An intensive Biblical study of the doctrine of last things, including death, the intermediate state, the kingdom of God. the second coming of Christ, the resurrection, the judgement, and the final destiny and rewards of mankind.
Biblical Eschatology is the study of the last things or end times as the Bible puts them. The study of the end times is usually controversial among evangelicals because it is centered on what is yet to happen. What is yet to come in this case is what has been foreseen as per the scriptures. Studying eschatology comes out as important because we can realize that the current happenings are not random or accidental but genuinely planned. So far from this, eschatology allows us to re-examine ourselves in terms of the values we stand for (Gaya & Philip, 2016). With eschatology, we realize that many of the things we occupy ourselves with will not last with us and will eventually burn. For instance, the scripture clarifies that just like we came to this world with nothing, so will we return. God from the Bible knows everything from the beginning to the end; the reason as to why he is often referred to as alpha and omega. The Bible is also clear that God has a plan for us even before we are born. This alone serves as motivation enough to keep pushing through this harsh world.
Biblical Eschatology generally focuses on matters relating to the expected second coming of Jesus and building His Kingdom (Shoemaker, 2018). The hope that Jesus will be coming back to earth is a powerful motivation for Godly living. However, not everyone agrees with the events surrounding the second coming of the son of man. In 2 Peter, Peter cautioned that as the day of the second coming got near, more people would be drifting from the belief of the second coming. Peter further explains the delayed second coming of Christ as more room for human beings to repent and change their ways. This calls for the other part of eschatology called personal eschatology. Personal eschatology mainly focuses on the event after death and judgment day. The Bible teaches that on judgment day, the dead shall be resurrected to face their judgment. During this resurrection, believers will receive a new non-perishable body and eternal life.
At the beginning of the book of Genesis, God created man from mud. Of all the fruits in the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve were warned against eating from the tree in the middle. The Bible says that they would die upon eating from the tree. Therefore, it can be interpreted that death was a result of disobedience. Death of man only began when Adam and Eve ate from the tree and were cast out of heaven. In the next book of Exodus, the ten commandments are written down. Going against any of the commandments is referred to as sin. In general terms, the Bible says that the wages of sin are death. However, according to the Bible, death is not just as simple as we see it. It is described as the separation of the body from the soul. In the book of Ecclesiastes, the body is said to return to dust as it came, while the soul ascends to God.
The scripture further classifies death into physical, spiritual, and eternal death. Physical and spiritual death is linked to sin, while eternal death is more specific in personal eschatology. The Bible clarifies that death is final and after death is judgment day which calls for the resurrection of the dead. Only the believers are to receive new immortal bodies while nonbelievers face punishment. However, this begs the question of why believers have to die. Why can’t that go straight to heaven instead of having to go through the harrowing experience of death? From the Bible, men like Elisha are said to have mounted to the heavens with Chariots; why can’t the same happen with present-day believers?
Other believers argue that the initial death is meant to spare the believer of the wrongs and sufferings of the current life. However, death can be looked at as the ultimate test of the faith levels of the believers. For the believers, death is not final. It is only a form of sanctification of their spirits to make them perfect in the Lord. Because of this, the death of believers is looked at as the beginning of perfect life.
The intermediate state tends to explain what happens to a person after they die. It is more of the state of a person after death but before the resurrection. Studying the intermediate state is necessary because we need to fight our mortality. O top of that, this state gets us to consider how we relate to those who are dying or the bereaved. The Bible guides us about the kind of hope we should give to those that are dying and those that are bereaved. Although the Bible narrates a couple of instances of possible intermediate states, the story of Lazarus in Luke 16 stands out. In this story, Luke was trying to explain the dangers of riches. Lazarus lived outside a rich man’s gate but could only manage to eat the food remnants that fell off the rich man’s table. Lazarus was a very poor sickly man that even the dogs licked his wounds. When both of these men died, tables turned. The rich man turned out to be the beggar begging Lazarus to get him a drop of water. However, there was no possible way for that to happen. The rich man only had to hope that none of his family could end up in that place of torment. It was now time for Lazarus to live his best life.
