What comes to your mind when you think of "eschatology" (the study of "last things")? Maybe your mind is a blank slate - you've never heard the word before, and the idea seems strange. Maybe you think of the Left Behind series of novels, or so-called "prophecy conferences" that many churches and ministries promote, teaching how current events in the newspaper correspond with events predicted in the Bible. That association could lead you to become fixated with these predictions: "Did you hear what happened between Russia and Iran? Read Ezekiel 38-39 - the end is near! I'd be surprised if the rapture didn't occur by 2012, at the latest." Or you might have a different reaction: "Why do people bother talking about this stuff? It's impractical and obsessive, and I don't buy it. I don't even try to read Revelation - it's hard enough understanding other parts of the Bible. Besides, what does the future have to do with my life now?"
I've sketched what are probably the three most common approaches to eschatology among Christians today: unintentional ignorance, intentional ignorance, and sensationalistic newspaper-Bible analysis. I hope many of you reading this will recognize that none of these three is particularly admirable (though one usually can't be held responsible for unintentional ignorance). So, it's my intention that this post will be the kick-off to a blog mini-series on eschatology. I'm calling it accessible eschatology, because my heart is that the average Christian reader could read these posts and be able to understand eschatology and understand its importance. This doesn't mean I will avoid all technical theological vocabulary, but I wholeheartedly intend to explain that vocabulary so its meaning is clear. If I ever offer too little explanation of a certain term, please leave a comment asking me to explain it better - you're probably not the only one wondering what the heck I'm talking about! (I'm also expecting that these posts might start a conversation here and there on a more technical level among my seminary-trained friends; don't let that scare you off - I promise, we don't bite, and it's perfectly normal to engage this subject at various levels.)
So, for my first trick, I have to try to convince you to keep reading the next few posts as they come. "Why should I care?" "What's wrong with where I'm at?" To the sensationalist, I pose a few questions: Does your current engagement of eschatology make you more like Jesus? Does it intersect with your day-to-day life? My guess is, the answer's no. Plus, I want to save you from looking and feeling stupid, like Edgar Whisenant and many others of the same ilk. To those who just don't know anything about eschatology, hear me from the top of my lungs: ESCHATOLOGY MATTERS! The Christian study of eschatology is intimately linked with a variety of topics that intersect with your daily life and relationship with God:
--hope
--the significance of your vocation
--the meaning of suffering
--your self-image
--international politics
--optimism, pessimism, and realism
--the tension between "life is good" and "life is hard"
... and more. Are you interested now? I hope so!
Next post: what is eschatology?
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