The Islamic Antichrist (32 page)

APPENDIX A

EMBRACING BIBLICAL ESCHATOLOGY

In this section the question is addressed: Why study eschatology? But before we address this question, I want to bat around a couple of the reasons why people
do not
study eschatology.

REASONS WHY PEOPLE DO NOT STUDY ESCHATOLOGY

Reason One: People who study eschatology are weird.

I don’t know about you, but I think one of the reasons that a lot of people do not study eschatology is that many of the people that I know who do study eschatology seem weird. Have you personally ever noticed that? Over the years, I have attended several “home groups,” which are basically small weekly gatherings of Christians that usually meet in people’s homes for the purpose of community and mutual edification. And it seems like it never fails—there is always one person in each group obsessed with the end times. No matter what the discussion is about, they always seem to want to talk about the end times. It can certainly be a real party killer. It can really make people uncomfortable. Have you experienced this? Personally, part of my fear in writing this book is that I didn’t want to be viewed as “one of those guys.” Maybe you are like me and you likewise don’t want to be viewed as an odd bird, and for that reason have shied away from the study of eschatology. That’s understandable. But can I assure you of something? The type of person that we are talking about was a bit different
before
they
started studying eschatology. Eschatology is not responsible for any person’s oddness or poor social skills. If you are the kind of person that doesn’t alienate people now, then you won’t alienate people after you become familiar with eschatology. And besides, what other people might think certainly shouldn’t be anyone’s basis for decision making (Proverbs 29:25). Paul once said that if his actions and behavior were motivated by a concern for what people thought of him, then he was no longer a servant of Christ (Galatians 1:10). I hope we are in agreement on this point.

Reason Two: Eschatology is impossible to understand.

Another reason that people do not study eschatology is that they feel as though it is so confusing or impossible to understand, so why bother? Let me say very clearly, without any qualifications, that that assumption is a blatant lie. I agree that the world of eschatology can be confusing. But it has really only become such because of the interference of people who don’t like what the Bible clearly says regarding these events and therefore try to devise systems of interpretation to get around the clear meanings. But the speculative theological contortionism of such systems is apparent to anyone who tries to follow such lines of reasoning. There are several very different perspectives regarding the end times. Some positions take an allegorical or symbolic view of the eschatological portions (and even entire books!) of Scripture while other positions attempt to simply understand the Bible at face value. This is to say that if we read a portion of the Bible that is, for instance, historical narrative, we read it as such. If it is poetry, we read it as poetry. If it is a parable, we read it as a parable. But if it is history, we do not read it as allegory. This is only common sense. The book in your hands is not an allegory. It doesn’t take a theologian to explain this to you. God did not put information in His Bible that is impossible to understand. Yes, some things are hard to understand, but difficulty cannot be an excuse to avoid trying. With some diligent study and a
prayerful attitude (more on this later) the Scriptures will be opened up to you and even the more complex issues will become completely understandable.

Reason Three: Eschatology is irrelevant; there are other far more relevant issues to attend to.

Some people feel as though there are more pertinent and more relevant issues to attend to than studying eschatology. They think that we should be about the work of ministering to the immediate needs of the people around us rather than staring at the clouds, dwelling on some future events, perpetually on the horizon. Some might say that the Gospel message is about the good news of salvation, not about the bad news of the Antichrist and false prophets and persecutions, and so on. Again, I certainly understand these kinds of feelings. But if we just boil down “biblical eschatology” to its simplest function, what we have is essentially the study of the return of Jesus. The study of such odd and frightening concepts as the Antichrist and the False Prophet are not the primary reasons to study eschatology, but are rather simply one of the signs that happen to precede the true focus of a healthy eschatology, namely, “the return of the King.” While Jesus and the apostles did spend plenty of time talking about everyday issues such as healthy relationships and giving thanks and speaking in tongues and choosing deacons, etc., it cannot be denied that eschatology also featured very prominently in their preaching and teaching. And these men lived two thousand years before us. I remember a particular preacher who made the goofy yet very true comment that we are closer to the last days than anyone before us. So if Jesus and the apostles didn’t think that eschatology was irrelevant two thousand years ago, then why should we think any different? If they made these distant future events an integral part of their preaching, then why do we fail to do so? What did they understand that we might be missing?

POSITIVE REASONS TO STUDY ESCHATOLOGY

Reason One: Eschatology and hellfire preaching saved me.

