Eschatology means the study of the end times. But things get complicated with all the theories. Let’s break it down.

Let’s begin.

I. The Basics

A. Etymology (word origins or roots)

Understanding the word roots helps me a lot to understand the topic, so maybe etymology will help you too.

Millennium means a “thousand years.” Mill-  means one “thousand,” and enn- is related to “year.” (Think of “perennial” which means “through the years” or “present throughout the years.”

Another term: chiliasm (pronounced KHI-lee-asm). Chili- is the Greek term for “thousand.”

B. The rapture

It comes from Latin and means “snatching up” or “catching up” (rapto, raptura). In Greek the verb harpazô (pronounced hahr-PAH-zoh) means the exact same thing: “snatching up” or “catching up.” The key Scripture is 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17, where the verb harpazō appears.

I discussed the rapture and 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17 in the post titled 1 Eschatology: Basics of the Second Coming. I also explain it in some sections, below.

C. Seven-year tribulation

This period comes from cobbling together various verses that seem to add up to seven years, but one has to do extra-clever calculations to get there (see, e.g., Dan. 7:25; 9:27; Rev. 13:5). But the phrase “seven years of tribulation” does not appear anywhere in the entire Bible.

My main hermeneutical principle is to keep things simple and streamlined. I work hard not to go beyond the clear teaching of Scripture but to stay close to the NT writers  I don’t like to outsmart them, for they were inspired by God, but one’s complicated interpretations are not.  The belief in a seven-year tribulation violates this principle of clarity and simplicity.

D. Pre-wrath rapture

One theory, the pre-wrath, teaches that there is a rapture just before the full onslaught of God’s wrath. I do not cover the pre-wrath theory here, but it could be included in the midtribulation view (below), with small adjustments to the diagram. The rapture happens at Revelation 6:17 when God’s full wrath is poured out on the world. Before then it is Satan’s wrath that afflicts humanity at the opening of the six seals in Revelation 6.

E. Three major views on the millennium

These three views are held by the majority American evangelicals, with the pretribulation rapture believers being the most numerous.

The three views are the pretribulation premillennialism, midtribulation premillennialism, and posttribulation premillennialism. The names appear heavy, but let’s break them down.

These theories are called “premillennialism” because the rapture, the seven-year tribulation, and the Second Coming happen before (pre-) the literal millennium. The Second Coming even launches the millennium.

• One theory is called pretribulation (often abbreviated “pretrib”) because the rapture happens before the seven-year tribulation. A huge number of American evangelical Christians hold to this view.
• The midtribulation rapture (often abbreviated “midtrib”) happens at three and a half years or 42 months or 1260 days (Rev. 11:1-3; 13:1-5). The first half is the wrath a man, which the church will face; the second half is the wrath of God, which the church will not face.
• The postribulation theory (often abbreviated “posttrib”) says the church will go through the seven-year tribulation.

For the pre- and midtribulation theories, 1 Thessalonians 5:9 is important: “For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Evidently, the rapture will be the church’s salvation from God’s wrath. Apparently the midtribulation theory teaches that God’s people will experience a part of the wrath but get rescued or raptured before the intense judgment on the world.

For the posttribulation believers, God will preserve his church during the seven-year tribulation, just like God preserved the ancient Israelites during God’s wrath on the Egyptians (Ex. 7-11).

The three theories also teach that the millennium is a literal thousand years, and the rapture and the seven-year tribulation happens before the Second Coming.

Historic premillennialism is called this because some church fathers believed in a literal millennium and to distinguish it from dispensational premillennialism. Its adherents often believe in a posttribulation rapture, which really is the same as the Second Coming.

Some premillennial Bible interpreters say that the new heavens and new earth will appear at the beginning of the literal millennium.

F. Amillennialism

Amillennialism and postmillennialism teach that the thousand years simply mean a long time, so we should speak of the millennium as if it is even happening right now, but not literally for thousand years. A huge shift happened with the advent, ministry, death, resurrection, and ascension of Christ Jesus. He is reigning invisibly from heaven right now.

Amillennialism: the “a” in front is the negation “no” or “non.” So amillennial therefore means “no millennium” or “nonmillennium.”

G. Postmillennialism

Post means “after” so postmillennialism means after the millennialism. Then the Second Coming and final judgment and the eternal kingdom will happen. Christ is reigning invisibly right now from heaven.

