Lesson 4: The Great Themes of Eschatology

You may want to have two or three students share about what they wrote for the Lesson 3 assignments.

In this lesson, many Scripture references are provided in the footnotes in case they are wanted for further study. The class should look up the bolded references in the lesson.

Discussions of prophecy often focus on minor questions instead of the major truths. Topics in prophecy are not all equally important.

There are some necessary truths in biblical prophecy. These doctrines affect Christian living and the whole system of Christian doctrine.

The ancient Christian creeds did not try to include all Christian doctrines, but only to state doctrines essential to the Christian faith. They do not say much about eschatology, but their statements are important.

The Apostles’ Creed was written early in the second century to state the essential doctrines of the apostles. This creed includes this statement about Jesus: “[He] sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from there he will come to judge the living and dead.”

The Nicene Creed was established at a church council in A.D. 325. The council intended to state what all Christians believe. The creed says of Jesus, “[He] shall come again, with glory, to judge both the living and the dead: whose kingdom shall have no end.” Further on, “I look for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come.”

In this course we will study many Scripture passages and many details of eschatology, but in this lesson we will emphasize four important truths. These truths are foundational to eschatology.

Jesus will return visibly to this earth. Though he is spiritually present with believers on the earth now, he will return in his glorified, risen form in the sight of all the earth (Revelation 1:7).

► What are some things that will happen when Jesus returns?

The return of Christ will be the climax of earthly history. The kingdoms of the world will become the kingdoms of Christ. Those who have been faithful to him will be rewarded and honored. Those who have been in rebellion against him will be put down, and he will have power that will overcome all opposition (Matthew 26:64). Every knee will bow, and every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord.[1]

Christians who have died will be resurrected to rule with Christ.[2] They and the living believers will rise to meet the Lord when he appears.[3]

His return is the blessed hope of all Christians (Titus 2:13). Think of all that his return means to us: the end of persecution, suffering, and sorrow; reunion with saints and Christian loved ones; proof that our faith has not been in vain; the sight of Jesus himself; and entrance into heaven and the fullness of eternal life with God. None of these things depend on the time of his return, but simply on the fact that he will return as he promised.

Jesus said that he would return with power and glory.[4] He promised to come and take his people to live with him.[5] The angels said that he would return in the same way that he had gone up into heaven.[6] The apostles preached repentance while waiting for Christ to return to establish God’s ultimate plan for this world (Acts 3:19-21). That Jesus will return to this earth again in power and glory is one of the most taught truths in the New Testament.[7]

Though there are signs that will precede the second coming, we cannot know exactly when he will return. It is good for believers to always anticipate Jesus’ coming and to live accordingly (Mark 13:33-37).

► Why is Jesus coming back?

We live in a world where most people are in rebellion against God. The whole creation suffers from the curse of sin. The world will never be made better by political action, social reform, improved education, or prosperous economies. Neither will the world’s improvement occur gradually. Jesus will suddenly enter his creation as the returning king to set it right.[14]

All people are sinners, but if they willingly join God’s kingdom now, they can escape the coming judgment. God’s kingdom is functioning already among those who repent and believe.[8] That kingdom will come fully and openly at the return of Jesus.

► How should we live because we know Jesus is coming back?

We must remember the priorities that early Christians had. We are called to keep our faith and “endure to the end.” We are warned not to let pleasures and the things of the world make us forget about the coming.[9] We live according to eternal values since the things of this world will pass away. We are told to “watch,” not gazing at the sky for his appearance, but staying on guard spiritually so that his coming will not catch us unprepared.[10] We pray for purity and live a pure life because we want to be like him.[11]

Those who live today as though he is not coming will not be ready for his return.[12] Jesus’ coming will be like lightning,[13] so sudden that nobody will have time to change anything after he appears.

We wait for his coming (1) by keeping eternal priorities, (2) living in purity, and (3) guarding ourselves spiritually by prayer.

