Here we consider eschatology in the most basic sense, as it
would relate to a person who is not (yet) a follower of Jesus. That is, the
person you are conversing with has not made any commitment to follow Christ.
Therefore the approach will be specifically directed toward that kind of
spiritual seeker. While we will discuss specific theological categories to
provide background information, it is not necessary for you to pass this
information on to your conversation partner or group.
The subject of eschatology is a touchy one and you will need
to tread lightly. Especially in the United States, the subject of eschatology
has been deeply politicized. Views about end time events have become the
subject of foreign policy debates. This should not really be a surprising
development. It might even be said that all wars have been fought over
competing views of eschatology, especially if eschatology can be broadened to
its secular sense. That is, all wars are fought over competing visions of “the end
of humanity” or the purpose or destiny to which humanity is or should be
moving.
Because of the current social and political environment, especially
in North America, many nonbelievers are very skeptical about grand visions of
the end of the world, especially as those visions entail widespread destruction
and bloodshed. There skepticism is not a bad thing. Many of the views widely
published are not what God has in mind. Postmodern people in particular need a
different way to come at a conversation about “ends,” or the destiny toward
which humanity is moving. Many people will no doubt have images of world-wide
destruction in their mind when they hear about end-times because some Christians
have for so long spoken in those terms. Many people wonder, “If God loves the world
so much, why is He so bent on destroying it?”
In order to broaden the conversation about eschatology,
especially for the person who is not committed to following Jesus, it is
important to understand two main streams of Christian eschatology. These are
broad categories that include many specific, detailed approaches. One is an
eschatology that focuses on escape. The other is an eschatology that focuses on
hope.
We will explore those two categories in the upcoming blog.
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