...What is Christian Eschatology? Subscribe to our Question of the Week: Christian Eschatology Question: "What is Christian Eschatology?" Answer: Eschatology is the study of what the Bible says is going to happen in the end times. Many treat Eschatology as an area of theology to be avoided. Of course, Eschatology is not as crucial as Christology or Soteriology. That does not mean, though, that it is unimportant to a Biblical worldview. How we understand Eschatology has an impact on how we should live our lives and what we are to expect to occur in God's plan. Some important issues in Eschatology are these: What is the Rapture? The word "rapture" does not occur in the Bible. The concept of the Rapture, though, is clearly taught in Scripture. The Rapture of the church is the event in which God removes all believers from the earth in order to make way for His righteous judgment to be poured out on the earth during the Tribulation period. When is the Rapture going to occur in relation to the Tribulation? Will the Rapture occur before the Tribulation, at the middle of the Tribulation, or at the end of the Tribulation? What is the Second Coming and why is it important? Why is it so important for Jesus Christ to return? When is Christ going to return? What will be the signs of Christ's return? Is the millennium literal or figurative? The fulfillment of many of God’s covenants and promises rest on a literal, physical, future kingdom. There is no solid...
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...“Eschatology: The Destiny of the Unsaved” Reconciling a good, loving God with the idea of eternal punishment is one of the most difficult things I have had to do in my Christian life. How can a God who loves us enough to shed His own blood for us then, at the end of our lives, send some of us away from Him to be punished forever? There are some different theories about what happens to us after we die. Eternal punishment is the idea that sin must be punished and those who have not received the gift of salvation will be punished forever for their sins. Annihilationism is the idea that, rather than eternal punishment, some souls will simply cease to exist. There are three main forms of this. The first says that all human beings simply cease to exist at death. The second says that God imparts immorality to the redeemed human beings and allows the rest of humankind to cease to exist at death. The third says that humankind is immortal and fulfills its destiny in salvation. In this third form of annihilationism, reprobates cease to exist, either by a direct act of God or by the corrosive effect of evil. Universalism claims that all will be saved. The Bible uses some different words when referring to a place of torment. Sheol is the word used in the Hebrew texts to describe a place where all souls go after death. Hades is the Greek equivalent. Sheol is a much broader word referring simply to the place where souls go upon death. Hades narrows the concept somewhat and separates...
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...of Last Things Question. Can someone tell us this morning what the word “eschatology” means? 1. Any system of doctrines concerning last, or final, matters, as death, the Judgment, the future state. 2. The branch of theology dealing with such matters. There are several branches of theology found in Scripture. 1. The first is “Bibliology.” The Bible is the starting point, or the source, of our religion. Without it, we may as well be at home it the bed this morning, or perhaps on the golf coarse, fishing, maybe lying out at the beach. The Bible is the foundation for Christianity. Without the Bible, how would we know about God? The Bible is the standard, the criterion for everything we as believers do. It is simply put, how God speaks to mankind. 2. Theology Proper: The study of God. Without it, we would have no way to view God. To understand His nature. We would not know who God is. We would not understand the personality of God. The wisdom of God, the love of God, and so on. 3. Christology: The doctrine of Jesus Christ. Need I say more about this? 4. Pneumatology: The study of the Holy Spirit. 5. Angelology: The study of angels. 6. Satanology: Yelp, the study of Satan. There are more, but you get the idea of how much theology is in Scripture. The last study of systematic theology is Eschatology, which means the study of last things. The study of eschatology is the study of last things, however, like the underlying theme of all theology...
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...College Kohimarama 2013 Eschatology and Soteriology Assignment One (What cultural module you would use to explain Eschatology to your congregation) Name: Ellison Gito Course: THEO 235/ESCHATOLOGY/SOTERIOLOGY Semester: One Diploma: Three Year: 2013 Due date: March, Lecturer: Rev. Fox Mark CONTENTS Page 1) Introduction 1 2) Definition of Eschatology 1 3) Traditional Belief to Eschatology in Isabel 2 4) Biblical Foundation to Eschatology in the Old Testament 3 5) Biblical Foundation from the New Testament 3 a) Eschatology from Saint Paul b) Eschatology from the Gospels 4 6) Theological Reflection to Eschatology 4 7) Conclusion 5 8) Bibliography 6 1) Introduction In this 21st century people continue to wonder what their destiny will be after death; perhaps people have many definitions and explanation about it. Hence, people are struggling to reconcile to one common understanding. This questions I believe remain their and our question today. Now, having this understanding in mind I believe there is a great need for a clear and coherent explanation of Eschatology to my people. Therefore, in this essay I will begin to explore and try to instil to my people a clear understanding of eschatology by looking into our traditional belief about the last day. Then, later I will align this understanding to the Biblical texts of eschatology and my Theological reflection...