[1] Philippians 2:10

[2] 2 Timothy 2:12

[3] 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17

[4] Matthew 24:30

[5] John 14:3

[6] Acts 1:11

[7] 1 Thessalonians 4:15-16; 2 Thessalonians 1:7, 10; Titus 2:13; Hebrews 9:28; James 5:7-8; 1 Peter 1:7, 13; 2 Peter 1:16; 3:4, 12; 1 John 2:28

[8] Mark 1:14-15, 9:1

[9] Luke 21:34-36

[10] Mark 13:33-37. The Greek term used for “watch” does not refer to looking for something but to staying on guard.

[11] 1 John 3:3

[12] 1 Thessalonians 5:1-6 shows that those who are in darkness, living for this world, will be the ones shocked by the return of the Lord. For us, he will not return “as a thief.”

[13] Matthew 24:27, 1 Corinthians 15:52

[14]“The glory of Christianity, as over against the ethnic religions, is nowhere more manifest than in its eschatology.”
- H. Orton Wiley, Christian Theology

All people will be physically resurrected from the dead.

We know that the body has eternal value because the Bible teaches the resurrection of all people.

The doctrine of the resurrection is necessary.[1] The apostle Paul explained in 1 Corinthians 15 that to deny the resurrection would be to deny the gospel. If there is no resurrection, then Jesus could not have been raised.[2] If Jesus did not rise from the dead, the gospel cannot be true, and nobody is really saved.[3]

Look at 1 Corinthians 15:19 together.

► What did Paul mean when he said without the resurrection believers are the most miserable people?

Every person will be resurrected, but not all people at the same time. At the return of Jesus, he will take up all Christians, resurrecting those who have died.[4]

Those who died in their sins are not accepted for the first resurrection. They are raised at a later time for judgment.[5]

Christians will be raised in glorified bodies like Jesus.[6] Sinners will be raised in some other form for eternal punishment.[7]

► If you did not believe that the body will be resurrected, what difference would that make for you?

The belief that we will someday be resurrected affects our lifestyle. We can see the practical effects of the doctrine by looking at the examples of people who deny it. Some people in the Corinthian congregation denied that the human body will be resurrected. Those who believed this error divided into two extreme positions. Some said, “Since the body will not be raised, the spirit is all that matters. That means that the sins we commit with the body are not serious. We can even commit fornication, because the body is going to be discarded anyway.”[8]

Others said something like, “Since the body will not be raised, it must be worthless and evil. We should suppress all bodily desires, not eating anything that tastes pleasant or enjoying marriage.”

Both these errors came from denying the resurrection. The Christian doctrine of the resurrection puts value on the body. Value is shown in that the Christians’ bodies are redeemed, are temples of the Holy Spirit, are members of Christ, and will be resurrected and glorified (1 Corinthians 6:14, 15, 19, 20).[9]

The doctrine of the resurrection is necessary because it means (1) that Jesus rose from the dead, (2) all people will be raised, (3) the body has eternal value, and (4) the gospel is true.

[1] This is shown by the fact that Paul wrote a passage of 58 verses (all of 1 Corinthians 15) defending the doctrine of the resurrection.

[2] 1 Corinthians 15:3

[3] 1 Corinthians 15:17

[4] 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17, Revelation 20:6

[5] Revelation 20:13

[6] 1 John 3:2

[7] John 5:28-29

[8] See 1 Corinthians 6:13-14, where some seemed to have a slogan, “Foods for the stomach and the stomach for foods,” meaning that the body is for nothing but indulgence of desires. The apostle said, “But God will destroy both it and them,” speaking of judgment for the misuse of the body. He went on to say, “The body is for the Lord.... And God both raised up the Lord and will also raise us up by his power.”

[9]The resurrection is “an act of the almighty power of God, by which all bodies of dead men, being reunited to their souls, shall return to life, and shall thenceforth be spiritual and immortal.”
- Longer Catechism of the Eastern Orthodox Church

Every person will be judged by Jesus.

Look at 2 Corinthians 5:10-11 together.

► What do these verses tell us about the future? How should we use the fact of the judgment in evangelism?

