Eschatology Made Easy

When I was growing up in the 60s and 70s, eschatology was all the rage. Eschatology, if you don’t know, is the term referring to the doctrine of the last days. In my day, the prevailing view was the pre-trib, pre-mil view. Right … plain as mud. It turns out this is a complex and muddled concept, and perhaps we need a program to figure out who all the players are.

In eschatology, there are four major categories. First, there is the Millennium. Revelation 20 talks about a thousand year reign of Christ. That is the millennium. The question is, when does that millennium occur? Second is the Tribulation. Scripture references a seven year period of intense difficulty—“tribulation.” The question here is when the Church is gathered relative to that Tribulation. Third is the kingdom question. When exactly is the kingdom? Now? Later? Is it historical, present, or future? And finally, the question of resurrection and judgment. How many resurrections are there, and how many judgments? It’s all so confusing.

For the Millennium question, there are three—technically four—major views. There is Premillennialism, Amillennialism, and Postmillennialism. That’s three. However, under the Premillennialism category there are two distinct versions: Historic Premillennialism and Dispensational Premillennialism. The issue here is when that thousand year rule occurs—or, more precisely, where we are in relation to that millennium. Premillennialists say the Millennium is still to come; we are currently “pre” millennium. Amillennialists say the Millennium is not a literal earthly reign. It is symbolic, and Christ reigns now from heaven. Postmillennialists—a major minority today—say the Millennium is now (not a literal 1,000 years), and Christ will return after a long era of gospel prosperity. That view was popular until the 20th century, when two world wars and several other conflicts put a dent in the “gospel prosperity” concept.

Then there is the Tribulation question. When, exactly, is the Church gathered? The most popular view is the pre-tribulation position, which teaches that there will be a “Rapture,” and God’s people will be taken up before the Tribulation. Others argue for mid tribulation at the 3½ year mark, when things turn ugly. The pre wrath view says the Church endures most of the Tribulation but is gathered just before God’s final wrath. Finally, the post tribulation view holds that the Church endures the Tribulation and that the Rapture and Second Coming are one event.

Kingdom theology is varied. Two Kingdom Theology distinguishes Christ’s spiritual kingdom from earthly civil authority. Theonomy argues that biblical civil law should govern society now. Christian Reconstructionism is a postmillennial movement emphasizing societal transformation under biblical law. Inaugurated Eschatology is the “already/not yet” kingdom framework (from folks like Ladd, Carson, and Moo). They argue for a hybrid where the kingdom is both present and ultimately yet to come. Finally, Realized Eschatology—typically associated with liberal theology—emphasizes the kingdom as fully present now.

Lastly, there is the question of the Resurrection of the saints and the Judgment. Amillennial and postmillennial systems lean toward a single resurrection and a single judgment. Premillennial systems prefer the two resurrections view, where there is a first resurrection and a final resurrection. A popular judgment concept is the Bema Seat Judgment, where believers’ works (not believers themselves) are evaluated. And, of course, there is the Great White Throne Judgment, where unbelievers are finally judged (Rev. 20:11–15).

And that is the general idea. After that, there are many positions, explanations, and nuances within these categories. I just wanted to lay out the terminology so you'd see what actually relates to what and how complex it is. I thought it was also interesting to see that the most popular view—Dispensational Premillennialism and its associated pre-tribulation Rapture—is actually a relatively new kid on the block. There was a historic premillennial view, but Darby in the 19th century popularized the pre-trib Rapture, and the whole thing took off. Now it’s considered the only possibility by many… of which I am not one. So when I hear someone teaching on eschatology, I become skeptical because I have to wonder how far they’ve gone in asking the right questions—especially when, in my opinion, it’s not clear enough to be dogmatic. In the end, my title, “Eschatology Made Easy,” isn’t a thing, is it?