This is our last article in this year’s doctrine series
and so this time we will deal with last things, well, last.
This subject can get touchy because it can be scary for
some and because faithful Christians disagree about many features of this
doctrine. First, I would like to state
the core doctrine concisely: Jesus will
one day return to earth to set up his perfect and eternal kingdom, the dead
will be raised and judged, and the faithful live in Christ’s kingdom, God’s new
creation, forever. That is the doctrine
but there are many views within Christianity about how all of this will play
out. I am going to outline these views
in this article. Each of you may have a
view with which you identify and each of you may have a view that you reject,
but you have to promise me that you will remember that people who hold these
views are all your brothers and sisters in Christ. Also, I will need you to promise me that you
will look up the Scriptures I cite for yourself since I will not have space to
quote them here.
As we begin we need to define some terms…
Rapture
-
Jesus returns to resurrect those who have died in the faith and give new bodies
to those who are still alive. (Ezekiel
37:1-14, Daniel 12:2-3, 13, Matthew 24:40-41, Luke 17:34-35, 1 Corinthians
15:51-54, 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18)
Tribulation
–
A period of intense suffering on earth prior to the return of Jesus, during
which according to many the Antichrist will rule the world. (Often said to be seven years, either
literally or figuratively.) (Daniel
9:27, Daniel 12:1, Joel 2:31, Matthew 24:21, 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12, several
passages in Revelation)
Millennium
–
Literally or figuratively, a thousand year period during which Jesus rules the
earth. (Revelation 20:1-10)
New
Heaven and New Earth (The Eternal State) – God’s new
creation in eternity. (Isaiah 65:17-25,
Revelation 21:1-4)
Now we will look at the various views that various Christian
believers hold about how all these pieces fit together…
Pre-Millennialism
–
Jesus will return and rapture believers before the millennium and will rule on
earth in person for one thousand years.
After the thousand years will come the resurrection and judgment of
non-believers and the eternal state.
Pre-Millennialists are divided into three sub groups based on when they
believe the rapture will occur.
Pre-Tribulationists
believe
that the rapture will occur before the seven year tribulation period. Believers, body and soul, will wait out the
tribulation in heaven. Non-believers
will go through the tribulation during which they will have an opportunity to
come to faith. At the end of the
tribulation Jesus returns to earth with the raptured church, those who came to
faith and died during the tribulation will be resurrected, and the millennium
will begin. This is a popular view and
is the view that is seen in the Left
Behind series of books.
Mid-Tribulationists
beliefs
are similar to the pre-Tribulationists except that they believe that the
rapture will occur sometime during the tribulation perhaps at the half way
point, at three and half years, when things get really bad.
Post-Tribulationists
believe
that the church will go through the tribulation and the rapture will occur
after the tribulation, at the beginning of the millennium. Christians, those who died before and during
the tribulation, will be resurrected at the beginning of the millennium;
non-believers will be raised and judged at the end of the millennium.
Post-Millennialism
–
Jesus will return, the dead will be raised, and the eternal state will begin
after the millennium. The millennium is
a period of peace on earth, literally or figuratively one thousand years, that
is brought about by the church.
Originally this was envisioned in terms of total global evangelization,
however, more recently, from the late 19th century, it has been seen
in terms of social change and activism.
This has been a very popular view of Methodists, both in its early
version and more recently. John Wesley,
the founder of the Methodist movement, held this view in its evangelical
variety, believing that the whole world, not necessarily every person, would
become Christianized. However, there are
Methodists that hold to all views.
Amillennialism
–
Means “No Millennium.” The time we
currently live in is figuratively both the tribulation, because it is a time of
trouble and evil, and the millennium, because Christ rules in his church. All the events described above occur at once
when Jesus returns to commence the eternal state. This is the official position of the Roman
Catholic Church and of many mainline Protestant churches. This was the position of St. Augustine,
Martin Luther, and John Calvin. However,
many, if not most, denominations, including the United Methodist Church, do not
have an official position on any of these views.
In closing, I would like to offer a final Scripture verse
and a funny story in order to alleviate any anxiety this topic may have
cause.
The Scripture is very last verse in the book of
Daniel. These are God’s words of comfort
to relieve Daniel’s anxiety after all the visions he had seen. “As for you, go your way till the end. You
will rest, and then at the end of the days you will rise to receive your
allotted inheritance.” (Daniel 12:13)
The funny story is about a preacher I once heard. He was asked which of these end times views
he believed in. He said he was a “Pan-Millennialist.” He said he believed everything was going to
pan out in the end!