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...(Name) (Instructors’ name) (Course) (Date) Influence of Zoroastrian Eschatology Having faith in things that happens after life in this world is one of the teachings that are brought out in the Zoroastrian scriptures as from the beginning. This faith that started during the ancient times continued growing and finally it became the pillar of the later Zoroastrian hence the basis of almost all the aspects of human religious life. As a result of this faith other religions also felt its impact more specifically on Judaism then later on Christianity and Islam. Zoroastrian eschatology basically brings to conclusion the creation story, how the world exists as is depicted in the sources from the later Zoroastrian and this formed the basis for Ohrmazd and Ahriman’s battle. Contrary to this, monotheism brings out the existence of only one supreme that has control over everything. This paper will discuss the influence of the Zoroastrian eschatology and the impact it had on religious life afterwards. Conclusion of human existence comes when life on this world comes to an end; this eschatological period brings to an end the cosmic struggle and brings out the fruits of the efforts of Ohrmazd, having the assistance of other humanities hence bringing out the notion that there is victory in the good deeds (Faith 19). On the other hand eschatology is used to reflect the moral life and religion on earth, this has been compare to the justice courts where motivation and punishments are rewarded and...
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...THE SYNOPTIC APOCALYPSE (MARK 13 PAR): A DOCUMENT FROM THE TIME OF BAR KOCHBA Hermann Detering* he thirteenth chapter of the Gospel of Mark belongs to those texts of the New Testament which have been examined particularly often in recent times. Despite many differences in detail, a certain consensus is apparent between exegeses in so far as they all assume that the text in question, the so-called “Synoptic Apocalypse” (hereafter abbreviated as the SynApoc), arose either in the first or the second half of the first century. This investigation, however, will show that there are a number of factors which exclude such a dating and that numerous of clues indicate rather an origin in the time of the Bar Kochba uprising (132-135 CE). To be sure, the possibility of assigning such a date, which diverges considerably from what is usually taken for granted, does not even occure to most scholars, since the conclusion of their investigation is clearly determined by a prior methodological assumption: since the common assumption is that both Mark and Matthew were written in the second half of the first century, the SynApoc must also belong to this period or even precede it. In my opinion, however, for various reasons, it is highly questionable whether the customary and generally accepted dating of Mark's gospel around 70 CE is correct. Whoever concerns himself with the question of when the Synoptic Gospels arose quickly notices that he has hit upon a genuine weak point in the scholarly study...
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...Josh Colvin THEO 202-B06 Professor Marshall Wicks Eschatology: Is this the end? 7/7/16 Although there are several areas within theology that spark immense interest, eschatology seems to be the most intriguing. Concerning the majority of the Bible, things have already come to pass, history has already been written. However, with eschatology, this is not the case. Because so much is known about the past and so little regarding the future, eschatology is nonetheless a mystery; When will the end begin? What is to be expected once it happens? Is this the end? Such questioning and wonder surround this ominous and looming subject that I undoubtedly and inevitably had to write about it. Throughout the entirety of eschatology’s longevity, philosophical presuppositions, historical indications, biblical evidence, and theological structure consistently unravel certain aspects of this topic, yielding distorted or modified views of this intense and difficult subject. Interestingly enough, because of its unidentified occurrence, suspicion and speculation arise concerning exactly how and when the demise of the entire planet will take place. As expected with any form of speculation or interpretation, eschatology obviously has some intense critique and competition. In other words, other sciences continuously challenge the integrity of theology, specifically philosophy, and propose substantial and significant arguments. Ultimately, it seems...
