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Biblical Eschatology

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Copyright © by Jonathan Menn 2010-2017. All rights reserved. BIBLICAL ESCHATOLOGY by Jonathan M. Menn B.A., University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1974 J.D., Cornell Law School, 1977 M.Div., Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, 2007 Equipping Church Leaders-East Africa 3701 N. Gillett St., Appleton, WI 54914 (920) 731-5523 [email protected] www.eclea.net July 2010-August 2011; revised October 2015; corrected June 2016; corrected and amended July 2017; revised October 2017; corrected November-December 2017. AN EXPANDED VERSION OF THIS BOOK HAS BEEN PUBLISHED BY WIPF AND STOCK PUBLISHERS Biblical Eschatology is the study of the “last things.” This study includes sections on how to interpret prophecy and apocalyptic and the importance of eschatology. It discusses the Bible’s overall eschatological structure, how the OT fits together with the NT, provides an historical overview of eschatological thought, with particular emphasis on the apostolic and post-apostolic fathers, and deals with such major themes as the Antichrist, the millennium, the “rapture,” and the Second Coming of Christ. The major systems of eschatological thought are discussed, and the most important portions of Scripture that deal with eschatology are surveyed, including Ezekiel 40-48, Dan 9:24-27, Zechariah 14, the Olivet Discourse, Rom 11:25-26, 1 Cor 15:20-57, and the book of Revelation. Helpful charts and appendices are included. Copyright © by Jonathan Menn 2010-2017. All rights reserved. TABLE OF CONTENTS I. Eschatology: Introduction…………………………………………………………………………………………...3 A. “Eschatology” defined… ………………………………………………………………………………………….…3 B. Eschatology in the context of the overall biblical story… …………………………………………………………..3 C. Major hermeneutical issues… …………………………………………………………………………………….....3 D. Brief definitions of major eschatological terms… ……………………………………………………………….….3 E. Resources to compare different eschatological systems… …………………………………………..……………....5 II. Interpreting Prophecy and Apocalyptic…………………………………………………………………………...5 A. The nature of biblical prophets and prophecy ………………………………………………………………………5 B. General considerations regarding prophecy… ……………………………………………………………………...6 C. The profound effect of the NT on OT prophecy ……………………………... ……………………………………..8 D. Specific considerations regarding the interpretation of prophetic language… …………………………………....9 E. Apocalyptic… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………….11 III. Old Testament Eschatological Expectations and the Significance of Christ’s First Coming………………..12 A. Old Testament eschatological expectations… ……………………………………………………………………..12 B. Christ’s first coming and the fulfillment of the OT eschatological prophecies concerning Israel… …………....13 C. The kingdom of God ………………………………………………………………………………………………..16 D. Christ’s first coming and the “already, but not yet” nature of the kingdom of God ……………………………..17 IV. Interpreting Biblical Eschatology in Light of its Overall Structure………………………………………..…19 A. The “Two Age” Model… ……………………………………………………………………………………….......20 B. Christ’s first coming and the “last days” …………………………………………………………………………..25 C. Even though we are in the “last days” now, there will be a “last day” when this age ends and the eschatological fullness of the age to come begins… ……………………………………………………26 V. The Eschatological Significance of Christ’s Second Coming…………………………………………………...27 A. The Second Coming is a definite event……………………………………………………………………………27 B. The Bible uses specific terms to describe Christ’s Second Coming ……………………………………………….27 C. Christ’s Second Coming does not stand alone but entails both Resurrection and Judgment… ………………...28 D. The NT identifies Christ’s Second Coming as being “the last day,” “the end of the age,” “the day of the Lord,” the Day of the Resurrection, and the Day of Judgment… …………………………………..32 VI. Historical Overview of Eschatological Thought………………………………………………………………..33 A. The seeds of what are now called “amillennialism” and “historic premillennialism” were both present in the writings of the early church fathers… ………………………………………………………34 B. Leading premillennialists and amillennialists of the apostolic and early post-apostolic era and the basis of their thought… ……………………………………………………………………………………………34 C. Summary of the eschatology of the apostolic and early post-apostolic fathers …………………………………..36 D. Distinctions between ancient and modern premillennialists… …………………………………………………...37 E. Amillennialism was the dominant eschatological position from Augustine until the Reformation… …………..38 F. Amillennialism has continued to be the dominant eschatological position since the Reformation, but the Reformation era unleashed new ideas that led to the rise of other eschatological views… ……....39 VII. The Millennium………………………………………………………………………………………………….41 A. Overview of major millennial positions …………………………………………………………………….....