Another instance was that of the stoning of Stephen whereby in the book of Acts 7: 55-60, Stephen was stoned to death. He was stoned because of His testimony that Jesus sits at the right hand of God was rejected by the people. Amidst the stones, he exclaimed to Jesus before Stephen died, requesting Him to receive his spirit. It is worth observing that during Jesus’s crucifixion, He also cried to God to receive his spirit. On top of that, at the cross, one of the thieves asked Jesus to remember him in His Kingdom. Jesus assured him that “truly I tell you today you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23: 43). These instances demonstrate that these people believed in the intermediate state before resurrecting and heading to heaven. We know that Jesus did not resurrect up until after three days, which means he was somewhere for the three days rather than heaven. Where did he go then, and where exactly was the paradise he promised them this on the day on the cross? It is most likely that paradise, in this case, represented the intermediate state. After Jesus died, he went to the place where the dead wait for resurrection. It is the happy place within Sheol or hades.
The Biblical aspect of Jesus Christ rising from the dead, ascending to heaven, and is expected to return lights a spark of light in the hearts of believers. It was the disciples who had witnessed Him ascend to heaven that assured everybody else that just like that, he would descend on judgment day. However, all the evangelical authors agree that nobody knows the day nor the time that the son of man will make his return; not even Jesus Himself knows His day of return, only the father. For this matter, regardless of the signs of end times, we cannot know when Christ will return. However, it is important that he finds us ready and doing what we were instructed to do in his absence upon his return.
The idea of the second coming of Christ is controversial because people cannot tell if it will be spiritually or bodily. However, Acts 1: 11suggests that the return will be bodily because every eye will see Him upon his return. Far from that, his return will be magnificent. The second coming will not be like his first coming. When Jesus first came to earth, most of the world was not of knowledge. Everybody will be aware of his second coming, and there is no way it can be mistaken. He must not be coming this time as just a savior but also a judge. The second coming is expected to pass judgment on the nonbelievers while salvaging his chosen. In Mathew 24, Jesus says that as his days of return will be nearing, people will be killed because of Him. He will be coming to deliver only those who stand with Him.
The Kingdom of God, also referred to as the Kingdom of Heaven is the spiritual Kingdom where God is the King (Brown, 2011). It is the main message that Jesus tries to put across. The Bible clarifies in Luke 18:16 that the Kingdom of heaven only belongs to people who were like children. However, there have been several definitions of what the Kingdom of God is. It is important to observe that the Kingdom of God is not an actual place, nor is it the church or heaven. Rev 11:15 says that the Kingdom of the world was becoming that of the Lord and His Messiah, and He was going to reign forever and ever. Sometimes it is said as the coming of the Kingdom of heaven, but we all know from scripture that God has always reigned everything ever since. It only means that God’s Kingdom is eternal, where God has always had the royal right over all His creation. However, from Mathew 6:10, ‘Thy Kingdom come’ suggest otherwise. The Kingdom of heaven comes across as an eschatological goal of history and not an always present reality. The coming of the Kingdom of God, in this case, is represented by the second coming of Jesus, which will mean salvation to the world but also defeat of the enemies. As observed from above, the main enemy that is defeated with the Kingdom coming will be death.
Several parables further explain the Kingdom of God in the Bible. The most significant parable was that of the sower. It explains that a man scattered seeds, others fell on a rocky surface, others in thorns, and others eaten by birds, while others fell on good soil. The seeds that fell on good soil and produced crop were God’s chosen people. The seeds in this parable represented how people reacted to the word of God. The parables emphasize that the Kingdom is presented in two faces. In one phase, the Kingdom of God is likened to the Mustard seed. In the initial stages, the mustard seed is the smallest of the rest of the seeds but once planted, and it grows to make a big tree in whose branches birds nest. In another instance, the Kingdom is likened to a leaven. A woman took the leaven and hid the leaven and hid it in three meals until it was leavened. Many times, the parables were very confusing. However, the parables offer realistic optimism. For many, the word will be in vain, and the norm of good and evil will still be in the world. People who would choose to possess the Kingdom will also have to make sacrifices. For others, the world will bring more beneficial and extraordinary effects, but growth will be constant.
In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul tries to set the record straight about resurrection. The Corinthians at the time denied the idea of the resurrection of the dead, refusing to believe that there will be the bodily resurrection of believers on the final day. However, Paul denies both cases to showcase the reality of resurrection in verses 1-15 and 35-58. Paul begins by confirming that according to the scriptures, Jesus died, was buried, and raised on the third day. He further explains that the death of Jesus at the cross was for our sins to be forgiven, while his resurrection confirmed that he had conquered death. Paul made it clear to the Corinthians that if they did not believe in the bodily resurrection of believers, then they had no business believing that Jesus had died and was raised from the dead after three days. According to Paul in verse 19, the denial of the bodily resurrection questioned the faith and belief of Christians, which could, in turn, make Christianity worthless nonsense.
