Eschatology is the branch of theology concerned with the study of the final events of history and the final judgement or ultimate destiny of the humankind.
Christian visions of apocalypse derive from four major biblical sources: Old Testament prophecy, the Gospels, the New Testament Epistles, and the Book of Revelation. The writers of the New Testament regarded the Jewish prophecies as authoritative but largely misinterpreted by Jewish authorities.
St. Paul explained that even though the Israelites did not recognize Jesus when he came to them, he was, nevertheless, the long-awaited Messiah. Instead of immediately establish- ing the Kingdom as per the Jewish prophecies, he first had to atone for the sins of the world by dying on the cross.
According to Christians, the Messiah will return to earth to conquer his enemies, restore Israel, and reign for a thousand years.
End times’ interpretations in Christianity revolve around, i) a rapture of the church, ii) the antichrist, iii) Great Tribulations, iv) the second coming of the Christ, and v) the “Golden Age” of a thousand year rule known as “Millennium”. Beliefs in the prophecies of the Golden Age are termed as “Millenarianism”.
The most fundamental question in Christian eschatology has to do with the timing of Christ’s return vis-a-vis the Golden Age.
Specifically, will Christ return before the Millennium or after? The two major schools of thought are called Premillennialism and Postmillennialism. A third interpretation of Amillennialism is closely associated with Postmillennialism.
Premillennialism holds Christ will return to earth in the future, intervene into human history in a dramatic episode and then set up his Kingdom and bring about the Golden Age.
Postmillennialism, on the other hand, states the Christ’s return to the earth will be after the Golden Age and that, rather than an episodic future intervention, Christ is active now through the agency of his Church. The Golden age will be gradually established under the influence of the Church. After this successful period of a millennium, Christ will return to supervise the final judgement of humankind.
Amillennialism takes a similar approach that it does not anticipate Christ’s personal intervention until the final judgement. The Roman Catholic Church holds to the millennial approach, while many churches of the Reformed tradition teach postmillennialism.
Contrary to premillennialism, they both believe that Christ’s personal return will be after the Kingdom of God has been established on earth. They believe that this is more a spiritual concept rather than a physical, political concept; and both believe Christ will return to perform the final judgement and not to rule personally on earth.
In reviewing the End Times terminology, standard premillennialism posits that Christ’s second coming will inaugurate a literal thousand-year earthly kingdom. Christ’s return will coincide with a time of great tribulation.
At this time, there will be a resurrection of the people of God who are still alive, they will meet Christ at his coming, and a thousand-year peaceful rule will follow. Those who hold to this view usually fall into one of the three categories.
The first is believers of Pretribulation rapture, who believe that the second coming will be in two stages separated by a seven-year period of tribulation. At the beginning of the tribulation, true Christians will rise to meet the Lord in the air or skies (the Rapture).
Then follows a seven-year period of suffering in which the Antichrist will conquer the world and persecute those who refuse to worship him. At the end of this period, Christ returns onto the earth to defeat the Antichrist and establish the age of peace.
Midtribulationists, the second ones believe that the Rapture will take place at the halfway point of the seven-year tribulation, after 3 ½ years. It coincides with the “abomination of desolation”– a desecration of the temple where the Antichrist puts an end to the Jewish sacrifice, sets up his own image in the temple, and demands that he be worshipped as God. This event begins the second most intense part of tribulation.
Posttribulationists, the third ones, believe that Christ will not return until the end of the tribulation. Christians will live through the seven years and suffer for their faith during the ascendancy of the Antichrist. Believers through their final evangelistic effort will try to bring, through Gospel message, great number of converts into the church in time for the beginning of the Millennium.
Postmillennialists hold that Jesus Christ establishes his Kingdom on earth through his preaching and redemptive work in the first century and that he equips his church with the Gospel, empowers her by the spirit, and charges her with the Great Commission to disciple all nations.
Increasing Gospel success will gradually produce a time in history prior to Christ’s return in which faith, righteousness, peace, and prosperity will prevail in the affairs of men and of nations. Jesus Christ will return visibly, bodily and gloriously, to end history with the general resurrection and the final judgement after which the eternal order follows.
Postmillennialism was the dominant theological belief among American Protestants who promoted reform movements in the 19th and 20th century.
The Amillennial view regards the “thousand years” as a symbolic number; they believe church age as identical to the millennium, and Christ’s reign is spiritual during this millennium. At the end of the church age, Christ will return for final judgement and establish a permanent reign in the new heaven and new earth.
To sum up, Millennialism is the belief that a Golden Age or Paradise will occur on Earth prior to the final judgement and future eternal state of the “World to come”. According to the Bible, the millennial age of peace all but closes the history of planet Earth.
But “when the thousand years have expired, Satan will be released from prison and will go out to deceive the nations which are in four corners of the earth – Gog and Magog – and to gather them together to battle, whose number is as the sand on the seashore of the sea.” [Rec 20:7-8].
Despite this huge show of force the battle will be short lived. God will “rain down on him and his troops flooding rains, great hailstones fire and brimstone.”[Ezek 38:22].
The Last Judgement
Following the defeat of Gog, the last judgement begins: “The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the Beast (the Antichrist) and the False prophet are, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever” [Rev 20:10]. Satan will join the Antichrist and the False Prophet in this torment, and thrown into Gehenna (Hell).
Those who are included in the Resurrection and the Rapture are exclude from the final judgement, and are not subject to the second death. Due to the description of the seat upon which Lord sits, this final judgement is often referred to as the Great White Throne Judgement.
New Heaven and New Earth, the Eternal state: For behold, I [God] create new heavens and a new earth; and former things will not be remembered or come to mind [Isaiah 65:17]. New Jerusalem, like a bride, will come down out of heaven from God.
He will dwell among men and they shall be His people, and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and no longer will there be any death; and no longer will there be any mourning, or crying or pain. And no longer will there be any light for the Glory of God has illuminated the city and its lamp is the Lamb. [Revelation 21:1-5, 21:23].
End Times timeline according to the pretribulation premillennial model is given below, although it contains several terms the explanation of which is beyond the scope of this article.
End Times Timeline
- Pretribulation Rapture (Harpazo)
- Judgement Seat (Bema) of Christ Marriage of the Lamb (the Christ) Magog Invasion
- Battle of Gog and Magog Tribulation (70th Week of Daniel) Great Tribulation
- Abomination of Desolation
- Second Coming (Parousia) of Christ Battle of Armageddon
- Judgement of the Sheep and Goats Millennium
- Marriage Supper of the Lamb
- Satan’s Final Rebellion (Final War of Gog and Magog) Great White Throne Judgement
- Eternal State
