Module 7 - Eschatology

Eschatology is the doctrine of the Last Things. It looks unto the future, and on the basis of the teaching of Scripture, sets out what will happen in the future. Some people allow their imagination to lead them into fantastical speculation. But theology should always be sober and restrained, and based upon what God has clearly revealed. In trying to interpret prophecy, we must exercise a measure of caution, as it is notoriously difficult to interpret. When Christ came the first time, he took almost everyone by surprise. Although the Jews had the wonderful and detailed prophecies of the Old Testament, and they had a clear idea in their own minds what would happen, it didn’t turn out as they expected. As one writer put it, when Christ came the first time, they all got it wrong. So it will be when Christ returns the second time. Even the best works of theology would be found to be somewhat inaccurate.

No doctrine is more unpopular today than the Biblical teaching concerning the everlasting punishment of unbelievers. Even evangelical churches are reluctant to proclaim that the unconverted will be cast into the lake of fire to be tormented forever. When liberalism came into the churches in the nineteenth century, the doctrine of the Universal Fatherhood of God became very popular. This led, in turn, to the idea that because every man and woman was thought to be a child of God, there- fore God could not possibly cast them, his children, into hell forever. So from this arose the false doctrine of Universalism—the idea that all will eventually be saved.

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