Neither amillennialism nor postmillennialism insists on the seven-year great tribulation right before the Second Coming. It is a sure thing that the optimistic believers in postmillennialism (the world will get better and better through the gospel and salvations and establishing biblical laws) would not interpret this period literally. On the other hand, aspects of amillennialism say some sort of a great tribulation could happen, particularly when Revelation 20:7 says Satan will be released for a little while.

H. End of the millennium

The millennium will end after a thousand years and Christ the King will have ushered in his eternal kingdom, say those who believe in a literal thousand-year millennium.

II. Dispensationalism

A. Brief intro.

We have to spend more time here, since this complicated system dominates American evangelicalism.

B. Definitions

Moody’s definition of dispensationalism:

Dispensationalism is a system of a Bible interpretation that puts God’s dealings with humanity into different periods (dispensations) from Genesis to Revelation. In this huge stretch of time dispensationalists claim to spot differences in the biblical text and therefore divide the characteristics into those periods. Sometimes the different characteristics of each period carry over into other dispensations, as the next points in the first table prove (and in the second table too) (Ryrie, pp. 20-24)

Charles C. Ryrie, borrowing heavily from C. I. Schofield defines it: “A dispensation is a period of time during which man is tested in respect of obedience to some specific revelation of the will of God” (p. 33). So the main and outstanding character (e.g. Moses) or characters (e.g. Adam and Eve) in each of the dispensations get a revelation. They are responsible to carry out the revelation in obedience.

C. Schofield’s dispensations

Seven Dispensations of C. I. Schofield
Innocence	Conscience	Human Govt.	Promise	Law	Grace	Kingdom
Innocence until Adam’s fall Ge 1:28-3:6	Man is self-determined and under moral responsibility Ge 4:1-8:14	Noahic Covenant, protect human life by capital punishment Ge 8:15-9:11	Patriarchs, they respond by faith to God’s revelations Ge 11:10-Ex 18:25	Mosaic law, it was given as the constitution to nation of Israel, in force until death of Christ and descent of Holy Spirit Ex 19:1-Ac 1:26	Advent of Christ God made grace known to all humankind Ac 2:1-Rev 19:21	Christ returns and sets up kingdom for a thousand years Rev 20:4-6
Notes: Other dispensationalists use different terms for their dispensations. I use Schofield’s version because his was the most influential due to his Schofield Study Bible. Other dispensationalists divide up the number of periods slightly differently, too. Adapted from Moody, Handbook, p. 560. Moody is a dispensational institution and publishing house. They well represent dispensationalism.

D. Explanation of Schofield’s system

Human government goes from Noah to the millennium kingdom.

Law goes from Mosaic law to dispensation of grace, and even to the outpouring of the Spirit in Acts. So it seems law and grace were parallel with each other.

For other dispensationalists grace is spread out through the dispensations, but the clarity of grace is highlighted with the first advent (coming) of Christ.

Promise also runs throughout the dispensations but presumably stops at the kingdom.

Particularly important: the kingdom of God is delayed until the end because the nation of Israel rejected its Messiah and his kingdom. Dispensationalists of the Schofield variety skip over the kingdom Jesus launched during his coming and ministry.

E. Charles C. Ryrie’s dispensational system

Ryrie’s Dispensations
Name	Scripture	Responsibilities	Judgments(s)
Innocency	Gen. 1:3-3:6	·Keep Garden Do not eat one fruit Fill, subdue earth Fellowship with God	Curses and physical and spiritual death
Conscience	Gen. 3:7-8:14	Do good	Flood
Civil Government	Gen. 8:15-11:9	Fill earth Capital punishment	Forced scattering by confusion of language
Patriarchal Rule	Gen. 11:10-Ex. 18:27	Stay in Promised Land Believe and obey God.	Egyptian bondage and wilderness wandering
Mosaic Law	Ex. 19:1-Acts 1:26	Keep the law Walk with God	Captivities
Grace	Acts 2:1-Rev. 19:1	Believe on Christ Walk with Christ	Death Loss of Rewards
Millennium	Rev. 20:1-15	Believe and obey Christ and his government	Death Great white throne judgment
Ryrie, p. 62

F. Explanation

Each dispensation has a revelation and command. Each of the main character or many main characters are responsible for obeying the revelation and commands. If they fail, then they are judged. Ryrie says one can switch up the names (first column), but this does not deny the central truth of dispensationalism. He even has a table of seven dispensational systems, and each row names the dispensations differently or beyond seven of them in a few systems (p. 81).

G. Summary

I can’t deny that progressive revelation is a fact of the Bible, but whether these dispensations reflect the right revelations is up for debate.

