Last week, I published my latest guide:
Bad Eschatology
https://revelationsix.com/bad-eschatology/
Every mainline eschatology got a heavy dose of criticism, including the one that I call home. But, all of that begs the question:
What is good eschatology?
The short answer is that it isn’t a position. It’s not a doctrine. It’s a process.
Wait. What? A Process?
Yes. A process. It’s a way of looking at the prophecies of the Last Days, and then putting those pieces together in an orderly fashion that gives understanding about God’s plans.
And then, having the humility to admit that we probably got it wrong.
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What Is Good Eschatology?
First, let’s make sure that we all understand what we’re talking about:
Eschatology is the study of prophecies that describe events of the Last Days.
What are the Last Days?
That’s a harder question to answer, since we don’t exactly know when the Last Days begin. Not every prophecy that is yet to be fulfilled is a ‘Last Days’ prophecy. Some prophecies are about what comes AFTER the Last Days. Then there are verses proclaim that the Last Days began two thousand years ago, while others seem to speak of a more narrow moment in time that we have not arrived at.
For instance, here are two searches that give us verses about the Last Days:
Last Days
https://www.biblegateway.com/quicksearch/?quicksearch=Last+Days&version=KJV
Latter Days
https://www.biblegateway.com/quicksearch/?quicksearch=Latter+Days&version=KJV
The vast majority of End Times prophecies will not use the words ‘Last Days’ or ‘Latter Days’, but the ones that do seem to offer different definitions about when the Last Days begin/began. That’s right, Acts 2:17 and Hebrews 1:2 seem to claim that the Last Days began two thousand years ago. Yet, 2 Timothy 3 and 2 Peter 3 would seem to indicate that they believed that the Last Days had not come yet.
And, the Hebrew Scriptures?
Every verse mentioning the Last Days or Latter Days (the phrases are the same in Hebrew) speak of events that have not happened yet.
NOTE: Why I say ‘Hebrew Scriptures’ instead of ‘Old Testament’. First of all, every reference to scripture in the New Testament is about the Hebrew Scriptures, which should tell you that they are completely relevant today. Second, calling them the Old Testament makes them sound as if they aren’t important anymore, when in fact, they are vital for proving that Jesus is Messiah and for helping us understand the events of the Last Days.
So, let’s not belittle the Hebrew Scriptures by calling them ‘Old’.
Deliberately Confusing
So, the Last Days is a very slippery term. And, we should not get confused when the Last Days are describe one way, in one passage, and another way in a different passage. God did this on purpose, so that those who rebel against His words would fail to understand.
Isaiah 28 makes this clear:
9 “Whom will he teach knowledge? And whom will he make to understand the message? Those just weaned from milk? Those just drawn from the breasts?
10 For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept, Line upon line, line upon line, Here a little, there a little.”
11 For with stammering lips and another tongue He will speak to this people,
12 To whom He said, “This is the rest with which You may cause the weary to rest,” And, “This is the refreshing”; Yet they would not hear.
13 But the word of the Lord was to them, “Precept upon precept, precept upon precept, Line upon line, line upon line, Here a little, there a little,” That they might go and fall backward, and be broken And snared and caught.
– Isaiah 28:9-13 – (NKJV)
The First Rule
This gives us our first rule about good eschatology:
Submitting to the words of God.
And, those words are deliberately spread throughout the Bible in such a way that they would be rejected by those who rebel, and accepted by those who submit. This is vitally important to understand, as well as an explanation for why there are so much false doctrine out there.
So, in our submission to God, let’s make one thing absolutely clear. If the Bible says that a certain thing is true, you had better believe that it is or suffer the consequences of rebellion. As the prophet Samuel said,
…rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft,
And stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry….
– 1 Samuel 15:23 (NKJV)
The opposite of submission is rebellion, and we have been rebels for far too long. It’s time to end the revolution and follow what God actually says, instead of what we want Him to say.
