To say that the word “heaven” is an important Biblical concept can be easily proven by the fact the word appears over 580 different times in the Bible. Sometimes the idea of heaven refers to the sky, as when Genesis 1:1 says, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”  While other times it focuses on that place where God lives, such as when Jesus said in John 14:23, “…if anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.”

The popular view that heaven’s entrance is a pearly gate where Saint Peter grants admission to that lush filled land of golden streets comes from both popular imagination and Scripture. Nowhere do we read that Peter stands at a pearly gate. However, Revelation 21:21 says the twelve gates of the New Jerusalem are made of a single pearl and the “street of the city was pure gold, transparent as glass.”

But there is more to heaven than gates and gold. For example, the Bible teaches us that heaven will not be a land far away in another place and time; instead, it will be localized on the new earth. Revelation is clear that we do not go to live in some celestial enclave; rather, God brings heaven with him to the earth. God makes heaven, heaven.

Certainly heaven will be a place where there will be no more death, no more sin, no more suffering, and it will be filled with light, angels, rejoicing, and pleasures. Revelation 7:9 states that people from every corner of the earth will stand before the Lord, giving us the hope that we will see those loved ones who died in the Lord, and we will meet men and women whom we’ve grown up longing to meet for their exploits of faithfulness, along with those of whose faith we have never heard. But all of this will take a back seat to the fact that we will see Jesus face to face.

Volumes have been written on the splendors of heaven, and this article could have been written from a purely theoretical standpoint. But what each of us ought to keep clear in our understanding is that heaven is a real place, and our only access to it is through Jesus Christ, for at the end of the day, wherever Jesus is, that’s where heaven will be.

Dana Arledge, Will Uminn, Phil Meade, Kevin Farmer

“When men talk of a little hell, it is because they think they have only a little sin, and they believe in a little Savior.  But when you get a great sense of sin, you want a great Savior, and feel that if you don’t have him, you will fall into a great destruction, and suffer a great punishment at the hands of the great God.” -C. H. Spurgeon

Hell is a reality that the world ignores It is the butt of jokes and a swear word that to most has lost any since of meaning. What does the Scripture teach about the final place of punishment?

Hell, the Lake of fire, the final judgment that was made for the Satan and his followers is a place of rejection. Matthew 7 describes people being sent away from the presence of the Master, “depart from me, I never knew you”. This image of being in the presence of God and being sent away is a startling one. It shows not only are they sent away and not allowed to enjoy the presence of God, but that for a moment they new the presence of God and will have that knowledge for eternity.

The Lake of fire is pain. Its name befits the type of punishment that will be executed there. Mathew 13:40-43, along with other passages uses the imagery of a fiery furnace where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth. It is a pain that is worse then we can understand here on earth. Christ warns us not to fear those who can hurt the body, but He who can destroy it in hell.

Hell is a place of loneliness and darkness. Mathew 22:13 says, “Bind him hand and foot, and cast him into the outer darkness, in that place there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth” This is in contrast to the presence of God who is the light of New Jerusalem. Away from God man is in utter darkness without hope and alone.

The most sobering thought about the doctrine of Hell is that it is the eternal judgment. This will not just be for a moment but forever: “everlasting punishment” (Matt. 25:46), “everlasting fire” (Matt. 18:8), “the fire that will never be quenched” (Mark 9:45) and “the worm that never dies” (Mark 9:46). There is no easy way out, only the grace of God. And so as the Apostle Paul says in 2 Cor. 5:11, “Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade others.”

Kevin Farmer, Will Uminn, Dana Arledge, Phil Meade

“There is nothing that keeps wicked men at any one moment out of hell, but the mere pleasure of God.”
Jonathan Edwards, Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God

I have heard it said that Hell is the least preached doctrine of our time. If asked what would we say about it? “It’s a bad place and you don’t want to go there.” We as believers look forward to the completion of God’s grace in an eternity of peace and joy, but what has the grace keep us from?

There are multiple words that scripture uses to refer to hell. In the Old Testament the Hebrew word sheol is used which could literally be translated as the place of the dead. The Greek term for this was Hades. The concepts of Sheol and Hades are different then the common understanding of hell because it contained both punishment and paradise, a holding place for those who had passed on. A good description of this is the story of Lazarus and the rich man in Luke 16:19-30. There is a place of torment for those who are without grace where they receive what is due their works and there is a place of joy for those who have been given grace. But the concept of Sheol seems to be a temporary one. That it is a holding place until final judgment.

