ESCHATOLOGY

A Study of Last Things

 OVERVIEW
MAIN OBJECTIVE OF BIBLE STUDY
 to consider events that will happen in the future.

 The study of future events is called “eschatology,” from the

Greek word ἔσχατος (G2274) which means “last.” The study of
eschatology, then, is the study of “the last things.”
 Unbelievers can make reasonable predictions about future
events based on patterns of past occurrences, but in the nature
of human experience it is clear that human beings of
themselves cannot know the future.
 Therefore unbelievers can have no certain knowledge of any
future event.
 OVERVIEW cont…
 Christians who believe the Bible are in a different
situation.
 Although we cannot know everything about the future, God
knows everything about the future
 and he has in Scripture told us about the major events yet to
come in the history of the universe.
 About these events occurring we can have absolute
confidence because God is never wrong and never lies.
BIBLE STUDY ESCHATOLOGY TOPICS

1. Death and the intermediate

2. The Resurrection
3. The Kingdom of god
4. The Return of Christ
5. The Millennium
6. The Final Judgment
7. Eternal Punishment
8. Heaven and earth Made New
 ESCHATOLOGY- DEFINITION

Taken from the Greek word “eschatos”

which means last
The study of, or teachings about…
The “end”; “end times”; “last days”; “end
of the world”.
 SOME OF THE TERMINOLOGY TO BE
USED

 Prophecy – “speaking on behalf of” God; conveys God’s

messages to people, in direct words or symbolic actions.

 Parousia – the coming or arrival of an important person

(esp. the “Second Coming” of Jesus).

 Revelation – the “uncovering” or “revealing” of some truth

previously hidden or unknown to people.
 SOME OF THE TERMINOLOGY TO BE
USED Cont….

 Tribulation – a 7-year period of suffering and turmoil

before (or after?) the Second Coming of Christ.

 Millennium – a thousand-year period (of peace), esp. as

mentioned in Revelation 20.

 Rapture – belief of many fundamentalist

Protestants based on literalist reading of 1 Thess 4:17
DIVISIONS OF ESCHATOLOGY

Eschatology is divided into

two major sections:
i.Personal / Individual
eschatology
ii.General/ Corporate
eschatology.
General (or cosmic)eschatology

1. Return of Christ (second advent)

2. Millennium
3. Rapture
4. Resurrection
5. Judgment
6. Eternal punishment
7. New Heavens and New
Eearth (eternal state)
 PERSONAL ESCHATOLOGY

 Personal eschatology deals with future events that happen

to individuals. This includes what happens to the saved and
the lost both after death on this earth and at the coming
judgment (Acts 10:42; 2 Tim 4:1; 1 Pet 4:5).

 Ultimately, the saved person spends eternity with Christ and

the unsaved person spends eternity in hell (John 14:1-3; 2 Cor
5:6-8; Rev 20:15; 21:8).

 It is God’s desire that you be saved (1 Tim 2:3-4; Learn what

God did for you and why).
 Personal (individual)Eschatology

1.Physical death
Death/after life of individuals

2. Intermediate state
Period between death and
resurrection
 Why Do Christians Die?

 Our treatment of the application of redemption must

include a consideration of death and the question of
how Christians should view their own death and the
death of others.

 We also must ask what happens to us between the

time that we die and the time that Christ returns to
give us new resurrection bodies.
 Death Is Not a Punishment for
Christians.

 Paul tells us clearly that there is “no condemnation

for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 8:1).
All the penalty for our sins has been paid.

 Therefore, even though we know that Christians

die, we should not view the death of Christians as a
punishment from God or in any way a result of a
penalty due to us for our sins.
 Death Is Not a Punishment for
Christians. Cont…

 It is true that the penalty for sin is death, but that

penalty no longer applies to us—not in terms of
physical death, and not in terms of spiritual death
or separation from God.
 All of that has been paid for by Christ.

 Therefore there must be another reason than

punishment for our sins if we are to understand
why Christians die.
 God Uses the Experience of Death to
Complete Our Sanctification.

