, He desires that they be working to grow His Kingdom until He does. Regardless how you interpret Jesus’ Olivet Discourse in Matthew 24 – he ends it by encouraging his disciples with these words: “But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven nor the Son, but the Father only.” (Matt. 24:36) Friends – Jesus Himself doesn’t know! The point? Stay the course, seek His Kingdom on the earth, and trust that God will save all of those whom He intends to save.
These are indeed tumultuous times. As you watch the news, as you watch Israel and pray for her, as you pray over countless other wars, and over the politics in our country – may your prayers ever be: “Lord, keep building your kingdom here until you come.” As much as you pray for peace in our world – may you also pray that the masses would have peace with God through belief in the new, all sufficient temple of God, Jesus Christ.
In Christ’s Mercy,
Pastor Ryan A.