The first Christian book I ever read was by John Walvoord, a prominent end-times teacher. I can’t remember exactly what motivated me to buy the book. For whatever reason many people who are not Christians are fascinated by eschatology, and I was one of them. When I committed my life to the Lord a few months later, the eschatological/wrath of God type of verses in the Bible that I first encountered in Walvoord’s book spoke strongly to me and weighed on my thoughts as I made that most important of all decisions: to repent of my former patterns of thinking and live in exchange for something far better. The verses that influenced me to do so were not the type of verses that most Christians today would use when attempting to share the Gospel message with someone in a sensitive manner. In many Christian circles today, if a preacher said something to the effect of, “Be saved from this perverse generation!” (Acts 2:40), he might be viewed as a radical or an old-fashioned hellfire-and-brimstone sort of preacher. What I am trying to say here is that eschatology is part of the Gospel message. It was part of the Gospel message in the New Testament and it should remain part of today’s Gospel message as well. If it doesn’t seem seeker-sensitive enough, then so be it. We have our example in the New Testament. Many pastors need to ask themselves: Why have I strayed from the New Testament model? As Christians, do we really think we can do better than John the Baptist, Jesus, and the apostles? So while I understand that there are numerous relevant issues to study and understand within the context of the normal, everyday, healthy Christian life—such as relationships and giving and gathering together and so much more—biblically speaking, eschatology cannot be excluded. To eliminate eschatology from evangelism or discipleship or the regular spiritual diet of any believer is to water down the complete New Testament/Apostolic Gospel
message. Following are six more very basic reasons to commit to a healthy embrace of biblical eschatology.

Reason Two: Jesus, our example, studied eschatology. (What Would Jesus Do?)

This may sound a bit too obvious, but please do think about this simple fact: Jesus studied eschatology. Of course the eschatological portions of Scripture were not the only portions of Scripture that Jesus studied, but nevertheless He did study them. If you are a Christian, then you have decided to be a follower of Jesus (Matthew 28:19–20). In the Gospels we often see Jesus quoting from the eschatological portions of Scripture. It was clear that Jesus not only knew the eschatological portions of Scripture but that He also understood and rightly interpreted the rich prophetic meanings of them. At the onset of his earthly ministry we see Jesus rising in the synagogue to read from the scroll of the Prophet Isaiah:

He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. And he stood up to read. The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written: “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him, and he began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”
¹
(Luke 4:16–21)

In one of Jesus’ final messages to His disciples, He answered their questions, “when will this [destruction of the Temple] happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” (Matthew 24:3). In answering their questions, Jesus makes direct references to the Book of Daniel, one of the most thoroughly eschatological books in the Bible:

So when you see standing in the holy place the abomination that causes desolation spoken of through the prophet Daniel—let the reader understand—then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. (Matthew 24:15–16)

In the same chapter Jesus also quotes from Isaiah again and makes allusions to the Prophet Jonah as well, the simple point being that Jesus had a thorough command of the eschatological portions of Scripture. Let me repeat my point: Jesus studied eschatology. Yet many believers today disregard the eschatological portions of Scripture for various reasons. Unless we think we are somehow more advanced or more in touch with reality than Jesus, then surely we as His followers should likewise earnestly pursue a solid command of biblical eschatology.

Reason Three: God put it in the Bible.

Again, I don’t mean to sound like a wise guy here, but hopefully the strength of this point is its obviousness. If the Holy Spirit saw fit to fill the pages of the Bible with abundant (and I do mean abundant) references to the last days, then why do the vast majority of Christians pass over these portions of Scripture? Why do so many Christians tend to be a bit cynical or dismissive when it comes to, for instance, the Book of Revelation? While God never said explicitly, “thou shall study eschatology,” he may as well have said it by simple virtue of the fact that he gave it such a place of prominence in the Bible. We must ask ourselves, “If God doesn’t want me to study and understand this stuff, then what is it there for?” Think about this fact: Over 25 percent of the verses in the Bible contain predictive/prophetic content.
²
If we disregard that 25 percent (along with, of course, those infamous and pesky genealogies) then we can significantly whittle the Bible down quite a bit. But before we do that, I suppose we’ll have to first toss out that verse that says, “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in
righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16). Sorry, I guess I was trying to be a wise guy after all…my apologies.

Reason Four: This stuff is just too serious to ignore.

Anyone who has read the Book of Revelation knows that the events that many of us may live to see are serious. There is the description of literally half of the inhabitants of the earth dying (Revelation 9:18). We read about plagues, wars, and earthquakes (Revelation 6). There is very little in the way of “your worst nightmare imaginable” that the Book of Revelation does not contain. But we don’t have to even venture into the Book of Revelation to realize the gravity of these events. When we read the twenty-fourth and twenty-fifth chapters of the Gospel of Matthew, we see Jesus making one of the most terrifying and tragic statements in all of Scripture. Consider for a minute, the reality and the weight of what is being stated by Jesus here:

Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. (Matthew 24:9–13)

If that doesn’t sadden and scare you to no end, then I simply cannot relate to you. I am firmly secure in the love of God. I am confident that Jesus died for my sins. I have no question that there is nothing in the universe that can separate me from the love of God. But I am also fully aware of my sin. I am aware of my propensity to slip into a self-deluded state that can indeed be compared to a state of drunkenness. The expression does not say “many will fall away from going to church,” but rather “many will fall away from the faith,” and “the love of most will grow cold.” This is absolutely terrifying. These are people that we know. These are people that we have experienced sweet fellowship with. These are our brothers and our sisters. This
stuff is real and it is deadly serious and we simply cannot afford to ignore it.