What comes to your mind when the word ‘eschatology’ is mentioned? Some of you may be thinking “whaaat in the world is that?” Or you may have heard the term and you think you know what it means, but aren’t totally sure. Simply put, it is the study of the end times.
Now cue the images of modern-day prophets wearing those sandwich boards yelling at people to repent for the end is near. Naturally, some of us may feel afraid when considering the end of the world. What is going to happen, are we going to be safe, and what is the fate of our loved ones. Are we going to go through that awful period of tribulation? Is it going to be just like the Left Behind Series of books described several years back?
You may feel like eschatology is more a realm of study for theologians, scholars, and seminarians. For a long time, I considered myself in this category. You may have heard of premillennialism, amillennialism, and postmillennialism. Quite a mouthful and hard to spell too. These all have to do with a Christian’s perspective on where we are in relation to the 1,000 years described in Revelation 20. But have you heard of pan-millennialism? The belief that it is all going to “pan” out in the end? That is the position I have held for most of my life. It isn’t a terrible thing to focus on the present, to focus on being who God has called us to be and do what He has called us to do today. However, we miss out on a tremendous amount of encouragement if we don’t consider how this all ends. It’d be much like a runner who couldn’t visualize the finish line. It’s easy to get lost and lose perspective and intensity in the race.
Therefore, it is incredibly important for us to take some time and consider how this all turns out. If you join us this weekend, we can do that together. No one has it all figured out- Jesus Himself said that no one knows the day or hour of His return- but we can catch glimpses that will give urgency, direction, and purpose in our lives today Eschatology is for everyone, including you and me.
I invite you to join with us this weekend as we all grow in our understanding of eschatological matters by looking to Daniel 7. Our socially distanced service is Saturday afternoon at 3:30, and our Sunday morning service is at 10:15, where you can join us online if you can’t make it in person. We also have excellent Sunday School classes at 9 for all ages.
Have a great weekend and I look forward to pursuing Christ, Community, and the Great Commission Together with you soon!
-Pastor Nathan Rice