Christ talks about hell in Matthew 5, the Sermon on the Mount. He uses a world for hell, “Gahanna”, which means “the valley of the sons of Hinnom.”  In this valley, human sacrifices were offered to the Ammonite god, Molech, during the reigns of Ahaz and Manasseh (2 Kings 16:3, 21:6).  It had an evil reputation as a place of filth that continued on to Christ’s own day where it had become a garbage dump. In Christ references to hell there is only the view of judgment. In Matthew 5 Jesus discusses the reality of hell as a result of an unrepentant life.

Christ’s discussion of hell and latter that of the apostles carries with it an eternal sense of punishment. Revelations 20 says that Hell and Hades will be cast into the lake of fire, which is the second death. The intermediate holding place, with its painful torment described by the rich man in Luke 16 is only a preview of what is to come. In our next article we will discuss the nature of the eternal judgment.

Kevin Farmer, Will Uminn, Dana Arledge, Phil Meade

It is important to note at the outset that the eschatological (future) resurrection in Scripture is completely overshadowed by the central truth of Christianity-the resurrection of Jesus from the dead.  The greatest news ever is what God in Christ did for a bunch of undeserving sinners.

That said, however, there is truth concerning a future resurrection that we need to consider.  At least for believers the resurrection of Jesus stands as the prototype and the guarantee of our own.  From the nature of Christ’s resurrection body, we can deduce some things regarding the future resurrection.  First, the resurrection body is not only spiritual, but also physical, much ancient and modern theology notwithstanding.  Christ’s body could be touched, it could eat, it bore the marks of the crucifixion.  Certainly it had some qualities, such as passing through material objects, that a “normal” body doesn’t have, but it was nevertheless physical.  Second, the resurrection body maintains continuity with the present body.  Jesus’ resurrection body could be recognized as Jesus, though sometimes in the resurrection appearances it was not.  One difference is that our resurrection is yet future.  Even in the NT there were some who equated it with regeneration, essentially denying both its physicality and its futurity.  They were in error.  The new age dawned with the coming of Christ, but its full expression has not yet come.

Orthodoxy insists on a real resurrection of both Christ in history and humanity in the future.  “I believe . . . in Jesus Christ our Lord who . . . on the third day rose again from the dead . . . and in the resurrection of the body. . . .”  No amount of mental gymnastics or wishful thinking can change the hopelessness of any alternative into hope.

Beyond the central reality, theologies begin to diverge, especially concerning the number and the timing of the resurrection(s).  Those differences are at least partly driven by differences over other eschatological ideas, especially the millennium, and seem to be somewhat parallel to one’s understanding of the judgments.  Reformed theologians usually hold for one general resurrection, of the saved and unsaved together, just before the one final judgment.  Those of a more dispensational bent usually see at least two resurrections-sometimes more-the saved when Jesus returns to earth, and the unsaved after the millennium and before the white throne judgment.

The importance of the resurrection is grounded in creation.  God made us to function in a physical universe requiring a physical body.  The death that destroys it is an unnatural, judgmental event.  While it is possible to have a disembodied personal existence, it is not normative (2 Cor. 5).  Though there is some exegetical wiggle room, the fires of hell, if literal, would require an embodied existence to have their effect.  Likewise, the eternal state for believers is sometimes expressed in physical terms that would require a body to enjoy.

Phil Meade, Dana Arledge, Will Uminn, Kevin Farmer

The title of this article alone is enough to make you want to close your bulletin before proceeding further. The words present the reader with an ominous sound. However, what is the “Abomination of Desolation?”  Jesus used the phrase in Matthew 24:15 when he said, “So when you see the abomination of desolation spoken by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place…”  From that verse, we learn that this abomination was first mentioned by Daniel, and that he will one day stand in the “holy place,” which many scholars equate with the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem.

Daniel wrote about an abomination that causes desolation in Daniel 9:27, 11:31, and 12:11 as referring to a particular individual(s) who causes terrible things to happen to Israel at a specific time(s) in history. Picking up on this idea, Jesus said that when this comes to pass, the people in Judea should flee to the mountains. But from this point forward, we can only speculate as to the identity of this particular abomination.

