Eschatology and Real Life

Some people may wonder whether or not there’s a purpose to studying eschatology. Some may think that the study is a foolish endeavor that comes with a mild thrill from decoding symbols and numbers, or that they will get lost in a jumble of technical terms, leaving them to wonder if there’s anything to actually look forward to (you mean all of Revelation already happened?). Others, enamored with the Left Behind series, have sometimes gone off-track and retreated from the world. However, this is not what God imagined when God gave us insight into His eschatological vision for the world. If God, in Christ, is actively reconciling the world to Himself,¹2 Corinthians 5:17-21. and in that reconciliation He is freeing creation from its bondage instituted by Adam,²Romans 8. we must, in virtue of our participation in Him, let our eschatology affect the way we live.

While it’s easy to get lost in the scholarly technical world of eschatological studies, we know the basis of our hope is the Trinitarian God. We know that God is the masterful worksman who built the universe, creating by His Word (the Logos) and by His breath (the Spirit). Adam’s sin, which brought death into the world, will not have the final say against the Creator’s word of life. The death and resurrection of the Son of God, King Jesus, is the firstfruits of the coming resurrection for man and the restoration of all creation as we know it. Through the resurrection we know that Israel’s God, in Jesus Christ, the creator of the world, is reconciling all of creation to Himself to establish His kingdom of Jew and Gentile united in the Son, guided and provided for by the power of His Holy Spirit, until all of the nations of the world are under His feet.

 If God, in Christ, is actively reconciling the world to Himself, and in that reconciliation He is freeing creation from its bondage instituted by Adam, we must, in virtue of our participation in Him, let our eschatology affect the way we live.

The subjection of the nations to His rule is not only a future endeavor: Christians work now to establish God’s justice in the world. This is an example of inaugurated eschatology: what we know about the future is creeping into our current lives. We as Christians should look for and practice forms of inaugurated eschatology in our lives so that what we know about the future can impact our growth in holiness now. So, let’s look at a few ways in which healthy eschatology can shape how we live.

1. It Lets Us Practice Forgiveness

God will not let sin and death have the final say about what happens to His creation; He will judge the world and purge evil from His good creation. Based on God’s promise to restore the world and remove tears and pain,³Revelation 21-22. we can trust Him to deal with the evil that plagues us. We need not repay evil for evil when we know that vengeance belongs to God and He will repay and enact His perfect justice. We are not a new creation unto ourselves; we are a new creation to bring light to others.⁴Ephesians 2:9-10. Therefore, we must forgive as Christ has forgiven us.⁵Colossians 3:13; Ephesians 4:32.. Our ability to practice forgiveness signals even better news for He who harmed us: there’s still time for the enemies of God to be reconciled with Him. Because God does not revel in the death of the wicked, God will act to both heal and restore, and He desires the salvation of those who inflict pain. As we grow in the image of God, we can live peacefully with others hoping that they come to the knowledge of the truth of the Gospel, without thinking that justice will be denied.⁶Romans 12:17-21.

2. It Informs Our Ethics

Because the Lord’s coming will be like a thief in the night, we cannot expect or foretell when His return will ultimately be.⁷Despite what most end-time fanatics would say—even the most plain readings of Scripture deny their soothsaying abilities in this case. We have been saved and are not ultimately heading toward wrath, so we should be living as children of the light, being sober and vigilant, working out good while we look for the coming Day of the Lord.⁸I Thessalonians 5:1-11. As James B. Jordan teaches in The Vindication of Jesus Christ, the destruction of the old order in the destruction of Jerusalem signaled a new world order: one ruled by Christ.⁹James B. Jordan, The Vindication of Jesus Christ: A Brief Reader’s Guide to Revelation. 3rd Ed. (Monroe, LA: Athanasius Press, 2009). Under Christ, we no longer kill the enemies of God by the sword; rather, we convert them by the sword which is the Word of God. In that sense, we live a life of ethical proclamation. Paul re-crafts and re-figures some violent war imagery out from the Scriptures¹⁰Isaiah 59, 63; Ephesians 5-6; Wisdom of Solomon 5:17. to describe how we partake in the divine warfare of the Lord, fighting as obedient and loving people, full of faith, encouraging each other with the hope of the return of the Lord. Other areas of ethical concerns involve sexual ethics,¹¹I Thess 4:1-5. our work,¹²5:12-14. encouragement toward the weak,¹³5:15. and our rejoicing and thanksgiving.¹⁴5:16-22. As we grow into the image of Christ, we work to bring His final kingdom into the world now rather than later.

3. It Also Informs Our Ecology

In his essay “Jesus is Coming – Plant a Tree!” collected in his book Surprised by Scripture, N.T. Wright talks about our ecological obligation to restore the creation. “I don’t know how my planting a tree today will relate to the wonderful trees that will be in God’s recreated world… but I know that God’s new world of justice and joy, of hope for the whole earth, was launched when Jesus came out of the tomb on Easter morning.”¹⁵N.T. Wright, Surprised by Scripture: Engaging Contemporary Issues. (New York, NY: HarperOne, 2014), 83-107. What is involved in this hope? Well, consider the third world countries who rely on the earth for their sustenance, including food, materials, supplies, and basic living needs like housing. In the ways that we, as an industrial nation, oppose and harm the creation, we harm our brothers and sisters in “developing nations.” Our ecological hope, that which produces ecological work, brings a picture of the eschaton to them, right now. Lastly, what about our non-human neighbors like animals in rain forests? Can we work against deforestation to allow them the hope of the gospel?¹⁶As the alternate ending to Mark says–Go and preach the gospel to all of creation!