In verse 21-22, Paul administers that as death came by man, the resurrection of the dead shall also come by man. In this case, he talked about how death began with Adam and Eve and could end with the son of man when He resurrected on the third day. Death was brought to Earth by Adam, who represented sin; therefore, the resurrection will be brought to earth to all believers by Jesus, the savior of man. In the ancient years, people believed in baptism on behalf of the dead. They believed that hat was the only way they could be united with their dead loved ones. In verse 29, Paul asks why they believed in this form of baptism and not resurrection. People converted to Christianity, hoping to be together with their loved ones again. Apart from this, Paul also questions why he could go through all the trouble to prove something that otherwise did not exist? The resurrection of the believers would bring God triumph over the last enemy, which is death.
It is on judgment day that individuals will follow their allocated destinies of either heaven or hell. In the history of the Bible, God punished and rewarded His people accordingly. The first judgment began at the garden of Eden when man disobeyed him. In Genesis 3, God punished the people who did not hide to Noah calling with the floods in the years of the flood. However, he rewarded Noah for his faith and righteousness. In another story, when he tried Abrahams’s faith by asking him to offer his only son as a sacrifice, he provided him with a ram as an option of the sacrifice when Abraham proved that he was willing to go through with God’s instructions.
In recent days, people have deliberately broken the commandments provided by God. Just like the Israelites felt the wrath of God for their sin, the human race that does not believe is expected to perish eternally as a form of judgment from God. In the book of Mathew 25: 32-33, God likens judgment day to the process of separating sheep and goats. Sheep are likened to believers who will receive eternal life, while goats are nonbelievers and receive eternal punishment. Although in trinity God the father is supposed to pass judgment, all the responsibility will be left to his son on judgment day. Jesus will take charge of the process of judgment for both the living and the dead. Apart from men, angels will also be judges on this day. This brings us to the argument that sanctified people of the Lord will also be involved in the judgment process.
Churches are encouraged to keep the faith towards the end of the book of Revelation, where those who persevere in the faith receive promises of rewards. However, Revelation warns that man can be born again spiritually through Jesus or reject the offer and the subsequent eternal life in paradise. In chapter 21, God promises to create new heavens and new earth when he restores His people. The final state of believers is expected to be a perfected creation renovated by God in which righteousness dwells. Those who choose to be spiritually reborn through Jesus will dwell in God in paradise, in the new earth God will create.
Studying eschatology comes out as important because we can realize that the current happenings are not random or accidental but genuinely planned. It generally focuses on matters relating to the expected second coming of Jesus and building His Kingdom. However, it is a topic that has been highly controversial among evangelicals because the scripture is interpreted differently. Facts like man’s death only began when Adam and Eve both ate from the tree and were cast out of heaven are constant among the evangelicals. Therefore, it is argued that as death was brought to earth by man, it shall also be conquered by man. Death is the ultimate test of faith for the believers because it further begs the question of believing in the intermediate state and other resurrection. The intermediate state explains what happens to a person after they die but before they resurrect. This is where Jesus Himself stayed for the three days he was dead before he was resurrected. His resurrection proved that he had conquered death.
On the other hand, the idea of the second coming of Christ is controversial because people cannot tell if it will be spiritually or bodily. He is expected to pass judgment on the nonbelievers in his second coming while salvaging his chosen believers. Unlike when He first came to earth, everybody will be aware of his second coming, and there is no way it can be mistaken. Upon his second coming, the believers shall be given a new body and new earth while nonbelievers will be punished.
Brown, R. (2011). The Kingdom of God and the Mission of God: Part 2. Kingdom and Church in Frontier Mission, 49.https://www.ijfm.org/PDFs_IJFM/28_2_PDFs/IJFM_28_2-BrownPt2.pdf
Gayá, P., & Phillips, M. (2016). Imagining a sustainable future: Eschatology, Bateson’s ecology of mind and arts-based practice. Organization, 23(6), 803-824.https://www.academia.edu/es/34086553/Johnsen_C_G_Nelund_M_Olaison_L_and_S%C3%B8rensen_B_M_2017_Organizing_for_the_post_growth_economy_ephemera_17_1_1_21
Shoemaker, S. J. (2018). The apocalypse of empire: imperial eschatology in late antiquity and early Islam. University of Pennsylvania Press.https://bmcr.brynmawr.edu/2020/2020.01.25/
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