When Proverbs 30 speaks of the words of God, the writer says this:
Do not add to His words,
Lest He rebuke you, and you be found a liar.
– Proverbs 30:6 (NKJV)
The words of God aren’t just a source of knowledge and wisdom, they are also a boundary. If you cross over the boundary laid out by the Scriptures, you are in serious danger. And, there are far, far too many pastors who make unBiblical claims as if they were speaking the words of God.
Do. Not. Do. That.
Principle 1 – Do Not Violate The Boundaries
So, think of this as the most important rule of eschatology and even theology:
- If the Bible doesn’t say it, you shouldn’t.
- If the Bible speaks AGAINST what you are saying, repent quickly.
Every mainline eschatology violates that rule. Every. One.
- Amills and Postmills reject Revelation 20 and Zechariah 14
- Peterists reject everything
- Pretribbers don’t have a verse that describes the Rapture as pretrib
- Post tribbers have verses that describe the Rapture as post trib, but then reject the Redemption of Israel
In fact, they ALL reject the Redemption of Israel as God describes it. And, they need to repent of that, or suffer the consequences.
Principle 2 – Look At All The Verses
What are the other principles that govern the process of understanding the Last Days?
- When seeking understanding of a certain prophecy, look at all the verses where the events of that prophecy are described.
Let’s take the Millennium as an example. Here is where most people will see it:
4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
– Revelation 20:4 (KJV)
In the rest of the chapter, we clearly see that the context of Christ’s rule is a physical location on Earth. He isn’t ruling from heaven. He’s ruling from Jerusalem.
Where else do we see the same event?
Zechariah 14 describes the Battle of Armageddon, where He returns to Jerusalem – landing upon the Mount of Olives, as was prophesied in Acts 1:11. The Mount of Olives splits in half, and the Lord goes and fights the armies that assembled against Him.
Here are a couple key verses in Zechariah 14:
9 And the Lord shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one Lord, and his name one.
– and –
16 And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles.
This shows that there are survivors who go into the Millennium. It shows that God rules on Earth during the Millennium. And, the following verse shows that this is not the ‘New Heaven and New Earth’ from Revelation 21:
17 And it shall be, that whoso will not come up of all the families of the earth unto Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, even upon them shall be no rain.
– Zechariah 14:17 (KJV)
This shows that during the Millennium, there is a capacity for sin. For disobedience.
How could there be ANY capacity for sin and disobedience during the New Heaven and the New Earth?
ANSWER: Sin and disobedience is impossible during the New Heaven and the New Earth.
Therefore, the match between Revelation 20 and Zechariah 14 is perfect. They are both talking about the same thing. The Millennium. The only thing that Zechariah doesn’t mention is the length of time and the final revolt led by Satan at the end of the Millennium.
However, these aren’t the only verses that describe the Millennium.
Isaiah 65 describes the Millennium this way:
19 And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my people: and the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her, nor the voice of crying.
20 There shall be no more thence an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled his days: for the child shall die an hundred years old; but the sinner being an hundred years old shall be accursed.
…
24 And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.
25 The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock: and dust shall be the serpent’s meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the Lord.
Again, it describes those who die, and those who sin. That cannot be the New Heavens and New Earth of Revelation 21.
But, wait… I didn’t tell you everything. Just before those verses, God says this:
17 For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind.
– Isaiah 65:17 (KJV)
OOPS. There appears to be a conflict. How do we resolve this?
That’s where Principle 3 comes in, which we will get to next time.
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem.
שאלו שלום ירושלים
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My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.
Because you have rejected knowledge,
I also will reject you… Hosea 4:6
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Keep this ministry alive with a donation.
Subscribe for free to Revelation Six and receive my articles in your inbox:
https://revelationsix.substack.com/subscribe
And, read my two books:
I created five Android Apps that will help you read through the Bible in a Year. You can find them here:
https://revelationsix.com/android-apps/
If you miss my rantings about geopolitics, idiocy, resource collapse and incompetent globalism, follow me on Twitter.
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