The End

It’s been said that college and 20-something’s are most passionate about three things: sex, the end times, and will there be sex in the end times? This is why I love this generation!

Well here is some insight to one of those interests. I’ve always been scared to read the book of Revelation because I have been intimated by charts and graphs and weirdo’s telling me to quick grab some bottled water and canned food and hide in a dungeon because the end of the world as we know it is at hand. But as I mustered up the guts to actually read Revelation I found two things.

1. The book is not about the end so much as it is intended to encourage God’s people to worship and exalt Christ!
2. No one knows the day or hour when Jesus will return.

Revelation 20:4-6 tells of Jesus having a thousand year reign during the end of the world. and the dead coming to life. This verse in particular has given rise to three main schools of thought within Christianity.

1. Premillennial View
This is the most popular view among Christians. Any “Left Behind” fans? In this movie you will see something called “the rapture” occur by which all Christians are taken from earth and calamity (tribulation) occurs for 7 years. After the seven years this view holds in a literal thousand year reign of Jesus to be ushered in after the rapture. This view also believes in two resurrections. The first are believers. The second are non believers. Premillinnial’s believe there are signs pointing to the world constantly getting worse, not better.

2. Postmillennial View
Some Postmillennial’s believe in a literal thousand year reign but many contemporary scholars do not. The thousand year is symbolic. Here there is only one resurrection of all believers and non believers which happens after the millennium. The church ushers in the millennium for Jesus to return. Tribulation will occur but won’t happen until after the epic reign of Jesus. This means that the church is to share with the whole world. This is a positive outlook stating that we can evangelize the whole world.

3. Amillenial view
This view looks at the apocalyptic genre of Revelation and thus concludes that the thousand year reign of Jesus is purely symbolic. Like Postmillennial’s this view believes there will only be one resurrection. Believers may be risen before non-believers but the events happen close together. Like the Premillennial’s, this view believes that the world is only getting worse. Only Jesus can change the world.

All three of these views are held by evangelical Christians. Yet while there are differences there are three aspects of the end times that all evangelicals do agree on.

a. Jesus will return one day. At his return Christ will finally defeat all evil in an undeniable way.
b. A bodily resurrection of all people who have ever lived, followed by a final judgment will occur.
c. Believers will reign with Jesus forever while unbelievers will be separated from God’s presence.

So what’s the point? No matter where you stand theologically we know that Jesus will return. You don’t need to get caught up in dates and charts and graphs trying to discern the exact date of his arrival. No one knows. But we do not this: “We are children of God.” (1 John 3:2a) Thus right now today if your profess faith in Christ you are already a child of God.

But look at the rest of the verse: “but what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.” (1 John 3:2b) So even though we are already children of God, we have not yet reached our full potential in God. This will not happen until his return. This is my theology. We are already but not yet with God.

So where does that leave us? “Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure.” (1 John 3:3) this means that you and I are living between the times! While we live between the times we are called to sanctify our lives (1 Thes. 5:23) and continue to live out our everyday lives like it is our last!