How does a
Christian’s eschatology impact how they invest in the future of their family, church,
and nation?
This has
become a prominent question in recent times in part because of the rise of
postmillennialism in the English-speaking nations, particularly in Reformed
circles. But also because of a reaction against ridiculous end times ideas and
cooky end time predictions that have made a lot of Christian ideas about the
end of the world targets of easy mockery[1].
It is common especially for those with postmillennial views to argue that
premillennial theology gets in the way of building a sustainable and long-lasting
Christian civilisation and therefore we need to get back to the postmillennial
views of the medieval past to reclaim our once great glory in the Christian West.
I have heard this discussed in many contexts from prominent theologians all the
way through to friends of mine in conversations and in online discussions. What
I would like to do in this piece is show that premillennialism, particularly
historic premillennialism, is not at all inconsistent with building into the
future of your nation and working for the good of society in general and for a
Christian society in particular.
Before we do
this, it does need to be acknowledged that there is a strong streak of a bunker
or escapist mentality amongst those who believe in a 7-year tribulation and a
following return of Christ for the millennial reign, and particularly if they
hold to a pre-tribulation secret rapture. There is a kind of Christian who
always thinks that the end is immanent, who is especially certain that the
rapture will happen somewhere in September of every year,[2]
and every time there is some kind of conflagration in Israel, Iran or Russia,
they are certain that these are the final days.
There is a
kind of Christian who thinks that there is not really any point to investing in
the future because this world is going to end soon, and they would see the
building of a multigenerational cathedral as a waste of money because all this
is about to end any way. There is a kind of Christian who is obsessed with predicting
the time of the rapture, with watching the signs around national Israel and
Palestine and who really does believe that this world is only going to get
continually worse, “so let’s just close ourselves off from society.” This is a
very pessimistic and defeatist theology[3]
and it should be rejected. It is also completely understandable why so many
Christians filled with the hope of the gospel are rejecting it today.[4]
Many Christians are hopeful for good things for our nations and they look
forward to new advances of the gospel in the future and refuse to accept that
the Church of Christ will be defeated by this world.
I think it
is vital to show that none of these pessimistic outlooks is inherent to
historical premillennial theology. I think there are a few different ways to
demonstrate this, but first I need to define some terms.
Historical
premillennialism is a belief about end times that can be traced back explicitly
to Irenaeus, the Church father, and his early writing Against Heresies,
and one could argue even further. It is generally accepted as a dominant view
in the primitive Church. In brief it is the idea of a tribulation period, of
several years towards the end of the age, the return of Jesus Christ at the end
of that tribulation period where he returns to set up his millennial reign on
earth, with a final battle at the end of that millennium, before the heavens
and the earth are made new for our eternal existence in them.
Dispensational
premillennialism is very similar but has some notable differences. Its major
difference is the distinction between the Church and Israel, a view which
stands against the teaching of the Church throughout history. Prior to the 19th
century, the Church had always seen itself as the continuation of God’s people
stretching back to Abraham[5].
Dispensationalists, however, see a sharp distinction between Israel and the
Church, and believe God has separate plans for the two.
Related to
this doctrine is the belief that the Church will be raptured out of the
tribulation at the start or in the middle of the tribulation period. The reason
this doctrine is related to the distinction of the Church from Israel is
because in dispensational thought the tribulation serves two purposes, to wake
up lukewarm Christians who will be left behind after the rapture, and to wake
up Israel for whom the tribulation is designed to be their discipline. Some
dispensationalists call the tribulation ‘Jacob’s trouble’, because they believe
it is in this time that Jacob (Israel) is stirred to wake up and look upon the
one whom they have pierced and many Jews will then turn to Christ in this time.
There are
numerous variations of these views, but these basic descriptions will serve our
purpose for distinguishing the two views. It is important to make this
distinction, because not all forms of premillennialism are the same. Some are
influenced by American evangelicalism, and some versions go back to the primitive
Church in ancient Rome.