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...DOOMSDAY 2012: PROHETS OR PROFITS FINAL Kimesha K. Sanders Western Governors University DOOMSDAY 2012: PROPHETS OR PROFITS Ever since the beginning of time people have been obsessed with the concept of the end of days. So if there is one topic that can create a good conversation, it’s the “Apocalypse”. In our times, we get more than our share of talk about the apocalypse. An apocalypse is a revelation, an unveiling or unfolding of things not previously known and which could not be known apart from the unveiling (wikipedia.org). This means that no one could possibly know when this event will occur. Still, for thousands of years people have tried to predict when and how the world will end. From where do all these apocalyptic prophecies originate? Are we the victims of the hidden agendas of the media and secret societies? Are modern interpretations of ancient Mayan calendars and prophecies accurate; and do these prophecies predict the end of the world in 2012? And what has NASA said about all of this? When it comes to apocalyptic or “end of the world” prophecies it doesn’t matter. “End of the world” prophecies are ridiculous. We can’t rely on people, books, internet sites or movies to tell us an exact date because it is clearly something of the unknown? People are using prophets for profits! Apocalyptic prophecies derive from the stories told about the death of Jesus Christ and his ascension from the grave. It was said that He would one day return....
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...Examine the main religious and secular eschatological and apocalyptic teachings. (45) Introduction: * Eschatology literally means ‘the study of the end things’ and it is a part of the theology or philosophy concerned with the final events in the history of the world and the ultimate destiny of humanity. * Apocalypse means ‘lifting of the veil’ and apocalyptic teaching focuses on revealing or ‘unveiling future events’. Paragraph 1: * In Christianity, eschatological teaching focuses on teaching humans about the values of living a good moral life whilst on earth and the rewards that humans will reap in heaven as a result. * Matthew 25 contains 3 parables of eschatological literature: 1. The Parable of the Wise and Foolish bridesmaids (1-13) – the five virgins who are prepared for the bridegroom's arrival are rewarded, while the five who are not prepared are disowned. The parable has a clear eschatological theme: be prepared for the Day of Judgment 2. The Parable of the Talents (14-30) - the overall theme is end-time events, warning, and parables. "The direct cautions and warnings must be for the disciples (his audience)—warnings to be watchful and to be ready for Christ’s coming". 3. The Parable of the Sheep and the Goats (21-46) - The common futurist explanation of the discourse is that it tells of the Last Judgment, and the division of all the world'speople into the blessed, on the Right Hand of God, who are welcomed by the Father to inherit the Kingdom and eternal...
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...End Time Music Now Music has always been an outlet for artists to express themselves and a way to reach the masses. Music is defined as, “An art of sound in time that expresses ideas and emotions in significant forms through the elements of rhythm, melody, harmony, and color.” It has a way of touching people from various backgrounds, ethnicities, and religions on an intensely deep emotional level. It is rare to find one who does not have a favorite song or at least a few that they know they can relate to, or that play when they are happy or sad. According to Ezekiel 28:14, before Satan’s banishment from Heaven, he was the director of music, therefore if anyone is to know anything regarding music it would be Lucifer himself. Soon after, he devised a strategy for revenge against God to use secular music as a tool to persuade those of “the world,” as Christians would call them, to follow him. His strategy was lived out through the influence of the Illuminati. Illuminati, means “Enlightenment” and their god is Lucifer, also known as, “The Light Bearer.” Their goals are to create a new world order and manipulate and influence the masses by occult practices. They are said to be, “the Top players on the International playground belonging to thirteen of the wealthiest families in the world,” this is including the Rockefeller’s and the Kennedy’s (Tapestra). Many Biblical texts in and outside of Revelation relate to Satan’s plan to conform the music industry for his work....
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...that the world will be converted. Premillennialism – believes that Christ will return in person and body to commence the millennium. Amillennialism – believes that there will be no earthly reign of Christ. What are the 3 tribunal views and what distinguishes each? Pretribulationism – 2 phases in Christ’s coming and 3 resurrections. Posttribulationism – 2 resurrections; the resurrection of believers at the end of the tribulation and the resurrection of the ungodly at the end of the millennium. Midtribulationism – the church will experience tribulation, but will be removed before the wrath of God is poured out. The basis of the final judgment? Those who appear will be judged in terms of their earthly lives. Identify 5 reasons to study eschatology? It is a major topic and...