 Throughout our Christian lives we know that we never have to

pay any penalty for sin, for that has all been taken by Christ
(Rom. 8:1). Therefore, when we do experience pain and suffering
in this life, we should never think it is because God is punishing us
(for our harm).
i. Sometimes suffering is simply a result of living in a sinful, fallen
world, and
ii. sometimes it is because God is disciplining us (for our good), but in
all cases we are assured by Romans 8:28 that “God causes all
things to work together for good to those who love God, to those
who are called according to His purpose” (NASB).
 Our Experience of Death Completes
Our Union With Christ

 Another reason why God allows us to experience

death, rather than taking us immediately to heaven
when we become Christians:

 is that through death we imitate Christ in what he did and thereby

experience closer union with him.
 Paul can say that we are fellow heirs with Christ “provided we
suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him”
(Rom. 8:17).
 “rejoice in so far as you share Christ’s sufferings that you may also
rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed” (1 Peter4:13).
 Our Obedience to God Is More
Important Than Preserving Our Own
Lives.
 If God uses the experience of death to deepen our trust in him and to
strengthen our
obedience to him, then it is important that we remember that the world’s goal
of
preserving one’s own physical life at all costs is not the highest goal for a
Christian:
 obedience to God and faithfulness to him in every circumstance is far more
important.
 This is why Paul could say, “I am ready not only to be imprisoned but even to die at Jerusalem
for the name of the Lord Jesus” (Acts 21:13; cf. 25:11).
 He told the Ephesian elders, “I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if
only I may accomplish my course and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to
testify to the gospel of the grace of God” (Acts 20:24).
 Jesus’ command to the church at Smyrna, “Be faithful unto death and Iwill give you the crown
of life” (Rev. 2:10).
 How Should We Think of Our Own
Death and the Death of
Others?
Our Own Death
 The New Testament encourages us to view our own death not with fear but with joy at the prospect of going
to be with Christ. Paul says, “We would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord” (2 Cor.
5:8).
 When he is in prison, not knowing whether he will be executed or released, he can say: For to me to live is Christ, and
to die is gain. If it is to be life in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. I am
hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ for that is far better. (Phil. 1:21–23).
 Read John’s word in Revelation 14:13.

 Believers need have no fear of death, therefore, for Scripture reassures us that not
even “death” will “separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom.
8:38–39; cf. Ps. 23:4).

Jesus died in order that he might “deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong bondage”
(Heb. 2:15).

This verse reminds us that a clear testimony to our lack of fear of death will provide a strong witness for
Christians in an age that tries to avoid talking about death and has no answer for it.
 The Death of Christian Friends
and Relatives.
 While we can look forward to our own death with a joyful expectation of being in Christ’s presence, our attitude will
be somewhat different when we experience the death of Christian friends and relatives.

 In these cases we will experience genuine sorrow—but mixed with joy that they have gone to be with the Lord.

 It is not wrong to express real sorrow at the loss of fellowship with loved ones who have died, and
 sorrow also for the suffering and hardship that they may have gone through prior to death.
Sometimes Christians think it shows lack of faith if they mourn deeply for a brother or sister Christian who has died.
Scripture does not support that view, because when Stephen was stoned, we read that “Devout men buried Stephen, and
made great lamentation over him” (Acts 8:2).
someone went to be with the Lord, it occurred in the case of Stephen.
He said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing at the right hand of God” (Acts 7:56).
Then when he was dying, he prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit,” and, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them” (Acts
7:59–60).
And this occurred in Jerusalem, with all the apostles still present, those apostles who had seen Jesus himself after he had
been raised from the dead. There was no lack of faith on anyone’s part that Stephen was in heaven experiencing great joy
in the presence of the Lord. Yet in spite of this, “Devout men buried Stephen, and made great lamentation over him” (Acts
8:2).
 Their sorrow showed the genuine grief that they felt at the loss of fellowship with someone whom they loved, and
it was not wrong to express this sorrow—“Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his
 saints” (Ps. 116:15).