The Great
Falling Away
Premillennialists
across both of these broad categories will agree on many particulars. For
instance, generally speaking premillennialists believe that there will be a great
falling away, or apostasy in the final days. This is taught clearly in several
passages of scripture. For instance, 2 Thessalonians 2:1-3,
“1 Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our
being gathered together to him, we ask you, brothers, 2 not to be quickly
shaken in mind or alarmed, either by a spirit or a spoken word, or a letter
seeming to be from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. 3 Let
no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion
comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction,…”
Here Paul is
saying that before Christ returns there will be a great rebellion, where the
man of lawlessness, often referred to as the antichrist, is revealed. Jesus
taught precisely the same thing as Paul,
“9 Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you
to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name's sake. 10 And then
many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. 11 And many
false prophets will arise and lead many astray. 12 And because lawlessness will
be increased, the love of many will grow cold. 13 But the one who endures to
the end will be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed
throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will
come” (Matt. 24:9-14).
Jesus is
saying precisely the same thing as Paul. In the latter days there will be a
tribulation and a great falling away. Now, of course amillennialists and
postmillennialists believe these passages too, they just apply them to
different times and contexts. I do not intend to debate over the merits of
these varying applications here. What we would like to discuss for this piece
is the implication that these passages contain for premillennialists.
Postmillennials will say that premillennial eschatology is inherently
pessimistic because it believes the church will be defeated in the end, and
then rescued at the last minute by the return of Christ, rather than the church
handing Christ a largely Christian world when he returns. You could read these
passages this way, and many do.
But I want
you to think about a couple of things. Firstly, the implication that a great
falling away will have ramifications for the whole world, and particularly
Christians in all the world, necessitates that there will first be an
incredible advance of Christianity to every corner of the globe. Jesus appears
to imply this, “14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout
the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” For
this falling away to have the implications it does, this necessitates a very
successful and very missionally active church which has already won large
proportions of the world to Christ.
Secondly,
consider what we learn from history here, we all know the principle, “Hard
times create strong men, strong men create good times, good times create weak
men and weak men create hard times.” The direct result of a nation becoming
largely Christian is always inevitably an increase in productivity across
society and a corresponding increase in prosperity. This has been observed all
throughout history. What Christianity did for medieval Europe far surpasses
anything that Rome achieved. What has also been observed is how every single
one of these Christian nations has become decadent in its prosperity and fallen
away in one measure or another, and the cycle of hard times again begins. It
stands to reason that this principle will continue until Christ comes to make
things anew and finally rids the world of the corrupting forces of sin and
evil.
Ergo, one
can believe in an incredibly triumphant church and still a great falling away.
How long will history last? I have no idea. But if the church continues as it
is today it will one day encompass the world in very large measure, and because
prosperity will increase this will coincide with a lot of people being born and
many, many people being saved. In contrast the time period of the final great
falling away is incredibly short, maybe 3 and a half to 7 years, depending on
how you read scripture. If there is another 100, 200, or 1000 years of history,
how many billions of people will be saved in this time? If even a billion rebel
in the final period due to the decadence caused by the prosperity that the
righteous create, this is till far fewer than those who could possibly be
saved. The numbers of the saved could be staggering.
Also
consider this, according to Revelation 7, even in the great tribulation
countless numbers of people are being saved. In fact, right up until Revelation
18 and the judgement of Babylon the offer is being made for people to come out
of Babylon and trust in the Lord. So even the worst period of history in the
world sees a great revival. So where is the room for pessimism? I see no room
for pessimism, unless you are among those who cling to the things of this world
over Jesus.
The more
influential and powerful the church gets, the more the devil will rise up to
try and destroy it, and the more he will be defeated by those who have the
testimony of how the lamb of God saved them. There is no room for pessimism
here, and no reason not to build for the future because we have no idea when
this final period will be and we know that while we are on this world we have a
job to fulfil. Which leads to my next point.
The
Talents and Inheritances
Theology is
complex, more to the point, how people apply what the Bible says to their lives
is complex. It involves more than just a literal, metaphorical or allegorical
reading of Scripture. How people read and apply the bible also includes their
social and family context, their education, their interests, their
intelligence, their own personal biases, the national culture in which they are
born, the time in which people are born and more. It is a thoroughly complex topic
and I understand why some people avoid it like the plague.