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...PREMILLENNIALISM by John Wolf A paper submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the course Eschatology Bob Jones University March 9, 2009 TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE OF CONTENTS…………………………………………………….ii INTRODUCTION…………………….……………………………………..1 ISRAEL AND THE CHURCH……………………………………………………………………2-4 SIGNS OF THE RETURN OF CHRIST………………………………………….…………………………..4-6 THE MILLENNIAL REIGN OF CHRIST………………………………………………………………………7-10 CONCLUSION……………………………………………………………...10 BIBLIOGRAPHY…………………………………………………………….11 ii PREMILLENNIALISM There are three main interpretations of the millennium and they are amillennialism, postmillennialism, and premillennialism. According to New Ungers Bible Dictionary, amillennialism is defined as follows Advocates of this view maintain that no Millennium is to be looked for except that which, it is claimed, is in progress now in this gospel age. This theological interpretation spiritualizes or, rather, gives a mystical meaning to the vast kingdom promises in the OT.1 Postmillennialism as defined by the New Unger’s Bible Dictionary This interpretation maintains that present gospel agencies will root evils until Christ will have a spiritual reign over the earth…then the second advent of Christ will initiate judgment and bring to an end the present order. 2 I believe that the premillennial interpretation is the most Biblical and represents the teachings of scripture more accurately than the other views. Post & amillennial are confused on their eschatological...
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...In 1 and 2 Thessalonians, Paul's theme of biblical eschatology is "faith, love, and perseverance through persecution, which is the fruit of hope"(Antiquity pg. 287). The letters were written to the church at Thessalonica, to the brothers and sisters who had come to faith in Jesus Christ. 1 Thessalonians 1:1 states, "Paul, Silas and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace and peace to you." These letters reveal the truth to believers that they will experience the Tribulation or Day of the Lord. "For yourselves know perfectly that the Day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night" (1 Thess. 5:2). In this scripture the words: Day of the Lord and thief in the night "stick out." This day will come suddenly, and inescapably taking men off guard because the world will be unprepared just like one would be if a thief entered their home during the night. The church questions Paul when the day of the Lord would return? Paul tells the church that the day will be unexpectedly, but "one can be prepared by living a moral life and wearing the armor of God: faith, love, and hope" (Antiquity pg. 286). "However, no one knows the day or hour when these things will happen, not even the angels in heaven or the Son himself. Only the Father knows" (Matt. 24:36)....
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...Seventy Weeks of Daniel BIBL 450 Liberty University On-Line Dean Jaynes 02/08/2015 Daniel 9: 24-28 contains what many consider to be the most important prophetic scriptures in the entire bible. This passage details the prophetic chronology of Israel from the time of Daniel until the second coming of Christ. Much of Daniel’s vision of the seventy weeks can be seen in both historical and biblical events such as the rebuilding of the city of Jerusalem by decree of Artaxerxes I in 445 B. C. (Miller 1994). the triumphant entry of Jesus on the 8th of Nisan (Strong 1995), and the destruction of Jerusalem by Titus in 70 AD. It is interesting to note there is a gap in Daniel’s prophecy between the sixty-ninth and seventieth weeks. When Jesus read from the scroll in Luke 4 he only read part of the scripture “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lords favor” (Isaiah 61: 1-2a NASB) and he stopped. The remainder of that scripture declares a day of vengeance of God. By not completing the scripture Jesus was saying part of the prophecy is fulfilled in your presence today and part is yet to come. The seventieth week will resume with the revealing of the Antichrist and continue until the return of Christ at his second coming. Daniel 9:24 gives us the complete prophecy...
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...Christ the Coming King Steven Collier Crown College Abstract In this paper I will discuss the different views on the second coming of Christ, the rapture of the church, how the second coming of Christ affects missions, and I give an exegesis of Revelation 20:1-6. I will also discuss why I believe the pre-millennial view is the correct view concerning the return of Christ. There are three schools of thought in the area of the thousand year reign of Christ. They are the amillennial view, postmillennial view, and the premillennial view. Those who believe in a amillennial view do not believe in a literal or an actual future kingdom of peace and prosperity here on earth that will last one thousand years. Those who hold this view tend to view Scripture in a more figurative way than a literal way. They believe the thousand year reign of Christ is symbolic of the church age between the resurrection of Christ and His return. Most amillennialists believe that a spiritual form of the Kingdom of God is present now. Amillennialism reject the idea of a rapture. They believe good and evil will increase in the world as God’s Kingdom parallels the kingdom of Satan. They believe Satan is bound but yet evil increases. They believe when Christ returns the end of the world will occur with a general resurrection and a judgment of all people. They believe Christ will never reign on earth in a literal way but the Kingdom of God exists on earth in the...
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