Though many believe this abomination is a person, others view it as an event(s), such as when Antiochus Epiphanes slaughtered many Jews around 165 B.C. and caused a pig to be slaughtered on the altar; or when Emperor Caligula, who in 40 A.D. demanded that his statue be erected and worshipped inside the Jewish temple, at the threat of slaughtering thousands of Jews. Still others see him as Titus, who in 70 A.D. destroyed the temple and Jerusalem, and finally some see him as the antichrist, or “beast” mentioned in Revelation 13.

Space does not allow going into this further, except to say that before the end of human history on earth is consummated, there will be such an evil visited upon God’s people, primarily the Jews, that it would destroy the planet if God did not intervene. The man responsible for this evil will set himself up as God, and demand many to worship him, but will in the end be destroyed. History suggests this has already happened many times over, yet may have at least one more significant occurrence before the end of the world is completed.

Dana Arledge, Phil Meade, Will Uminn, Kevin Farmer

Within premillenialism two camps have arisen: the pre-tribulational and the post-tribulational views.  The pretribulational, or dispensational, type of premillennialism has become very popular since the 19^th century.  In contrast to the historic view, this more modern version of premillennialism teaches not only that Christ will return pre, before, the millennium occurs, but also that Christ will return before the tribulation period takes place.  The historic view, however, would take issue with the concept of Christ returning prior to the tribulation period, for many reasons, but in essence because they only believe in “one” second coming (further, the much less common mid-tribulational view holds that Christ returns during the seven year tribulation period, just prior to the great tribulation (i.e. the last 3½ years).

The issues dividing these two views are vast and cumbersome, as they often spill into various views of covenant and dispensational theology.  Yet, a basic core issue at the center of this debate is the issue of the tribulation and the “rapture.”  Premillenialism teaches that in the end times, following our current church age, there will be a seven year tribulation period where in the Anti-Christ will be made known and come to power (cf. Dan 9:24-27; Rev 11:3; 12:6; 13:5), followed by the second coming (advent) of Christ when in He will establish His earthly kingdom and reign for a thousand years.  The pretribulational view teaches not only that Christ will do all those things “after” the tribulation (Matt 24:21) but that He will also have a “secret coming” just prior to the seven-year tribulation where He will rapture all the believers (drawing from: 1 Thess. 4:17).   One of the pillar texts that “pretribulationers” use is Rev 3:10 where Jesus states that He “…will keep [them] from the hour of trial which is coming on the whole world.”  They take the “hour of trial” to be in reference to the tribulation, which does seem to have good support, and that that to be “kept” from that hour must then necessarily involve being taken out of the world via the rapture.

There is a vast number of arguments that each side could present, however the historical view (post-trib) seems to carry with it, in my opinion, more textual weight in terms of biblical evidence.  In response to the argument from Rev 3:10, a post-tribulationist would see no reason to stretch the concept of being “kept from” the hour of trial to involve a physical removal; rather, it could be understood as being kept from the evil and demoralizing influences that will overtake the entire world.  Inference could be drawn from Gal 1:4 where it is said that Christ gave Himself to keep us from this “present evil world,” where the same word is used and certainly doesn’t imply being “removed” from the evil world, but to be spiritually preserved from its evil corrupting power while in it.  Yet, quite frankly, any direct evidence that would suggest a pre-tribulational rapture is lacking, and the majority of the arguments are drawn by inference that believers are preserved from the wrath of God, and thus that must mean they can’t go through the tribulation period.

When Paul speaks of the revelation of Jesus Christ (the second coming), in 2 Thess 1:5-7, he suggests that it is at this same time that he himself will receive rest from earthly sufferings (assuming he was alive for the second coming).  Since the revelation of Jesus Christ he is speaking of is talking about the actual second coming to earth, to punish the wicked and set up His kingdom, Paul is not expecting some “secrete coming” prior to the tribulation.  Finally, it seems quite plain in 2 Thess 2:1-2 when Paul discusses our “assembling to meet Him” (rapture) and the “day of the Lord” (second coming) that he refers to them as happening in one event (on the same day).

Will Uminn, Kevin Farmer, Phil Meade, Dana Arledge

Within the theological framework of Eschatology, three primary views concerning the Millennium and the return of Christ have been prevalent in Christianity throughout the centuries.  The three positions are: amillennialism, post-millennialism, and pre-millennialism.  These views did not always exist as they do in the present day, as many varieties of millennial positions have evolved throughout church history.  The scope of this article is to briefly introduce these multiple meanings behind the term millennium.