Now, someone
might observe that some people hold to a particular doctrine, they may also
logically deduct what the implications of that doctrine are, and how that
doctrine should work itself out in the lives of those who hold to it. For
instance, someone might observe a Christian who believes the coming of Jesus is
immanent, therefore they logically assume this belief will impact their desire
to build for the future, by diminishing that desire. What people believe matters,
right? There is a sensible logic to this line of reasoning. It is neat and
tidy. The problem is, though, that Christians are often not logical in how they
apply scripture, they are rarely neat and tidy about it, and they are also
often influenced by scripture in a much simpler way than this.
Most
Christians, in my observation, tend to hold certain truths in tension without
ever seeking to work those beliefs into a systematized system of thought. They
may seek to address apparent contradictions, but they are not really interested
in deeply analysing the scriptures on every possible topic and working out how
they interlock together. The way this works out in their life in practice is
that they will know one passage says one thing and another passage says another
and they will seek to put both of these passages into practice, even though one
might say that this is not a logical application of one or the other verses. So,
someone looking from the outside may think; well this person believes the end
is near, therefore they will not be inclined to build. But the truth is a
Christian is completely capable of believing Jesus will return at any moment or
even tomorrow, and yet also believe they should focus on building and planning
for the future, because they know there are other passages which say they
should. In fact, I would argue this is a basic requirement of Christianity and
the Bible is designed to be trusted in this way.
One good
example of this is the parable of the talents. This is a famous parable where
the master gives to three of his servants differing amounts of talents (money)
to steward in his absence (Matt. 25:14-15). He then comes back at some point
and evaluates how these servants have used these talents. Two have used them
wisely, and the third simply buried his talent and squandered it,
“26 But his master answered him, ‘You wicked and slothful
servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I
scattered no seed? 27 Then you ought to have invested my money with the
bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest.
28 So take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents. 29
For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But
from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. 30 And cast the
worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping
and gnashing of teeth’” (Matt. 25:26-30).
The point of
this parable is clear: take what God has given you in this world and invest
with it in a godly way. If you choose to squander it God will judge you for
this.
It is doubly
significant that this passage comes directly after several passages addressing
the end of the world and judgement. When you read what Jesus says about the end
of the world, the way people will fall away, the fact that he is going to judge
the world in a surprising way much like he did with Noah, you can see why some
people might be tempted to think, “Let’s bunker down, and ride this show out.”
But Jesus tells us to do the opposite. He explicitly warns us with two parables
in a row to be ready for the return of Christ. But he expands on this in the
second one to explain that being productive in this world with what Jesus has
given us, is part of how we prepare for the return of Christ. God wants us to
invest in this world and improve it. If your eschatology says you can check out
and bunker down, it falls far short of Scripture. You would place yourself in
the position of the worthless servant with one talent.
A balanced
reading of scripture, no matter what you believe about the end of days,
requires a deep and practical investment in this world for the kingdom of God. So
many of Jesus’ messages about stewardship require this of his servants. He is
the master and he expects his servants to be about his work, and the Scriptures
give a vast array of activities which the master expects us to be involved in,
and building for the future is one of them, so is witnessing, charity, seeking
for biblical justice and more.
Another good
example of this is Proverbs 13:22, “A good man leaves an inheritance to his
children's children, but the sinner's wealth is laid up for the righteous.” As
one friend I know has put it, it is ridiculous to think that a righteous person
who is premillennial does not care about the future. If they know their scriptures,
they know they are supposed to leave an inheritance to their children and leave
the timing of the end of the world to Jesus. And a careful reading of many
passages of scripture bears out this emphasis. Whatever our eschatology we are
required to invest in the future of our nation and society for good. Because
Christ wants his people to be a blessing to the nations around them and he
wants all of us to use the gifts he has given us.
Building for
the future is not inherently antagonistic to premillennial eschatology, because
eschatology is not the only driving force of our behaviour. The simple commands
of Christ are far more significant, and they require us to live a certain way. To use our
eschatology as an excuse to ignore the commands of Jesus would be to do harm to
scripture.
Why Do The
Righteous Hide?
I could make
many more biblical arguments for this position that there is no inherent reason
why premillennialism needs to lead to a bunker down theology. But I want to end
by asking another question: why do the righteous hide? There is no doubt that
there is a trend in conservative Christianity to move towards more independent
living, less reliance on the system and more of an emphasis on building
self-sustaining communities. This is true across America and Australia. It was
evidenced by the boom in house and land prices in country and rural communities
during the covid years. So why do people do this?
