Eschatology is a word you may have heard of but not quite understand. It is a common word in Christian and theological circles. It comes from two Greek words: ἐσχατος (eschatos) and λογία (-logia). The second part, logia, means the “study of” or “discourse about.” You may recognize this ending from words like “theology” or “biology. The first part of eschatology, eschatos, refers to “last,” “final,” or “end.” Thus, eschatology is the study of last things or the end times. When you think about how all things will end or where you will end up, you are dealing with eschatology.
It is funny how it seems theologians use confusing words which many times have a simple meaning. Yet, understand, I’ve given you a simple definition. Think of all the topics that go into the study of “last things”: Heaven, Hell, the afterlife, the final judgment, the second coming of Christ, the Rapture, resurrection, one’s final destination, and many more.
There are two emphases in eschatology. The first emphasis studies the last days of all things: Jesus’ return, His judgment of the world, and the New Heaven and the New Earth (our final destination). The other emphasis is a study that is very personal: our personal eschatology, what happens to us after death, where will we end up, and what will it be like?
Eschatological is the adjective form of eschatology. If you are like me, it has been a long time since you studied grammar. An adjective is a word that describes or modifies a noun or pronoun. An example would be “the red car.” “Red” describes the car. Therefore, “eschatological” describes anything related to the end times, final judgment, the return of Christ, or the ultimate destiny of humanity. We should all realize the Bible from beginning to end, both the Old and New Testaments, is eschatological.
My plan is to compose several articles about eschatological topics or words. This subject works well for me since I will be teaching multiple classes at church on the Book of Revelation, what Jesus says about the last days, what the Apostles say about the future, and what is taught in the Old Testament about the end. In these posts I don’t plan to cover the biblical prophecies, but terms that can be confusing for many of us. I will center on the first emphasis of the end of this age, the final age and what eternity holds for the saved and the lost.
Yet at this point, I urge you to consider your final destiny. Where will you spend eternity? What is your hope for tomorrow? The question for you is are you heaven bound? I hope you have had a good life: successful, healthy, and prosperous. Maybe it hasn’t been all you had hoped. You are trying so hard to work it all out. But then what? As Jesus tells us in Mark 8:35–37,
35 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it. 36 For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? 37 For what can a man give in return for his soul?
Let me encourage you to look at an article my son wrote “Knowing God.”
Until the next time we see you here at CultivatingFaith.org, God Bless! #CultivatingFaithOrg