The judgment is truly the end for those whose names are not in the Book of Life. It is not the end of their existence, but it is the end of their making choices. The eternity that follows will be unending consequences of decisions that can never be reversed.

The judgment gives our choices significance beyond their immediate results. Some people think that as long as they can control the results of their actions, there is nothing else to worry about. They want to believe that their sin is not evil if it doesn’t really do any harm. In reality, all sin does harm; but even if it didn’t, it is serious because of the judgment. God’s Word says that people will be judged for their works (2 Corinthians 5:10, Romans 2:6-11).

At the judgment some will be sent to eternal punishment and others to eternal reward. Scripture describes one scene of judgment for sinners who are resurrected to face condemnation for their sinful works.[1] There is another judgment for Christians, where they will be rewarded for those works that had worthwhile, lasting results (­1 Corinthians 3:14-15).

The fact that the judgment will happen tells us that someday sin will be ended. It is hard to imagine a world with no sin, but someday all rebellion against God will be ended.

God does not intend that we live in constant fear and that fear be our motive for living right. However, consciousness of the judgment ahead gives us a sense of accountability that guides our lives.

We must know about the judgment to understand (1) the significance of sin, (2) our accountability to God, (3) the importance of our choices, and (4) the end of all sin.

[1] See Revelation 20:11-15.

There is a human tendency to live as though earthly life goes on forever. We try to improve our conditions, and solve our problems, and create an environment that makes us content. We need to be like Abraham who was expecting an eternal home while he lived in tents and moved often (Hebrews 11:8-10, 14-16). We need to remember that the things we build, the things we have, and conditions that we create are all temporary. We should work for the things that have eternal value.

God’s rule of the universe is eternal and will someday be without resistance.

The group should look at Philippians 2:10-11 together.

According to these verses, a time will come when all resistance to God and rejection of Christ will end.

According to some philosophies and religions, time goes on forever in cycles, with no beginning or end, and no events that make permanent changes.

But according to the Bible, time has a beginning and a series of events progressing to a conclusion. The Bible describes creation, then the tragic fall of man, then the plan of salvation that God is working out through the centuries of human history.

In Genesis we find the beginning of sin. In Revelation sin is absolutely excluded from God’s eternal city.[1] In Genesis we see the loss of the tree of life and the sentence of death. In Revelation we see restoration of the tree of life, names in the Book of Life, and invitation to a river of the water of life.[2]

We know that there is one event that will come at the end of the schedule that God has revealed to us. This event will launch the universe into the eternity that God has planned. It will be the coming of God’s complete and eternal kingdom.[3]

God has always been the ruler of his universe,[4] but since the fall of man, most of humanity has been in rebellion against God’s kingdom. That is going to come to a sudden end, and God will rule eternally without a rival. The world will be perfectly as God wants it, just as heaven is.

[1] Revelation 21:27

[2] Revelation 22:1, 2, 19

[3] Revelation 11:15, Romans 14:11, Philippians 2:10, Revelation 22:5

[4] Genesis 18:25

The group should look at Philippians 3:7-16 together.

The apostle said that he is pressing forward with a single motive, and he calls on others who have this “perfect” motive to do the same. It is possible for a person to be perfect in the sense that he is completely devoted to God and refusing to let anything influence him to displease God. He said he does not yet have the perfection that will come at the resurrection, but he is motivated to do his best now so he can experience resurrection perfection in the future. So there is a perfection believers should have now, and another perfection we should expect at the resurrection.

The group should look at verses 17-21 together.

People of the world follow their own desires, focused on earthly things. A person who expects heaven lives by completely different priorities and follows different desires. We are guided by our expectation of the return of Jesus and the transformation of our bodies.

(1) Writing Assignment: Write one sentence for each of the four great truths explained in this lesson, stating each. Then write a paragraph for each truth, explaining how it makes a difference for your philosophy of life. To gather ideas for this assignment, you could talk to several people, asking them what difference those truths make for them.

(2) Reading Assignment: Before the next class session, carefully read Matthew 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21.