Our word for millennium comes directly from the Latin term “millennium,” and literally means “one thousand years.”  Its theological significance comes from Revelation 20:4-5 where it speaks about a people who “came to life, and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.” Just prior to this thousand-year reign of Christ on earth, recorded in Revelation 20, it is said that an angel from heaven came and bound the devil throwing him into a pit, which was sealed for a thousand years.  These events and this time period is the basis of discussion, or debate, for the varying millennial positions.

The first view of the millennium is the amillennial view, which is often held by those belonging to the Reformed camp.  Within the chronology of eschatology this position essentially says that the age we are now in (often referred to as the church age) is in fact the millennial time period spoken of in Revelation 20.  The prefix “A” essentially negates the millennium (i.e., “no-millennium”); however, the negation is in the context of denying a future literal and physical 1,000-year reign of Christ on earth, not denying Revelation 20.  This position maintains that the church age will continue until Christ returns; after which, there will still be the resurrection of the dead, with believers going to their place in heaven and unbelievers to their place of judgment and eternal condemnation.  Thus, many of the theological issues such as judgment and future resurrection are not denied, rather they are not understood to be preceded by a yet future literal millennial reign of Christ on earth.

Secondly, postmillennialism means that Christ will return after the millennium (the prefix post meaning “after”).  Under this view the church age will over time turn into the millennial age, as more and more of the world’s population is converted to Christianity.  When the world has reached a point where Christian influence on society has become prominent enough, it could be said to have reached the “millennial age” of peace and righteousness.  Further, the millennial age within postmillennialism says that it will be a “long time” and not necessarily a literal thousand-year time period.  After the end of this millennial age, Christ will return, believers and unbelievers resurrected to heaven or judgment, and the new heaven and new earth will come into being.

Finally, premillennialism states that Christ will return before the millennium (the prefix pre meaning “before”).  This view holds that after the time of the tribulation Christ will return to set up his earthly kingdom and reign with the resurrected believers for 1,000 years.  Prior to and during the 1,000-year reign Satan will be bound, but released at the end of the millennium to deceive the nations.  After a final battle, where Satan and his human rebel army are defeated, all of the dead unbelievers will be resurrected to face eternal judgment.  This is simply the basic premillennial view, yet there are two other branches: Historic Premillennialism and Pretribulational premillennialism, both of which are beyond the present scope and will be examined in another article.

Will Uminn, Kevin Farmer, Phil Meade, Dana Arledge

Matthew 3:1-2 says, “in those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, ‘repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand,’” and with those words, the New Testament refocused the idea of Kingdom to the worshippers of Jehovah.  For centuries the Jews longed for a visible Kingdom in which the rule of God would spread over his people Israel, freeing them from every vestige of Gentile law. The Jews longed for that day when King David would once again rule over Israel (cf. Jeremiah 30:8-9), and so when John the Baptist came on the scene, many thought the fulfillment of God was close. However, they stumbled over the nature of God’s kingdom.

The Kingdoms of God and Heaven are synonymous terms pointing to that spiritual rule over which God presides. Jesus once said in Luke 17:20-21, “The Kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed, nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There!’ for behold the kingdom of God is in the midst of you.” The Kingdom is a spiritual kingdom. Though debated, many believe the kingdom of God began at some point in eternity past and will continue forever. Christ is the rightful King, and every human being is, in one sense or another, a subject of his Kingdom, for in Matthew 9:11-12 Jesus said, “I tell you, many will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, while the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness…”

Today the kingdom is partially present to the extent Christ rules the human heart. Yet, one day his rule over our hearts will be as complete as his rule over the earth when he takes his place on his throne in the New Jerusalem.  At that point, he will be the undisputed ruler of the universe, and the promise of Philippians 2:11, which says, “every tongue (will) confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father,” will be realized.

Though the church is closely aligned with the kingdom, it is not equivalent to the kingdom, for God’s kingdom controls every aspect of our lives.

