Eight Things I Want You to Know About the Eschaton!
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More than two thousand years ago, God the Father sent his son to earth to take on human flesh. In that moment, he who is fully God became also fully man. Advent, the season when we celebrate this miraculous event started this year on November 28th and will continue through Christmas Eve. We are grateful to God for his mercy in reaching out to us in our broken humanity, for living among us, and for dying for our sins. We celebrate his resurrection.
Most Christians know about these wonders. But if you are like most believers, you don’t know much about eschatology, when history ends, and Christ comes again. Advent celebrates both, the first coming of Christ as a babe in the manger as well as the second coming of Christ.
It’s important to know about eschatology because there are so many misconceptions presented in popular literature. There, the authors (I assume) tried to fill in the blanks with exciting fiction, but to be honest, there is quite a bit we don’t know . . . yet. But if we learn what is known, we will recognize the eschaton it when it happens.
Another reason I want you to know about the eschaton, is that it is so encouraging. I’ve been learning about eschatology in seminary this semester and found it so inspiring. I suspect we all need some encouragement as we celebrate our second Advent under the scourge of a global pandemic.
Yes, theology, but I promise it won’t be boring!
So, what does our Christian faith teach us about the “future of the cosmos in the hands and purposes of God?”
First, when Christ comes again, he will fully establish the Kingdom of God. Right now, the Kingdom of God, the domain where God rules and reigns, is partial. It is present where God’s people are surrendered to him, where he rules their lives. But when Christ comes again, his kingdom will come again in fullness. The Nicene Creed puts it this way, “Christ will come again to judge the living and the dead and his kingdom will have no end.” Right now, we are waiting for “the final consummation of the kingdom of God” to be “brought about by the Son” (248). An everlasting kingdom in a life of the world to come.”
Second, the second coming of Christ will not be an event within history, but the event that brings history to an end. This I hard for us to imagine! When Christ comes again, he will complete world history as we know it. He “will be the focus of the completion of God’s purpose for this world” (318).
Third, when he comes again, he will “raise those who are no longer on this earth from the dead.”
Fourth, Christ will come as savior and judge and will determine “the final future of all things” (318). Yikes! Judgement? Yes, the dead in Christ will be resurrected and “all the living and the dead” will “stand before Jesus the judge” (319). We “must face the truth of our lives (Acts 10:42)” (318). There must be judgement between good and evil, so that evil can be removed. Does that sound a little scary? I want you to know that the judgement of God is good and righteous. We need his judgement, his reliable, utterly truthful judgement to know good from evil. It is also comforting to know that he sees everything that happens, including all that has harmed you, and he cares enough to do something about it. There will be great justice for the oppressed.
Fifth, once the Trinity has rendered judgment, God will remove all evil from the world. All evil. Does it make sense now why the Trinity has to render judgment, to decide what is good and what is evil?
Sixth, once evil is removed, they will make all things new, including a new creation (319).
Seventh is more good news: "God will take” the whole of creation “into permanent union with his own eternal life.” This includes both the cosmos and humans in their full, bodily being. “Nothing that is good in this world and its history will be lost. But evil--the incomprehensible forces that ravage and destroy God's good creation--cannot survive God's perfecting of that creation.”
Eight, each person will “reach their final destiny” (318).
Take a deep breath and drink it all in. It so beautiful how free will, judgement and the cleansing of the world from evil all come together.
This blissful life in Christ will go beyond anything we have experienced on earth. Our brains cannot imagine a life without evil. Or a life outside of time. But God has given us promises to stimulate our imagination so we can picture at least some aspects of what it might be like.
Here are just a few:
He will wipe away every tear from our eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” Rev. 21:4
We will see the last judgement. The last one.
We will see the New Jerusalem.
The Marriage feast of the Lamb.
We will enter his Sabbath rest.
We will live in the Kingdom of God, where God rules and reigns in every heart.
We will reign with him.
God will pour out his “Spirit on all creation, giving it a new heart, bringing forth a new heaven and a new earth” (286)
We will have eternal life. Eternal life is more than living eternally. It “is a creaturely participation in the eternal life of God” (317).
Focusing on Jesus as the coming king helps us as we struggle against evil today. Yes, The Bible also says there will be a “final crescendo of evil in history immediately before the end” (317). That sounds to me that it is going to get worse before evil is banished. God is saying to use today, never give up. Press on. I am with you. I have you. Do not lose heart.
This advent season, let us rejoice that Christ came as a babe in the manger, that he lived among us and died for us. Let us give thanks that he rose again, for he is the first fruits, the first to rise again. One day we will rise with him. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus knowing that he has not left us alone. He is coming. One day we will live with him in a place of unimaginable joy. Rejoice!
Numbers correspond to pages in this book, my favorite from this semester: Divine Agency and Divine Action, Volume III: Systematic Theology by William J. Abraham