Having recently come up on three occasions while lecturing, I feel fairly comfortable to say that the Lord has laid the matter of eschatology on my heart—or, at the very least, my lips. For as long as I can remember I’ve had little to no interest in conversations about eschatology. That might have something to do with me being converted in a Baptist church, where I heard about premillennialism and the tribulation much more than I cared to or remotely understood. But I’ll resist blaming the Baptists, today. Throughout my theological training I read the bare minimum when it came to eschatology and since then I’ve made sparing recourse to the doctrine, both in my personal reading and writing—my Masters dissertation dealt with a fair deal of Hebrews’ eschatology, but I won’t bore you with that. Only, eschatology isn’t unimportant.

We Can’t Dismiss Eschatology as Unimportant

At the very least, eschatology is important for similar reasons that young witches and wizards study Defence Against the Dark Arts at Hogwarts. That is, in order to combat dark witches and wizards, budding students of magic must become familiar with, well, the Dark Arts: monsters, hexes, curses and jinxes. In a similarly though admittedly somewhat stretched way, I’m convinced that the studying eschatology is necessary for discerning the innumerable and misleading eschatologies that plague God’s people (1 Timothy 4:7; 2 Timothy 2:16).

Just a few weeks back one of those distorted eschatologies sowed panic and confusion. Happily #RaptureTok and Joshua Mhlakela will be forgotten along with the likes of Harold Camping and Nostradamus, but they unsettle faith and damage the fabric of the Church (2 Timothy 3:6-7). Thus my contention for this doodle is simple: without obsessing over it, we must develop a robust, biblical eschatology.

That eschatology is a crucial component of any well-formed systematic theology goes without saying. But there’s a suspicion towards eschatology, talk about the “end times.” I can sympathise with the instinct to take a wide berth of this doctrine, and not only because my first encounter with it was among Baptists. For many, conversations about eschatology are deemed redundant, irrelevant for Christian faith and life. Many others will be familiar with the dismissive and terribly tired quip, ‘I’m a panmillennialist, because I know it’ll all pan out in the end.’ So eschatology can feel superfluous and speculative, those often coming together. Simultaneously, it can enjoy disproportionate stress in certain theological stables, becoming a distraction or worse a self-righteous badge of honour. Nevertheless, we must wade into the choppy waters of the eschaton. Because, when correctly keyed and biblically informed, eschatology reinforces faith by way of encouragement.

New Testament Eschatology is for Encouragement

One might turn up various New Testament books to demonstrate the connection between eschatology and encouragement. But let’s briefly consider Paul’s two letters to the church in Thessalonica and Revelation. I’ll make just a few about each in passing and how they ought to influence our perspective of eschatology.

Both 1 and 2 Thessalonians address Christ’s return. In 1 Thessalonians 4:13 Paul writes, “We do not want you to be uninformed.” Apparently, the believers at Thessalonica were anxious about those who had died before Christ’s second coming (1 Thessalonians 4:14-15). Without getting into the details, Paul concludes this section with an exhortation to “encourage one another with these words” (1 Thessalonians 4:18). He then continues with this theme, considering the “day of the Lord” (1 Thessalonians 5:1-2). The sudden, surprising arrival of that day, says Paul, is a call for believers to “keep awake and be sober” (1 Thessalonians 5:6, 8). “Therefore,” Paul concludes, “encourage one another and build one another up” (1 Thessalonians 5:11). In case you missed it, clarity concerning eschatological matters meant to be encouraging.

In 2 Thessalonians Paul again addresses the matter of Christ’s return. “We ask you,” he writes, “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” (2 Thessalonians 2:1-2). I realise Paul is here correcting notions that Christ might have already returned. But I think the point stands. When speaking about the end of the age—whatever your eschatology—it shouldn’t unsettle or alarm believers.

Finally, so much could be said about Revelation. But when you read it front to back, without the intention of designing a complicated guide to the last days, it’s a profoundly comforting book. Yes, the imagery can be overwhelming and the reality of evil is underscored. But in all these things God’s people are more than conquerers, through faith. “Weep no more,” says one of the elders, “behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals” (Revelation 5:5). God’s people, we read a few chapters on, “have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death” (Revelation 12:11).

And who can forget the chapter that opens Revelation? Confronted by the glorified Son of God, John collapses at his feet in dread. “But he laid his right hand on me,” John recounts, and he said “fear not” (Revelation 1:17).

“He Who Calls You is Faithful”

Being merely a doodle, much has been left unsaid and underdeveloped in this piece. But in conclusion, I hope this the above has provided a crude rubric for your eschatology. Does it solidify faith and offer encouragement? It should. “Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it” (1 Thessalonians 5:23-24).