Well,
Proverbs gives us an answer here, “When the wicked rise, people hide
themselves, but when they perish, the righteous increase” (Prov.
28:28). Ordinary people seeking to withdraw themselves from trouble is not a
new phenomenon, it is as old as trouble itself. You see this when an argument, fight
or conflict breaks out in many contexts, many people seek to shrink away from
it and withdraw themselves. When the wicked rule most people tend to hide
themselves away, keep their heads down and stay quiet. I say most people
because not all good people do this, many will seek to stand up to evil, but
not all. But once hard times ease off again, the good people tend to come back
out into the open. I suspect one of the reasons that we see good people
withdrawing today is because of the current resurgence of evil in the West.
Paul does
say, “…brothers…aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to
work with your hands, as we instructed you,” ( 1 Thess. 4:11). We are actually
encouraged to try and live quiet, stable and self-sustaining lives. Not to be troublemakers
and constant agitators in society. There is a time to speak up and a time to be
quiet. But, for most Christians, quiet is their preferred norm and they will
gravitate towards it. Perhaps some forms of eschatology have encouraged this,
but eschatology it is not the only driving force.
Consider this
as well, at the heights of postmillennial theology in Medieval Europe many
Christians withdrew into monasteries and nunneries. They were often driven to
such a lifestyle because of their views on sanctification and soteriology, and
not necessarily because of eschatology. In fact, eschatology is often
orthogonal to whether people want to build into the society around them or not.
I would argue people withdraw from society for a host of reasons.
I think it
is very simple to establish from scripture that there is no inherent aspect of
premillennial theology which says you should not invest in the future or build
for the future. You may read Matthew 24 completely different to me. You may
understand the millennium completely differently to me and other
premillennials. But we premillennials read Matthew 24 and Revelation 20 to
clearly teach that there is a second coming of Christ, that it happens before
the millennium and many of us believe there will be a great tribulation before
this. But we also read Matthew 25 and see that we have no justification to sit
on the talents God has given us and not invest in the future of our nation,
because we know our God is coming back to evaluate us. Indeed, I suspect many
premillennials build and invest for the future, because they want to be found
doing that when our Lord returns. Should not we all have this same motivation?
I asked one
premillennial friend how he balances his view that the world may be in the last
days with his political work and advocacy? He said, it is because he has a salt
and light theology, and Christians are to be salt in this world while we are
here. I responded, I thought so. Because this is precisely how I think about
it, though I have used different wording.
Eschatology
is important. It does influence how we think, but more Christians are
influenced by what Jesus says about how we should live, than complex systems of
how the end times will work out or by false prophets on YouTube who tell them
the end is nigh this September or next September. For those Christians who are
more driven by constantly studying the signs of times and who get bogged down
in this, then I would say that is because they have an imbalance in their
theology and that can only be corrected by good teaching. I hope this article
is a part of helping with that.
[1]
But enough about the Left Behind series.
[2] I
used to get constantly sent videos from people every year telling me why this
September is the year Jesus would return. Very annoying, and no matter how many
times they were wrong, they were always convinced the next year would be the
year.
[3] I
say theology and not eschatology deliberately, and you will see why as I make
my case.
[4] I
think postmillennialism is a natural and understandable reaction to the
excesses of pretribulation dispensational theology. I also think if more people
understood historic premillennialism, they’d be much more comfortable with
holding it, instead of moving across the spectrum to postmillennial.
[5]
Dispensationalists call this “replacement theology”. But this is completely
incorrect. Replacement theology was a term developed in the 1980’s to disparage
the historical teachings of the church on the issue of Israel. The majority of
the church did not teach that the Church replaced Israel, but that the barrier
to Gentiles joining Israel, the law, was removed and from that point on Gentiles
could join Israel without having to become Jews who lived under the Mosaic law
(cf. Acts 15). All the Jews who rejected Christ were in turn removed from the
tree, Israel, and all the Gentiles who believed in him joined the believing
Jews to be a part of God’s people. There was no replacement, only an expansion because
the means of joining God’s people was far simpler.
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