Dana Arledge, Phil Meade, Will Uminn, Kevin Farmer

God, being who He is, holy with an unchanging character, has been judging sin since it entered history.  Punishment following Adam’s sin was immediate and definite, as it was at many other places throughout the Bible-Korah’s rebellion, Achan, the false prophets on Mt. Carmel, Ananias and Sapphira.  At other times judgment was “stored up” or accumulated until a point at which God executed it, the Israelite conquest of Canaan and the fall of Jerusalem in 586 B.C. following many centuries of idolatry and breach of the covenant being cases in point.

At least from the prophets on, the Bible indicates that there will be eventually a final or last judgment.  This judgment is one aspect of all that God will do to set right all that went wrong because of sin.  It is the final aspect of human accountability to Him.  Jesus clearly affirmed it in many places, as did most of the NT writers.  2 Peter and Jude are devoted to the theme and Revelation presents it as a stark, fearsome, future reality.  Most of the creeds of the church affirm it.  The Apostles’ Creed has of the ascended Christ, “thence he shall come to judge the living and the dead.”

Beyond the bare fact of such a judgment, its outworking is variously understood, depending on how one understands some of the major themes in eschatology that we will consider in the future.

The pieces that are not in doubt include the fact that it is Jesus who acts as the judge, that it affects all people, believers and unbelievers, and that it is based on carefully kept records, so its justice is both unquestionable and final.  While some affirm that there is only one final judgment, in the sense of one stage and one event, it is more likely that there are at least two phases or aspects since believers are said to be both judged and judges.  Most premillennialists affirm four:  of believers, of Israel, of the nations, and the great white throne.

While many unbelievers are repulsed by a divine final judgment, there is really a great deal of comfort in it and much to be learned from it.  First, on a personal level, all those historical victims of injustice that human systems have failed will eventually get their due.  As someone once remarked, the wheels of God grind exceedingly slow, but they grind exceedingly fine.  There is ultimate justice.  Second, we do not live in a world of moral indifference, but a world of moral accountability.  History is a moral category, moving toward a goal, not merely a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing, as Shakespeare put it.  Third, there is motivation to do good and not evil, to work as wise builders and not foolish, because there will be a final accounting.  Fourth, there is a reason to hope and not despair.  God’s will is final and his justice will prevail.

Phil Meade, Kevin, Farmer, Dana Arledge, Will Uminn

As all the other category words we have seen since we started writing these, this one also is Greek in origin.  It comes from an adjective meaning “last” and in theology refers to the doctrine of last things.

One might ask, “Last compared to what?”  Or perhaps, “How much is included in ‘last’”?  To answer, it might be helpful to think about the theological connection between creation and redemption.  These two ideas were connected very early in the history of theology, and we could argue, in the Bible itself.  The familiar story is that God created the universe “in the beginning,” but sin entered due to the moral rebellion of the people God created.  He immediately began a process of restoration, culminating in the incarnation of His Son and His work on the cross to destroy the works of evil.  The redemption He brought was the inauguration of the eschaton, so that we now live in one sense in the “last.”

But the present age is in another sense only the “last” in anticipation.  The children of God live in the glorious liberty of their freedom from sin, but the creation still groans under the weight of the curse and God’s children still have an appointment with death.  The Jesus who finished His work did not restore the kingdom of Israel; rather, he left with a promise of return.  When He returns, with all the surrounding events, the “last” will be completed and that original, spoiled creation will be remade.  There will be a new heavens and a new earth.  The righteous will enter into the joy of their Lord, and the wicked will endure an eternal punishment.  The “last” is not exactly parallel to “in the beginning” because creation will not be ended in a metaphysical sense so that only God will continue to be as He was prior to the creation.  But the change will be radical; history as we think of it will come to an end.

That second coming of Jesus is what is usually thought of as the content of eschatology.  What will happen and, as it is usually debated, in what order?  The “second coming” may be thought of in the narrow sense of Jesus’ return to earth, or in the wider sense of all the events surrounding his return, including the consequences.  Eschatology as a theological topic is the second coming in the wider sense.

Paul refers to Christ’s return as a “blessed hope,” but unfortunately it has often become, especially in the modern age, a cause cèlébre for strife, bickering, and division.  How ironic!  It has also become an occasion for theological crystal-ball-gazing.  The Jews came to understand the promise of a Messiah in such as a way as to miss him when he came.  God help us not to do the same the second time.  As we work through the terms and differences, please remember that some degree of humility is appropriate, even though we as a church profess a rather definite position on eschatology.

Phil Meade, Dana Arledge, Will Uminn, and Kevin Farmer