…...41 B. Historic premillennialism …………………………………………………………………………………………..42 C. Dispensational premillennialism… ………………………………………………………………………………..45 D. New Creation Millennialism ……………………………………………………………………………………….48 E. Postmillennialism… ………………………………………………………………………………………………..50 F. Amillennialism… …………………………………………………………………………………………………...52 G. Preterism …………………………………………………………………………………………………………...53 VIII. The Olivet Discourse: the Tribulation and the Second Coming…………………………………………….57 A. Interpretive approaches to the Olivet Discourse… …………………………………………………......................57 B. The context of the Olivet Discourse… ……………………………………………………………………………..59 C. The theological significance of the destruction of the temple in AD 70 ………………………………………….61 D. The content and structure of the Olivet Discourse………………………………...……………………………...63 E. The signs of the times (Matt 24:2-28; Mark 13:5-23; Luke 21:8-24)… ……………………………………….....63 F. The Abomination of Desolation (Matt 24:15; Mark 13:14)… …………………………………………………....65 G. The Great Tribulation (Matt 24:21; Mark 13:19; Luke 21:22-23)… …………………………………………….67 1 Copyright © by Jonathan Menn 2010-2017. All rights reserved. H. The “abomination of desolation” and “great tribulation” as foreshadows …………………………………….68 I. The signs of the times: recapitulation (Matt 24:22-28; Mark 13:20-23)… ………………………………….......69 J. The Second Coming of Christ (Matt 24:29-31; Mark 13:24-27; Luke 21:25-28)… ……………………………71 K. The parable of the fig tree: “all these things” and “this generation” versus “that day and hour” (Matt 24:32-36; Mark 13:28-32; Luke 21:28-36)… …………………………...…..74 L. The Second Coming of Christ is totally unpredictable………………………………………………………….77 IX. The “Rapture”: Pretribulational or Part of the Second Coming?.................................................................79 A. 1 Thessalonians 4-5………………...……………………………………………………………………………79 B. 1 Corinthians 15…………….................................................................................................................................81 C. 2 Thessalonians 1-2… ………………...................................................................................................................82 D. The “restrainer” of 2 Thess 2:6-7……………………………………………………………………………….83 E. The “blessed hope” for which believers are to “watch,” and which is the incentive for godly living, is the Second Coming, not the “pretribulational rapture” …………………………………………….....85 F. God has not appointed the church to “wrath” even though it will suffer during the tribulation… …………...86 G. The pretribulational distinction between the rapture and the Second Coming is based on bad hermeneutics and exegesis… ……………………………………………………………………………..90 H. Pretribulationism divides the church into “first class” and “second class” Christians and thereby reverses what Christ accomplished on the cross… ………………................................................92 X. The “Antichrist”…………………………………………………………………………………………….......93 A. Person versus Personification… ………………………………………………………………………………...93 B. John’s descriptions of Antichrist in 1 John and 2 John… ……………………………………………………..95 C. Antichrist is seen in parallels between Daniel, 2 Thessalonians 2, and Revelation… ………………………...96 D. Antichrist is seen in parallels between the Olivet Discourse and 2 Thessalonians 2… ……………………….98 E. The activities of the “man of lawlessness” in 2 Thess 2:3-12… ………………………………………………..99 F. The “beasts” of Rev 11:7; 13:1-18; 14:9; 15:2; 16:2, 10, 13; 17:3-17; 19:19-20; 20:10……………………..101 G. Concluding comments regarding Antichrist… ……………………………………………………..………….105 XI. The Book of Revelation……………………………………………………………………………………….106 A. Genre ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………106 B. Interpretive approaches ………………………………………………………………………………………...110 C. The situation of the late 1 st century churches… ……………………………………………………………….114 D. Purpose and themes …………………………………………………………………………………………….115 E. Structure: general considerations ……………………………………………………………………………...116 F. Representative structural outlines… …………………………………………………………………………...118 G. Structure: progressively parallel; not strictly chronological .…………………………………………………120 H. Rev 1:19 and the structure of the book ………………………………………………………………………...124 I. The church in Revelation: introduction ………………………………………………………….......................125 J. The church in Revelation: major figures and symbols…………………………………….…………………..126 K. Overview of major ideas and sections ………………………………………………………………………….140 L. Revelation ties together and completes the entire Bible. ……………………………………………………...178 XII. The Importance of Eschatology………………………………………………………………….................179 A. The theological importance of eschatology… ………………………………………………………………....179 B. Eschatology,
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