Ever since I was a little kid, Eschatology (The Study of the End Times) has fascinated me. It has my undivided attention. I love to talk about it, discuss it and often times debate it. But how I viewed it in my elementary days, both as a youth and as a Christ-follower, is vastly different from how I understand it today. This blog series is something I’ve wanted to do for a long time but wasn’t sure I was ready to handle the criticism. But with the coming onslaught of the new Left Behind movie that is sure to get evangelical community excited about a non-existent (and self-proclaimed) “fictional” end times apocalyptic, I’ve decided it’s time. I can’t be silent any more.

This series, like the rest, is designed to get you to think. You’re going to be challenged and your eschatological worldview may or may not be shattered after this. But I give you one guarantee: Unlike Left Behind, there is hope that won’t leave you confused. Even if you don’t like my view on Eschatology, you will at least have another view that you can turn to when you eventually realize that Left Behind and Pre-millennial Dispensationalism (PMD) is a fairy tale that has thrown out thousands of years of biblical eschatology.

Here is my disclaimer for this blog series: This is designed specifically as a response to the Left Behind/PMD eschatology and the verses taken way out of context. This isn’t necessarily a refutation of other eschatological theories, though they may be touched on here or there.

Where I’m Coming From

When I was about 12 years old, my friends and I were hanging out for July 4^th and we were out and about in the local neighborhood. As we sat waiting for the fireworks to go off we heard a loud noise that sounded very strange and then all of the power went out in the neighborhood. Of course, we were a little freaked out. So then, we went back to the house we were hanging out to look for my friend’s parents. They were nowhere to be found. We thought Jesus had come back and we were left behind! It was just a transformer that blew and the parents were out of the house. I also wrote notes to some of my friends who I knew weren’t “saved” saying that if I randomly disappeared it was because Jesus came to take me. I even went through a season of my childhood praying 3 times a day hoping that Jesus wouldn’t come back yet (I was so naïve). I was deep into this worldview and I would be up until I was a senior in college.

It was my final semester at Southeastern that I took a class on Revelation. This was my favorite topic and I couldn’t resist taking it with the leading Revelation scholar at our university. This class turned my whole eschatology on its head and my eyes were open. Of course, I heard differing opinions throughout the years, but I never took the time to really think about the issues. In a nutshell I wanted Left Behind to happen (Don’t ask, I was weird). I wanted to experience the chaos. But the reality, as I would find out, is that PMD is exactly that: Chaos, not truth. I’m going to wait until the end of this series to explain what I believe will happen. But you’ll get glimpses throughout this series on my thoughts.

The Topics

Here are some of the things that will be covered in this series:

1. The Rapture
2. The Anti-Christ
3. The Tribulation
4. The Resurrection/Judgment
5. The New Heaven and New Earth
6. My Personal Eschatological View

If you comment, please be respectful and make sure you come prepared with biblical stances that support your view. Also, if you would like some incredible books on Revelation and/or Eschatology, I highly encourage these books (Please note: I do not necessarily agree with everything each author says. I simply believe they have facts and points worth reviewing). They go into a lot more depth than I ever could in a blog.

Mitchel Reddish: Revelation Commentary

N.T. Wright: Surprised By Hope

Gordon Fee: Revelation Commentary

Hans Schwartz: Eschatology

John Polkinghorne: The God of Hope & the End of the World

Donald Bloesch: The Last Things: Resurrection, Judgment, Glory.

The first blog on The Rapture will be up tomorrow, October 3rd. As always, thanks for reading!