“Don’t get lost in the details of the end times. Jesus is returning and that’s what really matters. Besides, we should be most concerned about lost people coming to know Him.”
I’ve heard some version of this repeated by pastors from different circles.
While I agree with the statement and appreciate the desire to “keep the main thing the main thing,” it does overlook a few things:
First, it overlooks the reality that God’s people care more about the end times than their leaders may realize. There is a hunger and a desire to learn and grow.
Secondly, it is a mistake to think that eschatology (end times theology) doesn’t impact real life. Eschatology surprises us with how much it makes its way to boots on the ground.
In fact, our view of the end times impacts our cultural and political engagement more than you would think. Here are two examples:
1. Postmillennialism and Christian Reconstructionism
Christian Reconstructionism is a 20th-century movement that teaches that modern society ought to be reconstructed and governed according to biblical law (particularly Old Testament laws) as the foundation for civil government and society. As you can imagine, an adherent to this movement would and should logically be highly engaged in the political sphere.
So how does one reach this conclusion?
R.J Rushdoony, who is considered “the father of Christian Reconstructionism” and the theological spearhead of the movement, held to an end-times view called “Postmillennialism,” which teaches that God’s Kingdom would grow and conquer through the preaching of the gospel, infiltrating every sphere of society, leading to a golden age before Christ’s return.
Don’t these two concepts play right into each other? Theonomy - that the law of God should be the basis for civil legislation, and postmillennialism - that the gospel would eventually conquer all of society, neatly fit together. I’m not saying every postmillennialist becomes a Christian Reconstructionist, but every Christian Reconstructionist is a postmillennialist. Eschatology shapes an aspirational lived-out worldview.
2. Dispensational Premillennialism and Israel
Dispensational Premillennialism is a 19th-century theological system formalized by John Nelson Darby, which views history in distinct eras or “dispensations.”
As a result, this theological system creates a sharp distinction between “Israel” of the Old Testament dispensation and the “Church” of the New Testament dispensation. An adherent of this view would say: “God was faithful to His people Israel in the Old Testament. God is currently saving Gentiles (non-Jews) as a parenthesis in His Kingdom work, but will one day fulfill all of the promises He had made to the nation of Israel during the literal one-thousand-year reign (Millennium).”
If one holds to Dispensational Premillennialism, would it not drastically affect their view of modern-day Israel? Would it not impact their view of foreign policy? Would it be a stretch to say that it would impact one’s political affiliation and voting behavior? Not at all.
A Dispensational Premillennialist’s view of the end times leads to a direct impact on how they would read the newspaper, engage culturally, and interact politically.
Theology Always Plays Itself Out
I once listened to a podcast where a pastor who believed in postmillennialism asked a pastor who espoused an amillennial (no millennium) view of the end times if he would tell his people how to vote from the pulpit. The amillennial pastor, who believes Jesus is presently reigning spiritually, sputtered around the question before answering, “No.” The postmillennial pastor, who believes Jesus’ reign progressively impacts all structures of society, had no problem telling his people how to vote from the pulpit. Both of their views were directly tied to their eschatology.
Theology always plays itself out in real life. Theology rarely stays theoretical. Even non-essential theological issues eventually dig their claws into practiced, lived-out, everyday life, and this is true of eschatology.
If you’re a pastor or a church leader, I encourage you to be equipped in thinking through your eschatology so that you can humbly and competently hold conversations that bring clarity to your people when they turn to you for wisdom.
If you’re someone interested in eschatology and don’t know where to start, I recommend you pick up Wayne Grudem’s Systematic Theology and let it be a starting point for you.
Everyone has some version of an eschatology, and no eschatology remains purely theoretical.