I do not see the attempt at finding a dispensational metanarrative from Genesis to the Revelation as harmful, if it keeps things simple. But often dispensationalists do not keep things simple. One example: The “carry over” notion from the law of Moses and Israel’s captivities encroaches too much into Jesus’s ministry. Another example: Some dispensationalists see Israel as the focal point of God’s plan for humanity, while the church is kept off to the side. No. The church is the focal point. Only the church proclaims the gospel.

I offer better metanarratives, here:

4 In Search of a Grand Biblical Narrative

III. Reflections

A. Everything will be made right

This post furthers our relationship with God because we now know that he will put all to rights. The world is broken, and he intends to restore and heal it through his mighty, unstoppable, power—even his re-creation of the universe.

B. Purify yourselves

In the meantime, we have to be ready morally. “But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. All who have this hope in him purifies themselves, just as he is pure” (1 John 3:2-3). Going through some of the tribulation will urge us and cause our purification.

C. The Great Commission over end times obsessions

As we get to know him more intimately, he calls us to tell our story of salvation—how God reached out to us and saved us. He can do the same for those we talk to.

“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you, to the very end of the age” (Matt. 28:18-20).

That passage is called the Great Commission. We are to go to all nations in his authority, not our own. The phrase “to the very end of the age” tells us that it will all end, and other verses teach us that this age will end at his Second Coming. Until then we are called to reach as many people as we can with the gospel—his good news. It is wise to reach, first, people closest to us—our family, friends, and neighbors. And then God will call us to enlarge the circle to other people we barely know.

D. We do not know the times or the seasons

⁶ Those who were gathered asked him, saying, “Lord, is this the time you are restoring the kingdom to Israel?” ⁷ But he said to them, “It is not for you to know the times and seasons that the Father set by his own authority. ⁶ Those who were gathered asked him, saying, “Lord, is this the time you are restoring the kingdom to Israel?” ⁷ But he said to them, “It is not for you to know the times and seasons that the Father set by his own authority. ⁸ Instead, you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:6-8)

Jesus wants to draw a clear line between the mission to the world and the localized concern about their homeland, Israel. Our task is to fulfill God’s mission to the world.

We not only do not know the day or the hour of his return, but we don’t even know the times or the seasons. Therefore, any teaching that says we are called to understand the times and seasons, as I heard a radio teacher say recently, is wrongheaded. He desperately wants the kingdom restored to geopolitical Israel, so he disobeyed and overturned Jesus’ exhortation not to focus on those things.

E. Counsel

For whatever my opinion is worth, in these eschatological discussions, let’s remember this wise slogan:

“In essentials, unity; in nonessentials, liberty; in all things, charity (love).”

We should not break fellowship with those with whom we differ in eschatological matters. It is not a tier-one issue like Christ’s lordship or salvation in him are, for example.

God has called us to love one another.

F. Time for salvation

Whatever happens, we now know the heart of God better because he is love. He loves people so much that he wants to take them out of themselves and their sinful lives—sin hurts them—before his return. He gives them multiple chances of salvation before they undergo the final judgment, when people have to give an account of what they have done and for rejecting Christ.

God wants a personal relationship with us. He offers it to us. Receive it by faith in Jesus. Then he will know us at final judgment and allow us to enter his eternal kingdom.

To be saved: Just call on his name, and with saving faith believe in Jesus, the Messiah, the Son of God. Repent of your sins and turn back to God. Profess your saving faith out loud. Declare him Lord, with your mouth. Believe in your heart that God resurrected him (= vindicated his Son’s entire life, ministry, and death). The Spirit causes you to be born again. And then you shall be saved and born of God. Simple. Even a child can do this with his childlike faith.

If you want salvation through grace alone and faith alone, pray these words from the heart:

“Father in heaven, I confess my sins to you. I renounce them. I turn from them. I renounce all ties to Satan and his dark kingdom. I put my full faith and trust in Jesus Christ. I declare with my mouth “Jesus is Lord.” I believe in my heart that you raised your Son from the dead. Send your Holy Spirit into my heart and cause me to be born again. Fill me to overflowing. Wash me in the inside. In Jesus’s name I pray, amen.”

Please join a good, Spirit-filled church. Get to know them. Then God will send you out into his mission field which is right for you (Acts 13:1-4).

LONGER POST

3 Dispensationalism, Tribulation, Return of Christ, and the Millennium

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Sec. 11, 1 Eschatology, Doctrine of Last Things: New Testament Basics

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